After a short dash over open ground beyond the fence, she slipped among old hydroponic tanks. This close, they made her feel like a mouse. The stack reached a touch past forty feet tall, each individual row about seven. White metal glistened in the starlight, framing murky transparent plastic coated with ten years of neglect. Most large food producers used orbital farms now, where gravity and space were nonissues. Due to economy of scale, land-based farms had become almost extinct outside of the third world.
She jogged to the end of the row, leaning up against a tank while she waited for the patrol. Due to their spacing, her best bet would be to walk right past one. When the guards came around the corner of a red corrugated building, she latched onto their mental presence and forced their brains to ignore her.
Striding out into the open, she bee-lined for the nearest door. Two soldiers passed within an arm’s length, not even batting an eyelash. Anna ignored Orange’s frantic shouting until she arrived at a grey door.
“Relax, I got a few more tricks.”
“I… I don’t even wanna know how the hell you just did that.” His rapid exhale flooded her ear. “One sec, I’ll get the door.”
She squatted low, keeping her body in shadow as she looked at the code panel. The next pair of guards was due in about fifty seconds. Based on her count, these two would have a live dog. She had never tried telepathic invisibility on an animal before, and had no idea how to make it not smell her.
Come on, Orange.
A pleasant beep and a dull green light signaled the acceptance of the forged code from cyberspace. She ducked inside, closing it as the next patrol walked into view. The room looked like an old storage barn converted into a garage for military rovers.
Nathan’s voice in her head made her jump. “Cameras are off, go now.”
Anna ran through the dark toward a small light on the wall and another code panel. It beeped green a second before she reached it, and she went through into a sparkling metal hallway. The harsh change from dark garage to bright passage blinded her for a moment.
“Left,” he whispered.
Her run began as a drifting fall to the side, rubber soles squeaking across the gloss black floor.
“Duck behind the bulkhead, now.”
She did, squeezing herself into the wall in an effort to become part of it. The sound of voices went past in an offshoot corridor.
“Clear. Take the next right turn and go for the elevator.”
Two silver doors opened in the otherwise featureless grey wall, taking her into a large octagonal chamber with silver grating around a polished black center.
“Sublevel three.”
Her finger flicked at the controls and the room rumbled. A large elevator consisting of a foot-thick slab of plastisteel slid to the level of the floor from below. Four heavy protrusions jutted from three sides of the platform into reinforced grooves lined with gear tracks. It wasn’t hydraulic; the elevator crawled up six-inch deep teeth.
Bloody elevator could lift a tank… and probably as slow as the National Health Service.
“This is a right bit of overkill for a little kid. What the hell did I just walk into?”
Orange snickered. “Cyborg prison, remember? This is the only facility the CSB has complete oversight on. Anywhere else they tried to stash her, some other agency would have noticed. I’m surprised they slipped a little girl in here without anyone saying a word. I bet your friend Gordon is operating a small cadre within the CSB that isn’t exactly playing by the whole rulebook.”
“Probably not even one page.”
The great elevator crept downward. Anna came close to screaming out of impatience. When the doors opened, she edged into another corridor of silver, black, and white. A single row of lamps along the ceiling painted glare spots down the hall in both directions. Two guards walking away glanced at her, yelling and going for rifles at her lack of uniform. Anna raked her hands downward through the air, calling lightning from the overhead lights into them. Rapid-fire flashes connected thin threads of electricity to their skulls with a series of cracks. The woman passed out without a sound, the man managed a weak gurgling howl before he fell. Lacking the time or the strength to drag them anywhere, she secured them in a handcuffed hug before frying every bit of electronics on them. Communications, rifle firing circuit, and binders sizzled and smoked.
“Way to impose a time limit, girl. Next patrol will find them in a hair under four minutes.”
“Sorry. I could’ve just let them shoot me.”
Orange sighed. “Don’t argue with me, run.”
Every ten feet, an armored door stood emblazoned with a four-digit number.
