by Neil Hunter
The mere stared in awe at what he’d done, realizing the implications of his actions. Janek found little to worry about on that score. With deliberate calm he leveled his auto-pistol and put the man out of his misery.
There was a scrabbling sound from inside the elevator. The wounded mere had regained his feet. Bracing himself against the door frame, he dragged his SMG into position, tracking in on Janek.
Kate had dropped to one knee, holding her pistol in both hands. She took aim and punched a slug through the mere’s forehead. He was slammed back across the elevator car, crunching against the back wall.
“Keep this up and you could become dangerous,” Janek said.
Kate ran forward and picked up two of the discarded SMGs. She tossed one to Janek, then took spare magazines from the dead mere’s belt. Janek had done the same.
“Come on,” he said. “That alarm is going to put everyone on their guard.”
They reached the far end of the corridor. Janek accessed the airlock, and they waited as the heavy steel door opened. They entered the lock, and the door closed behind them. The outer lock opened with a soft hiss, and brilliant sunlight flooded the airlock. As Janek and Kate slipped out, a 4x4 swept into view. It came from the direction of the main building.
“Casull,” Kate said as she recognized the man seated beside the driver.
Janek pushed her to one side, turning his SMG on the approaching 4x4. His shots shredded the front tires, throwing the 4x4 off course while the driver struggled to hold it level. Behind the windshield Jubal Casull was yelling and waving his arms. The driver stomped on the brakes, and the vehicle bounced to a hard stop. Casull kicked open his door and burst out of the truck. The robotics specialist carried a powerful-looking auto-rifle in his hands.
“What the hell have you done?” he screamed. “My building!”
He opened up, almost crying with rage. The cyborg’s return fire raked the side of the 4x4, and the window glass in Casull’s door exploded with a crackle, showering him with broken particles. The man ducked, his aim drifting away from Janek.
“Damn you, Janek! I wanted you to work with me. We could have done good things.”
Janek didn’t waste time on words. He laid a hard volley into Casull, punching the man back against the side of the vehicle. Blood burst through Casull’s white suit. He sagged to his knees, oblivious to the pool of gasoline from the ruptured tank he was kneeling in. A groan of pain erupted from his thin lips. In an expression of pain and anger he smashed his left hand against the concrete, tearing the glove that covered his bionic hand. The exposed steel scraped across the rough surface and generated a trail of sparks. There was a soft thump of sound as the gasoline ignited. The burst of flames swelled and grew in an instant, enveloping Casull in its fiery embrace. His clothing began to burn. Casull stumbled back against the side of the truck, and a high, shrill scream of agony issued from his lips. He lost his balance and toppled face down in the flames, his body twisting and turning, soaking up more of the fuel. When he did stagger to his feet, he was a walking ball of flame. He lurched away from the blazing vehicle, turning to where Janek stood. The hungry flames had eaten away the syntho-flesh from his bionic limbs, leaving his hands and arms exposed. The gleaming metal shimmered in the consuming fire. He fell suddenly, his shriveling, steaming body arching once, then relaxing as the fire burned deep into his very being.
Kate was frozen to the spot in horror. Janek took her arm and led her away. He cut across the sloping lawns, making for the main complex, aware that each passing second lessened his chances of finding Cade. He just hoped that his partner had managed to find or create his own opportunity for escape.
Chapter Eleven
They came face-to-face on the far side of the lawned area, where a natural hollow formed by the landscape offered temporary protection.
“T. J.!” Kate said, throwing herself into his arms for a brief moment of reconciliation.
Janek watched the embrace, then grunted. “You aren’t going to indulge in that with me, are you?” he asked his partner.
“Not in your best fantasy,” Cade said.
“Was I ever glad to hear that.”
“Lukas Tane and his boys are on my tail,” Cade said. “The sooner we quit this place the better.”
“We need some transport,” Kate pointed out.
“There it is,” Janek said. He had been checking out the area.
