While Colin lay dying, his daughter Emily visited me. Imagine my surprise when she asked to become my next host. I accepted, and in hindsight, regretted that decision every day. Whereas Colin reluctantly obeyed my orders, Emily willfully disobeyed.
The young woman was on a mission to become a Prophus agent and to make a difference. No matter how much I tried to dissuade her, she wanted to avenge the death of her friend, Seth, and to fight the Genjix on the front line. She had the fire I once had, all those hundreds of years ago. The unfortunate thing about humans and their short life spans is that they can only fail a few times.
Ella had the protest in her binoculars’ sights and frankly was getting bored. It was still going on, but nothing much was happening. Men were shouting and marching and waving their arms. On the other side of the fence, the guards just stood around with their big guns. They weren’t even pointing them at anyone. The whole thing had been entertaining for a little while, but now it was just monotonous. All that yelling and stomping wasn’t getting anyone anywhere, other than creating a diversion for Cameron and his team. That was the deal with Mogg’s people. Still, this was the worst television ever.
You think this is bad? Wait until you work for the Prophus. It is a snoozefest.
“Isn’t being a secret agent supposed to be fun, or at least exciting?”
Are you excited or having fun? The Prophus have a way of removing the joy from things. Trust me, I have had to put up with it for eons.
“As opposed to the Genjix, who have a way of just removing the life from things?”
She trained her focus on the soldiers and police watching over Mogg’s people. Those guys looked like they were just lounging around. She scanned the crowd. Some of the police were smoking with Mogg’s people. What was going on?
Then she saw Mogg, who, with her hands on her hips, was having an animated discussion with Minister Kapoor and one of the police. It was times like this that Ella wished she had a gun. Just put one of those tiny little ones in her hand and bang. “Pow,” she murmured. “Compliments of Burglar Alarm.”
You are over three hundred meters away. I would be impressed if you could even hit the side of a building, let alone Surrett.
“I thought shooting a gun is just pointing and pulling the trigger.”
How little you know. Keep bringing knives to gunfights. See how that ends.
“Ella,” Cameron’s voice crackled in her ear piece. “We found what we’re looking for. There’s someone here you’ll be happy to see.”
She perked up. It could only mean one person, unless the Genjix had been holding her amma prisoner all these years. Had they actually found Bijan? Some of the guilt she had been carrying washed away. “Is he all right?”
No answer.
In the distance, a figure ran to Surrett and interrupted his conversation with Mogg. The minister looked alarmed, signaled to the military people around him, and led them away from the front gates. They were making a beeline toward Cameron.
“Cameron,” said Ella urgently. “The minister just left the perimeter. You there? Cameron?”
No response.
A little bell in Ella’s head began to ring. Her gut was making a ruckus again, and she felt an itch to do something other than just sit here, but what? She probably should stay put at this lookout like she had been told. She would only get in the way. Yeah, staying put was the smart thing to do. Or maybe she could warn Cameron that Surrett was heading his way with more soldiers.
You should go to them. You should be able to reach them first if you hurry.
“You’re just trying to trick me. I’m going to stay right here.”
Ella’s resolve to stay put lasted for another minute. She noticed Mogg leaning against the wall and having a smoke. One of the union workers strolled right through the gate to speak with her. They exchanged a few words, and then the guy casually walked back outside.
Ella frowned. The guards at the gate weren’t doing a very good job. She looked closer. In fact, they were barely paying attention to the dockworkers. One of the police went up to Mogg and she offered him a cigarette. They were acting awfully nice to each other for a supposed protest. Wait, that policeman over there was Inspector Manu. What was he doing being so friendly with the union boss? Shouldn’t Mogg be putting on a better act? This was the worst union protest ever.
Ella swept her gaze across the line of dockworkers. Her guys were still making a bunch of noise, chanting and waving their arms, but it all looked lackadaisical and half-hearted. Mogg’s people were not trying very hard. She should tell Cameron to ask for a refund if they were going to put such little effort into this. It was almost as if they were just passing time…
“Oh crap,” Ella muttered.
The union boss must have sold her services to both sides. That’s why everyone was just lounging around. It had to be a trap.
“I can’t believe it,” she growled. “They’re conning my con.”
Impressive. This Mogg is a resourceful woman.
Damn it, if Mogg had sold them out, then that probably meant the Genjix knew Cameron’s team was here. If this was a trap, then it was all her fault. She was the one who had arranged to use the union boss’s people. That meant she had led more Prophus to their deaths. No, not again. She had to do something. She had to warn Cameron.
Now you want to warn them. Maybe you should have listened to me in the first place.
“Shut up, shut up, alien!”
Ella scrambled from her perch and sprinted toward the building with the prisoners, not bothering to stay hidden in the shadows. Several more attempts to call up Cameron, Nabin, or Lam came up empty. Something must have happened. With Io’s help, throwing caution to the wind, she reached the building with the prisoners in only a few minutes.
She slowed down just in time to see a group of five or six soldiers enter the building from the front. One of them looked like that pretty scary woman, Shura. Ella hid behind the car nearest to the building and scanned the area. She could hear muffled shouts coming from inside. There were also three cones of light shining from the back out into the water.
Going through the front is probably a bad idea. See if there is another way in.
Ella pulled out her long knife in one hand and one of the throwing knives in the other, and then she sprinted to the side wall. She stayed low and crept toward the rear of the building where the commotion was getting louder. Something big was happening inside. She looked down at the two blades in her hands. Neither looked particularly sufficient for the task ahead.
You think?
“If you can’t be constructive, don’t say anything.”
When I say constructive things, you ignore me.
“That’s true. Can you be constructive now?”
If things get rough in there, I want you to listen to me carefully, especially when it comes to breathing. Inhale through your nose. Hold your breath for four beats, and then exhale out of your mouth for four beats.
“What are you talking about?”
Just trust me on this. It will help you stay in control so you do not miss your shots so often.
“OK, I’ll give it a try. This better not be a prank.” Ella took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then slowly exhaled. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, but it kind of calmed her down a bit.
Also, you do not know what is in that room. Your smoke grenades make a great equalizer. Initiate with them.
“Oh yeah.” She had forgotten about those.
Ella took out one of the big canisters and hooked her finger through the pin. She rounded the corner of the building, peeked inside one of three double-doors, and pulled the pins.