Alex pulled from his mind and blinked as she released him. Bill also blinked, and he stared at the table to collect himself. The memories must’ve surfaced even more emotion for him than Alex had detected. She reached over and took Bill’s hand, and he looked up and smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
“Did it help?” he asked in a low voice.
Alex considered this.
It didn’t teach me much more about the Magi, she thought. They seemed like good people. And they’re clearly the ones healing the factors. So his memories confirm everything else I’ve learned. But it doesn’t answer why they took me. Still… It’s so terrible what these people suffer. I’ve never seen anything like that before. The fear I sensed. The rage. Bill and others like him are scarred for life, I imagine. We have to stop this.
“Yes, it helps,” she said. “I understand more now. Thank you.”
Bill smiled and turned to talk with Trok about his plans for leaving the Northern Continent. They talked in hushed voices, and Alex took the time to think.
Trok didn’t bring this guy here to show me anything about the Magi, she thought. He wanted me to see what it’s like to be a factor… Bill was imprisoned at the Capitol compound. That’s where they inject the DRK before transporting factors to the Mainland-Euro’s DuoPort. But if Cruelthor builds a base right by our DuoPort…
Bill Smith took a drink from Trok’s offered water, then set the glass on the table. He looked at Alex with a smile. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Alex.”
“You too. Stay safe.”
Bill smiled again and pushed his chair back, shook hands with Trok, and walked to the exit.
Alex waited until he was gone before looking across the table at Trok. She tried to figure out how to say aloud what she wanted, since she felt a bit drained from using her telepathy with Bill. “There are a lot of people like him, aren’t there?”
Trok nodded. “And many not as fortunate.”
She lowered her voice. “There’ll be even more if we can’t stop that base.”
Trok looked pleased she understood. “It’s worth noting that the Magi also seem very keen on fighting the DRK. You’ve seen that now through Bill. I know you still have questions about why they did this to you, but maybe the whole point was to give you the tools to help these un-factors. It is your destiny to save the world from the DRK. Maybe this is how you’re to do that.”
She reflected on this a moment.
I’m not afraid of the Magi anymore, she thought. I just want answers. What if this is my answer? What if helping these poor people is exactly what the Magi meant for me to do? Maybe they knew I’m the Warrior Seer and strengthened me to help me serve my purpose. The other Warriors will fight the Dominion’s use of the DRK. I’ll help these un-factors.
“Thank you, Trok,” she said at last. “This helps.”
He smiled and gazed with disconnected pleasure at the surrounding scene.
Alex remembered her wine and took a sip.
23
“Rescuing the un-factors”
The Warriors had been public for eight months. Bullseye still believed she’d done the right thing by agreeing to team up with the Underground from time to time. But, it was becoming difficult to maintain their autonomy. And Commander Cagod seldom listened to her about joint taskforce missions she thought they should pursue. Cagod’s missions were often a waste of time or else a misuse of their abilities, but the Warriors went along with it to stay on the Underground’s good side. Without rebel support, the Warriors knew they’d have no hope of destroying Cruelthor’s soon-to-be-build factor base. Meanwhile, this mission…
Flush me, thought Bullseye. Saying this mission is dangerous is a serious understatement. I’m all for rescue ops, but not when the risks outweigh the benefits… Rebel politics will be the death of me. One way or another.
The current taskforce of Warriors and Underground soldiers stood in the shadow of an ancient bridge. The bridge extended halfway across a river before ending in twisted shards of metal. From Bullseye’s perch atop a chunk of fallen bridge, she looked across the midnight river and saw the decay and destruction of the city beyond.
Here lay the ancient city of Pittsburgh. This was one of many Northern Continent metropolises so damaged by war that the Dominion hadn’t bothered rebuilding. What was left of Pittsburgh was eerie. Few buildings remained erect, and most bridges had collapsed centuries ago into the murky waters now flowing through the city. Nature had taken over on the far side of the river, and great forests rose between the broken skyscrapers.
Factors roam that wasteland, thought Bullseye. If anyone dares cross this river, they’re likely to trip DRK mines. Not a bad way to scare people away. I don’t even want to be here.
She looked farther down river. Only one bridge remained intact, and this led to the only salvaged section of the city. It was an island now. The Dominion had collapsed a portion of the city and allowed the river to spread over the untamed chaos, leaving this one functioning island accessible from the remaining bridge. On this island, the Dominion had constructed their largest prison on the Continent. Pitt Prison was also one of the most fortified Dominion compounds, second only to Cruelthor’s Capitol.
The Dominion has little need of prisons, thought Bullseye. Security stations and smaller jails work just fine, holding prisoners only long enough to ship them to the Capitol for factoring. If Cruelthor bothers to house prisoners here, that means these prisoners are important. The Underground is right about that, at least. But breaking into a prison is a dangerous play. These commanders we’re supposed to rescue better be worth it.
“We can’t wait much longer,” Whitewolf was saying to Miller, the Underground commander theoretically in charge of this mission. “Are you sure Revenant is coming?”
“He’ll be here.” Miller pushed up his glove to check his watch. “We still have thirty minutes before the patrols swing by here again.”
