Test Subjects

by R S Penney

  She leaned over him, peering out his window. “He's standing on the front lawn,” she said. “Marini is there too. She seems to be trying to shield herself from something.”

  “Is he aware of us?”

  “If he is,” Cassi replied. “He isn't showing it.”

  “Let's go.”

  He opened his door and stepped out onto the curb, becoming instantly aware of his surroundings. Marini had a cute little house with a circular flowerbed in the middle of her lawn. She was on her knees behind it with hands raised up to shield her face.

  The telepath stood with his back to the road, focused intently upon her. Did he even know that law enforcement had arrived? Or was he too focused on torturing his victim? It would be just like a telepath to lose himself in that.

  Rajel was tense. Every instinct told him to draw his gun and stun this man before he had a chance to do any more damage, but his dislike of telepaths was well known. So, he would do this by the book.

  With one hand on his holstered pistol, Rajel stepped forward and frowned at the other man. “Adren?” he said. “You're under arrest on charges of attempted murder and assault. Step away from her and come peacefully.”

  Cassi came around the back of the car and positioned herself at the edge of Marini's property, though she didn't reach for her weapon. “This is your only warning, Adren,” she said. “If necessary, we will open fire.”

  The man finally took notice of them, glancing over his shoulder and snarling as if he meant to rip Cassi's throat open. “Keepers,” he said. “About time. This was always going to end bloody.”

  Rajel drew his pistol.

  He was suddenly distracted by spatial awareness projecting the image of a figure rising up from behind Marini's house and landing perched on the roof. It was human but like nothing else Rajel had ever encountered.

  At this distance, it was hard to make out minute detail, but Rajel could sense that this newcomer was bald and shirtless for some reason. And there was something attached to his chest. Something that looked almost like a piece of technology.

  He had no time to think, however, because the bald man leaped from the roof and flipped in midair, straightening to land in the grass behind Marini. Now that it was a little closer, Rajel could sense cybernetic implants in this thing's body.

  The panel on its chest was definitely fused into the skin, and there were gauntlets as well, one displaying a strange tube that looked very much like the barrel of a gun. Rajel felt a growing sense of unease.

  “There you are.”

  Cassi jumped at the sound of another woman's voice. The strange cyborg man was perfectly still, but sound came through a speaker on its chest panel. “Running away isn't going to help you, Adren,” the voice said. “Come back, let's talk it over.”

  The telepath released his hold on Marini, and she slumped to the ground, gasping. Adren stood up straight with his back to Rajel and Cassi, facing the cybernetic creature. “I won't serve your masters.”

  “I think you will.”

  Hissing softly, Cassi shook her head. “He's not serving anyone,” she said, stepping forward. “He's going to a detention facility to await trial, after which, he'll be put into a rehabilitation program.”

  “Ah,” the voice said. “Keepers.”

  “If I run,” Adren grated. “They will try to take me.”

  The sound of quiet laughter coming from a half-human figure that remained as still as a statue was quite unnerving. “You needn't worry about that,” the woman replied. “My friend here will deal with the two of them.”

  Rajel lifted his pistol in both hands, focusing his attention on the cyborg-man. “Get back,” he ordered. “I will open fire.”

  Coming out of a daze, Marini gave herself a shake and got to her feet. She took off down the street without a single word of protest, trying to put as much distance between herself and this altercation as possible.

  “Oh, please do!” the voice said. “You should run now, Adren.”

  Taking what he no doubt considered to be good advice, Adren turned on his heel and ran around the side of the house. “Stop!” Rajel yelled, pointing his gun at the fleeing man. It was spatial awareness that saved him. He noticed the cyborg creature raising its arm to point that gun barrel at him.

  Dropping his pistol, Rajel raised both hands just in time. He would have preferred to have kept his weapon, but there was no way to tell what would come at him; he had to make sure his Bending was as wide as possible. Space-time warped and three bullets that would have killed him instead sped off into the open sky. Cassi took this opportunity to attack from the other side.

