"Mia, are you feeling okay?" It was Gizmo's turn to express concern.
"Fine, just the painkillers kicking in. I'll be okay after an hour or two." She turned and follow Bee, leaving Lloyd to indulge his technical fascination with the droid.
10
Components
Mia awoke sometime later with a fuzzy head and the sound of muffled voices coming from the floor below. Bee had taken her to a room on the second floor of the living area populated by three sets of bunk beds, probably used for workers coming off shift back when this place was in business. She rolled off one of the lower bunks that she had taken refuge on. The ache in her side had dulled somewhat. She flexed her right hand, testing it for pain. It was minimal, so she unwrapped the bandage and got to her feet.
The voices grew louder as she descended the metal staircase. Mia recognized one as Gizmo, relating a story to Lloyd.
"—so that was when I turned to the other droid and said, 'Rationalize this.' Then blew it into smithereens with a blast from my plasma cannon."
Mia arrived in the main living area just in time to see Lloyd creased over with laughter. "Seriously?"
He was with three other people, one of whom Mia recognized as the barman from the Neutrino. They were all armed with light pulse weapons. She stiffened, considering if this was a potential threat. But the mood was jovial, and they seemed more interested in hearing Gizmo's story than in her.
"Absolutely." Gizmo pointed to its right shoulder. "I used to have one mounted here. But they took it away, along with all my other weapons."
"I can see how they might be a little uncomfortable with a sentient droid armed to the teeth." Lloyd then realized Mia had walked into the living area. "Ahh...Mia, you're awake. Good."
She eyed the newcomers suspiciously. Lloyd, sensing her discomfort, quickly introduced everyone. "I took the liberty of gathering a few like-minded friends while you were resting." He gestured at the individuals seated around. "Marcus, whom I think you already know from the bar."
Marcus gave her a nod. "Sorry about the patrons roughing you up. I wasn't quick enough getting you out of there. Don't pay them any heed—they're just shit for brains."
Mia gave him a casual nod by way of acknowledgment.
"This is Anka and Milo," Lloyd continued. "We got word that Montecristo's security activity has increased in this sector. Multiple units making clandestine incursions." He gave Mia a concerned look. "We think they’re looking for you. Hence my decision to call in some backup." He gestured at the group. "Needless to say, we all share the same disdain for Montecristo and their methods." There was a collective grunting of approval around the room.
"They know I'm here?" said Mia as she sat down on a battered sofa.
"News travels fast around here. An MLOD officer asking questions about Agent Frazer has obviously got them spooked. Which leads us to believe that he must have been onto something."
Mia eyed the coffee pot on the table and pointed at it. "Is that hot?"
"Eh...no." Lloyd stood up. "Come, let's get you a fresh brew." He jerked his head toward the kitchen, indicating for Mia to follow.
Once they were out of earshot of the others, Mia got straight to the point. "Can we trust these guys? I got the impression that they had an intense dislike for anyone from Jezero."
"They're not like that. Those guys that attacked you are morons. They soak up all the bullshit that they hear without thinking. Not much up here." He tapped the side of his head. "Marcus and his crew are like me. They see what Montecristo are trying to do—take over all the sectors in Syrtis, take control. And they see it as their duty to the people of this sector to stop them."
"So, they're vigilantes?"
Lloyd cocked an eyebrow at her. "In a sense, yes. But you have to understand, most citizens see the MLOD as being in the pocket of Montecristo, so there's not a lot of faith in the system." He grabbed the freshly brewed coffee pot and poured her a mug. "Trust me, these guys are on our side."
Mia took a sip and felt herself relax a little. She rested her back against the kitchen countertop, folded one arm while holding the mug in the other, and gave Lloyd a considered look. "And what side is that, exactly?"
"The side of the people who live and work here on this planet. The ordinary people who're simply trying to survive. Not the corporations who just see us as pawns in some power game, as bargaining chips—or worse, as simply disposable." He jabbed an index finger at her. "That side. That's the one we're on."
