Oh, fuck. If they’re onto us, this is over. There’s no way we can stand against seven of them.
She allowed herself to be drawn backward by Keller, and they watched as Harald scampered after Silvestri and barred his way.
“Hey!” Keller shouted at Silvestri. “Do you want your access torn up, buddy? You do as we tell you, or I’ll have our friends in crimson escort you back down to wherever it was you came from.”
Silvestri acquiesced, following him away from the railcar, then promptly dropped his case.
“Sorry,” he said, taking his time to gather it back up. He cast a wary eye toward Yun as he straightened. “I must be nervous. I do some silly things when I’m nervous.”
“Just keep it in your pants, pal,” Keller said. “You can’t go running–”
There was a popping sound behind them, and they turned to see that one of the terminal screens had gone dark. Yun was sauntering back toward the group, trying his best to look inconspicuous.
“Heck, what now?” Keller said, dismayed. He and Harald both ran back toward the machine and began to inspect it, trying to ascertain what was going on. They began tapping on the screen as they sought to bring it back to life, but it quickly became evident that there was a serious issue with the device.
“Hey, you!” Keller shouted at Yun, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “What did you do?”
Yun made no response, continuing to walk away with his hands in his pockets. Keller grunted in frustration and slammed his hand against the side of the machine.
“Now what?” Talia said to Silvestri. “If those Redmen turn on us–”
“What’s the problem?” Silvestri said. His hand fell to the catch on his case, where an assault rifle was waiting inside, and he gave her a toothy grin. “There’s only seven of them.”
“Silvestri, we can’t–”
There was a shout from one of the Redmen, a curt bark that sounded like an order, and they began to disperse.
Talia’s heart caught in her throat, and she looked around desperately for cover.
Then she could only stand and watch in disbelief.
The Redmen were running, but not toward the railcar. They were headed toward the elevator that led back down to the Atrium.
32
Duran was choking on smoke and dust and his ears were ringing, but that at least told him one thing: he wasn’t dead yet.
As he crawled to his feet and tried to gather his bearings, he found that he had been knocked back so far that he had landed on the old shuttle tracks of the transit system. Through the haze he could see that the terminal windows had been shattered in several places, either by the weight of the hoardings being thrown against them, or by shrapnel from the explosion. Obviously the insurgent had been packing a pretty hefty payload. There would be nothing left of him, nor of the Enforcers–
Duran’s stomach dropped. With that thought in mind, he knew with dead certainty that Zoe could not have survived the blast either – not where she was positioned outside the terminal doors. He started forward, but then a voice in his mind told him to turn around and leave, to stay away from the windows. It told him that there was nothing to be gained from looking upon Zoe’s mangled remains, that such a ghastly vision could offer no closure. It would only haunt his already crowded nightmares for the rest of his life.
But he knew it wasn’t as simple as that. He couldn’t just leave without finding out for sure what had happened to her. What if she were dying and in pain? What is she were suffering? He couldn’t walk away while that possibility hung in the air. He had to find out what had happened to her, as terrible and as confronting as that might be.
He had to know.
He stumbled forward and reached the shattered window, knocked fragments of plexiglass away with his elbow. He could feel the heat of the fire outside radiating through, and he knew he couldn’t linger here for long. The fire would spread, and who knew how long it would be until emergency services arrived?
Assuming they arrive at all, he thought.
He tumbled through the hole and landed heavily on his back outside the terminal. As he crawled forward he caught sight of Zoe’s body not far away, crumpled against the doorway, her face turned away from him.
Duran hesitated again. What if he brushed aside her hair and turned her face toward him, and there was nothing left but a bloody ruin? Did he really want that to be his final, lingering memory of her?
A light suddenly flared into life, outlining Zoe’s inert body in a harsh white glare, and Duran gasped and reeled backward. The smoke parted briefly and he saw something tall and dark positioned before her, out of which shone several smaller pinpricks of red and blue light. It was as if some kind of machine had appeared out of nowhere and now loomed over Zoe’s inert form, like the manifestation of the Grim Reaper itself come to claim her.
Duran recalled the final moment before the explosion, when he had seen a large black shape looming over the doorway. He had assumed it had been a trick of the light as the detonation had begun, but now he realised that hadn’t been the case.
It seemed clear that what he had seen had not been an illusion. It had been very much real.
And now a door on the contraption was opening.
Faint light spilled out of the aperture, and Duran saw a shadowy figure step forth. It stood there motionless for a moment, then knelt before Zoe and lifted a hand to her neck. The gesture finally shocked Duran into awareness of what was happening, and he reached for his .38.
“Get back!” he roared. “Get your fucking hands off her!”
The figure darted back, hands in the air. “Whoa!” he said. “Cool it. I was just checking for a pulse. Wasn’t sure if she was still alive.”
Duran glanced down at Zoe, who hadn’t moved, then back at the figure. He brandished the .38 menacingly.
“Move back,” he ordered. “Right now.”
The newcomer did as he was told, and as he stepped away, he moved out of the shadow of the machine and into the light of the blaze that had sprung up in the wake of the explosion.
It was Oberend.
