Retribution

by Charles Tillman

  TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan

  Abel watched through his drones as Akio brought Kenjii into the Pod, then maneuvered the Pod away from the opening and slid the Black Eagle into its place.

  A monitor program alerted him to inbound missiles and he activated the puck launchers on the roof of the building, prepared to destroy them in the air. His processors had a firing solution in milliseconds, and a warning popped up from the subroutine that controlled the launcher.

  Targets over congested population area. Potential for loss of life high.

  Abel ran a hundred thousand firing solutions in the blink of an eye, but all carried the same risk. There was no way he could destroy the missiles bearing down on him without killing innocent civilians.

  Eve, assume operational control. I’m under attack.

  The first three-meter-long penetrator missile hit the glass doors of the building and detonated when it hit the floor behind the entrance. The high-explosive warhead tore through the walls and into the elevator shaft that led down into the bowels of the base. Three seconds later, the second one hit and penetrated deeper. The third followed shortly after, and when it detonated, it had penetrated to the level that held the labs, Medical, and Abel’s core.

  Chapter Fifty

  Miura, Japan

  Come on, Cui, fire the damn missiles. We’re dying in droves here.

  Li Song ran from the narrow passage between two piles of rubble, crossed an open area, and was diving into the rusted hulk of a bus when a shadow darkened the area in front of him. He had developed a healthy respect for the weapons carried on the aircraft that hunted his warriors. He’d missed being caught in the barracks explosion by less than a minute. Blood still trickled down one arm and his back from wounds caused by the jagged metal the blast concussion had hurled him into.

  Li scanned the sky, and when he saw nothing, he crouched and ran to the next pile of debris. He panted as he wormed his way through the forest of jagged metal that stuck out from the heap at odd angles. Once through the obstructions, he came to an opening surrounded by the skeletal remains of multiple buildings.

  He checked the sky again, noted it was clear, and leapt into a full run, his legs pumping hard as he darted across the open space. He moved in an unpredictable pattern, hoping to throw off the craft’s aim if it spotted him.

  Yuko watched as the Were who had the phone sprinted toward the pile where she’d concealed the Pod. Her lips curled up in a smile when his efforts to avoid being shot from the air put him on a course that would bring him to her vantage point. She holstered her Jean Dukes Specials and pulled her katana from its sheath.

  Li cut through two piles, convinced he’d avoided detection until an armored young woman holding a sword stepped into his path. He never slowed as he shifted and sprang at her.

  Yuko sidestepped as three hundred kilos of snarling tiger hurtled through the air on a collision course with her. Her sword came down in a lightning-fast strike and opened a cut from mid-torso to hip on the cat.

  Fire coursed through Li’s body as the blade bit deep into his side and ripped through the muscles in his hip. He twisted in midair to escape the pain and slid until he crashed into a concrete slab several meters away.

  Yuko cautiously approached the wounded Were, her sword poised to deliver an overhand blow if needed. The tiger lay on its side, one front leg twisted, with bare bones sticking out through the torn flesh. The cut on its side was already knitting closed, which showed her she was dealing with a powerful Were.

  “I might allow you to live, provided you shift to human now,” Yuko offered.

  Li tried to stand, but the broken foreleg and the jagged debris under him prevented him from getting a stable platform. He shifted to human form and groaned as he straightened his arm, then hissed as the bones slid back under the skin. He held it close to his body as they set.

  “Who were you talking to?” Yuko demanded.

  Li stared at her in confusion. He had seen her before but assumed she was another human working at the arcade. That she had taken him down so easily showed she wasn’t normal. He sniffed and smelled a hint of wolf, but the scent wasn’t strong enough for her to be a Were. It was more like she’d been near one recently.

  “What are you?” he snarled.

  “Your death if you don’t answer. Who were you talking to?”

  Yuko, something is wrong. Abel passed operational control of Akio’s Black Eagle and Pod to me, and he is offline.

