The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion Book 2) (32 page)

Nodding with satisfaction, Lindsey opened the door to the sanitation unit and stepped inside. She didn’t shut the door, so Torran had the heart-rending view of her cutting her hair until it was even. It now fell to her chin, but the shorter cut didn’t detract from her beauty. Sweeping her shortened locks behind her ears, Lindsey stood, staring at her reflection.

Torran leaned in the doorway and tilted his head to gaze at the mirror. “It looks lovely.”

With a bitter laugh, Lindsey finally looked at him. “You’re a flatterer.”

“That’s why you like me,” he answered with a faint smile.

Returning her gaze to the new hairdo, Lindsey shrugged. “My father probably would’ve liked it.”

“Probably.” Torran tugged at his own spikes along the front of his hairline. “So, here is my hair secret. My mum loves my cowlick. Loves it. My whole life she always ruffles it whenever she sees me. She hated it when I had my hair all buzzed down when I was in the Constabulary. So when I enlisted with the SWD, I let it return to its unruly ways. So that’s why I have horrible non-regulation hair.”

The smile on her lips made the heaviness inside his heart more bearable.

“The things we do for the ones we love, huh, Torran?”

“I would do anything for you,” Torran said, meaning every word.

“Including leaping out of a tiltrotor into a Scrag infested river.”

“And I would do it again.”

Lindsey flung her arms around his neck and dragged him down to her eye level so she could stare into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said, her lips soft against his.

Torran clutched her slim body close to his, relishing the strength of her grip. “Like I said... I’ll always come for you.”

“ So Gaia Cult, huh?”

“You heard?”

“I sneaked out to spy.”

“I noticed. Thankfully. She might’ve gotten me otherwise.”

“I’ll always come to your rescue.”

Torran tenderly slid his fingers along her cheek. “I know.”

“So… the Gaia Cult is still around.”

Torran exhaled slowly. “Yeah. And Solomon is part of it, too. And probably someone else on the tiltrotor that didn’t survive. And at least one mechanic at the SWD who helped sabotage the ship.”

“What are we going to do?” Lindsey asked. “We’re stuck out here. We can’t get home. What do we do?”

Settling his hands on her waist, Torran bent down to press his forehead against hers. “Eat, sleep, and worry about it later.”

“That easy?” she asked.

“Yeah. That easy.”

As always, her kiss was sweet, and her trust in him sweeter. “Okay.”

* * *

The bunk beds weren’t very comfortable with two people squeezed onto one, but neither one of them wanted to be alone. Lindsey managed to sleep for a few hours, but was roused by the many questions floating through her mind.

After showering and eating, they’d had a long discussion about their knowledge about the supposed SWD mission to bring back Dwayne and Maria, but it had created more questions than she liked. Lindsey was still a little peeved that Torran had admitted he had been dedicated to the mission in order to save her and the rest of humanity, but at the same time she couldn’t blame his reasoning. The idea of being able to walk among the Scrags without fear was very tempting.

Dressed in her dark gray undershirt and panties, she slid onto the chair at the console and started perusing the files she’d found on the hard drive cache. It was mostly security reports from the Rescue Hub command center, but there were also other tidbits of information from various news sources. There had to be a way out of the Rescue Hub other than an airlift. Dragging Franklin’s helmet onto her lap, she connected it to the console and started searching through the hidden program. She hoped to duplicate it and download it to her wristlet so she could contact the aerial drone and keep tabs of the Scrags around the location. Maybe she could even find a way to drag the active Scrags around the Rescue Hub away from their location.

Though Lindsey had initially riled up the Scrags by jumping off the bench, she now wondered if Franklin had deliberately roused the rest by firing her weapon so the three of them would be trapped. Torran had said that the plan had been to force Lindsey to contact Maria once a rescue team didn’t arrive. Lindsey hated to admit that it may have worked if the situation had been dire enough and she believed they were the only hope of rescue. She would’ve sent word to Maria and Dwayne that she was stranded using the floating cloud she’d constructed to keep them updated.

With a frown, Lindsey pulled up the copy of the program that had attempted to hack into Maria and Dwayne’s wristlets during the pulses to Beta City. It had forced the couple to go offline completely. She’d never been able to trace it back to its point of origin, and had set it aside. Now, she compared it to the one imbedded in Franklin’s helmet. Examining both programs, she saw similar patterns.