They considered each other for a beat. Mia took another sip of coffee and then reached into an inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out the book she had found in Frazer's accommodation module. She put the coffee back down on the counter and opened the book to where she kept Frazer's note. She pulled it out and handed it to Lloyd. "This is how I knew to look for you."
He studied the scribbles for a moment.
"Dan Frazer's place had been cleaned out when I got there, but I found this stuffed down the side of a sofa. They must have missed it. I don't suppose you might know what the numbers MC47:63 mean?"
Lloyd considered the scrap of paper for a moment. "I do. He must have written this down after I contacted him. It's a location code, used internally by Montecristo. It gives the location of a waystation out by the old shuttle port."
"Leighton?" said Mia.
"Yes, that's the one. It has grown a great deal in the last few decades since it's on a major transport route. There are a lot of storage and logistics facilities there now, so the resident population has grown, too. It's like a small town. Anyway, that component I showed you, I got it from Marcus, the barman from the Neutrino." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the living area. "And he got it from some guy who came into the bar hard up for cash. According to Marcus, he kept saying there was plenty more where that came from over at Leighton. So, I passed this information on to Frazer when we were arranging to meet."
Mia looked out to the living area, where Gizmo had resumed entertaining the vigilantes with a new story. "Let's go talk to Marcus. Maybe there's more to this."
Mia took a seat on the battered sofa opposite the barman and his crew. She sipped her coffee in silence as Gizmo finished its story of when it went on a high-speed dash across the planet surface, carrying Mia as her air ran out, trying to make it before she died. By the time Gizmo was finished, the others looked at Mia with a new kind of fascinated admiration.
"Lloyd says you...acquired this component." Mia directed her question to the barman.
"Yeah. He was kinda a goofy guy, says there's more over at Leighton."
Mia put her empty coffee mug down on the low table and sat back. "See, here's the thing I don't get. If you can get a few vital components on the black market, these would help you keep things going, keep the lights on. So what if Montecristo is bringing them in, even if they are complete bastards?"
An awkward silence followed as each of them looked to one another, wondering what game Mia was playing. Eventually, Marcus poked a finger in her direction. "Whose side are you on here?"
Mia sat up and gave him a hard look. "I'm on the side that wants to find out if Agent Dan Frazer was murdered, and if so, who killed him."
"Well, let me explain why we give a shit." Lloyd raised a hand. "If Montecristo has been stockpiling vital components, siphoning off from the aid supplies, or sidelining the embargo, these could have been used to prevent multiple disasters. Every day there are systems breaking down, people dying, all because of the lack of vital components that they've taken out of circulation and stashed somewhere. The reason we care,"—he gestured with both arms—"the reason anyone cares, is because people are needlessly dying while Montecristo plays power games."
Mia sat back and considered the group, then nodded. "Okay, I hear you."
There was an immediate relaxation in the room, the mood softening. "You don't much trust folk, do you?" said Anka, finally.
"Don't take it personally. It's just part of the job." Mia sat up again, resting he
r arms on her thighs, clasping her hands together. "While I was in MLOD HQ, I read through all of Frazer's case files, and there was no mention of Montecristo, no mention of an investigation he might have been conducting. Now that's not to say he wasn't doing any—he may have kept the whole thing on the quiet—but I do remember several mentions of Leighton waystation. In fact, he was over there three sols before he died. It seems to me that all roads now lead to this waystation. So, I need to get in there and take a look around."
"Yeah, agreed," said Lloyd. "We've been giving that a considerable amount of thought. It's not going to be easy to get in there. For one, it's over three kilometers outside the city, so the only way to get there is by rover. And with this never-ending dust storm, all surface activity is strictly controlled."
"Unless you can wave your badge and commandeer one?" said Milo, half joking.
"Theoretically, I could try that, but that's just going to announce my arrival. No, we need a way to sneak in unseen. What about the rovers I saw at the back of your workshop?"
