Judgement: The Undergrounders Series Book Three (A Young Adult Post-apocalyptic Science Fiction Thriller) (12 page)

I
scan
the deserted docking station in a daze. "The gunfire must have come from farther down the tunnel," I say, as Dimitri and Trout walk up behind me. "There's no one here."

"The Schutz Clones wouldn't have left their posts without my express order unless they were under attack," Dimitri says.

I furrow my brow. "Sven might have enlisted the Schutz Clones' help to go after the Rogues."

We turn our heads at the sound of boots tromping in rhythm toward the docking station.

It's them," Trout says, a hopeful note in his voice. "With any luck, they've captured Rummy and The Ghost."

Sven and the military clones file through the door first. I briefly wonder where their helmets are, but then my heart trips when I realize they're weaponless. I fix my eyes on Sven, but he keeps his head forward and doesn't acknowledge me. The Schutz Clones march behind the military clones, barking out orders as they herd their captives all the way to the back of the docking station.

I feel hot and cold all at once. Beads of sweat prickle the back of my neck. I slip the strap of my rifle from my shoulder, unsure how I'm going to confront a squad of heavily armed Schutz Clones.

Trout grabs my elbow from behind. "Are you crazy? Let Dimitri talk to them first," he hisses.

Dimitri strides past us, face like thunder as he approaches the clones. "What is the meaning of this grievous breach in protocol?"

One of the Schutz Clones steps forward and salutes him. "Doctor Petrov, we have uncovered a plot. The Schutz Clones at this base have been murdered. These clones are imposters."

Dimitri takes a step back. He turns slowly to me. "Is this true?"

I force my face to register an equal measure of astonishment. "I'm as shocked as you are."

"They must have been supporters of Doctor Won's hostile takeover," the Schutz Clone asserts.

Dimitri walks over to Sven and peers at him intently for a moment. "Do you recognize this clone?" he asks, turning to Trout and me.

I nod, feigning a dawning comprehension. "I believe he's a military clone."

Dimitri sets his jaw. "How did you discover this deception?" he asks the Schutz Clone.

"Two escaped extractees showed up at the docking station. One of them addressed this clone by name." He gestures at Sven. "We ran his chip. He's military--052."

"Where are the escaped extractees?" I ask.

"We returned them to the Intake Sektor."

"Are they ... together?" Trout asks.

The Schutz Clone looks at him blankly. "Yes, we secured them in a holding pen to await Doctor Petrov's orders." He turns to Dimitri. "What is your directive regarding the clones who participated in the coup?"

Dimitri rubs his chin between his forefinger and thumb, appearing to give the matter some thought. "Incarcerate them for now. We'll have to interrogate them."

A flicker of disappointment crosses the Schutz Clone's face. Maybe he was hoping for a swift execution. My stomach knots. I realize Dimitri has no choice but to play along with this farce for now, but I dread the thought of Sven and the other military clones being locked up anywhere near the Rogues. How are we ever going to get out of this mess? The rest of the delegation will side with the Schutz Clones when this comes to light. Head scientist or not, Dimitri has little control over the outcome. He'll be forced to report back to the outpost. I need to come up with a plan, and quickly.

Dimitri glares at me. "This is an outrageous failure on your outpost's behalf. You will escort me back to the Biotik Sektor as soon as we're finished here. I intend to get to the bottom of this and I will hold someone accountable."

"Of course," I say, adopting a suitably meek tone.

"Lock the military clones up in Intake and report back to the docking station for debriefing," Dimitri says to the Schutz Clone.

The Schutz Clone salutes and barks out an order to the rest of his squad who waste no time marching Sven and his men out of the docking station.

My heart aches to signal to Sven that everything will be okay, that I'll find a way to rescue him, but he doesn't even look in my direction. I watch him disappear through the double doors, knowing he's trying to protect me by not connecting us in any way.

We wait until the Schutz Clones are well out of earshot and then let out a collective breath.

"We're screwed," Trout says, sounding more desperate than I've ever heard him before.

Dimitri rubs his brow. "I'll be expected to transmit a full report as soon as I've debriefed the Schutz Clones. Reinforcements will arrive in a day or two. The scientists will be questioned. My father will be arrested and executed. We have twenty-four hours at most."

