“HOW?” SIERRA SPUN AROUND, HER GAZE SWEEPING THE lab.
Jeth didn’t answer, his mind racing. “Can’t you override the door, Riptide?”
“No, I’ve got my hands full just trying to stay connected.”
“I have a way,” Sierra said as she marched to one of the lab tables where another handheld laser torch perched in a holder. She grabbed it and then scanned the ceiling, her gaze stopping on the ventilation shaft.
“What are you doing?” Jeth said as he watched her climb onto a chair and begin cutting another hole as she’d done in the Reinette lab. “There’s no way down for you.”
“I’ll make it. I’m small enough to get leverage to lower myself down.”
“It’s four stories. That’s a long way,” said Jeth.
“I’ve trained. I’ll make it.”
“But—”
“There’s no other way. And I’m not staying here.”
Jeth exhaled. She was right. It was the only way out.
“Here, take these,” Aileen said before Sierra could climb up. Jeth watched on screen as Aileen removed the scalers from her elbows and handed them over. “I’ll manage without them.”
With a look of surprise on her face, Sierra accepted the scalers and slipped them on. A welcome surge of relief swept over Jeth. It would still be hard, but she would make it all right.
Sierra climbed up into the shaft first, disappearing from sight as Aileen scrambled up after her.
“How do I get back to the Reinette lab from here?” Sierra said.
“Why?” Jeth began then remembered that they’d left the Reinette canisters in the other lab. “Hold on.” He accessed the screen. “I’m pulling up the view now. All right, move down that shaft, make a left, go straight at the first intersection, and then another left. You’ll be back where you started.”
Sierra didn’t respond, but through the comm Jeth could hear the metallic groan of the shaft narrating her movements. “I’m here,” she said a few moments later, and Jeth adjusted the camera view in time to see her emerge from the vent shaft into the Reinette lab once more.
“Hurry,” Marian said. “Security’s heading into the building now. They haven’t pushed me out yet, but if they do they’ll spot where you are right away.”
“I’ll be fast.”
Jeth watched Sierra sling the bag over her shoulder and climb back onto the chair. She was just pulling into the shaft when the viewer went dark.
“I’ve lost connection,” Marian said.
“We’re on our way down now,” Sierra said.
“Just don’t lose your grip and fall on me,” Aileen muttered as she headed down first.
The next few minutes were the worst wait of all. Several times one or both of the girls let out gasps or grunts of effort. Jeth fought back the urge to ask for a progress update every couple of seconds. He would only distract Sierra from the perilous climb down.
Aileen arrived first, flashing Jeth a guilty look. “She’s right behind me.”
Jeth held his breath until Sierra’s legs appeared, soon followed by the rest of her. She was dirt-smeared and sweaty but all right. He pulled her into a quick hug.
Across from them, Eric had fixed a dark look on Aileen. “If this mission fails you will regret it. Dax will make certain.”
Aileen waved him off. “Just appreciate the fun of a good challenge, big boy.”
Jeth let go of Sierra and spun toward Aileen. Glowering, he held out his hand. “The gun. Now.”
She shook her head.
“Now, I said. You got us into this mess.”
Sighing, she pulled the Luke from her belt and handed it to him. Relieved to be armed again, Jeth tucked it into his pants. “Let’s get out of here.”
They headed down the first hole and then the second into the subway alcove.
“We’re back at the tunnel,” Jeth said through the comm.
“You’ll need to wait. The next train is coming through any second,” said Marian.
Jeth peeked out into the tunnel, caught a glimpse of bright lights barreling toward him, and pulled back, his heart skipping. The train raced by, sucking the air out of the alcove with the force of its passing.
As soon as the train was gone, they leaped down into the tunnel and took off at a run. This time, several people in the crowd noticed them climbing up off the tracks, but their expressions were only mildly curious. Jeth hurried past them, up the stairs.
“We’re almost to the street,” he said through the comm. “We’ll come to you.”
“Be careful. There’s ITA everywhere. They’ve surrounded the building and are setting up a perimeter.”
“Are you in danger of being spotted?”
“I don’t think so. But getting out of here will be tough. We might have to wait until things die down.”
“That’s fine,” Jeth said, thinking that passing a few hours in the truck would be easy compared to what they’d just been through. “We’ll blend in and make our way to you.”
Blending in wasn’t a problem. Chaos ruled the street as they arrived. The crowds were pressing in around the Hanov building, trying to get a look at the unfolding scene. Lines of local police and ITA agents held them back as they barricaded the sidewalks, setting up perimeter nets. The white, ropy material of the nets was magnetic, stretched taut between the portable metal stands. The nets looked like human-size spiderwebs.
