Cypher (The Dragon's Bidding Book 2) (25 page)

She lifted the weapon
out, watching the light ripple down the long barrel. The black ivory grip felt
slender, designed to fit her smaller hand. Above the firing stud, where she
would rest her trigger finger, was engraved a single word.
Beloved
.

“Most men go with
jewelry. Not you. You give me a weapon.”

“Isn’t that what you
really wanted?”

“Oh, yes,” she said,
and showed him her appreciation with a deep kiss.

“As much as I’d like to
stay here holding you, we have to go before Lizzy accuses me of causing you to
neglect your duty.” His smile disappeared. “What did you do with my spike?”

“What?” she sputtered.
“No. No. Absolutely not. No way I’m giving that jerk a chance to take over your
body again. I just got you free of that maniac.”

He caressed her
shoulders. “It’s the only way, Kimber. You know that. I can’t go up against Yig
knows how many of Jan’s augies as a Normal. And the bugs. I wouldn’t survive
long enough to even get a shot at him.”

“If that coward gets in
control of your body, he’ll try to run away again.”

“I can control him.”

“You weren’t doing a
very good job of it last night.”

“That was different. I
was exhausted. Out of it. My energy stores were depleted from healing all those
wounds. Now I’m fresh, rested. I can keep him in check. Besides, he can’t run
away. Jan has his hooks in too deep. Cypher has as much reason to want Jan dead
as I do. You know this is the only chance we have of pulling this off. Now,
what did you do with my spike?” He drew both of his pistols and placed them on
the desk, then began unloading all the other the weapons he’d stashed around
his body.

Fitz wanted to scream
at him; to tell him he was a fool to believe he could trust Cypher not to
betray him the moment his concentration slipped. He’d hijack Wolf’s body in a
second, and if he couldn’t run, what would keep him from crawling back to
Tritico and dancing to his tune? Wolf would be handing the enemy a priceless
weapon—himself.

The hard blue glare in
Wolf’s eyes warned her he wouldn’t change his mind.

“I’ll get it.” She strode
from the office, brushing moisture from her cheeks. Last night she’d debated
throwing the spike into the recycler. Now she wished she had.

Could she destroy it
and tell him she’d done it last night? No. It was too late for that. She
snatched the piece of plexisteel and heartbreak from the drawer and stormed
back to the office. Wolf arched an eyebrow at her when she slapped it onto his
open palm.

He stepped to the far
side of the room. “Put me down if you think Cypher is getting the upper hand,
but use the Acton set on high stun. I’d prefer not to get hit with a couple of
slugs from your new toy. I don’t have the time or the energy to heal up those
kinds of wounds.”

Fitz took a couple
steps back, drew her other pistol, and leveled it at Wolf’s chest. She
remembered how fast Cypher was; she’d have to be faster. A nod told him she was
ready.

Wolf inserted the spike
and every muscle went rigid, a frown twisting his mouth. Her finger hovered
over the firing stud. Only the slightest of twitches would end this drama, but
neither participant in the struggle for dominance moved.

His eyes opened,
blinking rapidly as his gaze shifted from side to side, assessing his
situation. He studied his upraised hands and armored body, forehead furrowing
in confusion. Fitz zoomed in on his face and found not the slightest trace of
Wolf. Cypher’s smirk transformed the lips she’d so recently kissed.

“Well, hello, Gray
Eyes,” Cypher said, shifting his weight as if trying to decide if he could
reach her before she shot him. “Couldn’t live without me?”

“Stop,” said Wolf. “And
shut up.”

“Wait, how are you
doing this? This ain’t the way it’s supposed to work. I’m in charge. You’re
along for the ride.” The voice sounded the same, but Fitz had no trouble
picking out Cypher’s words from her partner’s Willcommin accent.

“There’s been a change
of management. I need this body’s augmentations, so you’ve been relegated to
the back seat. From now on you’re just an annoying problem I have to put up
with until I can find a way to get rid of you.”

“Dammit, you make me
sound like a case of the clap.”

“Sounds about right.”
Wolf moved toward the stack of armaments on the desk, but fought for every
step. Fitz kept the Acton trained on him, and shifted backward to maintain her
distance.

“It’s okay; I have
control.” Wolf picked up his weapons, returning them to their holsters and
sheaths. As if to deny that fact, his hand froze, then began to shake. His jaw
clenched, and his eyes squeezed shut, reflecting the silent battle of wills.
Seconds ticked past. Fitz licked her lips, starting to tell him this was not
going to work, when he hissed out a breath and relaxed.

