Core's Attack

by S. E. Smith

  Avery looked back at the display case with a grimace. “The painting of her wasn’t enough?” she asked.

  Markham turned to face her. There was no expression on his face, but his eyes—there was something just not right in his eyes.

  “A painting is two dimensional. Priscilla Housing was anything but a two-dimensional woman. She hunted and killed this lion and lioness, but only after she had killed the rest of the pride,” he said reverently. “The true joy comes not in the kill, but in the hunt, Ms. Lennox. When you triumph over a predator as cunning as yourself, it is only right that you preserve your victory as a trophy,” he stated.

  A disturbing understanding swept through her. “You… killed her. You murdered your mother?” she whispered.

  Markham shook his head. “No, I hunted her… and proved I was the top predator,” he replied.

  Avery stood frozen as Markham paused by several empty display cases. Her eyes followed the movement of his hand as he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped at an imaginary smudge on the clear surface. The plaque on the display read:

  * * *

  Exhibit One: Alien Male

  And Human Female Companion

  * * *

  Markham pocketed the small, rectangular cloth and turned to gaze back at her. Nausea rose in her throat.

  “Dinner is served,” he announced.

  She stepped to the side as he walked by her, unable to do anything for a moment but stare at Markham. He waited by her chair as the servant placed their meal on the table, his eyes locked on her face. Avery knew from his satisfied expression that she hadn’t been successful at hiding her horror and revulsion.

  She lifted her chin. She had to get out of here. There was no way in hell that she was going to end up as an exhibit in this bastard’s House of Horrors! Her gaze drifted over Priscilla Housing’s body as she walked past her. Fear turned into a cold, determined rage. She lifted the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip before she placed it on the table by her dinner and gracefully sank into the chair that Markham had pulled out for her.

  He walked around the table and sat down in his seat. She waited for him to pick up his spoon before she reached for hers. Avery slowly stirred the chilled Green Tomato and Crabmeat soup. Her spoon paused when he spoke again.

  “So, tell me everything you know about your alien, Ms. Lennox,” he calmly ordered.

  18

  Cosmos Raines Industry’s Houston Headquarters:

  * * *

  Core glared at RITA before turning his aggravation on Cosmos. He couldn’t beat the shit out of an AI system. Instead, he took his anger and frustration out on the human who was warily watching him.

  “When is the last time you heard from her?” he demanded.

  “She received a phone call from Secretary Albertson the day she returned,” RITA interjected. “And then she flew to Washington, D.C. Avery’s driver said he dropped her off near the Jefferson Memorial. That was the last time he saw her.”

  “We’ve been going through video from the area’s surveillance cameras,” Cosmos said, his frustration palpable. “It’s as if she vanished into thin air. Our delayed return to Earth didn’t help. I thought the Council was never going to get off their asses and make a decision.”

  “Father finally threatened to replace the lot of them—except Merrick, of course—if they didn’t make a decision he approved of,” Terra murmured.

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Cosmos curiously commented.

  Terra reached out and ran her fingers along his cheek. “You were with Trudy,” she answered.

  Core could see they were privately sharing more with each other. He turned away and walked over to the window. After RITA2 had opened the portal here and RITA told them Avery was not here, he and Cosmos had asked why they had not been informed earlier that Avery was missing. She had replied that no one had realized it was a problem—until now.

  “Tell me again what the driver said,” Core demanded.

  “That Avery instructed him to return to Houston,” RITA answered. “She said that she would be doing some work from the Washington, D.C. townhouse and would let Robert know when she returned to Houston. He said that she appeared distracted when he picked her up at the townhouse, but that was not unusual. She intended to take a taxi when she was ready to return after her appointment. There are no records of her ever doing that. Rose and Maria thought Avery had extended her vacation. It was only when I tried to pinpoint her location that I realized her phone was off,” RITA explained with an apologetic tone.

  “Surely the fact that she hadn’t made any phone calls or used her computer should have been some kind of indication!” Cosmos growled, running his fingers through his hair.

  “It isn’t unusual for Avery to go off the grid, Cosmos,” Rose replied.

  Maria nodded. “Avery knows better than anyone that electronic devices can be traced or tapped. I know she had some reservations about Albertson. She requested that we do a forensic audit of his finances. We already have the accounting team on that,” she added.

  “His money trail is quite intricate,” RITA replied.

  “So at this point all we know is that Avery’s last known contact was with Richmond Albertson,” Cosmos stated.

  “He’s working with Karl Markham,” a soft voice said.

  Core turned to look at the quiet, dark-haired woman who looked far too young to be a part of the team. She had slipped into the room behind the other two women when Cosmos had called this meeting. She was wearing an oversized coat that made her look even smaller than she was. She had curled up on the couch with a small laptop and been silent until now.

  “How do you know, Amelia?” Cosmos asked.

  “He’s been sending payments to one of Markham’s offshore accounts. I’ve been focusing on Markham. He contacted a hacker to get info on Avery. I intercepted the job, then RITA and I gave Markham a bunch of crap mixed with known facts, but what’s important is he gave me the name of the account he’d set up with the hacker, which eventually led me to one of Albertson’s foreign bank accounts,” Runt explained.

