by Kal Spriggs
Halving’s motivations and drives might be nothing short of evil, but his loyalty to his people was without question.
“We’re going to address that—” Cyrus broke off as he felt a sudden, familiar surge of mental activity. He felt his own heartbeat speed up as the endorphins brought on by surprise released into his bloodstream. Cyrus countered those with a fraction of attention even as he spoke, “He’s here.”
“What?” Captain Schultz said, his voice uncertain. “I thought you checked the men he has in custody…”
“No, he’s outside, tangling with this imbecile’s guards.” Cyrus shook his head, then winced as he felt the surge of psychic activity just beyond the draped windows. Reaching out with his mind he felt a tangle of emotions and thoughts as Cezero’s psychics coordinated their attacks and the escapee tried to defend himself.
“Captain Schultz, tell your men to move to the back of the building and take down the subject,” Cyrus said. He winced as the windows shattered and the building shuttered from a deflected psychokinetic blow. “Lethal force is authorized. Use your full response team. We’ll probably need backup to take down the mercs.”
Cezero rose from his chair, “But—”
“Unless you want us to start with you, then shut your mouth,” Cyrus snarled. He turned his glare at the suddenly pale Captain Schultz. “Why are you not moving?”
“Shouldn’t I call for reinforcements?” The building shuddered again and Cyrus suddenly smelt the sharp scent of urine. He wrinkled his nose and stared at the ESPSec Captain in disgust. “Never seen combat before?”
Captain Schultz’s mouth opened and shut, but no words came out and his face had gone pasty white. The ESPSec officer looked frozen.
Cyrus grimaced. This was the security force supposed to terrify psychics. Led by cowards brave enough when they dragged people out of their beds in the middle of the night but terrified of open conflict.
Cyrus reached out with his mind and felt the panic of the Captain. He felt the mingled shame and fear that overwhelmed his normal facade of arrogance and pride. Cyrus delved into the other man’s body. He felt the nervous sweat on his skin and the damp warmth where he’d pissed himself. He felt the man’s rapid heart rate as it fluttered with nervousness.
Cyrus sent the slightest mental nudge against the Captain’s heart and turned away. “Cezero, organize your men, tell them to take down the psychics. Both your group of psychics and the target.”
Cezero’s eyes were locked on the face of the ESPSec Captain. The man had clutched at his chest and dropped to his knees, a look of total agony on his face.
A massive coronary embolism was a painful way to go, Cyrus knew.
“Cezero, do it now! I’m going to lead his ESPSec team against them. Don’t make me lead your men as well,” Cyrus said, his wrinkled old face cold.
Cezero nodded, his face as pale as that of the dying Captain Schultz.
Cyrus stepped out of the room as the building shuddered a third time. He felt the tangle of the fight drawing away, even as he felt the ESPSec team pile out of the vehicles and form up, ready to move. Apparently they did have someone who knew their job.
Cyrus strode out of the building and stopped a few feet away from the team. “The psychics here turned on us. They killed Captain Schultz and they attacked the informant’s guards. Eliminate all of them. The man we’re here to apprehend is out there, too. Take him down! Lethal force is authorized.” He reached out and massaged their emotions as he spoke. With his abilities, they accepted his sudden assumption of authority without question.
“Santos, radio to higher, tell them contact the local police and have them send everything they got. This is going to be messy,” the NCO at the lead said. “Everyone else, move forward by fire teams. Pick your shots.”
Cyrus nodded as he watched them fan out and bound forward. He let them take the lead and then drew his own pistol and followed. He didn’t really care about the mercenaries, but he figured they would only get in his way as he tried to take down the escaped lab subject. Besides, after this very public show by an ESPSec response team, the little turncoat inside would be painted as a rat. If his own men didn’t kill him, then the psychics would. Cyrus didn’t know if Jonathan Halving would want him around to answer questions later or not, but it would be easier to have the option.
If not, Cyrus would kill the worthless weasel himself.
***
The first crackle of gunfire stunned Shaden.
