The Fractured Prism (The Prism Files Book 1)

by Brendan Noble

  Helena’s eyes softened. “I am glad to hear it. The last thing we need is more divide in this family with Duke Bilgram becoming more aggressive and the Preus family seeking revenge.”

  Bilgram had been set back slightly with my discoveries at the opening of The Cherry Orchard. I felt my temple where his ring had struck my skull. The physical mark had faded, but mentally, that bastard slave trader had bruised me and was on the top of my list, right next to the General Secretary. The Preus family, on the other hand, was a wild card. They were like snakes in the grass, pouncing when you least expected it.

  Julia’s eyes narrowed. The Queen obviously had sent Helena to press Julia harder about the throne, but this seemed like the more important topic. “They have been more openly hostile recently. Why do you bring them up?” She knows.

  Helena ran her hands along her pleated dress, thinking, before giving her sister a slight smile. “Mother believes your… outspoken… statements are drawing too much attention. Those opposed to reform are aligning themselves with Bilgram, and your resistance to Isaac has Wilhelm enraged.” There it is.

  Julia bit her cheek and shook her head. She coughed and sarcastically smiled at her younger sister. “And let me guess, mother wants her daughter who isn’t in line for the throne to stop causing problems for the one that is.”

  “Mother wishes for you to refrain from speaking about politics for the time being.”

  Julia scoffed. “I thought you were on my side. You said that you wanted reforms.”

  “We all do, except Duke Bilgram’s faction. Your ideas are too radical, though, and are a threat to the family. You know that our family is the most important thing, right?”

  While the opposition to some of our more ambitious ideas was not welcome, hearing that the rest of the family did quietly support some reforms was a positive. We can use that. One step in the right direction was better than war, though it needed to be a big step.

  Julia pursed her narrow lips, her eyes ice cold. “Is it? Is it really? Because I’m not happy or content sitting here in the palace as thousands of people starve while the incompetent UPF elites use the Prism to their advantage. Imagine if you didn’t have that ring to protect you and instead were out there.” She pointed into the distance, beyond the royal territory. “And if the family supports reforms, why haven’t we talked about it instead of mom sending you as a veiled threat? If we are a family, aren’t we supposed to support each other?”

  “You may be right, Julia, and we should talk, all of us. Request that father call a family meeting on the topic. Though, anything they agree to may require you to be more reserved.”

  Julia nodded. “Thank you, Helena. I will consider it. Is that all?”

  Her sister softly nodded her head and stood. “Yes. Thank you for listening. I hope you can see that mother simply wants the best for all of us.”

  Says the girl that hasn’t been forced into a betrothal. She is too young and innocent to see the bigger picture.

  She left, and Julia followed her to the door before looking at me, her voice soft but her eyes stern. “You better go get ready. Do this job, Ivan, so Coyote can be finished.”

  Finished. That word hung in my mind. “Are you going to be okay?”

  She nodded. “Call me when you’re safe. Don’t worry about the gala tonight. It’s in our ballroom. I will survive one night without your protection.”

  Chapter 48

  The van lurched as we turned another corner. I gripped my rifle through my gloves, trying to focus as we bounced down the road. I shook my head. Did they forget to install the suspension? Taking a deep breath, I laid my head back and shut my eyes. You’re going to live. You promised you’d live. Just remember to tell that to the guys shooting at you.

  My earpiece buzzed as El Capitan’s staticky voice came through. “Alpha squad is parked and in position. St. Paul ready. Status check.”

  Husky was next. “Beta squad is pulling in now. Coast is clear in Des Moines.”

  Then Caesar. “Charlie squad locked and loaded. Milwaukee is all quiet.”

  My turn. “Delta squad is behind schedule. We took a precautionary reroute around some patrol cars. E-T-A five minutes in Minneapolis.”

  El Capitan returned. “Roger that, Coyote. Keep us updated. We can’t sit here forever. Out.”

  I looked at the other occupants of the van, half from Poseidon’s team and half from mine. Each squad had a dozen members, all of us with the same flash drive containing the virus. Only one has to survive. Looking around the van, though, I decided that was not how this was going to work. The mission would be accomplished if only one of us got to the control room, but I would have failed if that happened.

