Pilar growls. “You stole it! How dare you? Give it back.”
With great effort, Gatz gets to his feet and ambles over to me. “We don’t know how to activate it,” he says.
“True,” I glance between them. “But Hunter wants it. More than anything.”
Tyren speaks up. “She’s right. Hunter talked constantly about a prototype that the hybrids had stolen. That he should raid Section H to find it.”
“So, why would he blow us up? He’d destroy the helmet along with everything else,” Pilar says.
“Because he’d rather destroy all of you, and the weapon, than risk you using it on his forces.”
“This is insane,” Gatz says. “We stay together. Stick to the plan. Go to H and evacuate. Take our chances.”
“No,” I say. “I have to try and stop the attack. There’s no other choice as far as I can tell. I’ll use Vance to activate the helmet.”
“What do you mean use Vance?” he asks.
Lucy and I exchange a look. “Some stuff happened while you were in the lockup, pal,” she says.
“Long story, but here’s the sound bite…Vance has infiltrated my thoughts in unpredictable ways. What started out as a bad nightmare is a living reality. He can control my actions—sometimes. I healed the soldier—you saw—but then he surged and somehow killed her. The good news is I’m getting better at making him give up information. I believe he’ll help me figure out the helmet if I can get it in there.”
“But Vance is unpredictable,” he says. “You said so yourself. What if he hurts you instead?”
“I don’t think he’ll do that—not right away. He wants to observe his technology at work.”
Gatz shakes his head.
I rest a hand on his chest, and he grabs my wrist. “Please,” I say. “I have to do this. All of this happened because of me. Vance’s death, the military coming here, and taking over the city. I need to try and make things right. I want to give your people the chance to get out and reach safety.”
He hangs his head. Next to him, Pilar stares silently, her arms folded across her chest.
I back away, shoving the helmet inside the backpack, and turn to Tyren. “Ready?”
“As long as I’m alive,” Tyren says to the group, “Nothing will happen to Ida. She’s like a daughter to me.”
Lucy locks me in a hug. “Come back to us safely.”
“I’ll try my hardest.” I pull away. “I’m sorry Ogre didn’t make it back. But he did something amazing. Because of you.”
Her eyes brighten.
“He had a message for you.” I give her a thumbs up. “He said to tell you good luck and called you his friend. I have no idea how you charmed that robot in less than an hour, but you made a friend and got it to sacrifice itself for our safety. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Ogre.”
She smiles. “Is that badass?”
“Yes, Lucy. You’re officially badass.”
I start to leave, and Pilar leans in with a whisper, “You’re brave. Good luck to you.”
“See you when this is over.” I hope I keep my word.
The sweeper descends to the street, and Tyren and I climb out.
Paul tosses me his rifle. “Freshly loaded.”
“Watch out for her.” I nod at Lucy.
Gatz joins me outside the craft, and Tyren jogs ahead, giving us space.
“Pilar will evacuate, and I’ll form a team to come get you. I’ll be there as soon as I can manage—”
I shush him. “Safety first. Get everyone out of H. There’s no telling if I can stop Hunter.”
“For the record, I think this is the worst idea in the history of the planet.” He leans in.
I wrap my arms around him tightly. Will this be the last time I ever see him? My tears dampen his fur. “Gatz, if I don’t make it back…”
“You will.”
“Rassvet.”
He pulls back. “Huh?”
“Rassvet is the command to change the robots. It does something to their core programming. Changes them like it did to Ogre. You’re the only one who knows the command besides me now.”
“Vance told you the command?”
“Yes.” I wipe my eyes, feeling a huge lump in my throat. I never expected saying goodbye would be this hard. “You’ll know when to use it. I didn’t tell Pilar.”
The pilot engages the thrusters as Pilar leans out and yells, “Let’s go.”
“Be right there,” he shouts. “There’s something I tried to tell you before, Ida. I’ve tried many times.” He squeezes my hands, careful to avoid clawing me. “I love you.” He moves his face toward me, leaning in for a kiss, but I recoil.
