The Phoenix Fallacy_Book III_Magnus

by Jon Sourbeer,

  He hustled over to Magnus, the Inferni in tow, “What is—“

  Magnus’ raised hand stopped him, and the Inferni shifted nervously near the entrance. The six S.T.s remained blissfully unaware as they strode into the entrance of the armored lift, and disappeared inside, only their bright gold and red Phoenix emblems still shining clearly in the dim light of the door.

  One of the S.T.s finally noticed the sudden quiet and stopped, grinding the processional to a halt. He looked back quizzically at his Executor and Overlord, his visor reflecting in the light. Norm realized he was holding his breath, but after several more uneventful moments, Magnus gave him a sidelong look, shook his head, and moved into the darkness of the bunker.

  Inside, Norm’s eyes struggled to adjust to the gloom. He blinked, strange shapes moving in the darkness.

  A thought tugged in the back of his mind, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, something about the light… Norman watched the S.T.s fiddling with the nuke in the darkness, using the lights on their suits to see. A small red light flicked on, showing that the weapon was active. Norm was suddenly struck by a thought, and spoke to no one in particular, “The lifts have multiple back-up systems – why haven’t the lights auto-engaged?”

  Magnus stopped in a heartbeat, a look of comprehension on his face, and shouted, “Ready weapons!”

  He leapt backwards towards the open door, as weapons unleashed a hail of fire around them. Norm beat a hasty retreat after him, glancing behind him. The six S.T.s surrounding the bomb had disappeared. A Merc sprang from the darkness, rifle ready, but he went down with a cry from an Infernus’ Zeus cannon. Their pair of escorts had appeared in the entrance, covering the Executor and Overlord as they fled the bunker.

  Norm stumbled after Magnus, who readied a snub-nosed pistol. Norm drew beside Magnus and pulled a revolver from within his uniform. Together, they watched one of the Inferni flee from the dark bunker. The fire of jump jets appeared beneath his feet as a brief flash of glowing blue-white appeared in a seam along the suit, and he toppled in two neat halves. Behind him, a Merc whirled a Ghostblade. A shot from Magnus sent him leaping sideways, and the warrior turned and sprinted towards them, his arms pumping for maximum speed. A brief moment of panic filled Norm and he fired off several wild shots. The Merc sprang left and right, always one step ahead the bullets. Norm was horrified and fascinated by the man’s elegant movements as he rushed forward. Norm fired again, missing as the Merc planted his leg and dodged left.

  A sudden puff of red on the fighter’s thigh sent him tumbling to the ground. Magnus held his weapon steady. The man grimaced and leapt up, the ground exploding where his head had been a moment before.

  His focus shifted entirely to Magnus, utterly ignoring Norm’s abhorrent shooting, and staying just an instant in front of Magnus’ weapon. Closing the gap, the merc leapt forward, unsheathing the translucent blade. Norm and Magnus raised their pistols simultaneously, standing side by side, and fired.

  Norm missed. Magnus didn’t.

  The Merc went down, just steps from the pair, his blade scoring the ground deeply where it fell.

  The pair cautiously moved back, keeping their weapons trained on the fallen warrior. The sound of frantic firing emanating from the bunker diverted Norm’s attention. The second Infernus backpedaled from the blackness, covering his visor and firing wildly. A figure emerged behind him, and Norm gasped.

  It was an angel – no – a woman of such grace and beauty that Norm was completely dumbfounded, his mouth opening stupidly, and he simply watched the hapless and terrified Infernus flee from her. Her slim figure suggested her athleticism, while the curves suggested the essence feminine. Not even her armor could hide her figure.

  Norm caught a glimpse of her face, and he knew from that moment on, every other woman would be a disappointment. Brown hair flowed straight past her shoulders, framing a face of slim cheekbones and soft lips. Dark eyes shone with intelligence. But it was her expression that took Norm in – it was an expression of such ferocity and passion that Norm felt he had finally met one person in his life who knew exactly what they wanted and how to live to get it.

  No, that was not quite true, Norm’s mind protested, even in that heated moment. There is one other person.

  Magnus was transfixed, perhaps even momentarily dumbfounded.

