Overthrowing Heaven-ARC

by Mark L. Van Name

  "Guards are at the hangar and can't get in," Lobo said. "The word is out that something is wrong inside."

  He called it: In unison, three of the men turned their rifles on Park. The other three spun to face the opposite end of the hall.

  "Something's going on," the leader said, "and we're supposed to detain anyone who looks out of place. That would include you. Put your weapon on the ground, then put your hands on the wall in front of you."

  Park's face was visible in my camera feed, so I could watch as he slowly bent his knees, his expression stony, unchanging.

  These guys weren't stupid: All three watched his every movement, giving him the respect he deserved.

  Perfect.

  I pushed into the hall and sprayed rounds in an arc at chest height, moving to the right and then back across the three men.

  All three fell.

  Their bodies had shielded the other three, who turned toward us fast.

  Park brought up his rifle and double-tapped one in the chest.

  One of the other two shot at Park, and one fired at me.

  Park spun to his right as a round connected.

  A chunk of permacrete blew out of the floor half a meter in front of me and a bit to my left.

  Park charged the guy who'd shot him and hit the man in the gut, knocking him backward.

  Another piece of permacrete jumped out of the floor and barely missed my head.

  I sent a burst at the guy who'd shot me.

  The man dropped.

  Park held onto the final guard and grunted as the man hit him with a free hand, but the guy's rifle stayed trapped between them.

  I rolled onto my stomach, pushed off hard, and sprinted toward Park.

  The guard punched Park in the neck.

  Park's arms went slack.

  Only his weight held down the guard.

  The man rolled Park off him and started to get up.

  I stopped, sighted, and double-tapped him in the chest.

  He fell and was still.

  Working to calm my breathing, I said to Park, "Status."

  He shook his head, then rasped, "Left arm's not working so well, but I can fire my sidearm."

  "No one's coming your way yet," Lobo said, "because I'm still spoofing their surveillance feeds, but guards are now blocking the hangar door. They're discussing whether to blow it. It's all coming apart. Hurry."

  I started to ask him where the children were, but a door in front of me slid open.

  Park was getting to his feet.

  I ran inside.

  Five tiny rooms lined each side of the space. All ten doors stood open. No one came into the hall.

  I yelled, "Come out of your rooms."

  No one appeared.

  I glanced in the first one on the left. A young girl, maybe ten or eleven, sat in the far corner. She wore a plain white gown, no shoes, nothing else. She trembled when she saw me.

  "I'm here to take you home," I said.

  She stared at me and shook her head. I doubted anyone in a guard's uniform had ever done anything nice to her.

  I didn't have time to convince her I was an exception.

  I ran into the room, slung my rifle over my left shoulder, picked her up, and brought her into the open area between the two rows of cells.

  Park appeared in the doorway to the prisoner complex. His left arm hung at his side. A line of blood ran down it from his shoulder.

  The girl spotted him and gasped. "He's bleeding," she said.

  "Yes," I said. "The same people who hurt you shot him. If we don't leave now, they'll get us all."

  She looked for a moment longer at Park, then at me. She nodded. "We really have to go," she said, her voice high but surprisingly strong. "It's okay."

  In the space of ten seconds, six more children, four boys and two girls, appeared in the doorways. Either she was their leader or they simply wanted one of their own to say it was safe; I didn't care which. They were standing and ready to move. None was younger than the girl in my arms or older than about fourteen. Each wore the same plain white gown, the same fearful expression.

  None of the boys looked at all like Joachim.

  Damn.

  "You must leave now!" Lobo said. "They've called the guards you tranked, and my generic answers didn't fool them. A team will be coming up behind you. Retrace your steps."

  I put down the girl.

  "We have to run," I said. "Be as quiet as you can, and stay behind me. My friend will stay behind you."

  "Why?" a young boy in back said.

  "So we can save you," I said.

  "Is it safe?" the girl said.