I want to feel his warm lips on mine and kiss him deeply, but I’m afraid that contact with my skin will hurt him. Maybe my touch will even kill him.
He’s so close, I see his pupils dilate. I’ve wounded his pride. “Gatz…I can’t.” I know I should explain, but it’s all happening so fast, and inside, I’m a mess.
He lingers, then lets go. Without a word, he stalks away.
My heart feels like it weighs a hundred pounds. I want to chase him, tell him I can’t bear the thought of losing him, but he heads into the sweeper and they cruise off into the night.
Thirty-Four
Tyren and I sprint through the city streets until we reach the towers. The circular behemoths rise from the ground like honeycomb spirals. He walks in front of me, and I rest my pistol against the back of his neck, nudging him forward.
He raises his arms in a show of surrender. A group of soldiers manning a guard station approach, rifles aimed at us. An enormous Scrambler lurches forward, its ammo canisters spinning, ready to fire.
“Please don’t shoot,” Tyren shouts.
“Major?” Worried glances from the soldiers. “Hold your fire, people,” one of them orders.
“Take us to Colonel Hunter or I kill him.” I scan the possible threats.
Watch that beast. I designed them to have nasty tempers.
“Send that thing away.” I point at the Scrambler.
The alarmed soldiers exchange urgent whispers, and one speaks into a biocuff. The metal giant stomps off down the street.
A tall soldier who appears to be in charge taps frantically on a tablet. Seconds later a hologram of Hunter’s face appears. The soldier points the device at us to brief him. “Bring them up,” he says before the image flashes off.
Inside the east tower, we follow a trio of soldiers who walk backwards as they keep their weapons trained on us. We cross the marble lobby, and other soldiers stand by on high alert, watching but not intervening.
As we enter the elevator, I press my body against the wall and hold Tyren in front of me.
I spy the tall soldier’s badge—Murphy. He’s sweaty and his pistol trembles. The last thing I need is for him to shoot one of us by accident. The door slides shut.
“Command Center. Floor sixty-five,” Tyren says to the AI. “Murphy, we’re almost there, and your part will be over. Calm down.”
The soldier swallows and relaxes his shoulders a bit.
“You’re doing a great job, Private,” Tyren reassures him. “Just get us up there in one piece.”
“Y-Yes, sir,” he mumbles.
We ascend to the top of the east tower. When the door slides open, I expect to encounter a wall of armed soldiers and androids. But it’s quiet and strangely dim inside the usually hectic command center.
I scan the open area, brace for attack, but find it nearly abandoned. Why so empty? What’s Hunter planning?
The soldiers back out of the elevator, taking wide cautious steps. Tyren and I follow, and the five of us slide across the floor together in an awkward, dangerous dance. I search the room for Hunter.
His tall figure looms in the shadows, observing. Then he emerges, and a bright light showers him, highlighting his high cheekbones and casting large dark circles around his eyes. “Welcome back, Ida Sarek.”
I hold my breath, feel
ing Tyren’s pulse race.
Hunter edges closer. “Sarek, you got what you wanted. Your mutant beast escaped. So, why are you back so soon? Ready to rejoin the military? Serve by my side? Tell you what, I’ll make you my number two. Time to replace Tyren.”
I stay silent. Let him talk, play his cards first. The backpack with the helmet rests behind me, still secure, its weight a reassurance. If only I knew how to turn on the damn thing.
“But a few things don’t add up.” Hunter scratches his head. He’s unarmed, letting his soldiers point the guns. No androids in the room that I can see.
“You see, Tyren thinks of you fondly. The two of you served side-by-side. I know you share a strong bond.” He glares at me. “Would you really shoot him?” He advances on us.
I flinch and retreat a step, dragging Tyren with me.
“See, I don’t think you would. I don’t think you have it in you.” He pulls a pistol from his waist and aims it at Tyren’s head. Hunter flicks the safety.
“No!” I scream and shove my left hand in front of his gun as I push Tyren to the floor. The gun erupts, and my hand feels like it’s been slammed between a large textbook and a wooden desk. My flesh burns, but there’s no time to think. I spin and roll to the ground. Ducking, I raise my right arm, ready to fire at Hunter, but he’s gone, hidden in the shadows.
