The assassin checked his stealth shield. It was his best. The wizard scout at the other end of the chamber seemed oblivious to his presence. The assassin checked the control device for the explosives which were hidden in one of the storage cases near his target. The explosives were ready. He’d measured them out exactly to the required specifications. With a click of a button, the timer would activate. Four seconds later, the far end of the chamber would become an inferno. No normal human would be able to survive his ambush without help.
The assassin knew the wizard scout accompanying his target could do dimensional shifts. The assassin had no doubt the wizard scout could also shift his target into the void as well if he was quick. The question was would the wizard scout be able to react fast enough to escape the inferno. The assassin did a rough calculation in his head. He weighed the probability of his target being killed by either his bullet or the explosives against the reaction time of the wizard scout.
Finally, the assassin made his decision. It was a risk, but his mission needed to succeed, and it needed to succeed now. They wouldn’t get an opportunity like this again. The assassin sighted his scope just above his target’s heart. As soon as he fired, he would activate the timer for the explosives.
The assassin drew in a deep breath and let part of it out. He slowly increased the pressure on his rifle’s trigger.
Chapter 11 – Perfect Timing Required
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Richard felt strange walking while locked arm-in-arm with the councilwoman and her son. He was reminded of a video the sisters at the orphanage had once shown of three people locked arm-in-arm walking down a yellow-brick road as they made their way to see some kind of wizard. They’d been opposed by an evil witch. Richard was glad there was no evil witch around to bar their way now. He checked his passive scan. He detected no other lifeforms nearby other than the two by his side.
Suddenly, Councilwoman Deloris was jerked out of his arm and flung backwards. Her unexpected movement was accompanied by a spray of blood out of her back. Richard caught a glimpse of a red stain on the front side of her chest as well. At almost the same time, Richard sensed a buildup of energy from one of the cases buried in the stack of supplies ahead of them.
Bomb! Nickelo yelled into their shared space. And it’s big.
One thing Richard was very good at was reacting without thinking. He turned and grabbed Matthew as he dove for the councilwoman’s body where it lay twitching on the floor. A pool of blood was already gathering underneath and around her body.
As he dragged the boy through the air, Richard wrapped both of them with Power. He reached out and wrapped the councilwoman with Power as well. When he landed on the councilwoman, Richard shifted the three of them into the void. Using his telekinesis, he moved them downward through the chamber floor and into the solid rock below.
A blast of energy erupted above. Richard sensed parts of the ceiling falling down into a massive fireball swirling above the surface. Everything was dark below ground in the void. Richard sent out active scans to pinpoint his location as well as the boundary of the explosion.
The elevator shaft’s clear, said Nickelo. It’s taking a lot of Power to keep the three of you shifted. Recommend you expedite moving to the elevator.
It was several hundred meters to the floors above. Richard doubted he’d make it trying to drag two other people along with him. The elevator shaft was their only hope. He began moving towards the shaft as he pulled the councilwoman and her son with him.
Is she dead? Richard asked.
Negative, answered Nickelo. But she soon will be. The bullet hit just above her heart. I calculate she’ll be dead in fifteen seconds.
Richard took Power from his healing reserve and wrapped it around the councilwoman in preparation for healing her wound.
No! Nickelo mentally screamed into their shared space. You’ll black out. When you do, you’ll shift out of the void, and we’ll all be dead. You have to wait until you’re in the elevator shaft.
Richard obediently withheld the healing, but he did as much of the preparation as he could while he was levitating them towards the elevator shaft. He imagined how the councilwoman’s body should be, and he compared that with how it was now.
Although he was going as fast as he could, the time to travel the short distance to the elevator shaft seemed interminable. Eventually, he popped into the opening of the elevator shaft and pulled the councilwoman’s blood-soaked body and her son up out of the ground. As soon as they were clear, Richard dropped their dimensional shift. As they solidified back into the physical dimension, Richard took note of the greasy metal walls around them. They were in the shaft itself, not the elevator. He remembered Matthew had sent the elevator car back to the surface.
Without waiting to analyze the situation further, Richard pulled the councilwoman’s injuries into himself. He heard himself scream as a fist-sized chunk of flesh was blown out his back to emulate the councilwoman’s wounds. As Richard blacked out his, last conscious thought was, I hate emp-healing.
* * *
The sound of pounding slowly brought Richard out of the darkness into which he’d descended. He smelled smoke. He also heard shouts in the distance, but he couldn’t make out the words. As his brain cleared, Richard realized the shouts were very close.
Opening his eyes, Richard saw Councilwoman Deloris and her son beating and clawing at the inside of the elevator shaft’s door.
“They won’t budge,” yelled Matthew in a voice bordering on panic. “We’ll be crushed.”
“I’m sorry, Matthew,” said the councilwoman as she continued clawing desperately at the elevator’s door. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”
Nick, Richard said into his shared space. Give me an analysis.
His battle computer didn’t waste time on words. Richard sensed a vision of a blazing inferno outside the elevator shaft’s door. Another part of his brain simultaneously saw a vision of the elevator coming down the shaft at a high rate of speed. He didn’t need his battle computer to tell him all three of them would be crushed when it arrived at the bottom of the shaft.