As they stepped out from the subway entrance, the flow of the crowd started to push them toward the barricade. In seconds they were far too close to the ITA agents for Jeth’s peace of mind, and he pushed back against the crowd, trying to make a wide berth.
It would take longer, but he decided to go all the way around the back of the building to reach the other side where the hover truck was parked. He guessed most of the focus would remain on the main entrance where the police hovercraft were lined up in a jagged formation, red and blue lights flashing even brighter than the video ads on the buildings surrounding them.
He was right. As they made the first corner around to the back, the crowd thinned to something closer to normal for this wildly packed city. Even so there were still nearly a dozen ITA agents inside the perimeter around Hanov. They were easily recognizable in their gray uniforms with the star and eagle emblem on the sleeves. They had their guns drawn as they surveyed the scene for any sign of the intruder. Several carried the ITA standard-issue .45-caliber Mirage pistol. Others carried high-powered Luke rifles. And two of them, Jeth saw, carried the same Kali shotguns as the security guards inside.
He picked up the pace a little, sticking close to the sidewalk’s edge. He glanced behind him, making sure they were all accounted for. He knew Eric was there, his presence inescapable with the link, but he worried Aileen would make a break for it. He spotted her shadowing Sierra’s footsteps as if she feared Sierra might suddenly vanish. The medicine—if it really was that—was still inside Sierra’s lab coat, which she had removed and slung over her arm, not wanting to draw attention.
They were halfway past the back of the building, when a loud, high-pitched voice suddenly cried out, “It’s her!”
Jeth, like every other person in the vicinity, wrenched his head toward the speaker who had screamed so emphatically it reminded Jeth of the hyenas Hammer had kept in his menagerie. He spotted the speaker at once. He stood just inside the police line. He was an old bald man with a rotund belly and sporting a patterned sweater and slacks. Definitely not an ITA agent. He held one hand pointed their direction.
Sierra, he thought, heart pounding.
“Aileen Stock,” the man screamed. “That’s her! Stop her!”
For a second, shock froze Jeth in place, but then he broke into a run, barreling through the people in front of him. The ITA agents reacted at once, leaping over the perimeter nets and into the crowd. Jeth and the others made it several paces, but the ITA were able to move faster, the crowd parting for them like a human wave. In seconds they were surrounded.
“We’ve got trouble, Riptide,” Jeth said through the link as he came to a halt.
“Stall,” Marian said. “We’re on our way.”
Stall. Yeah right. Jeth contemplated drawing the Luke, but there were too many guns pointed his way for such a risky move.
“That’s them,” the balding man shrieked. He rushed toward the circle of ITA agents surrounding them, his round face flush with excitement.
“Aileen,” he said. “Aileen.”
“Daddy?”
Jeth turned to see who had spoken. It didn’t sound like Aileen at all. That was the voice of a little girl. A scared little girl calling for her—
Daddy.
“Yes, darling,” Stock said. “That’s right. I’m here. You don’t need to run anymore.”
“Daddy?” Aileen said again, her voice still strange. Jeth pivoted, bringing her into his line of sight. She was shaking her head, as if trying to dislodge whatever demonic force had taken possession of her voice box. Remi had stepped in front of her, with one hand braced behind his back, as if he worried she would try to run in front of him.
“Come now, Aileen. Step away from that man,” Stock said. “He’s no good for you. Only I’m good for you.”
“No,” Aileen said, her voice trembling now but once more her own. “No!”
“If that man moves,” Stock said, pointing at Remi, “shoot him. Shoot them all.”
Oh shit, Jeth thought, racking his mind for some other way to stall.
But a second later, Marian’s voice filled his ear through the comm link. “Get ready,” she said.
Jeth turned his gaze toward the edge of the building and saw the hover truck swooping toward them. Its arrival took the ITA agents by surprise and they swung to face this new threat. Perry was driving and he barreled toward them, not slowing down. The agents jumped out of the way, some of them managing to open fire.
Jeth rushed forward as the truck swung hard to the left, bringing the side door into range. He hadn’t quite reached it before more gunfire erupted, this time from behind. He ducked, pulling the Luke from his belt. More agents had arrived from around the building and were ringing them in fast.
Jeth let off a couple of rounds, taking down one agent. Then he turned back to the truck as the side door slid open. His mother stood in the doorway with her arms outstretched, as if she were a priestess about to bless the assembled crowd.
“Get down, Mom,” he screamed. She was an obvious target, her white clothes a beacon for the ITA agents. She didn’t move, and a second later, Jeth understood why as white light began to flash behind him. He glanced back to see the agents’ guns disappearing, one after another as Marian phased them into metaspace.
