“What was that?” Bella shouted, leaning to look out at the city.
“Look,” Salem pointed at the direction of the Blackwater Bridge, where smoke was rising.
“Shit,” she whispered as the distant pops of gunfire began to crack in the air.
“Let’s move,” Salem said quietly, as he turned back to the wall and pulled the lever beside the hatch. It was stiff, and the fully mechanical system had no automated assistance. Bella moved next to him and grabbed the handle. Together, they put their entire weight onto it and until it slowly start to give way; the clicks of moving cogs locking into place followed each centimetre of movement. A small square panel revealed itself, a tunnel leading into the Nucleus.
“Ready?” Salem asked when the hatch was fully opened.
“Always,” Bella replied and ducked inside.
The maintenance tunnel was only large enough for them to crawl through on their hands and knees. A dull grey metal surrounded them, lined with access points for the dated electronics and internal systems.
A turn in the tunnel led them to a ladder that dropped down into the corridors of the Nucleus. Salem nodded to Bella as she turned and began to climb down. Once she reached the ground, she glanced around before looking up to motion Salem to follow.
“This place looks old,” Bella said, examining the walls of the corridor as Salem stepped off the ladder. Carved wooden panelling and a patterned carpet ran along the corridor, leading to the elevator doors at one end.
“It is old; this place is a derelict of the first age of the Boulevard, back when the city was first being built, before the destruction of the old world.” Salem was looking at the pictures that were hanging along the walls. He stared at one of them, his mind wandering. The picture showed a pure blue ocean with green vegetation lining its shores, something no-one living on the Boulevard would have ever seen other than in digital representations. Salem’s thoughts drifted to his VR simulation. A wave of sadness passed over him; he missed being there where things were more peaceful.
“Come on!” Bella called back to him. She had moved further ahead and was stood at a closed-door at the end of the corridor.
Salem took a breath, then turned to join her. As he reached the door, something tickled his thoughts, a signal.
“She’s here still,” he whispered, nodding to Bella to open the door.
Bella grabbed the handle and pushed it open, stepping inside with her pistol raised.
The room was a large sphere, several banks of computers were whirring at one side, whilst a small seating area opposite was furnished with leather sofas and a bookcase. Stood at one side of the room, looking out of a large panoramic window, Persephone stood. At the sound of the door, she turned slowly to look at the two of them.
“Persephone!” Bella shouted. “It’s over.”
“Oh, well done, that was very dramatic, Miss Risinski. Seriously, brave,” Persephone clapped lightly as she stepped towards them.
Bella followed her movements with the gun barrel. Salem stood beside her as she looked over him.
“And who are you?” Persephone asked, her eyes scanning Salem’s face as if she recognised something that couldn’t be placed.
“We’re the people who are stopping this madness. Call off the prisoners. You must have some means of communicating with them,” Salem said.
“That, I cannot do,” she said. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re a little past that stage,” she waved a hand out the window behind her where to the city.
Salem stepped closer. His head began to spin as if something was clouding his thoughts. Persephone put a hand to her head. Whatever was happening, she could feel it too.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “You…you’re the one who was in my mind earlier? The spy,” she frowned, trying to understand.
“I...” Salem mumbled. He was swaying slightly on his feet.
“Salem, what’s going on?” Bella asked, clearly wanting to help him but not wanting to drop her aim on Persephone.
Persephone stepped away from them, moving towards a door at the other side of the room.
“Hold it!” Bella shouted, preparing to shoot.
Salem dropped to his knees, clutching at his head. His vision was flashing back and forth between his own and what Persephone was seeing, like a television switching channels every second.
“Who. Are. You!” Persephone screamed, stumbling back, grasping her own head.
Salem closed his eyes, the constant fluctuation making him feel nauseous. He blindly grasped for the flask in his jacket and took a long swig. It didn’t seem to have much of an effect.
“Salem, talk to me,” Bella pleaded, stepping beside him, her gun still aimed at Persephone, who was moving towards the door.
“Stop her.” Was all Salem could say through gritted teeth.
Bella moved towards Persephone. Salem was seeing everything through her eyes. He saw Bella adjust her aim, taking a step closer to Persephone as she moved behind the computer banks. Persephone seemed to have regained some focus; perhaps the alcohol had reduced the connection between them.
“Stupid girl,” Persephone hissed, “We’ve played this game before, remember. I should have killed you then!”
Salem saw as Persephone glanced down, a concealed gun dropped into her hand from a strap along her arm as she stepped out from behind the computer banks.
“Bella!” Salem shouted, seeing through his own eyes as Persephone raised the weapon and fired at Bella. The bullet ripped through her shoulder, a blood splatter exploding behind her as the bullet drilled through flesh.
“Fuck!” Bella screamed, falling back across the floor in a heap.
Persephone smiled and took a step closer, raising the gun and pointing it at Bella, who was clutching at the wound on her shoulder.
Salem had climbed to his feet, fighting through the fire that was raging through his brain. Moving forward, he lunged uneasily at Persephone, grabbing her extended arm and forcing her shot to go wild, the bullet plunging into the wall, splintering wood.
