Decision made, resolve steeled, Bree stood and nodded in agreement. She’d go with Alrishiel, but she’d stay alert and ready for action.
“It is an honor to meet you Ms. Jackson. The General spoke highly of you. I, too, would like to offer my sincerest apologies for the behavior of Kozeb. We go through a rigorous selection and training process to be a part of Earth’s Instant Karma team. Therefore, it is rather unusual for someone like Kozeb to have been selected. At this time we do not know whether his intentions to betray humanity and violate our Primary Protocol existed before the selection process or once he was stationed here. I assure you we will find the answer.” Alrishiel spoke in a formal stilted manner, not unlike Ipeshe.
As Alrishiel escorted her down a hallway, Bree created a mental map so she could find her way out. An old habit that, unfortunately, might prove useless here in this Kusharian building.
“I need to know who the hell Kozeb was working for,” Bree sniped. “I don’t give a rat’s ass when he decided to fuck with humans.”
“Yes, Ms. Jackson.” Alrishiel bowed his head. “Please forgive me if I offended you. We are equally concerned with discovering who Kozeb worked for.”
Bree eyed her escort, hoping to see through the ass-kissing mask to the real Al.
Some sycophant named Alrishiel is taking me to see Kozeb. The General said she wants to gain my trust by allowing me into this restricted area. It’s not working. Something weird is going on and I have a bad feeling, she updated Ipeshe and Iziqa.
She’s making great efforts to win your trust. She doesn’t allow humans or many Kusharians to the highly restricted areas. Alrishiel is her assistant, Iziqa answered.
We’re entering a transporter seventy-five steps to the right of the office we left. How can I link into the system to find out what floor or area we’re going to?
You can’t do that without raising suspicion, Iziqa replied. Besides, I’m not sure you would have access to controls. I’ll track you.
That’s not really very comforting. Bree rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension in her muscles and kept an eye on Al.
When the door did its disappearing act, he stepped out and waited for Bree to exit as well. “Down this way, Ms. Jackson.”
Her gut twisted and the hair on her neck bristled, but she stepped out of the transporter anyway. “Where are we?” The dark, dusty area with exposed red rock walls didn’t look anything like a Kusharian smart building. Shit!
Uh, I think we’ve got a problem here. I’m now underground somewhere in red rock country. Are you still tracking? Bree asked Iziqa. She ran her hand over the wall; hard to imagine that moments ago she’d stepped through a door there and now she felt only solid rock.
“As the General requested, I am escorting you to see Kozeb. Please, come this way.” The smarmy suckass motioned for Bree to follow him.
Iziqa can you hear me? She tried again. With no way to access the transporter, she opted to follow Al, despite the increasing sense of danger. Had the General cut off her ability to mind sync? Maybe the rock walls prevented a connection.
Al’s pace quickened, but Bree’s longer legs made it easy to keep up. After thirty steps, Alrishiel stopped and turned to his left. A doorway appeared, exposing an empty room with more rock walls instead of the bright hi-tech walls she’d seen in the other parts of the Kusharian buildings.
“What the hell? Where is Kozeb?”
“He is in the adjoining room. You will be able to see him through a window.” Mr. Smarmy walked into the room. “Ms. Jackson, please enter the room. The General wishes for you to see Kozeb. He is in a healing chamber and it would be dangerous for him and for us if we entered the chamber room. You will have a direct view into his room from here.”
Wary of a trap, Bree hesitated at the doorway. “I don’t think so, buddy. What the fuck is going on here?” She slid her hand close to the knife on her belt. Shit. A bolt of fear shook her. Her knife was gone. She’d had it in the General’s office. Al had never been close enough to lift it off of her. “Did you take my knife, you bootlicking fuckface?”
“Absolutely not, Ms. Jackson. Is it missing? Perhaps you dropped it?” Mr. Obsequious did look surprised.
So far Bree hadn’t been impressed with his acting skills so maybe he hadn’t taken it. But no way she had dropped it. Someone had to have taken it from her, but damn if she knew how. Or who.