“It’s not like we can do anything without Revenant,” Tigris reminded her brother.
Bullseye examined the team – Rave, Tigris, Whitewolf, Commander Miller, a soldier called Washington, a MOB called Bunsen Burner, and a young tech specialist named Sid. Her three partners stood with Miller, trying to be patient. Sid was operating a small computer in a pack on his lap. Washington stood with his pulse rifle drawn, scanning the area. Bunsen Burner ate a late dinner. They were waiting for Revenant, a rebel soldier who’d been an inmate at Pitt Prison before he’d escaped during transport to the Capitol. Revenant was to rendezvous with them before the whole team ventured to the secured prison bridge. But he was late.
So far, thought Bullseye, all we’ve accomplished is checking our gear and arguing over who’ll have what responsibility.
Bunsen Burner had managed to char a dozen hot dogs as he tried to roast them in his MOB-heated hands. As Bullseye watched, he picked up yet another hot dog. His hand radiated red-hot, and, alas, this link of meat also went up in flames. The big man frowned and threw it onto a pile of blackened hot dogs beside him.
We work so much better alone, she thought with a sigh.
Rave, also watching Bunsen Burner, raised an eyebrow and looked back at Miller. “You know, if you Underground-”
“Rave, I need binoculars,” Bullseye called before he could start another argument.
Miller turned to rummage in his pack. “I have a pair-”
“That’s not what she means.” Rave shook his head and took a few strides to jump onto the chunk of bridge beside her. In a low voice, he muttered, “You said Matsuri approved of this team? If these are soldiers Mat’s impressed with…”
She was tired of defending Matsuri. “If Mat says they’re okay, I believe him.” She lowered her voice. “Remember Commander Denito, the guy Mat told us to give the password-lock device to?”
“Yeah. Not that we’ve heard anything since.”
This was true. “Well,” she continued, “Mat says Denito used to partner with Miller. He trusts
them equally.”
Rave grunted but dropped his reservations.
But he’s right, she thought. We haven’t heard anything from the double agents working under Denito. Was it wrong to give them the password-lock? But what better choice did I have? Denito’s agents in Free Labs are our best bet to finding the treatment.
She put this aside for now. “Rave, tell us what you see.”
He adjusted the eye shield of his facemask and used his mutate-genetic eyesight to scan the bridge of the island prison. “The security station on our end has ten soldier operatives. Another five are posted at a checkpoint midway across. There’s another security station at the far end, right next to the prison wall’s gate. Can’t see beyond the wall. A scanner is swinging back and forth over the gate. The wall looks about fifteen meters high. There’s wire at the top and scanners every ten meters. Wait, now a transport vehicle is pulling up to the gate’s station. A soldier is talking to them… Now the gate’s opening. The transport’s driving in. Gate looks thick.” He faced Bullseye with a shrug. “That’s all I can see from this angle.”
Whitewolf snorted. “I can barely see the bridge.”
Miller now stood at the base of their perch. “Revenant said those walls wrap around the entire prison. There are a few buildings on the island outside the prison, but none close to the wall. And there’s only the one entrance gate from this bridge. The island has two docks, one on the far side and one under this bridge. Unfortunately, there are security stations at each. There’s a single door in the wall’s far side, but it only leads out, not in. So, as far as the Dominion’s concerned, there’s only one way into the prison – this bridge and that gate.”
Bullseye knew this much.
How we’ll breach the prison, she thought, is the part we all agree on.
“Inside the walls?”
“There’s a water tower and power house on one side, guard barracks on the other. The main cell house lies smack in the center with a recreation yard in the back.”
“And the commanders we’re after are being held in the main cell house?”
Sid came forward, holding the computer pack in his arms. “They must be. The tracking program I hacked shows all these prisoners have ID tags – even the rebels we know had theirs removed, so the Dominion must’ve implanted new ones. The commanders’ tags say they’re in….” He tapped a key and looked at the screen facing him. “C block. One’s on the first level, two others on the second.”
“How many prisoners are here total?”
“Three hundred and eight, as of this morning.”
Rave muttered, “So we’re looking for needles in a stack of needles.”
Sid tapped the side of the computer pack. “With this tracking program, I can guide you to the right cells.” He looked at Tigris with a quick smile. “That’s assuming you can keep a communication channel open telepathically.”
Tigris knew her role in the work ahead and nodded back at Sid. The rest of the team could argue over who did what, but some parts of this mission only Tigris could do.
“How many guards?” asked Whitewolf.
“A hundred and seventy-five soldier operatives inside the prison. Another twenty-five guarding the bridge and the docks. The Dominion used to keep fifty drones on hand, but they were redistributed after the drone farm attack.”
Bullseye smirked under her facemask and exchanged a glance with Rave. The destruction of Vancouver’s drone farm had forced the Dominion to become stingy with its use of drones. No longer could they churn out drones to replace those taken out by rebels across the Continent. Now, drones were stationed only in areas of greatest need, such as DRK treatment stations. Elsewhere, the drones had been replaced by soldier operatives who were often fresh out of the Youth and therefore not nearly as effective.
