The Kota

by Sunshine Somerville

  “Well…”

  “I’d take the offer,” said Whitewolf.

  Nat made a face to show he wasn’t convinced.

  Rave switched to bad cop. “Nat, the new operatives are bringing the DRK. There’s no way you’re on the treatment schedule, so do you really want the operatives to spread the virus around the city? I don’t think so. Don’t be stupid – take us to get rid of them. You’ll be saving your own hide, plus making a killing.”

  Now Nat looked truly afraid. He caved. “Fine. Put me down. I’ll take you to the club.”

  Whitewolf dropped Nat to his feet. “First, you’d better change out of my spare suit.” He pointed toward the door and ordered the youngster to march.

  Nat jumped and hurried forward, Whitewolf right on top of him.

  Rave let out a long breath. He turned to Tigris. “Can you signal Bullseye? We’ll need her help. I can’t believe the kid agreed to this. They’ll factor him if he’s found helping us.”

  “If he doesn’t help us, he might factor anyway.”

  “True.”

  “Do you really think he can lead us to the operatives?”

  Rave was growing surer by the minute. “We have to try. This mess with the virus being unleashed could be the end of everything. That’s pretty much the short version of what we discussed at our Undertown meeting today. If we have this opportunity now, we have to take it.”

  “But they know to kill us on sight, Rave. And these DRK operatives must be the very best Cruelthor has. Should we ask for Underground help?”

  Rave tried to think like his sister. “No, we need to do this as quickly as possible. If we ask for help, some undercover operative might learn what we’re up to. We’re the only ones who know about this, and we have to act fast. Right now we have the element of surprise. Just us Warriors this time.”

  “Should we try to contact Trok?”

  “No. He told you he’d be gone for a while. I know my uncle. He won’t answer any call we send if he’s already said he won’t. We’re on our own.”

  Tigris crossed her arms. “Funny how all that Bearer stuff goes right out the window when we need him most.”

  “We can handle this, Tig. Now, let’s get to it.” Rave walked to the aisle of vehicles with the hummer. “Nat wouldn’t lie to us – he’s not that stupid. I’m sure he knows where the club is. And Havanahell’s operative club is supposed to be one of the better ones. So, if visiting operatives are in town, they’ll be there, celebrating the mayhem they’re about to unleash. If we find the club, we can protect at least Havanahell from the virus.”

  Tigris’s eyes under her facemask’s shield still looked afraid, but she nodded. “Okay, I’ll see if I can reach Bullseye.” She closed her eyes to search for her mind link with their Leader.

  Rave prepared the hummer.

  When the three Warriors and Nat arrived in Havanahell, they parked in a narrow lane between factory buildings. Tigris had been placed in charge of Nat, and she ushered him out of the hummer ahead of her. Once out, she held Nat and watched as Rave activated the hummer’s stealth device from controls on his wrist. The hummer shimmered to blend in with the dark lane. With that done, Rave and Whitewolf moved to secure the area. Tigris kept a firm grip on Nat’s arm and waited for instruction.

  She didn’t like the thought of venturing into a DRK-exposed city. It was after curfew, and the city was eerily still. Every blowing piece of litter made her heart beat faster. Whitewolf stood against a building with his weapon drawn as if he expected an operative to appear at any minute, so Tigris knew she wasn’t the only one worried. She looked at Rave and recognized his scowl.

  “It’s my fault Nat got into the base in the first place,” Rave was thinking as Tigris entered his mind. “I should’ve been more alert when Whitey and I got back from Undertown. If he’d been an assassin… No. Can’t think about that. If we can find those DRK canisters, we can get rid of a large chunk of trouble. That should make up for my little slip tonight.”

  Tigris frowned as she pulled out of his thoughts.

  I’ve had my own share of slip-ups, she thought. I know how Rave feels. But this wasn’t his fault. None of us could’ve known-

  Snapping Tigris out of thought, Whitewolf signaled that someone was approaching. They heard footsteps from around the nearest building, and Tigris pulled Nat to crouch behind a dumpster. Whitewolf and Rave also ducked for cover behind wooden pallets, and they aimed their weapons at the corner of the building. The approaching footsteps slowed as the person rounded the corner, and Rave jumped out to confront the drop-in.