“I will help you locate your knife on our way back to the General’s office. Kozeb is scheduled for time in the immersion tank soon, so if you wish to see him, please come in now.” Smarmy Al’s mouth slid into a smile that showed teeth, but did not reach his eyes.
Bree could enter the room, which could be a trap or her only opportunity to see Kozeb. Or she could turn around and get the hell out of there. Of course, if the General or Al meant her harm, she’d probably not be allowed to escape. Nothing but shitty choices. Especially since she had no weapons and no means of contacting the Ipster or Izzi. Then again, she couldn’t use a weapon anyway. Not if her trackers were online.
“Please come in and see for yourself.” Al indicated an opening in the wall. “I fear the General will be most disappointed in me if we return without you confirming Kozeb’s status.”
From her position in the hall, Bree could see enough to confirm a well-lit room on the other side of the window. Shoulders back and head held high, Bree entered the room.
Alrishiel’s smile turned wicked and Bree’s skin crawled when she realized the other room was empty.
“You will stay here. We do not need your interference any longer.” Al’s tone was no longer ingratiating.
Bree whirled around. The doorway had disappeared. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“On the contrary, I am very serious. You will be held here until we finish our mission.”
Adrenaline flooded Bree’s body in the fight or flight response. Or, in this situation, a kick-ass and run-like-hell response. She shifted into a fighting stance. A familiar tingle alerted her to an incoming KG.
She lunged for Alrishiel. She’d be damned if she’d let this fraudulent pissant transport out of there with the KG and leave her alone and trapped. She rammed Al, her momentum taking them both down in a tangle of flailing arms and legs.
“What are you doing?” Alrishiel yelled as he tried to wriggle free from Bree’s grasp, but she had him pinned face down.
“I’m getting the hell out of here. That’s what I’m doing you, motherfucking smarmy ass-clown.” Bree hissed.
A KG appeared in the room.
“Shoot her now! She has attacked me,” Alrishiel commanded.
Bree grabbed Alrishiel by the neck and maneuvered them both to a standing position. She tightened her chokehold and pulled him with her as she put her back to a wall, ensuring that no KGs could pop in behind her. “You will back the fuck off or I’ll kill him.” Bree made sure the she kept Al’s body between hers and the KG. If the guard wanted to shoot, he’d have to shoot the Kusharian first. Unless he went for a head shot. Being six inches taller made it easier to keep him in a chokehold, but left her head exposed.
The KG looked to Alrishiel for direction, but Bree’s grip was too tight for him to do anything other than make a few gurgling sounds.
“Drop your fucking weapon now,” Bree ordered. When the guard didn’t move, she squeezed tighter. Alrishiel motioned with his hand for the KG to put his weapon down. The Guard complied.
“Now kick it to me and back the fuck up!” Bree ordered.
The KG scooted his laser gun toward her. She reached out with her right foot and slid the gun closer. With her left arm still around Mr. Smarmy’s neck, she bent to the side and picked up the gun with her right hand. She pointed the gun at the KG and blew out through her pursed lips.
“What a clusterfuck,” she whispered to no one in particular.
Once again an attempt to open the mind sync with Ipeshe and Iziqa failed. Why did that mind sync shit only seem to work when Bree didn’t want them
in her damned head? Hopefully, whatever had blocked the mind syncing would also keep little Al from calling for additional help. However, depending on luck in life-and-death situations was foolish. Bree Jackson had been called many things;, foolish wasn’t on that list.
“Did the General order you to bring me here?” Bree relaxed her grip on the Kusharian just enough so that he could answer.
Silence.
“Where are we? Better yet, how in the holy hell do we get out of here?” Bree kept her grip on the little Kusharian bastard and the gun on the KG. She needed to get out of there. Using her hostage as a body shield would help, but she needed to protect her head. “Give me your helmet, dickface.” She waved the gun at the KG, but he didn’t move. “Now! Before I strangle him to death.”
Al gurgled and made an upward motion with his hand.
