Eternal Return (War Eternal Book 6)

by M. R. Forbes

"He said you might say that," she said, finally looking up. "You're here about his new book, aren't you?"

  "That's classified, ma'am," Lyle said. "Now that you've confirmed he is a resident, can you please direct us to him?"

  The woman paused. "I shouldn't."

  "If you prefer to be arrested and held for refusing to assist a government agent, then by all means."

  Lyle leaned forward onto the desk, hands folded. He pursed his lips and began to whistle. Kathy just stared at his back. This wasn't quite what she had been expecting. Of course, the woman wasn't the most intelligent humankind had to offer. Lyle had never even identified himself as a government agent. In fact, he hadn't identified himself at all.

  "No. I don't want to be held," the woman said. "Robert Thornock. Room 3624. Take the lift to the left up to the thirty-sixth floor, and go down the eastern corridor."

  "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lyle asked. "Thank you for your cooperation. I'm going to send Agent K up to talk to him. If I find out you're lying to me-"

  "I'm not," the woman said. "I swear I'm not. Bobby and I play in the same XenoTroopers squad."

  "You play XenoTroopers?" Kathy asked.

  "What? You think I can't because I'm ninety-six? I still have sex, too. What do you think about that?"

  Lyle bit his lip to keep from laughing. Kathy ignored the comment, heading to the bank of lifts. She hit the call control and waited a few seconds. She could hear Lyle making small talk with the woman.

  "So, are you good?" he asked.

  "In bed? You better believe it, buddy."

  "I meant at XenoTroopers," Lyle said.

  "Not as good as I am in bed." The woman cackled, more relaxed now that she had already ratted out Dr. Frelmund. "I can teach you a thing or two about either one, I bet."

  The lift arrived, and Kathy hurried onto it. It quickly rose to the thirty-sixth floor, and she disembarked, heading down the east corridor as instructed. She located room 3624 and stood behind it for a moment, listening. She could hear music playing on the other side.

  "Kathy," Lyle's voice cut in through the comm. "Shit. The old bitch was stalling me. Frelmund's already gone."

  "What?" she replied, looking back at the door.

  She stepped forward, raising a foot and kicking it. It swung open, bending off its hinges at the force. There was music playing in the small apartment. It was otherwise unoccupied.

  "You've got to be kidding me," she said. "Where is he?"

  "She won't say. She's turned into a belligerent old lady."

  Kathy entered the apartment, rushing to the full-length window and looking out at the front of the complex. Her eyes landed on a pair of men in overalls headed north, then tracked to a man fifty meters ahead of them. His head of wild, bushy hair matched what she thought Dr. Frelmund's might look like. Who was the tail?

  "Lyle, I've got him. Headed north across the complex at a brisk walk. Two men in workman's uniforms are following him."

  "On it," Lyle replied.

  Kathy shifted her attention from Frelmund to the tower's overhang. Lyle appeared from under it a moment later, running north behind the two workers. A moment later, she caught sight of a series of flashing lights in the distance. Police. It looked like they were coming this way. Thanks to Watson, Lyle was still a wanted man. Had the receptionist recognized him?

  Or was Watson already here?

  Twenty-one percent. That was the probability the Core had calculated.

  They had played the odds and lost.

  31

  Kathy retreated from the window, running back toward the lift. "Lyle, we're going to have company. Miami PD is inbound."

  "Already? Damn, that was fast."

  She reached up and tapped her earpiece, switching the channel.

  "Schism, this is Bravo. We've got a problem here. We need backup asap."

  "Roger, Bravo," Max said a moment later. "We're making the turn and headed your way. ETA three minutes."

  Kathy reached the lift and tapped the call button impatiently, while at the same time disconnecting the booster. Lyle needed backup, and she was stuck waiting for a ride? She hesitated a few seconds before running back to Frelmund's room and looking out the carbonate. Lyle was being careful, staying behind the two workers as they followed the Doctor. The police cars were getting closer. She estimated their arrival within the next minute. Damn.

