“He’s the CEO of ManaCorp,” Matt replied. “How do you not know that?”
“I’m from the Colonies. We don’t deal with ManaCorp very much.”
Lily began tracing a series of arrows from Nicolas’ name, reading the text which followed, ‘Gifted: Can control other Gifteds’; ‘Needs distribution method, can only control Gifteds in sight’; ‘Supersoldier Program initial attempt at extending control to non-Gifteds’.
“Owen’s on here,” Matt said, pointing. Lily looked across, once again following the arrows.
‘Owen Etching’; ‘Was working on control distribution algorithm for supersoldiers’; ‘bailed when he found out the truth’.
“Oh shit,” Lily exclaimed.
“What is it?” Matt asked.
“Owen’s algorithm. This Nicholas, he’s going to use it to control Gifteds.”
“So you’re saying X is Nicholas Wystan?”
“It has to be, he’s the one who has the power to control people. He just needed a way to exert his control over people who weren’t nearby, and now he has it.”
“Shut it down, we’re leaving,” Damos said.
Lily quickly scanned the other names and bits of text in case there was anything useful, but everything pointed to the same conclusion. She closed the file and powered off the workstation.
“Way out, now,” Damos said to the woman, grabbing her arm and pushing her towards the lab’s exit.
“I swear, I had no idea-” she stammered.
“Just shut up and lead,” Damos interrupted.
The woman led them out of the lab and towards the staircase. They fell in step behind a man and woman wearing white coats.
“Have you had a chance to examine the new subject brought in last night?” Lily heard one of them say.
“Not yet, I’m heading there now though. Just had some mail to check first.”
“Prepare to be amazed. I’ve never seen anyone grafted to that extent.”
Lily felt a rush of excitement. She glanced across at Matt.
They reached the staircase and climbed a floor before the two researchers split off. Matt instantly followed, disappearing before Damos or Lily could catch him. Unsure of what do, Lily glanced up at Damos. He struck the back of the woman’s head and she collapsed to the floor.
“What did you do that for?” Lily snapped.
“She’s unconscious, not dead.”
Damos picked the woman up and dashed after Matt. Lily entered the corridor just in time to see Matt turn at the end. Damos lay the woman in an empty room before following. At the end, they found Matt waiting by the entrance to another corridor, peering around the corner.
“What are you doing?” Damos whispered.
“Victoria’s here,” Matt said.
“You don’t know that.”
“Who else would they be talking about?”
Before Damos could reply, a door opened and the researchers stepped out.
“I didn’t think any of them were left,” one said.
“Me neither. God knows where they found her.”
“What are they going to…”
The conversation trailed off as they moved out of earshot. As soon as they’d turned out of sight, Matt dashed down to the door they’d left from. By the time Lily reached him, Matt was already inside the room.
Peering through the door, Lily saw Victoria lying unconscious on an operating table. Nothing appeared to have been done to her and she was unrestrained.
Lily stumbled as Damos pushed past her into the room.
“Matt, we need to leave,” Damos said.
“Not without her,” Matt replied.
“We can’t take her. How would we get her out of the building?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t just leave her here,” Matt said. He gently reached out and placed his fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse.
Lily’s view was suddenly blocked as a steel shutter slammed down over the door. A ringing echoed down the corridor. She panicked and banged on the metal before she came to her senses and realised it was pointless.
“Get to the bikes!” she heard Damos yell from behind the shutter. “There’s a spare earpiece under the seat. Contact Owen.”
“On it,” Lily replied, running for the staircase. There she joined a group of researchers who were also heading for the surface. None of them paid her any heed, clearly assuming she was supposed to be there. At each floor more people joined them, until the entire staircase was packed with men and woman. Lily did her best to block them out, but she could still feel an overwhelming sense of panic. They clearly knew this wasn’t a drill.
Upon reaching the top of the staircase, she followed the crowd through the winding maze of hallways back to where the lift had been. In its place was now a wide staircase, a river of people running up to the surface.
