Genos brightened. “What about this hatch?”
He hurried to a circular valve and gripped it in his hands. With a grunt, he forced it to turn and spun it a few times before the hatch opened to reveal a dark tunnel. Kaiden activated the light on his helmet, and the beam reflected off something ahead. “Is that water?”
“It must be a ravine of some kind,” Chiyo guessed as she crowded closer to peer into the semi-darkness. “There is a chance that there would be a maintenance entrance or tunnel somewhere in the area, but it could be a fair distance away.”
Kaiden patted himself down. “This armor is basic. It has nothing to assist with swimming.”
“But this could potentially lead right where we need to go. A ravine in a station like this has many uses, but one is to act as liquid cooling for the power source. There could be a path that leads to the core, or at least a physical map we can use to find the location that the maintenance crew would use.”
“That would be grand,” the ace said, but he still looked doubtful as he scowled down the tunnel. “But if there’s a possibility of us failing this, I’d rather die in a firefight than by drowning.”
“Are you not a strong swimmer, Kaiden?” Chiyo teased.
“I’m wearing nearly a hundred pounds of gear and weapons. Anyone in this kind of gear wouldn’t be a strong swimmer unless you were spliced with a dolphin or—” His train of thought ended abruptly, and both he and Chiyo looked slowly at Genos.
The Tsuna returned their stares quizzically. “I had intended to make a suggestion, but it appears you came to the same conclusion.”
The duo nodded.
Swarn paced as Walker and a couple of his men studied the security footage. “Are you sure you sent no men into that area, Swarn?”
“You’re supposed to be the smart one. I guess that says nothing about wisdom,” he grunted. “I just got back. I don’t hand orders out the second I set foot on the station.”
“I’m merely being thorough,” Walker muttered in return. “This would be easier if you would use some of the earnings in the war chest to update the interior security systems.”
“I’m not sure if you noticed, but most of the rats we deal with don’t make it aboard,” the captain growled. “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re simply using this as an excuse to not finish our conversation about your idiotic—”
“I have something, sir.” One of the men pointed to the screen in front of him.
“What is it?” Walker asked and leaned in to focus on the display.
“It looks like a group of our guys. The cams caught them looking around section E—the area with all the Watchbots—but another cam picked them up in the maintenance tunnels a few minutes later. It looks like they got in a scrap with the stalkers down there.”
“What the hell are they doing anywhere near there? We forbade anyone from going into those hellholes,” Swarn demanded angrily. “How the fuck have those things survived so long? Are those fools mincemeat yet?”
“I don’t know, sir,” the man said apologetically, “Most of the cameras down there are damaged or not hooked up anymore. Maybe try calling them?”
“Do you have their IDs?” Walker asked.
“Uh…it looks like Doma, Skan, and Devi, sir.”
Walker straightened thoughtfully and tapped his chin. “Aren’t those members of BAT-3?”
“BAT-3 came in for repairs about an hour ago,” another guard informed him.
The leader tapped his earpiece in an effort to establish communication with the group. “They don’t answer,” he said, took a tablet from the table next to him, and skimmed through it. “They don’t show up on the board either. Obviously, they are blocking their signals.”
“Spies?” Swarn asked.
“That, or they are trying to pull off a three-man mutiny,” Walker retorted.
“Maybe they got drunk and on walkabout?” the man at the console suggested, which earned glares from both superiors. He sheepishly fixed his attention on his screen.
“You two!” Swarn exclaimed, and two guards in the corner snapped to attention. “Get a group together and get your asses down there. They are either spies or three idiots who decided my words have no meaning. Either way, they deserve death. Got it?!”
They both nodded and ran quickly from the room to follow their orders, and the captain walked up to the guard at the console. “And you find out who cleared them into the bay and bring him to me. Now.”
“Yes, sir!” he said, pushed to his feet, and hurried out of the office toward the hangar bays.
Walker looked at Swarn and frowned. “There’s no need to chop heads off for such a petty annoyance.”
The captain walked past him and over to the desk, where he opened one of the drawers. “This ain’t some white-collar gig like you had before you joined this little enterprise, Walker.” He drew a pistol out and primed it. The weapon had a long barrel and was dark-black. Notches and nicks covered the body, and a red light now glowed on the underside. “You have to back your rank up with grit. When I say something, it gets done.” He raised the pistol to the side of his face and aimed it toward the ceiling. “And what I want right now is heads.”
Genos removed the last of his armor and stood in front of Chiyo and Kaiden in nothing but his underlay and gauntlet. “It is actually something of a relief to be out of that armor. Certainly, it makes me appreciate the suits we get from the academy.”
“Unless you land a job with the military or a big corporation, the pirate duds might be closer to what you can expect when we graduate,” Kaiden warned him.
“Are you sure about this, Genos?” the infiltrator asked, anxious. “Hopefully, there isn’t anything to worry about down there, but if you’re caught unaware…”
“I’ll be fine, friend Chiyo. And don’t worry. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” He turned away and looked into the tunnel. “It is more like my native element anyway.”
