“You’ll answer me by God, one way or another.”
“Stay away from me, you freak!”
“What’s going on here?” Zoe demanded.
Patti recoiled. “Stay out of this.”
“No.”
“God damn it. He’s the reason Max is out there alone. I have to do this.”
“Please, not like this.”
“What would you have me do? Let Max die, just to save this bastard?”
“Give me a chance. You don’t have to use that — thing.”
Patti threw her arms up and walked to the door. “Make it quick or I do it my way.”
She snapped her fingers and Scar followed her out of the cramped room. Zoe loosened Emil’s bindings.
He strained to move as he rubbed the raw marks on his wrists. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Max and Marta.”
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“I didn’t receive a warm welcome.”
She laughed. “Oh, she was just playing with you. If she really hated you, she would’ve had you talking by now.”
He stood and stretched his tight leg muscles. “I talk to you or she’ll come back in here, is that how this works?”
“Yep.”
“Well, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have my mission.”
“To hell with your mission. I’m sick and tired of lies.”
“You don’t understand, Zoe.”
“Help me to.”
He pressed his palms on his temples to relieve the headache. “The Vanguard is broken. We lost. The war is over.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes... I do.”
“What? Are you actually giving up? You’re the Hi’duck —“
“Haiduc,” he corrected her.
“Whatever. You’re the legend — the one person who has kept the Alliance on their toes for more than twenty years, laughing in the face of death every step of the way.”
He could tell she was stroking his ego, but he also heard the playful sarcasm in the words. He laughed outright. “Tell me, do you know what the Spire really is?”
“It’s a communication array. That’s all we’ve been able to figure out.”
“Three years ago, we intercepted a coded Alliance communiqué. It talked about the Spire and a timetable for its completion. The Council thought nothing of it. I disagreed. Something struck me as strange, so I dug for more intel.”
“What did you find?”
“The truth. If Zolaris activates that thing, anything linked with it will fall under their control. Not just people, but war machines, too. If that happens, we lose for good.”
“Why haven’t we heard about this?”
“Why would you? The Council didn’t sanction my mission.”
“If what you’re saying is true, how will they use it to control people?”
“The crystal implants those idiots up there are getting, that’s how.”
“That still doesn’t make sense. Humans can’t use the crystals.”
“Yes, but we’re not talking about humans using them. Just look at what your friend Patti was going to do to me. Trancing is a one-way street.”
Zoe understood the science behind trancing. It was a difficult process even under the best of circumstances. To do one concurrently on a global scale would be impossible. If the General was right about the starbursts, then with that simple advantage, it could be possible. “¡Dios mío!”
“Yeah,” he added. “The end. Imagine a world with no privacy... no secrets... no free will.”
“What was your plan for stopping them? You didn’t come here without one.”
He didn’t want to say.
“Tell me.”
“The red ora — I was going to use it against them.”
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t have been able to. Humans can’t use them, remember.”
“I’m not talking about me using it. I found someone else who can.”
The truth hit her. “Marta.”
“Yes.”
“It’s her crystal?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“It still wouldn’t work. It only obeys one master — ever.”
“The ever part is not true. An ora can react to someone of the same bloodline. Her mother was a Zolarian.”
“Do the Zolarians know about Marta?”
“If they had, they would’ve killed her long ago. Neeres did a good job hiding her.”
“How did you know where to find her?”
Emil scratched his chin whiskers. There was no avoiding the truth. “The ora guided me.”
“I mucking knew it; you’ve been tranced.”
“No, I have not,” he yelled with his fists clenched. He relaxed his posture. “Please, believe me — I am not under a trance.”
She ran fingers through her long peppered hair, a nervous trait she indulged while in deep contemplation. “How can I trust you? You know what they’re capable of. Look at what they did to Adi.”
Adi’s name hit him. He could hear her ghost demanding, how could you let this happen, Haiduc? You killed me.
He flinched, trying to silence the guilt.
“You’re not telling me everything.”
“I knew Marta’s mother. We met during the war.” He paused. “We were lovers.”
She saw where he was going with the revelation. “Marta is your daughter?”
He nodded. “After I acquired the ora, I had urges... impulses. I’ve been following breadcrumbs ever since, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle in place.”
“You were going to use your daughter.”
He didn’t dignify her speculation, because he couldn’t deny it. After everything he had done, he wasn’t sure how he felt about his own child.
“Where’s the crystal?”
“I lost it during the firefight. It could be back in their hands by now.”
“I was wrong to trust you.”
She left, unable to stomach being near him. If Patti decided to extract the information she wanted, Zoe would not have intervened again.
The mistress of the manor sat at a mahogany desk, sipping whiskey from an expensive glass.
Her study was a shelter, a reflection of her tastes. Every knick-knack had a specific order. If a visitor were to begin at the oldest piece, one could trace a pattern that told a story of Patti’s life in pantomime detail.
