by M. R. Forbes
“You’re a fool, Olus,” Ruche said. “Did you think the Watcher’s Gift would be enough to make us evenly matched? Did you think a pre-emptive attack would keep me from killing you?” He pulled the Uin from his arm and dropped it on the ground.
“No,” Olus replied. “But I did think I could get Hayley out, and I have. It doesn’t matter if I live or die. Only her. Only Abbey. The vote? You have no idea what is going to happen. But I do.”
“What do you mean?” Ruche said. He tightened his grip. “Tell me.”
Olus tried to choke out an answer. Ruche relaxed the hold slightly to let him speak again. At the same instant, the fire control system went off, spraying the Evolent with a thick white foam. It was just enough of a distraction to let Olus break free, and he got his gun up, emptying the magazine into the Evolent and knocking him down.
He didn’t waste time, jumping to his feet and moving toward the Uin, still barely able to breathe. He would have seconds at best to remove the Evolent’s head. He dove toward the weapon, reaching out for it.
It slid away from him, pushed aside by Ruche’s Gift. Olus cursed, rolling over and facing Ruche again. He bounced forward, pulling a knife from his seraphsuit and stabbing downward, catching the Evolent in the shoulder. Ruche cried out, punching Olus in the stomach, but he managed to hold on. He twisted the knife, trying to dig it in deeper, using his other hand to grab another. He raised it to strike before being thrown away by the force of Ruche’s fury.
He slid across the floor, returning almost to the place he had started. In truth, he had thought the Blood of the Shard might be enough to let him beat Ruche. He couldn’t have been more wrong. He was completely outmatched. Hell, he wasn’t even in the same league.
He was going to die here.
At least Hayley had escaped.
Ruche got back to his feet, wrenching the knife from his shoulder and throwing it aside. He reached up again, and again Olus started to choke.
“I don’t care what you did,” Ruche said, his voice a rough growl. “You can’t stop us. You can’t stop Thraven. The Great Return is coming. The Promise will be kept. Nothing can stop that. Do you understand, Olus?”
“Captain,” Goillisi said in his ear. “Pali isn’t responding. Captain? Are you there?”
Not responding? Did that mean he had failed? He felt a surge of strength, and for a moment he thought he could break free of his invisible bonds. He took a step toward Ruche, only to be held again before he could do anything meaningful.
How could he have failed?
Hayley was loose. She had escaped her bonds on her own. Could she get out of the building on her own, too? He had a feeling she could. Lorenti was taken care of, that part of their plan secure. Thraven probably thought the Councilwoman was still on his side, but she hadn’t turned out to be that selfish in the end. She had agreed to follow his lead even though her odds of survival were slim.
So maybe he hadn’t failed. Just because he was going to die didn’t mean the war was over. It didn’t mean all hope was lost. He had done everything he could to fight the good fight. He had given everything he had and then some.
He looked up at Ruche. The Evolent’s face was twisted in fury; his hand curled as though it was physically wrapped around Olus’ neck. He increased the pressure, enough that Olus could feel his spine beginning to collapse beneath it. Would the Evolent end him outright?
He was suddenly glad for the pill Pahaliah had given him. There was a finality to it, and a sense of control. He would die on his terms, at his time, not Ruche’s. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
“Captain?” Goillisi said again. “Captain? Frag. I haven’t gotten paid.”
Olus would have laughed if he could have. That truly was all the Rudin cared about. It figured. He shifted his tongue, bringing the pill onto it.
Without warning, the pressure disappeared. He watched Ruche’s face change, going from anger to surprise. He drew in a sharp breath, ignoring the pain of it as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
Ruche was doing the same. The Evolent began to turn.
Olus noticed the sound for the first time. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Gunfire. Bullets. One after another after another. Ruche’s body contorted, caught unaware, pushed back by the impacts. Olus’ eyes shifted to the doorway, expecting Pahaliah to be standing there and finding Hayley Cage instead. She had one of the guard’s rifles in her arms and was handling it like she had been doing it all her life.