  The angel’s elegant dance kept her one step ahead of the Infernus’ wildly waving arm. Suddenly, the Infernus lowered his arm, risking his visor to bring his devastating flamethrower into play. Norm let out a small gasp, “No!”

  But the angel jumped away, firing rapidly at the small visor, unable to connect. She struggled to stay ahead of the flames, but she fought valiantly on. Without warning, her rifle stopped, jammed.

  “I’ve got you now, Merc!” The Infernus screamed triumphantly, but the angel seemed strangely unfazed. Instead, she leapt ever closer to the Infernus, ducking under the belching flames. And then suddenly, she hurled her rifle at the Infernus – who instinctively threw his arms up in defense. It was all the opening she needed. As the Infernus lowered his arms, she did a small leap, and using the power of her landing, launched herself into an incredible back flip and twist. Norman watched in awe as the toe of her boot slammed home into the Infernus’s narrow visor, shattering it. The massive warrior slumped backwards, and the female warrior caught herself on her hands, balancing herself perfectly as the Infernus fell away with a gaping hole in his visor, revealing a spike that now extended out of the toe of her boot.

  The brutal dispatch of the Infernus snapped Magnus and Norm from their stupor. With a quick exchange of surprised glances, they hastily leveled their weapons at the Merc. She fell to the ground, ducking behind the toppled Infernus as Norm and Magnus’ shots flew over her head. With a nod, the two circled opposite each other, seeking an angle on the woman, and keeping a wide distance. The Infernus suddenly sat up and started slowly and painfully dragging himself towards the bunker. Or so it appeared. It took Norm a moment to realize the young woman had the strength to drag the massive soldier.

  “Surrender!” Norm shouted towards the hunched armor. "There is no reason for you to die now. We are merciful."

  Laughter emanated from behind the Infernus. “Merciful? How stupid do you think I am?”

  The men paused, and Magnus shrugged as if to say, ‘What did you expect?’

  Magnus looked thoughtful for a moment, “The men and women responsible for all of our woes today are dead.”

  “I know," responded the Merc, "Although it looks like I missed one."

  Norm blinked, Of course – Lieutenant Jennings.

  “We did not order the attack today, Lieutenant,” Magnus responded calmly, still circling and motioning to Norm.

  Norm followed Magnus’ lead, “We were betrayed as equally by the Executors as you were.”

  The Lieutenant struggled gamely on, the armor making an unpleasant screech as it was dragged. Without halting her exhausting task, she called back, "I saw you run from the docking platform – just because the Executors betrayed you doesn’t mean you didn’t plan the attack.”

  Magnus did not tear his eyes away from the Infernus, "The other Executors foolishly attacked SHADE. If they had listened to us, they would not have attacked you. But it is clear that the Executors placed their own goals above Phoenix.”

  Norm was surprised by this bit of honesty, unsure if it was appropriate in these circumstances. But Lieutenant Jennings caught Norm off guard with her response, “I understand loyalty to one’s home.”

  “But it doesn’t excuse you,” her voice was hard, “The dream of the Corporations is dead. The Executors have long since given up on the ideals that shaped them.” The Infernus’ hulking form was moving a little more slowly now.

  Norm could see her boot and knee, peeking out from the edge of the armor.

  The Infernus stopped moving, halfway to the bunker. The Lieutenant was mere steps away from her fallen companion. She must have exhausted herself.

/>   “Last chance,” Norm said. The boot shifted, disappearing as she pulled it close behind the limited cover. Norm kept moving, and finally caught another glimpse of her stunning beauty.

  Norm took aim at her head, and she grimaced. He caught Magnus’ eye, waiting for a signal. Both knew what needed to be done, but instead Magnus stared at the cornered Adept, his finger perched upon the trigger. She stared back, defiant and daring.

  “Surren—” the earth shook, and both Norman and Magnus were thrown to the ground as one of the massive Phoenix towers surrounding them disintegrated in an explosion of debris and ash.

  The Alliance of the Six had arrived.

  Chapter 12: The Oath

  Fiery rock, twisted steel, and melted glass rained down upon the three. The concussive force of the blast had knocked Norm flat and dazed him. He held his head, trying to recover his senses. Loud wails sounded around him as terrified Phoenix civilians responded to the attack with panic and confusion. Magnus leapt to his feet, weaponless, his head darting around. Lieutenant Jennings… Norm’s head screamed in alarm.

