Armageddon?? (57 page)

I'm
sorry, did you just say 'we'?

Affirmative.
I've pulled seven U.S. soldiers out of the river of lava. Well, they pulled
themselves out. I blasted the baldricks trying to chuck them back in. As an
aside, please pass my compliments along to whoever designed the rifle you guys
gave me. This sucker'll put a hole in a baldrick the size of your head!

kitten's
tone was vaguely amused. I'll be sure to do that, Corporal. They're asking for
the names and service numbers of the personnel you freed. Could you get them
for me?

[i]Yup,
one sec...damn computers. OK, here we go. First is Private First Class Arthur
DeVanzo. Service number... and he rattled off the rest of the names, before
concluding, We got one other fellow, too, but he's Japanese, and not exactly
military.

Oh,
I see. A pause. If you'll give us his name and as much personal information as
you can, we'll try to locate his family.

Ah,
well, that might be a touch difficult. He's, uh, been in Hell for a while. He's
a Samurai, and from what he's told me, he's a warrior from the Ashikaga
shogunate, and from what I can remember from my college history classes, that
puts him anywhere from five to seven hundred years old.

kitten
was silent for a moment, then said, Understood. So that makes nine of you?

Correct.

The
people here are curious: how is it that you knew the people you were rescuing
were U.S. military?

McElroy
laughed out loud. I didn't. I just hung by the same stretch of river that I was
in. It's like they're stacking us up like cordwood; the more recently you die,
the further downriver you are. Or, at least, that's what the baldricks in this
particular region are doing. That's why I was surprised when Ori showed up; he
told me that he'd been flailing around blindly in the river for a very long
time, so I guess he managed to swim a good distance away from where he was put
in.

And
how are you communicating with him? Does one of you speak Japanese?

McElroy
shook his head, before realizing the idiocy of such a motion. This telepathy
stuff sure did mess with your mind. Nope. We just talk. He seems to understand
us. When he talks, we understand him. It's like with the baldricks. When they
speak, we understand what they're saying, right? But how could they tell, just
from looking at us, what language to speak? There's somethin' funky goin' on
here, kitten. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm just a Tennessee hillbilly
at heart. I mighta gone to college, but I got a liberal arts degree, for
G---for Asshole's sake. Pardon my language.

McElroy
could actually hear kitten's laugh in his mind. It felt like someone had
tickled his brain. Well, another item on a long list of things we'll
investigate.

Alright,
kitten. I guess that brings us to our final item: resupply.

There
was silence in McElroy's head; like someone had left the mic depressed by
accident and was flooding the two-way with dead air. Finally, kitten said, You
won't be being resupplied for at least four weeks.

You're
shitting me. McElroy would've kept the anger out of his tone, as well as any
vulgarities, were he speaking, but he couldn't conceal it within his mind. Four
weeks? How am I supposed to continue operations here? What's the holdup?

I
am, kitten replied. I'm the only one who can do this, and opening a portal
causes me great pain, and I simply can't take supplying seven separate cells
all at once. I'm sorry, Corporal.

McElroy
cringed. Oh, kitten, I'm, uh, no. No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... please
forgive me, it’s real crappy of me to blame you. Look, we owe you
everything--we all owe you everything, and nobody ever thought what it must be
costing you! My daddy would whale the tar out of me if he knew what I’d just
said. Please, accept my apology.

I
accept, Corporal. I would've told you earlier, but, well, it shames me that I
can't push myself harder to keep you all supplied. It's just...it hurts a great
deal...

McElroy
blinked back tears. I won't hear none of that! We're all managing as best we
can, and I cannot bear the thought of you suffering on my account. We'll get by
just fine. And you tell the brass that I want my next allocated portal window
to go unused, so that you might have a respite.

Thank
you, Corporal. McElroy could hear that kitten was flattered. But it is matter
of personal pride that I work as hard as I can. I've been able to see into Hell
for a long time. I know what goes on there. I want to do everything I can to
end that evil.

