On the other side, we find the car that Gerald’s contact left and drive to the facility. After the short drive, we park and exit the vehicle.
Americus walks up to me. “I wanted to say, I’m sorry that I was hard on you earlier. I’m not mad at Sunny for Yumi and Astrid’s deaths. I know that he was only trying to help, and if it weren’t for him, we’d be dead anyway. You’ve been a fantastic addition to the team. I know you don’t have any parents, but you have me as long as I’m around.”
All at once, any anger or doubts I held about Americus vanish. I’ve had so few people in my life ever say anything half as sweet. He’s rough around the edges, but I’ll always appreciate when he fed me and all he’s taught me about history, politics, the economy, and fighting.
“That means a lot to me, sir,” I say.
Gerald slaps Americus’ shoulder. “We’ll pull this off, Major. Just like old times.”
Americus pats Gerald back and nods.
“It’s good that you’re close to your daughter,” says Gerald. “I wish I was with my kids. You never know how much time you’re going to have with them. After this is done, I’m making them my priority.”
“Me too,” says Americus.
Nav is going to love that. I hope they can make it work.
“We’ll walk in calmly like we’re going to work,” says Americus. “Once we have the president and VP, we’ll leave quickly through the same door. From the intel, we shouldn’t face serious resistance. Are you both ready?”
Gerald rubs his face, his head bobbing in agreement.
We hike to the prison, Gerald leading the way. A twenty-foot armored wall surrounds the complex, protected by two guards.
My nerves buzz as we approach, so I recite all the protections I have in place: a uniform, a badge, and a holographic mask. Flash and smoke grenades, vest, pistol, dazzlers. I think about all the contingency plans Alexander and I devised, hoping I won’t need them, but making sure I know them.
An astute looking guard scans our badges. Another stands next to him. My heart pounds as we wait for admittance.
After he scans Americus’ badge, he looks up quickly. “Ramirez, I almost didn’t realize it was you. Have you been working out? You look bigger.”
“Girlfriend likes it,” says Americus, his voice now with a slight accent.
The guard’s eyebrows rise. “Girlfriend?”
I freeze, panic surging inside me. Americus tenses, looking like he’s ready to cripple both guards.
“You better not tell your wife about her,” says the guard with a chuckle. “Well, enjoy another boring day of doing nothing.” He steps aside.
The tension in Americus’ shoulders relaxes and I exhale. The inside is quiet, with no security. A peculiar smell hangs in the air, but I can’t quite place it. At the end of a long hall, an exit leads to a courtyard. Halfway up, there’s a third door, opposite a hallway.
We brought four extra q-links for the president and VP, so they can cloak as soon as we have them. I put my hand on my Torg as Gerald types in the code to the door. It flashes green, and he opens it for us. The strange smell is more noxious inside the room, and I scrunch my nose.
Relief floods through me when I see President Toscano and Vice President Garza sitting in chairs at the back of the room, tied up and gagged. Despite my relief, I scan the area for defensive structures and alternate exits. A table lines one wall, several steel file cabinets line the other, and there are two more doors on either side of the room. It’s really more of a conference room than a prison.
Finally, this ends. I allow myself a smile, and my worries fade into the background.
We walk up, and Americus removes Toscano’s gag. I take out the q-links for them.
“Ms. President?” he asks.
She doesn’t respond. Garza looks equally subdued.
They sit slumped as if they’ve given up. But it’s not just that. President Toscano’s famously smooth skin sags, and Garza’s tan complexion has taken on a gray pallor. The trauma they’ve endured has broken them.
“Oh no. That smell is formaldehyde,” says Americus.
My eyes widen, and an icy chill overtakes me as the full implication of what’s happening races through my mind. Not just broken. Dead.
CHAPTER 19
CRITICAL MISTAKE
“Turn around slowly,” says Gerald. “Director Tempton wants you for questioning before he kills you.”
“We’re betrayed,” Americus yells into his q-link to warn the base.