  Delaware met my gaze, her eyes full of worry above her bandana printed with the blue flag of Delaware. I was proud of her. She ran multiple missions while I was gone, all but one of them successful, and even with the failure there were no losses. My greatest mistake had become one of my greatest successes. Things were different between us now that she knew, but I did not regret telling her. She deserved to know the truth and could move forward now that she did.

  “You good, Del?”

  Her leg was shaking. “Yup.” Liar.

  “I’ve got your back. We’ve got this.”

  She took a deep breath. “I hope.”

  “We’ve worked years for this. It is all about to pay off. This is the start of something new. Believe it.”

  She unconvincingly nodded her head and looked down.

  Razor sat to her left, his green eyes cold and focused. He had grown up a lot in the last few months, no longer the shaky kid who dislocated his shoulder flopping off a roof. There was something else I couldn’t put my finger on.

  I reached out my fist. “You ready?”

  He bumped it softly. “Born ready.”

  I looked through the rest of the faces in the van. Each of us was ready to die for what we believed in so that this terrible world could change. Poseidon and I’s eyes made contact, teacher and student. While he had seniority, Poseidon had decided that this was to be my squad; he was past his prime when it came to mission execution. As the van pulled into the alleyway, he nodded to me. It’s time. My turn.

  I sighed and stood, pacing through the van and looking at each individual on the squad. They were my responsibility, and I wanted to see each of them here afterwards. “Tonight, we show those UPF bastards that no chains are going to hold us down. This is our first step towards the destruction of the Prism and the UPF. We have worked years for this moment, this catalyst. Let’s go show those Purple bastards what red looks like!” I radioed to El Capitan. “Delta squad is in position. The eye goes blind tonight.”

  “Roger that, Coyote. All teams roll out.”

  My heart pounded through my chest, and I hesitated before throwing open the van’s sliding door. “Let’s go, boys and girls.” I pulled my bandana over my face and nodded to Delaware before stepping into the cold winter air.

  The wind whistled through the buildings and a light flurry obscured our vision as we crept along the side of the white brick alleyway. The street was dark, the new moon providing little light. We had picked this night carefully; they wouldn’t see us coming.

  Across the street was the downtown Minneapolis UPF security station, its black glass exterior blending into the night. We had to reach the control room on the third floor, where they watched and analyzed the footage from the cameras.

  Peaking my head around the corner, I checked the street for cars. “Hold.” I raised my arm, signaling them to stop as a patrol car passed the alleyway, and I held my breath. Please don’t see us.

  The patrol car slowed, and my heart sunk as it began to turn. I readied my rifle and waited, but the car turned down the next street over. A puff of fog appeared in front of me as I let out my breath and lowered my rifle. “Clear. Let’s move.”

  As we approached the front door, El Capitan came over the radio. “Alpha squad is ready for smoke. Status check.” />
  “Beta squad ready.”

  “Charlie squad ready.”

  I looked around. We’ve got this. “Delta squad ready.”

  “Deploy smoke and breach. Good luck, everyone.”

  I nodded to Blitzkrieg and Pennsylvania, who each took a smoke grenade and prepared the toss while Atom and Wolf, both members of Poseidon’s team, opened the doors. “Now!”

  The world froze for a second as they popped the smoke and readied the throw. I breathed slowly, preparing myself for the chaos we were about to release, within the security station and beyond. A silent night no more. The Prism was fractured already. Time to expand the crack.

  Smoke flew through the air and filled the lobby as a few of the guards called out. We burst forward, and a loud crash surrounded us as we broke through the doors and started firing, moving into positions behind columns and furniture.

  Piercing through the smoke and sliding into the front desk, I peeked around the corner, unable to see effectively through the haze, though there was a sharp cough behind the desk. I aimed towards where the sound came from and fired three shots, the noise of the rifle joining the chorus of gunfire around me and making my ears ring. I heard a soft thud nearby. Got him.

  As our fire died down, I called out. “Center is clear. Flanks?”

  Snapback called from the left. “All clear.”