“Don’t try that again,”
Wolf said.

The voice changed to
Cypher’s. “I get the feeling you’re going to do something stupid, some
hair-brained scheme that’s going to get us both killed. You can’t be planning
to go after Tritico. I know you think you’re some kind of indestructible
hot-shot, but didn’t you see those giant bug things he’s hanging around with?
And all those wireheads. They’re like us, aren’t they? And her.” Cypher waved a
finger from his chest, toward Fitz and back.

“And Tritico,” said
Wolf.

“Oh, great. Then how
the hell do you expect to kill him?”

“I can try to get my
hands on one of those needlers, but failing that, a couple of slugs between the
eyes should slow him down long enough for a thermite grenade to finish the
job.” Wolf checked the load out on his weapon before jamming it into the
holster on his hip. Moving with the stiffness of a man who’d run fifty klicks
in full gear, he crossed to the weapons cabinet and extracted a sheathed sword.
He waved Fitz over and buckled it to her combat harness.

“Do you remember what I
told you about fighting Tzraka?”

“Stay alive?”

He rolled his eyes.
“That, too, but the first thing you have to do is cut off the blade arms.”

Fitz recalled the hours
of sword drills he’d put her through on the way to Baldark. “And the brain, its
only vulnerable spot, is behind the second set of front legs.”

“On a drone, yes, but
this new thing, this Destroyer, is an entirely different creature. Its
weaknesses could be anywhere; if it even has any. Von Drager seemed to think
this thing is the ultimate assassin. Hook up with Bartonelli and fight in a
pair, back to back, and, whatever you do, keep Ari out of the fray, even if you
have to knock her out.”

Wolf put his hands on
her shoulders and studied her face as if he were trying to memorize every line,
every angle. As if this one last sight would have to last him through eternity.
He leaned in to kiss her, but stopped and pulled back.

“No, he’d enjoy that
too much.”

“Spoilsport,” said
Cypher. “Just one little kiss.”

“Shut up,” Wolf said as
he strode for the door. “Let’s move out. Jumper, you’re with Fitz. It looks
like you’re going to get a chance to use your nifty new claws for something
other than shredding upholstery.”

The cat clicked his
plexisteel claws against the marble floor.
“You got it, Boss. If that nasty
bug gets anywhere near Faydra and Momma Dragon, it’ll get a taste of these
babies.”

The tail end of the
weather front that had brought a blizzard to the northeast coast draped a misty
drizzle across Striefbourne City’s streets and buildings. Dawn struggled with
the overcast to lighten the sky. Silent on her repulsors, Lizzy hovered a few meters
above an apartment on the edge of the Warren, the jumble of antennae, dishes
and environmental units on its roof making landing impossible.

The shuttle’s stealth
systems hid her from electronic senses, but an imperial warship entering the
Warren would attract unwanted attention from human watchers. Jan was too savvy
not to have all his surveillance options covered, even the low tech human
watcher.

Wolf palmed open the
outer lock, leaning out to mentally measure the distance to the rooftop. The
wet wind drove what was left of his butchered haircut into his face.

“And stay off the comm.
It’s too likely one of Jan’s augies will be monitoring it,” he said to Fitz.
“If you need me, see if Faydra can reach me. It might be too far for a
telepath…”

Fitz placed her fingers
against his mouth. “I’m not a raw recruit, Love. I’m an experienced field
operative. I know what to do.”

“Yes, but you’re
my
field operative, and someone else is depending on you.” He laid a hand on
Fitz’s armored belly, hearing his daughter’s faint song brush across his
thoughts. “I’ve grown accustomed to the thought of having you with me for a
long, long time—and now her, too.”

“You promised me
eternity, and no overgrown cockroach is going to cheat me out of it.” She
seized his combat harness and pulled him close, kissing him with a desperation
that belied her outward calm. Her touch sent his emotions into free fall. His
heart hammered in his chest, and his body responded to the intimate exploration
of her tongue… but now was not the time. She pulled back, her sea-fog-gray eyes
growing dark.

“Come back to me,” said
Fitz. “Both of you.”

Wolf dropped to the
roof and watched Lizzy glide away, a smudge of blackness prowling the rainy
night.

I think she’s starting
to like me
, Cypher whispered in the back of Wolf’s mind.

“In your dreams.”

