Scarlet Angel

by C. A. Wilke

  He wrinkled his brow and twisted the corner of his mouth. “You do know you’ll die too.” Derrick stared for a second then arched his eyebrows. “Although, I suppose you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t ready to die.”

  “Why?” Scarlett’s throat scratched as the word eked out from between her lips.

  “Scarlett…” Dax whispered.

  Derrick chuckled and sat back down in his chair. “You think you deserve to know? Or are you just trying to get me to say something so your friend back on Earth can record it? Either way. No. I don’t think so.”

  “Scarlett, kill this psycho now and get the hell out of there.” Dax whispered again.

  Derrick leaned back. “Although I will say, you’ve been a real pain... reporting on me to the FBI. I’m curious, did you really lose your memory? Or are you still with the Feds?”

  “All this shit, you trying to kill me... destroying my life... It was all for nothing. I never worked for the FBI. Aimee Lackston was your mole.”

  “Aimee Lackston?” Derrick’s brow wrinkled for a second and he leaned forward. “Aimee Lackston was too dim to be the mole. Not that it matters. I know it was you. And even if it wasn’t... If someone wanted you dead, it was probably to remove any suspicions, any witnesses either way. Nothing personal.”

  Scarlett’s brow furrowed. “Nothing personal?” Adrenaline-fueled anger flared into rage. She shifted her grip on her guns and stepped up to the edge of the desk. “Nothing personal?”

  Derrick arched his eyebrows then smiled again. “Please, Jill—Scarlett. We both know you’re not going to shoot me.”

  Scarlett’s eyes burned. She made her gaze bore into Derrick. She wanted him to feel the pressure of her hate just by being near her.

  Her voice shook but her hands were steady. She spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m not?”

  “No.” Derrick’s gaze shifted.

  Scarlett’s mind screamed danger and her anger evaporated. Panic jolted her muscles into action. She spun around, her fingers squeezing both triggers.

  Elongated balls of green energy spewed forth from her weapons, cutting an arc of destruction across two walls. She scanned the room as she fired, seeing books and paper erupting in flame on their shelves. The wood and glass display case at the back of the room exploded into shrapnel.

  A blur of movement shifted to her right. Neil’s charcoal grey body armor twisted, staying at the edges of her peripheral vision. Scarlett continued to fire, trying to catch up with him. Her blasts ricocheted off the giant window, carving melted scars into its surface.

  Neil rolled across the ground and rose up just a couple feet from Scarlett. His fist came up first, landing squarely in her diaphragm. In one fluid motion, he twisted around and slammed his elbow into her back.

  Scarlett dropped to her knees as the air fled her lungs. She gasped for breath in vain. In desperation, she swung her arm to take aim at Neil, only to have him wrench the weapon from her hand.

  She fell to her side and raised her other gun. Neil stepped aside, letting the shot scorch a piece of wood paneling behind him. Scarlett tried to take aim again, only to have him kick the weapon from her hand.

  Scarlett’s chest heaved, sucking in every bit of air she could get. The floor thumped softly in time with her pounding heart. Footsteps grew closer until a pair of shiny black shoes stepped up to her face.

  A powerful hand seized her hair and yanked her up. She grabbed for the hand holding her and scratched at the carbon nanomesh gloves. Neil held her up and pressed something against her skull behind her ear. The device’s surface was cold. She heard a faint beep.

  “Scarle…”

  Dax’s voice was drowned out by the sound of her own scream. Pain ripped through the side of her head. Static roared in her ear. The static howled over everything else, even overwhelming her own voice.

  Then, her left ear went silent.

  Neil’s hand released her hair and she collapsed to the floor, still screaming. Her hand flew to the side of her head. The skin behind her ear was scorched and blistering. Something wet dripped into her hand and she pulled it back. Red ran down her palm onto her forearm.

  Scarlett’s screams turned into sobs. She looked up at the two men standing over her. Derrick smiled down at her, every square inch of his face mocking her.

  Neil stood motionless, holding the gun he’d taken from her. There was no anger, no rage, no malice in his expression. Neil’s face was like stone, flat and impassive.