That would explain the gap in the wall, Lily thought, doing her best to stay calm as she ascended. The flow slowed as they joined people from the upper levels. Clearly the whole building was being evacuated. Lily noted the light seemed different before realising it was artificial rather than natural. She looked up at the windows to seem them blocked by similar sheets to those which had sealed Matt and Damos in.
I hope they’re okay down there, she thought as she passed through security and out of the building.
* * * *
Matt pulled his fingers back and leapt away.
“Matt, you idiot!” Damos exclaimed.
“I wanted to check she was okay.”
There was a banging sound and an echo of reverberating metal. Damos leant back to the now-covered door.
“Get to the bikes!” he yelled. “There’s a spare earpiece under the seat. Contact Owen.”
“On it,” came Lily’s faint reply. Damos turned back to Matt. The look on his face said it all.
“We can’t leave her.”
Before Damos could reply, he heard a crackling sound. He looked up to see a speaker nestled in the corner of the room.
“I’m glad you came for her. It makes my job a lot easier,” said a voice.
“Let her go. We know who you are, Nicholas!” Matt shouted back.
“Well, it would seem she’s not the only thing you came for. Since you know who I am, you must also realise there’s no way you’ll leave this place alive. This is my building, and she’s my soldier to control.”
Victoria’s eyes shot open.
“Matt, Damos, ru-” she began, before her whole body froze. A fizzling sound filled the room as her grafts lit up.
Shit, Owen was wrong. Nicholas must still have his algorithm, Damos thought. He turned and threw himself at the shutter but it wouldn’t budge.
“Matt, help me,” he said. It took Matt a moment to respond. A moment too long. Victoria flicked herself off the table and landed in front of Damos. She struck out with her holographic arm, slicing at him. Damos ducked aside, the blade piercing the shutter. He lashed out with a kick at Victoria’s knee. She didn’t flinch, instead spinning and striking down with her blade. Damos kicked back and threw himself at the shutter. A pain shot across his back. The shutter crumpled, the slice having weakened it, and Damos tumbled back into the corridor.
Victoria gave Damos no time to recover, lunging after him. Damos rolled aside, grabbing the shutter and throwing it up at Victoria as he did. She caught it on her blade arm before hurling it down the corridor. The momentary distraction was enough to allow Matt to slip out behind her.
“Run,” Damos yelled, sprinting for the staircase to the upper floors. Victoria shot after him. Damos was no match for her inhuman muscles and the pair tumbled to the ground. Damos bent himself sideways, desperately avoiding Victoria’s bladed arm. Except now it wasn’t a blade. Damos felt her grab him around the waist, the arm having morphed into a huge hand. Victoria lifted him off the ground, hurling him down the corridor. Glass shattered as Damos tumbled through a window into a neighbouring lab. He felt nothing, but knew that pain would follow as soon as the
adrenaline wore off. Damos watched as Victoria turned to round on Matt, clearly thinking Damos was out for the time being.
Not her. Nicholas. He’s the one driving her, Damos thought. I’ll show him.
Damos staggered to his feet, looking around for any kind of weapon. His eyes fell upon a fire extinguisher. He tore it from the wall before running back into the corridor. A few meters away he saw Matt, struggling to dodge Victoria’s flurry of attacks. The red streak across his arm showed he’d already been caught by at least one.
“Matt, to me,” Damos yelled, before hurling the fire extinguisher. Matt ducked under Victoria’s arm and sprinted towards Damos. Victoria turned just in time to see the extinguisher. She raised her blade and caught it in mid-air. Foam exploded everywhere, covering Victoria from head to toe.
“Head to the stairs,” Damos said, beginning to run himself. He glanced back to see Victoria rubbing at her human eye.
She’ll be on us in seconds, he thought as they rounded the corner. We need to trap her.
He looked down the corridor to the staircase.