Well,
fair enough, kitten.

So,
as a final matter, what is your current armament?

Well,
we got a mess of tridents from the baldricks. All different designs. I
photographed each, so you'll be able to study them in further detail later. Oh,
when you do get a portal to us next, can you send a sword for Ori. He doesn’t
approve of guns. Talking of which, we got the one rifle, twenty total rounds
left. Nine are reserved.

Reserved
for what?

One
for each of us. If things go south, I'm not going back to that river. None of
us are. We'll take our chances with oblivion...or super-Hell, if that's what's
next.

kitten
was silent for a moment. Understood, Corporal. I'll do my best to get you fresh
supplies in four weeks' time. In the mean time, we'll continue with our
scheduled briefings.

Acknowledged,
kitten. Thank you for everything. Be well, we'll speak next week.

Thank
you, Corporal.

McElroy
closed the lid of the laptop and sighed. "Four weeks, guys. Can't use the
rifle anymore, except in emergencies. Looks like we're going to be strictly
recon for a while."

The
others gathered around him in the cave groaned. "Look," he continued.
"They got this poor...girl doing all this shit on her own. It damn near
kills her when she opens a portal, even for a few seconds. I ain't gonna ask
her to go through that. Are you? Look, it'll get better soon, I'm sure. If one
person on Earth can do it, I'm sure others can. It'll just take time to find
'em and train 'em."

"Got
another one!" Private Tom Walsch said from the mouth of the cave. Holding
the rifle in one hand and a charred human in the other, he and Corporal Juan
Menendez dragged the half-sensate creature into the cavern and dumped it onto
the floor.

They
were all used to this by now, and McElroy took point. He kneeled down next to
the trembling figure and asked, "Name, rank?"

"Puh-puh-private
Joanna Cassidy, USMC," the figure croaked.

"Huh,
first marine! Well, Private Cassidy. You're among humans, among friends. We're
part of the resistance here in Hell. You feel like kicking some baldrick
ass?"

Cassidy
opened her eyes, revealing half-formed, half-seeing blobs of pigment and ichor.
"You bet your ass I do."

This
was met with a chorus of approval by the assembled people, even Ori.
"Alright, Private," McElroy continued. "Take a breather, grow
back your skin." He looked up. "DeVanzo, grab a couple tridents. I
knew there was a good reason to collect those things. I want to check out
what's beyond the north ridge."

Before
he left, he set a rifle round aside with the other nine.

Chapter
Forty One

Randi
Institute of Pneumatology, the Pentagon, Arlington, VA

“I
guess it’ll be a relief dealing with normal people after having that sick freak
around.” There was a stir of anger in the room, kitten’s boyfriend had started
to get up but she put her hand on his and stopped him. It was a gesture that
did not go unnoticed by most of the people in the room. Martin Chestnut was one
who didn’t, he looked around smugly, the angry reaction to the insult aimed at
kitten amused and satisfied him. Another thing he didn’t notice was two of the
Special Forces troopers exchanging significant glances, they knew what kitten
had gone through to keep the link to the teams in Hell open. Chestnut had just
scheduled himself for an old military custom, a blanket party, at the first
available opportunity.

James
Randi cast a very sharp look at Chestnut, he’d spent his life exposing frauds
and imposters and he was convinced Chestnut was one although in what sense he
wasn’t quite sure yet. There was no doubt in Randi’s mind that the man had
skills though, he’d made everybody in the room hate him. Randi had caught a
whispered comment from a visiting Marine, something about Chestnut being a
candidate for wall-to-wall counseling. Still, business first.

“We
have to evaluate your ability to open a link before we can take this matter any
further. We have several people now who can speak to various people in Hell,
but so far kitten is the only person we have found who can sustain a link and
open a portal. She’s worked very hard for the last few weeks and she needs a
break. So, we are going to try and open a portal to a team we have on the
Seventh Circle, they are desperately short of ammunition and need resupply
urgently. So, kitten’s going to talk to them and they we’ll see if you can open
a portal.”

