White Fire

by Laurie Bell

  “Boss?” The C-bot sounded pained by her request. Toni’s hands shook where she clutched his side. For the first time, their separation would be at her behest. If felt like betrayal. Somehow she would have to find the strength to go on without him. At least she would have Zach.

  “Mate, I need you to do this.”

  He lowered his head.

  “I know you don’t like it, but I need you here. Sentinels are on their way, but I have to get to Marn. I need to know she’s safe.”

  “Yes, Boss.”

  With tears in her eyes Toni re-entered the Vice-President’s suite and introduced her partner to his new charge.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  A young STCT officer greeted her at the base of the Blackflame’s ramp. “This hoverjeep will take us to the frontline.” He looked like every other soldier she could see standing guard at the doors, vehicles, and around Marn’s primary landing dock. Bright eyes, clean-shaven face, crisp military salute and all. “Agent Delle, I am to brief you on the situation at the dam.”

  “Situation?” Toni slid into the vehicle and the STCT driver took off at top speed. She grabbed onto the rear seat with her bad hand, sending a shock of pain up her arm. Though her injury had been treated by the medics on Midock, the recently reknitted bones were exceedingly tender. She carried the precious vial Telksh had handed her strapped to her side, secure beneath the sling keeping her injured arm pinned to her chest.

  A biting wind whipped her hair around like a live electrical line. Tugging the strands out of her eyes, her thoughts drifted back to her departure from Midock. She hadn’t been able to look at Mate after her goodbye. The silence inside the Blackflame had been palpable. “Where are the smugglers?”

  “They have not returned.” Zach admitted, his voice soft as if he too was feeling Mate’s loss. That Dan and Berni had taken the opportunity to disappear was barely a blip on Toni’s radar. Of course Dan had left. It was what he did. She didn’t expect she’d ever see him again.

  Her thoughts returned to the scenery speeding past, ignoring the chasm inside her chest through long practice. A glance at the empty seat beside her reminded Toni of Mate’s absence. I’m all alone here. The further they traveled from the dock, the stronger the feeling of being too exposed. She couldn’t control the trembling of her hands or how frequently her head turned, searching for dangers she was afraid she wouldn’t see in time.

  The young officer leaned close to be heard above the whistling wind. “The Underground launched their attack on Nesine City the very moment Vice-President Ramo was targeted.”

  Toni stared out over the deserted city streets. She counted too many bodies, damage from Resonator fire everywhere she looked. “Where are we headed?”

  “Dtrellingham Dam. It’s the largest on Marn. The Underground forces have barricaded themselves inside the central control room of the dam’s powerhouse. We’re attempting to breach their shields. Somehow, they got their hands on a railgun and have prevented us flying over the Dam to drop behind their lines. They’re threatening to dismantle the filtration generators and release the poison into the dam’s reservoir. The Dtrellingham Dam reservoir is fed by the planet’s water table, and has links to the six largest dams on this continent. If the water here is tainted, it will affect everything. The process plants will be forced to shut down. The longer they’re inoperative, the more worlds will be affected by the lack of supply.”

  The thought was horrifying. “I have the antidote,” Toni shouted as they sped through the city.

  “That’s why we have to get you on location, Agent.”

  Toni knew from Zach’s earlier briefing that there were over six thousand dams and water filtration plants across the planet. Marn was a world dedicated to the storage and packaging of clean drinking water, and supplied not only the STCT and the Sector’s military troops, but many desert worlds as well as worlds suffering the effects of severe drought. Millions of people would be affected by a lack of clean drinking water. There would be deaths all over the Sector before new supplies could be organized and distributed. If the terrorists infected the underground water table, she hoped Telksh was right and the small amount of antidote she carried would be enough to reverse the effects. Her heart thundered at the sense of urgency, frustrated at her inability to do anything but wait until they arrived.

