‘This is treason, Dr Nguyen,’ the general said when he saw Charlie.
‘So double the death sentence you already gave me,’ the scientist replied.
The general smiled. While he did not tolerate insubordination, defiance was an attitude he always admired.
‘I expect you have some pathetic plan,’ the general said, his English flawless and without accent. ‘Because I can assure you it will not work. Your young psychic is no longer unique.’
A single shot rang out. Esteban had been the one to pull the trigger, but his bullet did not find its target, harmlessly impacting into a wall instead. The general had barely even moved. He just tilted his head the minimal distance to take it out of the projectile’s path. The group knew at once that he was infected by the radiation.
‘You’re messing with forces you cannot comprehend,’ said Charlie.
‘No,’ said Tao. ‘I am bringing order to the chaos. I have turned the poison you created into a gift for all of mankind. It is those freaks you call friends who are the real danger.’
‘So why don’t you do something about it?’ asked Esteban.
‘Don’t provoke him,’ warned Charlie. ‘We can still find a diplomatic solution to this.’
‘The only solution is my absolute victory,’ replied Tao. ‘You cannot defeat me.’
‘He’s right,’ said Esteban. ‘We cannot win. But neither can he. It’s a stalemate. If he could take out any one of us he would have done it by now. His newly acquired psychic powers are crippling his free will.’
‘Yet you are free to do whatever you choose,’ said Tao. ‘Tell me, Agent Cruz, how do you propose that we break this impasse?’
Esteban glanced at his comrades and then back to the general. When a soldier is faced with a no-win scenario the only options are death or surrender. He had never killed without it being absolutely necessary and he saw no reason to die unnecessarily either. If you cannot save everybody, you save who you can.
‘The scientists mean nothing to me, but I want your assurance you will let Jimmy live,’ he replied.
‘What?’ said Emmy, the hollow look of betrayal already showing in her face.
Ignoring her, the soldier continued to barter with the general: ‘Emmy’s yours to do with as you please. Kill her for all I care. If you know who I am, you must have read my file. I’m a mercenary. Before this job came along, I worked for the highest bidder – so make me an offer. I could be of great value to you.’
‘Esteban, this is crazy,’ said Emmy. ‘He can see the future. Unless you’re actually prepared to give me up, this won’t work.’
Esteban kept his gaze fixed on Tao.
‘Am I bluffing, General?’
Tao’s eyes took on a distant, out of focus glaze as he scanned the room, watching an invisible movie playing in his mind. When his attention returned to the here and now, he was smiling.
‘You have a deal, Agent Cruz. There may yet be a place for a man such as you in the new world order.’
Confused and more afraid than ever, Emmy panicked. Without thinking, she squeezed the trigger of her rifle in a last ditch attempt to end this by killing General Tao. An impotent click notified her that the bullet chamber was empty.
Charlie was the first to pick up on what had happened and he too squeezed the trigger of his weapon.
Nothing.
‘He’s betrayed us,’ the scientist said.
‘He can’t have,’ replied Emmy.
She searched Esteban’s eyes and could read nothing in them. Then she turned to Jimmy. Unlike the soldier’s, his eyes gave everything away. He had already seen the future. Esteban had betrayed them.
‘You bastard!’ she shouted.
She ran to the soldier, but his reflexes were too quick for her. He deftly blocked the swing of her arm and pushed her into the path of the general. Charlie tried to make a move but was met by the business end of Esteban’s rifle.
‘This one is loaded,’ the soldier said.
Emmy tried to struggle, but the general could perfectly intuit her every movement. He was so in sync with her actions that her every attempt to break free just embedded her more deeply into his grasp. Eventually, she felt herself so strongly restrained that she could no longer move at all. It was at this moment that he pulled out a knife, pressing the cold metal blade against her throat.
‘Jimmy, help!’ she screamed.
‘I’m sorry,’ replied the young psychic. ‘It’s over. We’re dead.’
She could see the truth in his eyes. He had already seen it. One by one they were to have their throats slit, whilst their betrayer would flee like a coward.
Chapter 44
Away from the turmoil in Tibet, the chosen eight were re-materialising at target destinations around the globe. They did this with mixed results. One died upon entry as he teleported into solid rock and another did not re-emerge at all. Only six were successful and even then they were not prepared for the physical stress that the process placed upon their newly acquired bodies.
The act of teleportation does not just expend energy, it expends energy-matter. Upon their re-emergence the Chinese super soldiers found themselves in a critical state. Without replenishment their bodies would decline rapidly. The only way for them to hold off a complete molecular destabilisation was to absorb the energy-matter of another living being.
When the body is at its weakest, it goes into survival mode. Nothing matters apart from staying alive. This was the case with the remaining men. Despite them having no intention of surviving the mission (to do so would be impossible) they needed to be at their strongest in order to put their terrible plans into action.
They each reached out with their radioactively enhanced senses probing and searching for any energy source that could easily be extracted. Once they found what they needed, they gorged themselves on it. They drained the life-force from their victims like psychic vampires.
