CHAPTER 27
Earth
“Zeb, can you see anything?” Dex asked. “Anyone moving in the compound?”
“My enhanced vision is operating correctly,” Zeb replied, “but my threat analysis module seems to be malfunctioning.”
“Explain,” Xander said.
Zeb turned his head from side to side. “We assume the stealth vessel is Gloabon, so we might expect a small landing party, but I’m picking up seventeen Gloabons, and they’re running hell for leather across the compound.” He paused. “Odd, isn’t it?”
“Seventeen!” Dex clutched Zeb’s arm. “That can’t be right. Look again.”
“Scanning. Ah, yes, I made a mistake.”
Dex exhaled noisily. “Thank the stars for that. I thought for a minute we’d landed ourselves in the middle of an alien incursion. You had me worried there, Zeb.”
“Apologies for the error,” Zeb replied. “I missed one. There are seventeen Gloabons in motion, and another one hiding behind some vegetation and…” He turned to Xander. “Commander, I’m detecting an energy surge surrounding the single Gloabon. I believe that he or she is about to open fire. Should we intervene?”
“Yes,” Xander said, thumbing the dial on her bolt gun. “Zeb, lead the way. Fast as you can. Apprehend that Gloabon. Use force if necessary. We’ll fall in behind you and back you up.”
“On my way.” Zeb sprinted forward, his cybonic legs a blur, his fists pumping as he disappeared into the dark.
“Let’s go!” Xander commanded, breaking into a run. “Catch up with him. By the gods, he can move!”
Dex and Turm hurried after her. “You told him to go as fast as he could,” Dex said between gasps for air. “Maybe next time, specify a velocity.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” Xander growled. “Can anybody see him?”
“There!” Turm replied. “By those bushy plant things. What do they call them?”
“Bushes,” Xander snapped. “The Gloabon must be using them for cover. But I can’t see Zeb. Where is he?”
“I see him. Come on!” Dex surged forward, urging his legs to move faster. The strange plants loomed from the darkness, their weird branches rustling in the breeze. He saw Zeb leap into the air to dive headlong into the plants, his arms outstretched. “Quick!” Dex yelled to the others. But a blue glow burst from the bushes, a crackling roar rising into the night then dying quickly away.
“No!” Somehow, Dex ran even faster. He charged into the tangled branches, crashing through, not bothering to shield his face as thorns whipped across his scaly skin. Suddenly, he stumbled into a clearing, raising his pistol, his finger on the trigger. And he staggered to a halt. “Shim!” He spun around, sweeping the space with his weapon. But there was no one there. Zeb had vanished.
CHAPTER 28
Earth
Surrana strolled from the building, letting the glass door swing closed behind her. She glanced casually around then looked back, meeting sixteen pairs of keen eyes. She nodded, the movement barely perceptible, and her daughters swarmed from the building, four of them lugging a limp figure between them, the man bound and gagged with ragged strips of torn clothing. Surrana pursed her lips. There’s no style in those bindings, she thought. No class. If she’d had her snarkle skin cords, she’d have seen that the thing was done properly. But her daughters were gifted when it came to improvisation, there was no doubt about that. The staff at GIT would be surprised when the security guards regained consciousness and strange noises started to emanate from a variety of creative locations. That shelf in the stationery cupboard was my favorite, she decided. It was amazing what you could cram into an archive box when you really tried.
S-One approached, looking up at her as if waiting for approval. “Are we ready to move on?”
Surrana delayed a moment before replying. “You tell me.”
“Yes, we’re good to go. I anticipate no difficulty, but I suggest that we vary our route.”
“Very wise.” Surrana cocked her ear. “I thought I heard something earlier, while we were inside, but now I’m not sure. What do you say, S-One? Anyone out there?”
S-One stared into the darkness. “Yes. There are three people coming this way, only…” Her eyes widened. “Not human. Their tread is all wrong. But they’re not Gloabons, or I’d smell them.”
“Well done. I’d say Andelian. If you listen carefully, you can hear their skin creaking when they move.”