“As close as you can get outside of those special beds they give you,” Kaiden agreed. “But remember, only look around for about a klick or two. I don’t know how big this ravine is, but there is no use getting lost down there.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Chiyo handed him the device she had given Kaiden on the ship. “If there is a drainage valve or system we can use in there, Kaitō will be able to get into it faster than Viola. He will also act as a comm since you don’t have your helmet.”
“Much appreciated, Chiyo. But are you sure this won’t be a problem in the water?”
“It’ll be fine, although it is somewhat fragile, so try not to break it.”
“No issues there.” The Tsuna opened the neck of his underlay and slid the device inside. “I’ll be back momentarily.” He grabbed the top of the hatch, used it to push himself down the tunnel, and slid into the water. Within seconds, he had vanished beneath the surface.
“Hopefully he doesn’t have too much fun,” Kaiden joked. “I didn’t bring a deck of cards with me.” His companion looked serious, however, her arms folded as she stared down the tunnel. She didn’t seem to have even heard him. “Is something on your mind?”
“Nothing in particular,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m worried, that’s all. I don’t like that he has no backup in case something happens.”
“Have you seen a Tsuna swim? They are like rockets.” Kaiden leaned against the wall. “Besides, if this ravine is supposed to carry water for the station, it’s like a giant pool, right? What would be down there?”
The water was murky, even to Genos’ eyes, and there were glow strips along the walls, but they offered little illumination. He decided he would swim for a while before he surfaced to look around for anything he could use. Arrows were painted along the walls, one marked as Central Station, and he decided that was the best area for exploration.
He swam easily along the ravine in search of his target, and finally reached what appeared to be a central chamber. When he bro
ke the surface, he examined his surroundings quickly and noticed a console on a catwalk above. He retrieved Chiyo’s device, looked at it, and shrugged. “Kaitō?”
“Yes, Mister Genos?” the fox EI responded, appearing on a small holoscreen that beamed from the side of the device.
“There is a console up there. Can you get into it while I look for a ladder?”
“I am within range, but this drive is meant for physical connection, so the range is rather limited. If you could do your best to remain in this area, it would be most helpful.”
He nodded. “Certainly. I should be up shortly, hopefully.”
“Very good, I wish to request what you want me to look for.”
“See if there’s a way to drain the system. If not, see if we can obtain a proper map of the station, if nothing else.”
“Understood. Beginning now.” The screen disappeared, and Genos saw a small blue light begin to glow on the other side of the device. He put it away and searched for a set of stairs along the wall. Seeing nothing, he peered up at the catwalk for a ladder or a rope, saw something on the far left, and swam toward it. It was, in fact, a ladder but it was out of his reach. He wondered if the ravine was deep enough for him to build up speed and leap up to it.
The Tsuna dove down and swam to the bottom. Once he reached it, he spun and prepared to ascend. As he planted his feet on the ground for leverage, a noise from farther down the ravine caught and held his attention. He looked up, but the dark water offered nothing. Tense and expectant, he continued his survey until he noticed that the glow strips on the left side of the ravine now flickered. No, he realized, not flickered. Something swam past them.
A chill shafted through him at the truth that he was not alone. As if to confirm this, the figure turned in front of one of the lights to reveal a large silhouette with outstretched arms and a rounded head with four glowing orange eyes that stared directly at him.
Chapter Twenty
“It’s been about ten minutes. Has Genos hailed you yet?” Kaiden asked Chiyo, who was hunched over a holoscreen.
“No, and I don’t know why. He seems to have found something. I’m linked into Kaitō and he’s working to access the controls for the ravine, but Genos doesn’t respond.”
“Maybe that device isn’t as waterproof as you thought.” The ace pushed himself off the wall and walked over to look at the screen, which might as well have been written in hieroglyphs as far as he was concerned.
“If that were the case, Kaitō would have been kicked out of the system,” she explained. “Genos has him accessing it remotely, which is why this is taking so long. It’s not a very complicated defense program, but without a direct connection, Kaitō has to work much slower.”
“It might be out of reach for some reason,” he suggested, trying to remain hopeful. “ As you said, your EI is top notch. I’m sure it could multitask enough to tell us if Genos had died.”
She looked at him for a moment, then shook her head and focused on the screen once more. “Not funny.”
“Eh, boredom. My bad.” Kaiden said with a shrug and a hint of apology. “I’m sure he would tell us if something is wrong. It’s not like—”
“Kaiden, Chiyo, are you there?” Genos asked, his voice low and distorted.
“What’s with the voice-masking?” the ace asked and looked hopefully at the screen, although it still offered nothing remotely understandable.
“He’s talking using Tsuna sound-speak. It’s being translated by Kaitō, so he must be underwater,” Chiyo informed him. “We’re here, Genos. What’s wrong?”
“There is a being in front of me—well, above me—and it is staring at me and doesn’t move. I do not know what it is,” he explained. His words showed concern, even if the translation was barely better than monotone.
His teammates’ heart rates rose. “Get back here,” Kaiden ordered.