“Just
keep that pervert away from me.” The Marine and the Special Forces troopers
exchanged glances, the blanket party attendance had just grown. On one of the
seats, kitten relaxed and opened her mind up.

Tucker?
Are you there? Can you speak?

Hey
kitten, sure can. We’re having a rest, we’ve just got a new member here.
Private Joanna Cassidy, USMC. He rattled the serial number off. She’s in a bad
way but she’ll mend, physically anyway.

“Got
her, Marine Private Cassidy. Killed in a humvee wreck about six months ago, in
Iraq.” The Marine had typed the number into a notepad and the answer was
immediate.

Confirmed
Tucker. Now, we’re going to try something. We’ve got another guy here who can
contact Hell so we’re going to see if he can open a portal. If he can, we’ll be
able to get you some stuff, we have a sword for Ori, one he’ll like we think.
Its called a Katana, it’s a gift from the Japanese Government. A swordmaster
over there made it from modern steel. We have more ammunition and some semtex
for you.

That’s
fabulous kitten, sure you’re not going to get hurt for this?

Quite
sure, I’m not going to hurt. At the other end, Tucker noticed the satisfaction
in her thoughts and wondered what was going on back there.

“Link’s
set up. Martin, please make the portal.”

“Its
Mister Chestnut to you.” He relaxed on the couch and had the wiring set up
around him. Meanwhile kitten disconnected and isolated herself from the system.
Behind the control bank, the operator started running the power up to portal threshold.
Chestnut started writhing and moaning on the couch. “Shit, this hurts, you
never told me it would hurt like this.”

Then,
the black ellipse started to form in the room and Chestnut’s wailing reached a
new level. The sword was the first thing to get thrown through, followed by
some packs of Semtex and boxes of rifle ammunition. Then, the ellipse slammed
down.

kitten
grabbed her head-set and pushed through a contact. Tucker, did you get
anything?

Yeah,
thanks, the sword’s here and we got a box of ammo and five of Semtex. Guess
your guy wasn’t too hot huh?

Very
noisy. Bye Tucker, talk to you soon.

Bye
Kitten

“They
got a little stuff, the sword, 5 kilos of Semtex and 250 rounds of ammunition.”
kitten relaxed a little.

“And
that’s all anybody will get until you agree to my terms.” Chestnut had a
predatory grin on his face.

“What
terms?” Randi spoke cautiously.

“I
want a million a year retainer. A hundred thou bonus every time I have to open
a portal up for you. You’ll buy an apartment for me wherever I choose to live
and I want a Ferrari. I’ll tell you which kind later.”

“That
all?” Randi was beginning to lose his temper.

“No,
but I’ll add the rest later. You might as well agree now though, you haven’t
got any choice.”

“Actually
we do.” The voice from the door was contralto and silky. For those who knew the
General, this meant trouble was coming for somebody. Nobody had ever heard her
swear, she’d never had to. “We have three more candidates coming in today. An
Indian and a Chinese lady and a Chinese man. All have passed the initial tests
you laid down James, they’re looking very good. The Indian Lady speaks very
good English so I’m told, she worked in a bank customer service center before
she went mad.” The General was staring at Chestnut expressionlessly. It
occurred to Randi that the lack of feeling was more terrifying than any display
of dislike could have been. “General Schatten? A useful recruit this one? For
the field test?”

“Yes
indeed Ma’am. Mister Chestnut.” Schatten loaded the ‘Mister’ with irony.
“Here’s our counter-offer. We give you a nice green suit with a red-brown one
for work-wear. We will pay you one thousand two hundred and forty five dollars
and ninety cents per month, before deductions. We’ll also provide you with a
comfortable pair of boots for walking around in. They may even fit. We’ll even
feed you and give you a bed to sleep in.”