by EJ Fisch
Of course. The questions she’d asked the night before had seemed odd at the time, but as he sat there now he understood perfectly. He sat still for another moment and watched as Ziva moved toward the bike and boarded it. With such a small and agile vehicle, she would be able to maneuver through the heavy traffic with little effort. Feeling almost sick with adrenaline, he picked up the car’s comm receiver and opened a direct transmission to Dasaro. “I’ve got her!” he exclaimed.
-42-
City Center
Haphor, Haphez
There were times – but only a few – when Ziva wished she would have paid more attention to the teachings of her… master. Jak Gamon had often told stories about Nosti who had developed a kind of sixth sense thanks to their nostium infusions. With the right amount of concentration, they could sense the movements of enemies around them, even if those enemies were a fair distance away. The nostium may have stimulated the brain and allowed the user to manipulate their surroundings, but she’d never been able to fathom how it could produce psychic powers. She’d always just assumed the stories were Gamon’s way of motivating her to focus; lost and angry, she’d had little interest in anything other than the fighting aspects of her training.
Only now, after a lengthy career at HSP, did she truly understand the advantages her quiet time and meditation gave her. She darted out into the street, wishing she possessed the fabled sixth sense, and swiftly maneuvered the hoverbike through the rest of the traffic that remained at a standstill. She was counting not only on the fact that Aroska had taken the hint and called for backup, but also that Dasaro would just send a local team after her rather than come all the way over in person. In the case of the latter, she would have plenty of time to make a break for it, but that would mean coming up with an entirely new plan which would in turn delay departure even further. For a while she’d considered scrapping the getaway plan entirely and remaining on the planet, but without the ability to move about freely, finding Tachi’s killer and proving herself innocent would be nigh on impossible.
Finally traffic opened up and Ziva accelerated, no longer concerned about attracting attention. It was a chilly ride without the riding suit she had come to think of as her own. The wind bit at her skin and whipped her loose hair around in front of her face, but she refrained from pulling it back. It was surprising how much of a difference it made in her appearance, and she was impressed that Aroska had been able to spot her as quickly as he had. None of the passersby had paid her any notice – half of them probably didn’t even watch the news.
From her current location, it would take approximately ten minutes to reach the little relay station in the forest. Upon arriving there earlier that morning, she had stashed the riding suit and supply belt and had proceeded to walk on, breathe on, and touch everything she could in order to give the appearance that she’d been there for the duration of the investigation. After that, it had only been a matter of finding somewhere to lie low and wait for Aroska. The traffic delay had been a pleasant surprise, effectively reducing the effort needed on her part. It was good that he’d come and done what she’d asked – the majority of the plan would play out the same regardless of his presence, but he was needed in order to pull off the whole “escape” part at the end.
Haphor itself was beginning to thin out now and trees were becoming more and more prominent. Ziva could imagine a swarm of infrared probes converging on the city, controlled by similar swarms of overly-eager agents at both the Noro and Haphor offices. Surely HSP wouldn’t be dumb enough to follow her too closely – if the activated team followed protocol, they would monitor her via the probes and wait for the ranking agent, Aroska in this case, to arrive before proceeding. She could only imagine what Dasaro must be thinking, stuck in Noro and helpless when it came to bringing her down himself.
“Come and get me,” she said aloud.
Before long the city had given way entirely to thick foliage and Ziva guided the bike onto the road that would take her up past the old comm tower. She hoped she was far enough ahead of her pursuers to give them the impression that she was oblivious to their presence. It was almost demeaning having to play dumb to such an extent, demeaning to the point that it was increasingly hard to be convincing. She shook away the negative thoughts; within a few hours she would be on a transport headed for the safety of Chaiavis.
The comm tower rose above the trees dead ahead so she turned up the little hill and brought the bike to a stop directly in front of the relay station. She left the door open when she went inside and, after taking one last look around the interior of her little hiding place, leaned against the doorframe and waited.
There were two scenarios that were most likely to go down. One, HSP would go with the quick and quiet approach and send in a small squad of elite agents commanded by Aroska. Two, it would instead be an invade-and-destroy mission where she would be boxed in by an entire division of officers, also headed up by Aroska. Both cases could be dealt with – though neither was ideal – but she found herself hoping it would be the former. She doubted Dasaro would go to such extremes as to call in an airstrike or something of the sort; he would want visual confirmation of her death and multiple witnesses. It wouldn’t surprise her if he had the agents equipped with cams so he could record what went down and watch it every night before he went to bed.
Ziva waited a good twenty minutes before she saw any signs of HSP approaching. Four groundcars were tearing up the road, the first belonging to Aroska and the other three being of the slick black variety used by the Royal Guard. She’d just expected the squad to be sent from HSP’s Haphor field office, but this had started out as the RG’s investigation anyway so their presence made sense. She let out a deep breath and told herself that these new conditions by no means altered the playing field.
Aroska’s car, which contained him and another agent, proceeded directly up the hill while the RG vehicles continued a bit further and came around the back of the shack, cutting off any means of escape. Aroska had relinquished the pilot’s seat to the agent with him and was now peering through a spotting scope, the whole of his attention focused on the front of the little building. It was time to get moving.
