Chiral Justice: A Hard Science Fiction Technothriller (The Biogenesis War Book 3)

by L. L. Richman

  * * *

  Dacina paced the halls of the prison, her focus intent on the tracking app on her overlay that showed the location of Elodie Cyr and her companion. She’d waited as they made it down to the level that held Garza, and now they appeared to be hunkered down just out of range of the enhanced security.

  She wasn’t concerned the operatives would try to free him just yet. She’d studied the Special Reconnaissance Unit; the Alliance Navy’s special forces were consummate professionals. They knew to recon first and act second. This was their recon stage. They would observe and assess, and then come back later to act.

  They had no way to know this, but when they did come back, it would be under completely different circumstances—circumstances Dacina would dictate.

  She patiently observed, waiting for the right moment to spring her trap.

  It was almost time….

  The two blips on her overlay separated. One began to retrace his steps, presumably to report in, while the other remained behind to monitor the prison cells.

  The Dagger determined they’d had enough time to confirm Garza’s presence.

  She triggered the alarm.

  TELOMERES

  Task Force Blue HQ

  Humbolt Base

  Sam hadn’t seen Micah in two days. He’d been tied up in Task Force Blue’s bullpen, reporting everything Jonathan shared, while she’d been holed up in the CID, studying the chiral samples Linnet had obtained from Garza.

  She’d been right to assume they’d used her viral research as the launching point for this leap to living organisms. The entanglement markers were much stronger in Garza’s sample than they were in the samples she had from Jonathan and Micah… or even the ferrets and cats, for that matter.

  It’s all in the spin—

  A tone sounded behind Sam, interrupting her thoughts. The most recent round of tests was done.

  She set up another series, and then turned to pull up the analysis that had just completed.

  Her eyes widened in shock.

  Wondering how in the hell they’d missed this in their initial evaluation, Sam reached for the secured channel that would connect her directly to Admiral Toland.

  * * *

  Duncan Cutter had been home a grand total of five minutes. He’d kicked off his shoes, tossed a portfolio full of briefs onto the table beside his favorite chair, and grabbed a bottle of New Willet. He’d just settled in, bourbon in one hand, reports in the other, when a priority ping came across his wire from Admiral Toland.

  Although the secured channel she used to contact him used the latest encryption algorithm, it was monitored by the National Security Agency, and therefore subject to hacking by any well-placed mole they had yet to find.

  Toland’s message reflected this. He could hear her pick her words carefully.

  {At your earliest convenience, could you swing by, sir? We’d like to share our latest findings on the current health challenges we discussed at our last meeting.}

  Over the recording, the admiral’s voice paused.

  {Pardon the late hour, I was catching up on old correspondence. I await your response.}

  Duncan didn’t have to be a telepath to read between those lines. For Toland to reach out to him via these channels at such a late hour meant that it was likely they’d discovered something in Garza’s sample. Something he needed to know.

  With a regretful look at the drink he’d just poured, he sealed his portfolio and pushed away from his desk. As he headed for the door, he pinged his security detail for an escort.

  The agent on duty was one he’d known for many years, and he smiled when he saw her familiar face.

  “Awfully late to be going somewhere, sir,” she commented.

  He gave a tired smile. “Unfortunately, it can’t be helped. No rest for the wicked, Sara.”

  She nodded, her eyes everywhere except on him, alert for any danger. She shifted as a transport rounded the corner.

  “Where to, sir? she asked, holding the door open for him.

  “The CID, Montpelier.”

  * * *

  A trio of solemn faces greeted him as he entered the secret wing of the CID dedicated to chiral research.

  “What’s going on?” His gaze swept from Toland, to Linnet, and then over to his niece.

  Sam’s brows were furrowed, eyes dark.

  From worry?

  “Sam?”

  She looked to Toland for permission, and the admiral nodded.

  “It’s about the Prime Minister.”

  “He’s not chiral after all?”

  “Oh no, he is,” she assured him. “It’s just that…well, there’s more.”

  “Have they turned him into some sort of a ticking time bomb?”

  Linnet laughed, but it was a harsh sound, and there was no humor in it.

  He looked over at the woman he had known since Sam’s college days, when she’d come to live with him after her parents died. He knew the biochemist well enough to know that something had spooked her.

  He turned back to Sam. “Spit it out. What kind of time bomb are we dealing with here?”

  “The kind that will only kill Raphael Garza. But it will kill him.”

  Sam gestured, and the conference room’s holodisplay lit up. On it appeared a medical diagram.

  He could identify the double helix of DNA, but beyond that, it was gibberish. Lifting a brow, he turned his attention back to Sam, silently waiting for her to explain.

  “Are you familiar with telomeres?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Only that they shorten as we age. Aren’t they what hold DNA together, kind of keep it from unraveling?”

  Sam nodded. “In this instance, the telomeres of chiral Garza are severely foreshortened.” Her expression grew grave. “Duncan…. He doesn’t have long to live.”

  Cutter’s gaze shot to the admiral and then back to his niece. “How much time?”

  Sam hesitated. “Less than we’d like. We need to get chiral Garza into stasis as soon as possible.”