The Karma Guard slowly lifted his hands to his helmet. A click sounded as he disengaged the helmet from his protective suit and he pulled it off his head. She wondered what the goons looked like under their gear. Maybe they had seven eyes, blue skin, and daggers for teeth. Bree’s breath caught at the sight of the alien.
He looked freakishly… human.
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He had two blue eyes - not sapphire like the Kusharians, but human blue. One nose. One mouth. His features, chiseled. Blond hair. He looked very Nordic. What the hell? Were the KG humans? Were they being mind controlled? A knot tightened in her stomach. Or was this guy masquerading as a Guard for some reason? She didn’t have time to figure it out; she needed to get the hell out of there.
“Put the helmet on the ground and slide it over to me.”
The KG did as asked, hesitantly.
Now, how to put the helmet on, keep Al in a chokehold, and the gun pointed at the KG. Super powers or not, she couldn’t do all of that at once. She had to keep the Guard at a distance. One touch and he could transport out with Al. Fear bubbled up from the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t be trapped down here.
“Fuckety fuck fuck!”
She pointed the gun at the KG and pulled the trigger. He collapsed in a heap. The weapons the KG used had two settings. One put humans in a coma-like state until they were released. The other was a lethal setting. Unless the Guard had come to kill her, his gun should be on the non-lethal setting.
A quick look at the large man on the ground confirmed he was breathing. Bree exhaled slowly, releasing some of the fear that threatened to keep her frozen in place.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know what impact the KG weapon would have on a Kusharian. She opted to keep pressure on the pipsqueak’s windpipe. She forced him back onto her extended knee so she could bend over. Placing the gun on the floor, Bree grabbed the helmet with her right hand. She fumbled a bit, but managed to get the damn thing on her head. She had expected things to look darker through the opaque face shield, but she didn’t notice any change. The helmet wobbled a little on her smaller head.
Okay. Time to go. Maybe she should cut off Al’s air long enough for him to pass out. That way he couldn’t call for help. But, she did need him to get the doors and transporter to work. The little bastard was coming with her.
The KG groaned and started moving. Bree shot him again. A human would have remained unconscious from one blast of the weapon. Were the Guards immune?
“Shit, shit, shit!” A tingling sensation alerted her to incoming KGs. One of these wankers had called for help. She’d handled one Kusharian and one KG, but Bree doubted she could stay in control with more KGs in this small shit-hole room of doom. At least she had more protection now: a helmet for her head, wall at her back, and a Kusharian hostage to shield her front.
Two KGs popped in and pointed their guns at Bree.
“Hold up, boys. You move and I’ll snap his neck so fucking fast your heads will spin and then I’ll shoot your buddy over there on the ground with the lethal setting.” She tipped her head in his direction. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
No answer.
“No? Okay, then how about you put your weapons down and slide them to me?”
The Guards didn’t move.
Bree fired the weapon at the goon on the ground again. “That was on stun, but next one will be lethal. I’m not dicking around here. Put your damned weapons down!” Bree ordered.
Both of the standing KGs complied.
“Good. Now take your helmets off.”
They didn’t move.
Bree tightened her finger on the trigger, motivating them to act. Their movements, in sync, looked choreographed.
“What the hell?” She’d prepared herself to see humans or very human-looking aliens. Bree didn’t, however, expect to see two identical copies of the Guard on the floor. “This is fucking bizarre. I’m guessing you three are not triplets.” Bree used her foot to slide the weapons and helmets into a pile near her. “Good boys! Now, one of you will open the fucking door and let me out of here.”
A deep rumble came from the guy on the ground. How the hell did this guy keep waking up so fast? Despite a fleeting temptation to change the setting on the gun, Bree hit the Guard on the ground with another stun pulse.
The door slid open.
When no one charged in, Bree fired the gun at the two standing KGs, dropping them on the ground next to their buddy. Then she fired once more at each of them.
“Alrighty then. That’s much better.” Keeping Al in front of her, Bree pushed off of the wall and moved to the opened door. “Now, you go first, you fiendish lil fucker. That way if anyone out there tries to shoot me, they’ll hit you instead.” She released her hold around his neck and with the KG’s gun at the back of Al’s head, she pushed him into the hallway.
