by Andria Stone
Kamryn wasn’t used to questioning the decisions of their alpha male scientist. She could go head to head with Axel because they were much more evenly matched, but Mark was on another level. “What do you suggest?”
“I’m sitting on the horns of a dilemma,” Eva said. “I must choose between two alternatives. Both are unpleasant. I disagree with Mark’s decisions about Valerie’s behavior. My opinion is not as biased as his, therefore, more probable. I can keep it to myself, or bring it to the group, and maybe his original supposition gets voted down. Or we can go with his plan and, if he’s mistaken, waste precious time by being in the wrong location to apprehend her.”
“There’s no dilemma. It’s not whose plan, it’s which plan has the greatest chance of delivering the desired results.”
Kamryn commed everyone back to the conference room. Rayburn lounged against the doorframe as the others took their usual chairs around the table. Kamryn started things off.
“We need to reconsider the plan to find Valerie Parker.”
Eva stood to command attention, convinced it gave her a psychological edge by making her taller. “Valerie’s on the way to Polaris to join Dreghor. If you want to stop her, that’s where you should look.”
Caught off guard, Mark asked, “Where did this come from?”
Petra eyed Ohashi as Kamryn stared at Axel. A hush descended on the group as the two scientists tossed theories back and forth with the speed of tachyon particles in a supercollider. Eva steadily gained ground, causing Mark’s temper to flare when she brought up his inability to see Scarlett as the manipulating personality she’d turned out to be.
“Am I the only one who couldn’t tell Scarlett had ulterior motives?” he snapped, looking around at his team.
When no one made eye contact in the silence, Kamryn tried to assuage his wounded pride. “Your libido got in the way. It happens.”
Aggrieved, Mark leaned back and waved his hands in concession. “Eva’s premise is the soundest.”
Eva walked around to give him a hug. He reciprocated.
Everyone relaxed; a power play averted.
The meeting broke up and they headed to open spaces after being cooped up in the conference room. The cybers headed to the kitchen, Axel to the gym.
Rayburn grinned as he walked out beside Kamryn. “This was very educational. You have more of a family here than a team. There’s sibling rivalry, raging testosterone levels, grief over the death of a loved one, all while trying to stop a malevolent woman’s coup of the Martian government by privately funded mercenaries.”
“Oh, don’t bullshit me, Gaige. You thought it was entertaining as hell. I swore I heard you snickering behind me. Should have been here a couple days ago when Axel and I got into it.”
Rayburn’s eyebrows flew up. “Dare I ask who won?”
“I did, only because I sucker punched him. With your background, you must have realized he’s augmented. He could kill all of us with one hand. That’s never going to happen, but since Valerie killed his woman, he’s been… He’s had anger issues.”
Rayburn nodded. “Granted, he masks the augmentation well, though I did recognize the anguished look in his eyes as he sat in my office. I completely understand why his sensibilities are strained.” In a gentlemanly manner, he took her arm, guiding Kamryn away from the others. “For now, I’m unsure who’s in charge of this plan, but let me just tell you that I have many contacts in Polaris and they might again help to locate Valerie Parker or her accomplices.”
“Do you have anybody at the spaceport like you did in Meridian?” Kamryn asked.
“Yes. Although, most are workmen, a few are security, with no guarantee one will be on shift if or when she comes through. The last time it was quite serendipitous.”
A sudden thought struck Kamryn. “Can you pilot this ship down to Polaris?”
“I’m not checked out on this model, hence no insurance coverage should there be any damages.” Rayburn winked at her. “Nevertheless, I can explain techniques which will mitigate the atmospheric challenges to your astrogators.”
Kamryn commed Mark, Axel, and Eva to meet her in the Pilot’s cabin. They all listened while Rayburn taught a class on how to finesse a craft less than one-third the mass and tonnage of a TMD warship from the Space Station to the surface in the southern hemisphere.
***
Axel’s spirits rose as they made final preparations for their return to Mars. His pulse quickened in anticipation of closing the distance to Maeve’s killer.