“Same programmer,” she whispered.

The Gaia Cult had been searching for her friend from the beginning. Dr. Curran had urged Lindsey to seek answers, but now that they were right in front of her, Lindsey was cut off from sharing what she’d uncovered. Without a pulse to connect The Bastion grid, there wasn’t a way for her to transmit the information.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Torran asked, pulling a chair out from beneath the console. The back flipped up and he sat down next to her.

“I figured a few things out.” She reached up to tug on her braid and realized it wasn’t there. Instead, she tucked her shorter hair behind her ears. It was time for new habits, she supposed. “Gaia Cult is working within both the SWD and Constabulary. You said that you and Dr. Curran were supposed to find Maria and Dwayne, but nothing really came about after that meeting.”

“Nah. Not at all. I thought it was weird,” Torran confessed.

“I think it was bait.”

“Eh?”

“Well, Dr. Curran worked with Commandant Pierce and Dwayne to bring down Admiral Kirkpatrick. So I think the Gaia Cult thought maybe she was in contact with Dwayne and Maria.”

“Okay, I can see that reasoning, but why me?”

“We’d already been seen together,” Lindsey said, shrugging.

“Oh.”

“We weren’t all that careful before the mission. If the Gaia Cult was watching me because I’m Maria’s best friend, then they would have seen that you were spending the night with me.”

“So, they call me into a meeting, tell me about the mission, and I tell you—”

“But you didn’t tell me.” She stuck out her tongue.

“Eh, I’m loyal. To a fault. I admit it.” He winced and had the decency to look chagrined.

“So when I don’t reach out to Dwayne and Maria in a way they can trace—”

“They decide on another tactic. It makes sense.” Torran scrubbed his hand over his hair and sighed. “Okay, so Commandant Pierce wanted you to thwart the SWD plans. So she’s not a part of it. But Trevino and Martel are behind my assignment and Dr. Curran’s. They clearly want Maria.”

“One or both of them are Gaia Cult. Also, Solomon picked the Beta City depot for a reason. Dr. Curran couldn’t figure out why, or maybe she was just trying to get me to come to a conclusion. Who knows with her?”

“So what
is
your conclusion?”

“Solomon knew the Beta City depot was sabotaged by Gaia Cult because she’s one of them. She knew we’d run into some trouble. And because we did have problems, she received a much bigger squad, more equipment, more aircraft, more drones...”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. In other words, she probably got more Cultists on the squad and basically was given the equipment she needed to find Dwayne and Maria.”

“Including Dr. Curran. The Gaia Cult will probably need her to handle the virus.” Lindsey pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and let out a growl. “Shit... shit... shit...”

“The food shortages worsened because of failures in storage.” Torran’s voice was very thoughtful.

“Infrastructure breakdowns. The mechanical failures.”

“The gate being opened.” Torran slumped down in his chair. “Gaia Cult. All of it, or most of it.”

“Probably the only reason they didn’t release the ISPV inside The Bastion is because they didn’t have access to it. Everyone always made fun of the wall patrols, but that’s probably what kept them from doing something like hooking a Scrag and dragging it over the wall.”

“Or maybe there weren’t that many Cultists for a while. Maybe Gaia Cult is resurging.” Torran shrugged. “Hard to say with radicals.”

“I should have put it together about Franklin. Remember what she said about humans outliving their extinction event, or something like that?”

“She slipped. Just a wee bit, eh?”

“Yeah...” Lindsey didn’t want to think about Franklin, or Hobbes. At least Giacomi was still alive in The Bastion, but what if she couldn’t be trusted either? What if Hobbes was the other Gaia Cultist, but had unexpectedly died in the crash? The thought made her heart hurt.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Torran declared. “We’re right where they want us.”

“Torran, we can’t survive in this city for long,” Lindsey said, the thought making her heart beat so much harder.

“We’ll find another Rescue Hub.”

“You don’t think they’ll search each one until they find us?”

“Fuck.”

“This isn’t just about us anymore, you know.” Lindsey pressed the knuckles of one hand against her lips. The weight of responsibility crushed down on her. It made her feel like she was suffocating. How had Maria dealt with it during the special ops mission?