"We're not going to let it happen," I say. "We'll figure out a way to shut the Schutz Clones down."

"There isn't one." Trout rubs a hand across his jaw. "They're fighting machines."

I stare at him as the words sink in.
Fighting machines
. A crazy idea bubbles up inside me. But then crazy is exactly what we need. "I think I know how we can stop the Schutz Clones."

Dimitri raises his brows half-heartedly. "How?"

"We'll turn the Rogues loose. They're armed and they're itching for a fight--they already killed one of their own."

Dimitri frowns. "What's to stop them killing us?"

"They can't kill us if they can't find us," I say. "We'll set the timer to open the Intake Sektor doors after we flee to the city through the tunnel."

Dimitri mulls it over for a moment. "What about the deviations?"

"They're safer in Terminus than anywhere else for now," Trout chips in. "We can warn Jerome to stay under lockdown until the fighting is done."

"We just need to find a way to free Sven and the military clones first." I walk over to the CommCenter and activate the system to link to Terminus. Jerome's hologram floats into view.

"Checking up on our infected inmate?" he asks, with a grin.

"Not exactly."

His smile disappears. "What's wrong?"

"Sven and the military clones have been arrested."

Jerome rubs a hand across his jaw. "Does the outpost know?"

I shake my head. "Not yet. The Schutz Clones are on to us, but they don't suspect Dimitri is helping us. They're relying on him to manage the situation and transmit the appropriate reports."

"The Schutz Clones have to be eliminated," Jerome says. "It's only a matter of time before they discover the whole truth."

"We're going to release the Rogues and let them take their revenge on the Schutz Clones while we flee back to the city," Trout says.

"Do you want to come with us?" I ask Jerome.

"We can't move that quickly. We'll hunker down inside Terminus," he says, a grave expression on his face.

"And Fu?"

"I can handle him."

"I don't doubt it," I say. "Good luck, Jerome."

He bobs his head and disappears from view.

Trout gives my arm a quick squeeze. "He'll be fine."

I nod, grateful for the reassurance even though there is no guarantee we'll ever see Jerome again.

"We need to brief Viktor," Dimitri says, joining me at the CommCenter.

He taps a few buttons and waits. My breathing quickens as the minutes go by and nothing happens. Just when I'm about to give voice to my fear that the Schutz Clones have got to him, Viktor's face comes into focus.

"Sorry about the delay," he says. "I've been fielding questions from the delegation in your absence."

Dimitri's face tightens. "What kind of questions?"

Viktor frowns. "How the coup went down, how I managed to survive when Lyong and Won both ended up dead."

"What did you tell them?" I ask.

"That I was holed up in the Research Sektor. I can't put them off much longer though. When are you coming back?"

"The Schutz Clones are on to us," Dimitri says. "They know Sven and the military clones are imposters. They've taken their weapons and they're escorting them to a holding pen in the Intake Sektor."

Viktor's face pales. He passes a trembling hand over his face. Dimitri told us his father would be executed if we were exposed, and judging by the look on Viktor's face, Dimitri wasn't exaggerating.

"You'll have to go through the motions of arresting me." Viktor pulls a tissue from his pocket and brushes it distractedly across his beaked nose.

"I know," Dimitri says. "But we can hold them off until tomorrow morning. And by then we'll be gone."

Viktor knits his brows together. "How are we going to pull that off? The Schutz Clones will pursue us once they realize we've fled. We can't outrun them."

"We won't have to," Dimitri says. "We're going to turn the Rogues loose on the Schutz Clones while we escape through the tunnel."

"What about Sven and the military clones?" Viktor asks.

"We'll have to figure out a way to free them before we release the Rogues," I say.

Viktor looks dubious. "It won't be easy. The Schutz Clones will have guards posted at the Intake Sektor. They may not suspect Dimitri or you of double-crossing them, but they won't take a chance of more Rogues showing up unannounced."

"We can't risk gunfire," I say. "Can we tranquilize them with the drugs you gave The Ghost?"

Viktor nods. "I'll double the doses to be sure. Meet me at Sektor Sieben."

"We'll head that way as soon as the Schutz Clones return from the Intake Sektor," I say.

Viktor wipes a sheen of sweat from his forehead. "I'll be waiting."