  Core looked at Cosmos. He was about to ask Cosmos where he could find this Albertson when he noticed that everyone in the room was looking at the young woman with their mouths hanging open. He was about to ask what was wrong when Cosmos grinned at the small woman and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say so much at one time.” Cosmos chuckled with a shake of his head.

  The woman scowled at him. “Whatever,” she muttered with a shrug and looked back down at the computer in her lap.

  Once again, Core was about to say something, but this time Cosmos’ cell phone rang. Cosmos pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at it. His frown melted into an expression of relief, and he grinned at Core.

  “It’s Avery,” he said, answering the call and lifting the phone to his ear.

  In an instant, the relief disappeared from Cosmos’ expression, his face hardened, and his body tensed. Core stepped closer.

  “Where is she?” Cosmos demanded in a harsh tone.

  “It’s Karl Markham,” Runt said at the same time as RITA did.

  Anger burned in the pit of Core’s stomach. Cosmos locked eyes with Core, then lowered the phone and pressed a button. The man’s grating voice filled the room.

  “Do you have the ability to contact one of your aliens, Mr. Raines?” Markham asked.

  “Where is Avery, human?” Core demanded.

  There was a brief silence before a low, menacing chuckle came over the phone. “I will send a vehicle for you. Come alone and unarmed. If you break either of those conditions, I’m afraid I will have to terminate Ms. Lennox with a very painful death,” Markham instructed.

  “Put Avery on the phone,” Cosmos demanded.

  Markham laughed again. “I’m afraid Ms. Lennox isn’t available to talk at the moment. She is currently… asleep,” he said.

  “How do we know you even have her, then?” Cosmos said, looking
over at where Rose and Maria were frantically working with RITA to pinpoint the location of the call.

  “I could send you a piece of her to assuage your doubts, Mr. Raines. Perhaps the hand with the markings on it would convince you,” Markham coolly suggested.

  “Touch her and I will enjoy ripping you apart,” Core growled.

  “The car will be in front of your building in one hour,” Markham replied with another chuckle before he ended the call.

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” Rose cursed, looking up at Cosmos and shaking her head.

  “He removed the tracking software in Avery’s phone and has a scrambler on the signal,” RITA said. “Given enough time, I might be able to narrow down his location.”

  “He’s on an island in the South Atlantic,” Runt said, looking up at them.

  Cosmos frowned. “How do you know?” he asked.

  Runt raised a delicate eyebrow. “He is using the same phone he used to contact the hacker. I uploaded a cookie so I could track when and where he made a call. There aren’t a lot of options in his location for connectivity. He was using a satellite that belongs to the CRI Communications Division,” she expanded.

  “Avery was right. You are one of the best,” Cosmos said with a nod of approval.

  “Using the information Amelia has given us, I believe I have located Markham,” RITA said.

  A three-dimensional hologram of an island appeared in the center of the conference room table. Core stepped forward to get a better look. On a cliff along the northernmost end was a man-made structure.

  “I’m trying to access the security systems, but am unable to do so. It appears he has a self-contained system,” RITA said.

  “What are we going to do?” Rose quietly asked.

  “I am going to go after her—and kill Markham and anyone else who gets in my way,” Core replied.

  “I have a few things for you,” Cosmos said, entering the room.

  Core’s gaze narrowed on the small black bag in Cosmos’ hand. Terra walked beside him with a set of clothing that had clearly come from Baade. He frowned when Cosmos placed the bag on the table of the conference room and began to unpack the items inside.

  “Markham said no weapons,” Core replied.

  Cosmos shot him a grin. “Yes, well, we’ll call these tools,” he quipped.

  Terra placed a Prime warrior’s vest and belt on the table. Next she set down a pair of boots that seemed identical to the ones he was wearing. She gave him a reassuring smile.

  “Cosmos and I have been working on a number of innovations using a blend of our technology and his,” she said.

  “The buttons of the vest are filled with explosives,” Terra instructed. “Twist to the left, then to the right and it will activate the chemicals inside. You will have thirty seconds before it explodes. It will have a blast radius of several yards.

  “The buckles on the sides of the vest contain wire the width of spider’s silk. It can hold up to 520,000 pounds per square inch. You’ll have a total of five hundred feet of rope if you connect the buckles together. If you attach the end of the thread to your right boot and pull it taut, it will automatically lift you.

  “Your wrist band has three small grappling hooks. Attach one of the wires to it and press this hidden button to launch the hooks. In a pinch, it can also be used as a weapon.

  “Along the inside seams of your boots are three arrows. The outside seams pull off to form a bow. All these items are made of organic materials and will not register on a metal detector. It is highly unlikely that the items could be discerned even under close visual scrutiny. I’ve added two daggers along the inseams of the vest as well. The right heel contains a few small devices to record visual content. I have contacts for you to wear to access them,” Terra explained, showing him each item.