  Tigris sensed one of her mind links. “Rave, don’t! It’s-”

  “Please, oh, please, don’t shoot.” Bullseye raised her arms in mock surrender. She wore citizen clothes with a hat pulled low to hide her face. She carried a duffle bag over one shoulder, but it didn’t appear she had a weapon on her besides the knife in her boot.

  Tigris pushed Nat ahead and emerged from behind the dumpster.

  Rave holstered his gun and told his sister, “Nat knows where we can find the operative club. Tigris told you the plan, didn’t she? Shouldn’t you have your suit on?”

  “Flush the suit. I have a better plan.” Bullseye turned to the petrified teen.

  Nat backed into Tigris for protection.

  “My legend precedes me,” thought Bullseye.

  Oh, thought Tigris. Nat knows who she is. Why isn’t she wearing a suit? Now he can describe her to… Or maybe we’re past that now.

  “I’m not in the mood to waste time,” Bullseye told Nat. “Where are we headed, kid?”

  Nat gulped before pointing toward the main street. “The club is downtown. It’s in the sublevel of a hydrogen purifyin’ station.”

  “Super.” Bullseye looked beyond them at the empty lane. “Rave, I’d rather not walk.”

  Rave frowned but worked the controls on his wrist to deactivate the stealth device. A second later, the hummer shimmered into view.

  “Let’s go for a ride, handsome.” Bullseye put an arm around Nat’s shoulder, as much to make him disarmingly giddy as to grab a hold of him, and led him back to the hummer.

  Tigris exchanged a look with her brother, who shrugged and started after them. Rave let out a less-than-enthusiastic sigh and also followed. They piled in. Whitewolf started the silent engine and drove out of the lane.

  “Turn left,” said Nat. He gulped again and tried not to look at Bullseye.

  They rode in silence except whenever Nat gave directions. Finally, on a downtown street, Nat told Whitewolf to pull over. The hummer slowed and parked at the curb, and Tigris looked to see where the teen had brought them.

  Streetlights illuminated a nice sidewalk of downtown Havanahell. Shops and businesses lined the street, but no one was out this late after curfew. Only one building showed any signs of life. A hydrogen purifying station, just like Nat had described, still had security lights activated. The low windows of the building’s sublevel shown with pulsing neon lights.

  Nat scrunched back in his seat as if someone might see him through the tinted windows. “This is it. Can I go now? Where’s my kronar?”

  Bullseye looked around him at Tigris. “Are you and Nat friends yet?”

  This was code for asking if Tigris had made a mind link. As Nat turned to Tigris in confusion, she locked eyes with him and felt for his mind.

  “If these guys really give me that much kronar,” he was thinking, “I’ll never need to hack again. I’d never turn on them! Ten purple, shiny tubes... All mine. If they’re good for it.”

  Tigris looked back at Bullseye when it was done. “Yes, I think we’ll be good friends.” She smiled at Nat. “We’re not going to have any problems with you, are we?”

  Nat shook his head, tight lipped.

  Bullseye faced front. “Rave, pay the kid.”

  Rave rummaged in a front compartment and turned to hand Nat ten purple kronar tubes. Nat nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw the loot, but he took the tubes fr
om Rave and tucked them into various pockets for safekeeping. Bullseye opened her door and stepped out, motioning for Nat to exit the vehicle.

  Nat looked at the suited Warriors, still unsure they weren’t going to kill him. Whitewolf made a quick start as if reaching for him, and Nat jumped and almost fell out of the hummer. Once outside, he steadied himself on his feet and took off running down the sidewalk.

  Bullseye returned and shut her door. “Rave, I’ll only say this once…”

  “Yeah, yeah. You were right about Nat. Congratulations.”

  Whitewolf let out a deep, short laugh. “Okay, now what?”

  Rave’s mutate-genes apparently flared, and he pointed for them to look across the street at the hydrogen station.

  Through the near silence of the night, Tigris heard music blaring from the sublevel. Laughter and cheering also reached her ears. Then she saw a couple walking up the sidewalk to the building. The fact that the couple was breaking curfew was her first warning, and a second later Tigris recognized the man as a notorious Dominion operative codenamed Timber. Without looking at her friends, Tigris knew from their thoughts that they recognized him too.