With a series of images, Richard let his battle computer know his plan to shift the three of them into the void just before the descending elevator arrived.
No! Nickelo said nixing the plan. The door will open when the elevator gets here. You only have enough Power to keep the three of you shifted for twenty-two seconds. That’s not enough time to reach safety.
Before Richard could think of an alternate plan, he sensed a vision of him using telekinesis to lift the three of them up to meet the plunging elevator. He saw himself stopping and changing directions to match the downward speed of the elevator. Then he saw himself shifting his group into the void and allowing the elevator to catch up with them. The vision continued on and showed him shifting out of the void and hitting the elevator’s emergency stop.
It’ll take perfect timing, Richard said. He had a momentary regret he wasn’t wearing his battle suit. Nickelo wouldn’t be able to do the work for him. He’d have to do it himself.
Yes you will, agreed Nickelo. And you won’t get a second chance. But, it’s the best plan I can come up with. The elevator will be here in twelve seconds, wizard scout. You better start hustling.
Without another word, Richard jumped to his feet and grabbed the councilwoman and her son with his hands. With no time to explain, he wrapped the three of them in Power and began levitating up the shaft as fast as he could go.
The councilwoman screamed. Her son looked like he wanted to scream as well, but when he turned and saw Richard, he kept his mouth closed.
He’s got guts, Richard thought.
Up the three of them went. Richard saw the bottom of the elevator rushing down to meet them.
You should thank the Creator the emergency lights are still working, said Nickelo. Otherwise, I calculate a ninety-three percent probability your timing would be off, and you’d all be squash
ed flat.
When Richard thought the distance was right, he stopped and reversed direction.
You’re too fast, said Nickelo. You’ve got to slow down enough to let it catch you, but not so slow it passes you by.
I’m trying, Richard said. My depth perception’s off.
You should’ve put your battle helmet on, said Nickelo. I was hoping you’d think of it on your own, but I guess not.
Sure you were, Richard said.
You’ve got four seconds of Power remaining, said Nickelo. It’s now or never.
Richard slowed his pace. As soon as he sensed the bottom of the elevator was about to slam into his head, he shifted into the void taking Councilwoman Deloris and her son with him.
Two seconds, said Nickelo.
Richard’s feet cleared the inside of the elevator’s floor. However, the lower parts of Councilwoman Deloris’ legs were still below the bottom of the elevator.
Damn, she’s tall, Richard exclaimed as he jerked on the councilwoman’s arms.
Richard had worried he wouldn’t be able to drop his Power at the exact moment necessary to clear the bottom of the elevator without part of their bodies going into the roof. As it turned out, he’d lost control of the situation anyway. His Power ran out on its own. Both his levitation and dimensional shift stopped at the same time.
Richard materialized back into the physical dimension with his feet a half meter inside the elevator. He fell to the floor.
You’ve got to hit the emergency switch, said Nickelo.
I know, Richard said as he jumped towards the elevator’s control panel.
He slapped the bright-red emergency switch. The elevator came to an abrupt stop. Richard was thrown to his knees.
Looking around, Richard spotted the prone figures of Councilwoman Deloris and her son, Matthew.
“Are you okay?” Richard asked. As far as he knew, the shift back to the physical dimension had partially embedded one or both of them in the floor of the elevator.
They’re fine, Nickelo assured him.
“I’m fine,” said Matthew. “Mom! Are you okay?”
“I’m all right,” said Councilwoman Deloris. “I just need to catch my breath.”
Nick, Richard said. I’m out of Power. Give me an analysis and possible courses of action.
Based upon my electronic scan, said Nickelo, the elevator stopped twenty meters above the bottom of the shaft. The shaft’s door is currently holding against the fire, but some smoke is entering. You’ll probably need breathing masks in a few minutes. I sense alarms going off, but you’ll still need to use the emergency-communications console to let someone know you’re here. I’m not connected to the tele-network, so I can’t do it for you.
As it turned out, Matthew was way ahead of him on making contact. By the time Richard turned to look for the communication console, the boy was already informing emergency personnel of their predicament. Richard heard him making liberal use of the words ‘We have a member of the Imperial High Council trapped in here’. Richard wasn’t sure the words would speed up the response, but he figured it couldn’t hurt.
After about five minutes, smoke began entering the elevator. By then, Richard’s natural recharging had replaced a whopping one third of one percent of his Power. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. Richard summoned his dimensional pack from where it was located on the Defiant.
Using his pack, Richard acquired three low-tech oxygen masks. While not top-of-the-line, they were good enough to keep them alive.
Richard also summoned his phase rod from the security desk where it had been stored. Nickelo argued against it saying it would reveal their secret, but Richard didn’t cared. As far as he was concerned, someone had tried to kill the councilwoman, and they might try again. The presence of his phase rod made him feel better.
It took another two hours for rescue crews to completely put out the fire and extract the three of them from the elevator. Once their rescue was completed, the councilwoman ordered her son back home. The young man argued he wanted to stay, but Councilwoman Deloris would hear none of it.
