"We're not done yet." As he said those words, Henry felt his own anger burning hotly. He turned on the two scientists. Fury filled his voice. "You're making people into puppets," he snarled.
"It's for Society!" the man shouted. "It'll put an end to the war, to all wars! Humanity will be united in peace!"
Henry wanted to pull the trigger more than anything. The white-hot fury resonating inside of him demanded it. It would balance the scales, grant some measure of security in a world that these people had unbalanced so terribly with their inhumane efforts. Stern justice for the people they'd harmed, people like Tia.
They're unarmed. They're helpless. One's already hurting. This wouldn't be justice; it'd be murder.
The rage refused to relent. They turned human beings into puppets! Experimented on them like animals, killed them!
The two arguments warred inside of him as his finger tensed on the trigger.
The resulting pulse blasts struck each scientist. Not in their heads, but in their shoulders. They cried out in pain while the woman, already wounded by his earlier shot, passed out.
"Animal," the man rasped. "Individualist beast."
Henry was already swapping to the Rigault-issue stunner. He fired it once, knocking the man out.
Brigitte went over to Tia's side. "Come on," she said. "I've got you." With her help, Tia got to her feet. "How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted. Angry." The fury was still in her voice, even as she seemed to be sobbing. "They made me a puppet. They tortured me."
The admission made his stomach turn. "Well, right now, let's get you out of here. This way," Henry said, putting his pistol up and adjusting his rifle. "The others are moving to a rendezvous. Until we get there, you're our prisoner being taken back to the cells."
"Makes sense," Tia agreed, her voice hoarse.
They departed the room and returned the way they came. To avoid getting lost, Henry backtracked to the morgue, as much as he would've rather avoided it. "Miri, Felix, we've got Tia," he said into his link. "We're heading out of the labs now."
"We're on our way back to the entrance," Miri said. "I'll signal the Wolf."
Felix answered next. "We're on our way back up as well. We're already in the stairwell."
Tia looked up with surprise. "Felix?"
"We should make—" The sounds of gunfire filled the link. "Woods! Man down, man—"
"Felix!" Henry tried to keep his voice low as they approached the exit to the morgue, but he couldn't keep the concern from his voice.
This provided the critical distraction that kept him from carefully checking the corridor. He stepped out of it and to his left…
…and found himself facing Commander Aristide and two League officers.
22
The gunfire in the stairwell diverted Felix's attention from the link. The point man, First Lieutenant Woods, fell on one of the platforms of the stairwell. His Rigault uniform was burned away by the shots, revealing the tactical armor underneath, while a shot to his thigh burned through flesh into bone. He cried out a warning as he hit the ground.
"Shooters above!" Wu shouted. Felix brought his rifle up as he went up the stairs. Woods, despite his injuries, had the presence of mind to get his weapon back into the firefight. He sprayed fire upward toward the platform above Felix's head. "At least two hostiles," he called out.
Wu's team moved like the professionals they were. Suppressive fire kept the heads of the other team down long enough for another member of the team to fling a stun grenade up and across the stairwell. It went off with a burst of light and a pair of thuds sounded.
More gunfire came from below. "Hostiles coming up!"
Felix bent low and helped Woods up. "I've got him, keep going!"
The team continued their way back up the stairwell to the ground level. Wu's second, Captain Cedric Lewis, helped Felix by taking the weight of Woods, who kept a sidearm in his free hand. Felix followed them, expecting more resistance from above at any moment.
He was pleasantly surprised by the lack of any. They got back to the ground level just in time for an announcement over the PA from a man with a French accent. "This is not a drill! There is a security breach in the complex! All security personnel arm and report to stations! I repeat, this is not a drill…!"
"Just our luck they schedule a damn drill the day we hit them," Felix grumbled. Sanchez came through the door behind him, her rifle leveled. The rest of the team came up and Osterman slammed the door closed. Another of the Marines, Sadiq, used the rifle to blast the door latch, sealing the stairwell.