  “Take off your suits.” Bullseye grabbed the duffle bag. “I brought your citizen clothes from the apartment. We’re doing this undercover.”

  “Are you crazy?” Rave looked back at her.

  Bullseye scoffed. “You wanna go in there dressed like the wanted posters?” She reached over and framed Tigris’s masked face with her hands. “How long do you really think we’d last in our Warrior getup?”

  Tigris hated to always be the one who worried, but she knew from even Whitewolf’s thoughts that he didn’t think this was a good idea. “Are you sure, Bulls? An operative might recognize you. If these are the best operatives, they’ll have been in the Dominion longer than you’ve been out of it, so they’re bound to know you. If one-”

  “It’s actually safer this way.” Bullseye looked at each of them. “Guys, we’ve reached a point where soldiers know to slay the Kota Warriors the second we show ourselves. They won’t be expecting this. The only way this’ll work is undercover. You all know it.”

  Rave, with a groan, reached up and stripped off his facemask. “You’re right. I hope you packed my favorite shirt.”

  Bullseye smiled and threw him his clothes from the bag. Then Whitewolf took off his facemask, and she threw his clothes to him. Still thinking it was a risk, Tigris pulled off her facemask and took the clothes from Bullseye, who got out of the hummer and shut the door. Tigris wriggled on the backseat and changed into tight, red pants and a shirt with a single sleeve that covered her Mark. Once dressed, she exited to stand on the sidewalk with Bullseye.

  Tigris fluffed her hair and whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

  Bullseye only nodded.

  Soon enough, the boys got out of the hummer, now dressed in their civilian clothes. Whitewolf wore dark, loose pants and a tight shirt that showed off his muscles to anyone who’d dare mess with him. Rave wore nicer pants and a zipped shirt, which was his favorite.

  “I feel naked.” Rave ran his hands over the shirt.

  Whitewolf laughed. “Thanks for sparing us that.”

  Bullseye was looking beyond the hummer. “I don’t know what to expect once we’re inside. Act like we’re operatives who belong. Stay in character no matter what.” She adjusted the knife in her boot. “Let’s move.”

  Together, they walked across the street to the hydrogen station. The door was unlocked – apparently that’s how confident the Dominion was that only those who belonged would dare enter – so they entered the main building and found descending stairs. Tigris heard loud music from somewhere below. As they stepped down the stairs, the ambience changed from an industrial station to a nightclub. Graffiti scrawled across the brick stairwell, and blinking runner lights lined the lower stairs.

  At the bottom, a bouncer met them in front of a metallic door. The big, tattoo-covered man made a motion to block their entrance, and they stopped on the stairs.

  “Do you want me to get in his mind?” Tigris asked Bullseye. Even if she was terrified, she could at least try to do her usual job.

  Bullseye shook her head slightly and thought back at her, “There’s a surveillance camera over the door. If we enter suspiciously, someone will see and investigate.”

  In the second most common Dominion language, the bouncer asked for the password. He added that he’d never seen them.

  “That last part’s a relief,” Tigris thought in Rave’s mind, “but can you guess the password?”

  Rave motioned for the others to part, and he stood on the lowest stair to stand at eye level with the big man. In the same language, he told the bouncer to flush the password.

  Bullseye shot her brother a look.

  The bouncer nodded, opened the door, stepped aside, and told them to enter.

  Tigris’s heart was racing as they entered the club. “How did that just happen?”

  Rave smirked. “I used to go to the operative club outside Resistance City. I’m a little disappointed with their security that they all use the same password. And that was years ago.”

  “Focus.” Bullseye stopped a short distance inside the club.

  Tigris stood beside her and tried not to gape at what she saw.

  In a past life, the station’s sublevel must’ve been used as storage for excess hydrogen tanks. A few tanks still lined the wall left of the entrance, but they were chained and ancient. On the opposite wall ran a long bar. It was a narrow room, but a cracked mirror covered the wall behind the bar, and this gave the club the illusion of width. Flickering red and white lights sparkled off the mirror’s prisms. Citizens wandered up and down the bar, getting drinks and socializing.