“Ah, yes!” S-One’s smile lit her face. “Shall we intercept them?”
Surrana shook her head. “No. They are unlikely to be helpful. Their movements seem erratic, as if they are looking for something, but they need not detain us. We must keep to our plan. Take us out of here, S-One. You can decide on the route. After all, you know your way around this place better than anyone, as you’ve proved in the past.” She favored S-One with a smile, then watched as her daughter took charge. A credit to her lineage, she thought. What wonders we shall achieve together. But first, they must deal with Halbrook. There’d be plenty of time for fun later.
CHAPTER 29
Earth
“I can see you’re having a bad day,” Brent said to the guard at GIT’s main gate, “but I need to get inside. I need to see Mark Halbrook.”
The guard’s eyes hardened, and he gripped his rifle tighter as he stared at Brent. “What do you know about Mr. Halbrook?”
“We’re working for him,” Vince chipped in. “It’s kind of secret though, so we can’t tell you the details.”
“And I’m a contractor here,” Ellen said, holding out her ID card. “What’s going on? What’s with all the lights and the drones?”
The guard took a small scanner from his belt and flashed it across Ellen’s card. “Sorry, Dr. Granger, but no one’s going in or out just now. We have a lockdown.”
Another guard hurried to join them, raising his rifle to aim it at Rawlgeeb. “You! I can’t believe it.” He nudged his colleague. “Call it in. We’ve got one of the Gloabons.”
“Oh, that’s just typical,” Rawlgeeb muttered. “We don’t all look alike, you know.”
Brent cast a professional eye over the guard and decided it was an even bet on what happened next: either the guy would start shooting or he’d burst a blood vessel. His money was on the vein bulging dangerously on the goon’s temple. “Do yourself a favor and check with Captain Levinson. He’ll vouch for us.”
The guards exchanged a look.
Bingo! Brent thought. “In fact, see if you can get hold of my buddy, Sergeant Carter, while you’re at it.”
The first guard clenched his jaw even tighter as though making a brave effort to crack a tooth, but he managed to let a single word escape from between his lips: “Wait.”
“Sure,” Brent drawled. “No problem. Just tell the captain that Brent Bolster and associates are here with important information pertaining to the personal safety of Mr. Halbrook, and—”
The guard’s speed caught him unawares, and Brent struggled against the man’s grip. “Hey, get your hands the hell off me!” He tried to break loose, but he found himself being propelled through the barrier, while the other guard rounded up Rawlgeeb, Vince, and Ellen, urging them forward with meaningful shakes of his rifle.
A car sped from the darkness and ground to a halt beside them. The limousine’s doors opened, and a pair of smartly dressed figures leaped out: a man and a woman. “Inside!” the woman snapped, standing aside and gesturing to the open door.
Brent finally shook himself free from his captor, and he made a show of dusting himself down. “I wasn’t expecting a red carpet, but this is real unfriendly, and believe me, by my standards, that’s saying a lot.”
“Yeah, people usually make a few casual threats before shoving Brent around,” Vince offered helpfully.
“This is certainly no way to treat personal friends of Mr. Halbrook,” Rawlgeeb said.
The woman examined Brent with an expression of studied disinterest. “Step inside the vehicle
, sir. Time is a factor.”
“It always is, isn’t it?” Ellen asked sweetly. “I find it hard to conceive of any action which exists outside of the temporal domain, though I must admit that the mathematical study of dimensions is not my area of expertise. I’m more of a quantum entanglement kind of girl.”
Brent looked her up and down, but she met his eye and raised a warning finger. “Don’t even think about it, Brent. I’m in no mood to hear your crappy double entendres.”
“The thought hadn’t even occurred to me,” Brent replied. “I was going to try for a witty one-liner about the quantum thing, but then I realized that I have absolutely no idea what it means.”
“No one does,” Ellen said. “Literally nobody.”
Rawlgeeb raised his hand. “Ooh, I have a question. If quantum physics is the study of the very small, why do people say quantum leap to signify a change that’s very big?”
