by Jan Domagala
Did she know or was this just a lucky guess he wondered as he got behind the wheel. He charged up the fuel cell and started the engine selecting first gear he slipped the clutch and drove away from the landing strip, the tyres squealing on the asphalt as the car accelerated up through the gears.
Putting all thoughts away in a back corner of his mind Kurt engulfed himself in the sensation of driving. Before long he was nearing the outskirts of the city.
*****
The facility was huge, the size of a small city. It was built around a central hub covered by a huge dome and had tubes that radiated out from it connecting other smaller sections to it. Each smaller section was the size of a football field. The whole thing had been erected under the cover of a stealth shield on the lunar surface. No one was aware of its existence on Earth and that was how the inhabitants wanted it kept, until the right time.
Inside the main dome was the heart of the complex, the Command and Control section. One man was standing at the main control console studying the recent reports from the construction crew building the gantry for the launch. He heard the approach of another and he turned, his opaline green eyes growing hard as he looked at the man. His eyes were red rimmed due to the fact he had been staring at reports for a fourteen hour stretch. The two of them could be brothers they were so similar, each standing six feet four tall with broad shoulders and muscular physiques, Rover5’s, the same as everyone in the facility, except he was in command.
“Are we on schedule?” Apollo asked as the other Rover5 stopped to attention before him.
“Everything is progressing as planned,” replied the other clone.
“I want security kept to a maximum; we are too close for anything to go wrong. I want guards put on all exits and around the perimeter of the facility. I want it impossible for anyone to even get near to this place.”
“It will be done sir.”
“I’ll inform OMEGA Command of our status, I’ll be in my quarters,” Apollo said as he turned to leave relinquishing control of the C and C to the other clone.
11
Matt reached the foyer of the RandCorp building and exited through the large doorways. As he reached the pavement outside the building where the staff car was parked ready to pick him up he looked down the crowded sidewalk and saw something that rocked him to his core.
A snatch of long blonde hair cascading around a pair of slim shoulders, a glimpse of the bluest eyes he had ever seen and a smile he thought lost to him forever.
Could it be her, he wondered but then discounted the thought for he knew it to be impossible. It couldn’t possibly be who he thought because he had seen her killed right in front of him.
Before he knew it the figure had gone, lost in the throng of people milling around on the sidewalk.
He tried to dismiss the thought from his mind and walk over to the car but found he couldn’t tear his eyes from where he had seen her.
Before he knew it he was walking after the disappearing figure, his pace quickening.
Peering over the bobbing heads and shoulders of the crowd in front of him he strained to catch a further glimpse of the fleeing figure. Just when he thought he had lost sight of her he saw a swish of blonde hair swirling around a set of slim shoulders which he instantly recognised as those belonging to whom he thought, cross the street, dodging the traffic.
The traffic was dense as one would expect during the day in this part of the city and when he left the sidewalk to follow he had to dodge cars from both directions. Not wanting to alert her that she was being followed made his task of crossing the wide street a little harder.
Diverting his attention between the cars thundering down the road threatening to squash him like a bug and the disappearing figure of the young woman was not an easy task.
He was half way across when he saw her dip into an alley between two buildings. This was the opportunity he needed to sprint the rest of the way across the road.
When he reached the mouth of the alley he paused, almost scared to see what was down there inside it. Never the less he stepped into the mouth of the alley and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Standing shoulder to shoulder less than a few feet away from him were two Rover 5’s, dressed in smart pin stripe suits but unmistakable due to their similar appearance and striking opaline green eyes. At the far end of the alley was another Rover 5 standing next to the female he had followed there. She wore the same expression of pure, unadulterated terror on her face as he witnessed on that fateful day he saw her die and he felt sick to his stomach. The Rover 5 at her side held a Sig P996 to her temple pressing the muzzle hard into her skin forcing her head sideways as tears ran down her face.
Tanya Wilde screamed, “Matt, help me.”
Matt felt like he was back in that bedroom, weeks ago watching the same thing again. This time though he was determined the outcome would be different.
He walked forward, his focus on the Rover 5 at the far end of the alley. The two clones facing him reached inside their jackets for pistols. Matt caught a glimpse of the gunmetal blue of the pistols in his peripheral vision and he went into overdrive.
Quickening his pace he stepped forward shortening the distance between him and them making it impossible for them to use their weapons. He grabbed the hand of the Rover 5 on his left with his own left hand trapping the Rover 5’s hand before he could draw the pistol. With his right hand he back fisted the other clone with all his might. He remembered the last time he tussled with one of these clones and he almost lost that fight, this time he was up against three of them so there was no holding back.
The clones head was snapped sideways from the blow as he spat a stream of blood across the alley floor. Matt kicked him with a roundhouse kick to the stomach with his right foot doubling him up and as he collapsed on the floor gasping for breath he punched the clone on his left full in the face with his right hand as he kept hold of his gun hand with his left.