“Yeah, I know. It’s about The Bastion and everyone living in it.”

“If the Gaia Cult manages to get a hold of the virus that’s in Maria, they’ll infect their own people and then what? Leave everyone else to rot in The Bastion?” Lindsey blinked the tears forming in her eyes.

Folding his arms over his chest, Torran wagged his head somberly. “No, they’ll find a way to kill them. Finish what they started when they opened the gate and let the Scrags into the valley.”

“We’re so screwed.”

Torran took hold of her hand and dragged it away from her face. Bending over their entwined fingers, he kissed the back of her hand. “I don’t want to lose you, but we can’t ignore what’s happening. We can’t just save ourselves.”

Enfolding him in her arms, she kissed the top of his head and rubbed her fingers over the muscles in his back. “We have to try to reach The Bastion. If we can’t do it physically, we have to try to communicate with them. We have to reach Commandant Pierce.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“Maybe I will have to call Maria to come rescue us. Maybe she can get us closer to the city.”

“We shouldn’t risk it,” Torran raised his head as she leaned back in her chair.

“I know, but that’s our fallback plan only.”

“So you have a different plan?”

“Yeah.” Lindsey pulled away from him and reached for the console. “I have an idea. There is a communication tower on the west side of this platform. It’s on top of the newscast building. Now, according to the reports I gleaned off this computer, this platform was one of the first to be evacuated. So that might be a good thing. Less Scrags. Also, there is a monorail track that goes right up to a station next to the building with the tower. It’s a long-range tower. We might be able to reach The Bastion if it still has an operational emergency generator.”

“But how do we get there with a crowd of rabid Scrags waiting for us below? Because I don’t think they’ll be calming down anytime soon. They saw us come in here.”

Pursing her lips, Lindsey’s mind sifted through all the possibilities. Gradually, a wide smile slid onto her face.

“That’s a truly frightening smile,” Torran decided.

“Well, first I have to get nice and cozy with the aerial drone once I hack and rewrite this program, but I definitely think I have an idea.”

“Is this the point where I go make you a pot of coffee?”

“Yes.” She leaned toward him for a kiss.

“I’m on it,” he replied, and left her to her work.

Chapter 30

The aerial drone dropped through the hatch into the hub. Its long legs extended toward Lindsey as it adjusted the rotors like bizarre antenna to keep it aloft. Torran was unnerved by the aerial drones. He considered them to be intrusive buggers even though they were helpful on the squad’s excursions. The Bastion government had grown far too dependent on the insect-like robots of late.

“Hey, Baby,” Lindsey said in greeting.

Torran raised one eyebrow.

“Hello Mother,” the drone answered.

“You programmed it to answer you?” Torran shook his head with amusement. He’d left Lindsey to her own devices while he’d done maintenance on their armor and filled two backpacks with supplies. Obviously, Lindsey had done more than just gain control over the aerial drone.

“Well, they’re all programmed to speak, but usually just pre-recorded threats. I gave this little guy a little boost with an A.I. program I’ve been toying with, so he can answer rudimentary questions and carry on short conversations.”

“I am smart,” the aerial drone informed Torran.

Lindsey flashed a proud smile. “Isn’t it cute?”

Torran winced. The electronic hum of the drone’s voice was disconcerting. “Oh yeah, the giant mechanical bug is adorable.”

Picking up Franklin’s helmet, Lindsey handed it to the hovering drone. “You know what to do.”

“Yes, Mother.” The drone’s many claw-like hands gripped it tightly.

“What do you do when you’re done?”

“Return to you in victory.”

“Does it have to be a smart ass like you, Linds?”

“Yes, Father,” the drone replied.

“Hey! None of that!”

“Call him Mr. MacDonald. He’s obviously not very friendly.” Lindsey patted the drone’s metal carapace.

“Give it another name other than ‘Baby’, okay?” Torran gave them both a disapproving look. He was convinced the drone’s many small cameras at the end of tentacle-like stalks all swiveled toward him to glower.

“Like what?”

“Uh... hell if I know.”

Lindsey stared up at the aerial drone thoughtfully. “Teeny, that’s your name.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“I’d really rather it didn’t call
you
that,” Torran grumbled.

