Kira heard the bottom floor garage open. He had finally arrived.
“Are you sure about this?” asked Link.
“What do you mean?”
“May I make a suggestion?”
Kira didn’t reply.
“The man who hired you, I think it’s a set up. Max is a good guy. He’s doing good things and helping this world. It would be unwise to kill him.”
“You know what’s at stake?”
The footsteps grew louder and louder. “AK47 activate.” The weapon materialized into her suit, and she pulled it out. It was only a matter of time. She could hear the padlock clicking as it was turned. He was granted access and the door slid open. Then, silence took over. Kira couldn’t hear any movement.
“Link.”
“I’m on it.”
She held the gun at eye level and approached the back door cautiously. In the far distance, she heard skittering below her feet. Her eyes widened but by the time she knew where he was, he had the tip of a gun pressed to her back right behind her heart.
“I’d put that 47 away if I were you,” he whispered into her ear.
Chapter Eight
Kira raised her hands and dropped the gun. She took in a deep breath and kicked the side of her heel against her other boot revealing a hidden blade. She grabbed hold of his gun and jumped into a sweep kick. She landed into a perfect stance and had the gun pointed right at him.
Her kick missed. No, she thought. Her attacks were made with precision. He had dodged her blow. He wasn’t just smart but talented as well in the arts.
“Red Scorpion, what are you doing here?” he asked. Before she could answer, he smiled. “If you’re here to kill me, then why did you attend my speech? Why not just have waited here?”
“It was a confirmation. I had to know for sure who I was dealing with, Max.”
“Rebooted system up and running. Glock is in back holster,” Link’s voice sounded into her ear comp. She removed the mag from his gun, pulled the slide back to engage it into safety, and disassembled the entire gun, tossing it to the side. She pulled her Glock out and aimed.
“You’re good with your hands,” he observed.
“You have no idea.”
“So I take it you’re here to kill me?” He raised his hands. “Do it.”
She was taken by surprise. “Interesting…now why would you want me to do that?”
“It’s what you’ve been sent to do is it not?” He eyed her carefully. “What did they promise you? Credits? Freedom? Information? Immunity? Oh…wait,” he paused with an underlying smirk. “I know, they promised you the last Jen vials.”
Kira remained still, unmoved. “You’re right and wrong. I did it for the credits. That’s what assassins do. They kill for money, and credits are the next best thing.”
He nodded. “I apologize. I could’ve sworn you were a Jen One. My mistake.”
“He knows…” whispered Link.
“Shut up,” she snapped. How can it be? How does he know so much? Years of practice had turned her into the perfect human replica. She knew exactly how to blend.
He gave her an odd look. “Alright.”
She sighed. “You’re Charles’s son. Why are you going against the company he helped build?”
Max’s face hardened. “You would too if they destroyed everything that ever mattered to you and murdered the only man who ever believed in you.”
“I told you,” Link mocked smugly. Kira shook her head.
“They murdered your father?”
“Yes, and everyone else I cared about, and when they found out I tapped into their system and discovered the truth, they got a little worried, especially when people started to listen.” He put his hands down and walked into the kitchen. She shot the couch. “I never said you could leave.”
He raised his hands again. “I wanted a glass of water, and besides, it seems you need me.”
“I do,” she agreed bluntly. “I need your head.”
“Those vials are eventually going to run out you know. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t need them? If all you needed was a tune up once a year?”
Kira slowly lowered the weapon. “That’s impossible. The labs got shut down before they could even find a way.”
Max walked over and pointed a finger at her. “Nothing in this world is impossible, not if you know where to look.”
His proximity was too bold. She holstered her gun and quickly grabbed his finger. She went in for a side kick, but he blocked with his other hand. He pulled her leg in and kneed her caps. She felt her system rupture, and it momentarily gave him an opening. She let go of his hand and ducked from a neck blow, sweeping a down kick. He back flipped away from the kick. Her system was up and running again. “That was close,” chimed in Link.
“I thought we were getting somewhere,” he held his hands up.
“If you know my true nature, then you should know, trust is not something I was programmed with.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I’ll have to show you your true potential.”
He walked up to her again cautiously at first. She didn’t know why, but she lowered her hands and let him approach her. His face was deathly close to hers. She had never been so close to anyone before, not unless she was about to strangle their neck. He raised his right hand and looked at her hair. “May I?”
At first she took a step back, but after a few moments she slowly nodded. He smiled and felt the back of her neck. She felt the traces of his fingertips glide over the number one hundred and fifty five. She felt all the physicality but didn’t understand why his cheeks flushed a slight red tone. It was extremely slight. Only her enhanced sight could pick up on it, but it was there and her knowledge of humans indicated he felt awkward, nervous, or flustered.
Chapter Nine
“The irony in all of this is simple,” he began, “they hired you to kill me to save themselves. What they don’t realize is that you and I could benefit a lot from each other. I could reprogram you to live as long as you like without the vials. I could also give you something else. Something I know you want.”
