~~~
‘You’re staying here until this is done with,’ Cygnus stated flatly. ‘Now go to bed and get some sleep.’ There was a restrained – barely restrained – fury in the woman’s face which tended to make Brian want to do just what she said. He knew her anger was not directed at him, but still.
‘What if Josie comes home?’ he asked, just to show a hint of defiance.
‘Andrea will station an imp in your apartment. If Josie comes back on her own, we’ll know. We can be there in seconds.’
‘Oh. Okay. I’ll, um, try to get some sleep.’ Turning, Brian scurried off to the room Cygnus had assigned him.
‘You heard?’ Cygnus asked as she turned around.
‘I’ll get one over there shortly,’ Andrea replied. ‘You know, they were just doing their job. First rule in a case like this, “Suspect the spouse.” Brian is as close as they have.’
Cygnus took in a breath to respond and then let it go, sagging. ‘Yes. I guess. I’m frustrated. I could haul them over the coals for improper treatment of a Union member, but that would be blowing his secret identity. So, I’m stuck with doing nothing. If we could find Josie…’
‘She isn’t going to come back on her own.’
‘She… might.’
‘Someone has her. Someone with the capability to suppress her powers. I mean, if she hits top speed there isn’t much that can stand in her way, so they’ve stopped her running. That kind of limits the possibilities.’
‘I suppose it does. None of the ones I can think of would be good.’
‘No, they wouldn’t. We’re just going to have to find her before they do anything irreparable to her.’
Iron Cap Black Site, WA, 15th May.
Josie figured out that they had put something in her breakfast coffee when two female agent types walked into her cell. The only thing Josie could manage to think was that she had not seen another woman in days. And she could not even come up with a figure for the number of days. She felt fuzzy. It was like being under anaesthetic, but she was not falling asleep. She just didn’t really have the capacity to think.
She could move, because she walked between the two agents through concrete corridors which melded into one corridor which was also somehow a maze. Then there was a room with a big black something in the middle of it. The agents undressed her, which would have been embarrassing if Josie could still feel anything. It did explain the agents being female, she guessed.
Then there had been a mask of some kind and what she thought was water, but she could not see it because the mask had no eye holes. She was floating. She thought she was floating. After a few seconds, she could not feel the fluid around her, or anything much else. There was no light, no sound, and no scents in the air. She could not even feel the air against her skin or in her nose when she breathed in. She was nowhere, and there was nothing around her. And she stayed like that for an eternity.
New Millennium City, MD, 16th May.
‘The bill which will see an end to the Ultrahuman Investigation Division was presented to Congress this afternoon amid wide, bipartisan support.’
‘So far, so good,’ Penny commented. The bill was the lead story on the lunchtime news. That was not especially surprising; it would undoubtedly be the lead story on the evening news too.
‘The current timetable for closure of the government agency specifically tasked with the investigation of Ultrahuman crime will see final shutdown and passage of all UID roles to the FBI by the beginning of April in twenty nineteen. Registration of Ultrahumans under the Special Policing Act will transfer to local law enforcement agencies in June of next year.’
‘Time to get the changes to work,’ Andrea said. ‘They seem to have actually thought this through.’
‘I think Hart’s been thinking this through for way longer than she’s been president,’ Penny replied. Brian was out at class, and Penny was taking the opportunity to be Penny. Getting Brian to go out had not been easy, but he had eventually decided that the routine might do him good.
‘Republican senators have called for a longer period for the transfer of control,’ the presenter went on, ‘but this is expected to be defeated, as is an amendment to shorten the period from some Democratic senators. However, there is support from both sides to place a bar on Ultrahumans investigating Ultrahuman crime in the new system. A spokesperson for the White House suggested that such a clause would be entirely reasonable, if it were included with a second clause banning non-Ultrahumans from investigating non-Ultrahuman crime.’
Andrea snorted out a laugh. ‘I knew I liked that woman.’
‘Yes,’ Penny countered, ‘but if there’s actually a chance of that amendment going through…’
‘Well, you can ask her about it at your next little tea-and-cakes meeting. Friday again?’
‘It does seem to be becoming pretty regular. I wonder whether other liaisons end up with this kind of relationship with their country’s leader?’
‘Just be careful,’ Andrea replied. ‘She’s not perfect and neither is this country. At some point, you might have to be tough with her.’
‘I know. When it comes down to it, I’m a Guardian. I can be a stone-cold bitch when I need to be.’
‘That would probably sound really hard coming from Cygnus,’ June said.
Penny sagged a little as there were giggles and laughs around the room. ‘Yeah, Penny’s too cute to be bitchy.’
Andrews Field, MD, 19th May.
‘I wanted to bring up the Ultrahuman prison situation in private,’ President Hart said. There were cakes, but it was coffee instead of tea.
‘I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad,’ Cygnus replied. ‘I’m leaning toward bad.’
‘Good instincts. I’m being stonewalled. Someone has admitted that the prisoners from the Fortress were taken to a disused black site. No one seems to know, or is willing to tell me, where this place is. I’m fairly sure it’s in the USA, but that’s as close as I’ve got.’