“I’ll go, but I refuse to get off the ship.” Ohashi stood with fists on her hips. “People have been killed, Eva was mugged, Petra was kidnapped and shot, Axel was knifed. There’s no way I’m leaving this ship until we land on Terra.”
Petra stepped up next to her. “Me, too. I’ve had enough excitement for one trip. Besides, I’m on the Dreghor Patrol helping Ohashi take the freako down. I’ll also be tracking your geolocators and monitoring your comms, should you need to send a message to Essex, the MPLE, or Mars military.”
Axel stacked a pile of weapons by the hatch. Kamryn followed him with an armful of her own. “You almost look happy.”
Axel tried to hide his enthusiasm, focusing instead on loading the guns. “I got some sleep.”
Kamryn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
Mark paid the Space Station’s docking fees as Ohashi sent a message to the TMD soldier who guarded their hatch. It looked like a genuine command from Major Essex, ordering him back to the ship on the double. The guard left at once.
The Station retracted its docking clamps. The team harnessed up.
In his role as sergeant, Axel always did a final check on the pilots before takeoff. It was a hard habit to break. He poked his head in to make sure everything was good to go. With an experienced hand, Copilot Nguyen disengaged the craft. Axel strapped into the jump seat outside the cockpit, listening to Rayburn coaching Captain Malone through the tricky layer of gases surrounding Mars all the way down to the spaceport at Dome 1.
After a short but bumpy flight, the MAVREK-II landed in Polaris without incident. Axel, Mark, and Kamryn geared up for any scenario they might encounter on the surface. Rayburn and Eva would accompany them with emergency supplies.
On the ground, Rayburn arranged for his contacts to conceal the ship in a hangar. “Throw a tarp over the registration. Put a Biohazard notice on the door, too. Let’s keep out any prying eyes.” He then circumvented the security checkpoints by coaxing them to squeeze sardine-style into a tall crate of diagnostic ophthalmological materials bound for a hospital.
Mark tried to adjust his package away from Axel’s butt. “Good thing I’m not claustrophobic.”
“Quit whining,” Kamryn hissed from behind him. “You’ve worn armor before. Just think of it like we’re all squished in the same suit.”
Outside the spaceport, they extricated themselves from the crate, then shoved the side back in place before sneaking out from under the back flap as the truck sat idle. In the evening rush hour, it wasn’t hard to blend in with people getting off work. It looked greener, and smelled fresher in Polaris compared to the other domes.
A blue cab took them to Rayburn’s residence, located on the border of the city center in a gritty district called the Forest. It reminded Axel of the Cemetery neighborhood in Aurora; unpolished, teaming with questionable activity and seedy characters.
Eva would stay to help Rayburn establish it as their home base, from which to coordinate assistance or medical aid if required. The second-floor flat was a washed-out blue, with one bedroom, thrift store furniture, a big window in the front room, a kitchenette, and a small office where Eva set up their digital equipment. On her screen, red dots appeared as Rayburn tapped locations for his contacts on the map.
“Every one of these people owes me favors. Just identify yourselves as Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde and they’ll give you whatever you need—as long as it’s not money.” Rayburn eyed Axel and Mark. “Having seen you both in action,
I thought it wise to contact a doctor. He’s a cantankerous old bastard, but he gets the job done.”
Eva turned from her screen to face Rayburn. “In your opinion, where would someone like Dreghor hide?”
He thumbed his pinky ring for a moment. “Underground, and relatively close to the city center. That would give him unrestricted access to their network.”
Axel finished double checking his sidearms and shoved them into the holsters. “Do you know how to get there from here?”
“No, but if you go to Fat Jack’s Yacht Club,” Rayburn leaned over to the screen to press a finger on a spot, turning it red, “Jack will get you a guide. I’ll tell her you’re coming.”
Eva sent the map to their tablets. Red dots appeared, not just in the Forest, but throughout the city. Axel turned to face them as he grabbed the door handle. He’d mentally stepped back into his familiar sergeant’s persona to lead the charge.