Ruche stumbled, slowly catching up. The rounds started to fall in front of him, deflected by the Gift.
Olus dove forward, grabbing Ruche around the neck and throwing him down. He leaned over him, biting down on the pill, dipping his head, putting his lips against the Evolent’s and spitting the poison into his mouth.
Ruche choked, his hand coming up and pummeling Olus in the ribs, the force knocking him aside. He sputtered, trying to spit out the poison, but it was too late. He had swallowed too much of it already, and the effect was immediate. He managed to get to his knees, but when he put out his hand to use the Gift again, nothing happened.
“Hayley,” Olus said, his voice weak. “Kill him. Kill him now.”
She didn’t hesitate. Not at all. She emptied the magazine into Ruche, a dozen rounds penetrating his body in a spray of blood. Olus crawled over to the Uin, picking it up. The Gift was healing him, fixing his neck and giving him breath. He stood and walked over to the Evolent. Ruche’s face was pale, his eyes wide open but unmoving.
Dead, for now.
Olus leaned over him, bringing the Uin across his neck and making it permanent.
Then Olus turned around, his eyes falling on Hayley once more. She had already discarded the spent rifle, replacing it with the knife he had dropped.
“I’m here to rescue you,” he said. “I’m a friend of your mom’s.”
Hayley returned a weak smile, approaching him slowly. Then she collapsed into him, sobbing.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, wrapping his arm around her and holding her while she cried. “It’s going to be okay.”
He only wished he knew whether or not he was telling her the truth.
8
Hayley only cried for a few minutes. Olus didn’t have the heart to stop her, or to tell her they needed to hurry. Not after all she had been through. He held her close, told her it would be okay, and didn’t push. He quickly checked the time when she backed away. It was past one o’clock. The vote was happening, with Lorenti’s decision to come at any moment.
“Goillisi,” he said.
“Captain Mann? You’re still alive?” He could hear the relief in the Rudin’s clacking. “I thought I was out of my payday.”
“Shut up and transfer a feed of the Council proceedings to me,” Olus said. He looked at Hayley. “I came with someone else. I think she might be hurt. Did you see anyone?”
Hayley shook her head. “No. What’s your name?”
“Mann,” Olus said. “Olus Mann.”
“The rogue agent,” Hayley said, smiling. “That’s what I thought. You looked better on the streams.”
“I didn’t just get my ass kicked on the streams. Thanks for saving my life.”
“Thanks for trying to save mine.”
The feed came in, overlaying his left eye. He adjusted the transparency so he could see it, and also see past it. The votes were being taken in order. Lorenti was fifteen down.
“I went to Hell to rescue your mother,” Olus said. “She ended up rescuing me instead. That seems to be the way it goes with you Cages.”
“Why was she in Hell?” Hayley asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. We were separated. Your mom’s a real warrior. I wouldn’t bet against her.”
“I won’t. I’m happy that she’s still alive. I figured she was, but since I hadn’t heard from her...”
“She didn’t want you to get involved in this. I’m so
rry that didn’t happen. Are you hurt at all?”
“Not really. Can we get out of here?”
“Absolutely.” He stood up. The Gift had put him back together, leaving him feeling almost as good as new, despite Ruche’s best efforts. “That asshole was the one who got your mom sent to Hell,” he said, pointing at the Evolent. “She’ll be happy when she learns you killed him.”
“I don’t think my mom will be happy about me killing anyone.”
Olus froze for a second. His experiences and perspectives weren’t the best suited for children. “Maybe not.”
He found his gun on the floor, picked it up, and replaced the magazine. Then he handed it toward her. “Killing innocent individuals is wrong, I agree. Killing individuals who are trying to kill you?”
She took it from him. “I’m not naive,” she said. “And I’m not afraid to use this.”
“I noticed,” he replied. “Come on. Stay behind me. I can take a few rounds and not die.”