Felix had the feeling they'd not seen the last of the security forces. He was proven right when Wu and his point man were forced back around the corner by gunfire. Felix came up beside Wu. "At least four hostiles holding the main corridor," Wu said. "Too far for grenades."
"Then we'll have to push." Felix's expression was grim. "We're going to lose people."
"Getting the data out is our priority, sir."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it."
There was nothing more to be said. They didn't have time. Wu gestured to the team to be ready before he and Felix stepped out into the hall.
They started to run right away, ready to hit the deck when fire came so they could possibly lay suppressive fire for their allies. But no fire came their way. The sounds of gunfire came from ahead, louder than before, with shouts and screams. Felix and Wu continued on, the rest of the team behind them, until they arrived at the junction of the complex's main halls.
The security team that shot at them before was down, overwhelmed by numbers, given the dozens of orange-clad figures around. Those of them armed brought their weapons up, but before any shots could be fired, Piper and Miri rushed out to stand between the two groups. They were stripped of their Rigault uniform jackets, showing the plain white long-sleeved undershirt and tactical armor beneath. "They're friendlies!" Miri shouted.
A call in Hestian sounded. Their weapons were lowered, some rather slowly. Felix could see there were still trust issues here.
"Good going, Miri," Felix remarked, seeing the crowd. "Freed all the prisoners, huh?"
"Seemed the best way to give you and Captain Henry a distraction," Piper answered. "So where to next?"
"That depends on Jim," Felix said, reaching for his link.
* * *
The call came into Antoine's office just as he was preparing to leave for an HBC meeting. He listened to the report with growing fury. "What do you mean there was an attack during the drill?"
"We're not sure of the details yet, Director," the nervous voice reported from the other end. "Just that we have reports of gunfire and that the prisoners are loose."
"Then stop them," Antoine said, his voice a low hiss from his barely-restrained rage. "And make sure the labs are secure! If our high priority subjects get away, I will personally have you charged under Hestian penal law, is that clear?!"
"As crystal, Director," replied the officer, undoubtedly already imagining being sentenced to penal labor in the mines. He hung up.
Antoine pounded a fist on his desk and went to the window. The complex was in the far distance. From here, everything looked normal. But today, today is not normal. Someone acted against my plans. And they will regret it!
* * *
Henry's eyes met Aristide's. For all her composure never changed, the way the flesh tightened around them told him she remembered him, and there would be no bluffing here.
"Shoot him!" Aristide ordered even as Henry stepped back into the morgue.
He forced the door closed and backed away from it. "Wrong way," he said. "Aristide's here. We'd better find another route."
"This way," Tia urged, indicating the way they came. "I know another way back to the cells."
There was no point in arguing the matter. Henry followed Brigitte, who kept Tia going as they fled the morgue. Behind them, the door opened, and Aristide's forces came through. Henry squeezed a shot off that forced them down. He reached for
his belt, hidden under his uniform jacket, and tossed a smoke grenade provided as part of the team kit. Gray vapors issued from the device and swiftly filled the morgue.
They came out the other way and Tia urged them further down the corridor, away from the room they'd found her in. Despite her clear exhaustion, she seemed to find the energy to actually pull free of Brigitte a little, moving to step ahead of her.
Henry turned back just in time. A Leaguer moved through the smoke billowing from the morgue. He raised his rifle and shot the man, catching him in the side just below the heart. The Leaguer toppled.
By the time the second one was coming through, they reached the next corridor. Tia led them into a turn. Henry's sense of direction indicated they were heading back toward the corridor where the implantation room was. He kept a steady pace, working with Brigitte to keep the rear clear as they pressed forward.
Their next encounter was with a pair of Rigault guards. Henry was ready to try and bluff past them, but Brigitte didn't give him a chance. She opened fire with the rifle, taking both down before they could react. "Aristide's probably warned the whole complex," Tia said. She eyed the rifle but didn't take it. "I can't risk them taking control of me."
