Division Zero: Thrall (65 page)

Nina folded her arms. “Four.”

Amy leaned toward her. “What’s going on? Why was a psionic brought to the Moon?”

“Three.”

Paul the orb shuddered, gliding backwards.

The Marines moved around Kirsten, converging on the reporter. They seemed calm, almost apologetic.

“Fine, fine.” Amy backed off. A few yards away, she faced the bot. “I’m here at an undisclosed location in Paramount City, where government agents have just ordered me away from where they have brought a psionic to the seat of the United Coalition Front Senate. Are they up to something? Will someone’s brain get scrambled? We’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll be here when the grey matter flies. Coming up later: Meet Lieutenant Alton Lamar. Fifty-seven years ago, the jump drive on his exploration vessel malfunctioned. I’ll be there tonight for the emotional moment when the still-twenty-five year old naval officer is reunited with his eighty-one year old wife and an adult daughter who looks old enough to be his mother. But now, back to Kimberly on Earth with a great, inexpensive way to add some zing to an OmniSoy omelet.”

Kirsten jostled about as the rover got underway. She stared at the reporter, now teasing a future story about the latest way to die in your own kitchen. The green bobbing helmet just past the black headrest in front of her became mesmerizing. Within a minute, the overall melancholy within the rover came to a burdensome, claustrophobic head.

“I wouldn’t have hurt her,” said Nina.

The sound was so sudden Kirsten jumped. “W-what?”

Nina continued to stare forward. “I saw the look on your face. The reporter. I wouldn’t have hurt her. It’s not some big secret, Agent Wren. We just don’t have time to waste.”

“Oh.” Kirsten stared at pale hands upon black uniform-covered knees. Something about the lighting made her feel even whiter. “She was hoping you would. Wanted to get it on vid.”

“We’d cut the feed first.”

Kirsten shivered at the coldness from the woman to her left.

Nina smiled. “Just speaking theoretically. We only kill reporters when they point guns at us.”

Shimmering jade drifted through the near sky on the left; the senatorial tower looked like the only item of color in an otherwise black and white world.

Oh, yay.
“Right. So, umm. Where are we going?”

“We have tracked Konstantin Dobrynin through the underground of Paramount. He has infiltrated an abandoned level of a disused defense department installation. Despite there being thirty meters of solid Moon rock between him and the Senate chamber, command is concerned about him being below it.”

“Below it?” Kirsten blinked. “What genius decided to put a military base right
under
the Senate building?”

“When the UCF was first getting set up on the Moon, it got as bad as Mars is now. ACC everywhere, open war. Paramount was the first settlement, and that base was the first installation. They built it underground because atmo fields were only theoretical back then, and the situation demanded an operational presence faster than it would take to construct a dome. We dug in, and they kept throwing all they could at us. Fortunately, a number of clandestine operations back on Earth caused enough damage to their launch facilities that it slowed them down. We were able to get the advantage on the Moon and they ultimately gave up. That’s probably why they’re fighting so hard on Mars.”

A twinge of unease made Kirsten grab her stomach. “I remember being in school and learning the ACC honored the old flag that went up hundreds of years ago.”

Nina glanced over, no readable emotion on her face. “What else did they teach you?”

Kirsten looked away, gazing out over the stark buildings and narrow streets. The dome above had darkened to compensate for sunlight, leaving the stars at the edge of visibility.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” said Nina, as she checked an immense handgun. “These are dangerous times, and there are far, far worse places to live than the UCF.”

The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Kirsten took out her NetMini and stared into the black glass.
What’s the alternative though? Living like tribals out in the Badlands? Out in the lawless colonies?
“Yeah.” Her finger trailed over the surface, causing the holographic panel to appear. She had left it on the email, with images of Evan. Confident Konstantin posed no threat to him, she allowed herself to smile at his excitement playing with the patrol craft.

“Guess you like your car.”

She glanced at Nina with a lifted eyebrow. “These are of Evan.”

“Oh,” said Nina, leaning toward her. “I thought the car was the focus of the image, the boy is off to the side.”

Kirsten flipped through them, first to last and back again.
Dammit! She’s right. They were scoping Dorian, not Evan. He knows about the car.
Relief at Evan’s safety clashed with worry about Dorian, leaving her hands shaking.

Nina’s voice rambled over the comm., giving orders and arranging forces around the destination. At the same time, she spoke in the real world. “Fear or anger?”

The oddity of hearing her carry on two conversations at once caused a face that made Nina laugh.

“Uhh, yes. Both,” said Kirsten.

“We’re almost there. Here, you should see this.”

Nina took a wire out of a pocket, plugging one end into the back of her neck and the other into Kirsten’s NetMini. The Vidmail client vanished in a smear of pixels as a full-panel feed took over. The room in the image had the look of an empty garage, with enough space for numerous armored vehicles among reinforced pillars. Silver markings, a familiar circle, surrounded a dark metal disc at the center, which was likely an old lift platform. Within the ring, a pentagram filled with ancient writing, unreadable from the ceiling-mounted camera, shimmered in the light of five candles. Around the center, five dingy jumpsuit-clad people hung from handcuffs on the columns. Two women and three men writhed as though energy flowed through them. None appeared cognizant of their surroundings, as if sharing a mutual pleasant dream.

Konstantin paced at the edge of the circle, adding a symbol here or a pinch of silver powder there. Bile rose in the back of her throat at the sight of the elderly man. She squirmed, attempting to force away the memory of that rough hand sliding up inside her legs.

“I agree. Looks like a clusterfuck in there.”

Heat fell over Kirsten’s face like a curtain. “Uhh, yeah.”

“You alright?”