“You’re just jealous that I have a new thing to love,” Lindsey teased. She waved her hand at the drone. “Off you go. Do your job, Teeny.”

“Yes, Mother.”

The aerial drone shifted its rotors and lifted out of the hub. The overhead hatch clanged shut.

“You’re so strange sometimes,” Torran decided, but he was amused by her interaction with the drone. Lindsey almost glowed with delight whenever she was indulging in her passion for tech.

“And things are about to get stranger.” Sliding her arms around his waist, she gazed up at him, her expression altering to a more somber one. “One last kiss before we go?”

“Not a last kiss. Just one to hold us over until the next,” Torran answered. Clutching her close, he tucked his lips over hers and kissed her until they were both nearly breathless.

With great reluctance, Lindsey slid from his arms, her hand clutching his for a few more seconds.

“We’ll be okay,” Torran said, though he knew they probably wouldn’t be unless fate was very kind.

With a small smile, Lindsey picked up his helmet and tossed it to him before donning her own. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Clad in their armor, they were ready for their departure. Both wore backpacks and carried multiple weapons. Torran had decided to carry the remote generator even though it was low on power and it added extra weight to his pack. Lindsey’s was filled with food, water, and additional ammunition.

A few seconds after Torran connected his helmet to his armor, the feed sputtered on. It was truncated as it was only scrolling information from his armor, Lindsey’s suit, and Teeny. Since the drone had more than one camera, it was broadcasting multiple feeds at once.

It was a little dizzying to watch Teeny skimming over the Scrags and being completely ignored.

The Scrags were definitely still obsessed with the Rescue Hub and the prey within.

According to old reports, once the Scrags knew the location of humans, they did not leave the area unless distracted by new prey. Even if Lindsey and Torran waited until the Scrags fell into torpor, once the Rescue Hub returned to its station, the vicious beings would waken and become an instant threat. Therefore, a plan to lure them away had been concocted.

Torran and Lindsey walked somberly to the exit and leaned against the wall while watching the drone’s feed. Teeny finished surfing over the herd and dropped to street level to hover just outside the doorway of a glass-walled dress shop. A thick blanket of fresh snow adorned the building’s roof. Extending several of its arms, the drone pried the doors open and slipped inside.

“If this works...” Torran said to Lindsey.

“It will work.” She pouted. “Don’t doubt me.”

“I don’t. It’s just such a long shot.”

“Maybe, but we have to try.”

Teeny whirred over to a mannequin that was sporting a bright red evening gown.

“I told it to find a bright color,” Lindsey explained.

The drone deftly set the helmet on the mannequin’s head. Its pincher-like fingers slid under the helmet and activated the stealth. On the feed it looked the head of the mannequin vanished.

Lindsey twisted her lips to one side while watching the feed on her faceplate. It was an endearing habit that Torran hoped he’d continue to observe for a very long time.

“Okay, Teeny, activate the secondary program.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Again the drone made adjustments. It was disconcerting to see a recorded projection of Lindsey’s head appear on the helmet.

“I guess my new hairdo does look okay,” Lindsey observed. “Teeny, go get the baddies now.”

“Yes, Mother.”

The drone picked up the mannequin by its torso, rapidly flew out of the shop, and along the street toward the Scrags. It was a little nausea-inducing to observe how fast it flew. One of the cameras was aimed down and showed the mannequin with Lindsey’s face superimposed over its head dangling from the drone’s clutches.

“Teeny, activate audio,” Lindsey ordered.

Instantly, the drone played Lindsey’s voice screaming for help. It was amplified to catch the attention of all the Scrags. At first the creatures were making such a ruckus, they didn’t hear the recording, but the drone increased the volume. Sluggishly, the Scrags twisted about to face the mannequin suspended above the ground.

“They’re interested at least,” Torran remarked.

“It’s going to work,” Lindsey said confidently. “Watch and see.”

As always, it took only one Scrag giving chase to unleash a horde. Within seconds after the first Scrag lurched toward the bait, the herd rushed the mannequin.

“Go Teeny!” Lindsey cried out.

The aerial drone whirled about and flew away clutching the facsimile of Lindsey screaming for help. The Scrags raced after it.

Lindsey gave Torran a triumphant look. “See?”