Gerald laughs. “Communications are blocked. Do you think we’d let you warn them?”
My stomach lurches at the comment as I turn to see Gerald pointing a gun at us. The entirety of our mistakes comes smacking into me. I drop the four extra q-links, feeling sick.
Americus emits a low growl as he looks the man over. “Why are you doing this, Gerald? Are they threatening your family? Did they somehow install the Evo, and we missed it?”
“You must be getting old, Americus. I’m not Gerald.”
Americus’ brow furrows. “What? Impossible. We scanned you for face-shift tech.”
Gerald reaches up and pulls at his face. His skin stretches unnaturally, then tears as he rips his entire face off and tosses it. It slaps on the floor with a sickening wet sound.
The smell of blood makes me scrunch my nose. I look up, expecting to see exposed muscle and skull, but he has a new face. It’s much younger than Gerald’s and much crueler.
He brushes off a few bits of skin and drops of blood, then smiles. “Bio mask. They grew it from Gerald’s DNA. You paint the cells on your face, and it grows right before your eyes. It has biological batteries to maintain it. So no electronics to detect.”
Hell, that’s why he kept rubbing his face.
Americus looks at him horrified, but I’m not sure if it’s because he was tricked or because Gerald’s face is crumpled on the ground.
“But your voice,” says Americus.
“They grew me Gerald’s vocal cords and inserted them. After that, I spent a week learning to move like him and talk with his cadence. Did a good job, didn’t I?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “They knew you were talking to Gerald for a while but needed the right lure. It’s hilarious that you think there’s a magic button to solve all of your problems.”
I knew it sounded too good to be true. If only I trusted myself.
Americus growls. “Did you kill him, you son of a fascist?”
Fake Gerald shrugs. “Not me, but he’s dead. They tortured him for days to get those few stories about you. Now, lay down on the ground and put your hands behind your backs.”
The side-door opens, and two more men in tactical gear point dart guns at us. Suddenly and with finality, our mission to save America ends.
Hell. I hope the others find a way to escape, at least. If I were the quick-to-action sort instead of a planner, I’d charge this imposter and break his neck. Instead, I move to submit to give myself time to think.
Americus leaps toward the guards, and with two quick motions, he disarms them both. He swats aside a punch and kicks the one man’s leg. It snaps, and the man crumbles to the ground with a howl. Before the other guard can react, Americus slams his fingers into his throat. The man collapses, gasping for air and clutching his neck. Americus draws his pistol and shoots them both, just as two more guards rush in to attack him. They grab his gun before he can fire and wrestle for control.
The Gerald imposter’s eyes go wide. He fires at Americus, but the dart clinks off the wall.
I sprint at fake Gerald with the intent to kill.
He fires at me, and a dart punches into my neck. I lurch to a stop and grab the dart, then stare at it in disbelief. Fake Gerald smiles, then turns his gun on Americus.
A quick hazy numbness threatens my body and mind, my vision dimming.
No! I force away the paralysis, and renewed energy rushes through me. I smack fake Gerald’s wrist and gun before he can fire, and then it’s in my hands.<
br />
His mouth gapes open. “Damn dart!”
I pull the trigger, and the projectile thumps into his head. His eyes roll back, and he slides to the ground.
Americus punches the remaining guard in the stomach and shoots him in the head. The second guard already bleeds out on the ground, a knife in his neck. Americus rips out the knife, a spurt of blood spraying. He launches it into fake Gerald’s face, ending the imposter.
More guards shout in the distance as Americus dives behind a filing cabinet. “Come here.”
I dive next to him just as the other door bursts open, revealing even more guards.
“Chim,” I say, “activate our glasses and the dazzler program.”
“Good call,” says Americus as we slip on our tactical glasses.
Brilliant green lasers burst forth from the q-links in the middle of the room. The guards scream as their eyes burn.
“Go,” shouts Americus as he pulls me up. “I’ll handle them. Escape and warn the others.”