As the clone he was holding was staggered from the punch Matt ripped the pistol out of his grasp, a Sig P996. He jacked the slide to prime the battery clip then as the clone turned to look at him Matt shot him in the face. He turned to face the clone on the floor who turned to look at him at the sound of the gun shot, only to be faced with the muzzle of the gun staring at him. A second gunshot echoed off the walls of the alley which heralded the death of the second Rover 5.
Matt aimed down the alley at the Rover 5 standing next to Tanya and fired. The pulsed plasma bolt struck the clone high on his chest punching him back and away from Tanya who was still screaming.
The clone struggled back to his feet and by the time he was on his knees Matt was standing by Tanya’s side. He looked down at the struggling clone and shot him in the head.
He turned to look at Tanya and was surprised to see her smiling, all traces of fear disappeared from her exquisite features.
A frown creased his forehead as something niggled at the back of his mind. Something was not quite right here and he didn’t know what it was.
“I knew you’d come,” Tanya said smiling.
A sound alerted him to an approaching danger. He turned to see but was too late.
A sharp pain exploded across the back of his head as he was struck from behind. His legs lost their ability to hold him and he felt the ground rushing up to greet him.
The side of his face impacted the dirty alley floor as he fell heavily, lights dancing at the edges of his vision.
He heard two words spoken by the woman he had hoped to prevent from being killed again, “So predictable,” she said as she and the other clone walked off leaving Matt lying where he fell.
He saw two sets of feet walk off into the shadows just before darkness engulfed him.
12
Zara pulled up in front of the Golden Palace and she looked up at the garish frontage, all bright Neon lights sparkling and shining as the night grew closer and remembered the last time she was here.
It had been the night Kurt
and she had come to visit Abraham Bane and find out who had been behind an earlier attack on them. It was also the night she had been captured by Pavel Norsky, an Alliance agent sent to capture Kurt. Instead he had used her as bait to eventually lure Kurt into his trap. She had been shot and killed in their attempt to escape from the facility they had been taken to on Toldax.
Now she was back here, travelled full circle, back to where it had all started.
Sudden fear gripped her as she thought of Norsky. If she had survived what had happened on Toldax what was to say that Norsky hadn’t survived too. If that was the case then they could all be in big trouble. Norsky, if he survived then he would be as powerful as she was and maybe even as powerful as Kurt which was something she dared not to think about too much. She had learned in their brief time spent together that he was a very dangerous man.
Putting the bike on its stand she dismounted and headed for the door. A queue was beginning to form as the evening meal crowd was lining up ready to gain entrance. As normal, two huge men dressed in black suits guarded the door, sentinels for the evening’s entertainment. As she walked up to them, bypassing all those waiting in line she said, “Evening boys, is Mister Bane in?”
“Who the hell are you?” one of them said.
“Don’t I know you?” said the other doorman.
“I was here some time ago with a friend of mine. There was a bit of trouble,” she replied.
“Yep, thought it was you, are you here to see the boss then and what’s with the coveralls?” he said which brought looks of puzzlement from the first doorman.
“Yes if he’s in, I er, got dressed in a hurry. I need his help for a while,” she said not wanting to give too much away in front of the crowd.
“Follow me Miss; I’ll take you to him.” said the second doorman which brought jeers of derision from those waiting in line to be admitted. Zara simply blew them a kiss then followed the doorman inside.
“Cute,” the first doorman muttered then called for quiet from the line.
The two of them entered the night club and it was the same as she remembered it. There was a long passage from the front entrance to the main room, once through this they were on to where tables were laid out in a seemingly random pattern on the floor, several of which were occupied by now. There was a smallish dance floor over to her left in front of a raised dais where musicians played soft background music. Over to her right as she walked through, was a long mahogany bar with a mirrored display to the rear which had an amazing array of bottles stacked in front. Three barmen worked feverishly to fill drinks orders from those seated at tables and those customers who were standing in front of the bar. In front of her, over by the far wall were a row of private booths, the VIP area. Bane, as usual was in his own, the third from the right.
As she approached the booth passing between the tables that were still filling up and the bar, she saw Bane turn his head to look in her direction. A smile crossed his hard mouth and he nodded his head to the doorman bringing her to him. A very large man who had been standing guard close by the booth, known to her simply as Tony, caught the nod and walked across to greet her. It was almost like a military hand-over as Tony reached her, the doorman turned and returned to his post outside.
“Hello again Miss, on your own this time?” Tony said with a slight smile but never taking his eyes from roaming over the room. He was as vigilant as ever, Bane had made many enemies in his rise to power and his job was to keep the man as safe as he could, a job he took great pride in doing extremely well.
“Yes Tony, but I am hoping to meet someone here,” she replied.
“Kurt?” he said.
She was surprised by that response and excited at the mere mention of his name.
“Have you seen him recently?” she asked.