  She leaped and flew through the air.

  The creature didn't even turn to point its weapon at her; it simply raised its other hand in an almost dismissive gesture, and Rajel felt a tingle that could only indicate the use of an electrostatic force-field.

  Something hit Cassi in mid-flight, throwing her backward across the lawn. She hit a tree at the edge of the property, then fell to the ground, dazed and groaning. Any thought of reaching for his discarded pistol vanished when the cyborg pointed its weapon at him.

  Rajel dove, somersaulting through Marini Sorval's garden and picking up a rock as he went. He came up on one knee, covered in dirt, and threw it as hard as he could.

  The creature tried to adjust its aim, but the rock hit that strange panel in its chest and caused its arm to flail. A spray of bullets shot upward, into the sky. At least there was little chance that they would hit anyone.

  Rajel stood.

  He charged the abomination, then leaped and kicked out. His foot landed in the creature's chest, forcing it backwards, slamming it into the house's front wall. Somehow, the damn thing twisted out of his path. Rajel landed in the grass and spun to face it.

  He threw a punch.

  The cyborg reacted with inhuman speed, one hand coming up to seize Rajel's wrist and hold his arm extended. It raised the other hand to shove that gun barrel in his face.

  The only thing that he could do was literally let his body go limp, dangling in the creature's grip as three bullets passed over him. He sprang upright and used his free hand to deliver a quick jab to the nose.

  The cyborg stumbled, releasing him.

  Rajel jumped and kicked high, the tip of his shoe striking his enemy's chin. Thrown off balance, the half-human monstrosity backed away, a strange fluid that was too thick to be blood leaking from the corner of its mouth. Press the attack; don't let it recover.

  Rajel landed.

  He spun and back-kicked only to feel two hands catching his ankle. The creature twisted his leg, and he was flipped onto his back, landing in the soft grass with a grunt. His enemy stood over him, taking aim with its weapon.

  Without a second thought, Rajel called on his Nassai and threw up a Time Bubble. A shimmering curtain of warped space-time appeared between them, but Rajel couldn't see through it; light did pass through a Bending – although the process severely refracted it – but light was useless to him. His Bubble was a small pocket universe, and spatial awareness extended only to its border.

  He rolled aside and let the Bubble collapse.

  Bullets hit the ground where he had been.

  Gods help me…

  When her vision cleared, blurry smears of colour resolving into solid objects, Cassi saw the strange creature standing with its back turned just in front of the house. Fighting with Rajel, who attacked like a whirlwind.

  He jumped and kicked the damn thing's chin, forcing it to stumble backward. Then he landed, spun and back-kicked. The creature bent low, catching his leg with both hands. It flipped Rajel onto his back.

  Cassi got to her feet.

  She sprinted through the grass, arms pumping, sweat on her brow as she closed the distance. Dimly, she felt a twisting of space-time – or rather, she felt her Nassai's reaction to it – and saw Rajel blur out of the path of bullets that buried themselves in the ground, kicking up clumps of dirt on impact.

  The c
yborg spun to face her.

  Cassi jumped, spinning in midair and kicking out behind herself. The sole of her shoe went into the creature's face with a crunch. As she landed, she caught a glimpse of the beast falling against the wall.

  Silver blood leaked from its broken nose, and its eyes seemed to have the dull stare of a man who had just suffered a concussion. It recovered quickly enough, lifting its arm to point its gauntleted fist at her.

  Crouching down, Cassi brought one hand up to strike the thing's wrist and knock its arm aside. Bullets sped uselessly into the air. She used her free hand to jab the creature's chest once, twice, three times, pounding that weird panel with each hit.

  Satisfied that her opponent was winded, Cassi backed off and drew her pistol. She lifted the gun in one hand.

  The creature raised its left arm in a warding gesture, and suddenly a force-field of flickering static appeared between them, intercepting the bullets that Cassi loosed. They bounced off, landing in the grass.