"Not working. They've been scavenged for parts for other machines."
"Could we get one working?" Mia continued.
Lloyd scratched his chin. "Possible, but we still need to find parts, and even then it could take a while."
"There must be some back-and-forth traffic from Leighton to Syrtis?"
"Yeah, but it's all Montecristo small transports. Nowhere to hide in them."
"Even if we do get a rover working, there's the problem of navigation in this cursed storm. It would be easy to get completely lost."
"Not for me," said Gizmo. "I could navigate there with 98.37% accuracy, storm or no storm."
They all looked at the droid for a moment. Nobody doubted it could do it.
"Well," said Lloyd finally, "at least that solves that problem."
"We'll need a detailed schematic of the entire waystation so we can look for a way in with the lowest risk of being spotted," said Mia. "Also, it might give us some idea of where they could be stashing the components."
"Yes, we can get that," said Lloyd.
"That goofy guy comes into the bar every other sol," said Marcus. "I can try and pump him for some intel on where they might be stored."
"Good," said Lloyd. "In the meantime, I'll get started on the rover, see what it needs."
Mia considered that now might be a good time to brew up some more coffee, since the effect of the last one had worn off. She rose from the sofa and was just about to head for the kitchen when several alerts blared out from all around the living area.
"What the hell is that?" Mia looked around, trying to find their source.
Lloyd was already on his feet, rushing over to the bench with all the monitors. He flipped on a holo-table showing a schematic of the warehouse and the surrounding area. Clumps of red dots pulsed at different locations.
"Security. Shit, they know you're here. I think they’re planning a raid."
By now, the others had grabbed their weapons and were frantically checking them.
"You need to get out of here." Lloyd's face twisted into an amalgam of fear and urgency.
Mia looked to Gizmo, who had moved in beside her, sensing the urgency of the situation, then back to Lloyd. "How?"
"Not out the front." Lloyd pointed at the 3D schematic on the holo-table. "They've got the area covered. They'll nail you if you try that." He flipped on a couple camera feeds, and they could see several groups of Montecristo security personnel advancing along both sides of the street outside.
"Shit," said Marcus. "We'll never shoot our way through that."
"The surface," Lloyd shouted at Mia. "You gotta get out onto the surface. That's the only way. We'll stay here—they're not after us. It's you they want."
"What? You mean EVA into the storm at night? It’ll be pitch black out there."
"Lloyd is right," said Gizmo. "That is our best chance. They did not consider the outside surface as an option. That is why there is no security out there. I can navigate."
"Great idea," said Mia, a little sarcastically. "Only problem is, I don't have my EVA suit, remember? I left it in the locker at the terminal."
"I've got some," said Lloyd. "Quick, this way. We don't have much time."
"Lloyd, you better see this." Anka was pointing at one of the camera feeds. "They've brought some serious heavy weaponry with them."
Mia glanced at the feed. In the hazy picture, she could just make out an autonomous robotic quadruped moving stealthily behind the main group of security personnel, and there was no mistaking the heavy battering ram mounted on its back.
"You need to get going." Lloyd grabbed Mia by the elbow and bundled her out of the living area and into the workshop area. "Down the back. Through that door." He pointed as he ran. "Hurry."
A deep, resonant boom echoed around the cavernous space. "Shit, they’re trying to ram down the entrance doors."
Mia heard it again as they charged into the rear of the workshop, dodging between all manner of vehicles in varying states of disassembly. They headed for the back wall, which consisted of one massive airlock for getting rovers in and out. She heard the same booming sound again. It was more muffled this time, but it still sounded like they had not broken through yet.
Lloyd frantically checked through a locker full of EVA suits. They all had a distinct industrial design, and looked old and battered. Mia hoped he'd find one that wasn't going to clap out after ten minutes on the surface.
"Here." He lifted a suit down from its hanger. "It's good for around four hours."
