Anaz-Voohri (34 page)

*****

Zack sat on a stone bench in front of the Haepheon Technologies tower around sunset, as he had done for the past two days, just to see if anyone would show up holding a red rose. On the opposite side of the main entrance, Dylan sat on another bench. Autumn leaves spotted the trees with gold and russet, and bristled on the sidewalk to the whim of the evening breeze. No one had come forth since the release of the poem three days ago. The riddle seemed to have failed. Did anyone understand it? Or even care?

As he watched the sun dip between two skyscrapers, Zack let his mind travel toward Tia. No matter how hard he tried to visualize her, he couldn’t. He’d finally found a mailbox to her name but his messages received no response. Tia had disappeared and didn’t want to be found. That rejection hurt even more now that Zack was whole. She hadn’t rejected his infirmity. It was him she’d rejected. Yet she’d seemed so pleased to discover him alive... Zack just didn’t understand, and it hurt him more than he thought possible.

As the sun plunged behind the lowest roof and Zack thought he’d wasted his time again, he noticed near the bus stop a young oriental man in black slacks and silk shirt, casually holding a tan leather jacket over his shoulder. He hadn’t been there three seconds earlier and seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. His other hand held a single red rose.

Intrigued, Zack studied him carefully and discerned in him the definite characteristics of a trained martial artist. His stance, his balance on the balls of his feet, showed total body control in the casual way he held himself. Like a nonchalant cat ready to pounce at any sign of threat.

Glancing toward Dylan, Zack also noticed another man, stocky, with a moustache, in a dark green hunting outfit, also holding a rose. Zack nodded to Dylan, who stood up and went to speak to the outdoors man.

Zack purposefully walked up to the young oriental and made eye contact. “And may death come swiftly to foreign barbarians.”

The young man looked amused. “Who would dare to trespass on the Elysian
Fields.
" His accent sounded surprisingly British.

“Chinese?" Zack thought he was too tall and built to be Japanese or Vietnamese.

“Among other things."
The young man strolled quietly by his side, with straight black hair reaching his shoulders. He tossed the rose into a garbage can.

“Let’s walk to the park and meet the others." Zack glanced at Dylan and the other recruit, who crossed the street and walked in the same direction on the opposite sidewalk.

Zach had difficulties reading the Chinaman’s mind. Was he shielding himself from psychic probing?
Interesting.
“What makes you think you can do this job? What’s your area of expertise?”

“I kill for a living…
Assassin for hire."
Not a muscle moved on his face. “I rarely use weapons. I need none.”

Good thing the traffic noise kept their conversation private. Violent images assailed Zack’s mind in spurts. The man tried to hide his emotions but Zack could still read his strongest thoughts. This was a dangerous assassin to be sure, but a very serious recruit. “How many have you... killed?”

“Too many to count in the past seven years.”

“Seven years?" Zack sensed that he told the truth and shivered at the thought that he must have started killing as a mere teenager. “How much do you know about ORION?”

“More than most."
The young Chinese kept his gaze straight ahead. “I was part of their super-soldier program... against my will... I escaped.”

“Really?"
Zack could feel strong anger roiling under the surface. This young man hated ORION and sincerely wanted to help. He had the intelligence and the education to decipher the riddle, and if he was a super-soldier... “Any special abilities, physical or otherwise, that could make you even more valuable to our cause?”

The young man squinted at Zack, his deep brown eyes reduced to mere slits. “You mean jumping off cliffs, leaping over twenty five foot fences, like a super Ninja?
That kind of thing?”

“That’s impressive. You can do all that?" But Zack already knew he could.

The young man nodded. “And more..."

Zack understood the stranger’s hesitation to lay down all his cards. He slowed down. “In my opinion, you’ll get the job. You are more than qualified, and I’ll definitely recommend you. But if there is more to your impressive resume, by all means...”

“There is this." The Chinese stopped and glanced around to make sure no one paid close attention. He suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving Zack to stare at the deepening shadows of dusk on the busy city street.

Surprised, Zack held his breath. Had this guy just vanished? What if he’d been sent by ORION to get rid of Mythos? How irresponsible of Zack to underestimate the real power of a super-soldier. Still, he didn’t sense any immediate threat.

“Are you still here?" If he watched carefully, Zack could almost make up the outline of a body next to him, but not quite. He extended his hand and touched something solid.

In a slight blur, the man came back to the visible world. He seemed amused. “You don’t scare easily, do you? Interviewing a professional killer who could crush you like a bug? That takes courage.”

Zack shrugged. “I’m not helpless myself. I have hidden talents as well.”

“Such as?"
Interest sparked in the brown eyes.

Probing further into the stranger’s mind, Zack realized he could trust him. “Even though you shield your thoughts against psychic scans, I can sense your strongest emotions, and killing me was never your intent.”

“Touché.
So you must be Prometheus, the man with second sight." The young Chinese held out his hand. “My name is Kin, by the way.”

“Prometheus is my code name." Zack shook the offered hand. “I like your style, Kin. So what’s your story?" He resumed walking.

“My parents were hybrids, killed by ORION. That’s when they took me to the CEM in Beijing. They
experimented
Recombinant DNA techniques on me. They call it rDNA.”

Zack was familiar with rDNA. An ominous thought crossed his mind. “What’s your last name?”

“Raidon, why?”

“Just curious."
As they reached the side entrance to Central park, Zack struggled to keep calm. “It doesn’t sound Chinese,” he said to cover his uneasiness.

“I had a British grandfather, but the name is actually Japanese.
A long story."
Kin’s steps made no sound on the dead leaves strewn on the path.

