A schematic of this section of the complex appeared on Lobo. He'd marked our location and the cells holding the children; they were no more than a hundred meters and only a few corridor turns away. Red figures marked the hostiles; half a dozen guards stood between me and those kids.
"I can't open their cells without alerting the human security team," Lobo said.
"Why are you just standing there?" Pri yelled. "Go get my son!"
"Do as she says, and then let's get out of here!" Matahi said.
McCombs and Wei continued to yell at one another.
"Everybody, shut up!" I screamed.
The noise stopped. For a second, I enjoyed the silence, then I walked over to the four of them.
Wei and McCombs turned away from each other and faced me.
"Well done, Mr. Moore," Wei said, his nearly white complexion at odds with the calm manner he was forcing.
"Don't listen to this criminal," said McCombs. "Just take us to Shurkan, collect your pay, and let us handle it from there."
Wei chuckled. "You do understand, Mr. Moore, that I'll never stand trial? All you've accomplished is to stick my current employer with a sizable repair bill, kill these poor people," he waved his right hand slowly to take in the bodies of the guards, "and send me to a new place to work."
"You're going to stand trial for your crimes," I said.
"Which is better than you deserve," Pri said.
Wei shook his head. "With all of your time in the Saw, did you learn nothing about how governments operate? My work is too valuable to all of humanity for anyone to stop it."
"Let's go," McCombs said, "before whatever is keeping us safe in here stops working. The sooner we get him to Shurkan, the sooner this ends."
"You are going to try him, right?" I said to her.
Her hesitation was slight, but it was definitely there. "Of course."
"Not a chance," Wei said, "and you know I'm telling the truth."
"What does it matter?" McCombs said, staring at me. "You've finally captured him, we can both get off this island, and you'll get paid."
"The only reason the CC sent you," Wei said, "is that they tried to hire me, and instead I came here. All three coalitions did. I was fortunate enough to be negotiating from Heaven, whose government made it clear they would stand up to any of the coalitions. What I'm doing has the potential to change the balance of power everywhere; if I gave it to any of the coalitions, I'd just vanish inside that bureaucracy. Here, though, here I can use my work to help mold Heaven into the basis of the next great power that spans all the worlds." He leaned forward, his excitement a tangible force. "Don't you see how much good we can do for all of humanity? If you let me continue my work on Heaven, we can reshape everything. Deliver me to the CC, and you'll make them the dominant coalition."
"What does it matter to you?" McCombs screamed at me. "Unless Shurkan has changed a great deal while I was stuck in this hole, he'll pay you the same regardless of what we do with Wei. Let's get out of here and finish this!"
"So you're just going to move him and let him kill more children?" Suli said. "That's it? That's been your plan all along?"
McCombs shrugged. "No one wants to kill children," she said.
"I certainly don't want to do it," Wei said. "It's a sadly necessary sacrifice. Once we perfect the process, though, we'll be able to save so many more lives than the work cost. Those relatively few who sacrificed themselves for the greater good will be heroes to us all."
"It wasn't a sacrifice!" Pri said. "They didn't get to choose! You kidnapped them, and you killed them."
"Let's go," McCombs said. "This discussion is doing no good for anyone." She turned and walked toward Lobo.
"No!" Pri yelled. She charged McCombs, caught the other woman in the back, and the two of them crashed onto the floor.
McCombs twisted as she fell so she took the impact on her shoulder, then rolled quickly to her back.
Pri fell on top of her and started punching her in the stomach.
I ran for them.
Matahi did the same. She'd started over a meter closer and so got in my way and slowed me.
"No clear shot," Lobo said over the machine frequency. "Suli is covering McCombs."
I pushed Matahi aside.
The knife in McCombs' right hand reflected the light for a fraction of a second before she plunged it into Pri's left side. She pulled it out and stabbed Pri twice more before I reached them and kicked the knife away.