  CAPTURED

  Shar-Kali Correctional Facility

  and Reeducation Center

  Aksu Desert

  Thad was halfway back to the shaft when an alarm began shrieking through the prison.

  Unrelated? Dammit, can’t take the chance.

  Pivoting, he hauled ass back to Ell, nearly running her over when she appeared suddenly in front of him.

  {Time for us to leave.} he said hurriedly.

  She fell into step beside him. {Have we been made?}

  {No clue. Not sticking around to find out.}

  She pointed toward an intersection they were fast approaching. {There’s a maintenance tunnel at that juncture.}

  Thad altered direction toward it.

  The sound of pounding footsteps approaching wrung a burst of speed from him, but Ell dropped behind.

  A glance back showed her silhouette fumbling for something in her tactical vest.

  {Hang on; I can create a diversion.}

  {Whatever you’re doing, do it while moving, Sergeant.} He dropped back as he snapped the order, tagging her elbow and urging her along.

  She sped up, gloved hand still working something inside her vest. She made a sound of satisfaction, and he caught the glint of a reconnaissance drone in her hand.

  {We both know who’s coming.} He barely kept the impatience from his voice, driven by the need to get them out of the line of fire.

  She shook her head and he saw the thing float away from her palm and go jetting off back the way they’d come.

  {I altered its stealth profile and programmed it to send small updates at irregular intervals. That last is meaningless, really, because you’re right; we do know who’s coming for us.}

  Thad’s head snapped up when he heard a shout followed by the pounding of feet as prison guards turned in the direction the drone had flown.

  He lifted a brow, though he knew she couldn’t see it. {Tweaked its stealth…?}

  {Just enough
so that it’s now leaking a signal. Reads like a ghost signature. That, coupled with the brief EM bursts each time it sends out a ‘recon update,’ will hopefully buy us some time.}

  He grinned. {You made a human-sized Dazzler.}

  Dazzlers were the Navy pilot’s purview. The stealth drones that employed ECM—electronic countermeasures—had the ability to mimic the footprint of a much larger ship, or make it appear in different or even multiple locations to confuse targeting systems.

  He’d been on more than a few missions where the Shadow Recon flight crew had used them to lure an enemy away.

  He slipped inside the maintenance passage and picked up the pace. When they came to the exit that would spill them into the corridor across from enviro, he slowed, manually sliding the door open a crack.

  The corridor was empty.

  {Come on.}

  They hurried through the room, and back up into the shaft. Thad secured the vent behind them, while Ell began to climb.

  {That ECM drone’s about to come to the end of its useful life,} she warned.

  {Where’d you send it, anyway?}

  {To one of the other shafts. As soon as they find out there aren’t any humans attached to that signal, they’ll be coming for us.}

  Thad spared a glance at the Bravo Charlie on the fan as he squeezed his way between its blades, happy to see the breaching app still blinking a reassuring green.

  They climbed as quickly as the footholds gouged into the side of the shaft would allow, until Ell paused at the top, her hands pushing against the grille.

  Jonathan must have been watching for the movement; in an instant, he was there, helping Ell push the heavy metal out of the way. She then tumbled over the side, and Thad followed.

  The moment they were back on the grass, Jonathan dropped the grate, which fell with a muted clang.

  {Joule says there are people coming.}

  {She’s right.}

  They took off, Thad setting the pace.

  {Try not to disturb the switchgrass if you can avoid it,} he called out as he wove a path through the starlit terrain. {Aim for rock if you can, dirt patches second.}

  The instructions were for Jonathan’s benefit; a seasoned soldier, Ell needed no such reminder.

  As they traversed the rock-strewn plateau, Thad tossed the map of the area onto the small combat net the three shared.

  {Fallback point Alpha,} he called out, dropping a pin onto a nearby ravine that had been carved into the earth over countless monsoon seasons. It was the most logical rally point.

  The Akkadians would know this, as well.

  That was shortly proved when a shout went up and the chatter of unsuppressed gunfire erupted from behind them.

  Thad saw Joule arrow off at an angle, the animal’s sleek, black form running full-out, body stretched low to the ground. Another shout told him their enemy was closing in.

  Thad cursed and increased his speed. His legs pumped, gaze sweeping the terrain, evaluating the stand of trees they were fast approaching. They had no choice; the ravine provided the best defilade, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

  As the scrub-covered land began to slope, chips of stone went flying as bullets carved chunks out of the rock formation on his left.

  {Low profile!} he roared as he began maneuvering through the terrain, keeping as many obstacles as possible between himself and their pursuers.

  He swung his rifle up, thumbing its reticle to auto-detect, and turned, firing over his shoulder as he went.

  The high-pitched whine of his weapon had suppressor chaff to attenuate it, but any well-trained soldier would be able to zero in on its location.

  He dodged just in time, the dirt in front of him kicking up as bullets stitched their way through the grass.

  The team careened through the brush, closing in on the umbrella trees lining the ravine’s edge.

  {Go for the far right,} Ell said, veering in that direction. {It has the thickest coverage.}

  The tops of the trees seemed to come alive, the canopy dancing overhead as gunfire ripped into it. Shredded leaves rained down on them as they passed beneath.