Below them was a parking lot holding an assortment of freight and haulage vehicles belonging to the Amosin Corporation.
“Something like that would be handy for breaking out,” Cade said.
They went down the long slope, reached the bottom and headed for the gate in the fence that surrounded the vehicle pool area.
There was a burly security droid at the gate.
“No point trying to talk our way past this one,” Cade said.
He raised the SMG and fired through the droid’s eyes. It fell back against the fence, emitting a shrill squeak of sound totally out of proportion to its size.
Janek swung into the cab of a huge tractor unit that was coupled to a massive silver gasoline tanker. By the time Cade and Kate had climbed in the other door, Janek had the powerful motor running.
“Hold on, folks,” Janek yelled above the roar. He dropped the unit into gear and slammed his foot down hard on the gas pedal. The ponderous rig rolled forward out of the gate. Janek followed the marked drive that indicated the exit, ignoring the low-speed signs.
Bringing the rig around a long curve, Janek spotted the main gate ahead. The steel structure was already sliding shut.
“Over there,” Kate said, pointing through the windshield.
Coming down a parallel drive were a couple of open-topped 4x4s. Each vehicle bristled with Lukas Tane’s armed mercenaries.
“Go for it!” Cade yelled.
Janek stomped on the gas pedal. The tractor’s powerful motor howled and the rig bulldozed forward, held steady by the cyborg’s hands.
Muzzles flashed as the mercs opened fire, and bullets whacked the rig’s steelwork.
Janek steered in the direction of the gates, ignoring the hostile fire.
The lead 4x4 swerved alongside as it surged onto the same section of the drive as the tanker. The gunfire increased, and bullets chewed away at the tractor’s bodywork. The mercs were desperate to stop the rig from leaving Amosin’s property.
Janek floored the gas pedal. As the rig increased speed, Janek eased the wheel around. The rig closed in on the 4x4. There was a tortured screech of tearing metal as the two vehicles became entangled. The coupling did nothing to stop the rig, but the 4x4 was battered mercilessly. The front end swung in, jamming between the tractor and the main tank. For a few yards it was carried along in the rig’s headlong rush for the gates. One of its front tires burst, then the 4x4 flipped over. The tanker’s double set of rear wheels bounced over the disintegrating vehicle, crushing metal and flesh in a blur of destruction.
Janek fought the bucking wheel, pulling the skidding rig back on line, and seconds later they hit the main gate. The ponderous, solid bulk of the rig, traveling at over sixty miles per hour, cut through the gates and ripped them from their supports. Tires squealed in protest as the rig bounced from side to side, and the rear wheels of the tanker were airborne for a while. Janek hung on to the spinning wheel, his immense strength the only thing that saved the rig from going totally out of control. He fought it for what seemed an eternity before the rig settled back on a straight course.
Then the cyborg took the feeder road that led them back to the main highway.
Kate flopped back in her seat, rubbing a badly bruised shoulder. She looked paler, and her eyes were big in her face. “Is his driving always like this?” she asked.
“Hell, no,” Cade said. “This is one of his better days.”
They barreled along Interstate 87, heading back toward New York. Cade checked the rearview mirror. He was hoping to see nothing but the normal traffic flow.
Suddenly he spotted one of the 4x4 open trucks weaving through the busy lanes.
“Damn!” he said.
“What is it?” Janek asked.
“This is getting to be like a crazy dream,” Cade said. “We just keep jumping from one damn chase to another.”
Janek laid his foot down hard. The rig surged forward, leaving the traffic far behind as they reached a long clear stretch of the interstate.
“We losing him?”
“No way,” Cade said. “You can’t outrun a 4x4 in a rig like this.”
The cyborg scanned the mirror himself. The 4x4 was the only vehicle in sight now, locked on the rig’s rear. Janek focused in on the occupants, and his enhanced vision allowed him to make out the hardware they were carrying.
