The Shadow Connection

by Adair Hart

  Evaran aimed and hit Claw and the enforcers with a repulsion beam, sending them sprawling to the ground. As they began to stand back up, V hit the two enforcers with a stun beam. Everyone assembled around Claw.

  “Ev … Evaran?” asked Claw with wide eyes. “You’re a fairy tale, man!”

  “I assure you I am not. I appreciate you setting up this meeting for me. I will give your regards to Bruno and Red Lightning.”

  “What … what are you going to do to me?”

  “I apologize for this, but you must be incapacitated,” said Evaran. He aimed at Claw and fired a stun beam.

  Claw went limp.

  “C’mon,” said Lee. “We can put them into a storage room and lock them there.”

  Evaran grabbed Claw and tossed him over his shoulder. Lee grabbed one enforcer, and Dr. Snowden and Emily got the other enforcer.

  “Lead on,” said Evaran.

  After they got Claw and his enforcers stashed away in a storage room in the back, they assembled in the main area.

  “We wait now,” said Lee. “What’s the strategy? I expected to get information on Bruno and Red Lightning, not actually see them.”

  Evaran pointed to the second level. “Dr. Snowden, Emily, V, and Jake will head to the second level. Their goal is to neutralize Red Lightning. If you can give one of your paralyzing devices to them, they can apply it to her. I doubt stun beams will work on her, so it will need to be up close and personal.”

  “You can count on us,” said Emily.

  Lee admired how eager and willing the others were to help Evaran.

  Evaran cleared his throat. “For Bruno, it will be me and you. Bruno is strong but slow, from the reports I saw. I will distract him, and you can use your paralyzing agent on him. Once they are secured, we can leave the way we came.”

  Lee rubbed his chin. “I wouldn’t underestimate Bruno.”

  “I am not, but he has not faced someone like me.”

  Lee swept his gaze across the group. “All right. We have a plan. Everyone to their positions.”

  The others shot up the stairs to the second level and ducked behind the covered guardrail.

  Evaran and Lee stood in the main open area facing the door.

  “You ready for this?” asked Lee.

  “I am always ready,” said Evaran. “Once this is over, I will help you determine who killed your friend.”

  Lee felt a pulse of emotion sweep across the organic parts of his robotic body. “I … I appreciate it.”

  Evaran nodded.

  After twenty tense minutes, a pounding rang out from the front door. Emily could still feel the nanobots from the fight with the wererats. She was ready for Red Lightning. Emily’s eyes focused on the opening door.

  Bruno and Red Lightning entered the room. The door slid shut behind them.

  They wore the same outfits from the projections Emily had seen at Lord Noskov’s base. Bruno was a bit larger in person, and Red Lightning was a bit smaller.

  Bruno turned around, then spun back to face Evaran and Lee. “So … Manager … you’re not alone. Who’s this clown?”

  “I am Evaran.”

  Bruno dipped his head toward Red Lightning. “Well, damn. Here I was thinking I was going to kick the shit out of a manager, but now find out I can finally settle who’s stronger between me and Evaran. Tired of hearing how dangerous you are. Screw that.”

  Red Lightning grinned. “This’ll be over quick.” She raised her hands and pointed them at Evaran and Lee. Red arcs of electricity began to form on her hands.

  Emily turned her head toward Dr. Snowden and Jake. “That’s our cue. V, distraction hologram on the other side of the room.”

  “Acknowledged,” said V.

  Emily aimed her PSD at Red Lightning and then fired a repulsion blast.

  Boom!

  Red Lightning went tumbling back into the door.

  “The hell was that?” asked Bruno as he turned to look around.

  Emily and the others rushed down the stairs toward Red Lightning.

  Bruno pointed at them. “Handle that shit!” He rushed forward toward Lee and Evaran.

  “I … got them,” said Red Lightning in a strained voice. She propped herself up and fired an arc of electricity at Emily and the others.

  The electricity touched their shields and dissipated.

  Red Lightning’s eyes widened. “Impossible.” Her attention focused on a large grizzly bear that appeared out of thin air and rushed toward her. “Bruno!”

  Bruno paused to see what was going on.

  Lee kicked out one of Bruno’s legs, causing him to fall.