Sid frowned at his screen. “Only five higher ranked operatives are permanently posted at the prison, but as of this morning another ten arrived from the Capitol. They’re scheduled to leave again in the morning to escort ten prisoners back to Capital City.”
“Including our commanders?” asked Miller.
“Doesn’t say. Must be important though, if the Dominion sent top operatives as escort.”
Bullseye let out a huff and put her hands on her hips. “Super. So we have to invade an island prison, fight off over two hundred guards, locate three prisoners out of over three hundred, and get out before all of Pitt Prison comes after us.”
Miller frowned. “I know this is asking a lot. Cagod wouldn’t have asked if this wasn’t important. These commanders are important to the cause. If they’re tortured into giving up information-”
“Alcatraz!” Rave blurted.
Bullseye looked at her brother. “What?”
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “The whole island prison thing reminded me of something, and I finally remembered what. If you people knew your history, you-”
“Hold it right there!” Washington shouted.
They looked over. Washington had his rifle aimed past a heap of rubble where the bridge supports connected with the broken highway overhead. Bunsen Burner jumped up and moved to flank whoever Washington had spotted. The rest of the team drew weapons, and Bullseye and Rave jumped down to prepare for an attack.
From beyond the rubble, someone with an accent called, “It’s okay! It’s me!”
Bullseye saw that Miller had the best angle, and he lowered his weapon. Trusting him, she lowered her own and walked to join the others as they greeted whoever had arrived.
To everyone’s surprise, there were two newcomers. The tall, well-built man with a long, dark ponytail must’ve been Revenant, and he stepped forward to shake Miller’s hand. His female companion stood shyly to the side as the men exchanged greetings. The girl couldn’t have been much more than a teenager, and the rebel suit she wore was the smallest Bullseye had ever seen. She had short, black hair and pale skin. Bullseye looked from the girl to the man and noted a family resemblance.
Wait, thought Bullseye. Why is she staring at me?
Miller introduced the team to the newcomers. “Revenant, Anya, these are the Kota Warriors.” He pointed at each of them. “Tigris, Whitewolf, Rave, and-”
“I know who she is.” The girl hadn’t taken her eyes off Bullseye, and her face was hard.
The dots finally connected.
Oh, flush me, thought Bullseye. It’s Anya Romanov. And he must be Vadim Romanov!
Everyone was looking at her, and Bullseye was glad the facemask hid some of her shock.
She hadn’t thought of the Romanov family for years. It’d been a slay mission when she was fifteen. Rurik Romanov, Anya and Vadim’s father, was the target. Their family had had political ties in the days before the Dominion, and natives in their part of the Mainland-Asian had always been more rebellious than most. Rurik had gathered rebel forces to rise up against the region’s Elite, and Bullseye was sent to stop him. And she had. She remembered with vivid detail that she’d slain him on his way home from taking Vadim to school. Vadim had been Bullseye’s age, Anya only four.
Revenant’s eyebrows furrowed as he too looked at Bullseye, but he turned to his sister. “I allowed you to come,” he said gently, “but this isn’t the time. You promised me, Anya.”
The girl tore her eyes from Bullseye and nodded up at her brother.
Miller fortunately thought their mission more important than asking questions. He adjusted his pack and turned to lead the way. “Let’s move. We don’t have long before the patrols swing by.”
The team wasted no more time. Following Miller, they hurried over the dark terrain toward the Dominion’s bridge. There was so much rubble and vegetation along the bank that they didn’t need to seek cover, and they made their way quickly.
Bullseye felt Tigris in her mind before the telepath asked, “Are you okay?”
Tig must’ve seen my memories, thought Bullseye.
She looked at Tigris as they walked together around a crashed military chopper. With a sing
le nod, she hoped Tigris would drop it.
I can’t deal with this right now, she thought. The mission needs my full attention.
With weapons drawn, the team took cover behind an ancient, overturned bus on the edge of the road leading to the bridge. It was shadowy here, but the lights of the bridge would be bright enough to expose the team if they weren’t careful.
Bullseye peeked out and saw that Rave was right – ten soldiers milled around the security station or else paced at the end of the bridge. A security light swept over the road, and Bullseye ducked back behind the end of the bus.
Well, she thought, we came this far.
Before Miller could give orders that contradicted her wishes, Bullseye signaled her team and motioned for Revenant to join them. Rave, Whitewolf, and Tigris slunk over and crouched with Bullseye against the bus’s side. Revenant gave his sister a look that told her to stay put, then hurried to the Warriors.
Bullseye met eyes with Revenant for the first time, and she swallowed her emotions. “Whenever you’re ready.”
He nodded, having known his part in the plan from the beginning. He turned to the Warrior Seer.
Tigris, by using Revenant’s memories from his time in Pitt Prison, would be able to teleport a subteam inside. This subteam would find the Underground commanders. Meanwhile, the rest of the team would stay here and make it look like they were trying to break into the prison. Hopefully that would lure soldiers out of the prison, making things easier for the subteam inside.
The Kota Page 42