  I didn't have any more time to be nice. "No, but staying isn't, either. Follow me, be quiet, do what I say, and they won't hurt you anymore. Disobey me, and we'll all end up back here. Got it?"

  They all nodded.

  The girl said, "Yes."

  Park nodded, his face calm, only the tightness of his mouth giving away how much he was hurting.

  "Good," I said. "Let's go."

  Chapter 59

  I jogged out of the room, turned right, and ran to the end of the hall. I stopped and checked behind me: All seven kids and Park were right there. Good.

  "Move it, Jon," Lobo said. "Three guards turn into the other end of that hall in thirty seconds."

  They'd spot the downed men and come straight for us. We'd be trapped between them and the ones standing in front of the hangar door. Maybe Park and I could make it on our own, but there was no way we could get into a firefight with the guards and protect all the kids.

  Some of them would get hurt, maybe die.

  No. No more pain for these children.

  "Take them around the corner," I said to Park, "and wait for me. Don't move."

  He nodded. "Let's go, kids. Now."

  As he shepherded them away, I said over the machine frequency, "Can you shut the lights in this area?"

  The sounds of boots on permacrete ripped the air.

  "Yes," Lobo said.

  "Do it as they turn the corner."

  I dashed to the other side of the hall, away from Park and the kids.

  The lights snapped off. Emergency strips along the baseboards and ceiling edged the space with the pale blue of weak morning light through rainwater.

  I switched my vision to IR.

  The three men hit the hall in a triangle formation, the lead man looking straight toward me, the other two swiveling their heads from side to side. In the faint blue light, it would take the leader a few seconds to pick me out of the shadows.

  I didn't give him the chance. I double-tapped him, then kneeled and did the same to the man on his right.

  Both men fell.

  A chunk of wall less than half a meter in front of me exploded as the third guard's shot hit it. I pulled around the corner.

  More shots blew pieces out of the wall opposite me and the one on which I'd been leaning. The guard did a good job, shooting every second or so and, from the sounds of his steps, advancing as he did.

  I stood and turned to face Park and the children. I waved them on, but I couldn't tell if Park could see me.

  I took a deep breath. If I turned the corner quickly and fired right away, I might be able to tag him before he shot me. If I failed, I had to hope he didn't get in a head shot.

  The steps drew closer.

  Park leaned around the corner and fired his pistol twice.

  No more shots, no more steps, just a thud as the guy fell.

  "Lights," I said to Lobo.

  The area returned to normal brightness, and I switched back to regular vision.

  I crossed the hall to Park and whispered, "Thanks."

  He shrugged. "Idiot was so focused on you he didn't even think about clearing both sides. Told you we couldn't hire good people."

  I returned to the lead waved the children to follow. We crept slowly and quietly down the hall.

  "Six are outside the hangar door," Lobo said.

  I held up my
hand and stopped.

  One of the kids bumped into my right knee.

  By instinct I whipped around and brought up the rifle. Seven small faces watched me closely. None smiled, but none showed any sign of fear, either; I wondered what they'd seen that had left them unafraid of a grown man pointing a rifle at them.

  "Another pair heading toward your previous location," Lobo said. "We are seriously running out of time."

  I turned and led the children forward another few meters forward as I searched for a solution.

  "Open the door," I said to Lobo. "Let the guards in, then shoot them."

  "I already would have," he said, "but Matahi refuses to wait inside me. After she brought in the corpses, she walked out of me, stood in the middle of the floor, and stared at her hands."

  "Tell her you're opening the door in ten seconds, then do it."

  "If she doesn't get in me, I can't guarantee her safety."

  "I know," I said. I glanced over my shoulder at the kids. I'd told her what to do, and she'd made her choice. These children had never had that chance. "Do it."

  "In progress," he said.

  I motioned the kids forward again. We crept down the corridor. When we were a few meters from the intersection, the sound of shots filled the air.

  "Keep them here," I said.

  I ran to the corner and past it, into the open.