He spun as a shot rang out from nearby. Bullets hissed past his head like angry wasps as he dove towards the ganger who had fired at him. Shaden kicked hard at his knee and it broke with a sickening snap. Shaden punched instinctively for the other man’s throat as he dropped.
Shaden froze then. He stared down at the gasping man, one of the sentries who’d talked about raping a refugee girl. The downed man clutched at his throat around a crushed trachea and Shaden felt the world slow. I killed him, Shaden realized with dawning horror, I didn’t use my psychic abilities… I killed him with my hands.
A nearby scream pulled him out of his shock.
Shaden stayed low as he spun. He saw two of the psychics who attacked him down on the ground. Blood stained their clothing. A swarm of Cezero’s gang erupted from the buildings. They fired wildly as the stunned psychics tried to react to the betrayal.
Shaden shook his head and lashed out with a blow of force that sent a dozen nearby thugs into a wall. Their shouts of surprise ended with a series of wet thuds. He tried to ignore the noise of their bones breaking and their bodies rupturing.
The disorganized clatter of gunfire peaked as a team of men in black body armor came around the side of Cezero’s building. Shaden saw them move forward in organized teams. One group laid down a base of fire as the other advanced. Even from the distance Shaden could see the white ESP lettering on their armor.
The team fired on everything that moved in the open ground. The only thing that kept any of the psychics alive was that the ESPSec team seemed unable to differentiate between them, the gangers, and the fleeing people from the club.
Shaden cursed as he saw the team gun down a half dozen fleeing club-goers along with another two of the psychics. He felt the psychic link pulse and saw them begin to react.
Shaden hesitated, hidden in the shadows of the abandoned club as the three groups fought. He owed nothing to the psychics. They tried to kill him earlier. It even looked like they might pull a victory out themselves as their pack mentality reacted to the new threat.
He blinked as he felt their mental link sputter out. Shaden’s eyes went to the yellow-eyed leader. He expected the worst, but then he saw Primus was on his knees, clutching at his head in pain. Shaden reached out with his mind and felt the tendrils of another mind. He recognized that mind after an instant… it was the same man who shot his mother.
He felt a surge of anger. Without hesitation he lashed out with his own mind and trapped that of the enemy psychic, the traitor to his own kind who worked with ESPSec. He felt the sudden surprise of the other man as their minds clashed. Shaden buffeted the enemy for a moment. It was no good, he could not break through the other’s mental defenses.
Shaden smiled though as he saw Primus regain his mental composure and saw the other psychics begin their unified movement again.
He felt the mind and presence of the other psychic, the one who’d worked with ESPSec. He didn’t know if it was Cezero and at the moment he didn’t particularly care. The sudden betrayal of Primus and his men was despicable.
Even if he couldn’t break the enemy psychic’s mind, Shaden had other abilities at his disposal. He circled around the battlefield and headed closer towards the man who had nearly killed his mother.
***
Chapter 15
Loyalty… that is a word I only thought I understood. Humans cannot be loyal to an ideal without substance. Amalgamated Worlds is exactly that. An idea that humanity must be united as one at any cost. Yet there is no purpose to that
unity, none beyond service and slavery to the bureaucracy that runs it. There is no freedom, no joy, no hope… and that is why it will fall.
--Memoirs of Shaden Mira
I keep some of my most loyal core separate from some of the hardest decisions I make. That is one reason to employ Mark Janecek, though he’s sloppy and disgusting in many ways. When I need to dispose of a subject or to make an example of someone, he’s the best choice. Despite his philosophies, Cyrus can be imminently practical. Misha and her people are some of my best fighters but they still think in terms of “us” and “them” and if they saw the full scope of my experimentation I’m afraid I’d lose them.
--Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes
Cyrus cursed as he barely fought off the mental attack. He had warned Halving that all psychic powers were linked with each other. Genetics might determine one’s natural endowments, but the tinkering they did clearly had more far-reaching effects than expected.