“Rawlgeeb, class is dismissed,” Brent drawled. “For homework, write an essay on why homework is a waste of time, then throw it away.”
“All right,” the woman snarled, drawing a gleaming pistol from inside her jacket. “Get inside the car, and do not make me repeat myself.”
“Sorry, what was that?” Brent asked. “I missed that last part.”
“Get in the car!” the woman yelled. “Just get inside the goddamned car!”
“Ah, but you just repeated yourself,” Rawlgeeb pointed out. “I thought you said you didn’t want to do that.”
The woman bared her teeth, but before she could say a word, Brent climbed into the car’s back seat. “Hey, nice air-con in this buggy. Come on guys, hop in. This is great.” He sat back, stretching his arm along the back of the seat, then withdrawing it hurriedly as Ellen climbed in.
She threw herself onto the seat, exhaling noisily. “Something big has definitely gone down. I hate to admit it, but we could be too late.”
“Maybe,” Brent said with a shrug. “We’ll see. By the way, I liked how you handled that guard. Good banter is harder than most people think. Maybe we should compare notes.”
“Maybe,” Ellen replied. “We’ll see.” She smiled, letting him know that she’d parroted his words on purpose.
Brent held eye contact with her for a second. Ellen’s smile did something to him; something not entirely unpleasant. Somewhere in his body, a bunch of mysterious glands woke from their long hibernation and started pumping chemicals into his bloodstream. This is ridiculous, Brent told himself. Look away, man. You’re one tiny heartbeat away from roses and candlelight. Brent cleared his throat, but he couldn’t take his eyes from her.
“Nice car,” Vince said as he ducked inside. “Could you scootch up a little, Ellen? Getting Rawlgeeb and me into the back of a car is kind of a squeeze.”
“Sure.” Ellen moved along, and though she was still smiling, the magic of the moment was no more.
Brent took a breath, blinking as his brain packed up his dreams, kicked his hopes into touch, and threw him back into reality.
Rawlgeeb climbed into the car, apologizing as he elbowed Vince in the ribs, then the door was slammed, the smartly dressed guards took their seats up front, and the car surged forward, its engine growling.
“Where do you think they’re going to take us?” Ellen asked.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Brent replied. “Hopefully we’ll get to talk to Levinson. He may be an idiot, but he’s not stupid.”
“Okay,” Ellen said slowly. “I’m guessing that if I ask you about that statement, you’ll give me a three minute routine on the various types of stupidity that, according to you, can be arranged into specific categories, am I right?”
“Of course not,” Brent shot back. “What kind of a fool do you think I am?”
Ellen scraped her hand down her face. “Oh boy, I walked into that one.” She shook her head. “Seriously, Brent, we could be in deep trouble. They have an employee wellbeing center in this place, and you hear all kinds of stories. Tick the wrong boxes in your annual appraisal, and before you know it, you’re invited to retraining. They say it changes you–permanently–and they may have a fancy lobby with bunches of flowers and potted plants, but when you go through those doors, you say goodbye to your personality.”
“Interesting,” Rawlgeeb chipped in. “What kind of potted plants?”
Ellen stared at him. “That’s what you got from what I just said?”
“It’s a hobby I’m thinking about taking up,” Rawlgeeb replied. “When I first came to Earth, I thought indoor plants were ridiculous, but now, I find them quite soothing. Especially the carnivorous ones.”
“Cool it, guys,” Vince said. “We’re slowing down.”
Brent stared out through the tinted window at a squat concrete building, its doors made from sheets of gleaming metal. The outside of the building was bathed in the glare of floodlights, and its roof bristled with antennae. Military, he decided. Special Ops. May as well have a sign over the door and a flag out front.
The car halted, and the guards jumped out, hurrying to open the rear doors. “This is it,” the woman said. “Move. You’re going inside.”
Brent climbed from the car, beaming. “Tell me, did they refund your money?”
The woman’s eyebrows knitted, but before she could respond, Brent added, “I’m talking about the charm school. Because if they didn’t return your fee, you should seriously think about litigation.”