  Emily fired sticky globules at Red Lightning and covered her in a white, gluey substance.

  Red Lightning tried to move in the mire that covered her. She was able to kneel, but it took some effort.

  Emily and the others rushed toward Red Lightning with shields out front.

  Lee approached Bruno, but held back as Bruno jumped up and began to swing wildly. Lee dodged the swings and got in a few blows.

  Evaran attacked from the other side, and together with Lee, they began to push Bruno back.

  “Enough!” said Bruno. He backhanded Lee, sending him sprawling.

  Bruno then focused on Evaran and swung at him. Bruno’s fist collided with Evaran’s shield, pushing Evaran back. Bruno kicked out at Evaran, who caught his foot. With a flip, he sent Bruno falling to the side.

  Lee got up and ran back over. He tried to jab Bruno with the paralyzing device, but Bruno was quick to react.

  Bruno reached up and grabbed Lee’s hand, and forced him to drop the device. “Paralyzing agent. I don’t think so, manager man.” He tossed Lee into Evaran and then stood up. With his eye on the device, he hustled over to step on it.

  Evaran, with his utility handle now a staff, shot a grappling beam at Bruno. When it connected, Evaran pulled Bruno back. Evaran untangled himself from Lee and, with a kick, sent Bruno sliding across the floor.

  Emily smiled when she saw V fly in at full speed behind Red Lightning.

  V hit Red Lightning in the back, causing her to fall forward and stick to the ground.

  “Cover her!” said Emily.

  Dr. Snowden fired more sticky globules on Red Lightning, completely covering her.

  She tried to get up again, but she was stuck to the floor. A bubble of the sticky globule pulsed red before exploding, freeing her hand. “Enough!” She shot a red arc at Emily, who slipped to the side and then used her shield on the next beam.

  Emily got close to Red Lightning and stabbed her with the paralyzing device.

  Red Lightning stopped moving.

  Emily turned her attention to Bruno, who was fighting both Lee and Evaran in close-quarters combat. As strong as Evaran and Lee were, she could see Bruno was a bit stronger. Evaran and Lee were blurs as they dodged Bruno’s punishing blows.

  Bruno grabbed Lee and tossed him across the room again. Bruno then bull-rushed forward and grabbed Evaran in a bear hug. Evaran tried to break the embrace but was crushed against the wall, causing it to fracture.

  Lee pointed at the paralyzing device on the ground. “Get it!”

  Jake was the closest and hustled toward the device. Once it was in his hands, he rushed in to jab Bruno in the back.

  Bruno spun around and slapped Jake across the room.

  The device fell from Jake’s hands as he went flying.

  Emily’s blood boiled. She pointed at Dr. Snowden, then at Jake. “Check on him!” She charged in and began a series of strikes with her staff, causing Bruno to spend time deflecting them. V was flying above and shooting stun beams, but they had no effect on Bruno.

  Lee joined Emily, and together they began to push Bruno back.

  Bruno punched Lee in the chest, causing him to go sliding back. “You’re all over the place, manager man!”

  Emily could see Bruno was enjoying this. Maybe he loved a good fight as much as she did.

  “Nighty night, little girl,” said
Bruno with a devilish grin as he approached Emily.

  Bruno went to grab Emily, who dipped to the side and batted him with her staff. He looked up in surprise as he slid back. As he began to charge forward, a yellow beam wrapped around one of his arms. Evaran appeared next to him and began to weave his way around him, working his baton so that eventually Bruno was wrapped up.

  Bruno struggled to move. He fell forward when Emily shot sticky globules at his feet and Evaran pushed him over.

  Lee ran up and plunged the paralyzing agent into Bruno’s neck. After a moment, Bruno went limp.

  Everyone rushed over to Jake.

  “He’s got a pulse, but he’s barely conscious,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Jake groaned as he rolled on his back.

  Evaran scanned Jake. “He will be okay, maybe with some bruises. We are lucky he does not have any broken bones. His suit is sturdier than I expected.”

  Lee sighed. “I don’t think I could have taken both of them.”

  “Now you will not have to,” said Evaran.