  The officer continued, raising his voice to he heard above the sounds of rapid gun fire. “Over four hundred square miles, the dam contains thirty-two million acre-feet of water. The control center in the heart of the Dam provides electricity to the main powerhouse. It’s a fifty-story building situated just in front of the shields that keep the water contained.” They passed more bodies, Underground terrorists in their dark purple uniforms and masks and the black of Marn’s security forces. They arrived just as Marn’s two suns were beginning to set. An eerie green dusk lit the building standing sentinel before them, casting long shadows that crawled toward the STCT encampment.

  Toni was sent directly to the officer in charge. Her mouth dropped open. “General?”

  Trasken himself was in command. He looked Toni up and down. His pinpoint stare immediately put her on edge.

  “Sir?”

  “Agent, sit rep?”

  “Sir, the poison is a manmade toxin called Genmiktok. I have the creator of the poison in custody and the antidote in my possession.” She retrieved the small case strapped to her side and tried to hand it to the General, but he wouldn’t take it. His thin lips pressed together. He ran a hand through cropped silver hair. Toni’s blood ran cold.

  “Agent, we have a situation here and it appears it is one you are uniquely qualified to handle.”

  “Sir?” She was only here to transport the antidote and had assumed her part in the operation would be concluded once she handed over the vial. The way the General was looking at her made her instantly aware of her small stature. The bad feeling in her gut intensified.

  General Trasken led her into a makeshift situation room. Over a large table-monitor was a three-dimensional schematic of the powerhouse. A hand-drawn path was highlighted below the current powerhouse’s conduits. Oh shenghi, more air ducts.

  “Agent, the earliest pipework systems are not on any known schematics. Orbital scans found us a way in. We have a path into the main control chamber where the Underground terrorists are holed up. You can see our problem.”

  Yes, Toni could see it. In four locations on the plan, the conduits dropped to less than two feet wide, barely more than Toni’s own shoulder width. It would be a kheghing tight squeeze, as well as extremely claustrophobic for the person infiltrating the powerhouse. They’d have to be small and wiry, and also flexible—the last conduit line before the exit point on the lower level of the powerhouse twisted into a dog-leg sharper than Mate’s hind legs. Mate could have fit if I hadn’t kheghing left him behind! Once again, her decision making when on her own proved disastrous. This time it would lead to millions of deaths.

  “Agent, all of my men are too large. We were preparing to send for one of our most junior tech officers when you arrived.”

  Nausea swirled in her belly. “You want me to climb in there.” It wasn’t a question. She couldn’t do it, not with her wrist strapped to her body as it was. She’d have to remove the sling. All she’d be left with was the thick compression bandage, and maybe if she was lucky, a brace to support her inner wrist. She’d need her hand and fingers free for the crawl. A mission without Mate. Her mind froze. She stared blankly at the map.

  “Agent Delle.”

  Toni startled back, her gaze shooting up to the General’s face. His right eye twitched, but he said nothing more. Toni sucked in a deep breath and nodded. She was the only one who could do this.

  It was immediately obvious she’d be unable to wear any of the STCT’s protection gear. To remain as flexible and thin as she could, she stripped down to just her long-sleeved shirt and trousers. She had an ear comm, her shades, and her small pistol tucked into her boot. At least
she had Zach on text display and the general in her ear, so she was not entirely alone. As good as, though. She carried the vial of antidote in a sleeve strapped inside the brace on her bad wrist.

  “We cannot confirm enemy numbers,” the General said as they stood outside the incursion point. He was as apologetic as she’d ever seen him. “My men believe we can force visual contact within two hours.”

  “Obviously we cannot wait that long.” Her stomach churned. She’d be alone and without protection. But she had to do this. She would do this.

  “You should have an easy run of it until you reach the first cross-section.”

  Having loaded the schematics to her glasses earlier so she wouldn’t lose her way in the endless run of tunnels, she agreed with his assessment that the first cross-section would be her first true test of agility.

  “Good luck, Agent,” the General said.