  Two guards stood outside the room, one on either side of the door. Neither was looking at me.

  The shots stopped.

  I fired twice and dropped the nearer guard.

  The one next to him raised his rifle to fire, but I squeezed off another trank round before he could shoot. He fell.

  "Let's go," I said to Park.

  I ran for the doorway. "Matahi?" I said to Lobo.

  "Leg wound," Lobo said. "She wouldn't come into me."

  "Damn," I said. Would I hurt everyone who came near me? I pushed aside the thought and turned into the hangar. I could hear the children and Park running down the hall behind me. The guards' bodies lay scattered near the entrance. Fifteen meters away, Matahi sprawled on the floor, blood from her leg slowly seeping onto the permacrete.

  "Did you kill those men?" a small voice behind me said.

  "No," I said. "I just put them to sleep for a while."

  "It's okay if you did," the voice said.

  I looked over my shoulder. The speaker, a little boy, was staring at the guards, his fists balled, his body shaking, tears in his eyes.

  "Get them inside that ship," I said to Park. There was no way to stop them from seeing McCombs' and Wei's bodies. "Move fast. Take them to the right, all the way to the front."

  "All friendlies?" Lobo said.

  "Yes," I said. "One adult, six children. Prep to leave."

  Park ran over to Lobo and motioned the children to follow him. "Run inside and this way," he said, pointing. "Hurry."

  "You saved them?" Matahi said. She sat up.

  "Yes," I said as the kids ran into Lobo, "with help."

  "That's good," she said, her voice as hollow as her expression.

  I pointed at Park. "You have to help him with them," I said. "He can't handle them on his own."

  "Joachim?" she said. "Did you find her boy?"

  I shook my head. "He wasn't there. We were too late. We were always too late."

  Tears streamed down her face.

  "More are coming," Lobo said, "and now they realize I'm in their systems and are taking everything offline. We must leave."

  "Walk or I'll carry you," I said to Matahi. "Either way, we're leaving."

  She glared at me for a second, then held up her hands.

  I took them and carefully pulled her to her feet. I put my arm around her to help her walk, but she shook it off and hopped beside me, touching me only when she had to brace herself or regain her balance.

  As we walked, over the machine frequency I asked Lobo, "Suli?"

  "Holding on," Lobo said, "though I'm not sure how. She fades in and out and should be dead, but she's not. Yet."

  As soon as we were inside Lobo, he closed the hatch behind us. I took Matahi to the front. She wouldn't look at Wei's and Matahi's bodies on the floor to our left, where she'd dragged them. Park and the seven kids waited together in the crowded pilot area. I helped Matahi sit against one bulkhead.

  "Tourniquet her wound," I said to Park, "then have her do what she can with yours."

  I ran to the med room, ignored Suli for a moment, grabbed an emergency kit, and took it back to Park. "Use this. I have to see to a dying friend."

  He nodded, took the kit, and bent to examine Matahi.

  "They've yanked the power to the door above me," Lobo said over the machine frequency. "I'll have to blast a hole. It's going to be rough."

  "Damage estimate?"

  "To me?" Lobo said. "Nothing I can't repair later; the armor will shield me. It'll be scary for those kids, though."

  "Do it." I pictured the police combing through the hangar afterward, clearing away the debris, identifying the bodies—and not finding Wei. "Scorch it on the way out. I don't want anything left that anyone could identify."

  "Will do," Lobo said.

  Aloud, I said, "Everybody sit! We're leaving, and it's going to be a very bumpy ride. Hold onto each other, and don't stand until I say so."

  "I'll watch 'em," Park said. "Go."

  The explosions were loud even inside Lobo as I ran back to Pri.

  Lobo shook slightly.

  Pri looked dead. The only signs of life were her vitals on the display above her head.

  Rubble bounced off Lobo as we began to rise. He'd opened a second display on the wall across from Pri, so I could see a view from his top as we rose. We hit a part of the ceiling his blast hadn't cleared, and Lobo shook as he increased the lift power to force his way out.