  “You’re an impressive group,” said Lee. His eyes scanned Emily. “You’re a lot tougher than I expected. I think you even surprised Bruno.”

  Emily raised her head a little.

  Evaran pointed at Bruno and then Red Lightning. “Lee, use your magnetic restraints on them. I will carry Bruno and you can carry Red Lightning. I will need to neutralize the sticky globules with a heat beam. Emily, Dr. Snowden, you two can help Jake.” Once everyone got moving, he cleared the sticky mess off of Red Lightning.

  Lee applied the magnetic restraints and then slung her over his shoulder. “They’ll be out for quite a while. We need to get them back to my base.” He tossed the second set of restraints to Evaran.

  Evaran cleared the sticky globules from Bruno’s feet and then slapped the restraints on him. Evaran then slung Bruno over his shoulder, causing Evaran to bend for a moment, and then straightened up. “He is heavier than he looks.”

  Emily helped Jake stand and then slid his left arm around her shoulders. Dr. Snowden got the right arm.

  With one final look around, Evaran gestured out the way they came. “Let us go.”

  They exited Safrica. The guards were still unconscious when they got the landing platform. An hour later, they arrived at the entrance to Beezlo’s tunnels.

  Evaran knocked on the wall segment.

  After a moment, it slid to the side. Krogus eyed them and then talked into a small device. After ten minutes, Beezlo and heavily armed wererats appeared.

  Beezlo’s eyes widened. “You … you subdued them.”

  “We have,” said Evaran. “Per the agreement, we wish to leave via your tunnels. Safrica’s back entrance is open, and Claw and his enforcers are unconscious in one of the rear storage rooms. The front door is sealed, but you should be able to unlock it with Claw’s passes.”

  Beezlo showed a toothy grin. “Ahh. Well, I definitely don’t want to be on your bad side.” He tossed his right hand out, and the wererats cleared a path. “You may go.”

  Evaran bowed slightly. The others followed him as he stepped through.

  The wererats had begun to pour through the entrance into the subway.

  Emily did not think Claw would have a merciful end, but given what she had observed, maybe he did not deserve one. The fight was tougher than she had expected, but she remembered fighting Seeros from a previous adventure, someone who was probably just as tough.

  It pained her to think Jake was hurt, and he had no nanobots to help heal him. Her eyes misted at how courageous he was, trying to help Evaran without a moment of hesitation, even at the possibility of losing his life. It should have been she that had gone for it, but Jake was the closest and had moved before she could even locate the device. She stumbled, causing Jake to fall forward, but Dr. Snowden was able to keep Jake from hitting the ground.

  “Careful, we’re not trying to hurt Jake,” said Dr. Snowden.

  “You’re all right,” said Jake.

  Emily focused her attention on the path. “Sorry about that. Was just thinking.”

  “Lot to think about.”

  “Yeah. Let’s just get out of these tunnels.”

  Dr. Snowden observed Bruno as he tried to get out of his cell. According to Lee, the walls were composed of a mix of Inconel and titanium metal. Dr. Snowden understood that with the types of nonhumans that would be occupying the cells, having strong walls and a force field for an entrance would be needed. He noted that the cells had some comfort in them. There were wall segments that were fashioned into open areas for a toilet, a sleeping area, and what looked like an eating area. How food and drink was given was a mystery to him.

  The way the detention center was set up, cells were stored on a rotating device of some type, and only one at a time could be pulled forward into the area before him. He yawned as he checked his PSD. It was 11:55 p.m. He was ready to go to bed, but all the excitement had him still going.

  Dr. Snowden stood next to Evaran and Lee. Emily was with Robert and Jake where he was being attended to in the medical lab. During the flight back, Bruno had begun to wake up, and it took both Evaran and Lee to keep him in place. Red Lightning was still out when they arrived at the base. Dr. Snowden wondered what they would have done had she woken up.

  Bruno pounded the walls, then punched the force field. He gritted his teeth when neither buckled. “Get me outta here!”

  Lee shook a finger at Bruno. “I don’t think so. You’re involved in some shady things, and I know … you have information.”

  “If I tell you what I know, you’ll let me go?”

  Lee eyed Bruno. “You’re Evaran’s prisoner. However, he has deferred to us for incarceration. Tell us what you know … and we’ll corroborate it. If everything checks out, we move you … someplace else.”