Al looked both ways. “There’s no one out here. Now let me go.”
Bree laughed out loud. “Not a freaking chance, asshole.” She didn’t trust his assertion that no one waited in the hallway to ambush her. But she did need to move. A view of the hallway popped up on her virtual screen, showing an empty hallway in both directions.
“Whoa. Where did that come from?” Not sure if the image came from Al’s brain comp, the security system, or the KG helmet, Bree took a step into the hall. She let out a deep sigh of gratitude when no one fired at her.
Before walking away, she shot each of the KGs again to slow their eventual pursuit. Her eyes focused on their helmets and guns. Damn it! They’d grab those as soon as they woke up, but she couldn’t carry them with her. The pile of KG gear began to vibrate and slide across the floor. Bree grabbed Al around the neck again.
“What the fuck? Who’s doing that?”
Al grunted, but couldn’t form any words.
The mass stopped right at her feet. Did I do that? Ipeshe hadn’t mentioned telekinesis as a possible side effect of the brain comp. Cripes, she had a lot of questions, but she didn’t have time to dwell on them now.
“Shut the door,” she ordered Alrishiel.
It slid shut so fast, she didn’t know if Alrishiel had done it or if the damn thing had finally responded to her command.
Bree released the chokehold and pushed the gun into the fuckwad’s ribs. “Can the KG transport or operate your doors without their helmets?”
“No.”
“I don’t know why I asked. I can’t trust anything you say, you piece of shit.” Bree kicked the pile of helmets and guns down the hall behind them. “Walk, slime ball, or I’ll kill you. I’ll say it was self-defense. I think we both realize at this point that my IK tracker is off.” Bree pushed Al forward with the gun at his back. Her senses heightened, wary of more incoming KGs or Kusharians popping out of unseen doors.
As they neared the area where the transporter had been, pain thundered through Bree’s head, causing her to stumble.
Alrishiel used the opportunity to spin around and land a powerful kick to her right forearm, causing the gun to fly out of her hand.
“Shit!” Bree jumped back into a fighting stance. Her vision blurred and nausea flared. Her brain comp display flashed a serie
s of warnings: Critically low protein level. Gamma wave toxicity too high. Brain wave coherence decreasing rapidly. “Nothing I can do about that right now.”
Alrishiel charged. Bree shifted to avoid a full contact body slam, but he clipped her right side and her sore arm. The force spun her back and to the side, but she maintained her balance. Barely. The room swirled in her vision. The pain in her head increased, making it difficult to stand, let alone fight. Kusharians were much stronger than they looked and had excellent fighting technique.
To survive this fight, Bree needed her extensive martial arts training. Al darted in and out of her reach, each time landing solid punches and kicks. The horrid pain in her head overshadowed the pain Al was inflicting.
“Who are you working for?” Bree managed to get the words out before the little jackass landed a vicious kick to her ribs.
Bree collapsed to her knees, her breath ragged from the pain in her side.
Fuck!
More warnings appeared in her virtual display: Three broken ribs. Gamma wave toxicity increasing to dangerous levels. Optic nerve impaired. Cell membrane damage imminent.
She anticipated Al’s incoming kick to her already damaged ribs and lowered her arm. A crack rang out as his foot made contact with her forearm. Sharp pain shot up her arm.
“Shit!” She didn’t need the brain comp display to confirm what she already knew.
“You fucking broke my arm, you dickless piece of shit!” Emboldened with rage, Bree charged with her left shoulder down low and plowed into her opponent, knocking him backwards.
His head bounced off the ground. Instinct kicked in. Bree straddled him and pinned his arms under her knees with supernatural speed.
Her broken and battered body and malfunctioning brain threatened to render her unconscious at any moment.
Alrishiel squirmed beneath her and nearly knocked her off. Bree gathered her strength and punched her would-be kidnapper hard.
“You broke my nose!” Alrishiel yelled as blood spurted out.
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