Before the car had come to a complete stop, Ziva bolted from the front door and took off at a dead run across the clearing toward the trees and the creek bed. Angry shouts could be heard almost immediately, and she heard Aroska’s voice distinctly: “Let me handle this!”
Heavy footsteps followed, accompanied by comm chatter and the hum of something hovering on repulsors. Pointless as it was to hide from them, Ziva ducked behind a large tree at the top of the steep riverbank and stole a peek at her pursuers. Aroska was by far closest, perhaps twenty meters from her, and the other agents hung back a bit. They all had weapons drawn, ranging from plasma pistols to large assault rifles, and they moved steadily forward through the foliage.
Killing someone was not on the agenda today, but Ziva realized that as much as Aroska was acting, so was she. As far as anyone else knew, he was on Dasaro’s side and out for sweet revenge on the person who had killed his brother; she needed to play that part. Pressing her back against the tree, she drew in a deep breath and tightened the grip on her pistol. She needed to stop their advance, at least momentarily. “Make it real,” she murmured.
Shifting the gun to her right hand, she leaned to her left and squeezed off a shot from behind the cover of the tree. The plasma bolt struck one of the agents squarely in the right shin just as she’d intended and he crumpled into a heap with an agonized screech. Switching hands again, she rolled against the tree trunk and extended her left arm, firing another round that barely missed Aroska’s head.
Multiple sets of feet crashed through the underbrush as the agents scrambled for cover. “Ziva!” Aroska’s voice rang out. “It doesn’t have to end like this! You can come peacefully with us now and we’ll review your case, or I can end things right here. Take your pick!”
“Do you think I’m stupid, Tarbic?
” she shouted back. “I know you’ve got orders to shoot me on sight – don’t bother offering me any deals at this point.”
“I just want to talk, Ziva. I’m offering you a chance to tell your side of the story here and you’re willing to just throw that away?”
He was doing excellent. “I thought you were on my side here, Tarbic. After everything that happened on Sardonis, are you really willing to just turn around and feed me to Dasaro?”
She heard him snort. “Sardonis? You shot Soren before my eyes. Do you really think I could actually forgive you for that? The only reason I agreed to go with you to Dakiti was because I thought we could rescue Saun, and then you killed her too.”
“And you think you can change any of that by killing me?” Ziva checked the charge in her pistol. Enough energy remained for one or two more decent shots if she was lucky. That would work out perfectly…unless one of the RG agents became a little too trigger happy. Once more, she turned to her right and fired two rounds with her left hand, the first of which struck the fallen log concealing the nearest officer. The second petered out while still in mid-air, telling her the gun was now dead.
“Look around you, Tarbic,” she shouted. “The only way this will work is if you come get me, and I can guarantee that I will put all of you down before that happens.”
Ziva was startled when a leaf crunched behind her, and even more startled when the barrel of a pistol was jammed against the side of her head. She froze, able to see only Aroska’s boot and part of his leg in her peripherals. “Tag,” he said. “You’re it.”
-44-
Abandoned Relay Station
Outskirts of Haphor, Haphez
For some reason that Aroska couldn’t explain, the fact that he was holding Ziva at gunpoint didn’t terrify him as he had thought it would. It was probably for the best, a way to make the charade all the more convincing, but it concerned him that he was…well, unconcerned. He stood there just as frozen as she was, kicking himself for noticing how striking she looked with her hair down.
He nudged her with the toe of his boot. “On your feet,” he growled.
Face devoid of all emotion whatsoever, Ziva got her legs under her and rose up, maintaining constant eye contact as she did so. Just as Aroska opened his mouth to tell her to drop her weapon, she had it up and aimed at him, a picture that had become all-too-familiar in the time they’d been acquainted. Keeping his own pistol steady, he extended a hand toward the RG agents, signaling for them to hold their fire.
“Now where have I seen this before?” he muttered. “You’re surrounded, Ziva. What exactly do you think you’re going to do?”
“What I should have done the first time.” Her finger curled around the trigger and pulled back on it, but rather than a powerful plasma bolt, all that discharged from the pistol was a half-hearted spark that jumped a few centimeters from the barrel and melted away into the ground.
Ziva’s eyes widened for only a split second before she set her jaw and reluctantly tossed the gun down into the riverbed. She held her hands up, though the look in her eyes said she was far from surrender, and stepped slowly backward until her heels were resting on the edge of the bank. She looked away just long enough to study the positions of the other agents before sending Aroska a glare that made him feel sorry for anyone who was playing his part for real.
“What happens now?” she asked.
Aroska had no idea. He’d been letting her pilot the ship, so to speak, and suddenly she’d stood up and walked out of the cockpit, leaving the controls to him. He studied her for a moment, looking for a clue, a hint, anything that would enable him to make it through the next few seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the two yellow hovercams the RG had brought along, its eye recording his every movement. The second bot appeared around the tree, hovering a couple meters off the ground directly behind Ziva. He imagined those on the receiving end of the transmission were waiting intently for him to say something.
