by K. T. Hanna
Aishke carefully piles ice around it, and Sai shrugs. “Something about the source and if we took it and left him here and it was gone, he’d be killed.”
Mason blinks at the information, and pauses before responding. “He’s right. If this is Shine’s source, they can’t create the purity levels they need for psionic extraction without it.” Glancing at his watch, he calls out. “Move back to the entry point!”
They make it just in time to stow the people they’d found on their trip. All of them had opted to escape. Maybe the employee retirement plan at GNW wasn’t very promising.
The power comes back on, whirring to life. There’s a distant sound of fighting, and for the first time in a long time, Sai actually notices the mantra.
For your own safety, please do not leave your designated areas. Report any unauthorized personnel immediately. Remember, the future of GNW depends on you.
She cringes at the sound, and Mason ushers everyone back into the hall and holds his hand up on his watch. “Synchronize! You know the time limit, you know the goal.” He turns to Sai and grabs her gently by the shoulders. “Can you do this?”
Sai fights down the urge to giggle nervously. “I don’t know.”
“You have to. No one wants to see me up there; I’m not memorable. You know what you need to say?”
“After a while, they won’t remember me anyway.”
He shakes his head. “For now, but we’re working on that. Do you know what to say?”
Sai nods, still fighting off the nerves and wondering if her voice will transmit as shaky as she feels.
“When that light turns blue, you speak. You need to enunciate or it’ll pick up too much static, understand?”
Sai nods again and clears her throat. Once they’re on camera, everyone will see her, everyone will recognize her. She’s not sure that’s a good thing. The light shines and she takes a deep breath. It’s now or never.
“GNW United Conglomerate.”
She pauses, using the time to gather the courage she needs to complete the speech.
“I’m not sure what you remember or think about people born with the psionic gene. But I know some of you might believe you’ve sent loved ones whose powers awoke to a better place. We are here to show you, to prove to you, that you haven’t. We are here to show you what really happens to those people.”
She pauses again to let the impact sink in. Though, for now, the people will only remember it for a short time—Kayde is recording it for posterity.
“You don’t send them to a hospital or a psychiatric ward. Nor does enrolling in one of the Training Facilities guarantee them the chance to live. What it does is ensure their power levels are tested, and if deemed strong enough, they are relocated to the testing facility. Those thought unnecessary are destroyed.”
She takes a deep breath to steady herself. “This testing facility’s primary use is to extract all of their psionic energy to power the grid that controls us all. To find the best extraction methods, they are tortured and put through pain you can’t imagine. The people here are used as batteries for the grid that makes your contentment possible. The only escape for a patient here was death. Until now.”
Sai pauses to blink the budding tears away. “This program is all about control. Controlling what we all see, hear, and believe. Controlling how you react to their activities. GNW has no one’s interests at heart but their own. And though you may not remember this tomorrow, once they reboot the grids, you can see it now.”
She turns and jogs down the right hall, the map of this place burned into her memory. She adjusts the earpiece she’s wearing. Kayde said she’d let her know if her control was in danger of being shut down.
Her voice in Sai’s ear grounds her, giving her the reassurance she needs. “All sunshine and roses. Lifts are good to go.”
She nods grimly, and watches as her team files into the elevators before getting in herself.
Sai steps out of the elevator, already shaken from being piled into a small container of doom. Getting out will be easier as the service elevators are accessible from this level. At least they’re larger boxes of doom.
She closes her eyes and envisions the corridors the way the recording showed. A shiver creeps down her spine. Sure of the way in, she heads down the lit corridor, nodding to the first camera she sees with more confidence than she feels in her tightly knotted stomach. No dominos in sight. In a way, it’s a relief.
There’s a welcome desk, with two nurses huddled behind it. They look like children playing at hide-and-seek.
With a sigh of exasperation, Aishke leans over the counter. “We can see you, you know.”
“We’re not going to hurt you.” Sai smiles at them, resisting the urge to smash them against a wall and scream into their faces. Why would they work here, knowing the pain and suffering that goes on? She counts to ten far too quickly in her head and attempts another smile. “If you could help us, we’d really appreciate it.”
Sai can smell the Shine. It’s not sealed up tightly enough down here. It’s in every breath, in every gust of air. “Masks!” she calls, glad she remembered the warnings Bastian gave. One of the nurses, a pretty blonde thing, crawls out from behind the desk, a determined look on her face.
“What do you need help with?” Her lips tremble, but she holds fast.
“Listen...” Sai reads the nametag. “Marlena, is it?”
The girl nods.
“Do you know? That these people aren’t here voluntarily?”
Marlena nods, her face pale. A tear runs down her cheek.
“Will you help us?”
“I can take you,” she whispers.
“Marlena, don’t listen to them. They’re trying to fool you with lies!” comes a muffled voice from behind the counter.
“Shut up, Tawny.” Marlena struggles to keep her voice even and plants her hands on her hips with determination. “Follow me. You probably don’t have much time.”
The march down the hall feels like any other type of hospital, but it’s not. Moans echo through the halls and the occasional sob can be heard. Whimpering backs the other sounds like an accompaniment.