But she couldn’t phase them all. Some of the agents managed to open fire before she reached them. Bullets struck the truck, and Jeth flinched at the loud bang from each hit.
“Get down,” he screamed again, but his mother was already falling backward.
Jeth sprinted to her. He reached the truck and climbed in to see his mother struggling to get up. A line of blood was spreading across her abdomen.
“Mom!”
She pushed him back, moving toward the door again. She raised her hands and a flash of blinding light erupted behind Jeth. It was a phase stronger than any he’d seen before. One minute there were ITA agents standing by the building, firing on them, and the next they’d been cut down. Bits and pieces of the bodies that remained crumpled to the ground, limbs jerking spasmodically as the life sputtered out of them. Marian had spared no one. ITA agents and bystanders alike had been cut down in the arc of her phase.
But the effort of manipulating that much metaspace had taken its toll. More blood appeared, the wound in her abdomen spurting, and two lines of red trickled from her nose. She slumped back onto the floor, eyes closed and body still. Jeth knelt beside her again as the others piled into the truck around him. Eric hauled the door closed and Perry flew them forward, more bullets striking the hover truck as they passed.
Jeth felt hands press against his back and heard Sierra say, “We need to hold her still.” Nodding, Jeth moved to Marian’s side. He grasped her arm and hip and did his best to prevent her from sliding as the hover truck rounded a sharp turn. Aileen moved into position by Marian’s head, kneeling down to hold her shoulders. Jeth wanted to yell at her to leave his mother alone, that she’d done enough damage, but he couldn’t find the will to speak. Fear held his voice prisoner.
Remi, impossibly huge, braced her opposite side. Marian closed her eyes at every bump and rock of the truck, her lips pressed tight as she fought back a scream.
Don’t scream, Mom, Jeth thought, staring down at her blood-soaked stomach. It’ll only hurt more.
Sierra, doing her best to hold Marian’s legs still, reached over and began to pull up Marian’s shirt, exposing the wound. It wasn’t messy, just a neat round hole in her stomach, right above the naval. It wept blood freely.
“We need to stop the bleeding.” Sierra grabbed the lab coat on the floor beside her and began to wad it into a compress. When she felt the medicine vials get in the way, she pulled them out and handed them to Jeth. He stuffed them into his pocket, glancing at Aileen, who watched the exchange with an anxious expression.
She turned away, avoiding his gaze.
Sierra placed the lab coat over Marian’s wound and pressed down. A soft groan escaped Marian’s throat but she didn’t struggle or protest.
“We have medicine and supplies on Polaris,” Sierra said, her voice a calm, soothing sound against Jeth’s nerves. “We just need to get her there and she’ll be fine.”
Jeth nodded, even though he knew she was lying. Gut wounds were dangerous, and impossible to analyze at a glance. Organs could have been damaged beyond repair. “I’ll call Flynn and have him meet us. We need to shave time off this trip.”
“Yeah well, we’ve got to get away first,” said Eric as Perry swung the hover truck hard to the right.
Jeth stood up and Sierra moved into his place, keeping pressure on the makeshift bandage. Jeth headed into the cab, switched on the comm, and opened the link to Polaris.
“Hey, Boss,” Flynn replied. “How’s it—”
“I need you to get in the air and head our way. We’ve got heat and my mom’s hurt.” Jeth glanced up, spotting at least two ITA helos tracking them in the air. They hadn’t opened fire yet, and he guessed that they didn’t want to risk destroying the cargo in the truck. Although whether they were concerned with Aileen or if they’d realized who Marian was, he didn’t know.
“What hap—never mind,” said Flynn. “We’re on our way. I’ll head toward the city and give them something else to worry about for a while.”
“Good. We’ll make our way to the shuttle. Then once we’re in we’ll rendezvous back at sea. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to cloak again.”
“Okay,” Flynn said, sounding surprisingly eager. Jeth could only hope the ITA didn’t have time to call in anything bigger than the helos.
Perry pressed on, navigating the streets with little concern for anyone who got in the way. They made better time than they had coming in, but the helos stuck with them, along with several ITA trucks following them on the ground.
Soon they were heading out of the city. Come on Flynn, where are you? Jeth thought, scanning the sky. They needed to lose the ITA or they would never make it onto the shuttle. Finally, he spotted a flash of light in the darkness overhead and then the familiar predatory shape of a Black Devil starship. The sight of it made his heart both ache and soar.
The moment Polaris was in range, Flynn opened fire, taking aim at the trucks first before moving onto the helos. He was limited to the pilot guns, but they were enough for this task. The trucks went down at once, but the helos returned fire. Flynn didn’t move to avoid it, knowing the shields could withstand the impact, at least for a little while. He had to block the helos entirely to let them escape. The ploy worked, and soon the truck was pulling ahead and out of sight.