“Crikey, Nathan. These doors would stop an airstrike.”
“Right turn. Go to the end and wait.”
She fought the urge to sprint, moving as fast as she could without creating too much noise. Heavy scrapes and moans came from some of the cells, making her jump. Something smashed into a door from inside; a grungy face appeared in the tiny strip of armored window. A man with a half-metal face howled at her and licked the glass. More whooping and screeching made the place feel like an asylum more than a prison.
Anna’s heart resumed beating. “This is what they call sane enough to keep cybernetics?”
“What’s that? Signal fell away there.”
“I’m okay, at the end of the hall.”
“To your left is a monitoring station with two guards. You’ll need to get through it and go straight; do not turn right at the node. I’d suggest not frying the systems counter. That will set off alarms, and might make it impossible to get the doors open.”
Peeking around the edge, she attached her thoughts to two minds. A slow but deliberate walk took her through an octagonal room with an arrangement of consoles at the center. A man and a woman in green military dress flicked idly among security cameras, sometimes looking in at cells from which a particular lot of noise emanated. They spent most of their time watching hallways.
“What the fuck is that?”
The man’s voice almost stopped Anna’s heart.
“What?” asked the woman.
“There’s a thermal anomaly floating down the hall…” He looked right at Anna. “Should be right there, but there’s nothing.
The woman jumped up, reaching. Her fingers came within an inch of Anna’s face as she leaned away.
“Doesn’t feel warm. Must be that dodgy sensor again. You fill out the IT request this time. I did it last night.”
Anna didn’t even breathe as she edged out of the chamber. She finally gasped for air forty meters down the subsequent hall.
“You have to show me how to do that.” His chuckle reverberated in her skull. “Would come in so handy.”
“You missed a thermal.”
“Sorry. I made it go away.”
“It’s a lot harder than it looks. Can’t run while concentrating. Which one is it?”
“Another ten meters, hook left here. There ya go, fourth door.”
Anna stopped at the indicated point and stood on her toes to peer through the strip of six-inch thick glass. Faye trembled in a ball on the bunk at the far end of a room big enough to park a van in, wearing an oversized yellow prison jumpsuit made for someone much taller. Bare feet poked out from under the loose pant legs, and she hid her face against her knees. Her eyes were red and she had thrown up several times on the floor.
“Sons of bitches. Orange, open this fucker.” Anna smacked the door.
The sound of metal clanging played background to his voice. “One second… one second…”
“What’s the racket?”
“A swordfight.”
“A what?” She blinked. “Did you just say a bloody swordfight?”
“Yep. Security construct found me. Doesn’t much like me being in here. Be just a moment.”
“You’re playing a bloody video game while I’m up to my tits in a military prison?”
“It’s…” He grunted, the sound of clashing
blades clear in the background. “Not a game. Defense software.”
After a quick left-right glance, Anna stretched upwards once more. Faye stared at the window, clutching at the bedding with a terrified expression. As soon as she recognized Anna’s face, she shouted. Whatever she said came through the immense door as a weak murmur. Seconds later, muted banging and screaming echoed inside the cell. The only word clear enough to understand was “help!”
Anna clawed at the metal, finding the wait agonizing. After an intolerable seventeen seconds, the door rumbled with a heavy clank and rolled to the side. When the gap became wide enough, Faye squeezed through and wrapped her arms around Anna, trying to speak, breathe, and cry at the same time. She smelled like vomit and cheap food, and couldn’t get a word out between sobs and coughing. Anna held her, patting her back.
“We haven’t time… We have to go.”
“W-what d-did I do? They w-won’t tell me. H-how did you get in here?”
Anna squeezed the air out of her. “I’m so sorry they took you… It’s my fault. They wanted to use you to make me kill someone.”
“I want my Dad!” Faye bawled.
She propped the girl up, holding tight. “Be quiet. I’m going to bring you home, Faye.” Anna wiped tears from red cheeks. “I need you to be strong for me, okay? You can fall to pieces once we’re out of here. We have to run.”
