The Col Sec Chronicles Box Set

by Jan Domagala

  He knew she had gone home using some excuse and was still there. He planned to make it look like suicide due to her distress over the news of the relative, which tied in with her story.

  Once that was done he could leave.

  His flight left in three hours. He thought he had plenty of time as he envisioned himself sitting in the departure lounge sipping a cocktail while he waited for his flight.

  With that thought still in his mind, he left his apartment.

  21

  General Solon strode into the main lab eager for some good news. It had been a few hours since the samples had been taken from Stryder and he wanted to know what progress had been made. He could have contacted the lab from his office but he wanted to see first-hand what was happening. In his long experience he knew that a face-to-face consultation would yield better results from subordinates.

  “So how’s it coming, what progress have you made on the samples?” he asked with a sense of urgency that made everyone present sit up and take notice.

  “Actually it’s gone quite well. I’ve managed to isolate the genome responsible for…”

  “In plain language, please! Have you got a workable serum?” Solon said cutting him dead.

  “Well, obviously we would have to do some tests before…”

  “Have you got a workable serum or not? Remember Doctor, these men are all volunteers.”

  After some hesitation he said, “I can’t sign off on this until I’m sure.”

  “Then make sure, you have one hour, then you start injecting the team,” Solon said, and with that he turned on his heel and walked towards the door. He stopped just before leaving, turned and looking at the dumbstruck lab technician and said, “Get to work Doc, the clock is ticking.” He was gone and the door closing behind him emphasised the end of the conversation.

  * * * * *

  Temic arrived at Joanne Watkiss’ apartment block and parked his car at the front. As he got out of his vehicle he called her via his NI.

  Inside the apartment Joanne Watkiss was sitting on her bed still crying. She had been distraught since the news had come into Col Sec HQ that Stryder had been captured and that the Alliance had got hold of the access codes to the tracking chip in the Neural Implant every Col Sec employee had. The tracking codes were unique to the Delta Recon Marines and had been Col Sec’s ace in the hole.

  She knew, of course, how the codes had fallen into the possession of the Alliance, because she had handed them over. She was so distraught that she was considering suicide. She doubted she could face her employer, General Sinclair, who had placed his trust in her. The thought of being sent to a penal colony made her sick to her stomach.

  She was contemplating what to do when the call came through.

  “Joanne, are you alright? When you didn’t show up for work I was worried.” Temic feigned concern easily, he was a master at deception, having made it part of his job.

  She was startled at first, wondering how he knew she hadn’t gone to work, then pleased that he was enquiring about her. She knew he worked for the Alliance, if she had had any doubts before, then his recent actions had destroyed them. She had given him the codes and Stryder had been captured. It didn’t require a degree in Quantum Physics to work out that he had to be responsible. The question now though was what was he doing here, at her apartment?

  Not knowing what to do, she replied carefully, saying, “I’m fine, what do you want David?” trying to keep the concern out of her voice.

  “I’ve come to see if you’re alright. Can’t a man show concern for his woman now?” Temic replied, hoping that would suffice.

  “Yes, of course he can, it’s just that you’ve never called me your woman before and you’ve always kept your distance from my home.”

  “Well, I think it’s about time to change that, don’t you? It has been long enough, don’t you think?” he said hoping that she would let him in. He could get in on his own, but he didn’t want to leave any signs of forced entry for when the authorities arrived in a few hours.

  Momentarily she allowed her emotions to get the better of her and she operated the lock on the outer door to the stairwell but by then it was too late.

  Temic heard the door lock release and he pushed open the door to enter the foyer. In front of him was the stairwell that led up to the third floor where her apartment was located.

  It will all be over very soon, he thought as he took the steps two at a time.

  * * * * *

  Matt Hawk arrived at the same apartment block just as Temic was half way up the stairs to Watkiss’ apartment. There was a car parked outside the building and he knew instinctively that it belonged to whoever had come to kill her. He got out of his own car and ran to the door. Accessing a secure channel through his NI he said, “Miss Watkiss, my name is Hawk and I’m from Col Sec. I’m here to protect you.”

  “Col Sec? Why would you be here to protect me?” she asked, trying to keep up the pretence of innocence.

  “I believe you may have handed over data to someone who works for the Alliance, data of a sensitive nature and now that person has come to kill you. I’m here to prevent that from happening,” he replied.

  “What do you intend to do, prosecute me?” she asked not denying her crime.

  “Let’s talk about that when I’ve got you safely out of there. Your safety is my main priority at the moment,” he replied then added, “Now open the door.”

  “I can’t go to prison,” she said, her voice full of fear.

  “Trust me; if you don’t let me in that won’t be a problem because you’ll be dead. Now let me in!” Hawk said allowing his voice to rise at the end to emphasise the danger she was in.

  She didn’t want to believe him, yet found it impossible not to. She operated the door lock, allowing him entrance to the building.

  Hawk ran through the door checking his pistol as he also took the stairs two at a time.

  * * * * *

  Temic reached her apartment at the same moment Hawk entered the building.

  He rapped his knuckles on her door to indicate his arrival, startling her.

  “Who is it?” she said before realising she’d spoken.

  “Who do you think it is sweet one? It’s me, the man of your dreams,” he said injecting a note of humour into his voice hoping to put her at ease.

  “David!” was all she could say. If what Hawk had said was true, and she had almost convinced herself of the validity of his words already, then she had to stall him until he got here.

  “Yes, David, who else were you expecting?” Temic replied getting a little testy. He wanted this done and dusted so he could leave for the spaceport. Why was she acting like this? Had someone got to her? If they had, then it added a whole new dimension to the situation, one that he wasn’t too happy about.

  He took out his pistol, a Magerov P9, standard issue for Alliance armed forces. It was larger than the Sig P996 but worked on the same principle, delivering a larger shot capability. He pulled back on the slide at the top to prime the battery clip. Selecting full power he rapped on the door once more and said with a bit more force, ”Come on Joanne, open the door.”

  Behind the door Joanne Watkiss was beginning to panic, her breathing was getting faster, her pulse rate was quickening and she was beginning to sweat. Accessing her NI she replied to the last call, Hawk.

  “You’d better hurry he’s at my door now,” she said not bothering to keep her voice low as panic tightened its grip on her.

  Temic heard her through the door and stepped away levelling his pistol at the door lock. His time had run out and his suspicions had just been confirmed. There was someone on the way to help her.

  He fired his Magerov P9 at the door lock blasting it apart in a shower of sparks. The door slid open.

  Joanne Watkiss stood in the centre of the room her hands bunched into fists near her mouth, abject terror in her eyes as she stared death in the face.

  “Hello, Joanne, aren’t you pleased to s
ee me?” Temic said with a snarl across his lips.

  She let out a scream as he levelled his Magerov P9 at her in preparation to fire.

  * * * * *

  Hawk was one flight down from them when he heard the door lock explode. Increasing his pace he powered up the last few stairs knowing that if he got there too late he had failed not only Joanne Watkiss, the unwitting pawn in this power play, but Captain Stryder too.

  He was not about to let that happen.

  The scream alerted him to her plight and he pushed himself to his absolute limit, sprinting up the last few steps. Reaching the top of the landing he saw a man outside a doorway aiming a pistol towards the inside of the room.

  He’d already got his own pistol out and primed. If he shot the gunman, he’d lose his chance of finding Stryder; on the other hand he couldn’t allow him to kill a defenceless woman.

  Deciding what to do in a flash, he made his move.

  Watkiss saw Temic’s finger start to tighten on the trigger and she knew what was about to happen. She had hoped that her saviour would get there in time to help but it seemed that wasn’t to be. She would die there and then in her apartment.

  The blast of the pistol going off was as loud as anything she had ever heard. She expected excruciating pain like she’d never felt before, but flinching reflexively as she expected the shot to hit her, she was amazed that she felt nothing.

  She glanced up and saw a shower of sparks erupt at the side of the door next to Temic.

  Temic was about to fire He had his target in his sights when he heard another shot. The plasma bolt struck the doorway at the side of his head showering him with sparks from the impact.

  He turned to see a rather large man standing almost at the top of the landing with a pistol in his hand.

  It must be her rescuer.

  Turning quickly, Temic dived into the room just as his attacker fired once more.

  Hawk fired another shot just to discourage and rattle him. The more he thought about his own safety the less he would think about killing the Watkiss woman.

  He still had to get up there quickly though or he’d be too late.

  Watkiss had flattened herself against the far wall as Temic came bursting into her room. The gun in his hand looked huge and powerful and the mere sight of it scared the crap out of her.

  Temic rolled to his feet then ran farther into the room. He narrowly evaded Watkiss as she dodged out of the way and pressed herself against the wall to his left. He turned to face the door from where his immediate threat would come. Whoever her rescuer was, he would be coming through the door any second and he had to defend himself. The woman could wait until he’d taken care of this fool.

  Hawk came storming up the last few stairs his pistol aimed ahead of him in a double-handed grip. He stopped as he had a clear view into the room. Temic was standing there in plain sight, his pistol aimed straight at him. Then he fired.

  Hawk dived to the left. The pulsed plasma bolt flew past so close he felt the heat from the blast sear his flesh.

  Hitting the floor he went into a roll and came up on one knee, his pistol out in front.

  “This is not gonna be easy,” he said to no one in particular.

  Knowing time was against him he peered around the doorframe to see the gunman turn towards the woman, his pistol aimed directly at her.

  Temic had fired at the hulking brute and was amazed at the reflexes of the huge man. No one should be able to move that fast, especially one so big.

  He had to finish what he came for and then he’d take care of the big lummox.

  Taking his eyes off the doorway he turned towards his original target and aimed at her head.

  He couldn’t miss.

  Hawk fired around the side of the door jamb; deliberately aiming high, yet close enough to Temic to put him off what he was doing.