Recognition dawned on Knile’s face in return as he stared back at Duran. It was swiftly replaced by dread.
“Wait a minute, Duran,” he began.
“You piece of shit,” Duran said between clenched teeth. He took another step forward, aimed the .38 right between Knile’s eyes. “Nice of you to show up.”
For once, Knile seemed lost for words, standing there with his hands in the air with a pleading look in his eyes.
Duran knew that he should be taking Knile prisoner, interrogating him to find out what he knew about Children of Earth, but right now that seemed a distant concern. Zoe was dead, all was lost.
He just wanted this fucker in the ground.
Duran steadied his shaking hands and his finger tightened on the trigger.
A grid of lights flared over Knile’s shoulder, and there was the sound of heavy footsteps. Duran switched his aim and saw another of the machines approaching through the smoke.
“Damn,” came an amplified voice. “Finally found the light switch. You okay, Knile?”
Duran directed the .38 back at Knile, who hadn’t moved.
“Stop right there!” Duran yelled. “Get out of the machine.”
The contraption took another two thudding steps, then came to a halt with an awkward grinding sound, like rusted gears gnashing against one another.
“Knile, what’s going?” came the amplified voice once again. It sounded to Duran like an adolescent.
“Ran into an old friend, Roman,” Knile said, never taking his eyes from Duran. “Is Remus still there?”
“Here, Knile,” a man said, poking his head around the back of the machine. He was short and stocky with auburn hair, and he stared at Duran timidly from his hiding place. “Your friend doesn’t look too… friendly.”
“Get out of the goddamn… thing,” Duran said. “I’m not going to tell you again.”
&nbs
p; The machine lurched twice as it attempted to straighten toward Duran, then a third time, and a slot opened in its chest. A weapon with a curved snout, like an old-fashioned blunderbuss, slid out and pointed toward Duran.
“How about fuck you,” the amplified voice said. Now Duran could see the pilot’s face through a small plexiglass screen, lit from above by green light. It was indeed little more than a kid at the controls, a dark-haired youth with a determined expression on his face. “Drop the gun or you die, asshole.”
Duran glanced back at Knile. He had no intention of putting the gun down. In fact, he would rather die right here if it meant he got the chance to see Knile die first.
“I’m not here to kill you, Duran,” Knile said calmly, as if reading his thoughts. “We were just on our way through to the transit system. You let us go on our way and we’ll leave you unharmed. We can both live to fight another day.”
“No,” Duran said bitterly. His voice was hoarse, little more than a croak. “I’m ready to end this right now, for both of us.”
“What about her?” Knile said, glancing down at Zoe. “Your friend is still alive.”
“Bullshit,” Duran said. “Like I’d believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”
Knile sighed. “Yeah, okay. Whatever. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re missing the point.”
“Huh?”
“Look around you. Children of Earth are up to something. Did that somehow escape your notice?”
“So what if they are?”
“It looks like they’re headed for the Atrium, and I doubt they’re going to just wave placards when they get there. They’re going to smash it to bits. Someone has to stop them.”
Duran laughed derisively. “That’s not going to be you, though, is it Knile? You’re working with them.”
Knile scowled, perplexed. “What are you talking about?”
“Those bastards from Children of Earth. You’re on their side, aren’t you?”
Knile shook his head, bewildered. “You’ve lost your mind, Duran. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You caused the blast in the Atrium three years ago. You were there at the explosion on Fifty-Three.” Duran gestured at the blaze. “Now here you are again. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“You couldn’t be more wrong, Duran. You’re trying to arrange the pieces so they fit your idea of who I am, that’s all.”
“Like hell.”
“You want to believe I’m the bad guy,” Knile said. “You want to believe I’m the root of all evil, so you can feel vindicated when you pull that trigger. So you can pretend this isn’t just some personal vendetta borne out of your inability to bring me to justice.”
Duran kept the .38 pointed at Knile’s face. “You can’t back-pedal out of this. Not with me.”
“I fucked up, okay?” Knile roared with sudden vehemence. “Three years ago, I fucked up. I was careless and people got hurt, but that was never my intention. I only wanted what everyone else wanted – to get the hell off this rock. Children of Earth took advantage of the opportunity when I reversed the Stormgates. They created an explosion that killed a lot of people, and I’ve had to live with that every day since.” He lifted a hand and rubbed at his brow wearily. “I’m still dealing with it. And every time I try to move on, someone like you or Emil throws it back in my face.”
“I don’t know who that is, and I don’t care,” Duran said. “And you can try garnering sympathy somewhere else. I’m the last person in this world who’s going to feel sorry for you.”
“I don’t want your goddamn sympathy. I just want you to get over it and move on.”
“No chance.”
“We don’t have time to argue about this, Duran.” Knile gestured to the kid in the machine. “We need to get to the Atrium before Children of Earth trash the place. They need to be stopped.”
“So that’s what you’re doing,” Duran said sarcastically. “You’re fighting the bad guys for the common good.”
“No, the objective is still the same as it always was. We’re still trying to get off this rock.” He stepped forward. “But part of that is making sure Children of Earth don’t destroy the Wire. If that happens, none of us are ever leaving, including you.”
