Brigends (The Final War Series Book 1) (17 page)

“Yes. I could sense the ora the moment he came into the club. As for the girl, I didn’t know what to make of her.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Hmm, let me think. It might have something to do with the hunters, you almost dying, Max disappearing... forgive me, I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

Zoe knew she wasn’t remorseful one bit for the omission of fact. She changed the subject. “Who was Marta’s mother?”

Patti dumped a large swig in her mouth, letting the drink saturate her gums before gulping it down. “Nadiya was a threat to the natural order. I was never a friend, but your old man and her... well, let’s just say, they were buddy-buddy.”

“Hold on. What does my father have to do with this?”

“Nothing. I was rambling.” She refilled the glass. “Nadiya was the greatest Zolarian who ever lived. The miracles she could perform were nothing short of unbelievable. And, she did them without the need of her ora. It was only a tool to her.”

Patti paused.

“You know, we are weak without those mucking things. But, Nadiya was different. She and her crystal were symbiotic. Neither one needed the other, yet both were stronger when together.”

Impatient, Zoe blurted, “Yes, but what does this have to do with General Pavel?”

Patti’s mouth curled and she continued with the story. “There’s another reason why she was special. She didn’t think Zolarians were better than everyone else. As far as she was concerned, we were humans, too, except more evolved. In her mind, humanity was already a beautiful creation. What your kind needed was a
little
guidance. Of course, not many Zolarians think this way. There are those who see us as the answer to the human condition; we rule over you and make you do what’s right.”

“Is that why they had her killed?”

“No. She fell in love with a human. That was her mortal sin. She was a betrayer.”

Patti rested, giving Zoe time to filter the information.

“Can Marta use her mother’s ora?”

“I don’t know. You said he told you that he
acquired
it?”

“Yeah. So?”

“That part worries me. How did he
acquire
it?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Silly girl, he’s been tranced. It’s the only explanation.”

“He swears he hasn’t, and I believe him.”

“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” she said to gauge Zoe’s response.

“No. Absolutely not.”

She shook her head at the younger’s reluctance to do what was necessary. “Damn it.”

“The Old Man told me to trust my instincts and that’s what I’m doing. No matter what.” She said it more for her sake than for Patti’s.

“That old fool and his intuitions. Nadiya respected him for his faith in patterns and probabilities. Look where it’s gotten them both.”

The personal attack on her adopted father flicked Zoe’s nerve. “I guess we all can’t be perfect like you.”

The slight found its mark. Patti turned the chair around. “Think what you like, but your old man is just as guilty as — her.”

“What the muck does that mean?”

“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

Zoe had enough of what she deemed as bitter nonsense. When she turned to leave, Tank barreled through the doorway, almost knocking her down.

“I found them,” he said with short breaths.

Patti jumped up. “Where?”

“He’s with that nervous boy.”

“I should’ve known.” She looked at Zoe. “Go get Pavel and bring him here.”

“Why? What are you going to do to him?”

“Don’t argue with me. Just do it.”

Zoe went to fetch the interned guest, with her head swimming in vexing doubts.

When she returned with Emil, Tank was crying. It shocked her to see tears in the old woman’s eyes as well.

“I should be here, protecting you.”

“I know you want to, but please do this one last thing for me,” she asked with a deliberate smile. “Promise me you’ll look after Max?”

“I swear it,” he sniffled.

“Everything will be okay. Now go before the hunters figure out where he is.” She placed her hand on his chest.

He nodded and left without acknowledging the others. Zoe didn’t take the tears on his cheeks as a good sign.

Patti picked up her glass and drank the last of the whiskey. “Take the girl to the Old Man. He’s the only one who can protect her. Go to the Square and wait for Tank. He’ll bring the kids to you.”

“What about the agent? He might be waiting for us to make a move.”

“He won’t be a problem. When I used my crystal on you, he probably sensed me and is on his way here. I’ll stay and entertain him.”

“Are you crazy? He’ll kill you.”

“Heh, I sure hope not. If what Pavel says is true, when they turn-on that machine, none of this will matter anyhow.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

Patti pulled her in for a hug. For the first time since she was a child, Zoe returned the intimacy.

“Tell the Old Man goodbye for me,” she whispered in her daughter’s ear. “Maybe I’ll see him again someday.” She moved locks of Zoe’s hair off to the side and kissed her on the forehead. “One last thing — take that asshole over there with you.”

Emil wasn’t insulted. He bowed his head respectfully to the hardheaded lady, who now was doing everything possible to keep from exposing her charade of indomitable control. She returned the courtesy.

When she was alone, the mistress of the manor cried. She didn’t weep for herself. She did so with the understanding that she wouldn’t live to see Max safe and far from danger. For a mother — even one who wasn’t real — not ever knowing was a fate worse than death.

Escaping the hunters

Max woke to Marta’s head in his lap. The soft rise and fall of her diaphragm against his leg comforted his anxiety and he slept longer than he wanted because of it. He stayed motionless, enjoying the serenity of her breathing. When he became restless, he shifted his posture to stand. The girl, not initially fazed by the jostle, curled with the sheet. He left the bedroom.

The loft was quiet except for the musical beeps of the waveboard as Dinx gestured lines of text over it. The kid was so engrossed with the data loads, he didn’t notice Max recovering a half consumed pack from a trash pile next to him.

“What did you find out?”

Dinx couldn’t spare the acuity necessary to hear him.

Max elbowed him, “Learn anything?”