  Pri's eyes fluttered and then opened.

  "You're back," she said, her voice low and wet, blood bubbling from her lips as she spoke.

  I nodded and, after a second, grabbed her hand.

  It took a few seconds for the touch to register with her brain, and then she squeezed my hand tightly.

  "Did you find Joachim?"

  I didn't pause, couldn't afford the delay, as I forced a small smile and said, "Yes. He's fine. We reached him in time."

  She smiled, hers genuine and large, lips parting to reveal blood-covered teeth. "Then it's all okay," she said. "You take him to Repkin or someone in my party." She coughed up blood that spilled onto her chin. "They'll get him to my sister. She'll take care of him."

  Her eyes shut.

  Her grip on my hand slackened.

  "I will," I said.

  Lobo shook more as he pressed upward. Shrieks of bending metal sounded all around me. More chunks of permacrete slammed into us.

  Pri's vitals crashed.

  "I'm sorry," I said.

  The ceiling yielded, and we burst into the sky.

  "She's gone," Lobo said.

  A huge whoosh followed, then an explosion below us, and we shook from the shockwave.

  The display of Pri's vitals snapped off.

  In the other display, a wyvern flew toward us, no doubt wondering what new creature its creators had unleashed into its space.

  "They'll find nothing in that hangar now," Lobo said. "We're free."

  "So is Pri," I said.

  Still I held her hand. I don't believe in an afterlife, no heaven or hell, nothing after death except nothing. In that moment, though, I wanted desperately to be wrong. I wished with all my heart that some other part of Pri was even now finding a new life, one where Joachim awaited her and nothing bad would happen to either of them ever again. I didn't believe it, but I wanted to, I really did.

  "What next?" Lobo said. "I had to yield control of the Wonder Island systems when I broke the physical network connection. They'll have called in support."

  "Take us somewhere safe," I said, "and open a very secure comm. We need to make some calls."

 
I stared for a last time at Pri, then set her hand beside her body.

  In the display, we passed the wyvern and hurtled upward as tendrils of light crept through the night in the promise that the darkness would soon end.

  Chapter 60

  While one aspect of Lobo took care of our insurance, another talked to the kids, calming them and telling them silly stories, and a third ran us on a high-speed counter-surveillance route through a few satellite clusters not far from Entreat.

  I sat in my quarters and finished with Park.

  "Are you sure?" I said. "Once you start on this mission, there's no way out that doesn't cost you. One group or another—somebody's going to be pissed at you."

  He cradled his arm and smiled slightly. "I guess I've had enough quiet time. Ng and Wei—all of 'em—they used me, and I probably let them. I might as well do what I can to make it right."

  "Okay," I said. "Let's go."

  Aloud to Lobo I said, "Get me the last one of her people that Pri called."

  A display winked to life on the wall in front of me. Repkin's face appeared on it. "What have you two been doing?" he said. "Everybody the government can spare is either on Wonder Island or heading to it."

  "Pri's dead," I said.

  "How?"

  "One of Wei's scientists killed her during our escape."

  "Did you at least get Wei?" he said.

  I stared at him and struggled to control my anger as he brushed past Pri's death and moved on to the business he cared most about. I forced my voice low and a bit defeated as I said, "He died there. His body burned up in an explosion."

  "Tell me you at least retrieved his research data."

  I hung my head and shook it slowly. "No. I tried. Wei was going to come with us, so he erased it all so he'd have the only copy, and then his own guards killed him in the fight. The explosion destroyed his body and his data."

  "So what are we supposed to do now?" he said. "The entire point of your mission was to bring out Wei and that information. Without either one, we have nothing, no proof of what the government was doing, nothing we can use to force a change."

  I raised my head and stared into the display. "Not true," I said. "I can give you something you can use to overthrow Heaven's government."

  "What?" he said, almost yelling.

  "Not yet," I said. "First, you have to commit to doing a few things for me."