Sanctuary

by Ken Lozito

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Captain Ramsey snapped.

  Lieutenant Maddox swung his gaze toward Ramsey. “Field Ops has no authority here, Captain. This is a CDF operation, so stuff it.”

  Connor made no move to raise his weapon, though he wanted to. “And CDF soldiers have no authority over civilians. Your assistance is required. Now where is Captain Fletcher?”

  Lieutenant Maddox glared at him.

  “Lieutenant,” Private Hudson said. “I have a comlink from Corporal Lasky. He said it’s urgent, sir.”

  “Let’s keep moving and I’ll take you to Captain Fletcher,” Lieutenant Maddox said, turning away.

  As they continued walking through the city, Lenora moved next to Connor. “What’s his problem?”

  Connor shook his head. “I wish I knew.”

  Connor used his implants to scan for comms traffic, so when another comlink signal came to Lieutenant Maddox, he was able to detect it. Though he was officially retired from the CDF, he still retained access to their communications systems. He’d helped design them and hadn’t brought it to anyone’s attention that he still had access.

  “Sir, I’ve been keeping an eye on Flint as you said. He’s been speaking quite a bit with Rex and Shea. I haven’t been able to get close enough to actually hear what they’re saying. They quiet down whenever anyone gets near them,” Corporal Lasky said.

  “Understood. What else do you have for me?” Lieutenant Maddox asked.

  Connor was able to access the Hellcat’s computer systems using the comlink. Lenora walked over to the other side of the street to look at a faded emblem on an NEIIS building. He was about to call out when Captain Ramsey followed her.

  “The colonists are helping Stackhouse translate the information on the NEIIS console, but they seem to be stalling,” Corporal Lasky continued.

  Connor continued to listen while he brought up the latest logs filed by Captain Fletcher. They were from two days ago.

  “Sounds like they’re getting too comfortable. Get Riggs over there to keep them on track,” Lieutenant Maddox said.

  “What should I do about Flint, sir?” Corporal Lasky asked.

  Connor didn’t like where this conversation was heading. The latest log entry was from Maddox and hadn’t been sent to COMCENT. Connor accessed the log and started reading.

  “I’ll deal with him when I get back. Tell Riggs he’s authorized to subdue Flint if necessary,” Lieutenant Maddox said.

  Connor’s eyes widened at what he’d heard. Maddox was out of control. He continued reading the lieutenant’s log entry.

  Captain Fletcher is dead!

  Connor’s eyes darted toward Lieutenant Maddox’s back.

  Ian walked next to Connor and glanced at him. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” he said quietly.

  Connor ignored him. Captain Fletcher being dead meant that Maddox was in command. He accessed the Hellcat’s communication systems and brought them online. He had to get word back to COMCENT so Sean could send another team to them—a team that wasn’t led by someone like Maddox. The comms array was re-aligning to beam a transmission.

  “Sir, someone is accessing the Hellcat’s comms systems,” Corporal Lasky said.

  “Find out who it is!” Lieutenant Maddox said.

  “Sir, it’s not any of us. Someone from outside the squad is accessing our systems.”

  Lieutenant Maddox swung around toward Connor, bringing up his weapon. Connor grabbed Ian by his shirt and shoved him to the side just as Maddox fired.

  Ian stumbled ahead of him. “Why is he shooting at us?”

  Connor pushed Ian down an alleyway and heard Maddox shouting. A drone flew overhead and Connor shot it down.

  “Keep running,” Connor said.

  Ian finally got his feet under him and ran. “What about the others?”

  Connor didn’t know. Maddox shot at him because he’d accessed the Hellcat’s systems and found what the lieutenant had been hiding. If the others didn’t fight, Maddox would just take them prisoner, and he said as much to Ian.

  “When has Lenora ever not put up a fight?” Ian said.