“How?”
“Another long story. I’ll tell you all of it when we get somewhere safe.”
“Okay.”
They moved out of the room and into the hallway. A long corridor stretched in both directions. Olus turned left, following his memory of the schematics they had reviewed.
“Councilwoman Lorenti,” the Head of the Council, Danube Kiliwani said, calling on her.
Olus paused, shifting to the side of the hallway. “Hold on a second,” he said to Hayley. “Kick me if there’s any sign of trouble.” Their situation wasn’t optimal, but he didn’t want to miss this.
The feed shifted to Councilwoman Lorenti. She was sitting at a long desk. Her hair was up, her makeup perfect. For anyone watching, they would never have guessed her husband had been killed the night before, or that she had been kidnapped and returned. They would have no idea how much had changed inside the woman in the last twenty-four hours, or how much a single event could change someone’s perspective.
“My condolences for your loss,” Kiliwani said as she got to her feet. “And my apologies for asking you to be here, but as you know, this vote simply cannot wait. There are millions of lives at risk.”
Lorenti nodded. “Thank you, Councilman Kiliwani. Of course, I understand the urgency of this session. I took an oath to serve the Republic above all things, including my own mourning.”
She paused, her eyes shifting around the room. The Council was arranged in a circle around the central dais where Kiliwani was standing. Individuals from every Republic nation were present. Trovers, Atmos, and the rest. They sat still and silent and patient. Olus wondered how many of them felt patient? There were enough votes in the room to override the Prime and send the Republic to war.
At least, Thraven believed there were. Lorenti was the missing piece. The most vital affirmation or dissension. She had promised to help Olus, but now that she was in front of the Council, now that she had to make the sacrifice, would she go through with it?
“Individuals of the Council,” she said, her voice solid and strong. “We called this emergency session because we are concerned about the growing unrest in the Outworlds. The activities on Fringe worlds like Anvil, and the destruction of Eagan Heavyworks on Feru including the theft of the Fire and the Brimstone. We’ve heard rumors of Outworld attacks on our patrols, and of fleets massing beyond our sensors, preparing to launch an assault on our freedoms and our way of life. The Outworlders want our planets for their own. They want our resources. They want revenge for pushing them beyond the most fertile system in the galaxy all of those years ago. Those are all valid reasons on the surface. But over the last twenty-four hours I’ve been forced to start thinking. What lies beneath the surface?”
Olus felt himself start to smile. She was about to sign her death warrant with her words. She knew it when Olus had asked it of her. But she had seen the Goreshin kill her husband. She knew Ruche had taken a child to get to him. Those were signs she couldn’t ignore. Actions that had tripped her over the edge of her selfishness and into a rage of righteousness. She couldn’t ignore what the Republic would become if Thraven had his way, even if it meant her life. She was going to paint a massive target on her head.
Would he have time to pull her away from it?
“Captain,” Hayley said, stealing his attention from the feed.
A pair of Goreshin had turned the corner ahead of them, and they growled as they noticed him, charging fast.
“Stay behind me,” Olus said, holding out the Uin. He raised his other hand, feeling the Gift flowing through him and adding its strength to his seraphsuit. “Aim for the head.”
Hayley stayed back as the monsters approached. Olus heard the pops of the handgun behind him and saw the rounds sink into the Childrens’ thick foreheads. He was impressed with her aim, even if the slugs weren’t powerful enough to penetrate.
He bounced forward at the lead monster, brushing aside its claws, using the Uin to cut off one of its hands. Its head came down toward his neck, trying to bite. He shifted his weight, ducking and throwing it up and back, into the second creature. He rolled up, diving back toward them as they tried to untangle themselves.
Hayley fired into the mess, causing them to grunt as bullets dug into their flesh. It was a distraction to them nothing more, but every little bit helped.
Olus could hear Lorenti speaking in the background, in a third channel of his consciousness.