Ten minutes later they made it to the dock. Perry brought them to a stop just as the signal of an incoming call flashed on the comm. Jeth switched it on and Flynn’s panicked voice boomed out, “They’ve sent in reinforcements. I’ve got to bug out.”
“We’re at the shuttle. Get out of there.” Jeth scanned the sky, no ITA craft in sight. But he knew that could change at any moment. Their flight from the city would’ve been posted all over the news, and any number of people could be looking for them now.
Jeth climbed into the back to help his mother into the shuttle. He bent down to pick her up, but Remi pushed him out of the way. The giant man slid his arms beneath Marian and raised her up as if she were a small child, his movement gentle but quick. Marian exhaled her pain, tears leaking out from her eyes. Jeth’s heart wrenched inside his chest as if an invisible fist were trying to rip it free from the tendons and muscles holding it in place. He knew this feeling, the fear of his mother dying.
Moments later they were all crammed into the shuttle once more. Jeth hauled the door closed and then sat down at the helm. He piloted them beneath the water as Sierra signaled Flynn.
“We’re on our way out to sea. Can you meet us soon?”
“Yeah,” Flynn said. “I’m tracking you now. I’ll land a few kilometers out from you and de-cloak.”
When Jeth finally brought the shuttle back to the surface and spotted Polaris ahead of them, he took his first full breath since leaving the city. A glance at the clock told him it had only been thirty minutes since they’d left the city, but that was an eternity with a gunshot wound to the gut.
Jeth pushed the thought away, reaching for the reassurance of the implant. Anger bristled inside him, his fury directed at Aileen for bringing this down on them. If they’d stuck to the plan, none of this would’ve happened. It was their entry into the Stock lab that had triggered the silent alarm. Red clouded his vision. But anger was better than pain, better than fear.
Remi carried Marian onto the ship and down to sick bay. Jeth followed behind. Sierra was already inside, having raced ahead to prep equipment. Remi set Marian on the table and withdrew, as silent as ever but with a dark expression on his face.
As Jeth stepped up to the operating table, Sierra raised her hand. “I need you to leave, Jeth.”
He glowered. “No.”
“You have to. I need to concentrate, and you’ll only distract me.”
“I want to help.”
She shook her head. “You’re no good at this sort of thing. Get me Aileen. She’ll be better help.”
Jeth’s hands clenched into fists. He wanted to hit something, destroy something.
“Please, Jeth.” Sierra touched his arm. “You’re wasting time.”
Her words hit him hard enough to snap him out of his fury. If Sierra needed Aileen, he would make it happen. Whatever it took. Jeth swung around and ran out into the corridor. He could’ve used the comm to call for her, but he feared she wouldn’t come. He was too furious to keep the anger out of his voice.
To his surprise, Aileen appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Sierra needs your help.” He swallowed his rage, which was bubbling up like acid. “To save my mother.” He expected her to protest, but she only nodded, her face blanching to a sickly white. Then she brushed past him into sick bay and shut the door.
Jeth stared at that closed door for several minutes, unable to make himself move. But when the sound of tiny footsteps reached him from behind, he swung around to find Cora approaching. Fear clouded her face, her eyes red from crying. Jeth had forgotten about the link she shared with their mother. Cora would’ve sensed Marian’s pain as soon as they had arrived. He bent down and scooped her into his arms as she reached him.
“Is she going to be okay?” Cora whispered against his neck.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” he said, unable to give her the lie he knew he ought to. Or maybe he knew that she wouldn’t believe it. He wished there was a way to disconnect the link she shared with their mother, a link that was no longer so hard to comprehend now that he’d experienced the Axis. Cora’s ability was a part of her, not some implant she could just pull out. He wished he could trade places with her and spare her this pain.
He carried her into her cabin and set her on the bed.
“How about a new story,” he said, picking up the reader from the end table.
Cora thought it over, her eyes darting to the door and then back to him again several times.
“Come on,” Jeth prompted. “It’ll help us keep our minds off things.”
Cora slowly nodded, and Jeth switched the screen on. He listed off a couple of options, but Cora picked “Cinderella” at once, her favorite.
Jeth sat down to read, taking his time and putting all the effort he could muster into the voices. The distraction helped, allowing him to forget what was happening for a little while.
Sometime later, Sierra opened the door and came inside. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, and there was a smear of blood over her cheek. She looked like she’d been in a battle. Jeth supposed that was close to the truth.
But it was a battle she had lost. He could see the truth in her eyes before she opened her mouth to speak.
“I’m so sorry, Jeth,” Sierra said. “I did the best I could, but it’s not going to be enough.”