“Extraordinary,” Torran admitted.

“I’m amazing!”

On the feed, the aerial drone sped around a corner, leading the herd to the tube the soldiers had taken the day before. If all went according to plan, the Scrags would pursue Teeny down the stairwell and fall through the gap.

Lindsey opened the door, and they both peered out. Every Scrag that had been gathered under the Rescue Hub was gone.

“Well done,” Torran said with admiration, then pulled the emergency exit lever near the door. “Now let’s get out of here.”

A ladder unfurled from a hidden compartment beneath the door. The metal pieces locked together, forming a stable exit out of the hub. Torran climbed down first, holding his weapon in one hand just in case any were lurking in the shadows. The clank of his boots against the rungs was a little louder than he’d like, and Torran kept his external mic on high to pick up any telltale shrieks. Once he hit the ground, he crept forward to check on the street again. The thin layer of snow crunched beneath his feet.

Dropping down, Lindsey immediately lifted her weapon and joined him. “Status?”

“Clear for now.”

“Then let’s go.”

Keeping their weapons at the ready, they activated the stealth on their suits and scurried along the snow-flecked street. The grips of their boots would keep them upright if they stepped on black ice. While Torran watched the left side of the street, Lindsey monitored the right. Their objective was the monorail station a few blocks away. Teeny had swept through the area earlier, and there was minimal activity in the district. Without the clutter of street vehicles, it was easier to spot any potential dangers.

Torran shifted his view to the drone’s cameras again. The Scrags were still following it through the stairwells. At least this part of the plan was working well. He was still unsure of Lindsey’s designs to reach the communication tower, but he didn’t see where they had any other choice. They had to warn The Bastion about what they knew of the Gaia Cult’s persuasive presence in the city and its terrifying stratagem.

Sprinting along the boulevard, the feeling of vulnerability Torran experienced made it a little difficult to breathe. Even though his suit was in stealth mode, it was difficult to be out in the open. In The Bastion, the high walls were always in sight, but here, there was no sense of security. Tall, glass buildings and a vast, gray sky made him feel small and exposed.

They were almost to the monorail station when the stealth deactivated sooner than expected.

“What the hell?” Torran muttered.

“The tech is built with old parts. They’re crapping out.” Lindsey pointed ahead. “But we’re almost there!” She dashed through yet another courtyard toward the monorail station.

“Be careful!” Torran warned.

Lindsey dropped to a quick walk, sweeping through the area with a little more care. The monorail station consisted of several white concrete canopies over a glass-enclosed waiting area. There were a few Scrags inside, but Torran and Lindsey planned to bypass the passenger area and head onto the tracks. As they drew closer, the undead started to stir.

“Should we kill them?” Lindsey asked.

“There’s not enough of them to break the glass, so I say we just let them be.” Torran again checked the aerial drone’s feed. It now hovered over the gap in the escalators observing the Scrags falling to their final death. “Looks like your little buddy did his job.”

Scooting past a thick gnarl of trees overgrown with vines, Lindsey looked pleased with herself. “I should name it Buddy!”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

“You’re not very fun sometimes.”

“I’m very fun most of the time.”

“And I’m brilliant. We make a good team.” Though her tone was purposefully playful, she cautiously checked a darkened area for Scrags before continuing toward the station.

The seriousness of their situation was crushing in its intensity, but Torran was determined not to let Lindsey see his fear and worry. He knew her well enough to see that she was thrilled with her triumph with the aerial drone but also very scared.

Torran trailed behind her, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. The aerial drone had been right about the low infestation level, but Torran was well aware that a shriek from a Scrag would awaken all the others in range. Then again, Franklin’s terrorist cell had purposefully chosen a platform of the upper city with a low infestation level, but he refused to be grateful. Though Lindsey hadn’t said anything, Torran noted that Franklin’s body had been missing. Which meant she’d become a Scrag. To Torran, it seemed like a fitting fate.

The Scrags inside the monorail waiting area stumbled toward the glass walls. They were in much better condition than those wandering outside in the elements. Though the creatures were obviously shrieking, the soundproof construction muted the terrible sound.

Darting onto the tracks, Lindsey sighed with relief. “We made it.”

Torran gestured toward the communication tower in the distance. “We have a ways to go.”