Deliverance

by Dakota Banks

  The elevator door opened and Maliha snapped the whip sword into the interior. Two heads rolled. “Get in!”

  Hound went into the elevator car. “Damn, it’s slippery in here. What happened to kinder and gentler?”

  “We get out any way we can. Any objections?”

  “About damn time.”

  Maliha pushed the button for the top floor. She had to kick one of the heads out of the way to let the door close.

  During the brief ride, she felt Hound’s eyes on her, trying to evaluate her wounds. Two sources of fiery pain competed in her body, left shoulder and right hip. She knew neither of them was serious, but if they cut into her concentration, they might as well be fatal. There was no time to meditate to attempt to control the pain.

  Her blood mingled with that of the guards on the floor of the elevator car.

  Been in worse before. Can’t fail Yanmeng. And Hound.

  The elevator opened on the top floor. Maliha was prepared for a robot, but none showed up.

  Bad sign. They know where we’re going.

  She heard explosions from outside. The big bang had started. The windows at the end of the hall lit up red and orange. All they had to do was get to the stairs to the roof.

  Checking the hall, she didn’t see any opposition, and that worried her. It was too easy. They were being channeled toward the stairs. A quick inspiration—she picked up one of the heads and hurled it down the hall in the direction away from the stairs, where she suspected guards were hiding. It worked. Startled, they showed themselves long enough to fill the hallway with rounds. Maliha, who’d ducked back into the elevator, waited until they stopped firing.

  “You bring grenades?” she said.

  “Damn straight.” Hound turned his back to her. There were four grenades in holders on his belt. She took two of them.

  Maliha changed the magazine in the automatic rifle and kept it slung within easy reach. With a grenade in each hand, she squeezed the striker levers and pulled out the safety pins with her teeth.

  One, two, three.

  Stepping out in the hall with Ageless speed, she threw the grenades toward the source of the gunfire, then laid down covering fire to keep the guards from retrieving the grenades and tossing them back at her.

  The grenades exploded with a thunderous sound that reverberated in the confined space. With a kill radius of about fifteen feet each, they disposed of the guards at the end of the hall.

  Anyone who isn’t already dead is too busy dealing with frags to worry about us.

  She edged her way out of the elevator and put Hound behind her, no longer worrying about an attack from that end of the hall. They reached the steel door to the roof stairway and found it full of bullet holes from the guards firing down the hall at Maliha.

  A bonus. They cleared the stairway for us.

  The door was locked, but the impact of the spray of bullets had almost knocked it off its hinges.

  “Give me some room,” Maliha said. She spun and delivered a powerful kick to the door. It fell into the stairway, on top of the bullet-riddled bodies of two guards. After checking that there was no one else in sight, she and Hound went in. She noticed that Hound’s calf was bleeding.

  “You take a bullet?”

  “Just grazed,” he said. “I’m okay.”

  Maliha considered taking Yanmeng from Hound to remove the extra weight on his leg, and letting him do the trail blazing instead. She rejected the idea and began moving up the stairs. She stepped out onto the roof and into the big bang in full swing. The mercenaries were delivering distraction in an attempt to keep all eyes focused on ground level. As she watched, a section of perimeter fence went up in a fireball and a couple of rocket-propelled grenades impacted the side of the building. Security forces on the ground had taken any available shelter and were firing in the direction of the attack. Their fire wasn’t returned. It was all an elaborate and convincing show. The mercs weren’t out to kill anybody, at least not on purpose.

  The shock attack was only meant to last a few minutes. Maliha looked up expectantly. Right on time a helicopter appeared overhead. Down below, the mercenaries began firing machine guns aimed a few feet above the heads of the guards to discourage them from looking, or shooting, upward. Trailing down from the copter were two lines with bundles at the ends. Maliha ran to one of them and unfastened it. Opening the package, she called Hound over.

  “This one has the double harness. It’s yours.”