They were in the kitchen. He was sitting on top of the island counter and she was pressed up against the pantry door. “You seem to know an awful lot about my wants and needs.”
He shrugged his shoulders and smirked. “I tend to know what women want.”
She rolled her eyes. “What do I want?”
He locked eyes with her and didn’t flinch. “An E chip.”
She stood up straight. He had grabbed her attention, and now she was listening attentively. “Those were never finished.”
“Yeah they were,” he replied. “They just never implanted them into the Jen Ones.” He got off the counter and extended one arm forward for a handshake. “You help me get the last ingredient I need for the microbots’ antidote, and I’ll get you an E chip. Do we have a deal?” She stared down at his truce, his agreement that almost seemed preplanned.
“Do it,” piped in Link. “You have everything to gain.” She almost forgot her ear piece was still on.
Kira wavered and for a moment. She wanted nothing more than to slice her blade through his neck. Following orders was in her nature. Disobeying wasn’t, but in that moment, something inside her stirred. She held his hand in hers and agreed.
“What do we do?” she asked.
Max smiled. “First, we get rid of that mark on your neck. It will easily give you away.”
Kira furrowed her eyebrows and pulled back. “I’ve lived my whole life with the mark, and no one has ever found me.”
He shook his head. “That’s because you’ve never entered their territory before.”
Chapter Ten
“Please swipe your card,” the automated machine politely requested. Kira glanced down at her fake ID. Today, her name was Lisa Brown of Polton, visiting with a PhD in Pathology and Biology in order to assess a situation in lab 30D, or at least that’s what the card said. Max stood in another line wit
h five people ahead of him dressed in a disguise. She took in a deep breath and remained calm as she swiped the card, hoping her computer system and his tech skills were successful in their ploy.
A red light popped up. “Access denied.”
Kira remained calm immediately planning out escape strategies.
“Please swipe again.”
She wiped the card on her tucked in shirt and swiped again. Max was already inside heading down the hall. Is this a setup?
A green light appeared. “Access granted. Welcome Dr. Brown. Lab 30D is located on the tenth floor to the right. Take the hallway down and make a left to the elevators. Thank you for your visit.”
A beeping sound indicated her approval and the doorway automatically opened. She slid through a line of guards and nodded as she made her way to the elevators. Her hair was red and her outfit was quite uncomfortable: a white blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt with a blazer dropped over her shoulders. Thankfully, she had Link to access smaller weapons and tactics. She sighed at the thought of having left her suit back in the car.
The elevators doors opened and Jacob Longwin, expert scientist in chemistry, awaited her arrival. His thin-framed glasses hid his hazel eyes, and his newly bleached hair seemed wrong. “Dr. Brown,” he smiled. “Welcome to the lab. Shall we head up to the tenth floor?”
Kira entered with her piercing black heels clicking on the cold, hard tile and shot him a sly smirk. “There’s nothing that would please me more.”
Jacob pulled out a separate ID and scanned it off to the side. “I could think of a few things.” The elevator registered a different name: Charles Dawn. It immediately set the destination to the restricted area below. He’d told her that once they were in the lab, they would have no more than fifteen minutes to get out.
The doors shut and so did a little bit of the doubt she had for Max.
Chapter Eleven
There were fifteen others in the studio. Kira looked around and saw people she had known ever since creation. She looked back at the empty ring. Six times a week of physical training though was a little too much in her opinion, as if that mattered.
“Kira and Roy,” said a woman with a holographic pad. Kira could see her and Roy’s face on the thin screen. It let the instructor know their vitals, strengths, and weaknesses. From across her, Roy stood up. He was one of the stronger prototypes: a dark man with light eyes and killer blows.
“Don’t go easy on me,” teased Kira as she got into the ring.
Roy stretched his neck and took up a lion’s stance. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The instructor waited for the two to settle, and a second later, Kira heard the whistle blow.
Roy quickly appeared in front of Kira’s face and went in for a left hook to her side. She tried jumping back, but it was too late. She felt her insides crush. It all happened so suddenly.
The whistle blew. “Eyes on the target Kira,” yelled the instructor in her heavy British accent.
Roy took a few steps back and let Kira compose herself.
She pulled herself together and stood up. “That’s it?” she mocked Roy.
The whistle blew again.
Roy eyed her movements, but so did Kira. Every time he took a step to the left he would make a blow with his right. He stepped left. Kira ducked and went in for an uppercut, but it only grazed Roy’s chin before he sucker punched her in the gut, knocking the air right out of her chest and dropping her to her knees.
The instructor sighed. “Roy, watch your feet. If Kira can read them, anyone else can.”
Every breath hurt. Every muscle ached. Her stomach felt like it had imploded on itself. When she barely managed to sit up, she saw all the prototypes stare at her in silence. Roy was out of the ring sitting with the lot of them.
“Kira,” said the instructor. “This is the tenth match you’ve lost this week. One more and you’re out.”