  These citizens, thought Tigris, must be in the Dominion’s favor if allowed out after curfew and in a Dominion club. Traitors…

  In the open space before them stood tables and booths. Most of the club was dark, but lights on the tables illuminated the faces of subdued customers while they drank. Everyone Tigris saw was wildly dressed. Most were intoxicated.

  A male voice shouted over the speaker system, “Are you ready for glow?”

  Tigris heard a loud cheer from ahead, and she looked farther into the long club to see a stage. A band started their next song. The lead singer jumped off into a mosh pit in front of the stage. Here, bodies danced like a mass of bees, and it was impossible to count the number of people.

  “When did ugly come into style?” Rave was staring at a woman with painted scales on her forehead and spiked, blue hair. He had to yell to be heard, despite standing shoulder-to-shoulder. “Did anyone look by the door?”

  Tigris looked where he indicated and saw a stack of menacing canisters. These were not hydrogen tanks, but the Warriors didn’t need labels to know what the canisters held.

  “We can’t just grab them and dash off.” Bullseye looked into the crowd. “Spread out and scout for the operatives responsible for those canisters. Most of these operatives I recognize as locals, but the DRK operatives are new in town and will stand out. They’re bound to be throwing their weight around. Pay special attention to anyone getting free drinks.”

  “How can you be sure?” asked Whitewolf.

  Bullseye wavered. “Because I used to get a lot of free drinks. We have to move fast. I don’t want anyone to notice us, and the longer we’re here, the more people who might remember us later.”

  The Warriors split up throughout the club. Bullseye leaned on the bar and watched those gathered there while she waited to order a drink. Rave headed into the sea of dancers near the stage. Whitewolf walked farther along the bar. Tigris sat at an empty table, probing thoughts as she met the eyes of the drunks. After five minutes, the others joined her to sit at the table.

  “The woman with Timber at the end of the bar.”

  “The fat man sitting by himself to our right.”

  “The lead guitarist.”

  “The smoker at th
e bar who pinched my butt.” Bullseye made a face.

  Whitewolf smacked his lips. “You know, assuming we make it out of here alive, this could be quite the find – five operatives, counting Timber. Obviously killing them is a good option, but what if we take them prisoner?”

  Rave agreed. “They’re high up in the ranks if they got this assignment. They must be exposed to more intel than the average operative. They’d at least know which cities DRK operatives are being sent to.”

  Tigris looked away from their table. She didn’t like the curious looks people were starting to send their way. She didn’t like their thoughts, either.

  Bullseye downed her drink and set the glass on the table. “Okay. But this could be difficult. Any idea how to capture the DRK operatives without alerting the rest of these people? If anyone figures us out, they’ll call a Dominion patrol station. Then we’re flushed.”

  “We need a diversion…” Whitewolf looked around.

  Rave raised his hand. When he had their attention, he pointed at the ceiling where a number of pipelines ran to and fro. “I’m liking these filter lines, personally. They carry the gasses filtered out of the hydrogen mixes they use upstairs. The stuff in those tanks-” pointing to the old tanks lining the far wall “-is the real deal, but if we light these pipes…”

  Tigris made a face. “But there are citizens in here. Sure, they’re bad citizens, but they’re just…citizens. Won’t an explosion kill them?”

  “In a not-at-all kind of way.” Rave again pointed as he explained. “Those tanks would explode, but these filter pipes aren’t holding anything nearly as combustible. They’ll flame up, but they won’t cause too much damage too fast. The roof will quite noticeably start on fire, and we can use that as a distraction. The citizens will flee, leaving us to round up the operatives and those canisters. Everyone will be so busy scrambling out of here they won’t notice. And I don’t think anyone would get hurt. People naturally duck.”

  Okay, thought Tigris. That’s actually not a bad plan.

  Bullseye also liked it. “Ryu, sneak out the DRK canisters and go straight to the hummer. Zaak and I will round up the operatives, then I’ll dematerialize and get out unnoticed. Alex, teleport yourself, Zaak, and the operatives to where we parked the hummer. You can teleport the operatives even if we knock them unconscious, right, Alex?”