  She helped Hound get the harness on both himself and Yanmeng, so that Hound was hugging Yanmeng to his chest. She put on her own harness. This was to be a short-haul rescue. The copter was going up with them suspended below it from the ropes, and it would fly to a place where they could be safely delivered. They weren’t going to be pulled aboard the copter. The short-haul was faster, and every second counted now.

  She and Hound tugged on their ropes. The spotter watching them signaled the pilot to go. Maliha felt her feet lift off the roof and with a jerk of the harness, she was airborne.

  We did it.

  Looking down, she could see that guards were pouring onto the roof. The distraction gig was up. A spotlight caught her in its beam and she heard automatic fire.

  Bullets shredded the rope holding her, and for a moment she was held by a few threads. Then, arms flailing, she tumbled downward, falling straight into the field of fire that the mercenaries were laying down. The copter rose higher and moved off into the night with her friends.

  As she fell, pain stabbed her abdomen as her scale rebalanced, with figures moving to the lives saved side. Anu had judged her rescue of Yanmeng successful and a significant event, in spite of the casualty count.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  A replantation team and a neurologist were standing by at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Amaro had taken Yanmeng’s foot there, and all that was needed was Yanmeng.

  He arrived by medical helicopter in stable condition although, gratefully, still unconscious. Hound was with him, and needed care, too. A couple of the bullets that had shot down Maliha were lodged in his legs, and one of them had chipped a bone, which would need a metal rod for support.

  Hound, already a bit drowsy from the light pre-op sedation, was able to talk briefly with Amaro and Jake before going into surgery.

  “She fell. I saw her. I couldn’t do anything about it. What about Jill’s son?”

  “He’s okay. I got to him just in time. Did Maliha fall inside the compound?” Jake said.

  “Yes. We were barely off the roof. She could have even hit the side of the building on the way down. I loved her, I loved her, I can’t believe this happened . . .” Hound’s eyes overflowed with tears. His voice was so choked up he couldn’t continue.

  Amaro put his hand on Hound’s arm. “You brought Yanmeng home. She would have been happy about that. They were so close. Yanmeng could try to remote view her, but he’s already in surgery, and he’s going to be there for about twelve hours.”

  “You guys are talking about Maliha in the past tense. What’s the matter with you?” Jake said. “She’s not dead for certain.”

  Hound looked at him as though Jake were crazy. “She fell five stories into the path of gunfire. You’re saying Maliha can survive that?”

  Jake’s pain showed on his face, even though he was trying to be the voice of reason. “Depends on what gets damaged and how fast she can repair it. I’d be up and walking around in five minutes.”

  “Dammit, she’s not you!” Amaro said. “She’s human! Not some heartless freak like you!”

  Jake lowered his eyes to the floor. A nurse headed in their direction to kick them out.

  “I . . . shouldn’t have said that,” Amaro said. “I’m just really upset, you know.”

  “You can stay here and moan about it all you want,” Jake said. “I’m leaving to go look for Maliha. I don’t give up that easily.” He walked away before he could be ordered to go.

  The nurse came up. She said, “You’ll
have to go out into the waiting area now.”

  Amaro stood up and squeezed Hound’s arm. “See you later.”

  Hound, left alone, gave in to the sadness and disappointment he felt. If he’d been alone instead of carrying Yanmeng, he might have cut his own rope and gone after her.

  Idiot. You’d just smash your own head open on the ground like a ripe cantaloupe. Did she even have a chance? She said she could bleed out if she was unconscious and couldn’t stop the bleeding. Oh God, she’s dead. She might as well have just let me lie there and die in that field in Nam for all the good I’ve done her.

  He closed his eyes. The next time he opened them, he was in the recovery room, woozy and in pain. A brief stay in intensive care melted away most of the pain and he awoke several floors up to a private room, where Amaro waited in a chair.