“The element of surprise is ours. When we find Dreghor, Kamryn’s drug will get him to tell us Parker’s location. Our objective is to aggressively neutralize the bad guys. This is a no prisoners operation. Anyone who feels differently can stay here.”
Neither Kamryn nor Mark blinked.
They left single file down the stairs to the crowded sidewalks of Polaris. Early evening half-light emitted by the overhead girders supporting the dome provided a soft glow, making street lights unnecessary. The sidewalks were full of people meeting friends for drinks after work or rushing home with bags of groceries to make dinner. No one had a clue of the horrendous changes a murdering, power-hungry bitch had planned for them.
It took less than fifteen minutes to find Fat Jack’s Yacht Club, the name flashing in cool blue neon lights above the door. Axel flung the door open and strode in like he owned the place. It smelled of cheap booze, with flags, pennants, and Jolly Rogers decorating the walls. Axel approached the bartender, an older, compact, white-haired man who bore a strong resemblance to an Old Earth boxing champion.
“I’m here to see Jack.”
Sitting a few stools to his right, a diminutive blonde in her forties swung around. Her gaze traveled the length of him, then back up again. “That’d be me.”
She’d been a working girl, Axel saw it in her eyes; cold, calculating and paired with an automatic smile. He tipped his head. “I’m Mr. Hyde.”
Jack snapped her fingers, summoning a sandy-haired teenage boy not much taller than Eva. “Jace will take you wherever you want to go.” She gave him a pat on the butt. The kid gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“What are you looking for?” Jace asked as he walked past Axel toward the door.
“We need to go underground to the City Center.”
“We?”
“The three of us,” Axel said, joining Mark and Kamryn outside.
“It’s gonna get real close in there. You’re kinda on the large side.”
Kamryn leaned into the kid’s face, poking him in the chest with her gloved finger. “Are you calling me large?”
“No-no,” the kid stammered, recoiling. “Just them—those two.” Then he spun around and motioned. “It’s this way, not too far.”
Axel traced their path on his tablet’s map in case they had to return without their guide. After a series of lefts and rights, Jace led the way to the mouth of a short alley between two side streets. Halfway back was a shadowed stairway leading down into a tomb.
“Is this the only way in or out?” Axel asked.
“No, just the closest,” Jace said.
Axel held his tablet out. “Mark the others on my map.”
The kid marked three more.
Axel coded them in blue. “Have you ever heard of anyone called Dreghor?”
Jace shook his head.
“What about someone called the ‘Savant’.”
The kid’s face pinched together. “You mean the hacker?”
Excitement coursed through Axel’s veins. He stared down at the kid with the hint of a smile. “Yes, that’s exactly who I mean.”
Chapter 16
They moved single-file, zigzagging through pitch-black tunnels with lights from four tablets pushing back the darkness. Jace led, with Axel on his heels, Mark in the middle, and Kamryn functioning as rearguard. The temperature dropped the farther they progressed, as did the noise level, their footsteps soon the only sounds to be heard. It smelled old, dusty, stagnant; not a place anyone would willingly hang out, unless they were hiding.
Jace paused to whisper, “How far do you want to go?”
“Down every tunnel.”
“That’ll take all night,” he whined, throwing his hands in the air.
“It better not. I’m in a hurry,” Axel snapped.
The kid continued onward, leading them down the tunnel for five more minutes. “We’re under the square on Main Street in the city’s center.”
“How can you tell?”
“Vibrations from the traffic. Feel the walls.”
“Which way is the military compound?”
Jace’s eyes widened. “You want to go there?”
“If you’re too scared, point us in the right direction. We’ll find it ourselves.”
“I’m not scared,” Jace protested, “but it’s not easy finding it.”
Axel bent over, picking up two good-sized rocks. He held them in front of the kid’s face, then without any visible effort, crushed them to dust in his augmented left hand. With a sinister grin, he said, “Well, I’m not scared, either, and I don’t need easy.”