McCombs opened her mouth to speak. I knew if she did, I might kill her, so I kicked the side of her head hard enough to snap it to the side but not so hard as to break her neck.
Her eyes fluttered and then closed. Her chest rose and fell as I rolled Pri off her. McCombs would live.
Blood poured from Pri's left side. She stared at me. Each breath brought a ragged sound from her wound and blood bubbles from her lips. "Get Joachim," she said.
"Open a hatch," I yelled. I scooped up Pri and ran toward Lobo as an opening appeared in the side nearest me. Her blood poured on my shirt.
She blinked a lot but remained conscious. More blood bubbles formed around her mouth as she spoke. "Forget me," she said. "Get my son."
I ran into Lobo and straight to the med room. Its door was already open. I put her on the bed. Straps locked her down, and probes started working on her.
"Save her!" I said.
"If I can," Lobo said aloud. "We're running out of time. You have to get the children or leave without them."
I stared at her a moment more. I banged my fists on the wall beside her. I could repair myself, but not others. I could avenge her, but I couldn't go back and save her. I could do nothing for her, nothing but hope.
Over the machine frequency, Lobo said, "Jon, she isn't going to make it. The knife ruined her lung and injured her heart. I can keep her alive for a while, but not long. You can watch her die and risk the children, or you can go. Choose."
I wanted to scream, but that would do no one any good. Instead, I nodded and said aloud to Pri, "Don't worry. I'll find him. I'll save Joachim."
"There are a lot of guards," Lobo said, "and more will eventually come here when Wei fails to exit. Take body armor, weapons, and a contact. Clean your hands; you'll need to be accurate."
A sink extended from the wall near her head. I put my hands under it, and Lobo blasted them with water. The heat and the pressure stung me. I deserved it. The water ran dark with Pri's blood. Lobo dried my hands. Time ticked away. The probes worked inside her.
I looked at her one last time, then dashed into the hall and grabbed the shirt from the wall cabinet Lobo had opened. I pulled it over my head. While it fitted itself to me and the buckyfibers torqued themselves into their most protective arrangement, I grabbed the assault rifle and the two pistols Lobo had chosen. I put the contact in my left eye.
I felt the passing seconds like body shots.
A map of the facility popped into my left eye, my course laid out. Red dots marked guards.
"Half a dozen guards stand between you and the kids," Lobo said, "but they don't yet know what's going on. They will soon. Select trank—upper—or normal—lower—on the rifle; your choice. One pistol has each type of round."
I nodded, made myself check the weapons, and ran out of Lobo. My eyes burned and my body vibrated with rage, rage at McCombs for what she'd done, at Wei for his callousness, at the world for this senseless waste, and most of all at myself for the lie I'd just told a dying woman whose only mistake had been to trust me to take care of her and to save her son.
Chapter 57
I stopped the moment I was outside Lobo. Wei was crouched behind Matahi, his hand gripping her neck, her body shielding him from Lobo's guns. I wanted to yell and charge him. Instead, I stayed very quiet and very still.
Matahi's eyes were wide, her pupils dilated with fear. She blinked madly and croaked, "I'm sorry."
"Stay where you are, Mr. Moore," Wei said.
I nodded and said to Lobo ove
r the machine frequency, "Why didn't you stop him?"
"So you'd understand," Lobo said.
"What do you want?" I said aloud. To Lobo, I added, "What?"
"To come to an arrangement," Wei said, "something we can both accept."
"Why I can't talk to him," Lobo said, "as much as I would like to learn whatever he could tell me about my creation."
I couldn't afford to think any further about why Lobo had let Wei take control of Matahi. I had to rescue her. I wouldn't lose both her and Pri. I also needed to save those children, but to leave this room I had to deal with him first. I took two slow, deep breaths, stared directly into Matahi's eyes, and hoped she would understand. "You let her go," I said, "and I'll take you to the CC to stand trial. You kill her, and I'll still take you to them, but I'll hurt you a great deal first. Your choice."