  This is it. My comm is fried... Neil just kicked my ass... Scarlett’s sobs faded. A strange calm took over as she waited for Neil to raise the gun and fire.

  Derrick’s mouth moved. At first, his voice came in unintelligible echoes to her right ear. From her left, she heard only the strange whine of absolute silence. Scarlett pieced together the words from his lips and the distorted sounds.

  “See.” Derrick’s smile widened. “I told you you wouldn’t shoot me.”

  Chapter 49

  Wounds

  Anger and the fear of death are the strongest of motivators.

  * * *

  Jules screamed at Dax. She begged him to do something, anything to help Scarlett. But Dax just stared at his holodisplay. He felt as if his heart had simply stopped in his chest.

  “She’s gone.” His words were barely a whisper.

  Jules’ hands worked furiously at her own holodisplay hacking deeper into the station’s systems, trying to reconnect with Scarlett’s comm. “Well, get her back dammit!”

  “We can’t.”

  She shoved him aside and took over his computer. “Of course we can.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and her words came as sobs. “We can’t give up.”

  “There’s nothing to give up on. Her comm is dead.” He spoke a little louder, his own disbelief turning into irritation.

  “Damn you, Dax!” Jules wiped her nose and eyes with her sleeve. “Stop making excuses.”

  Something inside Dax broke. He grabbed Jules’s shoulders and shook her. “It’s over. Her comm is dead. Not just shut off. Dead. The electronics in her skull are fried. Look at this signal, Jules.” He pointed to a small window in his holodisplay.

  “That spike. That’s from a directed electromagnetic pulse, a strong one too. She’d be lucky not to have her brain scorched when that chip burned out. It’s fucking over!”

  Jules stared into Dax’s eyes for a long moment. Without saying a word, she pleaded with him. He knew what she wanted. He knew she wanted him to tell her it would be alright, that Scarlett was okay. But he also knew they had to face the truth. “Jules, she might already be dead.”

  She sniffled and Dax handed her a tissue. “Then what do we do? Call Agent Barnes?”

  Dax turned back to his display. He stared at the signal graph showing the end of Scarlett’s communication. Another window nearby showed the rate of infection for his virus on the station’s systems. He turned back to Jules and put his hand on her knee. “Maybe we don’t need to talk to her to help. Let’s make sure she’s still alive first, though.”

  Jules sniffled again. “How?” She opened a new window on her computer. “There aren’t any sensors in Derrick’s office.”

  He opened a few terminal windows on his own computer and started a new bit of code. “Yes there are. There’s nothing to track people or movement, but there’s environmental sensors.”

  She squinted for a second then turned to him. Her eyes widened. “Oxygen.”

  “Yep. Three people use more oxygen than two.”

  Jules glanced at her own window showing the exponential growth of Dax’s computer virus. “What do we do about the virus? It’s going to start affecting vital systems.”

  Dax’s hands swiped in a blur back and forth as he typed and shifted his holographic displays around. “Nothing. We may still need it.”

  * * *

  Scarlett resisted the cough but it came anyway. Her belly clenched, sending a fresh wave of nausea through her. The muscle contractions moved up to h
er lungs. A broken rib jabbed at her insides.

  “I want you to tell me who you are working with.” Derrick’s voice was calm and even.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and spewed forth the air and blood from her airways. Wet spots splattered the already red carpet. More blood dribbled from her lips as her head drooped. “Fuck off.”

  Derrick knelt down beside her. “I can’t tell you the trouble you’ve caused me. After the accident, UDI was investigated by OSHA, the FBI, Homeland Security and EarthComm.”

  He drew her sweat-matted hair away from her face. “All because you survived and then disappeared.” Derrick stood.

  “You poor baby.” Blood gurgled in her throat. She smelled the coppery odor on her own breath. “I bet it’s just been so hard for you.”

  He pulled his foot back to kick her again but her laugh stopped him. “Something funny?”

  “Yeah. You keep kicking me like this, and I’m gonna muss up your pretty shoes.”