Persephone shoved Salem back with her free hand, the pain in both their heads seeming to intensify from the close proximity. Salem stumbled, managing to drop in front of Bella, putting himself between her and Persephone.
“Whatever pain you're causing me, I’m pretty sure it will end with your death,’ she said, aiming the gun at Salem.
Behind her, the door burst open as she pulled the trigger.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Ally
Ally and Peter had weaved their way through the streets towards the Nucleus, the sphere now looming above them.
“What exactly is the plan here?” Ally asked as she looked up at the structure.
“Once we’re inside, I need to get close to her,” Peter replied.
“How close?”
“It’s hard to say. I used to be able to control the clones from almost anywhere. That was in my own body, though, as the main controller, the adjustments Owens and Jacob did to Prime’s mind were a quick fix and not as powerful,” Peter explained.
“Is…is Prime still in there?” Ally asked.
“He is, he says hello. He understands that, for now, I need to be in control, to allow me to stop Persephone.”
“Are you going to let him back in control once this is over?”
Peter paused.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he finally replied.
They had arrived at one of the entrances to the Nucleus, finding the doorway which Quartzig had told them he had blocked, and they worked together to move the debris aside.
“Ally, what you said about my being a clone of you. You believe it to be true?” Peter asked as they lifted a metal vending machine aside.
“I…I think so. Yuri showed me videos of the lab when I was made and how Owens and Jacob created you.
“It makes sense and explains something that troubled me before.”
“Troubled you?”
“Ye
s, you see. As the other clones were made, each time, I felt as though a part of me was…missing, each clone taking a part of myself with it. I don’t mean to excuse anything I did, but my desire to take other minds, absorb their knowledge as I did in the past, it was like trying to fill a void that was ever-expanding. If I was also a clone, it would explain why I could never fill that hole, as I was never complete to begin with.”
“A part of me?”
“Yes, a clone is never quite the original, and each time I was cloned, part of me went with them, I…I don’t fully understand it, but if your TDNA was cloned, perhaps a trace of itself goes with each copy. A part taken from the original.”
“You make it sound like a soul or something,” Ally let out a nervous laugh.
“Perhaps I am, and perhaps that’s what the clones lack, what I lack,” Peter said quietly.
Ally looked at Peter for a moment.
“After you,” Peter turned to her, a smile crossing his face as he motioned to the now cleared doorway. They stepped into the building, heading for the elevator.
“Which floor?” Ally asked as they stepped inside.
“From what Quartzig said, he believed, the pathways to the Nucleus are on a floor between the 155th and 156th,” Peter said, examining the keypad. “Perhaps this would be another opportunity for you to experiment with those powers of yours,” he looked back at Ally.
“Powers? That’s what we’re calling them?” she let out a laugh as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the touchscreen of the keypad and concentrated. Beside her, Peter was watching closely.
Ally felt the power run through her before pulling her into the system, as before she saw the highway of lights below her, the movements faster than she could comprehend. Breathing slowly and remembering the way Quartzig had explained to her, she slowed them down. It took her only a few moments to find the hidden floor connection and activated the lift to move towards it.
“Well done! You seem to be getting the hang of it quite well,” Peter said, smiling, once she disconnected from the panel and the lift was in motion. Ally felt a strange warmth from his words, the admiration of her brother.
“Thanks, though it's still pretty weird,” she said, her head throbbing slightly from the connection.
The lift came to a halt, and the doors opened to reveal the tunnel before them. Stepping through, they made their way to the Nucleus.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Bella
Bella was helpless as she saw Persephone pull the trigger, the gun aimed at Salem, as a door opened at the far end of the room revealing an elderly man and what appeared to be a blue hologram. Persephone turned to look at the newcomers, the distraction enough to shift the aim of the gun enough that it only grazed Salem’s arm as he dived aside to avoid the shot.
“Who the hell are?” Persephone began as the pair stepped into the room, recognition dawning on her. “Jacob, Yuri, nice of you to join us.”
“Despite your best efforts to prevent our arrival,” Jacob smiled.
“Ah, I assume Mr Faust…” she let the name hang in the air.
“He met an unfortunate accident,” Yuri finished.
Salem had moved to check on Bella’s wound. Either the distance between him and Persephone or the swig of alcohol seemed to have dulled his connection to her somewhat.
“Who are they?” Bella asked as Salem tore his jacket to wrap around her shoulder as a make-shift bandage.
“No idea, but the longer they chat, the more time we have to-” he was cut short as Jacob walked over to them.
“I don’t believe it. It’s really you isn’t it?” he said, staring at Salem.
“I don’t know who you are, old man, but I suggest you back the fuck off,” Salem growled.
“We always wondered what happened to you,” Jacob chuckled to himself as he looked back to Yuri, who was still confronting Persephone.
“What are you talking about?” Salem asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t remember, would you?” Jacob looked at Salem as though he were an animal in a cage.
Persephone looked away from Yuri, aimed her gun, and fired a shot that embedded in the ground near Jacob’s feet.
“Step away from them!” she shouted, anger flashing across her face as she realised she was losing control of the situation.
