Scarlet Angel

by C. A. Wilke

  Scarlett’s eyes widened.

  Jules cleared her throat. “Are you done?”

  “Yes.”

  Fingers typed in her ear, though the taps and clicks were softer than Dax’s normal typing.

  “Good. Now, we’ve got access to research terminals here, here and here, right?”

  “Yes.” Dax’s voice was meek and subdued.

  “Alright.” Jules’ voice grew louder. “Scarlett, you’ll have your distraction. I just need about two minutes.”

  “Let’s hope they don’t sound the alarm before that.” Scarlett leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She listened to the soft hum of the station and the distant voices of the people in the nearby main corridor. She focused on her breathing, slowing it down to control her heart rate and anxiety.

  “Oh shi—” Dax’s voice was faint.

  Jules’ voice was louder. “Um, Scarlett?”

  Uh-oh. Scarlett’s eyes flashed open. “What?”

  “You might want to go now.”

  She drew both guns and stepped to the corner. “What? I want the distraction somewhere else. I don’t want to be the distraction.”

  The station’s klaxon sounded. Red lights flashed in the corridor and a recorded voice echoed through the station. “Lockdown procedures in effect. Please proceed to a secure area.”

  “Now!”

  Fuck! Scarlett took a deep breath and moved. She rounded the corner with her guns at face level. The blast door was already creeping closed but the two men outside hadn’t moved.

  Scarlett squeezed the triggers on her plasma pistols. Green streaks of superheated death shot out from the barrels, obliterating the guards’ faces and leaving a single scorch mark on the lowering door.

  She shoved her weapons into her waistband sprinted to the door. The smell of singed flesh assaulted her as she searched the bodies. Neither had a gun. Instead, she took their dark grey, rubberized taser batons. Better than nothing.

  Through the closing gap between the door and the floor, she saw two more guards. They were already facing inside the room. Probably to keep anyone from trying to leave.

  Scarlett kicked the first sentry’s feet out from under him and yanked him under the door. The man twisted in her grip, trying to shove his baton at her. Scarlett redirected his jab, stabbing his thigh with the prod’s electrodes. Her hand closed over his gloved fingers and squeezed.

  She let go of his hand, but his seized muscles kept their grip on the baton. The man’s body tensed in one big convulsion. His teeth chattered and his scream came out as just a vibrating shiver. When the baton was empty of its charge, he collapsed.

  From under the door, the other guard stepped backward away from her. In one smooth motion, she pulled a gun and fired two shots. The guard collapsed to the ground, wailing and clutching at his missing foot.

  Scarlett silenced his screams with a third shot.

  She rolled under the blast door and rose up into a crouch, leveling her gun. “Nice work you two. I’m in.”

  “Thanks,” Jules’ smile came through in her voice. “I told Dax to do a standard DDS attack on the termi—”

  “Jules.” Scarlett looked around the room. Like the data core on Earth, the entry way was a small glass-wrapped cubicle. The chamber outside the room held only a single, massive pylon wrapped in stainless steel and neon lights. At the pylon’s base was a single standing workstation.

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “I’ve got a bit of deja-vu here, Dax. This room is a lot like the other one.”

  “Of course it is.” Dax’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

  Scarlett scanned the rest of the room. The air vibrated with a low hum. A small group of data technicians in lab coats sat at row of computer consoles to Scarlett’s left. Several of the workers turned to look up at her.

  Dax’s fingers tapped. “There are six ports on that thing. Each one holds a data core. One of them has what we need.”

  Scarlett let her head droop. “Shit. Not this again.”

  One of the men in white coats got up from his station and headed for her. She strolled out of the room down the stairs in the other direction. When she got closer, she found a single keyboard and holoscreen below the six data core ports, each filled with a glowing cube. One of cubes had a red band around it.

  “Dax, I think I know which one.”

  “Hey! Who are you?” A voice came from behind.

  Scarlett sighed and whispered. “Just a sec.” She whipped around and centered the man’s face between her sights. “Not someone you wanna fuck with.”