If we can make it there…
“Come on,” Damos shouted. Matt was clearly struggling, his artificial leg straining under the pressure. At the halfway mark, Damos glanced back. Still no sign of Victoria. The glass window next to him suddenly exploded. Damos dived aside as Victoria flew towards him. He ducked and rolled, flicking himself back to his feet before carrying on. Victoria righted herself, lunging at them once more. Damos sidestepped and ducked, narrowly avoiding Victoria’s blade.
Nearly there, he thought. Matt was barely a step behind, but Victoria was now rounding on him. Damos reached back and grabbed Matt, yanking him into a fireman’s lift. Damos leapt for the stairs. He reached the bottom one and stumbled, tumbling to the floor. Victoria seized the opportunity and dived.
Victoria would have recognised the fake stumble.
Damos leapt to his feet, bounding up the stairs. Victoria shot past behind him, her blade slicing into the glass wall. It shattered with an almighty crash. A wall of water smashed into her, hurling her back down the corridor. Even with her grafts, Damos knew Victoria couldn’t hold herself up against that. He bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“Is she okay?” Matt asked.
“She’ll be fine,” Damos shouted back.
* * * *
Victoria gripped the pillar with her artificial arm as the water rushed past her. It tore at her body, begging her to come with it. Victoria wished she could accept. She wished she could just let go, let herself float away, down into the depths of the lake where no one would ever find her. But she couldn’t, and no matter how much she wanted to, she knew her arm would not let go.
The water level continued to rise. Victoria felt it rush into her mouth, filling her with cold, but even that wouldn’t kill her. A small canister of pressurised air sat beneath her lungs, forcing her to live.
Let me go. Let me die, Victoria thought, but she knew it was no use. He may be able to control her body, but she knew he couldn’t read her mind. So she lay still, floating in the cold, her hand still wrapped around the pillar.
When the corridor had filled to the ceiling and the flow of water stopped, Victoria felt herself move. Her arm twisted, pushing her feet to the floor. She kicked off and began to swim, heading for the staircase.
I can’t do this again. I can’t fight them.
Victoria reached the staircase and felt her head break through the still rising water.
I don’t want to hurt them. They’re my friends, my family.
She dragged herself out the water and began to run up the stairs.
Don’t make me do it. Don’t make me kill them.
Victoria felt tears come to her eyes, yet she was powerless to wipe them away.
* * * *
Matt and Damos entered the main atrium to find shutters covering every inch of glass, including the doors to the bridge.
“You can’t escape, the entire building’s locked down,” came Nicholas’s voice over the intercom.
“Don’t listen to him,” came another voice.
Owen, Matt thought.
“There’s a broken shutter on floor twelve,” Owen continued. “You can escape through there. L’s coming with the bikes now.”
“Owen Etching, good of you to join us. Splendid work on your distribution algorithm, I must say. She’s handling like a charm.”
“As soon as I find her address, you’ll-”
“Oh, but you won’t,” Nicolas interrupted. “See, I had my engineers work overnight fixing her up with a private server, like the one in the Nexus headquarters. You’ll never be able to find her. She’s mine.”
Damos and Matt ignored the intercom, heading up to floor twelve as fast as they could.
“Do you need me to carry you?” Damos asked.
“I’m good,” Matt replied. The pair hurtled up the stairs, taking as many as they could at a time.
Two… three… Matt counted as the floors passed.
Four… five.
A crash reverberated up the staircase.
“What was that?” Matt asked.
“Victoria,” Damos replied.
Matt saw her in his head, leaping up entire blocks of stairs at once. He forced himself to speed up, despite the raging pain in his leg.
Six, seven, eight.
Nine, ten, eleven.
Matt saw a flash behind him. He threw himself to the ground as Victoria’s arm sliced over his head. He scrambled to his feet. Victoria sliced once more. Matt rolled and kicked out with his artificial leg. It caught her in the chest. She swung with her blade. The front of his foot hit the stairs with a clunk.