  “Hiya, kid,” Hound said, and fell asleep.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Maliha awoke from surgery, but kept her eyes closed as she listened to her surroundings. When she was sure she wasn’t in hell, she opened her eyes as narrow slits to take in more information. She was in a windowless room, glass on all sides, filled with monitoring equipment managed remotely by several medical personnel outside her glass box. She was either inside the compound on the hidden third floor or had been whisked away to a different secret facility while sedated. Judging by the military uniforms on the doctors and nurses clustered outside, she was in the hands of the Department of Defense. She closed her eyes.

  A nightmare come true. Alien Autopsy, here I come.

  She took stock of her physical condition and found that she was in better shape than seemed possible.

  No broken bones, no internal bleeding, bullets are gone. I feel pretty damn good for a woman who dropped sixty or seventy feet. Or I never hit the ground in the first place. Hound! Yanmeng! Did they escape?

  Her eyes flew open and her arms jerked in distress when she thought about her friends, only to find that she was fastened down with leather straps.

  A doctor came in. “She’s awake,” he said. After checking her vitals, he elevated the head of her bed slowly, so she could see around better. “Sorry about the straps. I hope we’ll be able to get those off you soon. What’s your name?”

  She shook her head and felt dizzy.

  “The dizziness will wear off fast.” He adjusted the flow of the drug piggybacked on her IV. “Glad to see you awake. I’m Dr. Terry Seeton. You can call me Terry.”

  “How long have I been out?” Her mouth was dry and it was difficult to speak. Terry fed her ice with a spoon, and she melted the cubes in her mouth.

  “Better,” she said. “Thanks, Terry.”

  “You came into our care two days ago.”

  Couldn’t have hit the ground, then. I wouldn’t be this far along in healing. I might even have been killed.

  “Now it’s your turn,” he said. “What’s your name?”

  Maliha tried to remember one of the fake identities Amaro had created for her, but her head was throbbing, and it didn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t wearing the fingerprints that went with the fake identity.

  “Lola Carson.” It was the first name that came to mind.

  “Lola, how long have you known about your special healing ability?”

  “Did my companions make it away from the building?” she said.

  “I’m not authorized to tell you anything about that,” Terry said. Then he winked.

  Did he just tell me Hound and Yanmeng got away? Or is it a trick to make me talk?

  “The last I knew I was falling from the roof of a building,” Maliha said, lying a bit. “Why didn’t I hit the ground?”

  “We have robots here for numerous purposes. One purpose is fire safety. I don’t know for certain, but I’d guess you were caught by a fire-safety robot.”

  “Caught?”

  “In some kind of net or cushioning device. I know they were designed after unfortunate people jumped or fell from the windows of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Judging from your initial injuries, I’d say you didn’t hit the ground.”

  She started to ask another question and he held up his hand. “That’s all I know about it. Really. Now about your healing. We can learn so much from you. We’re going to have questions about that. It would be best for you if you answered.”

  “What happens if I don’t?” Maliha said.

  “Not a good thing, Lola. As soon as I verify that you’re healthy enough for interrogation, you’ll be removed from my care. You’re opening yourself up to be hurt very badly—over and over, since you’ll recover.”

  Kinda what I thought.

  “Then I should talk to you. Right now, I’m tired. Can we continue this after I get some rest?”

  Terry hesitated. “Of course. If you need anything, just press the button.” He dimmed the lights in the room and left. Outside the glass room, the lights also dimmed.

  Maliha wasn’t ready to sleep yet. She wanted time to figure out what to do. Her best opportunity for escape was while she was still being treated nicely on the assumption she was going to talk.

  Suddenly she noticed that the brand on her left shoulder, the shou symbol of Master Liu’s school, was growing hot. She was Ageless at the time she’d been branded, but her skin didn’t heal. It had been there hundreds of years as a reminder of her pledge to Master Liu.

  I swear to honor you as my grandfather, to do nothing to bring shame to you or the school, and to never stray from the teachings of this school.