  Eve’s call distracted Yuko, and she took her eyes off the Were for a second. When she looked up, a Pricolici tiger stared down at her, and a claw-tipped hand whistled through the air. Yuko jerked her head back as the nails passed in front of her face, so close she felt the disturbed air currents. She responded with a vicious downstroke of her katana, but the Were sidestepped and pressed the attack. Yuko jumped and landed on the concrete slab the Were had plowed into when he fell. She spread her feet and balanced on the unlevel surface.

  Li continued to advance, his lips curled into the tiger version of a smirk. He threw back his head and roared, hoping to intimidate her into losing her balance on her precarious perch.

  Yuko watched the beast approach, prowling forward one fluid step at a time as he stalked her. She removed one hand from her sword, and the cat paused, focusing on her with the eyes of an apex predator. Yuko smirked back at him, then drew the Jean Dukes Special from her side and fired one shot from the hip in a move faster than the eye could follow.

  Li twisted when she moved. His eyes went wide with shock, and he snarled as the hypervelocity round cut a shallow furrow through the skin along his ribs. He dropped to all fours and Yuko’s second shot went high, missing him completely.

  Li sprang forward and slammed his mass into the debris under the slab where Yuko balanced, and she jumped to avoid falling when her perch shifted. A protruding piece of rebar caught her leg and flung her to the ground under the heavy block.

  Yuko twisted furiously to the side to avoid being crushed by the falling concrete as it slid over her. When the debris came to rest, it pinned her right leg and arm firmly between the massive slab and the loose material on the ground.

  Li stood and slowly made his way across the unstable pile while slipping and knocking pieces of building material onto Yuko’s trapped body. He worked his way down to loom over her menacingly and savored the look in her eyes as she struggled unsuccessfully to free herself.

  “Nowww youuu will diiieee,” he growled as he pulled back his claw-tipped hand and held it above her.

  Yuko stopped struggling and watched the Were through half-closed eyes, realizing she had once again foolishly rushed into an avoidable dilemma. “I should have shot you from the Pod.”

  Li lowered his arm and shrugged. It was an odd gesture from a three-meter-tall tiger.

  Yuko snorted. Then her body shook.

  Li cocked his head to one side, and the confused look made Yuko burst into hysterical laughter.

  “Whhyyy arre yoouu laughinnnggg?”

  Yuko drew a deep breath, and when she opened her mouth to answer, the Were’s upper body exploded in a shower of blood and bits of flesh. Yuko shut her eyes but didn’t think to close her mouth, and the hot blood flooded in as it washed over her face. She sputtered as she spat the fluid out and wiped her face with her free hand.

  Eve stood inside the Black Eagle, her carbine resting on her shoulder. “Are you injured?”

  “No, only stuck. The armor’s supporting all the weight.”

  “I suppose you have a good reason to be down there without your helmet on?”

  Yuko shook her head. “No. No good reason.” She nodded at the corpse. “I saw him talking on what looked like a phone. I wanted to know who he was talking to.”

  Eve rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “Ever think of shooting him and letting me figure that out?”

  “Yes, right before you shot him. Would you give me a hand, please?”

  Eve brought the craft down and climbed out, t
hen surveyed the pile while determining the best way to extract her friend.

  Eve cocked her head to the side, reached down, and grabbed the thick piece of rebar that had started it all. She pulled up on the rod, which lifted the block enough for Yuko to slide out from under it.

  Once Yuko was clear, she dropped it and dug through the debris. She came up with a black object covered in blood and shook it twice, then held it up. “Shoot the next one, please.”

  Yuko’s face went pink with embarrassment. “Promise.”

  Eve nodded and guided Yuko’s Pod to where she stood. She turned serious in an instant. No trace of the chiding tone she had used before remained. “Abel is offline, and I can’t access any of the cameras at the base.”

  “The Weres?”

  “The police and military finished off most of those left when they rushed their lines. Your friend here was the last.”

  Serenity Temple, Dabie Mountains, China

  The Pod lurched and halted above the temple mountain. Akio caught Kenjii before the sudden jolt could injure him further.