  Connor was thinking along those same lines. He needed to regroup and figure out what the hell was going on with this rogue CDF squad, but first they needed to find someplace to hide. In the distance, he heard several ryklars howling.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Dash and Brad had spent the last hour working with Specialist Stackhouse, and the young CDF soldier appeared to be just as disturbed by Lieutenant Maddox as the rest of them were. Dash wondered why Stackhouse continued to follow orders from a man like that. Lucky for them, deciphering the NEIIS language on the console wasn’t a simple matter. He and Brad had an unspoken agreement to stall the CDF specialist and keep him from learning as much as he needed to control the NEIIS purge protocol. At the same time, Dash was trying to understand what the purge protocol actually was and how to stop it. Why would the NEIIS need something like that? The purge protocol was a system-wide broadcast that seemed to control the ryklars—all the ryklars—within range of the signal and cause them to converge on population centers, killing anyone caught in the open. The purge protocol wasn’t meant for humans specifically, but other NEIIS. What sort of species would even construct something like this? The ryklars, in addition to being genetically enhanced, were being used as weapons of war between NEIIS factions. Had this led to their demise? If it had, they still should’ve been able to find some sort of remains. Regardless of what had happened to the NEIIS, the ryklars obeying the purge protocol was his problem to deal with.

  “Let me get this straight,” Specialist Stackhouse said. “We can control the purge protocol from the consoles here, but how do we change the specifics of what the protocol actually does?”

  Dash looked at the CDF soldier. They were back to this again, and since both Dash and Brad had dodged the question earlier, he knew it wouldn’t work this time. “The protocol can be accessed from here, but we’re not sure if it’s limited to just this location. As far as the specific commands go, we’re not sure how to change them. This is the most intact NEIIS computer system we’ve found to date.”

  There was a rough clearing of a throat from behind them and Dash turned to see another CDF soldier glaring at them. The soldier had a broad chest and long, thick arms. He looked as if he could crush boulders.

  “Sounds like crap to me,” Sergeant Riggs said.

  Sergeant Riggs had joined them a short while ago. He’d just chime in every now and then as if he could sense when Dash was lying to Stackhouse. Corporal Lasky called over to Riggs and Stackhouse, saying he needed to speak with them. They left Dash and Brad at the NEIIS console, but not before Riggs gave them a warning look.

  Brad looked at him once the soldiers left. “I don’t know how much longer we can keep stalling them.”

  Dash glanced down to the floor and saw Specialist Stackhouse’s pack. “I know,” Dash replied quietly and peered into the pack. Stackhouse had his PDA in there. Dash used his implants to access his own PDA and connect it to Stackhouse’s. He waited a moment and then Stackhouse’s PDA powered off. “We need to escape and shut this thing down—” He stopped speaking when Riggs glanced over in their direction. Once the CDF soldier looked away, Dash bent over as if adjusting his boot and snatched the PDA from the pack.

  Brad frowned and glanced over at the CDF soldiers who seemed to be in a heated discussion. “What are you doing?” he asked quietly.

  Dash ejected the portable power supply, took one of the tiny spare wires from the pack, and wrapped it around the PDA. He took a quick look at the soldiers. Riggs seemed to be arguing with Lasky. The soldier was speaking in hushed tones but jabbing his finger like it was a knife. It was now or never. Dash bent over again and opened the control panel. He dumped the PDA inside and connected the wire to the NEIIS power line. Brad grunted as Dash hastily stood up and closed the panel the best he could.

  “We’re getting out of here,�
� Dash said.

  Brad’s eyes widened and he glanced at the control panel. “How did you—”

  Dash shook his head. “It’s not important. I’ve accidentally broken enough NEIIS equipment to know how to make it fail on purpose.”

  “Yeah, but an overload of this console isn’t going to stop them.”

  There were other consoles in the room, but Dash couldn’t access any of those. “Yeah, but it could give us a chance to escape. There might be the equivalent of a computing core around here that we can find and stop them for good.”

  Brad pressed his lips together, his Adam’s apple rolling in his throat. Riggs and Stackhouse rejoined them. Dash glanced at Merissa and the others, who were sitting on the ground with a soldier standing guard.