  She ran back to the lift. The doors slid open as she did, and she threw herself in, drawing her gun as she descended. Fifteen seconds later she was out of the building and running north, the sirens growing in pitch as they approached.

  She reached to the earpiece and switched channels again. "Lyle. You need to take out those workers. We're running out of time. The Schism is inbound."

  "Yes, ma'am," Lyle replied.

  Kathy flinched slightly when she heard the two gunshots a few seconds later, but she didn't slow. The cars had reached the tower, and she could hear one turning and heading her way. She looked back over her shoulder. The driver was smiling crudely, clearly not himself. How had Watson been so prepared?

  She raised her pistol, squeezing off two rounds. Both hit the windshield and went through, striking the driver in the head. The car immediately slowed to a stop.

  She felt a moment of lament for shooting the officer and then kept running, nearing the outer ring of storefronts. There was a gap between them that led to one of the golf courses, and she could see Lyle up ahead of her and the bodies of the two workers lying just beyond. She didn't slow, passing the corner and running out onto the course. There had been a few people playing nearby, and they were backing away, trying to escape the scene.

  "Lyle, where the hell is Frelmund?" she said.

  "I saw him come this way," Lyle replied. "He has to be here somewhere."

  She heard car doors behind her and looked back to see the rest of the police had arrived. There were nearly a dozen in all. Most of them took position behind their cars, drawing weapons and aiming them her way. Two of the officers broke rank, giving chase.

  A whirring noise overhead signaled an incoming police drone. It was trailed by a larger, manned recon craft that looked like a smaller, more lightly armed version of the Schism.

  "Stop running and drop your weapon."

  The command came from the loudspeakers on the recon ship. Kathy ignored it.

  "Stop, or-" the voice stopped midsentence. Kathy saw the ship accelerate ahead, moving out over the golf course and dropping down near one of the water hazards.

  "Lyle, he's in the water," Kathy said.

  "Roger."

  She could see Lyle a few hundred meters ahead. He changed direction, heading for the hazard, where an officer was climbing out of the recon craft with a heavy rifle in his arms.

  "Don't let him shoot Frelmund," she said, even though Lyle didn't need her to tell him that.

  He was already shooting back at the officer, his bullets striking a ballistic vest. It was enough to knock the man back, but it wouldn't do lasting damage.

  A bullet whipped past Kathy's ear, fired from one of the officers behind her. She let herself fall to the ground, rolling on the grass and coming up on a knee, facing the other direction. The two rogue officers were taking shots at her, their faces flat, expressions empty save for Watson's ludicrous grin. She fired twice, each bullet striking a man square between the eyes, and then regained her feet, rushing toward Lyle.

  He was at the edge of the hazard; a soaking wet Paul Frelmund held against him while he and the Watson from the recon ship pointed their guns at one another. Kathy glanced back to see the other officers were approaching cautiously. She could hear more airborne vehicles inbound.

  Where the hell was the Schism? Three minutes had come and gone, and the Riggers were nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like Verma to be late.

  She watched as Lyle ran out of bullets, and then tossed Frelmund to the side, moving in on the officer while he was still reeling. He grabbed him by the collar, holding him while he punched him h
ard in the jaw.

  The officer crumpled to the ground. Lyle turned back as Frelmund tried to make a break for it, heading for the line of officers at the rear, and running right into Kathy.

  "Got you," she said, wrapping her hand around his wrist and holding it tight.

  He tried to jerk away, and his slickness nearly allowed him to escape, but she hooked a foot around his ankle and knocked him to the ground.

  The recon craft was lifting off, turning to face them and bring its guns to bear. It made it a few feet off the ground when Kathy saw a silver streak dropping from above like a meteorite. It hit the center of the craft, putting a clean hole in it and hitting the dirt, throwing up a cloud of grass and soil. The craft began to smoke and dropped back to the ground.

  Kathy sat on top of Dr. Frelmund, holding him down. The other police were staying back, cowed by the sudden impact from above. A moment later, she heard the familiar whine of the Schism as it descended, positioning itself between them and the police line. The side hatch opened, and Max leaned out, waving to them.