“My husband was a good man,” she said. “An honest man. To be frank, I didn’t deserve someone like him. He let me be who I was without complaint, without judgment. He let me feel like I could live free without consequence. But there is always a consequence, and true freedom is an illusion. We are bound to morals, to justice, to righteousness. As members of the Council, we have a duty to uphold to all of these things regardless of the circumstances.”
“Councilwoman,” Kiliwani said. “What is your vote?”
“I’ll give you my vote when I damn well please, Councilman,” Lorenti snapped. “I have a right to speak. All of us do.”
There was no further objection. Olus moved in on the Goreshin. One of them turned to him, while the other broke for Hayley. He cursed himself for letting them get in the middle, leaping toward the closest, breaking his guard and throwing his hand forward into its chest. The strength of the Gift flowed through him, and he sent the Goreshin into the wall with enough force that he could hear its bones shatter, and feel the structure vibrate under the impact. He would have taken a moment to remove its head, but there was no time.
“As I was saying,” Lorenti continued. “What lies beneath the surface. Let me put in perspective with myself. On the outside, I’m a respected Councilwoman. Hardworking. Honorable. Beneath the surface?” She paused. “I have an alternative lifestyle that is not compatible with my standing or reputation. I’ve visited so-called X-clubs on numerous occasions to have consensual sex with members of other species. Not illegal, but also not something the voting public ignores during elections.”
The Goreshin closed on Hayley. She crouched into a position Olus recognized as Takega, prepared for the incoming creature. She ducked under its first attack, bouncing lithely back, rolling to the side, and avoiding it. It bent down to snap at her, and she popped up near its head, placing the gun against its skull and firing the remaining two rounds. The bullets made it through the skull at that range, penetrating its brain and leaving it stunned. It stumbled ahead of her, and then Olus was on it, digging the Uin into its neck from behind.
“What does this have to do with the vote?” Councilman Kiliwani asked.
“Half of you in this room know exactly what it has to do with this vote,” Lorenti replied. “Someone within the Republic captured video of one of my interactions in an X-club. They were using it to blackmail me and control my vote. For the last year, I’ve been making decisions based on my embarrassment, not what I believe in. Look beneath the surface. Look at yourselves. What value is there to be gained by engaging in an all-out war with the
Outworlds? Why here? Why now? What proof do we have that the Governance was behind the theft of the Fire and Brimstone? And if they weren’t, then how can we blame them for the attacks on our fleets? Why does the Prime not support this measure? Why are we trying so hard to circumvent our own rules by writing new ones? Not enough? What about this?”
Olus rounded back to the first Goreshin. It had recovered from his blow and was stalking toward him, being more careful this time.
“What are they?” Hayley asked.
“Assholes,” Olus replied.
Then he burst forward on the power of the Gift, charging the creature. It tried to keep up, but he had been an accomplished assassin long before he had been upgraded with the Blood of the Shard. He moved too fast for it to manage, breaking past its defenses and slashing it with the Uin. Once. Twice. Three times. He cut deep wounds in its arms, disabling it before bringing the blade up and into its neck, shouting as he did.
The creature was static for a moment, and then its body and its head toppled in different directions.
Olus flicked his eye back to the feed. Lorenti had activated the projection on her comm. The conversation that Ruche had with him about Hayley, showing her bound and held. Of course, Olus had been able to save the transmission from the device’s memory cache before it was wiped. Ruche was an idiot not to realize it could be done, and that the Director of the OSI would have the tools and knowledge to do it.
“Thraven,” Lorenti said. “Half of you know that name or at least the voice of his servant. Beneath the surface of logic, a snake is waiting to strike. Waiting to erode the strength of the Republic and the Outworlds both to complete his agenda. Willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to do it.”
The Council erupted, with dozens of members rising at once in defiance and confusion.
“My vote is no, Councilman. And no matter what he has on you, no matter what you’ve been promised, if you know Thraven I suggest you vote the same. Uphold your promises. Sacrifice yourself for the-”