capital city. Zeus' head was slumped against the bulkhead of the cabin. His arms were tied to the chair by Alcyoneus.
The two giants, however, were free to move about the cabin. While Alcyoneus sat in his chair and stared at Zeus, Typhon went to a small bar. "Something to drink?"
Zeus said nothing. He stared out the window at the Etruian Ocean beneath them.
"It's a long flight."
With great effort, Zeus turned his eyes from the window and looked at Typhon. "Water."
Typhon grinned and poured some into a plastic cup. As he walked over to Zeus' seat, he dropped a long straw into it. He placed the water in the drink holder and aimed the straw at Zeus' mouth. "There you go."
Zeus looked at the drink before leaning forward to sip. Alcyoneus laughed and stood up. "Is it time to talk?"
"Almost," Typhon said.
Zeus looked at Alcyoneus and then back at Typhon. "I didn't think he liked to talk."
"It depends on the manner of the chat," Typhon answered. "Go ahead."
Alcyoneus laughed and pressed a button on the wall. A large panel in the floor of the cabin slid away, revealing the ocean beneath them. Their altitude wasn't terribly high at this point so the cabin didn't depressurize violently. Zeus nodded and looked toward Alcyoneus.
He knelt in front of the Olympian and smiled. "This is my favorite part."
Typhon drank his alcohol and then stood on the opposite side of the gap. He folded his arms across his chest and smiled as the gentle wind blew his hair about. "Zeus, we do have many questions for you."
"I see."
"Let's start with your propaganda missions in Tiberian territories."
Zeus said, "I'm not going to discuss these things with you." Alcyoneus grunted and gripped Zeus' leg tightly, painfully. "Don't touch me," he said.
"Zeus," Typhon said, "I need you to answer, or …"
"'Or' what?" he asked. Alcyoneus looked at Typhon eagerly. He was hoping for permission but it didn't come. Zeus continued, "You're not going to kill me."
Alcyoneus laughed and Typhon smiled, "Why not?"
"A couple of reasons. You could throw me out and maybe, when my body dies, you'll still be in range to receive my transfer signal." Typhon raised his eyebrows and nodded. "If I even die. We're not that high up."
"True." He tapped on a panel near him and said, "Take us to ten thousand."
The speaker crackled with confirmation and the rotorcraft, silently, slowly began to climb. The air rushing through the floor became louder and colder. After a few moments, an alarm sounded and oxygen masks deployed from the overhead compartments. Zeus shivered a little in the cold and blinked to keep himself alert.
"You would die from here," Typhon yelled.
Zeus nodded.
"What's the other reason?"
Zeus licked his lips and sneered as he spoke, "Cronus. He wants to meet me."
Typhon nodded and Alcyoneus looked toward him. His face fell and he seemed disappointed.
With a flick of his now-loose right hand, Zeus tossed the strap of his seat belt out and wrapped it around Alcyoneus' neck. When the giant began to stand, he inadvertently freed Zeus' left hand, too. Zeus pulled on the strap forcing the man to stumble. Then Zeus kicked Alcyoneus' right knee.
He fell to the floor and slid to the opening. He gripped the seat belt for dear life as the wind resistance caught him and began to pull him away from the cabin. "Help! Help me!" he screamed.
Zeus glanced at Typhon and saw that the other man was simply observing. Without looking, Zeus walked to the edge of the hatch, extended his leg and then smashed his heel against Alcyoneus' fingers as he slowly slipped along the strap. There was a brief yelp and then the brute was gone.
Zeus kept his eyes on Typhon and he stepped along the rear of the opening. He glanced toward a control panel and pressed the same button he saw Alcyoneus press moments ago. The floor closed up. Both men blinked rapidly as the cabin repressurized and became warm again. Finally, the alarms stopped sounding.
"Sit," Typhon said. Zeus did, but in a different chair. Typhon sat, too, and brushed the dangling oxygen mask away from his face. "I have to admit, I'm somewhat pleased to be rid of him."
"What?" Zeus asked. "You don't resurrect?"
Typhon shook his head, "No, we're special, Cronus said. We were handcrafted for all kinds of enhancements. Like Ouranos and Gaia." He smiled and motioned toward Zeus. "Your grandparents."
"I see."
Typhon shrugged and said, "Shall we continue our conversation?"