‘That’s pretty bad. I’d say that’s very bad. If they aren’t willing to tell their commander-in-chief what’s going on…’
‘It suggests that something I wouldn’t like finding out about is happening. Yes, I’d come to the same conclusion. I’m pushing, but I’m just getting vague answers and being told that “people are investigating the current situation.” They’re saying that providing accurate answers is slowing them down, would you believe?’
‘I’d believe just about anything. We’ve got a missing Ultra in New Millennium. Twilight is almost convinced that whoever took her had to be working for the government.’
Hart grimaced. ‘Almost convinced?’
‘She can’t entirely rule out someone private with a lot of resources. However, that person has managed to stay under the radar entirely without government support, which she thinks is improbable to say the least. Someone with official resources seems far more likely.’
‘They don’t like reading me in on black operations unless I really need to know. Makes it deniable, according to them, which is stupid because the buck always stops at that desk.’ Hart nodded toward her official desk, which looked like it could stop a tank round, never mind a buck. ‘And, of course, who is it who decides whether I “really need to know?” It doesn’t seem to be me. I think I may have to start firing people to get my point across.’
‘That sounds like a plan. Oh, while I’m here, Denny’s predictions suggest that we’re going to get another of those unexplained explosions tonight. Probably between nine and eleven o’clock. Quite possibly somewhere in this area. We’ve told the UID and NMCPD, but I’m not sure what they’re going to do about it.’
‘I know they’ve stepped up security around the base,’ Hart replied.
‘I thought they had.’
‘No one bothered to tell me why. They just said that they had stepped up the terrorism warning level due to information received. I swear half the people who work for me think I’m the enemy.’
Cygnus shrugged. ‘To plenty of them, you probably are.’
Iron Cap Black Site, WA.
The room Weston Carter was left in was huge. It was easily the size of the warehouse he had demolished in Lexington and twice as tall. He was not to know that engineers had been carving the space out of the rock for the last two weeks using the latest in tunnelling equipment, and that it had been built especially for him. It had vents which went to the surface and were designed to allow the force of a massive explosion to escape. There were sensors of various sorts everywhere. Many of those would not survive Kopf’s latest experiment, but they would give invaluable data before they were destroyed.
West just knew that he had lost count of how long it had been since his last episode, and now he was standing in something which looked kind of like what he expected underground nuclear tests to be done in. No one had bothered to surface the floor, walls, and ceiling. It was all bare rock. Pretty solid-looking rock. He guessed that Kopf had figured out the rough schedule of the episodes and was expecting West to detonate soon. Somewhere out there, West figured that Kopf was watching.
And he was right. Theakstone stood in the observation room with the scientist. Both of them watched the bank of monitors showing the young man in the testing chamber. That chamber had cost a lot of money to build, and Theakstone hoped the data they got would be useful. They needed a way of provoking the boy’s explosions, because when they had that, he would become one of the most powerful weapons in Project Jekyll’s arsenal. But not the only one.
‘How’s the girl progressing?’ Theakstone asked. It was something to do while they waited.
‘She is resisting more effectively than I might have expected,’ Kopf stated in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘It seems she has quite a strong sense of self-identity. However, it is merely a matter of time.’
‘I’ve heard that said about a lot of interrogation techniques.’
‘This is not your “enhanced interrogation,” Director Theakstone. There is no torture here. The process is lengthy, but it will reduce her to a blank slate eventually. From there, we can rebuild her personality as we see fit. We have the advantage here. No one can resist for–’
‘Cosmic energy spike!’ one of the operators in the room announced.
‘Aha!’ Kopf barked, leaning forward to examine the screens. ‘Now we will see–’ Simultaneously, at least to the unaided eye, all the screens went to snow. ‘Or we will need to review the footage in slow motion. I want a remote camera sent in as soon as the room is stable.’
‘How could anyone survive that?’ Theakstone asked. ‘He was right there, and then the room was engulfed. The pressure wave had to be enormous.’
‘Quite. We are dealing with an explosion equivalent to twenty-five tons of TNT. Far smaller than your typical nuclear weapon, though roughly equivalent to the Davy Crockett recoilless gun developed by your military in the fifties.’ Kopf smiled. ‘Such insanity. It warms the heart to think that people believed such things practical.’ One of the screens lit up as a drone was flown into the chamber. ‘And now we will see just how Mister Carter manages to survive his own power.’
The room itself appeared to have taken the blast with the kind of disregard solid rock had for improperly positioned bombs. Nothing flammable had been left in the chamber, so while the temperature measurements within it had been high, there were no scorch marks, aside from in the very centre where West had been standing. There was no sign of the boy, but there were blackened patches on the rocky surface. It was a little like seeing the blast shadows left on walls in Hiroshima.
‘Where is he?’ Theakstone asked, a rising tide of anger behind the words.
‘Interesting,’ Kopf said, unconcerned by his boss’s tone. ‘It appears that Mister Carter does not survive his detonations.’
‘What?!’
‘He is destroyed and reborn each time. It is not unheard of, Director. Slapstick was noted for the same resilience until Cygnus somehow managed to stop him returning.’ Kopf turned in his seat. ‘I want a full analysis of every data feed from the room. Pay special attention to the cosmic energy patterns immediately after the explosion. It seems that Subject Overpressure has found a way to escape us. He must be reacquired!’