  She had recovered immediately, and leapt from behind her improvised cover. Sprinting to her fallen companion, she scooped up his Ghostblade and pivoted towards Magnus. Magnus’ eyes surveyed the debris surrounding him, searching for his pistol.

  Behind a rod of red hot steel and a concrete boulder, he found it. He dove for the weapon, expertly snaking his arm through the fire, and pulled it out in one swift movement. Magnus whirled, his cape flying behind him in the hot wind as he drew a bead on the speedy Lieutenant. But she was already there, her incredible speed bringing the weapon down for the killing blow.

  PING!

  The ricochet of Norm’s shot off of the Immutium blade saved Magnus’ life – deflecting her strike away. Jennings reacted instantly, shifting her weight and knocking Magnus down. But Magnus reacted, too. She stopped the blade an inch from Magnus’ exposed neck, slicing off one of his phoenix pins, Magnus’ raised weapon pointed at her head. Lieutenant Jennings hovered there, watching him, and he dared not breathe, lest he cut himself on the glowing edge. It was a stalemate.

  Norm exhaled audibly… Luckiest, damn, shot…

  He moved closer to the pair, keeping his weapon raised. “Surrender, I do not want to kill you.”

  “And I would rather not die, but that might prove difficult,” Lieutenant Jennings responded.

  “Remove the blade, and surrender.”

  “No.”

  “I can kill you in a moment with one well-placed head shot,” Norman semi-bluffed. He prayed that the Lieutenant would believe his shot was skill, not luck.

  The Lieutenant smiled, “You’re a bad liar.” Norm gulped, feeling Jennings eyes peeling back his bravado, but still he took another step forward. She shook her head, “Even if you manage to kill me, it won’t prevent your precious Executor from losing his head the moment I drop this blade. It will slice through him like tissue paper. Besides, what makes you think that I don’t consider it worthwhile to die if I can take him with me?”

  Magnus’ inhaled deeply at the pronouncement, and grimaced as the blade nicked his throat.

  Lieutenant Jennings cocked her head at the sound of more explosions and screams of terror, “Of course, we can’t sit here all day, either, as Phoenix crumbles around us.”

  Norm desperately searched his mind for a solution to their predicament. The crackle of the radio startled him, but he managed to keep his weapon raised.

  “Magnus? Magnus? Are you there?” The voice was panicked and slightly garbled.

  Middleton? Norm thought.

  “Magnus, please respond!” Middleton’s voice came through again, unusually high.

  Magnus glanced from his arm to Jennings, who glared at Magnus hand, curled around his pistol. Magnus returned the stare unflinchingly and tossed the weapon away. Jennings’s look shifted to curiosity. Magnus slowly and carefully touched his comm. link. “I’m here.”

  Middleton’s voice gushed with relief, “Magnus! I’ve been trying to reach you for nearly a day! What’s your situation?”

  A day? The damaged towers and our trips underground must have made it nigh impossible to reach us.

  “I’m fine for the moment, although I’m in a bit of a predicament,” Magnus said calmly. Jenning’s eyes lit up and she mischievously mouthed, ‘Predicament?’

  “Yes, you certainly are,” Middleton’s voice was calmer. “The Corporations have arrived – you have those filthy SPARTAN mercs to thank for that. We’ve got to get you out before it’s too late. If you can get to the North edge of the city, by Sector 9, I can have a Behemoth transport waiting for you. But you have to be there within the hour, otherwise, I can’t wait any longer for you. Can you make it?”

  Magnus looked skeptically at Lieutenant Jennings, and said, “I’ll get back to you.” He turned off his link as gingerly as he had turned it on.

  He stared boldly at Lieutenant Jennings, “I have no wish to die today…”

  “I wish I could say the same. But unfortunately, you killed everyone I loved and cared about, and frankly, I would rather see you dead than stay alive.” She instinctively looked towards the body of the dead Merc.

  “Then why haven’t you killed me yet?” Magnus asked.

  Jennings eyes shifted to Norm, “I’m waiting for his arms to get tired. Then I can kill both of you.”

