by Chandra Ryan
“We have gathered intelligence that leads us to believe a government hostile is plotting a mass kidnapping of the Subservients. At this point I’d like to introduce Agent Mitchel Jones. He’s a Sub Type Three. And he works for the Planetary Defense System.”
She leaned over to whisper to Jack, “Technokinesis.”
Seeth shot her a look but then continued, “I’m sorry for the last-minute introduction but he’s been recovering in a medical facility and has not been cleared for travel until today.”
Jack squeezed her hand as Mitchel stood. He was the guy they’d seen being tortured at the compound. The one they’d blown their cover for.
“Thank you, sir. And thank you for including me today.” He turned his attention to the group. “I know I’m a new face to many of you here. And I know our agencies haven’t always worked well together in the past. But that ends today. I’ve spent years working my way into this militia with the goal of bringing it down. I know their players and all their strategies. And I’ve handed all of those files over to your captain to make sure he understood the nature of the mission he was undertaking today.” He looked around the group. “This militia is well funded and armed. And they do not want the Subservients to slip out of their grasp. If they’ve heard anything about this move, there will be a fight. They may appear unorganized and unrefined because of their dress and grammar but do not underestimate them. They tracked me down and captured me even with my ability to manipulate technology. And then they knew enough about me to drag me to a deserted farm in the middle of nowhere to make sure I wasn’t able to use my talents to escape. These men are very well-informed.”
He sat and Seeth stood once more. “You heard the man. Don’t be stupid.”
With that the meeting broke up and the agents started to gather into smaller groups. She, however, sought out Mitchel. “I’m glad to see you’ve recovered. When you took off I didn’t know who you were or if you’d survived.”
“I’m told I owe you my life.” He held his hand out in greeting and she was happy to take it.
“No. That’s Jack.” She smiled at Jack as she said his name. It wasn’t hard to find him. He’d come up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Subtle, he was not. “He took the shot.”
“Well then, thank you both.” He held his hand out to Jack, who took it in what appeared to be a firm grasp.
“Glad we were in the wrong place at the right time.”
“Me too.”
“Do you know which part of the detail you’re going to be riding in?”
“I’m going to be in the thick of it. They want to have a couple of Subservients present. They hope it’ll help them go along peacefully with the evacuation. Since we’re citizens, these things have to be voluntary now.”
“That’s what I’m doing too.”
Mitchel cocked his head as if he didn’t understand what she’d just said.
“She’s a Type Five.” Jack said the words with obvious pride in his voice.
“A prophet. I haven’t met any of your type yet.” Mitchel looked her over again as if this were the first time he was seeing her. At his open appraisal Jack pulled her more tightly against him. His possessive streak would’ve made her laugh under any other circumstances.
“There weren’t many of us made. Or maybe not many of us survived.” She shrugged. “I could never get a straight answer.”
“Straight answers are a rarity.”
“I like to think it’s because they don’t have them. Maybe when…” She realized what she was about to say and stopped mid-sentence. “Or if we catch Dr. Antihway we’ll be able to find out more.”
“If is right. That man’s been at the top of the most wanted list for years. But the bastard is one slippery fish.” Seeth called his name and Mitchel nodded in reply. “I’ve got to go. But I’ll be seeing you later.” He winked at Rowe and then started making his way through the crowd toward the captain.
“I don’t like him.”
The words were whispered so softly she was pretty sure she was the only one who heard. Which was for the best. “You should. His abilities with technology would be very beneficial to your department.”
“I don’t care. I don’t like him.”
“Are you jealous?” She turned around in his embrace so she was facing him. “Because you shouldn’t be.”
“I know you’ve got this all figured out but I don’t have that luxury.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Then trust that it’ll work out. And Mitchel feels right.” She nearly laughed when Jack growled softly. “In a mission kind of way. It’s good that he’s here. He’s supposed to help.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” She stood up on her toes so she could kiss him. “He’s not important to me. You are.”
“Gut feeling?”
“Yep.”
“Then it must be true.”
Still, an hour later as they were getting into their positions in the convoy, Jack seemed uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other repeatedly. “It’ll all work out.”
“I believe you. But still, be safe.”
“Always.” She watched him walk away and waited for her stomach to twist into an anxious knot. Only it didn’t. Everything was going exactly as it should. She was on the right path. So far at least.
“I get the feeling he doesn’t like me.”
She took her seat on the nearly empty large armored transport next to Mitchel. The lack of windows made her feel trapped despite the vehicle’s size. “He doesn’t know you. But he isn’t fond of the way you look at me. And since I have no interest in you romantically, it is kind of a waste of your time and energy to antagonize him.”
“Blunt little thing, aren’t you?”
She just shrugged in answer.
“Blunt but right. I thought that might be the gist of it.” Mitchel laughed. “I’ll do my best to keep my eyes to myself from now on.”