  The bolt passed by him so closely it seared the cloth on the shoulder of his jacket. Spinning round just after firing at Watkiss, he aimed his pistol at where he thought the shot had originated.

  Hawk dodged back behind the door jamb just as the bolt struck the wall at his side and passing through the open doorway.

  Temic howled in fury at not being able to complete his mission and he stormed towards the doorway firing continually in an attempt to destroy the wall Hawk was using as cover.

  Hawk had to get back behind the door jamb as fast as he could to evade the plasma bolt shot at him. He knew it had been fired blindly but wasn’t about to take the chance of a random hit. Then the firing started and there was nowhere for him to go.

  With each successive shot from the Magerov P9 more of the wall was blasted away along with any cover he might have had at the start. As chunks of masonry were blown apart, holes started to appear, getting closer with each passing second.

  He had to do something, but his options were dissipating as rapidly as the wall in front of him.

  “I have no idea who you are but you’re going to die right now!” Temic shouted above the sound of gunfire. He continued to fire as he approached the doorway, each shot blasting away more and more of the wall. His next two or three shots would blow away what was left and he would be able to kill his attacker.

  Hawk had to do something, he couldn’t let this continue and he wasn’t about to let this asshole get the better of him.

  Rolling across the floor and into the doorway he fired his own pistol at the legs of his attacker.

  Temic saw him come into view too late to do anything about it. The blast from Hawk’s pistol struck him halfway between his right knee and foot knocking him over as the bottom half of his calf was almost blown away in a shower of blood and tissue.

  Hawk continued his roll past the doorway and got to his feet the second he heard his attacker scream in pain. Framed in the doorway he had his pistol trained on the prone form of the Alliance soldier who was holding onto his bleeding leg.

  When Temic saw Hawk he pointed his Magerov straight at him.

  “Don’t!” commanded Hawk as he aimed his own pistol directly between Temic’s eyes.

  It was a standoff. Who would fire first?

  * * * * *

  Believing it was safe her anger got the better of her. Watkiss had watched the exchange in abject terror. The thought that the man she loved had duped her to betray the Confederation and was now here to kill her was all too much. Her anger erupted like a volcano and she rushed at the prone form of her former lover screaming at the top of her lungs.

  “How could you, you animal!” she shrieked punching and slapping at him as she fell upon him.

  Temic fended off her attack and grabbing hold of her he pulled her down on top of him, one arm around her throat whilst the other held the Magerov to her head.

  Hawk saw what was about to happen and was powerless to prevent it.

  “Back off or she dies right here and right now!” Temic growled through the pain from his leg.

  “Now just hold on. You know I’m not gonna let you out of this room alive if you harm one hair on her head. You know that right?” Hawk said. He kept his pistol centred on Temic’s forehead.

  “You aren’t in a position to negotiate. I’m the one with the gun to her head, don’t forget that.”

  “I disagree, you have nothing to bargain with. If you kill her then whatever leverage you think you have will be gone. I’m in control here, I have the power to either end your life or allow you to live. If you let her go I’ll let you live, but if you kill her then you’ll be dead one second later.”

  “You need me alive for what you think I can tell you about the whereabouts of your Captain Stryder. I know nothing, and even if I did, I’d never tell you.”

  “Are you telling me you have no idea where he’s been taken?”

  “Why would they tell me, that part of the operation was on a need to know basis?”

  “I suppose they kept it from you just in case this happened?”

  “You’re not as stupid as you look are you? So you see I am in co
ntrol.”

  “Wrong,” Hawk said and shot him once in the centre of his forehead. The back of his head exploded backwards in a mist of blood and gore.

  Watkiss was released and she screamed as she realised just how close she’d come to being killed.

  Hawk accessed a comm channel through his NI and called Gemmell. “Sir, we have a problem,” he said.

  * * * * *

  “Time’s up Doc, we need to start the injections. You had better have them ready,” General Solon said as he strode into the lab again.

  “Yes, sir, we’ve got a batch of the serum ready but I can’t guarantee the results, not without the proper testing,” the lab tech replied with a trace of fear in his voice.

  “That’s what these boys are here for Doc, for the testing. Now let’s continue shall we?” Solon said as he indicated five soldiers who had followed him into the lab.

  The soldiers, having walked into the lab in single file, stood ready for whatever was going to be done to them. They were all hard faced, tough looking young men no more than twenty-five years old.

  “Continue Doctor, the Alliance will owe you a great debt of gratitude if these tests are as successful as I hope them to be,” General Solon said as he stood to one side.

  The lab tech had readied a series of hypo sprays for immediate use and with the General watching began to administer the serum to the neck of each soldier.

  “Good, good. Let me know the second we have some results. Monitor them closely Doctor, your reputation rides on this, as does my career,” Solon said as he turned and left the lab.

  The lab tech watched him leave having completed the injections. He hoped they worked too; this was a huge risk. It was not one he would not normally take, especially when it involved someone else’s life. The General though was not the type of person one said “no” to, not if life was something he wished to cling on to.