Wolf pulled on his
armored gloves and donned his helmet, slapping down the tinted visor. With a
map of the city displayed on his inhead to guide him over the rooftops, he
sprinted to the edge of the building and hurtled across to the next, and the
next, a shadow flowing deeper into the Warren. A klick away from his target, he
dropped to ground level, ghosting through the twisted streets and narrow alleys
that gave the slum its name.

He slipped into a
sliver of walkway between two buildings, shoulders scrapping the rough bricks
on either side. A meter from the end he stopped, studying the electronics
shop’s blank windows and faded sign through the narrow opening.

Wolf recognized the
building behind them as Cypher’s refuge from several nights ago; the night he’d
seen Costos get his orders to betray Fitz. Had those two drunks he’d chased off
crept back to reclaim their foul smelling den?

He tossed a pair of
spy-flies out into the darkness. The mechanical insects buzzed in circles,
imitating their organic counterparts, then settled and began broadcasting
images of the shop and adjoining warehouse to his inhead.

“No perimeter security.”

Isn’t that good?

“Maybe, but I hadn’t
expected to find anything. After the stunt you pulled at the Star Henge, the
enforcers have been crawling all over this area. A high tech security system
showing up in the Warren would attract more attention than Jan wants. He’ll
depend on camouflage to blend in with the rest of the buildings in this neighborhood,
but you can be sure he’ll have some nasty surprises inside.”

Augies?

“That too, but I was
thinking about bugs.”

Wolf felt a shiver of
revulsion ripple through Cypher’s thoughts.

He highlighted half a
dozen spots on the shop’s façade with flashing icons. “All we have to contend
with out here are these cameras. The way they’re situated, they’ll provide
complete coverage of the front and both sides of the building, especially the
stairs. As soon as we step out of this hiding space, Jan’s people will see us
coming.”

Don’t the cameras
attract unwanted attention?

“Everyone has cameras
in the Warren—the police, the shopkeepers, the drug dealers—all trying to keep
tabs on what the others are doing. The only thing unusual about these is that
they haven’t been stolen and still appear to be functioning.”

Then we have to find
another way in. Maybe around the back or on the roof of the warehouse?

“No. We go in here. And
we go now.”

What’s the fricking
hurry?

“I want to stop Jan
before he releases that Destroyer.”

But you’ve got that
covered. You sent Gray Eyes.

“I don’t want Fitz to
have to face that creature.”

What? You think she’s
not up to it? Because let me tell you, she’s as tough as they come and I outta
know. She kicked my ass last night, and yours too, by the way.

One problem with the
intimacy of sharing the mind of another person was that Cypher heard each of
Wolf’s thoughts, felt every emotion. He could taste the terror Wolf felt every
time Fitz put herself in danger. Feel the mixture of fear and pride he felt for
this remarkable woman and his willingness to give his life for hers, if
necessary. This was love. An emotion Cypher had never experienced, and would
probably never be given the opportunity to feel.

Apparently he saw
something else too.

You got her knocked-up.

“She’s pregnant, yes.”

I didn’t know people
did that anymore. Oh, the sex part, yeah, they still do that, but I didn’t
think anyone had kids the old-fashioned way.

Wolf ground his teeth
and sighed. “Could you quit digging around in my personal life and get back to
what we’re trying to do here?” He pulled two breaching charges from his belt
pack. “We make it to the top of the stairs as quickly as possible and blow the
outer door, get inside and take down the one into the warehouse.”

No need. I have the
combination of that one in memory.

“Looks like you might
be good for something after all. Let’s see how you do in a real fight. Remember,
we’ll be facing others like me. If you shoot one, he may go down, but he’ll be
right back up after you.”

Then how are we
supposed to kill them?

“Try to get your hands
on one of those modified needlers. Other than that, cutting off their heads
might work. Or blowing their brains out.”

You don’t know?

“Best guess. Until now,
learning how to kill another Lazzinair was never a priority, but I know from
painful experience that the symbiont’s healing ability can be overloaded by
severe injuries. If you shoot one of Tritico’s goons enough times to exhaust
his body’s energy reserves for repairing itself, then the symbiont will put him
in a coma. Could be that’s the best we’re going to get.”

Wolf checked the load
out on his pistol. “Now, are you ready?”

Wait, wouldn’t it be
better if we could get closer before they see us?

“Yes, but considering
the coverage on those cameras, that doesn’t seem likely.”

What if we had a
disguise? Would that work?

“Possibly. Do you have
one?”

No, but I think I know
where I can find one.

__________

“I haven’t been able to
reach Sergeant Bartonelli,” Lizzy said as Fitz trotted onto the shuttle’s
bridge and dropped into the command chair. “I’ve pinged her comm several times,
but can’t get a location. Could she have turned it off?”