  Toni stepped over the lip of the cutaway conduit and ducked inside. She gulped at the endless blackness before her. Setting her glasses to night vision, the tunnel appeared in green and shades of grey. “Agent?” The General’s voice sounded in her ear comm loud and clear.

  “I hear you, General.”

  “Good luck.”

  Toni dropped to her hands and knees, wincing at the pressure applied to her recently repaired wrist, and hobbled her way along the first length of tunnel. In moments, she was surrounded by ghostly green walls. The first bend was a tight fit. She scraped skin off her shoulders as she pulled herself up and twisted sharply. It took all of her strength to haul her body up the steep incline to the next twist. The comm in her ear gave a sharp squeal and then fell silent. Her glasses fritzed. All she could see was black. “Hello, General?” she whispered. “General? Zach?” There was no answer.

  She was on her own.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  I can’t do this!

  She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t see. The scent of cold metal saturated her senses. She gasped, searching for air she couldn’t find. Her body trembled violently, jarring her arm and sending sparks of pain shooting through her frame.

  Toni flashed to a memory—long ago, blinded by Colten’s flashbang, Mate had led her to safety. She closed her eyes, blocking out the blackness entombing her and focused on her memory of the C-bot’s voice. “Take one step at a time—I am here.” She jammed her back against the wall and shuffled upward, imagining Mate’s fur beneath her fingertips and his voice in her ears. Eventually, she opened her eyes. One step at a time.

  She could do this.

  Hearing Mate, at other times Zach, Toni climbed silently, contorting her way through what felt like miles of metal tunnels. She wasn’t unfit—not at all—but these tunnels were a maze. If she wasn’t claustrophobic before, when she got out of here she would be. Her breathing was heavy, sucking in stale air, tasting dust and grit. The scent of chemicals and water was growing stronger.

  Squeezing up and over another joint, she scraped her knees. Dear gods, her knees and elbows would be rubbed raw by the end of this journey. Is there even an end? Fearing she would be stuck down here forever, she was close to talking aloud just to create some noise. Though she was puffing and sweating from her exertions, she was also freezing. Her nose and fingers were icy cold, and her nose kept dripping. Her constant sniffing and panting was surely too loud, and … Wait … what was that?

  A barely audible metallic ping sounded somewhere up ahead.

  She crept closer to the sound. It was constant now, and growing louder.

  In moments, the light around her grew bright enough to blind her. She froze, waiting impatiently for her eyes to adjust. The end of the conduit lay just ahead.

  According to her memory of the plans, she should exit out into a small storeroom. This was the moment of most danger. Would she be heard or seen while trying to open the sealed vent? Oh, khegh it! She eyed the vent unhappily. The diagonal corners were barely wider than her shoulders. Thank goodness for her boyish hips. The rails of the screen were a finger width apart, giving her a clear view into the room beyond. Luck was with her—the room was empty.

  Toni set to work on the clasps holding the screen to the wall. The STCT had given her military grade acid-oil to burn through the bolts. Watching it work its magic and dissolve the catches was a joy to behold. She’d have to get a supply of her own—it would’ve come in handy back on Uxt. In minutes, the bolts were gone. She held the vent screen in place with just her fingers. This is it. Taking a deep breath, she wriggled right up to the screen and popped it loose with a gentle push. The grate emitted a soft sucking noise as it came away. She edged the screen forward and listened carefully. There was no movement from the room beyond and, more importantly, no shouts of alarm.

  Shuffling forward, she lowered the screen and slipped from the vent. Her earpiece burst with static as her listeners came back online. “Agent? Agent!” Her shades remained black.

  “General. I’m in,” she whispered, her body sagging with relief.

  “Sit rep?” The General’s voice became clear over the rest of the chatter.

  She crouched, waiting for someone to come running. A quick glance showed boxes and stationary items stacked haphazardly on rickety shelves.