“Okay, let’s dump him,” Janek said. “Here, take the wheel.”
Cade slid behind the steering wheel. He held the rig on a steady course.
“Janek!” Kate called, and there was fear in her voice.
Glancing across the cab, Cade saw the cyborg opening the passenger door.
“Now what?”
“You just keep this thing on the road,” Janek said over his shoulder, and vanished from sight.
Swinging around to the rear of the cab, Janek braced himself on the swaying platform. He knelt down and disconnected the flexible lines that delivered air and fluid to the tanker’s braking and hydraulic systems. He freed the power cable, then took hold of the lock bar on the tanker’s coupling to the tractor. He released the pressure and yanked the lever to the open position.
There was a moment’s hesitation before the huge tanker slid free. The moment it cleared the rear of the tractor unit, the front of the tanker dropped to the ground, scoring deep into the surface of the interstate. A shower of fiery sparks leaped up from the tanker. It carried on for a couple of hundred yards, then began to turn. Twisting, then rolling, it toppled on its side. The forward momentum kept it moving as it turned broadside across the highway.
Above the screech of tortured metal, Janek picked up the shriek of locked tires burning the highway. As the bulk of the tanker swung around, he saw the 4x4 closing on it fast, then swerve as the wheelman tried to brake. There was no way he could avoid the massive object. The 4x4 caught the swinging end of the moving tanker and did a slow, full flip, landing upside down. The truck’s impact burst a seam in the curving barrel, and gasoline flooded out in a long, glistening trail.
Janek caught the first gleam of flame as a spark ignited the vapor. The fire leaped back toward the tanker itself, and the whole thing suddenly became a moving fireball. The gas exploded with a sucking roar, throwing flame high into the sky. The boiling mass surged up and out, hungry tentacles reaching for the tractor. Cade slammed hard down on the throttle, sending the rig clear. He kept up speed for the next few miles, until the blazing wreck of the tanker was a speck. Then he eased off, giving Janek a chance to climb back inside the cab.
“That was beautifully underplayed,” Cade remarked dryly as the cyborg dropped back in his seat.
“Don’t embarrass me,” Janek said.
“We’ve got to dump this thing soon,” Cade said. “If Sinclair has cops on his payroll, they’ll spot us easy.”
“It’ll be dark in a couple of hours,” Janek said. “If we can hide out somewhere until then, maybe they’ll miss us.”
A few miles later they spotted a dirt road. Cade rolled the tractor along it, pushing through the overhanging foliage that bordered the narrow track. He backed the rig deep in a stand of trees and cut the motor.
“A day out with you guys can never be called dull,” Kate said as they climbed out of the rig.
“You okay?” Cade asked.
“Scared out of my pants,” she replied. “Apart from that, I’m fine.”
They stretched their limbs, then sat in the shade of the rig.
Janek glanced skyward, raising a hand.
“Hear something?” Cade asked.
The cyborg nodded, turning his head slowly as he scanned the sky.
“Chopper,” he said.
The helicopter appeared as a small dark speck, high up, flying level with the highway. When Cade and Kate finally picked it up, they saw it losing altitude. It flashed by them, staying with the highway as it kept up its search.
“Persistent bunch,” Cade observed. “Keep watching, partner, they could be back.”
Cade laid his SMG on the ground.
“Time we checked the hardware.”
Between them they had two handguns and three heavier weapons. Ammunition was sparse.
“And this,” Cade said.
He took the dicto-pad from his pocket and held it up.
“Casull was making notes while Sinclair was speaking on the phone,” he explained. “When he took off, he left it behind.”
Kate took it and pressed the keypad. The pad began to disgorge a sheet of paper, transferring the text from its memory into a hard copy. She scanned the sheet, then passed it to Cade.
“You want to read this.”
Cade started to examine the text, but Janek was crowding him. “Well,” he said impatiently. “Can we all have a look, Thomas?”
