The room was practically empty of people. No Syndicate meeting. No cauldron of evil-doers, plotting the destruction of the world. Just a big boardroom table with a lone person sitting at the far end.
A lone person, who goes by the name of Garet Beaufort.
“Let them come!” he called through to Henrik.
Molly couldn’t resist. She glanced back at Erik, and smirked as a child would when the parent sides with one sibling over another. She did it just to irritate him.
It worked.
Erik flounced off, pushing roughly past Henry, who nearly lost his balance and fell into Joel, who just stood back out of the way and let him stumble.
Jack followed Molly into the room, and the two boys fell in behind, like a full, beefy protection squad.
Molly waved her weapon at the empty room. “So where’s my party?” she asked, annoyance flashing in her eyes.
Garet waved at the chairs, inviting them to sit down. None of them moved. “They decided they didn’t want to be here,” he said, trying to keep the anxiety out of his tone.
“You told them we were coming?” she asked, keeping her voice low and steady.
Garet tried not to show he was intimidated. “Not exactly. There was a last minute change of plans,” he told her.
Molly started walking the length of the boardroom toward him. “You had us storm a fucking government building for nothing?” Now she was pissed.
Garet held up his hands defensively. “I swear. It wasn’t my fault. They already knew. And I had no way of telling you. Besides if I had, they would know it was me that grassed them up…”
Molly was almost on top of him, panic rising in him the closer she got. She pushed past a chair that hadn’t been tucked in properly, and it crashed against the desk, causing the whole table to resound with a thump.
Garet pushed back in his chair a little in fright, and Molly kept striding toward him. “You twatface-”
Everything went black.
***
The next thing Garet was aware of was waking up, slumped back in his chair, blood congealing around his nose and upper lip, and seeing the team sitting and loitering strategically around him. Molly sat calmly on the other end of the boardroom table, glaring.
“Finally,” she said, when he came to. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” she began without waiting to make sure he was compos mentis enough to understand her. “You’re going to tell us everything we need to know to undo this clusterfuck. Then we’re going to have a little chat about how things are going to work going forward. Joel here has placed a tracker under your skin, next to your radial artery.”
Garet frowned, and looked down at his body, his eyes scanning all around in their sockets.
Molly rolled her eyes. “That’s in your arm, you dickhead.”
He looked back up at her, annoyed. Then he looked down at his right forearm, realizing that it was aching like a motherfucker, and saw there was a little blood, halfway down.
Molly continued. “Basically, if you try and extract it, you’ll probably end up bleeding out. We’re going to want to have another chat with you once we’ve verified that what you’re about to tell us is accurate and helpful. What happens to you at such time depends on how much you manage to redeem yourself in the interim.”
Crash had moved toward the window, and now opened it up, using his holo to communicate with Oz about the forcefield and the pods.
Sean then talked quietly with Garet, taking down the details they needed to track down the other Syndicate members.
120 seconds later, the strike team was stepping out of the window and back into their pods.
Garet stayed planted in his chair, fussing with his arm. “Wow - I liked it better when I was your client,” he smirked, reminding Molly of the time when she was trying to protect him, and he ended up with his face planted unceremoniously in her crotch.
Joel turned back as he swung himself up to the window. He glared at him.
Garet quickly raised his hands, palms facing Joel. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry!”
Joel gave him a quick warning look before stepping out onto the window ledge and into the pod, closely followed by Molly and Sean.
Alone again in the room, Garet mused to himself. “Funny how events have a way of turning around like this, eh?”
Within a few minutes, the team had disappeared off into space again. The security team of the Senate House was aware they had been breached, but was none-the-wiser about what had actually happened.
CHAPTER FIVE
One hour earlier
“The way I see it, we’ve got two choices,” Garet explained, pacing up and down in the tiny room. “We either stay united, or we scatter.”
Mac shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, his shiny shoes out of place against the filthy floor in the dark musty back room. “We’re safer alone,” he disagreed. “We can disappear more easily.”
His tone was decisive.
Jessica pulled her shawl closer around her for comfort. She looked over to Andus for his ruling. He looked up at the group. “I have a safe house. I can take anyone who wants to come.” He waved his hand to Mac. “However, if you want to try and make your own way, feel free.”