  Abel, what’s wrong?

  Abel?

  Abel is offline, Takumi answered. Eve has directed me to assist you.

  Bring us home. Kenjii is seriously injured and needs the Pod-doc.

  Copy. Any other instructions?

  Bring the Black Eagle, too. I will return to finish this later.

  Executing.

  The Pod door closed as it accelerated smoothly into the sky. Akio went to the bench where Kenjii lay and crushed the lock that secured the chain wrapped around his body. He carefully unwound the links, ensuring he didn’t disturb the now-human hand that protruded from Kenjii’s back. When he finished, he rolled him onto his side.

  Blood trickled from four holes across his chest and seeped out around the fingers embedded in his back. Akio pulled the severed appendage free with his right hand and slashed his fangs over the palm of the left. His nanocyte-rich blood flowed out of the cut and filled his palm, and he carefully guided the liquid into each of the four gaping holes in Kenjii’s back, then gently rolled him over and repeated the process on the smaller wounds in front.

  The holes contracted slowly but refused to close. Akio rolled Kenjii over and cradled his head gently in his lap. He closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer to any deity who might be listening not to let Kenjii die.

  Akio had been monitoring his life signs since he’d picked him up, and they were getting weaker with every passing minute. He placed his hand on Kenjii’s blood-matted hair.

  “Kenjii, can you hear me?”

  When he didn’t reply, Akio went into his mind. Kenjii.

  Akio?

  The mental voice was weak, but it gave Akio hope. I have you. We’re on our way back to the base.

  Something's wrong, Akio. My body burns. It hurts.

  You’re injured. I’m taking you to the Pod-doc.

  What? Why does it hurt so bad?

  They drained you. Your body doesn’t have enough nanocytes to repair the damage. I tried to give you my blood, but you’re too weak to take it.

  How are we talking? If I can speak, I can drink.

  We’re communicating mind to mind.

  How bad is it? Am I going to die?

  Akio felt the tremor of fear in his friend’s mind, and he sent calm and reassuring thoughts to him until it passed. We’re almost there. Hold on.

  Akio, I must tell you in case I don’t make it. Abel tried to stop me. He wouldn’t let me go into the cave. I tricked him.

  It’s okay, Kenjii. Don’t worry about it. It’s over. Concentrate on healing. That’s all that matters now.

  Kenjii’s life signs dropped lower. His mental voice was like a whisper.

  Akio, I love you. It was always you from the day we met.

  I love you, too. We will heal you and have many lifetimes together.

  Akio? Yuko called over his implant.

  Hai?

  We’re at the base. It’s been bombed.

  Akio’s blood ran cold. The Pod-doc?

  Eve is working her way in as we speak. I hope to know more when you arrive.

  We’ll be there shortly.

  Your ETA is three minutes twenty-two seconds, Takumi volunteered.

  Domo, Takumi. There is a lot of debris in the normal landing area, Yuko advised.

  I have a drone on station. I will move the Black Eagle Eve used into a defensive role and land Akio’s Pod in its place.

  Good thinking. Takumi, I have a satellite phone we took from one of the Weres in Miura. Can you scan it with the drone and see if you can find the location of the unit connected to it?

  Affirmative. Drone coming to you now.

  Akio, I will meet you when you arrive. Hopefully, Eve will have news.

  Domo, Yuko.

  Akio looked down at Kenjii’s still form. In the brief time he’d spoken with Yuko, his life signs had deteriorated more.

  Kenjii?

  I’m still here. It hurts worse now.

  We’re almost there. Hold on for a little longer.

  I will, if only for you.

  Akio held him and gently stroked his hair as he used all his mental powers to push reassurance to the gravely injured man. After the Pod slowed and descended into the courtyard, Akio saw the damage through the door when it opened.

  Where the doors and elevators had been was now a black hole. A grim-faced Yuko stood outside with Inspector Yonai at her side.