“Nothing.”

Marta appeared in the doorframe, rubbing her eyes. He offered the gelrat, “Are you hungry?”

She shuffled to him and accepted it. Despite its bitter flavor, she slurped it dry and let out a burp. “May I have some more?”

“I’ll look. Can’t promise I’ll find another one.”

While he foraged, she watched the images flickering on the screens. Something caught her attention. “Stop. Can you go back?”

“Why?”

“Please, I wish to look at something.”

“No, I’m busy.”

She didn’t like his tone and the electricity in the room surged from her discontentment. Placing her hand on a screen, the data load reversed until it returned to what she wanted to see. It was a French language newscast. Her father’s face hovered at the top within a bold outline. The report recounted his death and the manhunt underway for his killers.

Dinx searched for the cause of the glitch, but couldn’t find it. Only after eliminating every plausible cause did he conclude Marta was responsible. “How are you doing that?”

She removed her hand and the electricity returned to normal. She looked to Max, remorseful.

“Are you okay?”

Her lips furrowed. “I’m sorry.”

Dinx looked at him and then to her. “Can you do it again?”

An alarm sounded.

“A perimeter sensor’s been tripped,” he explained as he used the monitors to sweep the outlying areas surrounding the building.

At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Then in the corner of one of the screens, a camera detected the gathering of multiple figures near the front entrance. He zoomed in on the feed. The armed intruders readied for battle.

Max’s heart pounded. “We got to go!”

“I knew you were going to get me killed!”

A breaching explosion shook nerves as well as the firehouse’s foundation. Marta and Dinx squeezed behind Max for protection. The creaking of the wooden stairs stiffened their muscles. Max ran over and slammed the door shut. After locking the crossbar in place, he returned to shield his scared friends. Seconds later, a pounding on the door drove the kids to hide behind the workstation.

“Give up!” The voice commanded. “You’re under arrest!”

There were no escape routes for them. The loft was a deathtrap. Max regretted bringing this fate upon the other two and would have given anything for a miracle.

The door exploded, spraying splinters everywhere. The concussive blast deafened their equilibriums. A squad of five hunters stormed in through the smoke with guns poised and laser lights probing for targets.

Just as the invaders found their quarry, the skylight shattered, flooding the room with a harsh exterior light. In the midst of the chaos, Tank’s boots landed atop broken glass. The invaders stood no chance against his rampage. From the door breach, until the last hunter fell, a mere five seconds transpired until the giant was the last man standing.

He arched his back, crackling his old vertebrae. Brushing off the dust from his shoulders, he called, “Max!”

Max crawled to him. “Tank!” he yelled louder than necessary because of the ringing in his ears.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m — okay.”

“Where’s the girl?”

“She’s here.” He stumbled as he helped Marta hobble from behind the demolished computers. “How did you find us?”

“There’s no time to explain. The street is crawling with hunters.”

Max shoved Marta at Tank. “Take her.”

“What about you? I can carry you both.”

“No. I can’t leave Dinx. Don’t worry. I’ll be alright. Take her and I’ll keep up.”

“How?”

“I got this, Tank. Hey, it’s me.”

He was not as confident in Max’s abilities as Max was. “I know you’re going to make me regret this. Rendezvous at the Park under the Arch if you get lost.”

Throwing Marta over his shoulder, he stepped back to center his massive body under the hole in the ceiling. With a single vault of his mechanical legs, he bounded straight and cleared the opening.

“What... about... us?” Dinx couldn’t breathe. “I’m... going to die.”

“Come on.” Max grabbed several explosive charges from a hunter’s vest. Dragging Dinx along with him, they raced down the stairs to the garage.

Not long after, the bounty hunters on the street were caught off guard by the exploding garage door and subsequent fireball. The motorbike flew out of the smoke. The distraction only bought the kids a few microseconds. When the hunters realized what had happened, they regrouped and fired on the escaping target.

Max drove the bike as fast as it would go. “Do you see them?”

Dinx looked up to the rooftops. He saw Tank leaping across gaps with the ease of a K9E drone, “There he is! Wow. How is he doing that?”

“Don’t take your eyes off them!”

After nearly crashing into a garbage mound, Max eased up on the speed. In the course of the two and a half kilometer trip, they lost sight of the big guy entirely.

The pursuit ended at Union Street near Prospect Park. There they found him standing by the ruins of the Memorial Arch. Marta, nauseous from the ride, was beside him. The General stood apart as if he wasn’t a part of their group.

Zoe came out to welcome the boys. “You had us worrying.”

Max knew her well enough by now to know what she actually meant was —
I was the one worrying
.

He got off the bike and pushed past her to check on the girl. “Are you okay?”

Breathless, Marta could only flop a nod.

He did a head count. “I see the gang’s back together again.” He pointed at Chacon. “Let me guess, this was your idea?”

Tank answered for her, “It was Patti’s.”

“Really? Where is she?”

She exchanged a look with Tank then answered, “She sent us.”

It was difficult to tell if he was upset, or concerned. “Figures,” he commented. “Well, someone should’ve told me it was going to be a party. I would’ve left this dink at home.”

“Ha-ha,” Dinx responded with a frown.

“So, now what?” Max asked.

“We go see the Old man,” Zoe said as she planted her boot on the hard terrain of Prospect Park. “We’ll cut through here.”

The others fell in line. Max lagged behind to push the bike. Emil didn’t budge. Something was troubling him. With one last check of the surrounding area, he gave in and followed the group.