When Matthew continued to argue, the councilwoman brought out her big guns by saying, “I’m your mother, and I said go home. Now!”
Matthew went. Councilwoman Deloris sent an extra security team with him.
Once Matthew was gone, Councilwoman Deloris thanked Richard profusely for saving her son’s life. She told him if he ever needed anything, all he had to do was ask. She also told him she was going to make sure the Defiant was upgraded with the very best equipment the Deloris Armaments Corporation could afford. When she said this, Richard mentally whistled. He figured the Deloris Armaments Corporation could afford a lot. He had a feeling Sergeant Ron was going to be a mighty happy starship captain.
Once the councilwoman departed, Richard was hijacked by security personnel for questioning. He spent the next six hours in a secured room being grilled by a never-ending array of interrogators. A couple of security personnel had initially tried to confiscate his phase rod and dimensional pack. Richard had informed them in no uncertain terms the only way they’d get them was over his dead body. A higher-ranking Conglomerate security officer made the wise decision to leave the equipment with Richard.
Chapter 12 – Councilwoman Deluth
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Later that afternoon, Richard found himself outside the planetary administration building trying to decide what to do next. He was contemplating hailing a hover-taxi to return to the spaceport when a large, hover-car pulled up.
Since the hover-car was a type Richard associated with high-ranking government officials, Richard stepped away from the curb to make room. A well-dressed chauffeur got out and ran around the hover-car to open the rear-side door. The chauffeur looked directly at Richard.
“I am at your disposal, sir,” said the chauffeur. “Councilwoman Deluth is waiting at her residence for you.”
The chauffeur’s comment caught Richard by surprise. Councilwoman Janice Deluth was the widow of Wizard Scout Thomas R. Jacobs, Richard’s old commandant at the Academy. She was also Richard’s mother, although she was unaware of the fact. He’d found out just as the battle for the Academy had begun. With the resulting death of her husband during the battle, Richard had deemed the time inappropriate to inform Councilwoman Deluth she had a long lost son.
During the past year, Richard had not attempted to make contact with either Councilwoman Deluth, his mother, or ex-TAC Officer Gaston Myers, his brother. He’d figured too much time had passed. Since Richard had been secretly removed from his mother’s womb as an embryo, she was unaware he’d ever existed. Because Richard saw no advantage in opening old wounds or creating new ones, he’d decided to let the matter lie. He had made his peace with the knowledge. Unfortunately, his peace was being shattered by the chauffeur’s comment.
Now what do I do? Richard thought. He had an inclination to start running.
Don’t be a chicken, said Nickelo. Remember, as far as you know, Councilwoman Deluth is the only remaining time-commando. I’d recommend you see what she wants.
The chauffeur waited patiently as Richard stood there staring at him. Richard figured the chauffeur was either well practiced at keeping emotions off his face, or he was just used to dealing with temperamental politicians.
Probably both, observed Nickelo. After a slight pause, Richard’s battle computer said, Based upon all available data, I calculate getting in the hover-car is your best course of action.
Richard didn’t like being rushed, but he couldn’t think of anything better. Steeling himself for what he thought might turn out to be an awkward situation, Richard nodded his head at the chauffeur and entered the car.
The vehicle was no ordinary hover-car. It was a government-issued limo designed for high-level dignitaries. Richard had been in a similar vehicle once before at the Academy. However, he hadn’t been able to appreciate its luxuries then. TAC Officer Myers, the bane of Richard’s existence
during his Academy years, had been with him at the time. As Richard remembered it, he’d spent most of the ride sitting stiff-backed while saying as little as possible in order not to draw attention to himself.
Since he was alone, Richard took the opportunity to explore his surroundings. As the hover-limo took to the air, Richard opened a small cabinet to his front. The inside was lined with small bottles of various colored liquids along with several drinking glasses. Richard recognized a few of the bottles as expensive liquors, but most of the brands he’d never seen before. Drinking alcohol had been frowned upon at the Academy, so his experience with Empire liquors was limited to say the least.
Shutting the doors to the liquor cabinet, Richard opened another set of doors to his left. He was met by an assortment of snack packages.
Now that’s more like it, Richard thought. I was getting hungry.
You’re always hungry, said Nickelo. What else is new?
Ignoring his battle computer, Richard grabbed a handful of snacks. He began nibbling away as he taste-tested several of the items. He bit into one whitish-looking cookie and immediately regretted his actions. Richard spit out the obnoxious substance into a convenient napkin.
That sucked, Richard said into his shared space.
Ah, replied Nickelo giggling. From information in my databanks, that cookie is a delicacy from the Killorian system. It’s very expensive.
Well, they can keep in on Killoria as far as I’m concerned, Richard thought back.
Fortunately, Richard found several snacks which were quite delicious. He amused himself for the next fifteen minutes by tasting various treats and laying the empty packages on the seat next to him in descending order of taste.
I don’t know why you’re bothering with eating, said Nickelo. You’re healing reserve will keep your body adequately nourished.
Wizard Omega (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 4) Page 14