"I'd prefer to stay here," he said.
I shook my head. "Not an option. We've sealed the doors, so you can't escape. You let her go, and you can ride in the comfort of a small room. You shoot her, you lose your shield—and then we trank you and take you anyway. During the trip, I will wake you and make you pay for her death before I turn you over to them."
"I might be able to shoot you before you can get me," he said.
"Perhaps," Lobo said aloud, "though I doubt it; he is faster than you are and trained to the task. Regardless, you would not be able to avoid me tranking you."
"It's good to hear your voice again, Lobo," Wei said. "I've so been looking forward to talking with you."
"And I with you," Lobo said, "though if you wish to have those conversations, I suggest you comply with Jon's instructions."
"We'll have plenty of time to chat," Wei said, "because I'm sure the CC will indulge my curiosity and borrow you from Mr. Moore for as long as I need you. Not to worry, though, Mr. Moore; I'll make sure they compensate you well, maybe even give you a newer generation PCAV."
Now I understood. Lobo was ahead of me, as he so often was. He knew that once Wei had found out he was alive, Wei would never let him go. The CC would fund Wei's research, more children would die, and Lobo would end up as exactly what neither of us had wanted: another test subject, one more creature on whom Wei could experiment.
Wei put the gun on the floor and shoved it away from him. He stood, raised his arms to his sides, and stepped from behind Matahi.
She ran over to me, holding her throat and gasping.
I couldn't leave him here. He'd only continue his research.
I couldn't give him to the CC, because then the outcome would be even worse: He'd keep on killing children, and he'd experiment on Lobo. McCombs would relay what she'd learned to her friends there, and when Wei was done with Lobo, they'd take over.
I could try taking Wei to another world entirely and dropping him there, but unless I found a way to lock him up forever, he'd get word to one of the planetary coalitions, and then he'd be back in business—and Lobo and I would be on the run. Forever.
When I didn't speak for several seconds, Wei said, "I'm ready, Mr. Moore. You've accomplished your mission. We can leave."
I stared at him, my mind racing, and said nothing.
"Now you understand," Lobo said over the machine frequency.
I nodded in silent agreement. I pushed Matahi aside and raised my rifle.
A burst of shots cut across Wei's body and sent him slamming backward into the wall. He slid down it until he hit the ground, a long, wide smear of blood marking his progress. His eyes were still open, staring at me in mute astonishment.
A second burst cut through McCombs' chest. Her body spasmed and slid half a meter from the momentum.
The stench of fresh death and blood filled the air. Matahi gasped, bent over, and threw up.
"I used standard military rounds, the same as what the guards fire," Lobo said. "It'll play as well as anything."
I nodded again.
"Why did you tell Lobo to do that?" she said. "You can't just go around killing people. It's wrong."
"I didn't tell him to do it," I said. "I'd intended to shoot them myself. And, yes, it's wrong. All our choices were wrong. It was simply the best of them."
"So if you didn't tell Lobo to shoot them, then why did he?"
"So I wouldn't have to," I said. "So I wouldn't have to."
Matahi stood and backed away from me. "Great," she said. "The ship fires the guns, so your conscience is clear. Does that really work for you?"
I stared at her and wondered how I'd ever thought she understood me. I fought the urge to lash out and instead said only, "No, it doesn't." I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them and pointed to Wei and McCombs. "I have one more job to do. While I'm doing it, you drag those two into Lobo and wait there for me."
"I am not your—." She stopped when she saw my expression.
"Do it now, and do it quickly," I said. "Put them off to the side. If I can possibly manage it, I won't be back alone."
The display reappeared in my left contact. In it, the hallway ahead of me glowed clear.
Lobo opened the door.
Chapter 58
I ran into the hall and turned left, following the course Lobo had marked in my contact's display.
The door shut behind me.
"I'm continuing to monitor all their sensors and spoof their outputs," Lobo said over the machine frequency, "and I've patched into their comm network so I can guide you. Despite my best efforts, though, they'll figure out soon that something is wrong. Some of the security team are already wondering why Wei hasn't returned."