In front of a mahogany mantel was a chaise lounger of burgundy velour, aligned precisely for best heat conduction from the hearth.
Zoe walked in, but she didn’t swivel to face her. Putting the glass to her mouth for a sip, she watched the flames crackle in the fireplace. “Well?”
Chacon relayed everything told to her by Emil, including her own personal feelings about the past day’s events. Patti showed no emotions as she nursed the drink. Once the sordid affair was recounted, she rotated the chair, making it click and clack.
“That’s one heck of a story.”
Expecting more out of her, Zoe waited, but the old woman didn’t say anything else. “Is that all you got?”
“Pretty much. What else do you want me to say?”
“Is it true what he told me?”
“Yes. I could sense the ora the moment he came into the club. As for the girl, I didn’t know what to make of her.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Hmm, let me think. It might have something to do with the hunters, you almost dying, Max disappearing... forgive me, I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”
Zoe knew she wasn’t remorseful one bit for the omission of fact. She changed the subject. “Who was Marta’s mother?”
Patti dumped a large swig in her mouth, letting the drink saturate her gums before gulping it down. “Nadiya was a threat to the natural order. I was never a friend, but your old man and her... well, let’s just say, they were buddy-b
uddy.”
“Hold on. What does my father have to do with this?”
“Nothing. I was rambling.” She refilled the glass. “Nadiya was the greatest Zolarian who ever lived. The miracles she could perform were nothing short of unbelievable. And, she did them without the need of her ora. It was only a tool to her.”
Patti paused.
“You know, we are weak without those mucking things. But, Nadiya was different. She and her crystal were symbiotic. Neither one needed the other, yet both were stronger when together.”
Impatient, Zoe blurted, “Yes, but what does this have to do with General Pavel?”
Patti’s mouth curled and she continued with the story. “There’s another reason why she was special. She didn’t think Zolarians were better than everyone else. As far as she was concerned, we were humans, too, except more evolved. In her mind, humanity was already a beautiful creation. What your kind needed was a little guidance. Of course, not many Zolarians think this way. There are those who see us as the answer to the human condition; we rule over you and make you do what’s right.”
“Is that why they had her killed?”
“No. She fell in love with a human. That was her mortal sin. She was a betrayer.”
Patti rested, giving Zoe time to filter the information.
“Can Marta use her mother’s ora?”
“I don’t know. You said he told you that he acquired it?”
“Yeah. So?”
“That part worries me. How did he acquire it?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Silly girl, he’s been tranced. It’s the only explanation.”
“He swears he hasn’t, and I believe him.”
“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” she said to gauge Zoe’s response.
“No. Absolutely not.”
She shook her head at the younger’s reluctance to do what was necessary. “Damn it.”
“The Old Man told me to trust my instincts and that’s what I’m doing. No matter what.” She said it more for her sake than for Patti’s.
“That old fool and his intuitions. Nadiya respected him for his faith in patterns and probabilities. Look where it’s gotten them both.”
The personal attack on her adopted father flicked Zoe’s nerve. “I guess we all can’t be perfect like you.”
The slight found its mark. Patti turned the chair around. “Think what you like, but your old man is just as guilty as — her.”
“What the muck does that mean?”
“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
Zoe had enough of what she deemed as bitter nonsense. When she turned to leave, Tank barreled through the doorway, almost knocking her down.
“I found them,” he said with short breaths.
Patti jumped up. “Where?”
“He’s with that nervous boy.”
“I should’ve known.” She looked at Zoe. “Go get Pavel and bring him here.”
“Why? What are you going to do to him?”
“Don’t argue with me. Just do it.”
Zoe went to fetch the interned guest, with her head swimming in vexing doubts.
When she returned with Emil, Tank was crying. It shocked her to see tears in the old woman’s eyes as well.
“I should be here, protecting you.”
“I know you want to, but please do this one last thing for me,” she asked with a deliberate smile. “Promise me you’ll look after Max?”
“I swear it,” he sniffled.
“Everything will be okay. Now go before the hunters figure out where he is.” She placed her hand on his chest.
He nodded and left without acknowledging the others. Zoe didn’t take the tears on his cheeks as a good sign.
Patti picked up her glass and drank the last of the whiskey. “Take the girl to the Old Man. He’s the only one who can protect her. Go to the Square and wait for Tank. He’ll bring the kids to you.”
“What about the agent? He might be waiting for us to make a move.”
“He won’t be a problem. When I used my crystal on you, he probably sensed me and is on his way here. I’ll stay and entertain him.”
“Are you crazy? He’ll kill you.”
“Heh, I sure hope not. If what Pavel says is true, when they turn-on that machine, none of this will matter anyhow.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
Patti pulled her in for a hug. For the first time since she was a child, Zoe returned the intimacy.
“Tell the Old Man goodbye for me,” she whispered in her daughter’s ear. “Maybe I’ll see him again someday.” She moved locks of Zoe’s hair off to the side and kissed her on the forehead. “One last thing — take that asshole over there with you.”