  Akio cradled Kenjii like a babe in his arms in the shadowed interior of the Pod while deciding the best way to get through the midday sun and into the building’s protection. In his weakened state, the sun would end Kenjii in seconds.

  Yuko, what’s the status on the Pod-doc?

  Eve hasn't yet accessed that level. The elevator shaft collapsed. She is attempting to enter through the emergency exit.

  Kenjii doesn’t have long. He’s almost gone.

  The anguish Yuko heard in his transmission shattered her heart. No one deserved what her friend was going through, especially not him.

  Comfort him. Eve was opening the last door when you arrived.

  Akio nodded and turned his focus back to Kenjii.

  We’re here. Only a little longer.

  I love you, Ak… Kenjii’s mental voice faded as life left his battered body.

  When Eve reported that she had accessed the medical level and the damage was extensive, Yuko went to the Pod. When she stepped through the door, she found Akio on the floor in the shadows at the rear with Kenjii cradled in his arms. He looked up at her through the bloody tears that flowed unashamedly down his face. The anguish in his eyes was too much for Yuko to bear. She moved to his side, sank to the floor, and held him in a close embrace while they mourned the loss of his love.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan

  Eve crawled under a metal beam into the medical bay. It had taken her ten minutes to worm twenty meters through the blast-damaged hallway from the hatch that opened into the emergency escape tunnel.

  She stood and surveyed the room in the bright light that came from an open port on her shoulder. The ceiling had partially collapsed, crushing one end of the Pod-doc.

  Yuko, the Pod-doc is damaged and inoperable. The only option is to heal Kenjii with blood.

  That isn’t possible. Emotion laced Yuko's mental voice. He has joined his ancestors.

  Eve didn’t reply for a moment. She went through hundreds of responses in seconds, all of them logical and none of which expressed what she felt—anger, loss, sadness, all illogical emotions.

  I-I’m sorry, Yuko. How is Akio?

  I’m with him now. He’s mourning.

  Eve accessed the definition of mourning and decided it described what she felt as well. After pushing the feelings into a subroutine to parse them, she crawled out of the medical bay and continued to the server room next door that housed Abel’s processors.

  The room was a total loss. The ceiling had collapsed and
buried all the components that housed the EI under tons of concrete and steel.

  Her circuits lit up with a burning desire to rip the flesh from whoever was responsible. She dove into her memory and searched out every method of torture and painful death she could locate. She quickly decided no single one would suffice to cool her need for vengeance against the person who had murdered her child.

  She worked her way back to the exit by pushing through the areas she had so carefully crawled through earlier, not caring if she caused more damage. They had destroyed the two most important things in the building—the Pod-doc Kenjii needed, and Abel. She didn’t know who or where, but she knew that when she had those answers, someone, or a lot of someones, would die.

  Takumi, have you located the information Yuko requested?

  Negative. The unit routes through a Chinese military satellite that is degrading. I am unable to determine where the signal went.

  Eve nodded as she stormed into the damaged courtyard. Inspector Yonai was organizing rescue personnel to check the upper floors for survivors.

  “There’s no one there, Inspector. This building belongs to TQB, and the businesses listed on the upper floors are fake. Don’t risk your people,” she advised as she went up the ramp into the Pod.

  “Yuko, I need that…” The scene in the Pod took all the fire out of her. Akio cradled Kenjii’s body in his arms, while Yuko held him in hers. Both had bloody tears on their faces as they sat in silence.

  “What is it, Eve?” Yuko asked softly.

  “I wanted to get that phone from you. Takumi has hit an obstacle he can’t overcome. I want to try something to locate whoever that Were was talking to. I suspect they were responsible for this.” She gestured out the Pod door.

  Akio drew a deep breath, and when he looked up, his face had changed. He no longer wore the expression of a man who’d suffered significant loss. It was a dark, emotionless mask. “Find them,” he commanded, his voice as cold as death.

  Yuko held the unit out to Eve while Akio stood and gently laid Kenjii on the bench. He retrieved a blanket from a compartment and reverently covered the body, leaving only the pale and lifeless face exposed.