Revolution: Book Three of the Secret World Chronicle - eARC

by Mercedes Lackey

  It stopped. He got the impression of peering, but that was probably because the operator was using zoom and maybe light-amplifying tech to get a better look at him. He waved again, then pointed to his ear, and made a “negative” sign. Even a moron should take that to mean “Hi, I’m friendly, lost my radio.”

  Nice thing about ECHO. We’re all so upright and decent…well, except maybe the Djinni…nobody ever thinks we would lie.

  Then again, with twin miniguns, this thing really didn’t have to worry if he was friendly or not. After all, what could he do to it?

  He waited patiently for the thing to lumber towards him—hoping that if the operator decided to err on the side of caution, his own armor and the back of the train might keep him from getting turned into salsa before he got his chance to take the thing out.

  But the operator was, thankfully, convinced of his own invincibility and continued to lumber forward, until at last it was within inches of the back glass, peering down at him. An external speaker squawked to life.

  “What unit are you with?” the operator demanded.

  “Unit Misfits,” Frank said. “And I figured you could use a lift.”

  And with that, he jammed the taser into the detonators, and hit the switch.

  * * *

  Bella didn’t have to feign shock when the explosion rocked the entire plaza. She staggered and looked wildly in the direction of the MARTA station, where a plume of smoke was rising.

  “Overwatch to ECHO,” she heard, both on her Overwatch rig and through her normal comm. “That was ECHO Op One Frankentrain taking out a Blacksnake mecha the hard way.” The grim tone to Vickie’s voice told Bella exactly what “the hard way” meant.

  Her gaze whipped over to Verd and Khanji on the platform. She was just in time to catch a fleeting look of satisfaction on Verd’s face.

  But the explosion, coming on top of the two crashes, had set the crowd swirling in knots of confusion and fear. No one knew where to go, and people were starting to panic. Verd was going for the mic again—presumably to try and calm them down—while Khanji turned away to talk to one of his “special” security detail.

  This might be my only chance to—

  The thought was cut off as a hand grabbed her elbow and a familiar voice growled into her ear before she could react.

  “I told you, darlin’, she’ll gut you before you can blink. I’m getting you out of here before one of them figures out you just might know something.”

  Bella thought about arguing with the Djinni—but then her private Overwatch freq opened again.

  “Soviette to Comrade Blue. Skills are needed here!” Sovie was usually calm and contained, but this sounded desperate.

  That settled it. In the choice between saving lives and maybe taking down Verd, there was no choice. “Right. Let’s go,” she said grimly.

  * * *

  As hunts went, it was a simple one. When Harmony had fled, Bulwark had only paused to pick up a rifle off a fallen Blacksnake meta and had followed in hot pursuit, and without a word Scope and Acrobat had joined him. Overwatch had contacted them only long enough to tell them that the security cams had been disabled back there, which left them on their own for finding her. They pounded down the concrete corridor under dim lighting from regularly spaced fluorescent fixtures above them. There was no need for stealth. There really wasn’t anywhere to hide, and with her speed Harmony was already well ahead of them. She wasn’t one for stamina though, that was something they remembered from their time together. Eventually, she would have to slow down. Or had that been a ruse as well? She had kept so many secrets, she had played them so convincingly, but what choice did they have? They continued to run, their feet echoing off the concrete, but they were otherwise silent. There wasn’t any need to talk. They all felt the same, each knew what the rest did, as any battle-seasoned team should. There was no way they would let her escape, not this time.

  So when they came to the fork in the tunnel, nothing was discussed. They slowed to a stop, and with a look they parted ways. Bull headed left while Scope and Acrobat took the right, with barely a glance at each other. Just a few pointed words.

  “Remember, don’t let her close in!” Bull’s voice rumbled after them.

  “Signal if you find her!” Scope growled back.

  “We missed you, boss!” That was Bruno’s contribution.

  As they ran, Bruno found his thoughts drifting back over the past few days. Their time behind enemy lines had seemed so fruitless. Try as they might, he and Scope had never found a way to ambush Harmony. She was simply never at Blacksnake HQ. Still, they kept getting hints and clues that pointed to her whereabouts. When she finally showed up for this, the big mission, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Taking her out could wait. Foiling the scheme against ECHO had to take priority. It was all so crazy. This was Harmony! How did that shy, crazy nutjob they had all come to love pull one over on all of them, and on Bulwark of all people, for years? Who was she, really? And just how good did she have to be to…?