  {They’re shooting over our heads,} panted Jonathan.

  {That’s because they’ve been ordered to take us alive,} replied Ell.

  She ducked beneath the canopy of the first tree, Jonathan hot on her heels. Thad skittered around a sandpaper raisin bush, the plant’s berries dancing as he passed.

  His heels dug hard into the packed earth as he pushed off a piece of exposed rock, then he was in the cover of the trees, branches slapping against his face as he raced past.

  The undergrowth was denser than he’d anticipated, and he found himself jinking right, then left, in order to avoid the smaller saplings that were somehow managing to shove their way up through the hardened earth.

  He swung around the gnarled trunk of the last tree and then burst out into the switchgrass that spanned the distance between the trees and the ravine.

  Another round ripped through the grass on their right, causing Thad to swerve sharply in the other direction.

  {Double-time, Sergeant,} he barked.

  Ell responded by increasing her speed, though it was apparent her cloned leg was giving her issues. His suit’s predictive systems indicated her silhouette had a pronounced limp.

  More rock exploded on his right, bullets turning small bits of limestone into tiny missiles. The projectiles peppered them like shrapnel, digging into their suits, but the tough drakeskins’ liquid armor held, diffusing their impact.

  He rejoined the others just in time to see Jonathan leap into a shallow depression three steps ahead of Ell; the latter dropped into a skid, sliding over the crevice’s lip and landing beside the pilot.

  Jonathan turned to help the former sniper to her feet just as Thad touched down beside them.

  {Go, go!} Thad hooked a hand beneath Ell’s arm, urging her forward, Jonathan on her other side.

  Between the two men, she half-hopped, half-skipped, doing her best to assist as they pulled her along.

  Ahead, the ravine widened into one of many trenches that peppered the landscape, created by acid rains that fell season after season, wearing away at the savannah’s surface. This one carved a natural corridor that angled gently to the west.

  {Where’s Joule?} Thad asked, abruptly remembering the animal.

  {I sent her on ahead when the bullets started flying. Didn’t want her to get hit by a stray round. She’s looping around, approaching the hide from an alternate angle.}

  {Good thinking,} Thad replied. {Now if we can just shake these fools, we can—}

  Aw, fuck, he cursed mentally as they rounded a corner and abruptly came face to face with a trio of armed Akkadian soldiers.

  * * *

  Dacina raced to join the team poised to spring her trap, keeping one eye on her two targets as she went, to ensure they didn’t surprise her. She was pleased to see their movements matched her predictions.

  The prison feed she’d hacked showed its guards spilling out from Shar-Kali’s three primary access points. Gunfire began snapping, the sound carrying far in the still night of the desert. As they closed on their quarry, the high-pitched whine of bullets increased in volume, whistling through the air as they passed over her head.

  {Nonlethal.} She barked the reminder to the six Junxun she’d planted within the prison guard’s ranks. {They must make it to the ravine. Place your shots carefully; herd them to me.}

  Answering clicks came her way just as she made it to the site of the ambush. Crouching in a clump of switchgrass, Dacina waited beside three of Serae’s Junxun soldiers. Two of them held a Ghillie camouflage net, stretched out on the ground between them.

  Off to her left by several meters, her demolitions team was doing a final check on their part of the fabrication. They looked her way, giving the hand sign for ‘all set’ before backing away from the spot where a shaped charge was buried, and taking cover behind a group of rocks, weapons up and ready to fi
re.

  Everything was as ready as Dacina could make it. The rest lay in the hands of the Geminate warriors heading her way.

  A loud crash came through the brush, drawing her attention back to the ravine. In the darkness, her optics’ enhanced night vision showed the shrouded forms of three people slipping down into the ravine, disappearing from sight.

  “Very good,” she murmured aloud, and then connected with the team dispersed among the guards. {They have made the ravine. Delay the guards as long as you can.}

  The sound of the three stealthed humans heading rapidly her way grew louder, though it was oddly muted. She realized they must be using some sort of audio-dampening field to further hide their progress from the guards.

  It was a noble attempt, but the crushed grasses from their feet, and the branches disturbed by their passage marked their positions as surely as if they weren’t clad in drakeskin.

  {Hold steady,} she warned.

  She snapped her eyes over to the two men who held the Ghillie net, and both nodded crisply, ready to use it.

  And then three Geminate figures came racing around the bend.

  * * *

  Ell quickly took in the Akkadians before her. They weren’t dressed as prison guards; these were Junxun, she could tell that much despite the fact they were clad in stealth suits.

  The cloud of dust the soldiers’ feet had kicked up slowly settled around them as a fourth person joined the three, unmasking her hood to expose her face.

  {Well, damn,} Ell said quietly.

  They were face to face with a very familiar figure—the Akkadian assassin from the Hawking Habitat.

  “Down! Get down—quickly! There is little time,” the Dagger hissed harshly as she gestured with the rifle in her hand.

  Two of the three soldiers flanking the woman bent to pick up a length of camouflage netting. They dragged it forward, their intent clear.

  For some reason Ell couldn’t determine, the assassin wished to hide them from those who were in pursuit.