The kid trudged on through the labyrinth, pausing every so often to get his bearings. “We’re getting close, but something’s not right. There should have been a shortcut back there.”
“How far back?” Axel asked.
“A little ways.”
“Show me.”
Jace backtracked around a couple of turns, then pointed in the general direction of the rough-hewn walls. A section on the right side of the tunnel looked different—smoothed over. Axel caught a subtle whiff of recent drilling. He swiped his hand over the wall, pulling it back to find tiny shavings covering his glove. He grabbed Jace’s collar, pulling him away. Kamryn joined Axel, using her light to examine the wall. They exchanged knowing looks as she traced the seamed outline of a rectangular door.
“Beat it kid,” Axel said. “We’ll take it from here.”
Jace didn’t wait to be told twice.
Mark came to inspect the atypical panel as the kid disappeared into the shadows. “What’s this?”
“In the Galaxy Club on the Space Station, we found a panel similar to this with a cyborg hidden behind it,” Kamryn explained in a quiet voice.
Mark drew his gun.
“No,” Axel said. “You fire that here without a suppressor, it will echo throughout every tunnel.”
After suppressors were attached on all their weapons, Axel and Kamryn continued to explore the beveled edge surrounding the smooth surface. At last, a red pin dot near the ground on the left side became visible.
Axel motioned the others away. They braced themselves against the opposite wall, guns aimed at eye height; the only way to take out a cyborg. Axel poked the tip of his knife’s blade into the dot. Nothing happened. He crawled over to inspect the right side, finding another red pin dot almost buried by gravel.
“Two people have to activate it at the same time.” He traded places with the others, Kamryn at the bottom left dot, Mark on the right. His heart tripped in anticipation of the unknown as he steeled himself for any possible outcome. He took aim. “Now.”
They triggered the red dots, jumping back into firing positions beside Axel.
The panel slid, inch by inch, into the left wall, exposing a motionless, six foot six metal cyborg, identical to the last one he’d seen. It had normal Caucasian features, a large build, but was otherwise nondescript, dressed in a charcoal-colored work uniform, eyes closed and thankfully inert.
Mark took an image.
The cyborg moved. It came to life, st
epping forward quickly.
They scattered, taking refuge around the first corner. Moments later, they checked down the tunnel. Noises drifted out of the hole, but seeing no further movement, they crept forward to investigate.
The cyborg was gone. A clear path had opened to the shortcut Jace had mentioned.
“We activated it by opening that panel,” Mark whispered. “Whatever it’s programmed to do is not good.”
They filed into the newly opened passageway, following the sound of heavy footsteps in silence until everything became quiet again. Axel advanced 20 feet more before glimpsing a faint light ahead. He could see an outline of the cyborg, down on one knee with its back to them.
Axel waited for everyone to get into position. They knew cyborg bodies were impervious to their weapons. Only direct hits to the eyes could bring it down, their aim had to be perfect. Even with the assist of the targeting beams, hitting a moving cyborg in the eyes—in the dark no less—wasn’t going to be simple. He understood the outcome could go either way as he tossed a pebble at the cyborg.
It rose, turned, and rushed at them with blinding speed.
Standing their ground as a unit, they fired a barrage of heavy-caliber explosive rounds into the face of the charging metal attacker.
It stumbled, listed to the left toward Mark, and lunged at him, swinging its metal arm as a club, smashing Mark into the wall.
In a millisecond, it corrected, twisted to face Kamryn, grabbed her by the arm, then lifted and flung her behind it like a wad of paper. Afterward, it zeroed in on Axel.
“Damn it!” Axel yelled. Spotting multiple hits around the left eye socket, he aimed both his guns at the right eye, peppering that area with a hail of gunshots.
The cyborg took two more steps and swung his arm at Axel, swiping both guns out of his hands. They sailed across the opening, slamming into the far wall.
Axel dove after them, rolling three times in their direction, closing the distance while staying out of the cyborg’s way.