“It’s too late for the doctors and aides to be here. My shift is over in two hours when the night crew is due in.” Marlena’s shaking, and Sai bets there are tears dripping down her face. “I never wanted to be here,” she murmurs quietly.
With a few quick strides, Sai catches up to her. “It’s okay. We can take it from here once we know which corridors to go down. I need the retirement wings and the testing sections. Then you should go and sit back up with Tawny. When we’re ready to leave, we can take you with us, if you like.”
Marlena looks up, her face smeared with tears. “I’d like that,” she whispers. “I’ve taken part in enough of this.”
They reach the first junction, and Marlena indicates the hallways on either side of her. “Down each of these is a retirement wing. There are three rooms in each.” Tears drip down her face again, but she clears her throat and continues. “The testing sections—” and her face expresses distaste as they walk farther down the main corridor “—are further down. Until a couple of days ago, dominos guarded them. Now there are just regular guards.” She lowers her voice and points. “It’s that junction, just there.”
There’s a scuffle behind them, followed by a thud.
“Sai!” Aishke screams behind her. “Move!”
Sai dives for cover, instinctively pulling Marlena with her. They land uncomfortably against the concrete wall as a rain of crossbow bolts fly past them. They’re sitting ducks in this hall.
She looks over at Mason, whose men drop to the ground and provide cover. Marlena starts to crumble to the ground, her back sliding against the white-washed concrete leaving a bright red trail.
“Um...” Her hand rests on a bolt in her left shoulder. “I think they got me.”
Sai kneels next to the woman and snaps the feathers off. One hard yank of the tip, and the bolt is out, pu
nctuated by a scream from Marlena. There’s no time to be delicate.
Sai exerts power into the wound, knitting the muscle back together and leaving a volatile scab in its place. All in a matter of seconds. Getting beaten up regularly on missions helped hone her healing abilities. “I have work to do. As we move in, go to the previous junction and hide there. We’ll come for you.”
Her eyes are big and scared, but she nods.
“Sai!” Mason calls loudly. “We can’t let them gain this advantage. We don’t have enough time.”
Sai nods and dismisses Marlena. She’s done all she can possibly do right now. Turning to Aishke, she grabs the girl by the shoulders. “You sure you’re up to this?”
Aishke nods grimly in response.
“Remember,” she says. “For now, disabling them is our preferred choice.”
They move two steps to the side so they can see their targets. “Take the one in the front, Ash. On four, break his shields. He has them up.”
Aishke blanches. “What if he has too many up?” Her tone is tinged with panic and her strange eyes are abnormally large.
Sai keeps her voice hushed, trusting that the noise of the action around them will drown out her words on camera. “You’ve broken through nine of mine and Bastian taught me. Not them. You can do this.”
Ash nods in return and squares her jaw.
“On four.”
They feel like the longest four seconds of her life.
Three.
Everyone is covering them, shooting valuable ammo at the hiding enforcers.
Two.
She clenches her muscles. There will be no steps this time.
One.
She hears Marlena whimpering in the background and feels the team putting the retirees out of their misery.
“Go,” she whispers and phases into a man, elbowing him under his jaw. He opens his eyes wide before his head slams into the wall and he drops to the ground. Sai barely notices how startled the other shooter is as Aishke punches through his shields and pulls him to her, letting a couple of the guys around her take him down.
Four left. Sai ignores the flash of doubt gnawing at her. She lunges to the right, drawing her arm in close to execute a swift a punch into the next man’s solar plexus. He stumbles, and she rounds with a kick to the head. She slides down to balance the ball of her foot on the wall before launching into a spin straight into the next girl, who barely avoids the hit and stumbles back.
Sai dives to the side, narrowly avoiding her opponent’s jab, and crouches to sweep her legs from underneath her. Once on the floor, one quick punch to her temple knocks her out. At least, Sai hopes it wasn’t too hard a hit.
Something sharp hits her thigh, but she seals the pain off to deal with later and continues on. Two more to go. She can’t afford to fade yet. They’re at the end of the hall, too far away to run to without assured death for herself.
Sai takes two steps, phases, and comes in again with an elbow, missing the chin and hitting his neck. She feels his windpipe strain as his head snaps back and pulls a fraction of the psionic reinforcement from under her skin. His neck almost snapped. She lets him crumple to the ground and barely avoids the other opponent about to strike her from behind. It’s so close she feels the gap the knife opens in the side of her suit, where the armor is weakest.
GNW troops play dirty. Had it really been her bright idea to try and keep their enemies from suffering casualties? She twists around to face the last opponent just in time to see Mason punch the girl in the back of the head. Her eyes cross before she falls to the floor, limp.
“Thanks,” Sai gasps out, clutching her side and suddenly realizing there’s a crossbow bolt sticking out of her leg. She lets herself slide to the ground as the rest of the crew rush around to get their attackers tied up. None appear to be dead, merely unconscious. A few broken bones and definitely wounded pride, but alive nevertheless.
Mason flexes his fingers, blocking her from the cameras. “Don’t make me do that again.”