  “What were you guys talking about?” Riggs said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “I hope you’re not thinking of doing something foolish because that would be a big mistake. We need to move this along. Lieutenant Maddox has authorized me to get you to work a little bit faster.”

  Brad shook his head. “We weren’t doing anything. My friend here simply needs to go to the bathroom and was too afraid to ask.”

  Riggs glanced at Dash and immediately he brought his hands to his crotch. “Yeah . . . yes, I need to hit the head in a bad way.”

  Riggs seemed amused. “Maybe I should just make you stay here until you have an accident,” he said and cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps the smell will make you work faster.”

  Dash swallowed nervously. He didn’t need to act afraid because Riggs looked as if he was completely serious, but now that there was mention of it, Dash did have to go to the bathroom. Oh, not now!

  “Come on, Sergeant,” Specialist Stackhouse said. “We’ve been working here for hours. Let him go to the bathroom. They smell ripe enough as it is.”

  Riggs glared at Dash for a moment and then jerked his head to the side. “This one has to hit the head.” He called out to the other soldiers nearby.

  Dash walked toward the others and glanced back at Brad, who nodded at him. It would be suspicious if they both suddenly had to leave. Brad was electing to stay behind so they could get away. Dash started walking toward the others, trying to think of something he could do so Brad could get away, too, but his mind was blank.

  As he got closer to the others, he heard Merissa ask the soldier about going to the bathroom as well. The soldier flatly refused and then gave Dash a challenging stare, but Dash kept his eyes ahead of him. He used his implants to access his PDA and sent the overload signal to the NEIIS console. There was a bright flash and the small explosion snatched the soldier's attention. Dash used the distraction to run to the side, tucking in his shoulder and then slamming into the soldier. The guard was knocked off his feet and Dash rolled away. Merissa and the others shot to their feet.

  “Come on, we have to go,” Dash said.

  He glanced behind him and saw that Brad and the others were on the ground near the console. Brad wasn’t moving. Dash herded the others out of the room and they started running.

  “We can’t leave Brad behind,” Merissa said.

  “I know,” Dash said.

  He heard shouting from behind them and they quickened their pace, turning down another corridor.

  “What are we going to do?” Jim asked.

  “We need to get out of here and find some way to call for help,” Dash said.

  “Dr. Bishop and the others are on their way here. We have to warn them!” Jim said.

  Dash was about to reply when he heard the sound of a CDF weapon being fired. Jim cried out and tumbled to the ground. Dash reached down and tried to help Jim back to his feet, but his leg was bleeding. He’d been shot. The end of the corridor was just ahead and it split two ways. Merissa grabbed Jim’s other arm and helped him up. They reached the end of the corridor as more shots were fired in their direction. They ducked their heads and Dash scrambled to the right while Merissa, Jim, and Selena went to the left.

  Dash glanced at the others across the corridor. There were multiple CDF weapons being fired and deadly darts were piercing the wall. He couldn’t get across. Jim cried out in pain and slumped to the floor.

  Merissa took off her belt and tied it around Jim’s thigh, making a tourniquet. She looked over at Dash. “He’s bleeding, bad.”

  Dash looked at Jim’s bleeding leg helplessly. There was no way they were going to be able run away. Maybe he could . . . He faced them, poised to run across the open corridor to them, but suddenly there was shouting from down the corridor away from them. The CDF soldiers would be there in moments.

  “Don’t!” Merissa said. “Run!”

  Dash’s eyes became saucers. “I can’t leave you behind.”

  Merissa’s eyes softened. “Go get help. They need us alive. You go get help.”

  Dash glanced behind him and heard the CDF soldiers getting closer, shouting for them to give up. It was hopeless. They would never get away, but Dash could get help.

  “Go, you idiot. Run!” Merissa said. She stood up and raised her hands. “Don’t shoot! I’m coming out,” she shouted, then stepped out into the corridor. She was stalling the CDF soldiers to buy him some time.

