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Derek pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The motor roared. Dust continued billowing behind him. About thirty yards from Olympus Mons, he eased off the gas pedal and geared down. As he neared the side metal garage door where other utility trucks and Caterpillar flatbeds were stored, he pressed down on the horn.
He slammed the brakes, coming to a screeching halt, but continued blowing the horn until the metal door slowly eased open. Two guards rushed out with laser weapons in hand.
“Derek?” the one guard, Adam, shouted. He slowly lowered his weapon.
Who the hell were they expecting? Derek shook his head, rolled his eyes, and bit his tongue to keep from shouting at him.
At first, Derek thought the question was the stupidest thing Adam could have asked because who else would be outside Olympus Mons honking a horn? But then he thought about the Chinese robots and wondered if somehow his grandfather had received word from Grayson about the robot invaders. Jonas might have sent out another team to find Derek, so the guard’s question was probably quite valid. He rolled down the side window.
“Yeah, Adam,” Derek replied. “It’s me.”
The guards motioned him to enter through the gate. Once inside, Derek shut off the ignition and got out.
“Contact Jonas for me, Adam,” Derek said. He walked to the rear of the flatbed to inspect Isaac’s remains. “I lost all communication. Tell him I’m back and have him meet me in the infirmary.”
Bradbury stepped to the edge of the flatbed and jumped to the garage floor.
“Sure,” Adam replied.
Derek looked at the other guard. “Paul, did any other teams leave Olympus Mons?”
The guard shook his head. “No.”
“Seal the door and keep it shut. You might want to get five or six more guards down here.”
Paul frowned. “Why? What’s the problem, and what the hell happened to your robot?”
“We have enemies on Mars.”
“What?”
“There are eight Chinese robots armed with various weapons near the Phobos Ruins.”
“Are you shitting me?”
Derek frowned. “Have I ever had much of a sense of humor?”
“Well, no, but we’re hopeful.”
“I’m certainly not going to start now. Eight enemy robots. They destroyed Isaac and my other three robots.” He paused to clear his throat. “The remains of my other three robots are still out there. These robots are heat-seekers, too, which means that they were sent here for one reason. To kill us.”
Paul looked stunned, but within seconds what Derek had said sank in. He rushed to the metal door, pushed the computerized lock mechanism and sealed the door. Without any hesitation, he tapped his chest transmitter and made a request for backup.
Derek stared at Isaac’s remains and fought tears. “Bradbury, stay with Isaac.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the infirmary to get my shoulder patched up.”
***
Jonas had left Mineshaft 15 and headed to the interrogation room. He’d rather spend more time helping seal the hole in the wall, but the situation with Cain couldn’t wait any longer.
For weeks nothing eventful had occurred, and then, within a few days, all hell had broken loose inside Olympus Mons. Perhaps that wasn’t the best cliché he should have used. With his current luck, it wouldn’t be a surprise for a fiery pit to be somewhere on Mars, too, deeper in the massive volcano.
He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Jonas glared at Cain in the small 4 X 4 interrogation room. This was the first time Jonas had to confront any of his guards over any committed crime, and this one was too appalling to ignore.
Cain was handcuffed to the metal table. His battered face was a dozen different shades of purple and grayish black. He refused to make eye contact with Jonas, from shame or fear, and quite possibly both.
“How long have you been raping Jessica?” Jonas asked.
Cain looked down but refused to answer.
“Dammit!” Jonas slammed his palms onto the metal table, making a loud Thwack! He pointed a stern finger at Cain’s face. Cain tilted his head slightly up, enough to see the finger. “You’re going to tell me, or I swear, you’ll have far worse disfigurations than you have right now.”
“Is that how the law is conducted on Mars?”
“I am the law, smartass! There isn’t any authority above me here. So, if you wind up dead . . . that’s your final judgment. There’s no appeal process on Mars.”
Cain offered a pathetic shrug. “So kill me.”
Jonas unsnapped the knife on his belt and slid it from the sheath. The blade gleamed beneath the fluorescent light. “As you wish, but I was in the CIA a long time ago. When we wanted answers, believe me, we found ways to extract the information from punks like you. You might die, but trust me, it won’t happen quickly.”
“Oh? So you’re like, gonna cut off my fingers one at a time? I don’t think you have it in you, Pops.”
An evil smile crept on Jonas’ face. His eyes glistened. “No, it’s not going to be like that. Rape is a despicably heinous crime and deserves the worst of punishments. It won’t be your fingers that get cut off.”
Cain leaned back and stiffened in his chair. Even though his eyelids were puffed and swollen, he attempted to open them wider. Fear reflected through the narrow slits. He saw the knife’s sharp blade and visibly shook. He swallowed hard. Jonas’ threat was clear. Cain didn’t need to question the implication. He understood exactly what Jonas was threatening to cut off.
“How long has it gone on?”
Cain swallowed hard. “Three months.”
“Every day?”
“No, sir. Not that often.”
“How often?”
“Twice a week, maybe. Seldom three.”
Someone rapped on the door.
Jonas turned and opened it. “What?”
Boony jumped back, her eyes staring at the shiny blade.
“I’m a little busy, Boony. What do you want?”
“Sir, I thought you’d like to know that Derek is back, and he wishes to speak with you in the infirmary.”
The anger vanished from Jonas’ face. He slid the blade back into the sheath. Blinking slowly, he looked at her. “He’s in the infirmary? How is he?”
“I don’t know his condition. I didn’t see him, but Adam called from the garage to tell me that was what Derek had said. You need to go see him.”
“Of course,” he said, pulling the door closed behind him. He placed a hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on Cain. Don’t let anyone else in that room. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks, Boony.”
She smiled. “I’ll walk with you. Are you okay?”