The hologram melts away as the sound of the Schutz Clones' distinctive march reaches our ears.

Dimitri strides over to meet them at the door. He stretches out his hand and lays it on the shoulder of the lead Schutz Clone. "Excellent work exposing the imposters. We are all safer because of your diligence. Upon our return to the outpost, I will be recommending you for promotion."

The clone gives a clipped salute.

"I want your squadron to remain in the docking station tonight and guard the Hovermedes. Make sure no one attempts an unauthorized departure."

The Schutz Clone salutes again, overly eager to please. "I stationed two guards inside the Intake Sektor," he says. "The rest of us will remain on duty here."

Dimitri gives a somber nod. "No Hovermedes are to leave this station under any circumstances until tomorrow morning when we'll escort the prisoners back to the outpost."

The Schutz Clone throws a glance in my direction. I widen my eyes, doing my part to feign fear.

Dimitri waves a dismissive hand at Trout and me. "Juniors. They know nothing." He leans conspiratorially toward the Schutz Clone. "I will personally arrest Doctor Koslov in the morning and hold him responsible for allowing this to happen on his watch."

The Schutz Clone clicks his heels together, the only indication of his satisfaction at the news.

Dimitri leads the way out of the docking station. Trout and I follow behind, heads hung low like chastised children. The moment we round the corner, we break into a run and make a beeline for Sektor Sieben.

Viktor greets us at the door. He peers furtively down the tunnel, before hustling us inside. "Can you operate this?" he asks, fumbling with a sleek long-barreled gun. He blinks at Dimitri, ignoring Trout and me.

"It's a gun," I say, testily. "How hard can it be?"

"It's a rapid auto-loader dart gun," Viktor says, giving me a hard stare. "The darts are designed for instant impact sedation, but the sedative needs to enter the bloodstream right away. Intramuscular absorption would take too long."

I shrug. "I'm an excellent shot. Just tell me where you want it."

Viktor loads a dart and hands the gun and several additional darts to Dimitri. Evidently he doesn't trust me with the job. I can't help wondering how good a shot Dimitri is.

Dimitri slips the dart gun inside his coat and embraces his father. The gesture makes me uneasy like he thinks there's a chance they won't see each other again.

Viktor scribbles something on a scrap of paper and thrusts it at me. "This is the master code Sven set for the Intake Sektor living quarters." He gives a conspiratorial nod. "When you're ready to release the Rogues."

"I can probably handle punching in a code," I say, snatching the note from him.

We take our leave of Viktor and make our way through the feeder tunnels toward the Intake Sektor. Even though Rummy and The Ghost are supposedly back under lock and key, I throw the occasional nervous glance over my shoulder. The Ghost has an uncanny knack for showing up when I least expect it, and at times, I almost imagine I hear a faint whistling coming through the tunnel.

I breathe a sigh of relief when we reach the Intake Sektor. We edge around to a side door and peer cautiously through the glass. Two Schutz Clones patrol the area in front of the holding pens. The tranquilizing shots should be relatively easy to take if we can get inside without being detected.

Breath on pause, I key in the entry code on the keypad. The door clicks quietly and I push it open, gesturing the others inside. Dimitri fumbles with the gun, his hand shaking. I exchange a quick look of desperation with Trout, before snatching the gun out of Dimitri's hands. "Where?" I mouth at him.

"He points a finger at his neck and I nod. I take aim and wait until the two Schutz Clones are at the farthest point from each other before I pull the trigger. The Schutz Clone nearest to us collapses in front of the holding pen housing the military clones. The chain link fence rattles when they grab it, shoving each other aside to see what just happened. The second Schutz Clone, confused by the commotion, points his weapon on the clones in the holding pen, then keels backward as the second dart finds it target.

I stuff the gun in my jacket and bolt toward the holding pens."Use the magnetic wand on the wall behind you," Sven yells to me. "It's a master key for all the pens." I yank it off the wall and wave it in front of the keypad on Sven's holding pen. The door clicks open and the military clones stream out and rush over to kick down the strongroom door and retrieve their weapons.

Sven wraps a giant hand around my waist and pulls me toward him. Before I realize what's happening he leans over and plants his lips firmly on mine. His warmth rushes through me, the softness of his lips sealing me in like a protective barrier from what lies ahead.