“That would be appreciated.”
“How long until we get to this secure location?” Harlow’s voice came from the back of the transport. It brought a smile to Rowe’s face.
She turned and shook her head. “You know I can’t tell you. Why do you insist on asking questions I can’t answer?” A large group of people started to file into the transport behind Harlow. They were supposed to be Subservients and a couple of them were. But they were mainly humans and engineered soldiers. They were the best of the best at guerilla warfare that the military had to offer. Rowe had hand-picked each and every one of them with help from Seeth and Jack over the past week. Most of them had been pulled from covert missions. There’d been a lot of bitching and moaning about that. But this mission had been given priority.
“Because you might slip up and tell me one of these days.”
She paused to think about the statement. “That may be so. But it’s not going to happen today.”
She waited for all of the people to claim their seats and secure their safety harnesses before hitting her communications badge. “We’re all settled in transport four.”
“Copy.”
They waited for a few minutes in relative silence but then the convoy began to move. This was it. They’d started down a path. There was no going back. It would take three hours to reach the military base that was their destination. If they did make it all the way, it meant there were no leaks. It felt odd to hope for a traitor in their midst. But that was what she was currently doing. If there weren’t one, today would be a waste of time.
Thankfully when they were about an hour into the drive, a low boom shook the transport.
One of the fake Subservients turned to look directly at her. “Stunner grenades.”
“There’s armor in the compartments under your seats.” She opened hers and grabbed the lightweight suit and held it up. “It should protect you from most laser fire and the mask will keep you safe from any gases they might use.”
“Good to hear.” Jack’s voice made her smile. “We’re surrounded by a formidable number of hostiles. But it’s nothing we can’t handle. Keep the package secured.”
“Understood.” She looked around at the men and women in the transport. “They’re putting on their armor now.”
“Good. Be careful.”
There was no doubt Dr. Antihway was behind this and would try to take the Subservients. The question was, how? As soon as she had her armor and mask on she buckled herself back into her seat and waited. When the thumping sound of helicopter blades filled the vehicle she wondered if she had the first clue. Hitting her badge, she asked, “Is that our bird?”
“No. That bird is hostile.”
“Can we shoot it out of the sky?” She didn’t think they’d brought anything with enough firepower to down a helicopter. And if they had it would defeat the purpose of the mission. They had to find Dr. Antihway. And that wouldn’t happen if they brought his helicopter down. But she still had to ask. She needed to know what the plan was.
“Negative.”
There was a loud clanking noise as if something metal had been dropped on the roof of their transport. “Something is happening.”
The transport rocked and then jerked as if it were being pulled up. Which was what must have been happening. They were being lifted. “Are we off the ground?” The question was directed to Jack but she never got an answer. “Hello?”
Mitchel grabbed his reader and entered a series of commands before he looked up at her. “We’re shielded. No signals in or out.”
“Can you find a weakness?”
He started working on his reader again. “It’ll take some time before I even know but I’ll try.”
“Let me know if you have any luck.” If there were no signals there’d be no way for the rest of the team to track them. They were really and truly on their own. Then again, an absence of signals also meant she was free to talk without worrying about being overheard. “This is it, people. Make sure your weapons are close at hand but out of sight. No one pulls a gun until we have eyes on Dr. Antihway. That’s an order.”
“Yes sir.” The collective answer was calm and resounding.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Mitchel’s head popped up from his reader and he looked around the transport as if searching for some context.
She turned to Mitchel and smiled. “You wanted to bring this organization down, right?”
“Yes.” His voice sounded uncertain though.
“Then you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
“But this is a group of civilian Subservients.”
“No. There are several Subservients here but we’re all agents or military. The rest are human. And genetically enhanced soldiers.” She quickly filled him in on the details of the assignment. The real mission they were on.
When the transport was lowered to the ground with a hollow thud a few minutes later everybody was up to speed. “Are we still shielded?”
Mitchel looked back down at his device. “Yes.”
“Okay. Well, it looks as if you’re out of time. Hide that someplace inventive. They’ll find it eventually. But every second they don’t is a second the rest of the team can come up with a way to break the shield.”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ve set an algorithm to search for weak spots. It’ll vibrate when it finds one.”
“Good thinking. Put it someplace you’ll feel it.”
“Understood.”
She didn’t have time to see where he put the device. All of her attention became focused on the doors. They were being cut open from the outside.
“Stand back, everyone. We have no idea how strong the laser they’re using is.” The soldiers in the back stepped closer to the front at her warning. It wasn’t until they did that she realized she was in charge.
She looked over at Harlow to see if she wanted to take over. But before she could ask, Harlow shook her head. “You’re doing fantastic.”
“Then get out of my head.”
Harlow smiled. “Yes sir.”