Making a mental note to ask Ziva for further improv lessons, he tightened the grip on his pistol. “Now you’re going to pay…for everything.”
Ziva smirked and shook her head. “Empty threats, Tarbic. If you want to show everyone what you’re made of, shoot me.” She tapped her abdomen and spread her arms wide, her fearlessness far from an act. “Go on, do it. You’d be doing me a favor.”
Aroska clenched the muscles in his face to prevent his eyes from widening. For a brief moment he wanted to ask if she was serious, but he realized he knew better. She stared directly into his face, and unless it was his imagination, he could almost hear her voice inside his head telling him everything would be okay.
“Can you do it?” Ziva spat. “Or are you a coward like your boss, who has someone else do all his dirty work? Show me, Aroska. Come on, sh—”
Damn it, Ziva! He pulled the trigger.
-45-
Abandoned Relay Station
Outskirts of Haphor, Haphez
Ziva had been shot at plenty of times in her life, and hit plenty of times for that matter. But none of those occasions had ever been a double-tap to the chest like she had just experienced. The discharge of the pistol had genuinely taken her by surprise; she’d expected Aroska to be a bit more timid. It was as if time had somehow been slowed by the pulling of the trigger. She’d been able to see and feel everything as it happened, right down to the muscles tightening in his hands and the change in the air as she started to fall. The first round had struck her mid-breastbone, a perfect shot to the heart if it would have penetrated Jada’s fiber mesh underlay. The impact had pushed her backward ever so slightly, and the soft earth began to crumble under her weight. The second shot came only a split second later, hitting about a centimeter above the other. Both rounds were successfully absorbed by the vest, though she could feel and smell a bit of burnt flesh where they had overlapped.
Upon being hit by the second bolt, the chunk of ground under Ziva’s feet fell away entirely. She refrained from flailing for balance, keeping enough wits about her to realize that someone who had just been shot through the heart wouldn’t be capable of such a thing. The sensation of falling blindly backward was bizarre. She felt like she was floating right up until the moment her back hit the ground and the air was punched out of her lungs. Suddenly her legs were above her head and she was tumbling, blinded by dust and unable to gather her bearings. She skidded, sharp rocks and coarse dirt tearing at her skin and clothing. The bank dropped off abruptly and she rolled over the edge, falling the remaining meter and a half into the rock-infested river bottom. Her forehead collided with a large stone, sending a burst of pain back through her skull and down her neck. Her vision began to blur and the light around her began to dim as if night was already approaching. Then it was pitch black.
-46-
HSP Headquarters
Noro, Haphez
Zinni felt as though she was being shot herself when Aroska’s pistol discharged. Every person on the squad floor was on their feet, watching with bated breath as Ziva’s body bucked and fell out of view. The live footage shot by the two hovercams was being broadcast over the giant viewscreen on the far side of the floor, audio and all. The sound of the pistol was still echoing through her head, and it had taken her a moment to realize only two shots had actually been fired.
Both those at HSP and those in the forest outside Haphor fell completely silent, either genuinely speechless or else not wanting to say what they were thinking. Zinni placed a hand over her mouth, not to keep herself from crying out but to keep herself from throwing up all over her workstation. She cringed against the sour taste and forced it back down, unable to take her eyes away from the screen. The lights on the squad floor had been dimmed a bit to provide everyone with a better view so she was forced to squint into the semi-darkness to search for Skeet. He stood several meters ahead of her, having been on his way back across the floor when the bots began broadcasting, and his looming silhouette blocked a portion of the screen from her view.
The cam nearest the action floated forward, capturing the steely look on Aroska’s face. The sound of his heavy breathing carried over the sound system as he holstered his weapon and ventured a look down into the riverbed, as did the bot. The picture was so clear that Zinni felt as though she was there looking down right along with him. Ziva’s descent had stirred up a great cloud of dust, and as it settled several audible gasps rose up from around the floor. The first thing that struck Zinni was how steep and high the bank actually was, making the realization that her friend had just fallen over it all the more shocking. The second was the body itself, lying face-down in the shallow standing water on the edge of the creek. One of Ziva’s arms was bent grotesquely under her abdomen and her head was turned to one side, and even from the bot’s viewpoint Zinni could see that the water around her face was tinted red.
The murmuring of the agents with Aroska could be heard in the background as they discussed what they had just seen and asked him what he was going to do. He said something inaudible and suddenly came into view, glancing directly into the cam’s lens before lowering himself over the edge and sliding down into the riverbed. The bot descended slowly after him, watching as he straddled Ziva’s body and bent down to examine it. Using two fingers, he quickly checked for a pulse then took a handful of her hair and lifted her head from the ground. The bot hovered there for several seconds, taking it all in – her eyes were closed, her jaw was slack, and diluted blood oozed from her forehead.
“She’s dead,” Aroska muttered, releasing her hair and letting her head fall back into the muddy water. The bot followed him to a standing position and watched as he spoke into his communicator. “We’re awaiting your orders, sir.”