  The force-field came at her.

  Cassi dove out of its path, performing an aerial cartwheel. She landed on both feet and pivoted to aim for the cyborg. It was no longer in front of the house. The thing was moving toward Rajel, who was backing up toward the sidewalk.

  A spent ammo cartridge fell from its gauntlet in the same instant that the creature pulled another one from a pouch on its belt. It slid the new cartridge into the slot with a loud click.

  Cassi twisted to aim her weapon.

  The creature rounded on her.

  By instinct, she fell backward, landing on her ass just before three bullets whizzed through the air above her. She lifted her pistol and fired. The cyborg staggered as bullets pierced its chest with sprays of silver blood.

  Rajel jumped up behind the cyborg, kicking the back of its head and forcing it to stumble toward Cassi. Instinct made her want to fire again, but Rajel was right behind that thing, and she might hit him.

  The creature lifted a shaky arm, trying to point its wrist-mounted weapon at her. Its arm dropped, but its gaze never wavered for one second, those dead silver eyes like two mirrors fixed upon her until Rajel came up from behind, grabbed the thing's head in both hands and gave a twist that snapped its neck.

  The abomination sank to its knees, then fell flat on its face, its corpse lying in the grass. She waited for a moment to see if it would move – if that thing could survive four bullets through the chest, there was no guarantee that a broken neck would finish it off – but it remained motionless. There was something odd about the way it stared blankly at nothing at all. Maybe it was still alive, but a severed spinal column made it impossible to move. Either way, she was glad this fight was over.

  “What was that thing?” Rajel panted.

  “I don't know,” Cassi said, shaking her head. “But I can guess. Jack once told me that he fought something like this back on Earth.”

  Rajel's face was glistening, and his sunglasses were a little crooked. “You mean to tell me that Larani already knew about this?” he asked. “I'm a little bothered by the lack of a briefing.”

  Cassi had one hand on her hip, the other arm hanging limp to point her pistol at the ground. “It's not like that,” she said in a hoarse voice. “There was no reason to think we would encounter something like this on this mission.”

  “So that makes it okay?”

  “Some things have to remain classified, Rajel.”

  Bleakness take her, she was starting to think that Keepers who hadn't grown up on Leyria weren't capable of anything except finding fault with perfectly reasonable policies. They had bigger concerns at the moment. Those few minutes spent fighting the cyborg had given Adren more than enough time to escape. “Come on,” she said. “We have to-”

  She cut off when another police car pulled up to the curb and parked itself behind the one she and Rajel had taken. The door swung outward, and Anna rose from her seat, frowning when she took in the scene. “What happened.”

  Her eyes fell upon the cyborg, and her face went pale. “I see,” she said with a nod. “That happened.”

  “Do you know what that thing was?” Rajel demanded.

  “It's called a ziarogat,” Anna said, striding across the lawn and squatting down next to the cyborg's corpse. “It's a creature designed to kill Justice Keepers. We believe Slade created them with the help of the Overseers.”

  Rajel stood with hands in his jacket pockets, his face haggard as he shook his head. “Wonderful,” he grumbled. “Is there anything else that you neglected to tell us, Operative Lenai? Now would be the right time.”

  Anna winced in response to his comment. “I'm sorry,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “We were hoping that we had seen the last of them. I was planning to bring you up to speed when things settled down.”

  Rajel settled down.

  On the other side of the car, Keli Armana had emerged, and she now stood with her hands on the vehicle's hood. “What happened to Adren?” she asked. “I can feel his mind; he's growing frantic.”

  Blowing air through puckered lips, Cassi shut her eyes. “He escaped while we were fighting that thing,” she answered. “We don't know where he went.”

  “Can you track him?” Anna asked, turning desperate eyes toward Keli.

  The telepath pointed one finger toward Marini's house. “That way,” she said. “But it will be hard to be more specific than that. If he manages to calm down, it will be even harder.”