  The thought snapped him back to the more immediate matters at hand. They were chasing her, blindly, someone who had been good enough to take out a entire squad of Tesla’s personal bodyguards and Bulwark with relative ease. He glanced at Scope as they sprinted through the tunnel, his hand outstretched to rein her in, when he felt that warm spot in his chest again. That warmth that always seemed to bloom when he looked at her, when he thought of her, that damn near cooked him alive the one time he had actually touched her. Not that he’d had much choice. When that pit trap had opened in the Goldman Catacombs, he watched his deepest, most desperate crush fall headlong into it. Had he known there were jagged spikes waiting for them at the bottom, he doubted it would have made a difference. He would have jumped in after her anyway. For an eternity, they had simply hung there, bouncing lightly on his zipline, their bodies pressed together as she held onto him for dear life. Every day since, he had relived that moment, every time he closed his eyes.

  They were chasing a killer, and a damn good one, alone. No back-up, no element of surprise, just the two of them against a cold-blooded monster. It was crazy. Could they really beat her? He felt his legs seize up, as the thought of losing Scope tore at his heart.

  “Paris, stop a second,” he said.

  Scope skidded to a halt, and glared at him.

  “How many times do I have to say it, Bruno?” she seethed, “Call me that again and I will gut you.”

  “Sorry, sorry,” he panted, holding up one hand. “Never knew anyone to be so touchy about their real name.”

  “It’s not my real name,” she insisted. “Hasn’t been for a while now.”

  “Fine, fine…Scope, stop a second.”

  “You winded already? You girl…”

  “No, no, course not…well okay, yes, yes I am.” Bruno admitted. “But it’s not just that. What are we doing? We really going to Zerg her, just the two of us? Remember all the stuff we heard about her, in the Blacksnake barracks? She’s their go-to assassin, she has been for years. What can we do that’ll top her? She’s…”

  “Remember!” Scope barked, and immediately lowered her voice. “Remember what Bull said. Keep your distance…”

  “And if she closes in? She’s fast, Scope, faster than…”

  “Remember,” Scope repeated. “Remember what we heard in the barracks.” She gave him a meaningful look, then down at herself, and back to him. “We got this, Bruno. We…”

  She was interrupted by the hard clanking of smoke grenades as they bounced around their feet. Scope shouted in alarm but they were instantly enveloped in an opaque fog. At least their gas masks worked, though Bruno was still able to detect a faint acrid odor to it.

  “What is that?” Bruno shouted. “Tear gas?”

  “Smell’s wrong, and the color’s off,” Scope snarled.

  “Do you like it?” Harmony called out from further up the tunnel. “New Blacksnake tech, patent pending. That cloud’s going to persist for a whi
le, so don’t bother waiting for it to dissipate. And don’t move. You can’t see me, but I can see you, and I’ve got my piece trained on both of you.” She paused. “Good to see you guys, by the way. You both look good.”

  “Save it, you two-faced, murderous bitch!” Scope snarled. “Well? What are you waiting for? You’ve got the drop on us. Why don’t you take it?”

  Harmony sighed. “Do you really think I want you dead? Whether you choose to believe it or not, you two were the closest I’ve had to friends in…well, decades, really. You could even say we grew up together, in an odd fashion. When we first met, I thought I’d have my work cut out for me, fitting in. You both were so hopeless! Then you improved, faster than anyone would have thought, which meant I could let ECHO think I was improving too. And look at you now! I’m impressed! Infiltrating Blacksnake, to chase down little old me, I can only guess. Who would have thought shy, bumbling Bruno and Paris, the Queen of Piss ’n Moan, could pull it off?”

  Scope shook her head. “Alright, seriously, you guys have to cut out this ‘Paris’ crap, or I’m…”

  “Going to gut us,” Harmony finished. “Yes, yes. Thing about old and tired threats, Paris, they tend to become…well, old and tired. You need a new bit.”