  Core looked at Cosmos as he held up a small, decorative patch with the CRI emblem on it. “I’ve been playing with some of your technology,” Cosmos said, then he placed the patch on his own shirt. A surprised curse slipped from Core’s lips when Cosmos held his hand over the patch—and disappeared. Core stepped forward and reached out. He was surprised again when he felt Cosmos’ arm.

  Cosmos dropped his hand and he reappeared, his eyes twinkling with satisfaction as he handed the patch to Terra. She affixed it to the front of the vest.

  “We have technology like that?” Core asked.

  “We do now,” Terra replied.

  Fascinated, Core picked up the belt. This one was devoid of the customary utility compartments. Terra took it from him and stepped back.

  “If you pull the belt taut, you’ll see that it changes into more than your typical belt. The end has two spring loaded blades which form a sword,” she said with a smile.

  “The hardest thing to conceal was a medical kit. We don’t know what shape Avery will be in,” Cosmos quietly added.

  Terra nodded. “We both consider Prime technology far superior, but concealing a portable emergency medical unit would be impossible,” she said.

  “So, we compromised,” Cosmos explained.

  Terra pulled a small injector out of her pocket and stepped close to him. She motioned for him to roll up his sleeve, then gently grasped his arm and placed the tip against his skin. He heard the soft sound of the medical injector and felt a brief sting before she stepped back.

  “I’ve developed a prototype healing agent. The injection I gave you is filled with nanobots designed to seek out and repair damage. They will activate the moment they detect any injuries or infection. Once they do, they will continue to replicate for forty-eight hours before they dissolve. You can share them with Avery if you bite her and they enter directly into her bloodstream. The amount of damage they can heal is limited, but we hope it will be enough to stave off a medical emergency until we can get you both off of that island,” she instructed.

  “No one comes until I have her secure,” Core warned.

  Cosmos nodded. “I put a miniature emergency beacon in the heel of your left boot. Unfortunately, due to the remoteness of the island and the size of the communicator, it will only be effective when a satellite passes directly overhead and only for about thirty seconds. Plan B involves you hiding Avery in a safe place while Markham hopefully has a meltdown and uses a satellite phone or some other device to connect to the outside world. If he does that, RITA might be able to infiltrate his local area network,” he said with a grin.

  “Once we know that you and Avery are safe, we’ll alert Teriff and Merrick. They will be waiting with a squadron of warriors to evacuate you both,” Cosmos continued.

  “Cosmos will also have a team ready to prevent issues with Earth’s governments,” Terra added.

  “We’ll see you soon,” Cosmos said with a reassuring smile.

  19

  Avery bit back a groan as she slowly fought her way to consciousness. She rolled onto her side and winced. Her head felt like someone had stuffed cotton into it.

  Her hand went to her shoulder. Under her shirt, she felt a bandage. Sweat beaded on her brow despite the chill in the room. She forced herself to sit up. A slow look around showed that she was back in her prison cell.

  Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to her aching brow. She took a moment to evaluate her body. Lowering her hand, she carefully unbuttoned her blouse far enough to push the material to the side.

  The white strip of gauze and medical tape was new. She slowly pulled the tape back to reveal five neat stitches. A frown creased her brow as she tried to remember how she had been injured.

  The sound of footsteps approaching alerted her that she was about to have company. She pulled her shirt back over her shoulder and buttoned it. Drawing in a deep breath to stave off the feeling of weakness still weighing her down, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and unsteadily rose to her feet.

  “Ah, you are awake,” Markham replied with a pleased nod.

  “What… what in the hell did you do to me?” she demanded in a voice that was surprisingly hoarse
.

  “I merely wanted to tip the scales in my favor for the hunt that is about to begin,” Markham replied.

  She swayed and lifted her hand to her shoulder. “What did you do to me, you sorry-ass piece of shit?”

  Markham shook his head. “Such language. Be careful, Ms. Lennox. I detest vulgarities from a woman,” he commented.

  Avery bit back the caustic response that was on the tip of her tongue. She walked toward the barred door. Several feet away from it, she stopped and looked at him through narrowed eyes.

  “What hunt?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  The amusement on Markham’s face disappeared. His eyes glittered with malice and a sick, anticipatory pleasure. Avery could feel the change in him as well as see it.

  “The Game; cat and mouse; survival of the fittest—or should I say the smartest—call it whatever you like. I prefer to think of it as The Hunt. The dance between predator and prey is one of the oldest dances in the world. Nothing makes it more thrilling than when two predators face off against each other,” he replied.

  The fury that had been building over the last ten days erupted. She surged forward and reached through the bars, ignoring the pain in her shoulder when the sutured area hit the cold metal. Her only thought was finding a way to snap Markham’s neck.

  He released a taunting chuckle and stepped back out of her reach. His eyes glittered with cruelty.

  Her lips twisted into a mocking smile. “He’ll kill you in ways you never knew a person could die. He’s faster, smarter, and deadlier than any predator on this entire planet,” Avery ruthlessly vowed.

  “I imagine everything you are saying is true, but we both know he has a weakness, don’t we?” he replied with a smirk.

  Avery swallowed when he lifted a small black remote and stepped closer to her. She gripped the bar with her right hand. Her left shoulder throbbed. Her eyes remained glued to the device in his hand.