  “Okay,” Anna said. “Rajel, Cassi, go back to the station and rendezvous with the police force. Call Denabria. I want a full tactical unit here as soon as possible. A ziarogat almost certainly means that one of Slade's people is involved. Keli, you and I will try to locate Adren and bring him in before this gets any worse.”

  “We can help you,” Rajel protested.

  “No,” Anna said. “Ziarogats employ a strategy that forces Justice Keepers to rely heavily on their symbionts' abilities. In all likelihood, you're both exhausted and hurt. I won't risk putting you in the field under those conditions. Regroup, eat something and join us when you have backup.”

  At first, Cassi wanted to protest, but what Anna said made sense. Rajel seemed to be having a harder time with it, however. “All right,” Anna declared. “He's got a big lead on us; so let's get moving.”

  Chapter 14

  The only thing Anna saw through the cruiser's windshield was a quiet, suburban street where sunlight glinted off the domed roofs of small houses. Every now and then, they passed a lawn where children played happily. No sign of the telepath, though. Keli insisted they were going the right way, but the woman herself had admitted that tracking an individual mind was difficult.

  Anna sat in her seat with arms folded, breathing out a sigh. “Nothing is ever easy,” she said, shaking her head. “I thought maybe we'd finally get the drop on him this time, but then Slade has to get involved.”

  On her left, Keli watched the road through narrowed eyes, intensely focused on her task. “Turn right here!” she ordered as they approached an intersection. The car executed her command, and soon, they were driving down a street that looked identical to the one they had just left behind.

  Anna set her elbow on the small ledge beneath the side window, pressing her mouth into the palm of her hand. “Cassi said he kept attacking Marini right up until the moment they arrived,” she muttered. “This guy is unstable.”

  “Almost certainly,” Keli agreed.

  A thought occurred to Anna, and she twisted in her seat to face the other woman. “Does that happen to telepaths?” Her words were soft-spoken, but she regretted them the very instant that she finished talking.

  Keli replied with a glare that was two parts exasperation, one part disdain. “Why would telepaths be more susceptible to mental illness?” she asked. “Our lives are much the same as anyone else's.”

  “I'm sorry,” Anna said. “That was stupid of me. I was wondering if being exposed to the thoughts of others took a toll on you.”

  “I
suppose that depends on the thoughts.”

  “Fair point.”

  They were traveling down a road with houses on one side, and a park on the other. There was a jungle gym, a fountain, several flowerbeds and a flyball court. Several young people were there right now, playing a game of sortie in the field.

  One, a young man who clutched the ball to his chest as he ran through the grass, glanced in their direction before another boy came up behind him and tagged him. Police cruisers often drew attention.

  “That way,” Keli said, pointing toward the park.

  “Toward the communal district?”

  “That's where he went.”

  Anna gritted her teeth and sucked air through them. “To a place where he can find any number of potential victims,” she said, nodding. “He's probably looking for a human shield. We have to be careful.”

  Her multi-tool beeped.

  When she answered the call, the screen on her gauntlet lit up with Bevi Tremana's face. The detective was sitting in the front seat of her own cruiser as building's scrolled past in the window behind her. “We just got a call,” she said. “There's an incident at the industrial fabrication centre. The same one as last time.”

  “Adren?”

  “People have reported hallucinating dragons and monsters and the Companion only knows what else; so, I'm gonna say, 'yeah.' ”

  “Keli and I are only a few minutes away,” Anna said. “We'll be there shortly. When the tactical team arrives, establish a perimeter around the building, but do not go in unless ordered to do so by me or another Justice Keeper. Stay sharp. Keep your eyes peeled for ziarogati. If you see one, shoot to kill.”

  It gave her pause to realize that she could issue that order without even a smidge of guilt. What happened to the Anna Lenai who was afraid to step on a bug? Ziarogati were as good as dead, anyway – if any spark of humanity remained behind those silver eyes, it was buried deep – but it was still strange to hear such words come out of her mouth.