  Dash took one last glance at her and then ran. He hated himself for leaving them behind. Why couldn’t he fight? Why couldn’t he protect them? Gritting his teeth in fury, Dash fled.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Connor checked his weapon and gritted his teeth. He was running low on ammunition and didn’t have any more spares to use. He glanced at Ian, who was looking behind them. The ammunition meter showed that Ian was near empty. Not good.

  “Do you think they’re following us?” Ian asked.

  “They are, but not more than four of them,” Connor replied.

  They reached the end of the alleyway and Connor checked the street. He didn’t expect to run into CDF soldiers, but there were still ryklars in the city. The streets were clear. Connor kept close to the buildings and the overhang provided some cover.

  “How do you know there are only four of them following us?” Ian asked.

  “There were seven soldiers with Maddox and he has to guard the others. Standard CDF protocol for small teams is three to four men,” Connor replied.

  “Why did they start shooting at us? It doesn’t make any sense,” Ian said.

  Connor accessed the drones they still had in the air. He had one of them set to whisper mode, spying the area behind them.

  “Maddox was hiding the fact that Captain Fletcher is dead. He was attacked by ryklars,” Connor said.

  “That doesn’t explain why he’s trying to kill us now,” Ian said, his voice becoming louder.

  Connor gestured for him to be a little quieter. “I don’t know why Maddox is trying to kill us, but my guess is that they found something here in the city. The last time we met this squad, I reported that some of them were showing signs of severe issues.”

  “Why didn’t they listen to you?”

  “They did. Captain Fletcher’s squad was recalled, but they didn’t obey. The report I saw on the Hellcat said they were investigating the NEIIS signal. They didn’t wait for the go-ahead, but given that communication is somewhat spotty this far out from Sierra, they haven’t actually disobeyed direct orders,” Connor said.

  Ian snorted. “How convenient for them.”

  Connor shrugged.

  Ian pressed his lips together in thought and gave Connor a sidelong glance. “But wouldn’t they . . .”

  Connor shook his head. “There’s no reason for them to obey any order I give. I’m not in the CDF anymore.”

  “Yeah, but the whole squad can’t be okay with this madness. Some of them have to realize Maddox is clearly off his rocker,” Ian said.

  Connor came to a stop. Across the street was another alleyway, and the drone video feed showed that the four CDF soldiers following them were getting closer. They needed to get off the street. Connor tried to access their comlinks so he could listen in, but he was
denied. Maddox had worked fast to block Connor’s backdoor. They crossed the street and peered down the alleyway. It wasn’t long and branched off into two directions ten meters in.

  “The soldiers following us are fine with it,” Connor said. Soldiers serving in the same squad became family. They’d squabble and disagree, but when it came down to it, they’d support one another.

  They reached the end of the alleyway, and a short distance off to the right Connor saw there was another alley that went back out to the street. He glanced at Ian, who looked as if he could barely keep up.

  “Why don’t you stay here? I’m going to see if I can lure them in,” Connor said.

  Ian’s eyes widened. “We should stick together.”

  “They’re going to find us, so I’m going to get their attention and lure them into a trap. Then we can shoot them,” Connor said.

  Ian’s mouth opened in shock. “I don’t know if I can. Can’t we just try and reason with them?”

  Connor shook his head and almost clenched his teeth. He didn’t have time for this. “It’s them or us, Ian.”

  “I know,” Ian said, taking a deep breath. “I just don’t know if I can . . .”

  Connor glanced behind him because he didn’t want Ian to see how angry he was. When Ian started speaking again, Connor stopped him. “It’s alright. Just wait here. Can you do that?” Connor said.

  Ian was clearly anxious about staying, but he nodded.

  Connor left him and went back the way they’d come. Ian was just scared, but the soldiers were getting closer and Connor doubted they would hesitate to shoot. He slowly approached the street and waited in the shadows. As the soldiers approached, he had one of his drones fly low, sending it right over them.

  “Is that one of ours?” a soldier named Parker asked.

  Connor heard the crunch of their boots on the street as they headed toward the alleyway where he waited.

  “Negative, they must have brought it with them. That means the bastard knows we’re coming.”