  Magnus blinked, visibly surprised at the response. Norm’s arms dropped a fraction of an inch suddenly, but he caught himself. As he straightened, Lieutenant Jennings smiled.

  A thought occurred to Norm. He was surprised Magnus hadn’t considered it, “You aren’t the only survivor. One of the Wraith pilots escaped.” Jennings snapped her head to look at Norm, breaking her gaze with Delacroix, although the Ghostblade remained firmly in place.

  She shook her head, “SHADE was a big place. Who’s to say I even know them? Besides, why should I trust your word, Overlord?”

  Now it was Norm’s turn to smile, “And you think I am a bad liar?” Jennings glared harshly and Magnus watched her with narrowed eyes. “I may have failed my task as Overlord of Intelligence for not convincing the Executors, but I have studied Mercs enough over the past few days of battle to realize that we foolishly attacked one family. I have watched your squads work together in perfect unison, and seen the fury and vengeance in your eyes whenever we struck down one of your own. You know that Wraith pilot, one way or another – and that person means something to you. You can take my word for what it is, but I think we both know that when it comes to lying well, I cannot.”

  Magnus’s eyes widened as he studied her face, “She’s particularly close to one of the pilo…” He inhaled sharply as the Ghostblade slid forward, drawing blood from a thin line on his throat. Jennings eyes blazed hatred at him as another explosion rocked the city and rained dust down upon them.

  “Perhaps we can make a deal,” Norman said, dodging a large chunk of falling rock, and somehow keeping his aim steady. “You help us get out of here before Phoenix collapses all around us and we will let you go free.”

  Lieutenant Jennings scowled, “And why on Earth would you keep such a deal?” But she lifted the blade from where it cut into Magnus’ throat.

  Magnus’ eyes were riveted on Jennings, “What if I were to tell you that you are much more valuable to me alive and cooperative than dead?”

  “I would say that you need to work on your compliments,” she responded sarcastically.

  Magnus laughed, “Perhaps, but I’m sure you’ve realize that as an Executor of Phoenix, I must have some sort of fall back plan – otherwise I would be better off dying right now.”

  “And that plan would be?” Jennings raised an eyebrow.

  “Unimportant to our immediate survival,” Magnus said. Jennings smiled. “The point is that if I am going to rebuild, I can’t afford to repeat past mistakes. Your expertise would be invaluable, especially in our escape, and since I doubt you have many places you could go...”

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nbsp; Jennings looked up as more debris rained down upon them, biting her lip.

  “Besides,” Magnus added, “You’ve saved me a lot of trouble by eliminating those traitorous Executors.” Norm scowled at that.

  “Saved you a house cleaning?” she smirked.

  “Blowing up the house is one method of avoiding the clean up,” Magnus tilted his head.

  Jennings laughed.

  The sound was beautiful and made Norm momentarily forget the chaos reigning around them. A genuine smile came unbidden to Magnus’ lips.

  “I lead you out, and I am free to go wherever I choose?” she asked, suddenly very serious.

  “Yes,” Magnus said, honestly.

  “And if I decide I don’t want to help you rebuild your empire after our escape?”

  “I will take you wherever you wish to go. I give you my word,” he promised, though he seemed as shocked as Norm at the pronouncement.

  Jennings turned to look at Norm, “And you?”

  Norm stood up straight, “I would never break such an oath. You have my word, Lieutenant Jennings.”

  “You know my name?”

  “Heard your conversation with the Major a few days back. Overlord Norman Walden,” he bowed slightly.

  She looked at Magnus.

  “Executor Delacroix. Excuse me if I don’t bow.”

  She smiled and studied Magnus curiously. Magnus did not blink or flinch. Norm felt oddly translucent, as if the pair was no longer aware of his presence. Both stared at one another, watching each other’s eyes, as if each had discovered a strange and wondrous creature, only known in legend.

  She broke the gaze to look at the blackening sky. “You better have made it,” she whispered, and pausing, added, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Jennings looked back at Magnus. He was coiled like a spring, waiting for the words. She did not keep him waiting any longer, “Deal.” She looked at Norm, “And we’re Adepts, not Mercs. We wouldn’t be a family otherwise.”