Faye’s fear turned to petulant anger. “I can’t. I’m―”
Anna took her hand and pulled the girl behind her down the hallway. Three steps later, Faye stumbled and fell, hitting the ground with the squeak of skin on plastisteel. She got a hand over her mouth to mute the whimper of a banged knee, but when she tried to gather her legs underneath, it became obvious she was hobbled.
Aghast, Anna helped her up, pulling at the oversized jumpsuit to expose the glimmering silver links of a pair of metal binders connecting her ankles. Faye cringed, wearing a growing cloak of shame. Anna stooped and pulled the leggings further, revealing a high security electronic restraint. She cast a disbelieving glance upwards, pondering for a second. A healing bruise on Faye’s lip triggered understanding.
“How many did you hoof in the plums?”
The girl fidgeted her thumbs at the pockets, staring down. “Four.”
“Good for you. At least they’re powered. I can get them off, but it might pinch a bit.”
Anna put her hand on the shackle above the code-entry pad. Her mind mapped the threads of current within, looking for the contacts to operate the drive motor. The circuitry of these was more complex than the ones from Lord Thompson’s staff, but the hasp motor felt the same.
Faye yowled and leapt back, almost tripping over the short chain. “Ouch.”
“Shock or too tight now?”
“Shock… What the fuck did you―”
Covering Faye’s mouth with her other hand, Anna shook her head. “Quiet, sorry, and you’re too little for that word.”
When Faye didn’t come back with a smartass remark for being scolded on language, Anna worried.
She grabbed onto Anna’s shoulders, crying and trying to break the chain with kicks. “I wanna go home, I wanna go home!”
“Hold still!” Anna looked back and forth to make sure no one was coming, and focused again. A second gap in the circuit path proved more fruitful; when she zapped it, the motor revved and threw the hasp open. Faye jumped and flailed, trying to get her other foot away from Anna’s hand as two false zaps made her hair stand up. The girl fell, scooting backwards to get away from the painful electricity, but Anna held on to the loose end of the binders and pulled her close.
She concentrated, ignoring the tugging and whining. The third try worked. Faye gathered herself against the wall, shivering and sobbing. Anna held up the chains and made sure the girl saw them fry. Faye went to cling again, but Anna grabbed her about the wrist and took off at a run. The girl scrambled to stay upright, slipping and sliding on the floppy pant legs. Anna stopped at the corner, peering at the security station. Faye grabbed on from behind, crying into her back, trembling.
“Nathan, still with me?”
“Who’s Nathan?” Faye whispered, on tiptoe to peer over Anna’s shoulder.
“Yeppo, I’m still here.”
She patted the girl’s hand. “The trick I used to get past the sentries on the way in won’t work with a passenger. Got any suggestions?”
“Depends. Lethal or non?”
Anna furrowed her brow, thinking of what they did to Faye, but these two were just grunts doing their job. “Non-lethal if you can. She doesn’t need to see anything more.”
“Who’s Nat―”
Anna put a hand over Faye’s mouth and pointed at the earbud.
“Ten seconds,” said Nathan.
Whirring made them both look up as a circular aperture opened in the roof. An orb bot the size of a human head sank into the room and pivoted toward them. The girl made a pathetic squeak and Anna shoved her against the wall, raising a hand.
His voice vibrated through her skull. “Hang on, I’m the ball bot.”
“Little warning next time, I almost cooked it and Twee nearly bricked.”
Didn’t yell at me for calling her Twee. Oh, no.
Anna rubbed the girl’s back. “You’ll be safe, Faye. I promise. I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.”
The hovering robot zipped around the corner and went off down the hallway. Several seconds later, the sound of electrical arcing and gurgling followed. At the sound of bodies hitting the floor, Anna set off running with Faye in tow. Having shocked the sentries into unconsciousness, the orb spun about the octagonal room in a playful orbit.
Faye looked down at the twitching bodies. “Are they dead?”
“No, hon.”