“I’ll let Mister Bane explain Miss,” Tony said then showed her to the booth.
“Zara you are a sight for sore eyes I must say and after what Kurt told us I never expected to see you again, especially not dressed like that” Bane said as he stood to greet her. He took her hand in his and gently kissed the back of it then eased her into the seat opposite him.
“What did he tell you?” she asked as she sat down concern written all over her face.
“That you were dead.”
“He told you that did he?”
“As a matter of fact, he said he saw you killed right in front of him.”
“Oh!” was all she could think of saying.
“Are you going to explain any of this? If not to me then certainly I think to Kurt, the man was devastated, I could see the pain in his eyes when he told me.”
“Mister Bane, I can’t explain any of this to you right now, I’m not sure I understand it all myself yet but when Kurt arrives, if he thinks it’s okay then I’ll let him explain. For now though, I’m here to ask a favour,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth hoping to get him on her side before he could refuse and dismiss her.
He smiled and said, “Abe, call me Abe.”
“Okay, Abe,” she said tentatively, “I need your help,” she added as she rested her hands on top of the table.
He placed both his hands on top of hers to comfort her as he could see the distress in her eyes. He said, “Anything.” He had said it as a father would to a daughter and it caught her by surprise a little. She smiled and said, “If I didn’t know better Abe, I’d swear there was a soft heart beating somewhere beneath that rough exterior.
With a wink of his eye he said, “And if you ever repeat it I’ll have to deny it, of course.”
“Of course,” she added returning the wink.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Just a place to stay until Kurt comes for me, somewhere safe. There are some men who may come after me, I think they work for something called OMEGA, have you heard about it?”
At the mention of OMEGA Bane sat up straight. He waved Tony over and as the man mountain bent down to listen Zara heard him say, “Tony let the boys know we may be in for some company. It could be bad, real bad so I want everyone carrying.”
“I’m on it boss,” Tony said then walked off to stand guard in front of the booth. He communicated with the rest of Bane’s men via a closed circuit comm. channel accessed through his NI.
Bane turned his attention back to Zara and she said, “So you’ve heard of them.”
“Who hasn’t?”
“I’ve been away so humour me,” she snapped then immediately regretted it considering how welcoming he had been and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that, it’s been a little strange lately.”
Bane waved her apology off like it didn’t matter, he understood a little from what he’d learned from Kurt anyway. He said, “OMEGA is a terrorist outfit that recently attacked Col Sec HQ on Earth. It was a massive thing, all over the media and GalaxyWeb. Apparently they attacked from orbit in a huge starship, killed thousands and destroyed the entire building. There was a memorial service and everything.”
“Was Kurt involved?” she asked, somehow already knowing the answer.
“No, by that time he hadn’t returned to Col Sec yet, he took your death really badly, resigned his commission and decided to live at home.”
“What brought him back?”
“Something that happened on Tartaran, something else that has been huge in the news. You’ve missed quite a lot young lady.”
“Tartaran? I thought that was a Forbidden Zone?”
“It was and is again but this time the Alliance is there in force. You’ve got an awful lot of catching up to do.”
“You said that OMEGA ‘is’ a terrorist group not ‘was’, by that do I take it that it’s still out there and the attack on Earth was just the beginning?”
“From what we were told they were destroyed after the attack on Earth, but I don’t think a group with the resources to plan and execute an attack of that magnitude could be so easily defeated. Also the mere fact that you are being chased by men who work for OMEG
A, answers your own question, don’t you think?”
“You’re right, of course. I’ll never forget the one in charge, big man, at least as tall as Tony, maybe a bit bigger and the strangest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“What colour?” Bane asked suddenly getting anxious.
“Opaline green, why?”
“Because when Kurt was last here, he was attacked by four men, all with opaline green eyes.”
The realisation hit her like a starship entering a hyperspace window. This had all been a set up. She had been allowed to escape. They had used her as bait to lure Kurt here, but why?
“Shit! I’d better warn Kurt,” she said then a familiar voice said, “Warn me about what?”
She turned to see a man standing by Tony. A man she thought she would never see again.
She was out of her seat so fast and running at him Tony thought they would collide and end up on the floor.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, tightly at first, then softer, more gently as they kissed.
Finally yet reluctantly she pulled away and looked up into his cobalt blue eyes and knew he felt the same about her as she did about him.
No words needed to be said to clarify what they both felt.
“Kurt, we have to leave, I think this is a trap,” she said.
13
Orion stood on the landing strip outside the shuttle as the rest of the team debarked.
“Get in the vehicles, I want to be on station ready to go in less than twenty minutes,” he ordered.
The Rover 5’s all filed across the plascrete into the three waiting vehicles, Grand Voyager 600s’s. They all wore battle suits, kevlon blast resistant pads over the vital organs with Rapier helmets and all carried Remm assault rifles at high port across their chest as they ran toward their rides.