Zack forced a smile. Thank God, Kin couldn’t read his mind. The Raidons were the first hybrids Zack had identified from the hospital, while trying his new abilities over a map of China. If Kin ever learned that Zack was responsible for his parents’ death, and for his subsequent torment at the hands of ORION, nothing could protect Zack from such an efficient killer. “Here we are.”

Night had fallen and the park lay in deep shadows despite the many light globes. Sitting on a bench away from any glow, Archer read on his epad. When Zack approached with Kin, Archer closed the device and looked up. “What have we here?”

“Kin, meet Zeus.”

Kin took a small bow.

Archer nodded then asked Zack, “What’s your evaluation?”

“He would be a unique asset to Mythos." Although Zack would have to watch for Kin, in all honesty, he had to recommend him. “He’s a super-soldier who sincerely hates ORION, with high skills and the unusual ability to vanish into thin air.”

“Among Ninjas, it’s called blending with shadows,” Kin corrected politely.

Archer grinned. “Well, Kin, welcome to Mythos. Sit down. Let’s see what Apollo is bringing us.”

Zack and Kin sat on the bench on each side of Archer.

Dylan approached with his recruit. The smile on his face indicated a favorable verdict as well. “I present you with a hybrid defector.”

The stocky man with a moustache bowed. “My name is Schwartz, but I go by Deer Hunter. I haven’t defected yet and would like to remain among the active hybrids to gather intelligence, since I enjoy their trust. I think they’d eliminate me if I tried to defect. I also speak and read the Anaz-voohri language.”

Archer squinted in the scarce light. “What tells me you are not just here to spy on Mythos?”

“Nothing."
The man clenched his jaw. “I’m just not crazy about seeing this planet run by aliens who hate anything resembling a human." His tone sounded sincere as he searched for words.

Zack knew the man told the truth and obviously so did Dylan, but they let him plead his cause to Archer.

Even in the shadows, despite the cool evening, the man’s face glistened with sweat. “I have studied the Anaz-voohri long enough to realize that they do not intend to keep the promises they made, even to their hybrids.”

“Words are cheap." Archer seemed to enjoy playing the devil’s advocate.
 
“How do we know that’s really how you feel?”

The man wiped his hands on his pants. “I bring important information as proof of my loyalty."

“What kind of information?" Archer wouldn’t give him any slack.

“The Anaz-voohri
are
going to strike, very soon." The man’s moustache drooped sadly.

“What kind of strike? Where?
When?"
Archer kept pushing him.

“A natural disaster.
You won’t really know it’s them." The stocky man shook his head. “They want to ruin the economy, deplete the planet’s resources, so they can strike humanity again when we are down and unprepared.”

“Can they do it?" Archer’s tone grew harsher.

“I’m afraid so." The man sighed. “They have a weapon that enhances storms. Their target is densely populated... It’s Europe.”

“Can we prevent or stop it?" Archer’s voice had lost his aggressive edge.

“I’m afraid not. The damage may already be done. This time, they are going to kill millions." The man remained very still in the dark and tears rolled down his face.

The others remained very quiet.

Zack’s throat constricted at the thought.
Millions of innocents?
Dear God! He prayed with all his soul that Tia wasn’t stationed in Europe. “God help us all.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Stay in formation, and keep your cloak activated." Kavak’s private ship led a fleet of seven Anaz-voohri vessels descending stealthily upon Earth toward central Europe. Although her target lay in darkness, she didn’t want the satellites around the planet to see the fleet coming. Kavak intended to keep secret from the human population her ability to enhance the destructive powers of the weather system. The less they knew the more vulnerable.

The fleet settled over the eastern bend of the Carpathian Mountains and formed a circle as wide as the eye of a hurricane. Although cloaked from outside eyes, the vessels remained visible to each other, and Kavak waited for all of them to reach their exact position.

“Get ready." As she had done before on a smaller scale to increase the strength of tropical storms, Kavak linked her mind to the ship’s brain and activated the weapon “Now!"

A bright crown of pink energy locked the circle of ships, sizzling with spikes of electricity. The intense magnetism would temporarily scramble the human satellites and render them blind to the event. Heated rays emanating from the ships sucked moisture from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, then the weapon created an artificial vortex, generating cyclonic winds that pulled the heavy clouds north.

The ships fed the gathering storm with added destructive power. Soon, magnetically charged clouds surrounded the fleet, threatening the integrity of the connected vessels.

Kavak’s ship shook and rumbled. She couldn’t afford an accident. “Increase altitude."

The seven vessels moved higher above the forming storm. From a safer position, they kept feeding the clouds, and the formation grew steadily. The disturbance now covered most of central and eastern Europe. Kavak hoped that when the catastrophic winds and flooding rains touched down, they would inflict severe damage and possibly destroy a few countries in the process.

“Exalted Leader, my ship is shaking under the power surge. Shouldn’t we cease now?" The voice of the youngest captain in her fleet trembled with unseemly apprehension.

Kavak couldn’t stand cowards. “Some shaking is to be expected. Keep the weapon powered until I say otherwise." Besides, she wanted the insolent population of Earth to remember the great storm of 2020 until the untimely end of their species.

“Exalted Leader, power is failing. My cloak has disengaged, the engines stopped. We are dropping!" The last words reeked of panic.

Through the transparent hull, Kavak saw the maverick ship disconnected from the circle, losing altitude. “Get back to your position immediately.”

“Unable to comply, Exalted Leader..." The connection ended abruptly.

“Close the gap,” Kavak ordered, and the other vessels spaced themselves wider to maintain the link. From above, Kavak witnessed the slow fall of the ship, tossed to and fro inside the storm like a bubble in a boiling test tube. The same fate could threaten the whole fleet. “Disengage the weapon!”