“Better now that Derek has returned.”
“In regard to Cain? You had out your knife.”
“What he did is inexcusable, Boony. I don’t know of anything else in my career that has ever infuriated me like this.”
“I’m repulsed by what he and Matt were doing, but don’t lose yourself and overreact.”
“I won’t lie,” Jonas said. His eyes were fierce. “I want to kill him, slowly, and make him feel pain.”
“I understand. I’m thankful that she was under the chip’s control. She didn’t feel any pain, and she won’t remember what happened.”
“No. Don’t you see? Those are arguments that he’s going to try to use in his own defense.”
“I’m not saying that it’s okay. I’m not trying to minimize the situation at all.”
“Maybe not, but it sounds almost like you’re making the ordeal less than what it was.”
Boony placed her hand on his arm and shook her head. “No, Jonas. If anything, to me, it’s far worse. She didn’t have any way to defend herself. She couldn’t fight back. She was silenced without any choice to do whatever degrading act they wanted her to do. Cain and Matt diminished and violated her as a human.”
“Trust me, they will pay dearly for this.”
“For what it’s worth, I think Cain was behind the whole thing. I don’t think Matt is innocent, but his punishment shouldn’t be equal to Cain’s. That’s my two cents.”
“Noted.”
They took the final curve in the long smooth tunnel and stopped at the infirmary. Boony looked at him and smiled. “I’ll leave you to speak with him alone. Please tell him that I will stop in later to see him.”
“Sure.”
“I’m glad that he’s okay.”
“Me, too.”
Boony turned and headed back down the corridor.
Jonas stood outside the infirmary and hesitated. Tears burned his eyes and his throat tightened. Emotions washed through him. The sternness and fury he had earlier was extinguished. Even though he and Derek had been in a heated argument before Derek left for the Phobos Ruins, Jonas found that he had no anger left about their disagreement. Instead, he held great relief and gratitude in knowing his grandson was alive. The greatest treasure he valued in his life was the young man inside the infirmary. Only Derek could soften the old man’s heart in ways that baffled Jonas. He was never a sentimental person, until the first day when he had held a newborn Derek in his hands.
Before Jonas entered the infirmary, he checked his uniform and cleared his throat. He had never shed a tear in front of Derek before. Jonas was not a hardened man, but he kept a stolid expression the majority of the time. Some called it his poker face. But due to getting choked up moments before, he doubted that he could speak without a shaky voice.
Jonas took a deep breath and stepped into the infirmary. Derek lay on an adjustable bed with the back raised so he could sit upright. A nurse was tending to his blistered shoulder.
Derek gave a slight grin when he saw Jonas. “Hey, Grandpa.”
Jonas swallowed hard, trying to rid himself of the solid lump in his throat. “Derek.”
“I suppose I crossed that line, huh?”
“What line is that?”
“In our argument. I carried things a bit too far.”
“Let’s not—”
“That’s why you didn’t send a rescue team out for me, right?” Derek asked.
“Actually, I was getting ready to.”
“It’s okay. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. You were right. I shouldn’t have gone alone.”
Jonas sighed and stepped to the side of the bed. “Really, I was going to come after you. I’ve been worried about you since the day you left, but I tried not to be. I’ve been selfish and wrong. You’re a man, and I need to allow you to make decisions for yourself. You’ll make mistakes. Everyone does. I have, too. There are some things we cannot learn except through our mistakes. It’s time I accept that you’re an adult.”
“Thanks. But, you were right. I almost got killed after I lost communication due to the harsh winds and coarse grit. That’s why I never got in touch with you. I couldn’t. I tried many times each day. Had I gone with a team, at least maybe one of us would have still had a functional transmitter.”
Jonas forced a smile. A tear trickled down his right cheek. He ignored it. “What happened to your shoulder?”
“That’s why I wanted you to come here. There are eight Chinese robots out on the Martian terrain. They’re heat-seekers, armed with laser weapons. A laser blast did this to me.”
“Chinese robots?”
Derek nodded.
“I did see other activity on the satellite map near your position. I thought they were a glitch. Never thought the Chinese would have done this.”
“They’re probably in route to our position. They destroyed four of my robots. Three of their bodies are still at the Phobos Ruins. Only Bradbury is alive, functional.”
Alive. Jonas smiled slightly. “Perhaps, once you heal up, we can send a team out to retrieve them.”
“Not until we figure out a way to destroy the Chinese robots.”
“We have encountered an interesting problem inside Olympus Mons, too.”
Derek frowned and then he winced when the nurse snipped away loose skin around his busted blister. “What?”
Jonas told Derek about the strange creatures Clark had discovered in Mine Shaft 15 and Shad’s death.
“Damn.”
“Yes. We captured three of these insect-like creatures.”
Derek expelled a long sigh of relief when the nurse cut the last piece of loose skin away from his blistered wound. “Do you think they’re a threat?”
“They’re deadly. The poison paralyzes the victims almost immediately. Exactly how much of a threat they might be to our population, we’re not sure yet. Clark, the geologist, took them to the laboratory for evaluation. But there are a couple of things I do know about them.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re quite intelligent. The three we took seemed to realize the flamethrower could kill them, and they readily surrendered. That’s the good thing.”
“What’s the bad thing?”
“They outnumber us by at least a thousand to one.”
“Shit.”
Jonas nodded. “Yep. We’re standing in a deep pile of it.”
“No kidding. Eight Chinese robots are probably heading toward us, and no telling how many of these insect beings might be only inches away from where we sleep and work.”
“Get some rest, Derek. We’ll figure it out. Right now, I have some pressing issues to attend to.” Jonas smiled. “Glad that you’re back safe. A little torn, but nothing you can’t survive.”