“How much longer until the console is hacked, Chiyo?” Genos asked.
“Genos, we’ll find another way. You don’t have to—”
“How long?”
She paused as she studied the information. “Approximately four minutes and eleven seconds.”
“I’ll hold out, then. We’ve come too far to turn back.”
Kaiden balled a fist. “Genos, we have other options. They haven’t discovered us yet!”
He had no sooner said that when loud splashing and the thumping of boots echoed from the direction of the sewers. The duo shared an anxious glance. “I might have misinformed you, Genos.”
“They found you?” the Tsuna asked.
“Someone or something is coming,” Chiyo confirmed as she drew her weapon.
“Then it appears we both have our problems.” He went silent for a moment. “I’ll contact you again when I have drained the ravine. Unless you can take them all out, this will be our only escape path.”
“I’m sure as hell going to try,” Kaiden said grimly and readied his rifle.
“I shall do the same. Stay safe.”
“It may be a little hard to do that at the moment, but I can promise to take a few down in your honor. But stay alive this time. I don’t want you sacrificing yourself during tests to be a tradition now.”
“I can’t promise that,” the Tsuna said before he signed off.
“How many do you think there are?” Chiyo asked. She moved closer to the opposite wall as shadows appeared ahead of the pirates, who would shortly come around the corner.
Kaiden lifted his weapon, charged a shot, and fired as soon as the first red and black suits came into view. The blast slammed into one and hurled the first batch of pirates back.
“A couple less now.”
Genos drifted slowly along the ravine floor. The creature continued to stare at him, and he couldn’t tell if it was merely curious to see something other than itself down there or it observed potential prey.
As he floated, his gaze still fixed on what might be his enemy, something struck the bottom of his foot. Distracted, he looked down to see some sort of hatch. It was embedded into the ground and had a circular attachment on top. When he looked up once more, he was shocked to see the creature now only a couple yards away from him. It made no aggressive movements, and still merely stared at him, but Genos was caught off-guard by how fast and silent it was in the water. While he hadn’t run into many large aquatic creatures in his time on Earth, he definitely hadn’t met or seen anything like this.
The Tsuna planted his feet on the ravine’s sandy bottom and prepared to push off to put some distance between himself and his odd companion. He was worried that he had trailed too far from the console. He couldn’t risk that since they no longer had an option to turn back. Still, he had no weapons to fight if this thing became hostile. He shifted his foot for better purchase and encountered another of the hatches beside him. Quickly, he looked at his gauntlet, then at the creature, and a plan formed in his head.
The light was still low, but he did see it open what amounted to its jaw to form an ovular hole and reveal sharpened teeth all around the inside. The creature waved its freakish arms from side to side before it grew still again. Genos wondered if this was defensive behavior, having read that some creatures tried to make themselves look bigger to appear more intimidating to what they perceive might be predators.
He was hopeful, but the generous thought wasn’t reciprocated.
The creature dove straight at him. He kicked off the ground and rocketed up to the surface. The beast kept pace, flapped one arm quickly to change direction, and lost a little speed. Genos broke through the water and upward. He activated his gauntlet, and drills formed on the fingertips he jammed into the ceiling to hold him in place. As he swung there and heaved a sigh of relief, he twisted at a splashing sound. The creature leapt out of the water after him. Its white skin was dull and dirty from the water, and gray pads with rough and jagged indentations along them lined its arms.
Genos wrenched himself from his perch and kicked off the ceiling toward the water
as the creature soared past him. He thought he’d escaped, but it slapped his side with one of its flippers. Something ripped, and pain sliced through him as he crashed back into the ravine. The left side of his underlay under his ribcage had been torn, and blood seeped out into the water. Whatever lined the pads of the beast’s arms had sliced into him. He ran an exploratory a hand over the wound and winced, but realized it had created grooves in his skin, almost like it had shaved the flesh off him.
As he swam deeper, the Tsuna fumbled for Chiyo’s device. “Kaitō, is there a drain function for the ravine?”
“There is, Mister Genos. One minute and forty-three seconds until it can be activated,” the EI responded.
“When it is ready, activate it immediately and allow it to drain as rapidly as it can,” he ordered.
“If you are still in the water when that happens, you will be swept away.”
“I know, but I have no plans to be. Just follow my command, please.”
“Understood, sir.”
The creature crashed into the water above him. Its mouth opened and closed rapidly. He had no doubt that it was hungry.
Certainly, he would feed it.
He surged along the ravine floor, and the creature gave chase. By now, he’d guessed that its arms were its primary weapon. The small hooks along the pads were meant to injure and tire the prey so it could feast on them, but their length was a disadvantage because the arms provided obvious warning for its attacks. He would exploit that until he could get into position.
The monster came up behind him and immediately thrust one of its arms forward to try to grab him. Genos rolled out of the way and stopped swimming to allow it to move past him. It turned swiftly and dove for him again while it raised one of its flippers. He kicked to the left as the arm came down. It missed him and dug into the ground, and for a moment, the creature struggled to free itself before it turned to pursue the Tsuna again.
Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration Page 16