“Hurry, we have fifteen minutes to find the case and get out,” Max ordered as he ran down the dark hallway. Kira turned on her night vision and looked to the left. The room hadn’t changed at all. It had simply aged with time just as she had. Dust and scraps of paper littered the floor and used mats with holes in them were ripped from the floor. Old kickboxing bags were cut down. The years had stripped the lab of any hint of familiarity. This was nothing more than a mere memory of simpler times.
“Keep moving Kira,” urged Link. “I’ve tapped into the camera. The security room has sensed an error.”
“What are we looking for again?” she asked, hurrying away from the memories.
Max was already on his knees feeling the floor. “A…a box,” he mumbled. “It’s hidden here somewhere in a…” A small piece of tile popped up and below was a box. “Bingo.”
“What the hell is that?”
He got up and tucked it in his bag. “Step one.”
He ran out of the room and to the lab door. All the generators were shut off on the floor. He pulled out a laser and used it to cut through the glass. “We need the…”
“They’re here,” shot Link. Kira whipped her head back to the elevator. “We need to leave now!” she asserted. Her thoughts went silent. There was an impeccable moment of pure panic that coursed through her veins, but only for a moment. Her programs kicked in, and she began planning.
She ripped her blazer off completely and tossed it in the air. “Access twin daggers, Link.”
In seconds, she felt the once empty sheaths grow heavier as if Link were filling it with sand. She clicked the sides of the two blades and sensors began beeping, monitoring the surroundings. The heads up display revealed four bodies hidden behind the elevator doors. As soon as the doors opened, they tossed out three smoke bombs. Kira took her shot.
The daggers flew through the air and buried it into the necks of two bodies, dropping them to their knees as they made guttural noises. The other two security guards dodged the blades only to find their fate had been sealed. The weapons redirected themselves and didn’t miss their mark. Four down.
When she turned to the lab, Max was staring at her. “Took you long enough,” he shot.
Kira wanted to argue, but she knew her priorities. “You did your part,” she concluded. “Now let me do mine.”
“The elevator is the only way off this floor,” Max sighed. “When we…”
Kira jumped in. “There’s an exit in the very back.”
He eyed her carefully. “Kira, I know what I’m…”
In the blink of an eye, she was in front of his face and grabbing his backpack where she had hid her full helmet. “You didn’t grow up here like I did.”
Chapter Twelve
The ding of the elevator sent Kira’s thoughts bouncing back and forth between different tactics. The exit in the back was the same one she was kicked out of all those years ago. She only prayed it hadn’t been completely sealed off. It led to an old shaft, which was her only ticket out of the back and into the parking structure.
“Link, take control of the car and make sure it meets us right at the bottom.”
“On it.”
“How many?” asked Max as the two of them hid behind a few old desks. They couldn’t just run straight back without getting shot at. Kira normally wouldn’t mind making a run for it. Her system would reboot, and she would only end up with simple flesh wounds. Max, on the other hand, would die.
Her night vision and the earpiece aided her about forty percent, but it was nothing compared to when Link turned on her helmet systems. She would’ve preferred not to since it took up way more energy than she had to spare, but with Max’s life on the line, she didn’t have much of a choice. With her helmet on, she increased her accessibility to about ninety-nine percent; even the tiniest of dust particles couldn’t hide. She easily sifted through the room and zoomed in on the elevator doors. She counted ten bodies through thermal access.
“There are more on their way,” warned Link.
“How many and how much time bef
ore they arrive?” she asked.
“Ten minutes.”
“Ten in ten minutes,” she warned Max. The men came out of the elevator door wearing bulletproof vests. Smart. They slowly hid behind walls and tried locking down on the two of them.
“Initiate game sequence,” she whispered to the COMP. Link understood her slang. He wiped out all the walls in the premise and allowed her to see through anything solid except for living organisms. A few rats skittered by and some insects were revealed.
“Activate Corner Shot 40mm Grenade Launcher and set video image to the three in the left corner.”
Nothing happened.
Kira lightly tapped the side of her helmet. “Link! I said activate launcher!”
“I cannot without your suit. I only have access to three more daggers, one tear gas, and a small revolver.”
“You still don’t need my help?” whispered Max.
He was not helping her one bit. Why don’t I slice his throat? E chip… She took in a deep breath. “Hand-to-hand combat and small tactics it is.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kira ripped her pencil skirt off, revealing her tight, black shorts. The holster for the revolver was strapped to her waist. She channeled her energy at once and focused. Ten guards. Three with sniper rifles in the back. Five with heavy duty machine guns in the front. Three with Hecklers and Koch MR556. The last three were dangerous. A few shots to the chest and her heart would stop, leaving her only forty-five minutes to reboot back home. A few shots to the back of the head would end her. No suit meant no armor and no way to stabilize.
Kira thought back to her old trainer. Ma’am, by all means, if you don’t have a weapon and the opponent has a weapon, there’s no winning for you, Kira had told her trainer during their weekly counsel session.
After Tomorrow: A CHBB Anthology Page 15