The feeding did not only return their strength, but enhanced it beyond anything they could have imagined. Their auras glowed with the explosive potential within their bodies. They were demigods. On a whim they could release all of that energy in one devastating act of destruction. In essence, they were living atomic bombs. It was time to find their targets.
Chapter 45
The general felt his blade glide across Dr Rayne’s neck as easily as running the zipper on a jacket. Her gargled attempt at a scream bubbled and frothed in her windpipe as the blood flooded her lungs. He savoured the moment that life left her body, basking in ecstasy as he watched her eyes roll back in their sockets. Her lifeless corpse slipped through his arms and landed in a crumpled heap at his feet.
Then she was back in his arms. The fear had returned to her eyes and her screams became real once more. He had experienced the ghostly preface and now it was time for the live event. His fingers tightened around the handle of his blade in anticipation.
Ever since he had first heard about Emmy Rayne and her research, Tao had dreamed of this moment. He always knew that replicating her work would never be enough. Only when she was dead would he be able to wield the power she had created unopposed. Little did he know that what he believed to be his moment of glory was actually the instrument of his downfall.
The bullet tore away a large portion of his skull and brain before he even had time to register it. Death was instantaneous, but it was not quite the end. The world around him took on an opaque, minimalist simplicity. All he could make out were shapes of differing brightness depending on their energy density. Four glowed intensely in front of him and another, slightly less so, lay below him. This was his body.
He wanted to shout out, but was paralysed. He no longer had substance or form. He was nothing but a disembodied spirit floating on the astral plane. When the light came, it did not occur to him that it was another disembodied spirit that had sought him out, propelled by an unexplainable and irresistible magnetism. He only knew that he longed to be a part of it.
The two lifeless entities
converged, creating an opening in space and time. Their spirits passed through, never to return.
***
Emmy stood rigid, frozen with shock. The body of General Tao lay at her feet and Esteban stood, as emotionless as before, with the smoking gun in his hands. It was Charlie who broke the silence.
‘What just happened?’ he asked. ‘A minute ago you were ready to betray us. Both Jimmy and Tao saw you do it. This isn’t possible.’
Esteban lowered his weapon.
‘If I’ve learned one thing from hanging out with you guys, it’s that anything is possible,’ he said. ‘Back in Australia, I managed to change the fate of one of Jimmy’s visions. Before that, we were led to believe the kid was infallible. It didn’t take long to figure out what had changed. It’s Emmy.’ He pointed at the scientist. ‘The future is never straight forward when she’s around.’
With the initial shock subsided, Emmy was able to regain composure. She approached Esteban and slapped him across the face. Although it stung her palm more than it did his cheek, she found the action satisfying nonetheless.
‘You bastard! You absolute bastard. I really thought you’d betrayed us.’ She then relaxed before adding; ‘thanks though. It’s about time you contributed something meaningful to this mission.’
‘About time? I’ve been running this show from the start. If it wasn’t for me there wouldn’t have been a mission in the first place.’
Before they could continue their argument, Charlie stepped forward and interrupted them.
‘Er, guys, I wouldn’t start counting this as a success just yet. We’ve still got eight human bombs to contend with and possibly something even more urgent.’
He pointed to the command console, where a red LED had begun blinking. Although the console was labelled in Mandarin, Esteban was able to figure out what the problem was.
‘We’ve got incoming,’ he said. ‘I don’t think command would risk sending in a plane and a missile would never make it through the mountains. My guess is a drone.’
‘He’s right,’ said Jimmy. ‘It will hit us in under two minutes.’
Esteban turned to Emmy.
‘Can you get it with the tulpa?’
‘Not in two minutes. It would take me longer than that just to get into a trance.’
‘You don’t need the tulpa,’ said Charlie. ‘We’ve still got astral capability right here. The pods are through that door and they’re no different to what we used back at Jackson’s Hill. I’ll control your trip from here. You can overload the drone before it has time to release its bombs.’
‘I’m on it.’
Charlie pressed the door release and Emmy quickly slid into one of the pods. By the time she achieved separation they had just seconds remaining, but time behaved differently for the astral traveller. Her consciousness was heightened to such an extent that from her perspective she had far longer at her disposal.
The drone was moving fast, but with her accelerated thoughts it was nothing but a submarine in a sea of treacle. Pushing out with her consciousness she allowed her disembodied energy to mingle and interact with the mechanics and circuitry of the airborne craft. She recalled her mantra from that night three years earlier when she had first interacted with a material object while in her astral form.
I am energy; I am electricity.
I am energy; I am electricity.
I am energy; I am electricity.
She could feel the atoms of the drone begin to break apart. First slowly, but once the chain reaction gained momentum, the entire craft spontaneously exploded in a fireball of pure energy.
An instant later she was back in the projection pod, but it felt like she had brought the explosion with her. Smoke filled her lungs and sparks danced over the machinery around her.