Henry nodded. "I'd have destroyed the controls, but there might have been a failsafe. It could have left you unable to move."
"It was a smart call. I'll just feel better when this damn chip is off my neck."
At the next intersection, Tia led them into another turn. They continued on with no interruption. "Miri's jail break must be occupying most of the security forces," Henry mused. They passed a corridor interchange. Henry checked both sides of the corridor. "And these rooms look familiar."
"We're almost there," Tia assured him.
Henry's link let out an electronic tone. He tapped it. "We're on our way," he said.
"Good, we're moving for the exit as well," Felix answered. "Miri, Piper, and at least three dozen Hestians are with us."
"We'll have room for them on the Shadow Wolf," Henry assured him. "We'll be there shortly." Henry toggled the link. "Henry to Shadow Wolf, status?"
"We are launching now, Captain," Yanik answered.
"We're going to have extra guests and may need some fire support."
"We will be ready. Shadow Wolf out."
* * *
On the Shadow Wolf bridge, Yanik sat in the command chair, while Cera, as expected, manned the helm. Vidia took Piper's astrogation and sensor station. "Captain Chagger's people are ready," he said. "They're on the quads."
"Inform the Majha to release us," Yanik said.
"Doing so now."
Several seconds passed with no result showing on the bridge's main display. The layer of liquid crystal that covered the front wall of the bridge showed only the interior of the Majha cargo pod.
Then the pod seemed to split open. The view was dominated by Hestia. Cera triggered the Wolf's plasma drives and sent them burning toward the planet below.
Yanik had comm controls relayed to his chair. At first, there was nothing, but as the planet consumed the space of the viewer, a light indicated an incoming call. He snorted at its origin, noting it was planetary traffic control. There was no point in answering, so he ignored it.
"No sign of defensive fire yet," Vidia said.
"Keep a firm watch." Yanik's yellow eyes focused on the holotank before him. No new contacts yet showed, simply these ships already in orbit, including the Majha, which even now was breaking away for the lunar L5 point.
With a stroke of his taloned finger, Yanik activated his link to Henry. "Captain, we are beginning atmospheric descent. We will arrive within ten minutes."
* * *
Yanik's call came just before Aristide and her remaining officer caught up to Henry and the others. A shot from a League ballistic pistol sent a slug a couple centimeters from Henry's shoulder and head. Knowing he might not evade another shot, he finished making the turn while Brigitte tossed her smoke grenade at the intersection.
Ahead of them, Tia was clearly running out of energy. Sheer determination seemed the only reason she hadn't collapsed. "This way!" she urged.
They followed, the Leaguers hot on their heels, through the corridors of the complex leading back to its central hall. A number of offices and rooms passed by that offered momentary cover whenever their pursuers managed to catch up. Henry and Brigitte kept up their suppressive fire, alternating between who was facing behind and who was running ahead with Tia.
Henry used another doorway for cover while letting Brigitte go past. He fired several shots to keep the Leaguers penned in behind them. "You will not escape, Captain Henry!" Aristide called out from her cover. "Surrender and I might be able to arrange mercy for your crew!"
"Your idea of mercy is as empty as your heart!" he retorted. "That device you put in my First Mate's neck proves it!"
"That device is the future," Aristide said. "In time, all will bear it, and with it, there will be more dissension or strife, no more violence. No more war."
"No more freedom. No more choice." Henry started to slip from the doorway and was driven back into cover by gunfire.
Along with her gunfire, Aristide gave an answer to his words. "Choice is an illusion; it always has been. Society is the only hope for the future of our species. All other ways lead to destruction."
"Only because you won't leave us alone!" With fire coming from Brigitte, Henry dashed out of cover. Despite the cover fire, he heard Aristide's gun crack again. This time, he felt hot pain across the back of his neck, followed by a sticky wet feeling against his skin. He'd taken a glancing shot there.