For an instant, I consider helping him, but as he pushes me, I flee into the hallway. “Chim, execute program jailbreak,” I say as I dash toward the exit. I rip my flashbang grenade out, ready to throw it at the two guards outside.
“Jailbreak success,” says my q-link.
Thank—
The door opens, and seven or so guards point dart guns at me. I slide to a halt, my stomach sinking, and I toss the flashbang.
It explodes with a powerful report, the shockwave thumping into me. I stumble but keep my feet.
The men outside are writhing around and covering their eyes or ears. I prepare to rush them for an escape, but ten or so more guards run up behind them.
I whirl around and sprint the other way. One of the dazzled guards stumbles into the hallway, his face bloody. I run faster, holding Gerald’s gun in front of me and pulling the trigger. My shots are mostly wild, but one dart hits his leg. He screams and clutches at it before slumping down.
I leap over him, sprinting for the courtyard exit and get a glimpse of Americus fighting in the conference room. Three guards are incapacitated, but at least six more pummel him with blows.
I grit my teeth but continue on, pulling out another flashbang. The door bursts open, and guards raise their guns. I throw my flashbang, spin around, and run down the perpendicular hallway.
Partway down, I realize there’s no exit. Oh hell no. Fear threatens to disable me, but I force it away. The window!
I toss the dart gun and sprint as fast as I can, much quicker than when I first started this horrible journey. I leap, my fists out, my eyes closed, and my head down.
The glass shatters around me and tears into my hand. Then I’m hitting the ground and rolling like a mouse fleeing for her life.
I leap to my feet to see a sunlit, grassy courtyard, several large buildings, and two powered down Corefense Obliterator robo-suits. My heart slams into my chest, but I have no time to think, just react.
A whirring noise sounds as roof turrets angle toward me.
They didn’t want to kill me, but the turrets don’t know that. “Chim, initiate my turret program, and take them over.”
“Failure,” my q-link says.
Diablo! My stomach drops, and a sense of nothingness washes over me. Like an out-of-body experience, I see myself shaking before certain death. And for what? I’ve accomplished nothing.
I watch as the turrets rotate. Everything was so fast until now, but the world slows to a sharp focus. Barbra is suddenly before me, saying she wants to adopt me. She fades, and Nav holds my hand to comfort me. Alexander appears, and I feel his warm embrace as he wraps his arms around me.
I snap back into my body, and my mind wakes up. “Chim, shut them down instead.”
I don’t know if it will work. It seems crazy that they wouldn’t have updated them, but it’s my only chance.
The turrets spin and target me.
I shut my eyes and prepare for the white-hot lasers to scorch through me.
“Success,” says my q-link.
The lights on the turrets dim, and for a second, I’m stunned that I’m alive.
Guards shout from inside and from somewhere in the courtyard. I don’t know what happened to Americus, but I need to warn the others.
My eyes flit around the space, looking for any way to escape. I toss two smoke grenades nearby to give me time, and I adjust my glasses to see through the haze. Guards round the corner but have no tactical glasses.
I spot a ladder that runs up the side of a nearby building. I dash through the smoke and climb, my toned arms and legs propelling me upward, twice as fast as when I climbed away from the security guard so long ago.
The smoke clears the higher I get, and a guard near the outer wall spots me and raises his gun. I hold the ladder with one hand, rip out my Torg, and fire three shots at him. One strikes his shoulder, spinning him to the ground.
A dart smacks into my back, but my vest stops the tip from reaching my skin. I shrug off the close call and climb, my adrenaline surging. More darts strike the wall and ladder, somehow missing me.
I crest the top, roll onto the roof, and leap up to rush forward. The wind whips by me, ruffling my loose uniform. All I have to do now is—I cut off as I realize this building doesn’t butt up against the outer wall.
Oh hell. I’m trapped. Sickness threatens to creep up my throat until I see another rooftop that does. The gap between the two buildings is wider than when I smashed my face into the wall, but I’m in much better shape, and I’m much more desperate. If I fall this time, they’ll kill me.