  Scarlett stared at the floor. Her head hung limp from fatigue, but she didn’t have to see to know the twisted expression of rage on Derrick’s face.

  “You make a good point.”

  His words surprised her. Derrick had always been a passionate man and quick to anger. At least, before.

  “Mr. Smithson,” He stepped away. “Please cause her an extreme amount of pain until she tells me who she’s working for.”

  A shiver ran down Scarlett’s spine. She knew more about Neil’s abilities to inflict pain and damage to a human body than anyone. It was one of the reasons she was so terrified of him. She forced her head up.

  Neil turned to face Derrick. “That’s not part of our contract. My job was to bring her to you and subdue her.”

  “Alright.” Derrick’s chair squeaked as he dropped into the leather seat. “Another hundred K.”

  Neil’s gun thudded on the desk as he set it down.

  Scarlett rolled onto her side pushed against the floor, trying to keep him away. Panic flooded her mind. She wanted to reach into herself and find some shred of defiance to fight back. Every time she thought she found one, a fresh wave of pain and nausea would wash over her and the hopelessness would take hold again.

  Neil’s hand snatched her left wrist. He yanked her arm up and grabbed her pinky finger. His eyes darted to her face for a split second. He looked back at her finger, then bent it backward with a snap.

  Scarlett screamed. Pain ripped through her hand as the tendons snapped. She swung wildly at Neil, trying to make him let go.

  Instead, he grabbed her next finger.

  She barely heard Derrick’s question over her own sobs and ragged breath.

  “Who are you working for?”

  Scarlett tried to speak, but her voice refused to respond with more than a squeak. Finally, she gained enough composure to say a few words. “I’m pretty… sure… I already said… Fuck off.”

  Snap.

  Scarlett howled. An uncontrollable wave of nausea slammed into her, sending a trickle of bile into her mouth. Her client’s name appeared in her mind. A tiny voice inside screamed at her to tell him. She knew she wouldn’t, no matter what they did. But the voice, her own voice, kept telling her that it didn’t matter… that she was going to die anyway, so none of it mattered.

  A new alarm sounded, different from the one before. Somewhere on the station, something exploded, making the floor shake. The lights flickered then returned to normal.

  “What the hell?” Derrick’s voice sounded worried. He turned on his holodisplay then looked up at Neil. “Don’t stop. Find out who she’s working for.”

  She saw Neil’s focus settle on Derrick, and she snapped into motion.

  Scarlett reached up with her good hand and jabbed her thumb into the top of Neil’s hand. The pressure on his muscles forced his hand to let go. She wrenched to the side.

  Neil’s arm moved with his hand, keeping her from breaking his wrist. Scarlett kicked, slamming her foot into the side of his head. Neil stumbled back and shook his head.

  Scarlett rolled and jumped up. She snatched the plasma gun from the desk and took aim on Derrick’s face. “You son of a bi—”

  A foot, Neil’s, appeared in Scarlett’s peripheral vision. In slow motion, she saw Neil’s shoe slam into her hand. The impact jolted her trigger finger and sent the gun flying. A green blast of energy zipped past Derrick’s head and exploded into the wall behind him.

  Neil grabbed her hair and yanked.

  Scarlett’s scalp burned as red locks were ripped from her skull. Two hands seized her jumpsuit armor and flung her across the room. She sailed through the air, screaming, and smashed into what was left of the glass and cherry bookcase.

  A new pain throbbed in her side and small bruises ached all over. The taste of fresh blood coated her tongue. Scarlett’s hand shook as she took hold of the eight-inch sliver of wood sticking out from her side between two plates of her armored body suit. She clenched her teeth and snapped off the piece still outside of her body.

  Neil snatched the plasma gun from Derrick’s desk and aimed it at Scarlett.

  She planted her good hand on the floor for balance. Scarlett hissed through gritted teeth and struggled not to scream. She yanked her hand back up. Sticking up from a scrap of wood was a narrow piece of glass, dripping with her blood.

  Another explosion rocked the room. Neil turned to Derrick who was furiously swiping at his holodisplay. “What the hell’s going on?”