He grimaced as he saw the psychic mercenaries organize themselves. The lead pair of ESPSec commandos went down, cut down from either side as the pack mentality of the psychic’s restored itself. Cyrus made a mental note to see if he could replicate the power. It looked extremely effective.
Cyrus didn’t dare reach out again to attack the psychics. He circled the battleground, his eyes roved for any sign of his quarry.
He scratched at his collar, suddenly warm in his heavy winter coat. He cursed again as his skin began to burn. “What the hell?”
He ripped off his jacket as it began to steam. Cyrus shrieked in horror as his own skin began to smoke.
***
Shaden turned his eyes away from the greasy smoke that hung over the remains of the enemy psychic. The sounds of combat tapered off. Shaden spun as he sensed movement up on the hill. He saw a scrawny man bolt from cover at a dead run towards the black cars parked at the front. Shaden sent a mental surge to knock the other man’s feet out from under him as he ran forward.
The runner’s tailored suit and expensive watch suggested that Shaden had found Cezero. Shaden felt a tickle against his mind. He kicked the man hard in the ribs and the feeble attack stopped as the gang leader curled into a sobbing ball.
“I didn’t know!” Cezero said, his voice a high whine.
Shaden shook his head, “You didn’t know it was ESPSec you were dealing with, or you didn’t know they’d attack?”
Cezero looked away, his face pasty white with fear, “Please…”
Primus and four of his people had arrived before Cezero could say more. Shaden readied himself for the fight to continue but the yellow-eyed man raised one hand. “I think I owe you an apology,” Primus said. His eyes went to the gang leader at Shaden’s feet. “And I think we owe him something as well.”
“How are your people?” Shaden asked, his thoughts went to those he saw hurt, as well as those he had injured protecting himself.
Primus met Shaden’s eyes, and an angry hunger glared out of the yellow depths, “Five are dead. More are injured. I think that my brother has some explaining to do.”
“It’s not my fault!” Cezero wailed. “They caught me! They would have sent me to the camps! I just turned over loners, people no one missed!”
Shaden felt his lip curl up in disgust, “Tell me about Halving.”
The little man shuddered, “He’s powerful, I tried to read him once, and he swatted me like a fly. He’s…”
“Where is he and what has he told you about me?” Shaden demanded. He felt sick. The traitorous worm who caused so much death and destruction hardly seemed worth hearing.
“I can tell you all about him! Anything you want, I can find out!” Shaden pushed at the man’s mind, but despite his obvious terror, his mental shield held.
“Where is Halving?” Shaden demanded. Shaden knew the general location of the lab, but he didn’t dare spend time searching the streets and risk drawing attention. For that matter he didn’t know if Halving was at the lab all the time or if he had another base of operation. “How many people, what kind of defenses?” Shaden demanded, but the Cezero only sobbed in response.
Shaden looked away, disgusted at the blubber. Primus stepped up next to him. “My people and I will take over questioning him… this Halving person, he’s the one behind this attack?”
Shaden gave a nod, “It was one of his people in charge of the team.” He pointed to the cloud of greasy smoke a short distance away. “I need to know everything I can,” Shaden said.
“Oh,” Primus said with a toothy smile, “Cezero’s going to tell me everything, right, brother?”
Cezero whimpered.
Primus looked over at Shaden, “I owe you my life.”
Shaden shrugged. “It wasn’t a fair fight.”
“When that other bastard hit me, I wasn’t ready. He tried to snap my mind,” Primus grimaced. “You stopped that, and you didn’t have to.”
“I… well, don’t mention it,” Shaden said. He shrugged uncomfortably. “He won’t bother anyone else ever again.” Because you killed him, a voice whispered in the back of his mind, you killed him like you killed the gang members… like you killed Janecek. Who else would Shaden kill? Was he in control of himself or was it Halving’s training that drove him?
Primus’s yellow eyes went to the smudge of oily smoke that lingered in the air over the dead psychic. “I’m sure.” He stuck out a hand, “Even so, thank you. Any time you need our help, you need only call. And I’ll get you everything that Cezero knows.”