Nathan cleared his throat in her ear. “You got a bit of a problem, luv.”
Anna made tight fists. “Feck, what now?”
“I think her suit has a chip in it somewhere, they’ve noticed one of the prisoners out of the cell. You got men on the move.”
Anna grabbed the lapel of the yellow prison jumpsuit; amber light glinted from of a network of metal threads.
“The whole bloody thing is an antenna…”
Faye stared up at her with terror in her eyes.
“You’ve got anything on under that?”
“The bastards stole my Dead Ballerinas shirt.” The girl went scarlet. “Just my smalls.”
“Shit. I’m not dragging her around here in her knickers.” She grasped Faye’s shoulders. “They’re gonna catch us if I don’t get rid of that transmitter. I don’t know how much power it’ll take. It might not be pleasant. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Faye shook her head. “I don’t wanna take it off. I trust you.”
“It might hurt.”
“Do it!” Faye rasped, trying to yell at a whisper. “They’re coming.”
Anna took two handfuls of the fabric, channeling electrical power at the smallest amount she could perceive. Faye’s hair shifted, rising to stand on end as the energy increased. Her toes whitened against the floor. She went stiff as a board and convulsed. Two sparks rode down her legs a second before a loud pop and smoke rose from the back of her neck where the suit caught fire. The stink of burning silicon and molten plastic made her choke.
“That’s got it,” said Orange. “Signal dropped.”
Frantic, Anna swatted at the flames while Faye collapsed into her whining, “Owowowowow.”
Anna hugged her. “Sorry.”
Faye fought back tears as she pointed. “Anna! Look ou―”
She turned as a soldier leapt from an opening door. He was on her before she could react, swinging her over and driving her chest into the floor. Stunned by the impact, Anna thrashed impotently as he grabbed a handful of hair and drove her face into the ground twice. She gasped for air; he gathered her arms behind her back and squatted on top of her with a knee between her shoulders.
A sudden fleshy thwap preceded a piteous sque
al. The strength holding Anna’s arm down faded. He slid to the side, cradling his crotch while failing at his feeble effort to contain her.
“Five.” Faye folded her arms across her chest, backpedaling with a slight limp that favored her right foot, and shivering.
The soldier went for a stunner, glaring death at Faye. She backed into the wall, whimpering.
Anna took advantage of the distraction and jumped on him. He jammed the taser into her neck and squeezed. Blue sparks danced, crawling up and over Anna’s face.
Faye screamed, sobbing “No!” over and over. The child ventured a hesitant reach, but recoiled from the lights dancing about.
The stunner didn’t slow Anna down. She thrust her arm up, palming the man’s face. All the energy of the device, plus as much as her anger could draw from thin air, burned a handprint into his cheek. He fell in a heap.
Faye swallowed hard, glancing at the twitching body. “Is he dead?”
“No, hon.” Anna dragged herself to her feet and put an arm around Faye.
Boots echoed as a handful of soldiers approached from the right. Another opening in the ceiling released a stationary sentry gun, which pivoted in the direction of the security detail, firing a few shots before they came around.
Orange’s voice flooded Anna’s head again. “I got this… I’ll keep ‘em pinned down while you get on the lift.”
She ran her lungs aflame toward the elevator, which opened at their approach. Between tear-blurred eyes and floppy leggings, Faye relied on Anna to pull her along. Anna dragged her through the doors, diving to the side as two bullets bounced off the wall. Gunfire sent Faye into a shrieking ball on the floor, her screams echoing in the confined metal space even after the elevator closed.
Her face twisted with emotion, she squeezed Anna’s coat. “What now? We’re in an elevator. There’s gonna be a million guys waiting for us when it opens.”
Anna pulled her upright and held on. “I will get you out of here.”
Nathan chuckled. “I got it sorted. Got turrets here and there keeping them occupied. I created a phony tracking signal, so it looks like you’re on the other side of the facility. I’m also flooding their security cameras with awful movies.”
Archon's Queen Page 29