The three soldiers grow pale as they watch me. One of them peers around, frantic eyes searching for Hunter. “Colonel?”
Somewhere in the darkened room, Hunter laughs.
“Colonel, awaiting orders?”
“Seize them and restrain,” he barks.
The female soldier lunges forward, shoving her rifle in my chest. I drop my weapon. The other two cuff Tyren.
She stares at me, the color draining from her face. “You—um. Your hand was shot.”
My hand stings as if a group of angry wasps attacked me. My middle, ring, and little finger are gone—ripped off by the force of the bullet. Blood streams from my wound, drips down my arm, and splatters on the floor.
The woman kicks my gun away, removes her belt and wraps it around my arm as a tourniquet. Then she grabs a med kit from a nearby console and bandages my injury tightly. Even though my hand burns like the sting of a thousand fire ants, I push the pain away for now. I grit my teeth and glare at Hunter.
I’ll kill him tonight.
Oh, yes.
I blink and transmit a thought to Vance. I need your help. The helmet—how does it activate?
“Show our guests to their seats,” Hunter says. “Lights on.”
The command center’s AI is displayed on a massive semi-circular glass panel of windows. Beyond the computerized wall, the rooftop stretches out—Vance’s former living space now transformed into a military ops center. The guards push me and Tyren onto a concrete bench, then handcuff us.
Our rooftop meeting spot, Ida. Feels like old times.
I have no time for games, I think to him. Help me.
And then strangely, Vance appears in the room. Does anyone else see him? He lingers in a corner wearing his long, dark trench coat. Moonlight glints off the steel side of his face.
Hunter follows my gaze. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I shake my head. Am I hallucinating? How much blood have I lost?
“Grab the backpack,” he tells Murphy.
I struggle, leaning on the bench. But it’s no use, the other soldiers approach and hold me as Murphy cuts the pack loose from my shoulders.
Hunter examines the bag and starts cackling. He grasps the helmet, pulls it out, and holds it up to the light. “I can’t believe you brought it to me.” He keeps laughing as he slaps his knee. “Hell, I thought I was going to have to torture you and Tyren to get you to tell me where this was. But you brought it to me. Imagine that!”
“You can’t use it. The hybrids tried. It’s worthless.”
“Is that so?” He marvels at the helmet, handling it carefully. “I know how to use it.”
Vance leaves his corner and treads closer, his coat tails flapping in the night breeze. The hybrids didn’t have the module that activates it. You’ll see.
Hunter holds the helmet as though it’s a precious relic. “You know, I almost forgive you for turning Paul against me, Ida.” He stops and leers at me. “Can I call you that? We on a first name basis?”
“What the hell is your problem, Hunter?” I glance at Tyren next to me. “You turned your nephew against you the moment you locked on our cruiser and tried to kill us. How do you think he liked that?”
“He was never my favorite nephew. A nice young man, but too goody-two-shoes for me. Maybe that was your influence.”
I bite my lip. Vance, the helmet? How does it work?
“Why kill me when you need my DNA?” I press Hunter.
“My, my, so many questions.” He checks his biocuff. “I had your DNA when you gave up the blood sample. Of course, I wanted to extract a larger sample, but I had enough to get by. You made yourself expendable.” He strolls over and leans in, glancing at my injured hand. “Are you able to heal yourself, regenerate your fingers?”
I glare at him, my rage boiling.
“I’m in a celebratory mood.” He claps. “You waltzed in and gave me the helmet. Do you know how much time you saved me?” He nods to Murphy.
The soldier passes Hunter a tablet. Vance leans against a wall, observing with a smirk.
“In honor of how cooperative you’ve been…” Hunter twirls a piece of hair behind my ear causing me to whip my head away. “Since you’ve made my job easy today, I’m going to let you call your friends in Section H and warn them to evacuate.”
My stomach drops.