  Removing her inoperable shades, she pulled her pistol from her ankle and tiptoed to the door. There was a faint murmur of voices outside. Cracking the door ajar, she checked the corridor. Seeing only an empty hall, she ducked out of the store room and crept toward the sound. A number of purple-clad men were gathered in a large, open space. Behind them sat three shield generators, humming loud enough to send a vibration through the floor back to where Toni stood. Every so often it let out a sharp ping. Aha. That’s why no one heard my entry.

  By the sound of it, the terrorists were arguing about time. Toni couldn’t make out the exact words over the generators. She backed away slowly. Her mission was to get the entrance open, not deal with the Underground by herself. Following the path General Trasken’s men talked her through, she crept toward the powerhouse’s exit. There was a man guarding the gate. One well-placed shot took him down.

  The voice in her earpiece gave her instructions to disable the outside shields and in seconds she was surrounded by the insertion squad. She held still as they thundered past, content to let the men do their jobs. All she had to do now was find a safe spot to hole up. The creak of an unoiled hinge snapped her head around. What was that?

  Holding her weapon tightly in her wrong hand, she headed down the opposite end of the tunnel, following the signs leading to the water filtration access tunnel. The shadow of a man crossed the wall in front of her. “General? I have sight of an unknown at the filtration hub.”

  The General grumbled and then shouted a muffled order. His voice came online a second later. “Hold, Agent. I’m sending two men back.”

  Toni wasn’t going to hang about. This man was down here alone for a reason. She crept forward and poked her head into the room beyond.

  The filtration hub was a giant pool of water with a thin metal walkway over the center. A shield shimmered mere inches above the pool. The walkway had a box-like machine right in the center that ran down beneath the walkway and under the water to the pool’s edge. A crisp, fresh smell tinged with something pungent—like oily chemicals—filled her nose. The hair on her arms rose making her skin tingle. That must be the shield preventing access to the water below. Power lines and tubes covered every wall, like the roots of a tree stretching down into the pool.

  The man was on the walkway, a bag at his feet. He knelt beside the machine, fiddling with the insides.

  Toni burst into the room. “Freeze!” she shouted. “Stop what you’re doing and step away from the machine.” The masked man bolted to his feet at the sound of her voice and snatched up his bag. Toni fired at him. The shot flew over his head and exploded against the wall, just missing one of the power lines. He took off for the far end of the pool.

  Toni chased after him. As the terrorist approached the wall,
he fired at the power lines. The conduits appeared to travel the entire length of the room, all the way under the pool back to the shield generator. He’s still trying to disable it! Toni hit the walkway a split second before two STCT officers burst into the hub. As soon as they spotted the terrorist, they began shooting. Shots exploded against the wall in front of the terrorist, driving him back toward Toni. Breathing hard, she fired several times, each shot missing as the walkway beneath her feet swayed. One shot hit close to the terrorist’s head, forcing him to the floor.

  Raising his own weapon, he fired—not at Toni, but at the wall. The shield below the walkway sparked and then dissolved. Shenghi!

  The man rolled to his feet, tearing open the bag. Toni ran faster. Her feet pounded the metal walkway, but she was too late. He found what he was looking for and dove toward the edge of the pool. Her next shot hit the terrorist square in the back. He stumbled forward and tumbled into the water. Toni’s blood turned to ice.

  “No!” she cried. Spinning to the soldiers, she shouted, “Get those pumps off now!” She dove after the terrorist, hitting the water hard, and dragged the limp body toward the edge, thrusting the dead weight up into the STCT soldier’s hands. “Find the vial,” she panted, treading water and watching the soldier search.

  He held aloft a small vial. “Empty.”

  Toni focused her gaze on the water. It was turning a sickly green, spreading out in a growing circle. “Xendia!” Without wasting another second, heart pounding out the words too late in her ears, Toni tore open the bandage around her wrist, dumping the contents of the vial into the water, swirling it around with her hands.

  “Are we in time?” the soldier asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  The water began to change again, fading slowly back to its original crystal-clear blue. Relief flooded through her as she gasped, “I think so.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE