CHAPTER 19

 

Ray sat beside Bones now lying in the Medbay. She had carried Bones over, with Nettle and Sparks help, a couple of hours earlier. The skull cap MRI covered the top half of her head down as far as Bones’ eyes. Ray looked at the top of the Harvard Medical Dianian specialist’s head on the monitor as he reviewed the images of Bones’ brain. Bones thus far had shown no sign of improvement. Her eyes had closed at least, making her appear as if she were asleep as opposed to dead, but her mouth rested at an unusual angle.

The specialist was focusing in on an area that appeared to have evidence of a lesion.

“What is it?” Ray type. “Stroke?”

The Earth doctor looked up to read and replied, “Yes, I’m afraid so. I can see a small mass in the posterior parietal cortex and another larger one in the amygdala, most likely a bleed.”

“Is that bad?” Ray typed.

“All depends, the next few days will tell. Give me a minute while I bring up the higher res scan. It’s just coming through now.”

The doctor fell quiet for a few minutes. On her monitor, Ray could see the spidery blue image of Bones’ brain as the doc manipulated the 3D model and zoomed through and around the various brain regions. She could clearly see the larger of the two spots where the worst of the damage was located.

The high res image showed the brain in exquisite detail. The doc zoomed in and through the damaged region. The small pool of blood stood out starkly now as did the intact vessels running around it, fractal like the radiating branches of a tree. The doc paused on a small very bright section of the clot and enhanced the image.

“I’m struggling to get a good image in this region,” he reported. “It’s a bit odd. There appears to be some distortion of the field in this area. Almost as it there was something conductive or magnetic… “The doc’s voice cut off abruptly and he suddenly looked up making eye contact with Ray. He bore a brief expression of deep concern before turning back to the review monitor again.

He zoomed through the brain to the second, smaller region and zoomed in. There too, the small mass could not be resolved beyond a bright dense blob. Ray thought she heard the doc breathe “No.” Just before the image of the brain disappeared. The doc looked up, smiling broadly now but the smile entirely failed to reach his eyes. He looked almost haunted.

“Well that’s all we can do for now. Keep her comfortable and we’ll check in again tomorrow,” and his screen went abruptly blank.

Ray looked up at Sparks who had been watching the exchange leaning against the wall with arms folded. Nettle loitered at his side.

“What the fuck happened there?” Ray signed.

Sparks shook his head in confusion and looked at Nettle for support. Nettle shrugged.

Nettle started to sign a response but stopped. All the muscles in her face relaxed, mouth dropping open, her eyes unfocussed. Slowly her eyes slid around to Ray.

“MRI is not good with metals correct?”

“That’s correct. Conducting things distorts the image.”

“What technique would be good for seeing metals then?”

“X-Ray, CT,” Ray responded immediately. “Super good for seeing metallic things.

“Do one,” Nettle instructed.

Ray frowned in confusion.

“Trust me,” Nettle added.

 

A short time later Nettle, Ray, and Sparks looked at a smoky image of Bones’ brain with two bright white boxes set within it. One centered in the amygdala and one in the parietal cortex. Nettle looked sick.

“That’s not brain,” Ray stated, “They’ve been put in there.”

Nettle nodded, “I think I know what that is. If I am right, this is massively illegal…it could be a memory block implant.”

Sparks nodded slowly. “I think I’ve heard of those. Old technology, correct?” Sparks looked to Nettle for support.

“Yes, they were outlawed entirely more than eighty years ago. Really dangerous and a huge human rights abuse. They work in pairs. The surgeon does a scan while the patient is remembering something and then locates the brain areas associated with that memory. A recording implant is injected there through a bur hole drilled in the skull. The second implant goes in the amygdala. That one is a stimulator. Stimulation in the amygdala causes intense fear. So, when the person tries to recall the memory, or things associated with it, the recording implant triggers the one in the amygdala to cause fear. The longer the person tries to remember the worse it gets. Eventually, the pain and discomfort encourages the person to avoid thinking about it in the hope they will forget.”

Ray and Sparks looked down at Bones, both looking sick with fear and confusion. Ray took Bones’ hand.

“That explains why she couldn’t tell me but what the hell is out there. We don’t have this sort of tech on Diana. What does this mean?” She looked up at Sparks for help. “She was trying to tell me something when this happened. Something about when she disappeared all those years ago. In the Darklands. I guess whoever put this in her did it then.”

Nettle frowned at the top of Bones head, gray hairs speckled among the black. “Why go to so much trouble? Surely it would have been simpler, and maybe kinder, to just kill her.”

Ray squeezed Bones’ hand harder feeling tears starting to come. “They may have killed her anyway. She was trying to warn me. Tell me something important. What do we do now? If CDSE did this, then is she safe here? If they suspect we know about this, are we safe?”

Ray’s emotion stopped her for a minute forcing her to grasp the bed sheet to regain self-control.” There is something else as well,” she finally managed.

Ray proceeded to tell Nettle and Sparks about the men in the boat.

Sparks and Nettle shared worried looks but Ray could see determination in the set of their faces

“Take a copy of that X-Ray and delete the main file right now,” Sparks suggested. “We need to pretend we don’t know anything. I’m guessing that Doc is going to be running everything past CDSE which means if they don’t know about the implant already, they soon will. We need to guard Bones or hide her. She could be the next thing dumped out of that boat.”

“I’m supposed to leave on Thursday with my new CDSE crew. I can’t leave Mum like this?”

“I think you have to,” Nettle offered. “We have to make everybody believe we suspect nothing. That we are expecting Bones to come around any day. That’s the safest for everybody.”

Sparks nodded, “We will look after her. Dane and Gift will help.”

Ray turned to the console, extracting a copy of the X-Ray data onto a flash stick. Once completed she deleted the local copy of the X-Ray and started searching for the remote backup. It had been renamed according to some scheme that didn’t make sense to Ray, so she was forced to search for the date, time stamp, and file type.

Finding what she assumed was the backup file, she initiated the delete. The delete bar was still sliding leftwards when CDSE personnel in white lab coats bumped through the door breathing hard as if they had been running. Two black suited CDSE security with weapons accompanied them. The woman in the lead smiled broadly, cheeks flushed.

“Sorry it took us so long to get here, we can take over from here,” Nobody moved so she tilted her head towards the door and added, “thank you.” The CDSE security stood pointedly by the open door and the white coated woman stood at the bedside with hands clasped in front of her, leaving an open passage towards the door.

Ray began to ask when she could visit but the woman cut her off with a raised hand, “I’m sorry ma’am but I don’t know your language.”

Ray moved towards the keyboard to type but the white coated man stepped pointedly in front of it, blocking her.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Sparks offered quietly, shuffling towards the door. The others followed, Ray looking desperately at Bones’ still form on the bed. Once outside Ray started to fall, overwhelmed by intense need to protect her mother, Sparks caught her and together with Nettle they frog marched her towards the outside door. Half way there, Ray started fighting to get back to Bones. “They’re going to kill her,” she signed desperately at Nettle. Nettle punched Ray in the cheek, making her see stars and taking the fight out of her for a second.

Nettle shot a warning glance at Ray and managed to hold the hush finger up to her mouth while continuing to battle Ray’s efforts to escape. Ray finally stopped fighting. She felt like the muscles in her torso were trying to tear away from her ribs.

“We can guard the door,” Sparks finally signed as Ray ceased struggling. “If they try and take her we will stop them, but we need more people”

Nettle let Ray go and turned to Sparks, “I’ll stay. Get her out the back way, she’s better away from here. Then bring the others. If they try and bust her out, we may need to fight.”

Sparks pulled Ray down Town Hall corridors, twisting and turning towards a side entrance. Rays eyes and ribs still aching from the overload of emotion and from Nettle’s solid punch to the jaw.

A rolling ball of anger and fear simmered in her gut as they ducked and weaved through the building. Finally, they found a set of crash doors and broke out into the sunlight. To both of their surprise they found themselves caught in a stream of Dianians, flowing around Town Hall towards the Medbay entrance. A woman Ray knew spotted her and changed direction to intercept Ray.

“What’s going on?” she signed rapidly. “People saw you rushing Bones over here and now armed CDSE are guarding the Med Bay doors. Is she sick? Has she been injured? What do CDSE want?”

Ray looked at Sparks, “I’m not going to miss this. There is no way I’m not going to be there if they are going to try and do anything to my mother. “

Not knowing how but determined to do something, Ray stalked away from Sparks and followed along with the crowd. Skirting Town Hall she heard the sound of a human voice begin to echo off the mud walls, too distorted for her to understand at this distance. The tone was clipped and urgent and Ray quickened her pace.

As she entered the gap between the two barracks before Town Hall and the Medbay, Ray could see that the exit was now choked with people. They stood silently, with stern faces, all looking towards the source of the voice. Ray could understand the PA now that she was almost clear of the Barracks. The human voice was instructing the crowd to,

“go back to your homes, the injured woman will be well looked after.”

Ray could see, however, that nobody was moving. The wall of blue Dianian shirts stood silently staring down the speaker. Ray pushed against the back of the last line of shirts and stood on tiptoes to see over the top. The two men and a woman at the back recognized Ray and made way for her, tapping the people in front of them to make them aware of who was coming through. The deathly quiet of the crowd juxtaposed starkly against the echoing crackle of the PA. Just the rustle of people stepping aside broke the stillness.

Ray emerged with Sparks on her heals beside Nettle, now standing with Dane and Gift with crossed arms and stony faces. They stared at a trio of black clad CDSE security stretched thinly across the door of the Medbay.

Sparks looked at Nettle with a glitter in his eye, “Finally,” he signed. “Finally, we are going to do something.”

“Word got around,” Nettle signed towards Ray.

With a start Ray noticed that the man with the loudhailer was Pritchard. Still in his faded CDSE jumpsuit but this time with a sidearm strapped to his hip. His face had grown red with exasperation as the crowd refused to respond and the white fretwork of surgical scars made him look inhuman. Losing his temper, his voice cracked as he yelled into the hand-held speaker.

“You are ordered to return to your houses by the authority of Director Pfeffer, comply now or we will be forced to take action.”

The other two CDSE security were starting to look agitated and Ray watched their wide, fearful eyes scanning the front ranks of the crowd. Both their fingers were off the trigger guards and resting on the triggers. Nettle and Sparks shared a look and then nodded to Gift and Dane. Dane turned and grabbed Ray’s hand. The others were already joined in a line and all took a single step forward towards the three men. Ray stepped with them, hearing the rustle of hundreds of feet moving with them in a wave.

Two of the soldier’s gun muzzles rose in response.

The PA continued to bark, the speaker’s voice rising higher into a screech.

“Step back now or you will be fired upon.” At the word “fire” both muzzles were raised to point at the crowd. Ray could see the young man nearest to her shaking visibly as he fought to contain his fear. Nettle and Sparks stared doggedly ahead and stepped again, Dane, Gift, and now Ray followed in unison with the rest of the crowd.

Sweating profusely, the speaker made to raise the loudhailer to his mouth again but the sweat on his hands made the device slip from his grasp. It fell to the length of the safety strap and swung forcefully into his knee emitting a deafening thunk and a screech of feedback.

One of the rifles fired as the frightened soldiers reacted to the noise. Ray saw a depression form in the crowd as someone in the front rank fell and was caught by those around them. The crowd surged forward to help her, grabbing at the sleeves of her dress.

Ray’s mouth opened in horror as patch of blood spread across the woman’s thigh, staining her work dress black, her ashen face a rictus of shock and agony. But no cries of pain interrupted the fading echoes of the gunshots bouncing among the buildings. Clothing rustled and muffled footfalls in the dust belied the violence and the blood now dripping onto the baked Diana dirt.

One of the soldiers stepped back towards the Medbay wall his teeth gritted painfully and his eyes filled with panic. His gun muzzle was shaking violently as his eyes flared left and right. The front row of Dianian faces turned from the injured woman as she was handed back through the crowd and stared silently back at the thin black line.

Pritchard’s resolve finally snapped.

“Fucking say something…fucking say something you freaks.” As his glazed focus jumped around the faces of the crowd, his eyes met Ray’s. The shock of recognition made him stagger slightly and his face contorted almost like he was in physical pain. His free hand rose to point at her as he fought to gain control. Winning his battle, he managed to spit out two words, “Kill her.”

The security man to Pritchard’s left raised his gun, clearly intending to fire at Ray. Ray could see the muscles in Nettle’s neck tightening out of the corner of her eye and was vaguely aware of her own body preparing to fight. She could feel Sparks and Dane to her left, their bodies starting to lunge forward into a charge.

Her vision zeroed in on the crazed CDSE soldier. She was closest, and she knew what she had to do. She could almost feel his neck in her hands as she lifted him backwards with the force of her charge. Picking him up and smashing his head into the solid wall behind.

Ray’s body started to move as if on autopilot. A wild exhilaration erupted in her and she could feel every cord and muscle and the strength of her body pushing to grasp and rip the man’s life away. She saw her hands closing towards his face as she ran, the wall rising solid and lethal behind him. He was spinning slowly to face her, the gun muzzle turning with him. Grinning wide, her hands reached the last few inches to his throat. Her thighs bunched to push against the weight of his body.

A dull crack detonated behind Ray’s ear, cutting through her blind rage. As her hands met flesh, a black disk impacted with the man’s neck and a halo of miniature lightning arced out of it around the man’s head and down Ray’s arms. The man’s body was ripped backwards with the force of the shocker and he fell. Ray fell with him, her thumbs clutching at his throat, hands paralyzed by the stunning force of the electricity. Ray’s chest crunched against his as he hit the ground, forcing the air out of his lungs.

The shocker continued to discharge locking the pair in a prison of blue lightning. Ray felt something in her jaw pop as the muscles in her face constricted, overwhelmed by the charge dissipating through her. Ray tried to wrench herself backwards, but she had no control over her muscles.

Finally, the charge dissipated enough that she could roll clear. For Ray, the shocks stopped instantly but the CDSE security man was still out cold, twitching as the last of the shocker’s charge drained through him.

“STAND DOWN…I SAID STAND D’,” another loud crack followed by the jagged sparking of a shocker echoed from beside Pritchard and the second CDSE security man fell to the ground convulsing in a cage of coruscating sparks.

Ray turned, holding her shaking hands out in front of her. Her brain still fizzing.

Aymes stood between the Dianian line and the CDSE soldiers like some sort of mythical figure. Feet apart she gripped her side arm with two hands, leaning into the weapon with elbows bent, another shocker already protruding from the muzzle. The weapon painted a red dot in the center of the Pritchard’s forehead. Pritchard crossed his eyes trying to see the laser spot and let the loudhailer slip from his wrist. Smart enough to hold still in the face of professional of Aymes’ caliber.

“Anybody else feel like being a fucking idiot?” Aymes inquired casually, eyes never leaving his.

The V of marines fanning silently out behind Aymes advanced on Pritchard and the two downed men, their weapons gliding smoothly through the air as they slid forward on soft knees. Jonah appeared behind Aymes’ left shoulder, looking outward and covering her flank, his brow creasing as he took in the scene.

Jonah and Ray locked eyes and Ray felt the shock of recognition as he saw her. Jonah flicked his eyes back over his shoulder and a marine slid in to cover Jonah’s place. He slung his assault rifle and strode towards Ray, grabbing her under her arms and lifting her easily up off the ground.

“Are you hurt?”

Ray pushed him back and nodded her head, embarrassed to be picked up so easily.

“I’m fine,” she signed, looking backwards over her shoulder at her combatant, still unconscious, a large wet patch staining the crotch of his CDSE jump suit.