  Poseidon coughed before calling back. “Clear. Atom was grazed, but we will be alright.” Why are there so few guards?

  “Be careful, but be quick. We need to get to the back staircase. Let’s move!”

  I vaulted over the desk and scanned the area with my iron sights as a wide black hallway stretched in front of us with offshoots in every direction. I led the way slowly and signaled for each of the halls to be checked for guards. An eerie quiet filled the hall as we advanced with only the scuffling of our boots echoing around us. A chain of clears came from each offshoot. Something is wrong. Raising my fist, I yelled, “Hold! Somethings off.” I moved forward ahead of all but the last offshoot and towards the stairs at the end of the hall, my gun raised and prepared for anything. My stomach was doing flips. Something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what to do about it. “Posei…”

  Suddenly, in one swift series, around twenty guards appeared at the end of the hall followed by a wave of bullets, the noise of a harsh alarm, some screams behind me, and then a soft ting, as a cannister rolled in front of me. No, no, no, no! I shouted, “Flashba…” and a bright flash cut me off, blinding me.

  Something you don’t realize when your vision just goes like that is how the world instantly seems massive and small at the same time. I was a few feet from an offshoot to my left but diving towards it could have sent me into a wall or flopping in the middle of the open floor. I was claustrophobic in a large area. Do something. You’re a sitting duck. “Get to cover!” I rolled towards where I thought the offshoot was and crawled, scrambling desperately for the wall as a stream of bullets whizzed over my head. I’m going to die blind.

  The world was spinning in my head, but I couldn’t see any of it as I rolled, disoriented. Suddenly, someone grabbed me, yelling and pulling. My senses were overwhelmed, and I couldn’t understand who it was or what they were saying. What a great leader I am, becoming useless right when the fight starts. Someone screamed from somewhere to my right. Was that one of us? My heart was racing. I needed my vision back, or I was going to die. Why was the first floor so clear until now? Were they waiting for us?

  Delaware’s voice finally began to come through next to me as the drums of war echoed through the tight hall. “Coyote? Coyote! Look at me! Coyote! We need to move!”

  My vision was slowly returning, blurry and inconsistent. The smell of gunpowder and death filled the air and my hearing was still damaged. What have I done? I responded shakily, trying to be confident but was completely disoriented. “Del… Del, I can’t see. Give me a second.” I shook my head and my vision cleared to see Delaware and Snapback standing over me. Struggling to my feet, I pointed. “Tell Poseidon to lay down covering fire as Snap and I move closer and flank them.”

  Delaware nodded and ran off, barking orders. Snapback looked me in the eye. “Indigo is down. Alive, but she can’t move.”

  Shit. I surveyed the situation. Our squad was huddled around corners and some overturned furniture while the armored guards moved slowly down the hall. I had to reach the next offshoot just across the hall so that we could hit them from every angle. “Tell Atom to stay behind with Indigo until we get back.”

  He nodded and ran off, relaying the information before returning to my side, breathing hard nervously.

  Putting my arm on his shoulder, I looked him in the eye. “Ready, Snap?”

  He took a shaky breath. “Ready.”

  “Let’s do this.” I signaled to Poseidon, and the bullets rained as I slid across the hall, firing a few shots of my own as Snapback crouched behind me. Don’t shoot me in the front… don’t shoot me in the back… A bullet whizzed past my ear as I arrived. Missed by that much.

  We were outnumbered and outgunned, as the guards pinned us back with shotgun and submachine gun fire. The noise was deafening. At least a dozen of them remained, and they were advancing despite our better defensive positions.

  A few seconds behind, Snapback reached my side, his eyes wild in fear. The kid was a rebel, not a soldier. You never got comfortable with that much gunfire, but this was completely new to him.

  Guards yelled for a second, followed by a massive bang. My ears rang again as a blast knocked me backwards off my feet. A body flew into the opening next to me on the ground. Struggling to my feet, I cleared the debris from me eyes, trying to figure out who it was and what just happened.