Kirsten looked away, blushing harder. “Fine.”

“Well, I ain’t psych, but I can tell something’s not right. Are you going to have any hesitation in there?”

Shame morphed to anger. Kirsten glared forward. “No. I don’t think so. In fact, I can’t wait.”

“Good. He’s got some security people on the outside. They are unaware of our operatives already in position. As soon as we’re ready, we’ll neutralize them. How do you want to play the inside?”

Kirsten thought back to the Pentecostal church. “I’d prefer to go in alone. I’m not really too fond of the idea of having to deal with a Division Nine doll that’s been possessed by a demon.” She forced a weak smile. “No offense.”

Nina nodded. “I can’t say I believe you, but I’ll trust you for now.”

“What do you mean by neutralize?”

The Lieutenant glanced up and left, as if examining a screen only she could see. “There are eighteen sentries posted around an upper level maintenance corridor and five outside. We have shooters in position for a simultaneous kill.”

“Nina―sorry―Lieutenant, I don’t know if that would be a good idea. Whatever Kon―the bastard is doing, it feeds on ghosts. Killing them all might make my job harder.”

“It’s okay, Kirsten. Nina is fine. I owe you at least that for trying to help out with Vincent. Do you have anything concrete to base your opinion on?”

She’s smiling. Now I’m scared.
A blur of motion went past Konstantin on the floating panel. “Nafiz. Two men inside, I should be able to handle them.” Kirsten rubbed her right wrist.
Now that I’m off his damn leash.
“Umm, no. They’ll be pretty weak ghosts at first. I guess I just don’t like killing.”

“Neither do I.” Nina stared up at the stars. “I hope I never do.”

Kirsten opened her mouth to speak, but lurched up in her seat as the vehicle pitched down at a forty-five degree angle on a long, curving ramp. Gleaming green went by in a flash on her right―the Senate Tower. It was visible for a mere second before a tunnel swallowed them. Whirring motors faded to silence as the driver let off speed, allowing gravity to take them forward. Four of the Marines stood in their seats, compact rifles at the ready. Seconds stretched to minutes in Kirsten’s mind. Anxiety over Dorian, fanned by the fires of feeling like a fifth wheel, set her leg bouncing.

“We are go on my mark,” said Nina over the comm. “Three, two, one… mark.”

The instant Nina said ‘mark’ lined up with the rover gliding in silence around the curve, coming into view of a door guarded by several men. A faint electronic noise, a rippling thrumming, came from in front as the Marines opened fire. Numerous separate voices said ‘target clear’ in rapid succession. Distant sizzles and a brief yelp echoed as the men standing by a pair of great armored doors twitched and hit the ground. Kirsten sent an apologetic frown at six ghosts stumbling around over smoking bodies. Their plain suits, much like the security team at Konstantin’s mansion, broke out in small fires.

“I hate these IR lasers,” said a gravelly voice over comm.

A woman replied. “Why’s that?”

“Winston likes the blood spatter from slugs,” said a different man.

“Yeah, but we need quiet,” said a female voice with an Asian accent.

“I got a knife for that.” Sinister, throaty chuckling made Kirsten’s spine twitch.

“You sure you still want to go in alone?”

Kirsten jumped at Nina’s voice. “Uhh, yeah. You’re watching right? Just come in if I need help.”

“Opening these doors will make a lot of noise and give away any surprise we have. However, there is a way you can get in.” Nina handed her a sleek military knife in a black nylon sheath. “You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

“As long as it’s not a closet, I should be okay.” She took the huge blade in both hands, grasping the rubberized grip. “A combat knife?” A whistle slid through her teeth when she pulled it an inch out of the sheath and noted the blade had the appearance of bluish glass. “Nano?”

“Call it a key.” Nina walked to the wall and peeled a section of metal paneling open with her bare fingers, exposing a large pipe. Nano claws sprang from her right hand. “Like this.”

Kirsten gulped at the sight of plastisteel bending like foil.

The doll punched the claws through the metal tube as though it were foam. A deft motion excised a plug just big enough for a body to slip through. Kirsten crept over, leaning into the hole and looking left and right. It was empty save for a thin strip of grime down the center. The reek of ancient air brought a dry tickle to her throat.

“Crawl until I tell you to stop. You’ll be right under them. Best get moving, I have a feeling those hostages aren’t intended to be used for negotiations.”

Kirsten clipped the knife to her belt and braced her hands on the sides of the hole. A quick jump and knee tuck brought her boots over the rim and she set her feet in the hollow pipe. After a brief glance at Nina, she shook her head and slid flat into the tube. “No, they’re sacrifices.”

Nina held out a set of goggles. “Need NV?”

Plain white light glowed from Kirsten’s eyes following a few seconds of concentration. The Marines leaned back as one unit.

Nina laughed. “I guess not.”

Lit by Darksight, the endless tube shimmered in wavering sepia. Despite it being quite stationary, the visual effect made her feel as though she crawled through a moving hose. Kirsten hardened her stare, pulling herself arm over arm forward. “Damn glad I don’t get motion sickness.” The pipe was so narrow she doubted she could have fit through it in tactical armor. For once, she appreciated how thin the I-Ops blacks were.

“I’m coming, Dorian. Hang on.”

The climb grew more difficult for a short distance, telling her she moved along an incline. It leveled off a few meters later when an end drifted within sight. Only the sound of her faint grunts and scuffing body accompanied her over the last thirty meters. What she thought was an end turned out to be an elbow which made a ninety-degree turn upward. She rolled on her back and dragged herself into a seated position, rocking back and forth to get her boots under her. Standing, she shifted around to face her original direction of travel and reached up to grab the bottom edge of the next section.