“Sure thing. I’ll get right on that.” She concentrates on the wound. It takes a few moments to yank the arrowhead from her leg, and biting down only muffles her scream. She’s lucky these bolts don’t have barbs.
Sai peeks out from behind Mason and waves at the camera, forcing a smile to her face. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about the people forced to live down here.” And she gestures at the doors in the hallway.
“I’m fine,” she whispers to Mason. “Where’s Ash?”
“Here.” The girl’s face is pale as she approaches them. “I’m here,” she says, a little stronger this time, and sits down next to Sai.
Mason nods and directs his men into the remaining sections to take care of anyone else who might be in there and want to play hero. “Nice workmanship,” Sai says through the pain as she studies the remnants of the arrowhead. It’s a lot easier to knit herself back together than it is others.
A minute later, she gingerly tests her leg for strength and nods her head with relief. “Are you okay, Ash?” she asks as she slides the blade back into the sheath, very glad she hasn’t had to use it yet.
“A little tired,” the girl says.
“Sai?” There’s a crackle in her earpiece. “Sai?”
She presses against her ear and answers. “I hear you.”
Kayde sounds relieved as she lets out a sigh. “We have news of another facility. Can you check it out if I send coordinates to your reader?”
“Facility? Near here?” Sai frowns. “I can’t reach another city today. I’m not even sure I can reach it in this city. Contrary to popular belief, phasing is not a different word for flying.”
She hears muffled laughter on the other end. “Same city. Outskirts. Well hidden in the rubble. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Did you get the draining room footage?”
“Yeah.”
Sai is relieved, but frowns at the news of another facility. Definitely not out of character for GNW, but still odd. “I’ll take some people with me and scout it out once I’ve made sure things are done down here.”
“I’ll send the information.”
The crackling in her ear cuts out.
“Can I come?” Aishke asks her as they head into the first section.
“No.” Sai holds her hand up to prevent an argument. “You’re exhausted. How many shields did you punch through?”
“Fourteen,” Ash answers, crossing her arms and glaring at Sai. “But his were sloppy!”
“It was a long pull, and a lot of energy. What’re we going to do if we get halfway back and I have to carry you the rest of the way? You know how much energy that will cost me, don’t you?”
Ash nods her head reluctantly.
“Good, then that’s settled.” Sai focuses on the cage-rooms containing people who’ve experienced far too much pain. “Mason, let me know when we’re clear,” she says softly, glad they didn’t make her go with them into the testing rooms. She has enough of those memories in her head to last her a lifetime, even if they’re not hers.
Sai’s heart lurches when she hears his voice, but she schools her expression into one of distaste, holding Aishke back with a cautionary hand.
“Don’t forget. This is being broadcast. Don’t make us look worse than we already do.” She can hear him mumble to his entourage. His voice is quiet, commanding, and completely Bastian. He walks with an assurance to his stride Sai knows all too well.
Suddenly Mason is beside her, a nasty grin on his face. “Looky who we have here.”
Sai holds Aishke back. “Remember, Mason. No deaths. You can punch him, though,” she says through clenched teeth. If this were a real fight, she knows Bastian would beat Mason, but right now, it’s all for the cameras.
“Where has the scared little lamb gone?” Bastian mocks her. “There’s no getting out of here for you.”
Sai sees the flicker of recognition when he spies Marlena slumped off in the corner, but it’s gone as quick as it appeared.
She phases in to the guard on his left without a countdown, just as Bastian gapes at Aishke punching through the shields of the guard to his right and dragging her away. If it weren’t such a dire situation, Sai would laugh.
She ducks around, pushing her fatigue away, and aims several quick punches at different pressure points to make short work of her target. Sai turns to where Bastian grapples with Mason.
The fight is a dirty one, so no one will think twice if she steps in to help. As she grips him by the collar, he grabs her wrist and pulls her in with both hands, whispering into her ear. “Make sure Marlena gets out. And watch out for Dom. He’s dangerous right now. Make this convincing.”
Mason grins like he’s having fun, and he probably is. With a nice upper hook and a push of his own psionic power so focused Sai can feel it, Mason sends Bastian flying into a wall. His head clips the stone before he slumps to the ground.
Sai takes a second to reach out and make sure he’s still breathing before they head off to make their exit, trying not to worry about Bastian’s message.
They make their way to the far end of the testing facility. Sai stops short as she hears synchronized footsteps approaching them. She ignores the pain in her leg as she crouches in waiting, but can’t keep the surprise off her face when she sees the source of the sound.
A line of six dominos stands in front of her. All very similar, but each uniquely different, and none of them her Dom. These are his clones, his brothers, sisters, siblings—whatever you want to call them. But they are not him. She pushes down a sudden swell of disappointment.
“You are her.” One of them speaks. The clang of her voice grates as it echoes through the hall. She steps forward and looks at Sai, before bending to one knee in a bow.
Sai can’t help the snort of laughter that escapes her, but they don’t appear to take offense at it. “I’m Sai,” she states, not entirely sure what they’re talking about. If she can keep them occupied long enough, Mason and the rest can start the long trek out.