“You’re certainly doing better than him,” Jonah commented blandly. Ray surprised herself by smiling at the morbid joke, she still felt shaky, but she hadn’t backed down or frozen in fear. Nettle arrived at Ray’s shoulder, sharing Ray’s assessment of her efforts. “Bad ass,” she signed. “Took that motherfucker down and you didn’t piss yourself like he did either.”

Ray nodded and grinned a toothy grin back at Nettle, her cheeks prickled, and her mouth suddenly felt overly thick and tasted gross. Too late to react she stared helplessly as a copious jet of vomit erupted from her mouth, jetting straight onto Nettle’s feet. The force made an indent in the dust, spraying sideways and up Nettle’s leg. Nettle’s face flinched sideways but she held her ground. She opened one eye cautiously, making sure there was not going to be a second wave. Ray stared slack jawed at the wet, chunky patch on the ground. A lump of meat from the meal she had shared with Bones earlier sat grotesquely in the center.

“Shit,” Ray signed.

Nettle nodded, “you almost looked cool there for a second.”

Ray wiped her mouth and looked around for Sparks. Jonah still stood there waiting for Ray to get a grip on herself.

Despite the loss of diaphragm control Ray couldn’t shake the feeling of pride. She hadn’t run away from the men with guns today and she wouldn’t run away from Jonah now. Ray looked back up into Jonah’s face, the tiniest trace of a smile in the corners of his eyes.

She shrugged and grinned back hoping she didn’t have puke on her teeth.

Aymes’ calm, firm voice broke through their shared moment.

“Fielding,” she directed at Jonah. “Get those men out of here. Cheng, Pham sort that leg wound.”

Ray got Jonah’s attention, “I’m not going anywhere without my mother, she’s in there,” Ray pointed at the Medbay door

Aymes, eyes still trained on Pritchard frowned deeply and moved the laser spot into the corner of his eye making him wince.

“Pritchard, why don’t you drag your little troop of boy scouts back to base before I’m forced to put holes in them. I think you’ve demonstrated your uselessness enough for today.”

Pritchard gazed at his downed men now starting to stir, the first one clutching feebly at the shocker still embedded in his neck. Pritchard turned and stared at Ray. The look he gave her was one of pure hatred. His lips curled back away from his teeth and Ray could see his fingers flexing. The moment was broken by one of the black-clad men staggering to his feet and attempting regather his weapon. The marine closest slid forward and stepped on the rifle barrel. The marine shook his head menacing the man away from the weapon and backing him against the wall with his hands raised once more.

“Get them out of here,” Aymes calmly ordered, before holstering her sidearm and turning to the front row of Dianians. Her eyes settled on Nettle. “You,” she commanded pointing. “Explain to me what the fuck is going on here. Someone get Prudence,” she threw over her shoulder.

As the line of CDSE soldiers exited, under marine guard, Pritchard’s eyes never left Ray. Ray stared back defiantly.

“Maybe next time,” she signed, relishing the fact that he wouldn’t understand.

Pritchard’s lips curled further away from his teeth and his eyes flash with barely suppressed rage. Ray smirked at him, enjoying the victory and the chance to wield the power for once.

Jonah turned Ray’s shoulders, so she couldn’t hold Pritchard’s vengeful gaze. “Best not bait that one,” he said looking over Ray’s shoulder at the retreating men. “He’s a sick son-of-a-bitch. Best to stay off his radar if you can.”

“Bit late for that,” Ray thought to herself. It was abundantly clear that she was all over Pritchard’s radar. The big question was why? And he was the third person in as many days that seemed to recognize her from somewhere.

Bone’s words from before she fell, echoed in Ray’s memory. Something happened to her out there in the Darklands. Ray’s wretched gut sank further. She had a growing feeling that she was involved somehow in something deeper and her Mother was a part of it. Nettle and Sparks were right, Ray needed answers. She needed information and she needed a way in with CDSE, the marines or both, and Jonah was her only option. She looked up at Jonah and found him looking back his eyes still filled with concern. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.