  “What do you want, Harm?” Bruno asked. He was, for once, not bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. Instead he stood motionless, but through the haze of smoke Scope just barely made out his fingers lightly tapping on his side-arm, which was bound to his leg.

  “Payback,” Harmony answered. “On a certain billionaire who seems to want me dead. He really rig that entire train to blow?”

  “Yes,” Bruno answered in a loud voice, drowning the faint snap from his holster as he unfastened his gun.

  “I guess that means I owe the two of you as well,” Harmony said. “You saved my life, and that doesn’t happen too often. Wow, it’s great to have pals.”

  “Hey, that wasn’t our first choice!” Scope shouted, following Acrobat’s lead and subtly flicking the safeties off her pistols. “We were sort of rushed for time. Believe me, if we could have figured out a way to off you while saving everyone else on that train, we would have.”

  “Do we really need the bravado?” Harmony asked. “Really, all I want to do is talk.”

  “You want to talk?” Scope scoffed. “Harm, you were infiltrating us for Blacksnake, you lied to us for years, you killed our boss, you put Bull in a coma, and it turns out you’re Blacksnake’s number one hitman! You just tried to off a train full of ECHO Ops and veterans and you just plugged Reverie in the head with a bullet! We left the ‘talking’ portion of this crazy soap opera a while ago. Can we just fight now?”

  “No,” Harmony answered. “I’m going to need to say a few things.”

  “We don’t need to hear anything from you!” Scope shouted.

  “Oh, it’s not to you,” Harmony said. “But I think you’ll be interested to hear it. It’ll also do that ‘two birds, one stone’ thing. You appreciate that, don’t you Scope? Look at me, I’m being efficient!”

  “Get to the point, Harm,” Acrobat said.

  “It’ll be quick, promise,” Harmony said. “Something that should hurt my former employer, and pay you two back in full. Then we can get back to you trying to take me down.” She chuckled, and raised her voice. “You picking this up, Overwatch? Do I have your full attention?”

  There was a pause, and then…

  “Tell her I’m listening,” they heard Vickie say.

  “Overwatch is receiving,” Acrobat said, loudly. “Say your piece.”

  “This is Special Operative Talisman of Blacksnake, formerly known as ECHO Op Trainee Harmony. On this, the first year anniversary of the global invasion, Dominic Verdigris III attempted to assassinate a MARTA train full of ECHO veterans and their ECHO Op escorts by way of a bombing. His aim was to set-up the bombing as a failed kidnapping attempt, using the Atlanta rogue meta group known as the Rebs as scapegoats. Prior to today, my understanding was that this plan had two objectives. First, through combat or the detonation of bombs placed on the MARTA transport, to eliminate key members of ECHO meta personnel Verdigris wanted neutralized. Second, to discredit and undermine the remaining ECHO personnel currently in upper management roles to facilitate an eventual transfer of power completely into his hands. His desire to have the ECHO veterans eliminated in all of his contingency plans suggests to me a third objective, though he never chose to discuss this particular point with me. In light of new evidence, I would also postulate a fourth objective. His decision to plant bombs on every car of the MARTA transport suggests he also wished to terminate myself and my team of Blacksnake operatives. My belief is that he wished to eliminate the last key piece of evidence linking himself to the murder of Alex Tesla—me. I was Alex Tesla’s murderer, and I state now for the record that I acted under the sole direction of Dominic Verdigris III.”

  “Harmony!” Bruno said. “You know this won’t mean much unless you turn yourself in and testify! Does this mean you’re surrendering to us?”

  “Please no,” Scope muttered. “Then I can’t shoot her.”

  “Don’t be absurd,” Harmony said. “Do you really think I’d just chain myself to you? Overwatch, I am now transmitting a URL to the ECHO Med freq for secure documents, recordings and files that will provide all the evidence you need to corroborate these accusations. The passkey is One-Five-Delta-Charlie-Tango-Quebec-Two-Foxtrot-Zulu. Please confirm.”

  There was a long silence.

  “Package confirmed, you two,” they heard Vickie say over their communicators.

  “She’s got it,” Bruno said. “It’s done, Harmony.”