“Sorry, Knile,” Duran said. “I don’t give a shit about your plan, or your friends.”
“Then we’re both going to die where we stand, Duran.”
Duran’s mouth twisted into a sour smile. “Y’know, a part of me figured that was always the way it was going to go down.”
“Put the gun down, fucker!” Roman yelled through the speaker. The contraption took another halting step forward. “I’m done screwing around!”
Duran stared down the barrel of the .38 at Knile, but the uncertainty had left the other man’s face. Knile regarded him impassively, utterly calm in the face of death.
Duran gritted his teeth and prepared for the end.
Suddenly there was a hand closing gently over his own, lowering the barrel of the .38. He looked, startled, and saw Zoe standing next to him, blood on her ear and the side of her face from a gash above her temple. His heart leapt to see her still alive.
“Listen to him, Alec,” she said, her voice cracking. She appeared somewhat dazed, as was to be expected, and yet strangely calm. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Zoe, I…” He glanced back at Knile, who hadn’t moved, then returned his eyes to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better.” She inclined her head toward Knile and the others behind him. “Looks like we have a situation here, huh?”
Duran had allowed the muzzle of the .38 to dip at her touch, but now he brought it up toward Knile again.
“Yeah. I finally have this bastard where I want him.”
Knile’s eyes flicked to Zoe. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him, Zoe.”
“Shut up,” Duran said. He brought his arm up in an attempt to shepherd Zoe behind him. “You need to get out of here, Zoe. You shouldn’t be here when this goes down.”
“Don’t do that,” Zoe said flatly, unmoving.
“Do what?”
“Don’t treat me like the damsel in distress. I can take care of myself.” She gave him a wry smile. “Besides, we’re all going to walk out of here in one piece, right?”
Duran shook his head. “I’m don’t think so. Not all of us. Now you need to–”
“I heard what he said a minute ago. He’s not part of Children of Earth,” Zoe said. “You never really believed that he was, did you?”
Duran regarded her uncertainly. “Don’t listen to any of the shit that comes out of his mouth, Zoe.”
“Look at him,” she said, waving her hand at Knile. “Does he have any of their characteristics? Have you seen him communicating with them?”
“That doesn’t mean–”
“The only evidence you have is circumstantial,” Zoe said. “I think you wanted to believe it because that would give you another reason to put a bullet between his eyes.”
“It doesn’t matter if he’s one of them or not,” Duran said, turning back to Knile. “He still has to die.”
“You pull that trigger, and you and I will die as well, Alec. What’s that going to achieve?”
“There’ll be one less scumbag in the Reach, that’s what.”
Zoe stepped gingerly past Duran and stood before Knile. “This scumbag just happened to save my life. You realise that, don’t you?”
“What?”
“He shielded me from the explosion in that contraption of his,” she said.
“Oh, come on,” Duran scoffed. “That was just dumb luck. He was trying to escape through the transit system, that’s all. He probably never even saw you there.”
“Either way, I’d be dead by now if he hadn’t shown up.” She glanced over her shoulder at Knile. “I figure I owe him one, even if it came down to chance.”
“This is bullshit,” Duran said, incredulous.
“I’m go
ing with them, Alec,” Zoe went on. “If what he said about Children of Earth is true, if they really are attacking the Atrium… I want to be there to try to stop them. That’s a fight I can believe in.”
“What about Robson? I thought you wanted to go back and help him.”
She shook her head disconsolately. “They came for him. The intruders. I heard the whole thing on the holophone. He’s gone. There’s no point going back.”
“You don’t know Oberend like I do, Zoe. I’ll bet he’s lying about the whole thing. He’d do anything to save his own skin.”
She shrugged. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he’s serving his own purpose, but that doesn’t mean we don’t share a common enemy. It doesn’t mean we can’t work together.” She looked at Knile. “I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt just this once, Alec. Maybe you should do the same.” She reached up again and put her hand on the .38, pushing it downward. “You need to let it go.”
Duran stared at her, pleading. “I can’t. You know I can’t. Not this.”
“Yes, you can. Do it for me.”
Duran glanced back to Knile, then at Roman in the RECS, then back to Zoe. He shook his head helplessly, trying to find an outcome that saw Knile dead and Zoe alive, but he couldn’t see a way to do it. Zoe continued to apply pressure to his hand, but he would not lower the gun completely.
Roman’s voice came from the loudspeaker again. “We don’t have time for this–”
The walls around them began to shake, bits of fractured plexiglass breaking loose and tinkling on the floor, and then whole room seemed to buck, sending them scattering and rolling in different directions. Duran bounced painfully on his shoulder before sliding to a halt, and then he felt the floor tip disconcertingly to one side.
“What the hell–?” someone yelled, but over the rumbling and shaking he couldn’t be sure who it was.
That tipping sensation only lasted a split second, and then the floor seemed to right itself again. Duran looked across to see Knile getting shakily back to his feet. Duran got to his knees, but Knile was quick. In two steps he reached the safety of the contraption again, where he paused at the door, casting a wary glance at Duran, before climbing back inside. The door closed, and then Knile rounded on him in the metal monstrosity.
Skybreach (The Reach #3) Page 23