  Derrick’s voice was near panic. “It’s… It’s that damn virus. It’s evaded all of our countermeasures and is corrupting critical systems.”

  Dax. Scarlett looked at the two men then back to the glass. When she broke the shard off, she realized how much it resembled a knife. She placed the glass on the floor with her bloody palm on top.

  Neil glanced back at Scarlett then leaned over the desk. “Is this a real problem?”

  “Yes.” Derrick continued to swipe at the holographics in front of his face. “If this reaches the station’s nuclear core…”

  “Can you stop it?”

  Derrick turned his face up to Neil’s then back to his display. “No.”

  “Then what now?”

  “I…” Derrick’s eyes darted around as if he were searching for something.

  Scarlett wanted to laugh. The rib poking at her lung reminded her not to. She found a clear spot on the floor and put the side of her hand down.

  Slowly she rose to her feet. Neil’s body stood up from the desk and wavered back and forth. Scarlett knew he was not really swaying, it was just her dizziness that made it appear so.

  “Alright. Just… Kill her. I have a private shuttle.”

  Scarlett’s upper lip twisted in a snarl. She held the dagger of glass and cocked her arm back to throw. All of her rage and pain focused her attention on Derrick.

  Derrick’s gaze shifted to Scarlett and his eyes widened. His hand flew up to point at her in horror.

  Neil’s head turned, but she was already moving. Scarlett focused all her remaining strength and brought her arm down in one smooth motion. Instinct guided her fingers as they released the sliver of glass. The makeshift weapon tumbled through the air.

  Scarlett didn’t need to watch to know where the glass would hit; Neil had taught her well. She twisted to the side as three plasma bolts scorched the wall where she’d been. In mid-turn, her knees gave out and she fell to the floor.

  Blackness pushed in at the edges of her vision. Distantly, she heard someone gurgling and choking. A smile spread across her face as she realized Derrick was dying.

  Chapter 50

  Adrift

  I’ve known for a while that when I go, I’d be kicking and screaming and covered in blood. I just didn’t think it would all be my own.

  * * *

  Scarlett’s head sagged. Her leg screamed in pain as blood dribbled from the chunk of wood buried in her side. More blood pooled in her damaged left ear.

  Her chest heaved as each breath came with ef
fort. She dared not move or she’d encounter the wrath of the rest of her wounds. If she’d had any tears left, they would have been streaming down her face.

  She turned her head and looked from the corner of her eye.

  Neil stood over her, the barrel of his plasma pistol aimed at her head. His face was flat, expressionless. He looked back at Derrick’s dead body.

  When she spoke, she tasted blood. “So… You gonna kill me now?”

  “This is the second time I’ve failed in a contract in ten years of doing this.” His gaze shifted back to her. “If you survive, you’d better hope we’re not on the opposite sides of a contract again, because there won’t be a third.”

  Neil turned and headed for Derrick’s desk. He shoved the other man’s corpse aside. The body made a loud thump against the floor as the chair turned over. Without even a glance at the corpse, Neil swiped at the holodisplay. A few seconds later, he strolled out of the room without another word.

  Scarlett blinked a few times and just stared at the floor. Holy fuck.

  A distant explosion rocked the station. A panicked voice shouted over the station intercom. “This is not a drill. All station personnel, evacuate. This is a code red evacuation. I say again, all personnel evacuate. This is not a drill.”

  Another explosion shook the floor, this time closer. A minute later, the voice repeated the call to evacuate.

  Scarlett was satisfied with the job she’d done. Ruby, Cash, Emma and the kids were safe. Dax and Jules were safe. The only thing she hadn’t done was to deliver the data core.

  She could live with that.

  The voice continued to echo from the station intercom at one-minute intervals.

  She let her arms lower her body to the floor and rolled onto her back. Somehow, her eyes found more tears. She laid her head back and tried to predict how close each of the explosions was.

  One thought nagged at the back of her mind. Project Hermes. If Hermes was a success, why hide it?

  Scarlett counted three more explosions. Each time she tried to focus on it, but the question kept distracting her. Why would he hide it? If Derrick had licensed the tech, he and UDI would have been unbelievably rich by now.