  “Good,” Harmony said, simply. “Take him down, with my compliments. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m sure Bull’s been listening in all this time and is double-timing it towards us. He promised to break me, you see, and as much as I’d find that entertaining I think it might be best to save that for another day.”

  “Harmony!” Scope shouted. “You even think of jackrabbiting and I swear I will mow you down where you stand!”

  “More tired threats, Scope?” Harmony sighed. “This should be good. I know you, dear girl. I know how much your eyes are your crutch, as much as your strength. Pray, how are you going to hit what you can’t see? Are you going to…”

  In answer, Scope leveled her pistols in Harmony’s direction, and emptied her magazines. Bruno heard the storm of bullets ricochet off the concrete walls, but a few seemed to find their mark. Harmony screamed. “How…?”

  “Can’t see you, can’t help but hear you,” Scope replied, smugly. “How’s that for a new bit, bitch?”

  Bruno heard Harmony swear, and then with a loud fooomph he caught saw a gleam of light, growing larger…

  “Scope!” he yelled, but it was too late. He dove to protect Scope with his own body, but it wasn’t a grenade that Harmony had fired at them, it was a flare. The small flame punctured the dense smoke, and the very air around them ignited in a tremendous flash of light. Scope began to scream while Bruno rubbed at the stars in his eyes. He was dazed, but the haze of bright stars was already beginning to fade, and he saw that the flash had depleted the smokescreen. It had been so bright though, so bright that Scope must have been…

  “Blinded!” Scope yelled. “The bitch blinded me! She…”

  Bruno heard the pounding of footsteps, caught a glimpse of a brief struggle, and when his eyes finally began to register shapes, he saw Scope sliding to the ground and Harmony standing over her.

  “Paris!” Bruno screamed. “You killed her!”

  Harmony rolled her eyes. “Of course not. She just cut up my legs to hell. She’s no good to me dead.” She reached down towards Scope’s limp body, and frowned. She looked up at Bruno. “Full body armor. Since when do you two wear full body armor?”

  Acrobat ignored the question and instead launched himself at the tunnel wall, rebounded and flew at Harmony, feet first. With a surprised yelp, she dodged back and tumb
led away, landing in a crouch. Bruno noticed she was noticeably slower. After her sprint to escape and a number of bullets embedded in her legs, she was severely weakened and in obvious need of juicing.

  “You stay the hell away from her,” Acrobat growled.

  “Don’t be an idiot, Bruno,” Harmony snarled as she stood up. “Why do you think I went for her first? Even blind, she’s more a threat to me than you’ll ever be, you little mouse of a…”

  She shrieked, threw down another smoke bomb and retreated as he drew his pistol and began firing. Once again, the fog obscured anything beyond a foot away. Bruno bent down, threw Scope over one shoulder, and fell back as Harmony began to return fire. It was awkward, shielding Scope’s chest and head with his body while he backed away, exchanging gunfire with Harmony through the thick smoke. He grunted as one shot grazed his shoulder, and after a moment he felt the sting of a fresh wound. He quickened his backward pace, but slowed as Harmony stopped shooting. From the smoke, he heard the pounding of feet on pavement. Harmony was running away.

  “God, I miss ECHO nanoweave,” he winced.

  “Bruno,” he heard Scope mutter into his back. “Put me down, you moron.”

  He knelt down and let Scope come to her feet. Immediately, her legs buckled and he steadied her as she sank to her knees. She was clutching her side.

  “Easy, easy,” he said. “Don’t exert yourself, I think Harm gave you a solid shot to the liver. Can you see yet?”

  Scope looked around blankly, and her lips quivered with rage. She shook her head.

  “It’s getting better. The great black blur is kinda a great grey blur now. I’m going to need a minute, just a minute…” She exhaled and gritted her teeth, struggling with indecision. “We don’t have a minute. You need to go after her, now.”

  “Acrobat, you will belay that order!” Bulwark’s voice rumbled over their comm units. “I am almost to your position, I…”

  “No Bull, you’re really not,” Vickie interrupted. “You folks are going to have to move. Just gave a look over Harm’s files. They’re good, but Bruno is right. To make this stick we need a live body, a living witness, otherwise there’ll be claims we manufactured it all. If there is a chance in hell you can capture her, do it.”