Another boom. But this time it sounded different, like the doors were about to collapse. She wasted no time in getting suited up. It was basic, nothing fancy, but if it kept her alive, that was all that mattered.
She snapped on the helmet, lifted the visor open, and ran through the boot-up sequence as Lloyd operated the controls to open the inner airlock doors. When the gap was wide enough, Mia and Gizmo squeezed through just as another boom was followed by an almighty crash that resonated throughout the entire structure.
"They must be through." Lloyd slapped the button to close the airlock door and pulled out his plasma pistol. "It’s time to go. Good luck."
The door shut just as Mia snapped her suit visor down. "Gizmo, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear. A word of warning, if I may. When the outer door opens it will be total blackness outside. You best hold onto me, or you will get completely disoriented."
Mia sighed. "It's sols like this when I wonder why I do this job."
An orange beacon pulsed inside the airlock to signify decompression, and the outer door began to open. Dense clouds of dust seeped in as the gap widened, billowing all around them and blocking out the pulsing beacon. The dust continued swirling around, filling the airlock until Mia could see absolutely nothing. She could barely make out her own hand in front of her.
"Holy crap, it's impossible to see anything." She felt Gizmo's metal hand grab her and gently tug her forward. She tentatively followed, one cautious step at a time.
"Do not fear. I can see the terrain perfectly, and there is a flat concrete apron around most of this sector. Just take it slow." Gizmo guided her out. "We should move farther down along the edge of the buildings just in case they send a detail out here to check."
Mia followed as Gizmo moved off slowly. She hadn’t been out on the surface since the start of the dust storm, and so had no idea just how visually debilitating it was. That, along with the fact that she was attempting this at night, meant that she could see nothing but the reflective glare from her helmet instruments on the inside of her visor. Beyond that, it was total blackness. The ground underfoot was firm, as Gizmo had said, so her speed increased a little as she grew in confidence.
Mia had been moving steadily for a few minutes when she sensed a sudden increase in illumination, followed almost immediately by a slight ground tremor. She spun around to locate the source and saw a giant ball of gaseous flame spew out from the airlock s
ide of Lloyd's warehouse.
"Holy shit, they've blown up the place." Another ball of flame spat out as some store of flammable gas exploded. It was short-lived, as all the oxygen had now been expunged from the interior.
"Oh my god, everyone in there must be dead. No one could survive that."
"I calculate the probability of survival at 4.7%," said Gizmo, as the robot scanned the facility. "We best take cover. We will have shrapnel raining down on us at any moment. It may damage your EVA suit."
Mia found herself entombed in darkness again as Gizmo guided her into the lee of a structural wall, hoping to mitigate against the worst of the debris shower. As she waited for the droid to give the all clear, Mia began to consider her options.
Lloyd and his crew were probably dead, either from the explosion or the dramatic decompression. It signified a serious escalation in the levels that Montecristo were willing to go to to keep a lid on whatever it was they didn't want people to know about. When they took out Agent Dan Frazer, it was made to look like an accident, so they had spent some time planning that. But this was different. A full-frontal assault, no attempt to hide it—they must have felt they had become so powerful that they would face no repercussions for such blatant action.
So, what now? she thought.
"The debris has passed, Mia," the little robot's voice echoed in Mia's helmet. "Fortunately, I have a complete schematic of Syrtis downloaded and have assessed all entrance points into the city. There are a number that we could utilize to gain entry back into the city with a low chance of being spotted. The closest is approximately 1.3 kilometers northeast of our current location."
Mia remained silent for a moment as she considered this option. "Then what, Gizmo? What do we do once we're back inside? The MLOD here aren't going to help us. Lloyd was probably right about them being in the pocket of Montecristo Industries. If we go back to the MLOD, then we would need some strong evidence, something they can't ignore. Otherwise, the only other option is to hightail it back to Jezero City empty-handed."
Colony Mars Ultimate Edition Page 75