  The man froze for a moment then stepped back.

  “Nuh-uh. Don’t move.” Scarlett spoke with a calm but terse tone.

  “Scarlett, don’t kill them. You’ll need their help getting out the data core.”

  Her eyes narrowed for a second. “Fine. Come here.” She waved her gun, indicating the man to approach.

  “What’s on this core?” Scarlett pointed at the third port with the red-banded core.

  “Uh... I... what?”

  She shifted the pistol to his face. “What’s on this data core?”

  The man flinched. “I don’t know! I don’t know! None of us has access to it. It just arrived yesterday.”

  “Dax, this is it.”

  “Good. Security hasn’t responded to you yet, but they will any second.”

  Scarlett stepped back and waved her gun at the data core. “Take it out.”

  He made no motion to move.

  Scarlett saw a subtle shift in his eyes, a flicker of defiance or resistance. She kept her eyes locked on his and fired a shot next to his head. One of the computer consoles exploded. The other workers screamed and ran for cover. “Take. It. Out.”

  “I... I can’t.”

  She brought the pistol back to his face. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  “If I help you, they’ll charge me with treason.”

  “And if you don’t help me, you’ll be dead.”

  His lip quivered. Moisture began to pool around the edges of his eyelids. His brow creased and he stepped forward.

  Scarlett moved out of the man’s way as he typed. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat beaded on her forehead. Almost over.

  The cube’s glow dimmed.

  “There. It’s shutting down.” The technician stepped away from the keyboard and eyed Scarlett’s gun.

  The screen showed a growing progress bar. When the bar was finished, Scarlett took the cube from its port. Each face was three inches across and made from a material that looked like frosted white glass. The red band was a shiny metal that reminded her of wet blood.

  Scarlett marveled at the device’s simplicity and beauty. The cube was cool to the touch. Its soft blue glow seemed to pulse in her hand. She found it amazing that such a small thing could create such chaos in her life.

  Dax’s voice broke her reverie. “Scarlett, you’ve gotta get out of there now.”

  Her head snapped up. “What?” She waved her weapon at the technician, telling him to go back to his colleagues. Scarlett shoved the cube into a thigh pocket and pulled her other gun.

  “They’re coming.”

  She sprinted up the stairs and skidded to a halt next to the door. She pressed her back against the wall to check her weapon power levels. Not bad, not bad. “How many?”

  This time it was Jules’ voice. “Looks like a squad of six are headed right for you. No, wait! There’s a second team coming from the back!”

  Scarlett stepped over to the window. “What do you mean the back? You said this is the only way in.”

  The wall at the end of the computer core flashed bright white then exploded inward. Scarlett shielded her eyes from the flash and crouched below the window’s edge. Shit!

  She counted to five then rose up to look through the window. A dozen men poured in through a still-molten-red hole in the wall. Fuck! “Dax, I got a dozen men here. I need this door open. Now.”

  “Scar, there are six guys out there.�
�� Dax’s voice was panicked as he typed furiously.

  “Yeah? Well, I got at least a dozen in here. I’ll take my chances with six. Just get the door open about two feet.”

  “Just a second.”

  Scarlett peeked down at the main floor again. Staying in tight formation, the security guards made their way across the floor, one obstacle at a time. Trailing behind the last guard, Neil stepped through the hole.

  “Guys... now. I need out of here, now.” Scarlett’s voice quivered, despite her efforts to keep it calm.

  Dax grunted. “I know. They’re trying to cut off our si—”

  Scarlett’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck.” She glanced through the window to see the guards at the base of the stairwells. Three men stacked at each staircase as they readied to assault.

  The door hissed and shifted. Her eyes darted back and forth from the approaching guards to the door. C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.

  “God— Son of a— ‘cker.” Dax’s voice cut in and out, spewing unintelligible static in Scarlett’s ear.