Jimmy came running in with a fire extinguisher and covered the machinery with a protective layer of foam before the sparks could take hold and turn to flame.
‘What happened?’ Emmy asked. ‘Did it work?’
Charlie came to the doorway.
‘You got it, but we have a problem. The explosion caused a power surge and it has shorted out all the pods. The entire chamber is dead.’
‘They can’t be,’ replied Emmy. ‘We need the pods to find the general’s suicide squad. Without them, we’re lost.’
‘It’s over,’ said Charlie.
‘We can’t just give up,’ she replied.
‘What else can we do? There are eight human bombs out there and we have no way to pinpoint their exact locations. It’s too late. General Tao will have his war and he will win.’
‘There has to be a way.’
As the scientists talked, the conversation was already familiar to Jimmy. He had heard it before during his vision back at the monastery.
‘The EMP,’ Jimmy said, following the script from his vision.
Emmy shook her head.
‘That won’t work,’ she said. ‘It only works on astral travellers, not living flesh. Besides which, we already destroyed it.’
‘No, he’s right,’ said Charlie. ‘It’s the principle, not the equipment. The radiation affects the body on a metaphysical level. It changes not the atomic structure of those infected, but the energy contained within those atoms. If we could broadcast a signal calibrated to match the exact frequency of the radiation we could send out an electromagnetic pulse that is tailor made for our targets. It would zap the living energy right out of their bodies.’
‘We have no means of delivery,’ said Emmy. ‘Those bombers could be anywhere right now. How could we get to them?’
‘We don’t have to go to them. This base is designated with the highest clearance level. We have access to everything. I can control China’s entire satellite network from this room. The satellites will relay the signal.’
‘We don’t have full coverage,’ said Emmy. ‘There’ll be gaps.’
‘It’s still our best shot. I can also hack into some civilian satellites to boost the signal. MTV may yet save the day.’
‘Okay, just tell me what I need to do.’
***
It was time. The six remaining members of Tao’s infected group of super-humans had all converged on their targets. Once their goal was met there would be no trace of the attack. There would not be a single piece of evidence for the shocked nations to act upon. Their leaders would call for war, but without an enemy, their aggression would eventually turn inward. Paranoia would tear these nations apart.
Among the targets was The Pentagon. By removing America’s military heart, the country would lose all international standing. They would be forced to pull out all of their placements around the globe in order to defend their home soil. The man who would be responsible for this was now known only by a number. His previous identity had been left behind with his former, crippled body.
Number One surveyed his target from afar. In an instant he could teleport himself past all of the installation’s defences. Once inside, there would be no need to replenish the energy expended by the small leap in quantum position. His life-force did not need to be prolonged any further. When he re-materialised he would do so in a burst of uncontained atomic energy. It would be like the building had swallowed an atom bomb.
He looked up at the clear blue sky and felt the sun warm his face for what would be the last time. This moment belonged to him and he intended to savour it. Closing his eyes, he began the final countdown in his head.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
O...
The rush came sooner than anticipated and it did not feel how he expected it would. It was not like his previous teleportation. That first time had felt like a leap, but this time he felt like he was being pushed.
He concentrated his thoughts on reforming his physical body, but nothing happened. The landscape around him altered drastically and he had no idea where he was. It was as if the world was out of focus. Everything was only visible as shades of light and dark.
Something had gone wrong.
It was clear that he could no longer fulfil his duty and his first instinct was to return home. That was when the light came. As soon as he was aware of it, he felt drawn to it as if by some unseen force. When the portal opened, he had already forgotten about his mission.
***
‘Did it work?’ asked Emmy.
Charlie looked up from the console to meet her gaze.
‘I don’t know. How do we tell?’
Emmy shrugged.
‘We could ask Jimmy.’
The scientists turned around but could not see their friend. It seemed that they were both alone.
‘In the corner,’ said Charlie, who was the first to spot Esteban crouching down low to the ground.
At first they thought Esteban was hurt, but the truth soon became apparent. The soldier was unharmed. Jimmy lay still on the floor beside him. Emmy ran to them and as soon as she looked in Esteban’s eyes, there was no need for her to ask the question.
‘The plan worked,’ the soldier told her. ‘The signal took care of the infected. All of the infected.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Emmy. ‘I didn’t think. I mean, we were out of time. There was no other way.’
‘I know,’ Esteban replied. ‘And I think Jimmy did too. His sacrifice has saved countless millions. His mother has cause to be extremely proud.’
As the soldier’s words hung in the air, the thought hit them both at the same time.
‘Oh, shit.’
Chapter 46
The atmosphere in the monastery had altered, but not in the way Emmy would have expected it to. Any pervading sadness over the many lives lost was far outweighed by optimism following the removal of the region’s greatest threat.
A special meditation service was held for all those who had died. The monks viewed death differently to the commonly held western beliefs. To them it was neither a beginning nor an end, merely a period of transition. After what she had come to experience on her astral journeys, Emmy could understand their perspective.
Emerald Sky Page 27