“Bart wouldn’t pull
that kind of rookie stunt,”
Jumper told Fitz.

“I agree. If she had to
drop out of communication, there’s a damn good reason for it. And that worries
me.” Fitz drummed her fingers on the console. “Try contacting Ari again.”

“Still no answer—on the
residence line or her private comm link. They keep going to message.”

Jumper’s green eyes
narrowed.
“And I’m not able to contact Faydra either. We’re close enough to
the palace that she should be able to feel me trying to reach her, but I’ve got
zip, zilch, nothing.”
The hair along his back stood on end.
“And that
worries the crap outta me, Boss Lady.”

Fitz nibbled her
thumbnail. “Could she have moved Ari somewhere the Tzraka Destroyer would be
unable to go, like Coronia Station?”

“Yeah, the bug couldn’t
follow them there unless it sprouted rockets out of its butt.”

Lizzy dashed their
hopes. “I’ve scanned the hangar and the imperial shuttle is still there,
although your official flyer is missing. If they took the aircar, there hasn’t
been enough time to make it out of communications range. It’s almost as if they
stepped into a black hole and disappeared.”

“A black hole?” Fitz
bolted upright in her seat. “Lizzy, get me a real time scan of the Citadel and
surrounding area.”

A series of windows
opened on the monitor, showing the former DIS headquarters from various surveillance
cameras around the city. Fitz picked the view from an adjacent building,
looking down on the rooftop landing area. Dwarfing the black SpecOps aircar
parked in the shadow of its wing, an assault shuttle took up the bulk of the
pad. The white paint job and royal seal marked it as belonging to the
Praetorian Guard.

“So that’s where they
went. Get us over there, Lizzy.” Fitz felt the change in vibrations through the
deck plates as the ship accelerated.

“If that thing is tied
to her telepathically, it won’t be able to locate her down there,” Lizzy said.

“But if it’s tracking
her another way, one we don’t understand?” Fitz asked. “Then they could find
themselves trapped at the bottom of a hole in the ground, with no way to call
out and most of their weapons not functioning. My instructor in field
operations used to be fond of saying, ‘You hide in a cave and it’ll become your
grave.’”

“There is only the one
entrance to the lower levels, and the Praetorians appear to have formed a
cordon around the building,” Lizzy said.

“Yeah,” said Fitz. Why
didn’t that make her feel better? “Contact that ship and have them patch me
through to whoever’s running this operation.”

With the Praetorian
ship blocking access to the landing pad, Lizzy hovered a dozen meters off the edge
of the building. “They’re not acknowledging my hails, Colonel.”

The display showed two
Praetorians guarding the door, each with a pulse rifle at the ready. Between
them stood a man in Special Operations black.

“Who is that? Fitz
asked. “I thought Kiernan took all the SpecOps people with him.”

“I believe that is
Lieutenant Pike.”

“Pike? What’s he doing
still here? At last, someone who’ll talk to us.”

The silence stretched
on for several seconds, then the ship spoke. “The lieutenant is not answering.
In fact, I don’t believe his augmentations are active. I by-passed his comm and
tried to sync directly with his internal computer, but it is not functioning.
I’m forced to conclude that he’s shut down his systems.”

“Or someone pulled his
spike. Lizzy, give me a tight shot on him.”

One of Pike’s eyes was
bruised and swollen shut. Dried blood crusted his upper lip and tangle ties
bound his hands.

What the hell is going
on here?

A guard exited the
building and dashed to the ship. They had to be using runners to keep in
contact with their personnel down inside the suppression field.

A few minutes later,
the comm chimed and a young officer appeared on the monitor. “SpecOps ship,
leave the area immediately. You are interfering with an Imperial Security
operation.”

“This is Colonel
FitzWarren. I’m here to assume command of the Emperor’s protection detail.”

“I know who you are,
ma’am,” the pilot replied, “but I have been informed that you are no longer in
command of this unit, and all orders in the future will come directly from
Captain Weiland.”

Weiland. Why didn’t
that surprise her?

“There has been no
change in the command structure of Imperial Security, and any orders you’ve
received from Captain Weiland are illegal. I suggest you stand down and return
to your barracks.”

“I can’t do that,
ma’am.” The woman swallowed nervously before she could continue. “If you do not
leave this area immediately, my orders are to fire on you.”

“She just activated her
pulse cannon,” Lizzy said, and her fire control board flickered to green as she
took all her weapon systems hot.