Matt suddenly felt a grip under his shoulders. He looked up just as Damos tore him away. Matt gripped Damos’s shoulders as he ran up the remaining stairs and burst into floor twelve. The floor was entirely dark other than a streak of light from the broken shutter. Damos headed straight for it. Victoria followed moments later, smashing the door out of her way.
“I can run too,” Matt said. Damos didn’t reply but let him slide down. It took Matt a moment to get steady, but soon he was running behind, his balance fine as long as he focused.
Damos reached the window first. He picked up a chair and hurled it through the glass. Outside Matt saw Lily hovering with a jet bike. She swerved back to avoid the chair before coming in close.
“Come on,” Damos said, holding out his hand. Matt reached out to take it.
I can’t leave her behind, Matt thought. He pulled his arm in and skidded to a stop.
“What are you-” Damos began.
“I won’t leave her. I believe in her, she can fight it.”
Matt turned to face Victoria. He ducked as she swiped at him, rolling aside before pulling himself up with the help of a desk.
“Victoria, listen to me. I know you’re in there,” Matt said calmly. Victoria stopped, looking directly at him.
“Matt, get out of there!” he heard Owen yell. Matt ignored him.
“I believe in you. You can fight him. You can regain control.”
Victoria continued to stare blankly back at him.
“Matt, we have to move. Now!” Damos shouted.
“No, I won’t leave her. I’ve lost her once, I won’t do it again.” Matt looked back to Victoria. “Listen to me. You can do this.”
She took a step closer. Matt reached out his hand. He looked up into her eyes. That was when he noticed the tears streaming down her face. Without a word, Victoria plunged her blade through his heart.
Chapter 20 - Rage
09:56, ManaCorp HQ, North District
“Matt, no!” Damos heard Owen scream.
Damos saw Victoria’s blade protruding from behind Matt. A look of shock overcame Matt’s face as blood poured from his body.
Damos turned and hurled himself out the window. The jetbike sunk down as he landed on it before righting itself. He looked back to see Victoria shove Matt off her blade and
sprint towards them.
“Go!” he yelled, although Lily had already opened the throttle. The bike shot away. Victoria launched herself out the building, her blade morphing into an arm, extending towards them.
“Watch out!” Damos shouted. Lily jerked the handlebars and the bike swerved aside. Victoria’s hand swiped at empty space before she fell, landing in the lake far below.
“I’m going to kill him. Give me your earpiece!” Damos yelled. Lily didn’t respond. Damos reached out and pulled it from her ear before slamming it into his own.
“Owen, trace his connection. Now!”
Owen took a moment to reply.
“It’s a two-way thing. I find him, he finds me,” he said eventually.
“Just do it!” Damos screamed.
Owen remained silent for several seconds.
“He’s in ManaCorp HQ, where you just came from,” he said. “The basement is flooded, so he must be on the top floor or I’d see him over camera.”
“Turn around, now,” Damos said to Lily.
“Are you crazy?” she replied.
“Do it!” Damos yelled, grabbing the handlebars and forcing them around. The bike swerved and tipped before the built-in safety measures kicked in and righted it.
“Okay, okay,” Lily replied, spinning them around and heading back for the building.
“Where are we going?”
“Top floor.”
“Why?”
“He’s there.”
Lily didn’t reply. Damos didn’t know what was going through her head at that moment, and to be honest, he didn’t care. All he wanted was revenge.
“He’s found me, I need to get moving. I’ll catch up with you later,” Owen said through the earpiece.
The building rapidly grew in size as they approached. The shutters had begun to recede, revealing the glass panels once more. One at the top opened, revealing several people inside. A pair of energy balls shot towards them. Lily dipped the bike’s nose and dived down out of the way, but more quickly followed. She swerved from side to side, weaving through the oncoming fire. The closer they got to the building, the harder it became to dodge.
“Stand up, I need my glove. It is in this bike?” Damos said.
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