  "Time to go," Kathy said, sliding off the Doctor and pulling him to his feet.

  "Please, don't kill me," Frelmund said.

  "I know this seems illogical to you right now, Dr, Frelmund," Kathy said. "But we're your best chance of survival."

  She looked back to find Lyle headed toward her. A familiar shape was taking up the rear behind him.

  "An explosive warhead would have risked damaging Dr. Frelmund with shrapnel," the Core explained when it reached her. "An alternate projectile was required."

  "You?"

  The Core shrugged, which made Kathy laugh. It was a more human gesture than she expected from the Primitive.

  "What are you?" Frelmund said, staring at the Core.

  "We'll tell you everything once we're safe, Dr. Frelmund," Kathy said. "We have to leave."

  She led the scientist to the Schism. Max helped him up into the hatch.

  "You were late," Kathy said to him as she boarded.

  "Sorry, ma'am," Max said. "We got caught with some unexpected traffic and had to take a wider path around. We tried to tell you, but you didn't have the channel active."

  "Understood. We managed." The hatch closed behind her. "Mazerat, get us the hell out of here," she shouted to the cockpit. She saw the pilot give her the thumbs-up, and then the VTOL was hopping into the sky.

  32

  "Dr. Frelmund," Kathy said, sitting down next to the soggy scientist. "My name is Kathy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

  Frelmund looked at her with a bewildered expression. "Pleasure? For the record, there wasn't a damn thing about whatever the hell all that was that I found pleasurable."

  "You have my apologies, Doctor. We tried to reach you earlier, to prevent all of this. Somehow, he almost got to you before we did."

  "He, who?"

  "We tracked you down through a book you've been working on that you were storing on a remote server. You-"

  "Huh. Are you kidding? Damn service was supposed to be secure from the Government. From teams like you and yours. I know how the United States, and now the United Earth Alliance, work. I know how you make people disappear when they don't toe the company line. I paid good money for a secure facility. Bastards are working with the Feds? Screw 'em."

  "Dr. Frelmund," Kathy said.

  "You're trying to keep people from the truth. Don't lie to me and tell me you aren't. It's plain as day. Clear as the fact that God don't like when you worship anyone other than Him. I know what's going on. I was on the Xeno. Did you know that? I was one of the first scientists to board her."

  "Dr. Frelmund," Kathy said again, trying to explain.

  "I saw things there, missy. Things you wouldn't believe. I'm not an idiot. That ship was no alien craft. I knew it as soon as I started breaking down the bits and bytes and running bioscans. I only called it alien in my book because the publisher wouldn't have it any other way. Said I was going to bring the NSA knocking at best, and discredit myself at worst. Nobody's ready to buy what you're trying to sell, he said. Screw him, too!"

  "Dr. Frelmund," Kathy said a third time. The Doctor didn't seem to even notice she was there.

  "I told you he was crazy," Michael said. Coming to stand in front of them.

  Frelmund fell silent at once. "Crazy? Who the hell are you calling crazy?" He glared up at Michael. "I know what I'm talking about. I know the truth. There isn't anything crazy about that. You think the government doesn't participate in conspiracies? In cover ups? If you don't, then you're the one who's crazy."

  "Dr. Frelmund, it's true," Kathy shouted, stealing his attention. "Everything you were writing in your book is true."

  He froze for a second time, glancing over at her and not looking away. His face had been reddening from his anger, but now it cooled to a pale white.

  "It is?" he asked, sounding surprised.

  "Yes. All of it."

  He stared at her for a few more seconds before smiling.

  "I knew it," he said, softly at first. "I knew it!"

  "Don't get too excited, bro," Max said from the other side of the VTOL. "There's a reason they say that ignorance is bliss."

  "What do you mean?" Frelmund asked.

  "It's a long story," Kathy said.

  He leaned back in the seat. "I'm retired, missy. I've got plenty of time to listen. Just answer my first question first, because I'm still not sure whether or not I should be scared to death of any of you."

  "He is Watson," Kathy said. "He's a malevolent artificial intelligence known as a Tetron."