  “Dax?” She leveled her weapon at the nearest guard as his hand touched the railing. Blood rushed in her ears and her heart threatened to pound its way out of her chest. She squeezed the trigger and dropped him.

  The other guards crouched lower. Plasma bolts exploded the glass and scorched the walls.

  The door hissed again and shifted, creating an inch-high gap between the door and the floor.

  “Sum-bitch! You bastards. Eat that little fucking morsel.” Dax’s voice returned in perfect clarity.

  The door jerked again and opened, leaving a two-foot gap. Scarlett took two deep, quick breaths. She dropped to the floor and rolled out into the hallway. On the other side, she stopped rolled up on to her side and fired three shots, killing a guard with each shot.

  “Close it! Close it NOW!” Scarlett rolled again. A half-dozen plasma bolts scorched the ground where she’d just been. The steel door closed with a thud behind her. She kicked out and another guard fell to the ground clutching his groin.

  Scarlett rolled a third time, pulling the man she’d just kicked on top of her. The remaining guards fired before they realized what was happening, killing their comrade. From under the protection of her human shield, she squeezed the trigger on each of her guns and finished off her last two opponents.

  Her arms fell to the floor, heavy and exhausted.

  She shoved the dead man to the side and climbed to her feet. “Jesus. Do you think you guys cut it close enough?”

  Together, Jules and Dax replied. “What?”

  “Nevermind.” She took out the data cube and stared at its almost hypnotic glow. All of this death and destruction for this. Well, I guess it’s not just for this. She shook her head and shoved it back into her pocket. “Now... Where’s Derrick?”

  Chapter 48

  Derrick

  Reunions with psychotic exes... I strongly recommend against them.

  * * *

  Dax zipped up his fly and flushed. He stepped to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. Sweat soaked his blond hair. Darkened skin surrounded his eyes; his face was unshaven.

  Jesus, I don’t think I’ve slept in thirty-six hours. No wonder I look like shit. He splashed his face with cool water. Dax had gotten himself into some pretty rough situations. But somehow, even being hunted by Zinchenko and his goons was not nearly as stressful as what he was going through now.

  Back in his saferoom, he locked his fingers together and bent his hands backward, cracking his knuckles in a chorus of tiny pops. “How’s she doing?”

  Jules kept her eyes on her holodisplay as she replied. “She’s almost there. I think she killed another pair of those security guys.”

  Dax plopped down into his chair. He twisted his head one direction then the other, making another series of cracks.

  “Ew... do you have to do that?”

  He chuckled. “Stress reliever.”

  “It’s gross is what it is. And, it’s not good for you.” Jules glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

  “I can give you a picture if you’d prefer.”

  Jules’ head snapped to the right to look at him. “W—what?”

  “You keep looking at me.” Dax smiled. “I know I’m good looking, but you don’t have to make such a big deal.”

  Her face turned beet-red and her mouth twisted. Dax wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. He decided to believe the latter.

  Jules huffed and turned back to her holodisplay. “You’re so full of yourself. Which makes perfect sense since you’re also full of shit.”

  Dax chuckled again and turned to his own holodisplay. “What’s the status of the virus?”

  Jules scoffed. She grabbed the small terminal window made of light hovering at the top right of her display and enlarged it. The computer Dax had loaned her beeped a few times.

  He turned to see her face wrinkled. Dax leaned over to get a better view. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, per se. It’s just... Your virus is spreading through the station a lot faster than we expected.”

  “See? Told ya.” He smiled and went back to his own display. “It’s just ‘cause I’m that good.”

  Jules scoffed again and waved her hand at the window, shrinking it and sending it back to its corner.

  * * *

  Scarlett kneeled over the unconscious woman behind the large desk. The small lobby outside of Derrick’s office was quiet except for the station’s klaxon and vastly different from the rest of the station. Above her head hung a sculpture that looked like a series of glowing twisted tentacles. Her fingers sank into the plush carpet as she glanced around the office.