  “Where?” asked Bruno.

  “Depends on what we find out about your origin,” said Lee. “The Helians can be quite … forgiving … but that really depends on how much you help. And what is said here is between you and us.”

  Bruno glared at Lee. “And if I don’t cooperate?”

  “Then settle into your new home. You should know Helians are long-lived … and are very patient. My robot body will last a long time … and my species is long-lived as well. It’s your choice,” said Lee.

  Bruno sighed. “All right.” His eyes swept the room. “I’ll play your little game. Whaddaya wanna know?”

  Lee turned his head toward Evaran and Dr. Snowden, then faced Bruno. “Are you from this planet?”

  “Nope,” said Bruno. “This planet’s weak.”

  Evaran stepped forward. “Did you come through the rift door to this planet?”

  Bruno eyed Evaran. “Yep.”

  Dr. Snowden found it interesting that Bruno was willing to cooperate. Maybe it was the realization that the Helians would never let him go if he did not. The Helians, from what he knew, were not always the most forgiving, despite what Lee said.

  Evaran placed his hands behind his back and paced in front of the cell. “So you are from another dimension, or maybe a pocket universe or another planet. The main point is you do not belong here. Do you work for Caltorus?”

  “Yep. Hired mercenary. Everybody knows that, though.”

  “We suspected as much. Thank you for confirming. Now, does Caltorus have anything to do with my Torvatta missing?”

  “Whaddaya think?”

  “I think he is involved. I suspect he wanted me out of the picture.”

  Bruno harrumphed. “He thinks you’re some sorta cosmic badass, but only because Ares and Count Boris painted you that way. Number one threat to his plans. I sure didn’t see that in Safrica.”

  “Noted,” said Evaran. “I also suspect, based on your statements from Safrica, that you knew of me and planned to capture me when you saw me.”

  “Well, of course I did. I didn’t know what you would look like, but I heard things. The Helians working for Caltorus know a lot about you. You’r
e much weaker than I expected.”

  Evaran half smiled. “Strength was not needed. Teamwork was.”

  “Pfft, you got lucky. If I had my full team, we woulda wiped the floor with ya.”

  “I see,” said Evaran. He paused and tilted his head. “I assume then you know what happened to my Torvatta. Based on the tracks we saw, the Torvatta was pushed on its side and then rolled out. It would take someone of incredible strength to do that. Someone of your strength, to be exact.”

  Bruno grinned. “It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be. Caltorus said without your ship, you’re helpless. I can see he was right.”

  “As you, Red Lightning, Psyotica, and the Mover have found out, that is not the case. Where has it been taken?”

  Bruno shook his head. “No idea. I just loaded it.”

  “Compartmentalization,” said Lee. “Or at least the appearance of it. We will find out soon enough.”

  “You know,” said Bruno, shaking a finger, “this planet will fall in time, and it will not be the first. You’re on the wrong side.”

  “Then Caltorus has invaded other worlds, it would seem,” said Evaran.

  “You can ask him yourself. I can put you in contact with him. Sure he’d love to chat with ya.”

  “Perhaps. You do not seem to care that Caltorus might find out you said anything,” said Evaran.

  “It’s just business to me. I ain’t afraid of him, you, or anyone! It’s not like this is secret information anyways.”

  Evaran touched his hands at the fingertips in front of him. “You strike me as someone who values freedom and would not want to be caged like an animal. You may not be afraid of anyone, but I suspect you would, in general, be afraid if you knew that the room you are in now, or something similar if moved, is where you would live the rest of your life. No freedom. Constant monitoring. Lack of choice on what you get to eat or drink. Mind-numbing loneliness. Lack of mental stimulation. No friends. Isolation. Every day.”

  Bruno licked his lips.

  Evaran put his hands behind his back. “In the time I have been here, I have noticed that you are more anxious. You are used to doing whatever you want, however you want. In here, you cannot, maybe for the rest of your life. You are no longer in control. Being cooperative is one form of escape, and so far, you have been helpful. Continue to do so, and maybe you will regain your freedom. If this does not interest you, then get comfortable where you are.”