“Come along,” Ellen said brightly as she joined them. “Let’s go inside, Brent.” She took his arm and led him toward the building. From the corner of her mouth, she said, “I think we’ve antagonized them enough for one day. We need to focus. Whatever happens next, we have to stick together.”
“I’m here.” Brent looked her in the eye. “I’ll stick by you, kiddo.”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes, you will. I know.” She patted his arm gently. “But if you ever call me kiddo again, I’ll kick your ass, okay?”
“Message received,” Brent replied. “I’ll pass it on to my mouth, but sometimes…” He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I don’t know what it is with me. I just keep saying the wrong earwig.”
Ellen rolled her eyes, and she muttered something under her breath, but she didn’t push him away. I think she just might have forgiven me, Brent told himself. At any rate, she didn’t slap me across the face yet, so I’m calling that a win.
Vince and Rawlgeeb caught up with them, the young man looking around like a kid in a candy store, while Rawlgeeb trudged along beside him, his head hung low, and misery etched onto his expression.
“This place is cool,” Vince murmured. “It’s like in the movies. You know, secret headquarters or something.”
“Or the villain’s lair,” Rawlgeeb grumbled.
Vince whistled. “Even better. We get to blow it up at the end. Boom!”
“Tell me, Vince,” Brent began, “do they sell tickets for your imaginary world? I must visit on my way back from Neverland.”
Vince gave him a disparaging look. “At least I look on the bright side once in a while. Doesn’t hurt to have a little imagination.”
“Stick a pin in it,” Ellen said quickly. “Someone’s coming.”
They all watched as the steel door swung slowly open, and a figure appeared, silhouetted against the bright lights from within. “Thank God for that,” Ellen breathed. “Sergeant Carter, good to see you.”
Carter gave her a curt nod. “Doctor Granger. Captain Levinson is waiting inside.” He stepped back, holding the door open, but as Brent made to pass by, Carter gripped his arm tight. “Bolster, we’re waiting to hear what you have to say. If you’re wasting our time, there’ll be hell to pay.”
Brent held the man’s stare. “I didn’t realize your time was so valuable, Carter, but feel free to send me a bill. I’m pretty sure I have space in my trash can for one more.”
“You think you’re so smart,” Carter sneered, letting go of Brent’s arm, “but I’ll bet you have no idea what’s goi
ng on here. No idea at all.”
“Let’s see.” Brent frowned as though deep in thought. “Taking a wild guess, I’d say that Halbrook has been kidnapped by a bunch of Gloabons. How many was it, Rawlgeeb?”
“Seventeen including Surrana,” Rawlgeeb said, “and all of them hungry for justice, so perhaps we’d better talk to the captain sooner rather than later.”
Carter’s gaze flicked from Brent to Rawlgeeb and back, but his eyes lost none of their malice. “This way. Keep up.” He set off, marching along the bleak corridor, and after an appropriate delay, Brent and the others followed.
“I like what they’ve done with the place,” Brent muttered as they filed along the corridor, turning left and right from one identical corridor into another. “What style would you call this joint, Ellen? Twenty-first Century Bunker? Cold War Chic?”
“No idea.” Ellen stared straight ahead, her expression pinched. “It’s a nightmare, that’s what it is. I feel like a lab rat.”
“Really? I’m not hungry at all,” Rawlgeeb said. “Tried rat, didn’t like it. Except for the tail. That was nice and nibbly.” He sucked air through his pointed teeth as he cast his eyes over the blank walls. “On The Gamulon, they call this color scheme Functional Configuration three four seven. It’s a government standard, designed to instill boredom in anyone who stays in one place for too long.”
Vince chuckled darkly. “Reminds me of my high school. Maybe that’s why I got kicked out. Well, that and the explosion.”
“You must tell us about that sometime,” Brent said. “I’ll bring popcorn. And a couple of sleeping pills in case it goes on for more than a minute.”
The Surrana Identity Page 16