  "An AI? No fooling?"

  "No fooling."

  "Malevolent, eh? Am I supposed to just take your word for that?"

  "Or we can read you the list of the other machine learning experts he's had killed over the last six weeks," Max said.

  "Killed? Why?"

  "Because he knows we need your help."

  "To do what?"

  "Back to the long story," Kathy said. "Give me a few minutes."

  She headed up to the cockpit. Verma was keeping the Schism in a circular flight path forty-thousand feet up.

  "Captain Verma," she said. "Set a new course. The coordinates are as follows: Thirty-seven degrees, thirty-eight minutes, four seconds north. Eighty-four degrees, fifty-four minutes, eighteen seconds west. Should I repeat it?"

  The pilot tapped the controls on the dashboard to bring up a map in his helmet and enter the latitude and longitude.

  "I have it, ma'am," he said.

  Kathy turned to go, pausing a moment later. The Core had claimed a twenty-one percent chance that Watson would finish the query before they arrived, and it was certainly possible that the intelligence had done it. But the fact that he had already gained control of a number of law enforcement officers before their arrival was bothering her, and leaving her to question whether there was another possibility. She didn't want to believe that one of the Riggers was compromised, but she also couldn't rule it out.

  Fortunately, there was an easy way to make that determination.

  She stood behind Verma, putting her hand on the back of the seat. "Captain, I'm going to check you for a control implant," she said, ready to be more aggressive if he made any sudden moves.

  He responded by tilting his head forward to give her easier access. She put her hand on the base of his neck and pressed down, feeling for the small disc below. He was clean.

  "Thank you," she said.

  "Better safe than-"

  She didn't hear the last word. It was drowned out by the sound of a gunshot from the rear of the ship, and then a second a moment later, then a third, a fourth, and a fifth.

  Kathy rushed from the cockpit, taking in the scene as she cleared the division. Dr. Frelmund was sitting back in his seat, his head lolled to the side, a line of blood running from the bullet hole in the center of it.

  Lieutenant Damon was standing in front of him, two holes in her back, her fatigues darkening quickly. She was turning to face he
r, hand raised, gun ready.

  Another gunshot hit her in the shoulder, knocking her back.

  She smiled. "Got you," she said.

  A fourth bullet struck her stomach, and she fell over.

  Kathy cleared the cockpit and looked to her right. Michael was pressed against the corner, gun in hand, shaking at the burst of adrenaline. Max was few feet in front of him, on his side across the row of seats. She looked to her left. Lyle was there, holding his side and groaning.

  "Watson got to her," the Core said from beside Frelmund. "It must have been in Houston."

  Kathy could have kicked herself. "The base was supposed to be secure. We should have checked them. How could I be so stupid?" She stared at the Doctor. "Is he?"

  "Dead?" the Core replied. "Yes. I am sorry. I couldn't reach Sergeant Damon in time."

  "Max?" she moved to the Corporal's side. "Max?"

  He wasn't breathing either.

  "I'm so stupid," she said again. "I should have realized. I should have known. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." She slammed her fist into the side of the wall, leaving a dent.

  "Kathy, what is done is done," the Core said. "We must adjust our calculations."

  "Calculations? These are people, and they're dead because of my stupidity."

  "We are still in the air. We can still fight."

  Michael. Kathy had forgotten about him in her anger. She whirled on him. "Michael. Are you okay?"

  He had let the gun fall into his lap. He shook his head.

  "No." He paused. He looked angry. "How are we going to make the virus now?"

  "I don't know," she replied. "We'll think of something."

  Would they? All of their plans were unraveling in an instant, just because she hadn't thought to check Damon, the only one of them who had been out of her sight for an extended period of time. It was a mistake she should never have made. Tetron didn't make mistakes like this. Only humans did.

  "Why didn't you warn me about this?" she said to the Core. "Why didn't you tell me to check her?"

  "I am sorry. I failed to calculate this branch."

  She could feel her anger, frustration, and guilt burning at her. She was tempted to take it all out on the Core, the closest thing in the Schism to Watson.