Emil wasn’t insulted. He bowed his head respectfully to the hardheaded lady, who now was doing everything possible to keep from exposing her charade of indomitable control. She returned the courtesy.
When she was alone, the mistress of the manor cried. She didn’t weep for herself. She did so with the understanding that she wouldn’t live to see Max safe and far from danger. For a mother — even one who wasn’t real — not ever knowing was a fate worse than death.
Chapter 18
Escaping the hunters
Max woke to Marta’s head in his lap. The soft rise and fall of her diaphragm against his leg comforted his anxiety and he slept longer than he wanted because of it. He stayed motionless, enjoying the serenity of her breathing. When he became restless, he shifted his posture to stand. The girl, not initially fazed by the jostle, curled with the sheet. He left the bedroom.
The loft was quiet except for the musical beeps of the waveboard as Dinx gestured lines of text over it. The kid was so engrossed with the data loads, he didn’t notice Max recovering a half consumed pack from a trash pile next to him.
“What did you find out?”
Dinx couldn’t spare the acuity necessary to hear him.
Max elbowed him, “Learn anything?”
“Nothing.”
Marta appeared in the doorframe, rubbing her eyes. He offered the gelrat, “Are you hungry?”
She shuffled to him and accepted it. Despite its bitter flavor, she slurped it dry and let out a burp. “May I have some more?”
“I’ll look. Can’t promise I’ll find another one.”
While he foraged, she watched the images flickering on the screens. Something caught her attention. “Stop. Can you go back?”
“Why?”
“Please, I wish to look at something.”
“No, I’m busy.”
She didn’t like his tone and the electricity in the room surged from her discontentment. Placing her hand on a screen, the data load reversed until it returned to what she wanted to see. It was a French language newscast. Her father’s face hovered at the top within a bold outline. The report recounted his death and the manhunt underway for his killers.
Dinx searched for the cause of the glitch, but couldn’t find it. Only after eliminating every plausible cause did he conclude Marta was responsible. “How are you doing that?”
She removed her hand and the electricity returned to normal. She looked to Max, remorseful.
“Are you okay?”
Her lips furrowed. “I’m sorry.”
Dinx looked at him and then to her. “Can you do it again?”
An alarm sounded.
“A perimeter sensor’s been tripped,” he explained as he used the monitors to sweep the outlying areas surrounding the building.
At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Then in the corner of one of the screens, a camera detected the gathering of multiple figures near the front entrance. He zoomed in on the feed. The armed intruders readied for battle.
Max’s heart pounded. “We got to go!”
“I knew you were going to get me killed!”
A breaching explosion shook nerves as well as the firehouse’s foundation. Marta and Dinx squeezed behind Max for protection. The cr
eaking of the wooden stairs stiffened their muscles. Max ran over and slammed the door shut. After locking the crossbar in place, he returned to shield his scared friends. Seconds later, a pounding on the door drove the kids to hide behind the workstation.
“Give up!” The voice commanded. “You’re under arrest!”
There were no escape routes for them. The loft was a deathtrap. Max regretted bringing this fate upon the other two and would have given anything for a miracle.
The door exploded, spraying splinters everywhere. The concussive blast deafened their equilibriums. A squad of five hunters stormed in through the smoke with guns poised and laser lights probing for targets.
Just as the invaders found their quarry, the skylight shattered, flooding the room with a harsh exterior light. In the midst of the chaos, Tank’s boots landed atop broken glass. The invaders stood no chance against his rampage. From the door breach, until the last hunter fell, a mere five seconds transpired until the giant was the last man standing.
He arched his back, crackling his old vertebrae. Brushing off the dust from his shoulders, he called, “Max!”
Max crawled to him. “Tank!” he yelled louder than necessary because of the ringing in his ears.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m — okay.”
“Where’s the girl?”
“She’s here.” He stumbled as he helped Marta hobble from behind the demolished computers. “How did you find us?”
“There’s no time to explain. The street is crawling with hunters.”
Max shoved Marta at Tank. “Take her.”
“What about you? I can carry you both.”
“No. I can’t leave Dinx. Don’t worry. I’ll be alright. Take her and I’ll keep up.”
“How?”
“I got this, Tank. Hey, it’s me.”
He was not as confident in Max’s abilities as Max was. “I know you’re going to make me regret this. Rendezvous at the Park under the Arch if you get lost.”
Throwing Marta over his shoulder, he stepped back to center his massive body under the hole in the ceiling. With a single vault of his mechanical legs, he bounded straight and cleared the opening.
“What... about... us?” Dinx couldn’t breathe. “I’m... going to die.”
“Come on.” Max grabbed several explosive charges from a hunter’s vest. Dragging Dinx along with him, they raced down the stairs to the garage.
Brigends (The Final War Series Book 1) Page 15