Yuri moved away from her slightly, his hologram drifting back in an attempt to diffuse her aggression.
“Please, Persephone, we don’t need to be enemies here,” he said, raising his hands in surrender.
“Enemies? You’ve killed Faust, as well as interrupting my plans here today. You are most certainly my enemies!”
“In our defence, you sent Faust after us and had Ava spying on us. We never had any opposition to you. We simply wanted to speak with you to discuss an alliance,” Yuri explained.
Bella watched the events unfolding. It seemed she and Salem had temporarily been forgotten again. She tested her shoulder; it seemed the bandage was stopping the bleeding, but it still hurt like crazy. Looking to Salem, she saw his own injury weeping blood slightly, but he glanced over at the door behind them, a subtle suggestion that they make a move to escape.
Jacob coughed, catching their attention as he stepped towards them again, a pistol of his own drawn and aimed at Bella.
“I hope you weren’t thinking of going anywhere; I’d hate to have to murder either of you. Especially you,” he pointed the gun at Salem .” We have much to discuss you and I,” he smiled.
“Is everything okay over there?” Yuri called out.
“All is fine. I’m sure you will be interested in our new acquaintance over here,” Jacob replied.
Yuri glanced at Salem, his head tilted as he recalled a memory.
“How curious,” he replied. “We thought he had died. How many years ago was that?”
“Oh, it must be about twenty, if memory serves,” Jacob said.
Before he could continue, the door to the Nucleus opened as Ally and Peter walked into the room.
“I really thought this place was more secure,” Persephone rolled her eyes as they entered. “Though I guess it’s about time we all converged.”
Bella and Salem watched as Ally’s eyes looked back and forth from the people in the room. Her eyes landed on Yuri and froze. Peter simply walked straight through the group without hesitation, directly towards Persephone.
“It’s over Persephone,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to concentrate on her face.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Peter
As Peter walked closer to Persephone, he could feel the connection beginning to trigger in the back of his mind.
Careful Prime, who had been relatively quiet since leaving Blackwater, said. Something doesn’t feel right.
Peter had to agree, but then this was the first time he’d used Prime’s mind to control a clone.
“Peter, I’m assuming that’s you inside there?” Persephone smiled.
“It is,” he replied.
“Peter? My, my, it is nice to see you’ve managed to avoid death once again. It seems many of us survived the fall of CyBio,” Jacob smiled, looking around the room.
“I’m guessing Keller didn’t make it?” Persephone asked.
“I put a bullet through his brain,” Ally spat out, causing Persephone to raise an eyebrow.
“It’s time to stop these games,” Peter said, bringing the attention back to him. He didn’t want anything to risk the connection he was trying to establish.
“Games?” Persephone laughed, “you think this is all a game? I’m completing the work that you failed to do, Peter! The knowledge and power of this city, all available to me.”
“Do you realise what you sound like? You’ve gone crazy, just like I did! I understand now what happened to me. I lost control as my mind became fragmented; the more I was cloned. Connecting with Prime has helped me to restore some of what I’d lost. We can do the same for you,” Pet
er explained.
“Oh, Peter, you really think that you’ve been healed? You’re nothing more than a ghost now. You’ve not been fixed; you just didn’t manage to transfer all of your thoughts over to Prime. You may have been fragmented before, but now you’re just broken!” Persephone moved forwards.
“That’s enough,” Peter said, his mind concentrating on sending a signal to the receiver in Persephone’s head.
Why can’t we access her? Prime said.
“Are you trying to get in here?” Persephone smiled, tapping her temple.
“What…” Peter could feel pressure in his own mind; Persephone was pushing back. More than that, she was trying to access his mind.
“You forget, Prime is still a clone. He may have had some alterations, but he was still controlled just as we all were originally,” Persephone explained, “but I’ve had some upgrades of my own courtesy of Doctor Koenig, and mine wasn’t as rushed and sloppy as Prime’s,” she glanced at Jacob. “No, mine was done carefully and methodically for just this situation.”
Peter felt the pressure exploding in his mind, the force of Persephone’s mind weighing on his own.
Fight it! Prime was shouting in his mind.
“I’m…trying!” Peter pushed back. Blood began to seep from his nostrils as his head ached like an electrical storm was burning through him. The force of Persephone was pushing him further from control.
Let me in. I can help! Prime shouted.
Peter closed his eyes, allowing Prime some control of the body they shared. The additional concentration seemed to help, the force stopped, but they couldn’t push it back.
“It…appears…we are at a stalemate,” Persephone said in between gasps, her eyes locked with Peter’s.
Peter knew that it was only through the help of Prime strengthening his mind that prevented Persephone from completely overwhelming him, even a slight lapse in concentration, and she would take over Prime’s body.
Ally, who had been unable to move her eyes from the hologram of Yuri, now had made a move towards Salem and Bella as Salem let out a scream of agony.
“I don’t suppose any of you actually know who this is, do you?” Jacob called out, distracting everyone. Peter and Persephone held their eye contact, almost daring each other to stop first.
Neon Blood (Neon Helix Universe Book 3) Page 27