A hidden reserve of energy charges my muscles. My arms and legs pump, driving me forward. I can make it. I can do this.
I launch off the edge of the roof, my stomach dropping. Time slows as I’m suspended in air. A flash of uncertainty blinds me, flooding me with panic. But when the lip of the other roof approaches, relief parts the waves.
My feet smack into the surface. Pain jolts up my legs, but I roll to avoid the worst of it. The world spins around me until I jump back up and run again. I can do anything. I am StarFeather!
Freedom lies twenty feet before me. I’ll just hang off, drop into a roll, and cloak. I sprint onward, faster than ever before. I can still save the others.
Shouts and darts sound beneath me, but nothing can touch me. I’m not a mouse; I’m an owl, soaring through the wind.
A thumping noise grows steadily louder.
I slow and then freeze as a quadcopter Liberator Drone rises into view, its missiles and cannons threatening death.
Hope spills out of me, and terror takes its place. I stand there and gape at it, knowing it will tear me apart if I move.
Thoughts race through my head. Run away. Dodge around it and jump. Shoot it. No. Anything I do will get me killed.
“Drop your gun and surrender,” comes a voice through the drone.
I raise my hands, and just like that, I’m Fae again.
CHAPTER 20
∴ BRING ON THE PAIN ∴
Two guards toss me into a dim room with no windows. I tumble to the ground and roll several times. I’m wearing nothing but my underwear since they stripped off my vest, weapons, clothes, and even the two extra q-links I had cloaked on my ankles. They only left me with my necklace vial that contains the Evo, probably to mess with me. At least they didn’t install it.
“Don’t hurt her. She’s just a kid,” growls Americus, who is stripped to his boxers and on his knees, bruises all over his body. The bloody gash on his forehead and his ripped physique make him look dangerous, despite his handcuffs.
I appreciate his support, but I wouldn’t even be here if not for him. How could he not know the imposter wasn’t his friend? It makes me want to rage at him for failing me, Nav, and everyone else. But I can’t think about that now. I need to focus on getting out of here.
Two burly men yank me up by my arms and hold me tight.
“She didn’t seem like a kid when she was shooting my people,” says a
man with beady eyes and pale skin. He holds a baton that he repeatedly taps into his palm. “You can call me Captain Bosu. You’re both very resourceful. I should have known, since you’re an ex-Marine, Americus. Too bad your apprentices won’t have a chance against the assault team I sent.”
Acid burns my stomach at the words. But maybe they can win. They’re always prepared for an attack, and Alexander is a warrior.
“You’ll pay for this,” says Americus.
Bosu chuckles. “I doubt it. Either way, I’ll be interrogating you now. Director Tempton instructed me to install the Evo in you, Americus, but I prefer to use pain.”
Americus growls. “If you hurt her, I’ll—”
Bosu smacks Americus across his face with his baton, then raises it to strike again.
“Don’t,” I yell.
The corners of the captain’s thin lips pull up into a smile. “Beg for his life, and I’ll let him live, assuming he tells me what I want to know.”
I hate the thought of begging this pale disgusting demon, but I can’t let Americus die. It will destroy Nav. “Please, don’t hurt him. Please.”
Bosu laughs. “Nice begging, but I doubt it will change my mind.”
Oh hell no.
He wheels on Americus. “Who is your weapon supplier? Who are your other contacts? Do you have other assets in the government? Where are your other cells?”
Americus spits on the captain.
Bosu wipes the spit from his face, hate in his eyes. “Inject him with coagulant and use the drill.”
Another guard takes an electric drill from a case, then tests it. The drill bit whirrs. My stomach roils at the thought of what’s next.
Two other guards inject Americus and then hold him as the third drills into his foot. Americus screams until they retract the drill. Captain Bosu repeats his questions.
Americus stares daggers at him and says nothing, despite his brutal wound. Bosu nods to his guards, who drill his other foot.
The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) Page 29