"I will kill you all if I must," Aristide vowed. "Society must prevail, or we are all lost. There is no alternative."
"Just shut up already, you League wanker!" Brigitte screamed. Her gun barked away, scorching the walls near where Aristide was in cover.
"Brigitte Tam'si. Your record makes for fascinating reading. Rarely does individualism come so strongly from someone raised in the warm folds of Society." Aristide's voice lost none of its cool. "I suppose it comes from Kallista Tam'si. Your aunt, I believe?"
Henry saw the fury on Brigitte's face as he approached. He shook his head and motioned for her to continue onward. She nodded and did so while he laid cover fire.
Over the shots, Aristide's voice called out again. "I read the records on Kallista. Noted individualist tendencies. It's why she was denied resettlement to New Hope, you know. New Hope was for the Socially conscious like your parents. How you have failed them all."
Brigitte and Tia made it to a set of large double doors. The central hall was straight beyond them.
Henry fired off several shots as he fell back to the door. Aristide's subordinate risked his fire to try and get a hit on him, but Brigitte added her rifle to the fight. Both scored hits on the man, including a shot to the throat that Henry was certain would prove fatal.
Aristide took several shots at them but didn't join her subordinate's reckless charge.
When Henry arrived at the door, he slipped through. Brigitte pulled her plasma pistol and used it to blast the latch, melting it into place to block the door from being opened. They looked up at it in time to see Aristide come up to the other side. Henry locked eyes with her through the door's one window pane. Her frustration and cold fury was spine-tingling in its intensity. "You cannot run forever, James Henry," she shouted through the door. "You will be brought to account eventually!"
"We all will, Commander," he replied loudly, to make sure she heard him through the door. "Especially you."
They left her behind. Now that Henry could see familiar landmarks, he took the lead. They took the last few corridors toward the central hall at a steady clip.
They arrived near the main entrance the teams entered through. The doors were already open and Felix's team were in defensive positions. They nodded as Henry led Tia through the door.
Stepping out into the Hestian sunlight required the last erg of her strength. Once
she was out the door, Tia fell to her knees, utterly spent.
Henry and Brigitte helped her up. He looked out at the lot to see a crowd of figures in the same orange jumpsuit as Tia. Even more were already dashing past the gate, now deprived of its security officer.
Miri and Piper grinned at their arrival. Felix satisfied himself with a smile and a nod. But the real surprise was in the response of the crowd of freed prisoners. A young man from their number raised a fist and cheered. He began chanting "Tia!" and, with applause and further cheers, the crowd joined in.
The cheering seemed to give Tia a boost. It was only a small one, but it was enough that she straightened her spine while letting Henry and Brigitte hold her up. She brought an arm up into a clenched fist, getting a louder roar from the crowd.
Now Felix frowned. "Take positions!" he barked. "They're going to be on us soon!"
The crowd didn't immediately respond. Tia's fist became a flat palm. "Listen to him, comrades! He's right! We must be ready to fight!"
"And we will! We will protect you!" the young man vowed.
"Looks like you've got a fan," Brigitte remarked with a smile.
Tia smiled back weakly. "He's Quan Khánh. Linh's younger cousin."
Brigitte laughed. "Small galaxy, then."
The conversation came to a swift end with the roar of gunfire from inside the doors. "Hostile contacts!" shouted one of Wu's people from their position inside. Henry let Brigitte pull Tia away so he could turn and raise his rifle. Troopers in Rigault uniforms and in the basic camo of League security troops were emerging into the main hall to rush the exit. Henry got to cover beside the door to help provide fire to cover that side.
The others scrambled for cover behind the vehicles in the lot, and for good reason. The whine of aircar engines announced the arrival of Thyssenbourg's police forces. They formed a barricade just inside the gate with their vehicles, disembarking with rifles and shotguns. They opened fire as the last of the Hestians took cover, claiming hits on two.
Breach of Trust: Breach of Faith Book Four Page 18