  When I got a clear view of the body my heart sunk. Indigo. Shit. We couldn’t save her. Screams echoed from around the corner and as I stood, I saw the horror that the grenade had caused in such a small space. Two more from our squad were dead, as Atom and Pennsylvania’s bodies laid as mangled crimson messes in the middle of the hall. No, no, no, no…

  Turning back into the offshoot and closing my eyes, I took a shaky breath. Stay focused. Mourn later. If they shake you, they win. Closing my mind to the noises and smells, I spun, aimed around the corner and fired off a few shots, hitting at least two guards before returning behind cover. There was nothing I enjoyed about shooting these men who were just doing their jobs, even if it was a terrible job, but it was kill or be killed in this tight space. We weren’t done with even the first floor and everything hurt, but I needed to lead on. “Forward! Let’s move.”

  The squad moved slowly, exchanging fire with the remaining half-a-dozen guards. The smell of gunpowder and the endless noise of shots being fired was overwhelming, and my head throbbed. A yell came from my left as Blitzkrieg dropped to the floor, motionless, crimson flowing from his chest. No! Damn it. Snap cried out from around the corner, but we couldn’t reach Blitzkrieg yet, his body sprawled out in the open.

  I clenched my jaw. Four deaths on our side. There is no going back now. We have to finish the job.

  Yelling, I turned the corner and picked off the guard across the aisle before creeping along the side and grabbing one more, throwing him to the ground, and knocking him out with a kick to his head. Saved one life. Maybe I should count those instead.

  Snapback yelled and shot the last guard before running to Blitzkrieg’s side, desperately trying to bring him back to life to no avail. He just lost his best friend. I couldn’t imagine what I would have done if that had been Delaware.

  I looked back over the hall, the black floor and walls covered in crimson. The alarm the only sound as it eerily echoed through the death pit behind us. We’re doing this, so this never happens again. Keep going. “Delaware, grab Snap, and let’s go. There’ll be time to mourn later.”

  We approached the stairwell and Caesar’s voice came over the radio. “Package has been delivered. We’re pinned down on our way out though, and I’ve lost seven. Someone tipp
ed them off.” Something is wrong.

  Husky followed. “We’re approaching the control room now. Agh! I’ve been hit, and we’ve lost five. They definitely knew we were coming.”

  I coughed through the overwhelming haze of gunpowder hanging in the air. “Delta squad is approaching the stairs now. They had us pinned down on the first floor. We’ve lost four.”

  We waited for El Capitan’s response, but it didn’t come. I put my finger to my ear. “Captain? Come in El Capitan.”

  A blast of static hit my ear. “We got it, but they know. They know. They’re coming… Ah!” Silence. I closed my eyes, fighting back the emotion. He’s gone. Damn it. What do we do now?

  I looked around at my squad, their faces tired and worried. I hardened my face before radioing back. “We’ve got to finish the job. Make him proud.”

  Delaware came over. “Everything okay?”

  “We need to keep moving. If they knew we were coming, then reinforcements will be here soon.”

  She looked skeptical, knowing that I wasn’t telling her something. It would crush them.

  Signaling Poseidon, I whispered to him what the situation was. He deserved to know; Zeus was with El Capitan, so things looked grim for his brother.

  My mentor nodded, pondering for a second and running his hand through his wise beard. How do you comfort someone after that without making a scene? He cleared his throat and replaced the magazine in his rifle emphatically. He spoke with tears in his eyes, “They’ve taken everything… time to return the favor.”

  I nodded, understanding. “We’ll make them pay, Poseidon.”

  The stairs and most of the third floor were eerily clear. It looked like a ghost town that was abandoned in the middle of a work day. Coffee cups sat on desks and screens flickered in the empty offices and cubicles around the floor. I raised my hand to stop everyone. “Stay focused. This could be a trap. The control room is ahead on the left. Wolf and Checkers, check the door.”

  As the rest of the squad continued scanning the other offices, we turned the corner and reached the thick steel security door blocking us from the control room. As the two moved to place the breaching charges I watched our surroundings but couldn’t see any threats. My stomach lurched like it knew something that I didn’t. This is a trap. They set the breaching charge as I reached out yelling, “Stop!” just as the door blew open.