  A memory crept to the forefront of her mind. Even when she dated Derrick, he’d insisted on simple and modest décor. His apartment back then was homey and comfortable. Now, she looked at the posh outer office and shook her head. How much you’ve changed.

  She plucked the woman’s identification badge and held it up. She had imagined Derrick’s personal assistant to be younger and prettier. The woman was a few years older than Scarlett was.

  Does this woman know the truth about the accident that almost killed me? Does she know what Derrick was really up to?

  “Everything okay?” Dax’s voice brought her back her present situation.

  She blinked. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “Just checking.”

  “What’s the status on Neil’s team? How far away are they?”

  Dax’s computer beeped several times. “They’re on their way. I show them still about five minutes away. You know, it’s not too late to get you out. You don’t have to do this.”

  “I do. All three of us are in too deep now. You know as well as I, Derrick and Neil will track us down. Besides, if I’m lucky, I can get this done before Neil gets back.”

  In the distance, Jules’ voice piped up. “Won’t he just hunt us down later?”

  Scarlett shook her head. “No. If Derrick is dead, then Neil won’t care. He’s only interested in the job. If there’s no client, there’s no job.”

  “Ah. I see.” The hesitation in Jules’ voice said she did not understand, but she didn’t push the issue.

  “Listen, guys...” Scarlett lowered her voice. “If something happens, and I’m wrong about Neil or I don’t get to finish this...”

  “Don’t say that, Scarlett. You’ll be fine. You’ll... you’ll kick his ass.”

  Scarlett smiled. “I appreciate your confidence, but there is a real chance that I won’t be coming back. If that happens, take Agent Barnes to my apartment and insist he put you into protective custody. That will be the best protection you can get.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Dax sniffled.

  “Alright. Time to go.” Scarlett stood and faced the cherrywood door leading into Derrick’s office. She stepped up to the entrance. Her heart pounded and her stomach fluttered. She took a deep breath. “Okay. Open it.”

  Dax’s computer beeped in
her ear. The door clicked.

  Scarlett drew both her weapons from her waistband and kicked. The door exploded inward, sending shards and splinters of wood across the room. Scarlett’s gaze followed the deep red carpet across the floor to a window in place of the far wall. From the floor to the ceiling, the window opened up to the vastness of space and the giant blue sphere the station orbited.

  She marched through the doorway and turned to her right, keeping her plasma pistols at face level. Scarlett sighted her weapons on Derrick seated behind a wide cherrywood desk, just twenty paces ahead.

  The alarm klaxon silenced.

  Derrick was focused on comparing papers to a holodisplay image. He scribbled some notes on the page and swiped the display. “You like the view?”

  Scarlett slowed to a careful stride. She kept her weapons trained on him. A tickle in the back of her mind grew at the sound of his voice.

  His casual voice, his golden hair... Memories rose up from the depths of her subconscious. A tidal wave of anger, hate and loss slammed into her, threatening to make her break down.

  Derrick paused in his scribbling. His eyes continued to scan the page. “You know, it seems to be getting increasingly difficult to find decent researchers.”

  Her feet inched forward until she stopped just a few feet from his desk. She wanted to say something. She wanted to call him a son of a bitch, to scream a list of obscenities at him, but her voice betrayed her.

  He looked up and their gazes locked. “That was one thing I missed about you. You were a damn fine researcher, among other things.” He stared at her for a long moment and tilted his head.

  “Nothing to say?” Derrick rose slowly from his seat. He wore a midnight blue pinstriped suit and a red tie. The last time she’d seen him in a suit was when he accepted the lead position of Project Centarus.

  “Fine, I’ll start.” He turned from the window back to her and looked her up and down. “You look good Jill, or... I guess it’s Scarlett now, huh?”

  Scarlett swallowed hard.

  Derrick nodded at her guns. “Oh, and incidentally, I would not recommend using those in here. The window is eight inches of sapphire-glass. I’d rather not test it against a plasma bolt.”

  She swung her left arm and aimed at the window. A tear trickled down the side of her face.