Jessica looked at him intensely. “I’m with you,” she confirmed without hesitation.
The group looked at Garet. Garet rocked back half an inch on his heels. He paused a moment, then spoke. “I’m going to head back to the Senate House and carry on as normal. If I don’t, they’ll know I tipped you off.
Jessica frowned at him as if he had lost the plot. “If you do, they’ll still know!” she protested.
He shook his head. “Uh uh; they won’t know for certain. It’ll cast doubt. I’ll carry on as if everything is normal. Just don’t tell me your plans, because I’ll have to tell them. They have ways…” his voice trailed off.
Jessica had the distinct impression that Garet was genuinely afraid of what these people were capable of. Her voice was still incredulous when she spoke. ”We’ve already told you!” She looked to Andus for back up.
Andus nodded calmly.
Garet turned to go. “Okay. I’ll let you get on with this. I’m going back. Good luck…”
And with that, he left.
Once he was out of earshot, the remaining Syndicate members started talking, arguing, and trying to decide what to do next.
Molly Bates was coming for them now.
Their fancy security would only hold her off for so long. They knew that. They now knew what the team was capable of, having underestimated them on numerous occasions.
Before, it was simply an annoyance. A setback.
Now it was downright terrifying.
Newld Residence, Spire
Jessica arrived home with two extra security teams, who whisked her efficiently into her super secure apartment.
One team of the four stayed inside the apartment with her. Another team of 16 surrounded the building and main entry points: car park, elevators, her private entrance, the rooftop, and balcony. The other staked out various points. Nothing short of a helicopter hit squad was getting in here.
So why don’t I feel safe? she wondered.
She put the kettle on and leaned against the kitchen counter, watching the alpha team sweep through the rest of her apartment. She was pissed that she had to change her plans. It would have been simple for Garet to run, too. Or at least to leave before she had disclosed her intentions to stay with Andus.
Now, staying with Andus would have left them both vulnerable.
Now, she had to remain on her own.
Which bites.
She took her shoes off and poured herself a chamomile tea, hoping to calm her nerves.
Then she sat down in the living room to wait.
Undisclosed bar, Somewhere in Spire
Andus stepped elegantly out of his limo in a well-lit parking garage, his two most trusted Estarian bodyguards by his side. Looking around the surroundings for any hint of a
threat, they followed him to a door that put them into the service area of a hotel.
Andus made his way through the narrow corridor, and out into the main foyer where there were plenty of people. Wending his way through the foyer and out of the main doors, he headed left, and then disappeared into a small door in the next alley.
Stepping into the darkness, he paused, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light. The second Estarian bodyguard quietly closed the door behind them, blocking out any remaining sunlight. They found themselves in a passage, covered with a threadbare carpet, thick with dust and dirt. Andus took a deep breath, and seemed to relax a little as he started making his way down the passage to another door.
The passageway opened out into a mini lobby area with a grimy little counter where an attendant sat, absorbed in his holo. When he heard their footsteps, he looked up – and then jumped out of his seat when he saw who was approaching.
“Mr. Andus, sir,” he exclaimed, surprised. His holo screens were still projecting from his wrist, forgotten.
Andus ambled up to the counter. “I see we’re always ready for business,” he commented dryly, looking down at the attendant’s wrist holo.
The attendant sheepishly closed it down and turned around to reach for a key. Grabbing the correct one off the hook, he scurried around the counter to join Andus on the other side. “This way, please, sir,” he said, leading the way off to the right of the desk, where he pressed a button to an elevator and keyed in a code.
The elevator doors slid open, and the group stepped in, followed by the much shorter Estarian attendant. He swiped his key and then hit a combination of buttons. The elevator doors slid closed, and the car dropped down several floors worth of altitude.
Eventually it came to a halt.
The two Estarian bodyguards looked slightly anxious. Whether it was the tight space and the feeling of claustrophobia, or the depth they had gone to, one couldn’t tell. Andus, however, seemed quite content as he followed the attendant out of the elevator and down a stone-floored passageway.
Passing several doors, the attendant finally stopped outside the one door that seemed more high tech than the others. He stood aside and motioned to Andus that he was free to enter. The door had a single access panel, and was field-protected, too.