  Maliha pulled her hospital gown away from her shoulder as flames began to flicker along the outlines of the brand.

  He’s coming! How could he be here in this locked glass box?

  A glowing shape shimmered into view, hovering over the foot of her bed. It focused into the form of Master Liu, in his young persona instead of as a blind old man, as he usually showed himself. Bare-chested, his long black hair streaming over his muscular shoulders, he wore loose white pants and was in a lotus position. He floated about a foot above her bed.

  Master Liu’s eyes lit up with golden light, and a beam of it pinned Maliha to her bed. A tingling sensation swept through her body. She felt there was nothing she could hide from him, so she took a deep breath and gave herself over to the warmth of the glow.

  “Daughter,” he said, “I have made your body whole.”

  I hope I’m wearing clean underwear.

  Master Liu smiled. “You are.”

  “You read my thoughts?”

  “Unless you take care to guard them.”

  She bowed her head to him. Pain had vanished from her wounds, and well-being thrummed in her blood.

  What? He can heal me now, from the outside? Wait a minute . . .

  “Are you here, Master, or am I dreaming?”

  “I’m here with you.”

  Maliha looked at the medical staff. No one seemed alarmed or even curious.

  “Don’t worry about the others,” he said. “Their minds are occupied.”

  “Your powers have grown.”

  “True, but not so much as you might think. It’s your perception that is changing.”

  “Will you help me escape?”

  “I play only this small part, but your rescue will come from another source. I’m here concerning other things. Yanmeng and Hound are safe.”

  Maliha’s eyes closed and her head drooped toward her chest. “I’m content, then.”

  “Fool yourself if you wish. I see your heart clearly.”

  Good job. Offend the super-powerful being.

  “This visit is not about me. I’m here to talk about two things. The first is Countess Báthory, Elizabeth. I did not train her.”

  “I thought you trained all the Ageless.”

  “I work with all who are sent to me. She came, but after a short time I turned her away. Her evil was like a black poison in my school. She was affecting other students. I paid a price for it.”

  Master Liu’s form went out of focus for a moment and wa
s replaced by the old blind man. Across his chest were horrible scars that looked like the claw tracks of a tiger or some other large cat. They were raw and oozing blood, as though they’d just been inflicted. Elizabeth would have been in training about four hundred years ago. Master Liu had endured his punishment for sending her away for all that time.

  “I’ve never seen those scars before.”

  Master Liu was a young man again. “I’ve never had reason to show them to you. Elizabeth is vain. Slash her face in a fight and it will distract her. I have observed her style. Don’t let her get you down on the ground, or you won’t be getting up.”

  Maliha inclined her head respectfully. “Thank you for these observations. Are you saying that I will definitely fight Elizabeth?”

  “I don’t see the future.”

  “You told me that I will be rescued by someone else.”

  “No precognition involved. I set up the rescue. You need to leave this building to do your part. The next thing I want to talk about is Jake.”

  Maliha’s whole body tensed. She’d asked Master Liu a question the last time she saw him: Why didn’t Jake bear the symbol of his school? Master Liu said at the time that Jake hadn’t taken the pledge of loyalty that Maliha took.

  “Why didn’t he take the pledge?” She waited nervously for the answer.

  Master Liu hesitated, then came to a decision. “Jake has a flaw. He will continue to kill.”

  “He explained to me about his moral code. Is that what you mean?”

  “There is no moral code, daughter.”

  “You mean—”

  “There are certain people, Ageless and human, in this world who love to kill. Elizabeth is one. Jake is another.”

  “Jake is like Elizabeth? But . . . I felt a breakthrough with him, real love. How could I love him?

  “What you felt is the opening of your heart to love. Jake just happened to be there.”

  Maliha tried to take it all in. “Did Jake kill Abiyram Heber in Tel Aviv?”

  Master Liu nodded.

  Then that story Jake told me about Abiyram being the evil one—all lies.

  “Are my team members in danger from him?”