I turned right at the end of the hallway, sprinted past the first intersection, and slowed. Half a dozen guards waited around the next corner. I figured I could handle them, because they weren't expecting me and I could easily track their movements, but it would take time. Unless I could shoot them all before one triggered an alarm, I'd quickly face a lot more of them.
"Are the tourists all gone?" I said.
"Yes," Lobo said.
"Can you free all the animals, even the flying ones?"
"Yes."
"Do it, and make sure the alarm goes out everywhere it normally would."
"Done," Lobo said.
None of the guards near the children moved, but I'd expected that. I had to hope others would rush topside and lower my total potential opposition.
"Most security people are heading for the animals," Lobo said, "but several are discussing why Wei hasn't responded to the alert. You have to hurry."
"On it," I said. I thumbed the rifle to trank—I'd seen too many dead bodies tonight—and held the weapon at the ready. I crept closer to the next intersection, putting each foot down as quietly as I could, breathing slowly and silently, staying low and hoping the guards around the corner couldn't hear my approach.
"Incoming from the opposite direction!" Lobo said. "One man, moving fast."
I turned, took one quiet step, and then broke into a run.
"Almost on you," Lobo said.
I dropped to a crouch three meters from the hallway and pointed the rifle at chest height.
"Turning . . . now!" Lobo said.
Parks burst around the corner, saw me, and skidded to a halt. He held his rifle in both hands, a standard running position.
"Stop and stay quiet, Sarge," I whispered, "or I'll have to shoot you."
He didn't move. "Where's Wei?" he said.
"Dead."
"You?"
"No," I said. "My ship. Saving a young woman." I didn't change my tone as I told the small lie.
He nodded. "And you? What are you doing here?"
"Going to rescue the children."
"Where the six men guarding sensitive lab supplies are?" he said. "Down that second hall ahead?"
"Finally believe me?"
He stared at me for a long time before he answered. "Maybe. Nothing in any part of the systems I can access refers to kids, but maybe what I can see isn't the whole story, because I can't get into the research network. What bothered me mor
e, though, is that six of Ng's team, some of the ones I'm not allowed to assign, are watching over one door to ten small supply closets. That makes no sense."
"Guards are heading to check the hangar," Lobo said. "You must hurry."
I kept my rifle trained on Park's chest as I stood. "Time's running out. What do you want to do?"
"Go with you," he said, "and if you're telling the truth, free those children. If you're lying, well," he shrugged, "I guess we'll find out if you can take me."
"What about wanting a quiet job?"
He smiled. "When did a good thing ever last for you?"
"Your word?" I said.
"My word."
If I'd read him wrong, I'd have to hope the nanomachines could heal whatever he did to me. If I was right, though, his help could make all the difference, because I had to get the kids and then lead them back to Lobo.
I turned, ignored the tingling down my spine as all my reflexes screamed at me for showing my back to a potential enemy, and waved him to follow.
No shot came. We ran down the hall until we were a few meters short of the second intersection, back where I'd been moments ago, and I signaled stop.
I pointed at him and down the hall.
He nodded, straightened, marched the last few steps, and turned the corner.
"Don't you idiots know we have a crisis upstairs?" he said, his voice booming in the hallway and showing no signs of exertion. "We need all hands up there now!"
"Sorry, Park," a voice said, "but with all due respect, we can't do that. Until Ng sends a relief team, we stay here."
I heard him walking down the hall and watched him on my contact as Lobo fed me the video stream from a camera behind the six guards. I crouched, lowered myself to the floor, and rolled onto my back.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble we can get in if those animals hurt a tourist?" Park said. "You need to load up with trank rounds and get moving."
I pushed myself as close to the corner as I could without being visible to them, then braced my legs under me so one big push would send me well into the hall.
Overthrowing Heaven-ARC Page 37