Andus stepped up to the panel and leaned in with his eyes. The retinal scanner activated, read his eyes, and approved his access. The field dropped and the door slid open. Andus thanked the attendant and stepped inside, followed by his heavies.
Once inside, he started peeling off his atmosuit and making himself at home. On the other side of the vault-like door was a medium-sized apartment. The entrance way opened into a library and lounging area, with real paper books. Further along, there was a kitchen; opposite that, there was a dining table with chairs. Just beyond that, there were sleeping quarters with bathroom facilities.
Andus signaled for his security to check the place.
They went ahead and did a sweep, and returned to the front area, satisfied. Andus then spoke to them in a low voice, explaining the protocols they should be familiar with for making sure that their movements here weren’t tracked. They discussed food deliveries and emergency extractions. Once Andus was satisfied they knew the ropes, he dismissed them.
The two Estarians left, and started talking with the attendant on the other side of the door. After a few seconds, Andus could hear three sets of footsteps leaving. He wandered through the apartment, looking around, making sure he had everything that he needed. He flicked on the mocha machine, and then headed back through to the library to choose some reading material.
Such a shame Jessica decided to take her chances at her own home. He imagined she would have been pleasant company for however long they needed to remain underground.
Still, he looked around the apartment, she was high-maintenance, and there isn’t that much space. He settled down with his book, and wondered if it was too early for a martini.
East of Spire, Somewhere in the Savannah desert
The space car hovered across the miles and miles of sand of the Navanah desert. Mac Kerr sat in the nav’s seat as the pilot navigated between two brewing sandstorms and a slip stream of thermals.
“Nearly there,” the pilot said over the comms. “I hope after this, we’re even.” It was hard to make out his tone over the sound of the engine and through the distortion of the radio, but Mac had no doubt what the guy meant.
Well, what else should I expect? I had him by the short and curlies, and he owed me one… Mac thought to himself.
Mac turned his head to his acquaintance and nodded. “Yes, we’re even. As long as no one is able to trace me here because of you.” He paused thinking for a moment. “I should take a different route back, and maybe head into a different airfield, if I were you,” he concluded. His track record in escape and evasion were what had kept him alive so long in the outer system.
The pilot glanced at him and nodded, slight irritation showing at the edges of his eyes. “Shall do.”
Just then, the ranch appeared out of the dust just ahead of them. The pilot flicked a few controls on the holo display and slowed the craft, bringing it gently closer to the surface. He nodded at the building ahead of them. “That where you want to be?” he queried.
Mac nodded. “That’s the one,” he said. “Drop me down quarter of a mile out. I’ll approach on foot.”
The pilot shrugged, mildly suspicious as to his reason for wanting to be so far out. He complied, though, and within a few minutes, Mac was scrambling out of the craft. “Thank you!” he called back to the pilot.
His ride nodded politely, and as soon as Mac was clear of the vehicle, he lifted off again. A few meters in the air, he turned back in the direction of Spire, leaving a dust cloud behind him.
Mac shielded his face with his arm and held his breath as he turned away from the dust cloud. He was used to these kinds of conditions. If anything, it felt more normal and psychologically comfortable than the conditions of meetings and posh suits and nice surroundings in his HealthCorp life.
As soon as the dust settled enough for him to see the direction of the ranch, he started walking; his arm still shielding his face against the dust.
As he trudged across the sand, he remembered the last time he had been on the run. He wasn’t running again. He was going to stand his ground, the best place he knew how. He wasn’t going back to that life. He wasn’t giving up everything he’d worked so hard for. He wasn’t going to let all the sacrifices and things he’d done, that still haunt him, go to waste… just to end up back where he started.
This was where he was going to make his stand.
He arrived at the door and swiped at the access panel, bringing up the holo keypad. He tapped in the combination, and the door slid open while leaving up a forcefield against the sand and dust.
He stepped inside, and the sound of the wind and the desert evaporated into silence.
The house was empty. For now. He stamped off as much sand as he could, and shook himself down before walking through the hallway and checking the place. Everything was as it should be… Although, there was still work to do in setting up the weapons.
He wandered through into the front viewing room, which faced back in the direction of Spire. If anyone were coming, it would be from there. This was where he’d set up the anti-aircraft artillery. He might need some help getting it up out of storage, though.
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