Zeus inhaled slowly and then shook his head once. "I am meeting with Cronus to negotiate for the release of my friends. My wife. My brother … brothers." Typhon nodded. "You'll understand that my words are my currency and I'd rather not spend them on you."
Typhon smiled and said, "I do. I understand."
They rode in silence. Zeus closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. His head throbbed and ached, but he tried his best not to think about it. In, out. In, out. He visualized his lungs expanding. He imagined cells being pumped through his body. The pain dulled and he found his inner eye swathed in blackness.
He was alone. He felt alone. Truly alone. Ghosts of Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hestia moved past him. Then he saw his other Olympians. Hermes, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Bia, Athena, Polemos, Ares, Arcas, Epimetheus … they were present but transparent. He moved toward them and they faded from existence, too. In the darkness, again, Zeus was painfully alone.
He felt constricted, contained. He was squished against a wall under a bed, looking out from underneath the blanket and hoping the boots wouldn't come back.
He thought, over and over, I don't want to be alone. Then he said it aloud.
Zeus awoke, opened his eyes, and realized that the rotorcraft was descending. He glanced around the cabin and saw that he was alone. He straightened in his seat and looked out the window as the plane began to land. Typhon came out of the cockpit and walked to Zeus' side.
"Forgive me," Typhon began, "but I'll need to conceal our location." With a swift gesture, he pulled a black hood over Zeus' head.
Typhon led the Psilon down the rotorcraft's steps and then into a vehicle. Zeus heard him chatting with someone, but he couldn't make out their conversation. Then Typhon sat in the back next to Zeus and the vehicle began to move.
They rode for a short time. Eventually, the vehicle came to a stop, but then it began to sink into the ground on some sort of lift. Finally, the door next to him was opened and Zeus was led out.
"I'll take that," Typhon said as he removed the hood.
Zeus blinked and looked around. He saw two other giants and a few Tiberian guards. He turned his head up and saw the structure of some sort of underground garage. Concrete pillars reached high into rock and steel struts supported floors and equipment. Ahead of them, flanking a sliding door, were two of the largest Cylons Zeus had ever seen. Nearly two and a half meters tall, they were hulking masses with multiple limbs, though two were obviously the primary appendages. Zeus stared at them and their color-tinted metallic hides as they walked past and into the elevator.
As crowded as it was inside, Zeus closed his eyes and tried to meditate his headache away again. He didn't have time. The elevator reached its destination quickly.
Typhon stepped out first and looked to the soldiers and giants. "Leave us." The soldiers nodded but the giants seemed less inclined to obey. "That's an order."
With a hand on Zeus' shoulder, Typhon led him down a short hallway and to a nondescript door. He paused and took in a deep breath. He grinned at Zeus and said, "Here we are."
Zeus nodded. Typhon opened the door.
It was an expansive room. The polished stone walls were a glistening shade of brown with nearly golden veins. The ceiling was a large panel of lights that illuminated everything below. Luxurious chairs of dark leather were positioned in a semicircle on one side of
the room while a large desk, crafted from the same polished stone as the walls, dominated the other.
From behind that desk, Cronus stood.
"Welcome, Zeus."
A chill ran down his spine and he hesitated. Typhon stepped inside and moved to the left. Zeus forced his right leg forward and entered.
Cronus moved out from his desk and stood by its corner. He was wearing a plain, well-tailored black suit. And he was smiling. Zeus' pace slowed a bit as he studied the man. The similarities to his own father were beyond striking. He looked away and pushed his childhood memories back.
"Please, sit." He motioned toward a chair. "May I get you something to drink?"
"No." Zeus paused and saw that Typhon was sitting on the opposite side of the room. "Thank you."
Cronus nodded and sat on the corner of his desk. "You wanted to meet with me?"
Zeus spoke quietly. "I did."
Cronus shrugged and asked, "Why?"
Zeus raised a single eyebrow and said, "Because of your attacks on Psilons. Because you … captured several of my people."
Cronus feigned surprise. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about."
Zeus grit his teeth and said, "I've not flown halfway 'round the world to play games."
Typhon laughed and Cronus looked up to smile at him. Finally, Cronus laughed, too, and he said, "Yes, I suppose not."
The door to the room opened and a striking, tall woman strode in. Her muscular curves led the eye toward her face and tightly bound red hair. Her cheekbones framed her smile as she said, "I wanted to see him."
Cronus motioned toward a chair and said, "Sit,
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 61