Shaden took his hand, “Well, thanks. Any time you need mine, the same.” He nodded at Cezero. “I take it you and he will have a discussion?”
In the distance the sound of police sirens began to wail. Both of them looked in that direction and then Primus gave a grim smile, “Yes, Cezero and I will have a discussion. You should probably go. We’ll take the boats and make certain the refugees get out.”
Shaden started off without a backwards glance.
***
Chapter 16
Trust is such a fragile thing. In the military they break people down, put them through hardship and stress, in order to force them to trust their fellows. The first sign of society breaking down is the failure of trust.
--Memoirs of Shaden Mira
Project Archon is a cooperative effort between the Bureau of ESP Security and Amalgamated Worlds Military Forces. I have to chuckle as I read that, because while there is a great deal of funding by Amalgamated Worlds Military Forces, it’s ESPSec who has the lion’s share of control. Cooperation between any two bureaucratic powers is laughable, the moment one of them lets down their guard the other will stab them in the back, all for a modicum of more power and attention from the Command Council. And let’s not even get started about other departments, like InSec…
--Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes
Moira Kaid grunted as she lifted the heavy pack with the two canisters and then carried it over to the van. She heard her brother sigh, “Moira, you probably don’t need that.” She could see Bernard’s exasperated expression without looking.
She didn’t respond, she just dropped her load in the back of the van. Moira turned and nodded at Bernard’s wife, Cassie. “Go get Alex,” Moira said.
The tall, pretty blonde gave her a sulky look. Cassie glanced over at Bernard who gave her a nod and a smirk, before she turned around and headed out.
“What’s the problem?” Bernard asked.
“I don’t like this,” Moira snapped. “I know there’s a lot on the line here, but you’ve got to admit, some of this just doesn’t feel right.”
Bernard rolled his eyes. “Look, sis, I know there’s some questions, but-”
“Bernard,” Moira said, “Helix is a major engineering company, they don’t need to do a deal like this in an abandoned warehouse.” She shook her head, “For that matter, I don’t feel comfortable about how we betrayed dad.”
Bernard tossed his head, “Please... betrayed?” He came forward
and put his hands on her shoulders, “It’s not like dad is living on the run. We talked one of his people into leaving, yeah, but it’s just one guy.”
“One guy who designs weapons,” Moira said in a level voice. “One guy who dad managed to slip out of Amalgamated Worlds Military Research Division.” She shook off his hands, “Look, what would Helix want with Alex, anyway? They don’t do weapons, right?”
“He’s designed other stuff besides weapons,” Bernard said with a wave. “Besides, maybe they just want to sell him back to Amalgamated Worlds.”
“Are you good with that?” Moira asked in a level tone. “Because if that’s the case, then we lied to Alex.” That wasn’t true, she knew. Bernard hadn’t convinced Alex to leave their father’s organization behind… Moira had.
“It’s not like Alex is family,” Bernard scoffed. He shrugged, “This is just business and he’s just a big brain… you do the math.”
“It comes back to that, huh?” Moira said and she pinched her lips in disapproval. “I know the stakes are high, but seriously? He’s an innocent man!”
“Who built weapons for Amalgamated Worlds,” Bernard said. “His hands aren’t clean. Besides, it isn’t as if he’s going to be hurt. Even if Helix turns him back over to Amalgamated Worlds, he’s still going to live a coddled, protected life. He’s a genius, it’s not like they can afford to hurt him.”
As long as he does what they demand, Moira thought. Alex had mentioned a scientist who’d had the fingers cut off his hands and then regrown until he finally did what his handlers told him to do. He’d face that and worse if he went back. Bernard knew that too, but he wasn’t going to undercut his argument by giving her the point.
She realized what had her so uncomfortable: Bernard knew this was a bad idea and he still wanted to go through with it.
Moira nearly turned and walked away right then. She had no real stake in the game, nothing besides some small feeling of responsibility for Alex. If I walk away now, she thought, I would be free and clear. She would have no part in any of the consequences, those would fall on Bernard.