She was stunned to silence for a moment. Harlow had just called her sir. She really was in charge. “Okay.” She made her way to the back of the transport. She was careful to stay a safe distance from the doors but if she was the one officially in charge she wanted to be the first one they saw.
The burning metal smelled like space. And the aroma triggered a flash of a memory of her captaining a ship. Visions were popping into her mind more and more often now. But she shook her head to erase this one. As much as she’d like to be a captain someday, now wasn’t that day. Seeing a vision, even as brief as that one had been, was disconcerting. She needed to focus.
There was a large cracking noise and the door fell off the transport. She tried to see how many people were on the other side but the room was filled with smoke. She would’ve been coughing if it weren’t for the mask she’d put on.
“Welcome home, my children.” It was Dr. Antihway’s voice but it had the crackle and hiss of an intercom. He wasn’t in the room with them.
“That’s a hell of a welcome. One would almost think it was an attack and kidnapping.” She said the words as loudly and clearly as the mask would allow.
“I would never hurt you.”
“Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”
“I understand your skepticism. But give it time. You will come to trust me.”
She looked back at Mitchel just long enough to see him shake his head. Nothing yet. “I think a face-to-face greeting would go a long way in building that trust.”
“I’m optimistic, Rowe. Not stupid.” So he did know her name. And he knew her well enough not to trust her. “But all good things with time. We will be a family again.”
There wasn’t enough time in the entire lifespan of the universe for that. She wouldn’t share that with him though. His objective might be impossible but hers was so close she could practically taste the victory.
Chapter Ten
As soon as the smoke and dust cleared they were ordered off the transport and had electronic bracelets strapped to their wrists. They were monitoring devices that controlled their movements. Her team was given free access to several corridors but if they were to try to explore the restricted areas the bracelets would give an electronic pulse to shock them back into compliance.
It took Mitchel all of five minutes to hack his. Another hour and he had ten of her people off-line. It was a large enough group that they could provide some cover for each other but it was small enough that they could explore without being missed.
“One would think an evil scientist would have better security.” She stared down at the blank monitor as she guided the group down a restricted hallway. They’d left most of her team still on-line and in approved areas so none of the guards would know something was up until it was too late. That was her hope at least.
“He’s only as good as his intel,” Mitchel said softly.
“I don’t follow.”
“Nobody knew I was going to be here today until the very last minute. Not even me. So even if you guys do have a leak, there’s no way they could’ve told him.”
She looked back over her shoulder at him. “So he didn’t plan for someone with technokinesis. You’re our secret weapon.”
“That sounds sexy.” Mitchel winked but she just shook her head.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I’m honest.”
She decided ignoring him would be the best course of action. Opening her mind to the universal energy, she focused on Dr. Antihway. She only needed to see paths where their fates crossed. There couldn’t be too many of those.
Several visions collided in her head and made her knees buckle with pain. Thankfully Harlow was right next to her and grabbed her hand to keep her up. “That’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”
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Rowe couldn’t lecture her about being in her head this time. It was almost impossible for Harlow to shield herself from others’ thoughts when she had skin-to-skin contact with them. “I’m refining it. But unfortunately it’s kind of a learn-as-you-go process.”
Harlow glanced over her shoulder at the passageway they’d just walked down. “Learn faster.”
“It doesn’t work that way.” She kept a hold of Harlow’s hand as she opened her mind again.
“Fuck me.” Harlow held Rowe up as she flipped through visions. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“No idea.” She focused on one specific vision. That was the one she needed. “Need to find Antihway in a room with a large skylight.”
Mitchel snorted. “Sure. Of course. Because that’s not a difficult request or anything.”
She cleared the visions out of her head before she addressed him. “It may be difficult but it’s not impossible. We’ll do it. I know we will. I saw it happen.”
Harlow shook her head. “She’s not lying about that one. That was a fucking trippy experience.”
“Tell me about it.” Rowe turned around in a circle and then picked the direction that felt right. “This way.” She led them up a flight of stairs and down a couple of corridors to an office with a computer station. There were two people in the room but they weren’t a match for her group of enhanced soldiers and Subs. They were subdued, bound and gagged in a matter of minutes. “Mitchel. It’s time for you to do your secret weapon thing.”
“See. I knew you wanted me.” He moved through the small group of people to stand next to her.
“Yeah, I want you to hack this and bring down the shield from inside the system.”
He stared at her for a second and then looked down at the computer. “That’s actually a good idea.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I have them all the time.” Granted, she wasn’t always vocal about them. But she was learning. And she liked the way being assertive felt.
Mitchel sat at the computer and started to type at the keyboard. Only it seemed a lot more like a caress than the hunt-and-peck technique she usually employed. Every once in a while he would pause for a second and cock his head before he started typing again. But it didn’t seem as if he was using the time to think. If she had to guess, it looked as if he were actually talking to the machine. She couldn’t tell for sure. She only had his expressions to judge by. That he had expressions at all, though, was telling.