Hunter smiles. “I’m going to bomb Section H to pieces, but since I’m in a generous mood, I’ll let my nephew and his girlfriend escape. They have one hour.”
Then he shoves the tablet in my face as it broadcasts live for all of Spark City to see.
Thirty-Five
I gaze into the tablet trying to still my trembling lips. I search Hunter’s eyes. Can I stall him?
My message needs to be clear. Gatz and Pilar already know the urgency, but now I’ll reveal the ETA, and after that? Maybe I can buy them some time. I swallow and begin, then cough for several seconds. Anything to delay.
Hunter yanks the tablet away. “We don’t have all day.”
“I’m ready.”
He stands before me and points the tablet at my face again.
“To the people of Section H, please listen. This is an emergency. You have one hour to evacuate. Section H will be destroyed.” My throat tightens. The air has been sucked from my chest. “Please, listen. Evacuate as soon as possible. And to all the citizens surrounding Section H, you must get to safety. There’s no telling how far the bombs will—”
“That’s enough.” Hunter yanks the device away and the feed cuts out.
I yank on my wrist restraints, seeing if they’ll budge. No luck. Titanium steel. My maimed hand sends sharp pangs up my arm in revolt. “You bastard. One hour isn’t enough time to evacuate. There are thousands of hybrids in H.”
“Is that so? Guess they’ll have to save the most important ones. I’m sure your friends Pilar and Gatz will save their own asses first.”
I jump to my feet and hurl my body at him. He dodges to the side and I end up sprawled across the polished marble floor, landing at Vance’s feet.
Hunter cackles. “Ain’t you a hoot?”
I roll onto my back and sit up, my hand screaming in pain.
“You see,” he squats before me, “it’s called culling the herd. Too many hybrids were created. There were never supposed to be that many.”
“I know what you did. Your military labs created the hybrids. You tricked them. Gave them false memories. Why?”
His face darkens. “How did you find out?” He rises and shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. The hybrids once served a purpose. Now they don’t. I played a hand in creating them. Now I end them.�
� He approaches a console. “With this…” He pounds his fingers on a digital screen. A hologram projects a 3-D view of an arsenal of drones. They hover in the sky above Section H, loitering with their grenade-like warheads.
Tyren shakes his head. “Don’t do this, Will.”
“Too late. It’s already set in motion.” He rubs his hands together. “We needed to rebuild that part of town anyway.”
“You can’t control the blast zones.” I climb unsteadily to my feet. “You’ll end up killing innocent citizens! Women, children. Paul might not make it.”
“I’m cleaning Spark City up. Like I said, the hybrids don’t serve a purpose any more. Paul’s on his own.”
“What purpose did they serve?” He hasn’t set the detonator sequence yet. If I can keep him talking…
Hunter rocks back on his heels. “Well, since we have some time…” He picks up the helmet again after nodding to the soldiers. “The chair.”
Murphy and the other male soldier grab me, remove my handcuffs, and haul me into a vertically inclined chair off to the side of the room. They strap me in, and I’m surrounded by tubes and medical instruments in a bed like I saw in my visions. Like the bed Gatz was on when they spliced his DNA and performed their terrible experiments.
The woman hooks up a long, probing needle deep into a vein on my uninjured arm.
I cry out in pain, feeling dizzy. My vision starts to cloud, but I push my mangled hand into the seat so the pain keeps me alert.
My blood starts to seep through a long tube into a machine. “What the hell are you doing?”
Hunter approaches with a grin. “It will all start to make sense soon.”
Vance, help me. What can I do?
Vance saunters over and leans against a nearby wall. Let’s hear what he has to say, shall we?
“Once upon a time,” Hunter says. “I was a lowly private given nothing but grunt work. My superiors didn’t see my potential. They didn’t guess my genius. But then one day, an opportunity came up to work at a medical research facility. My bunkmate got the assignment. I congratulated him, but I seethed inside. I couldn’t believe I’d been passed over. My jealousy ate me up so I threw him off the roof, made it look accidental, and took the assignment myself.”
The Rogue Spark series Box Set Page 39