New Millennium City, MD.
‘I am extremely embarrassed,’ Denny said over the radio. ‘Well, I would be if I was human. I believe I am sufficiently chastising myself to consider myself embarrassed. I simply do not understand how this can have happened.’
‘You’re not seeing reports from anywhere?’ Cygnus asked. It was midnight and she was hanging in the air at two thousand feet, right above Friendship Park. There had been no explosions. Not even small ones.
‘There have been no news reports and no traffic on police frequencies. Of course, I am unable to listen in to military communications since they are encrypted.’ There were a few noises over the radio channel, as though people were cutting off scoffing noises and giggles. Denny ignored them. ‘However, the military have seen nothing either.’
‘On the radio channels you can’t decrypt,’ Zoe said. It was one of those nights when everyone who could was listening. Word had got around about the expected explosion.
‘Yes, Zoe. On those channels which I am entirely unaware of.’
‘Thought so. Just checking. So, what happened? I don’t know about everyone else, but I really doubt Denny was this wrong.’
‘We’ve had one Ultra go missing that we know of,’ Twilight said. ‘We don’t know who’s causing the explosions, but maybe someone else has figured it out.’
A voice which had not been heard before on the group channel cut in. ‘I haven’t had any visions, like with the other explosions. If it’s happened again, it happened somewhere where no one was going to get hurt. Somewhere safe.’
‘Who’s that?’ Zoe asked.
‘That’s…’ Cygnus began and then paused. ‘We need a codename for you if you’re going to put your oar in here.’
‘Pythia. It’s–’
‘The name of the Oracle of Delphi. I know some mythology. Okay, so Pythia gets visions of coming events. She’s a… resource we have. She predicted the other explosions, but not this one, so what’s changed?’
‘Like I said,’ Twilight said, ‘I’d say someone has him.’
‘The same someone who has Josie?’ Brian asked.
‘I don’t have any evidence to say yes, but I’m going to anyway. Someone may be collecting Ultras.’
‘Why?’ Zoe again.
‘Ah, the joy of my life betrays her naiveté,’ Svetilo put in, probably from the same room as Zoe. ‘This is not difficult, myshka. The one who causes the explosions is obvious. Fleet would also make a very effective weapon. Someone is collecting Ultras they can use to destroy things.’
‘That’s my guess,’ Twilight said. ‘And right now we could really use some kind of lead on where they’re keeping them, because I’ve got nothing.’
Seattle, WA, 22nd May.
West opened his eyes and let out a groan. Dying really hurt. Waking up after dying was not really much better, especially when, as was the case here, it was dark and he had no idea where he was. He was cold and naked and, apparently, in an alley somewhere.
It was a fairly wide alley. You could have easily driven a car down it. There was a wall on one side and a fence on the other, both of them having short trees behind them. He could see buildings on either side at the end which looked like fairly modern apartment blocks. The building on the left had a column of balconies set in its side, and those had to have really spectacular views of the building opposite. None of them had laundry lines strung, so clothing was going to be an issue.
Stepping carefully, West walked up to the end of the alley and looked around. The roads were quiet. The area looked residential. There were parked cars. Across the road was a rather impressive building in brick with a ‘CHURCH PARKING ONLY’ sign on the wall. Maybe he could get some help at a church. Well, it was one possibility.
&
nbsp; He still had no idea where he was until he turned his head right and looked up the hill. The place seemed pretty hilly. The road sloped up quite steeply toward a big white building at the top. Over that wall, he could see something he had only ever seen on TV. Up there, brightly lit against the dark sky, was a thin tower with a big, saucer-shaped object on top. The Space Needle. He was in Seattle. He had to be. Seattle was an entire continent away from New Millennium City! But…
But he had seen a report about Cygnus working with the Seattle Watchmen. There had been some sort of monster in Seattle just before his third episode. He had been in Colorado Springs then. Cygnus had gone to the site of the explosion straight from defeating the monster. She had been right there. If only it did not take two days for him to reform after the episodes…
The point was, Cygnus knew the Watchmen. West was really not sure he could trust the cops. Especially after what had just happened to him, he was not trusting the cops. But the Watchmen… He needed clothes and a public phone. And possibly a quarter. Looking around, none of those things appeared to be coming his way easily.
~~~
It had taken a while. The church had had a charity bin outside it. West had jeans with not-designer holes in them, a T-shirt, and a thin jacket. The night was not too cold, and it was not raining, so that was more or less good enough. He was still barefoot, however, as he walked through the night-time streets of Seattle in search of a phone.
The one he found was in a 24/7 and still had a phonebook in it. It was not far from the Space Needle, which West figured was a good landmark. He thought the shop clerk might throw him out for walking in without shoes, but he was dealing with night staff; throwing out a vagrant who did not actually smell and looked clean was far too much effort. West was watched all the way to the phone, however; there was a lack of any desire to act, and there was stupid.
The Seattle Watchmen had an emergency, toll-free number to call. Now that was useful. Picking up the receiver, West dialled the number and waited.
Liberty Page 20