He practically snatched the sheet from Cade. He absorbed the information quickly and gave a chuckle of pleasure.
“Why do humans feel this need to write everything down, T. J.? Names. Times. Places.”
“Because we don’t have computers for brains,” Cade said.
“I resent that,” Janek snapped. “Computer! You’ll be wanting to switch me off at night next.”
“That list isn’t going to make things easier,” Cade said. “Sinclair is going to realize it’s missing, and he’ll assume we have it. So everybody involved is going to tighten up. If we reckoned to have it tough before, just see what happens now.”
“Let’s figure this out,” Janek said. “Sinclair’s operation hinges on his people getting control of Skylance. That’s where the military comes in. They provide a substitute crew when the monthly swap takes place. Sinclair’s people are put on board Skylance and take over. Once that happens, Sinclair can make his intentions known to the White House. His insiders in the police department control local resistance in the city, and his people in the mayor’s office are ready to step in to handle the administration side. New York and Washington are major admin areas for the eastern seaboard. His media contacts will push out the don’t-panic messages. If Sinclair gets control of both areas, he’s in a strong position.”
“The names in the second half of the text,” Kate remarked, “I recognize some of them as media people or bureaucrats, and other highly placed people in the police department in Washington.”
“Duplicates of the New York listing,” Cade said. “Sinclair has this all worked out.”
“So how do we bust it wide open?”
“We’ll have to improvise some. We can’t risk talking to many people because we don’t know who might be on Sinclair’s team. The names on the list may be key players. But he could have others keeping a low profile.”
“T. J., we’re only three people,” Kate said.
“We need our own backup,” Cade admitted. “And I think I know where we can get some.”
The roadside diner had just put on its lights as Cade stepped inside. The place was quiet. Just two other customers were present, already busy with their meals.
A service droid, wearing grease-stained whites, came to take Cade’s order.
“All I need is the phone right now,” Cade said. “Car broke down.”
The droid indicated the booth at the far end of the diner.
Cade settled on the stool and picked up the handset. He punched in a number sequence that would give him direct access to Milt Schuberg’s office, hoping that the NYPD cop was in.
“What’s happening?” Schuberg asked the moment he recognized Cade’s face on the vid-screen. “Right about now you
’re rated most-wanted number one.”
“Can you get out of the office and call me on a public line?”
Schuberg nodded. He wrote down the number Cade gave him and cut the connection. The next few minutes were the longest Cade had ever lived. He expected to hear police sirens any second.
The vid-phone rang, and he snatched up the handset. The screen fuzzed over, then cleared to show Schuberg’s sweating face.
“Jesus, T. J., don’t make me run like that ever again.”
“You’ll thank me when you’re fit,” Cade said. “Favor time, buddy. I’m collecting every one the NYPD owes me today.”
Schuberg realized Cade was in deadly earnest. “Shoot. You got it, T. J.”
“I need you to get a team together, Milt. Men you know you can trust. And no mistakes. Pick the wrong guys, and we’re all dead.”
“To put it mildly, what the fuck is going on?”
“The worst thing you could imagine.”
“Christ, don’t tell me the Yankees are going to throw the league final.”
“There’s going to be an attempt to take over the government, and we’re smack in the middle.”
“Hell, T. J., why is it you who always gets mixed up in this kind of thing? Why not a nice juicy mass murder? No, you always go for the big ones.”
“Lucky I guess. Milt, we’re short on time. This has to be done tonight.”
“Give me a minute...okay, listen. You remember the old place in Queens?”
At Cade’s nod, Schuberg went on. “Give me one hour and meet me there. I got to do some calling first.”
“One more thing. Be careful who you deal with.” Cade read out the names on his list. “They’re on the other team. There might be others we don’t know about.”
“Jesus, do you realize you got the chief of police down as one of the bad guys?”
“Makes you see how they’ve been able to keep tabs on me, Milt. So watch yourself.”
