by Justin Sloan
After a moment to catch her breath, she registered first the seagulls and the smell of cinnamon—incense, she imagined—and then, within a shadow on the roof, a couple. Not just any couple, but a dead couple, or so she would’ve thought last week. Both her sister and her sister’s husband were supposedly dead, but there they sat, grinning at her.
“You came,” Alicia said, voice hushed, and she waved Shrina over.
Shrina hesitated, almost wondering if this was all a dream. She wasn’t one to travel the world, at least not yet. And she certainly wasn’t in the habit of finding two dead people on the roofs of hostels in Turkey.
“How…?” was all she could think to say.
Again, Alicia motioned her over, and then Shrina saw a third seat waiting for her. She didn’t remember walking over or sitting, but both happened, and she found herself staring at them—first Alicia, then Marick, then back again.
“Right, your question of how,” Alicia said and then turned to Marick. “Huh, tough question. First, everything we thought we knew about New Origins and Project Destiny was a lie. Well, not everything. But what they stand for? Their mission? Yeah, pretty much no good.”
“I’m not following,” Shrina admitted.
“This’ll help,” Alicia said, pulling a chip from her wrist computer and delicately handing it over to her sister.
“And this is…?”
“Proof that New Origins means to use its enhanced troops and a fleet of ships against the top governments of Earth.”
Marick nodded. “Also, it’s good to see you, I imagine. But they stole my memory.”
Alicia frowned at him, then laughed. “That’s a hell of a way to tell her. But,” she turned back to Shrina and came in for a hug, “yes, it’s so good to see you.”
That opened the floodgates of Shrina’s emotions, and she pushed her sister off and hit her on the shoulder. “What the hell? You both… you’re supposedly dead!”
“I wanted to tell you,” Alicia said, hardly even moving when Shrina hit her, which was odd since Shrina had always been the intimidating sister and stronger, even though she was younger. “So many times I wanted to tell you, but the nature of what I was doing—”
“Top Secret, as always. Yeah, I get it.”
“Actually,” Marick said with a chuckle, “it was the opposite of that. She was on the dark side.”
“Should I be hearing this?” Shrina asked. “I mean, FBI and all.”
“That is a concern.” Alicia said and leaned back, her expression going from excited to nervous real fast. “We don’t want to drag you in, but I’m not sure who else we could trust with this.”
“Nobody from your old Red or Blue or whatever-the-hell-color teams?”
Alicia shook her head. “Too connected. I only came to you because, well, you’re you. And maybe you have someone you can truly trust with this. The information is solid. It just needs to get to the right place. We can’t go public with it, or it would seem like a hoax.”
“Or a terrorist organization trying to spread lies,” Marick added. “Instigate something.”
“How do I know that’s not what this is?” Shrina asked, still trying to come to grips with her excitement and joy at seeing them alive against all the confusion surrounding what they were telling her.
“It’s me,” Alicia said. “That should be enough. They took away my husband and told me he was dead. Of course I had to go after them. But I only wanted to uncover the truth about what they were doing to soldiers. I never thought this would be part of it, believe me.”
Shrina shook her head, totally unsure of what to do with the information, but her sister was right. Aside from the whole not-being-dead thing and not telling her, Shrina trusted her sister completely.
Always had, always would.
“I think I know someone I can trust on this side of the ocean,” she said and then nodded. “I’m in.”
17
Alicia: Istanbul
The idea that she was walking through Istanbul with her sister still blew Alicia’s mind. Part of her couldn’t believe it was real, and a part of her kept trying to wake up from a dream while the rest wanted to grab her sister’s arm and cling on in case she floated away.
Leaving the roof, they headed for one of the below-ground restaurants, complete with cushions to sit on and hookah to smoke, though none of them partook in the latter.
“Makes my mouth feel all cottony,” Shrina admitted. “There was a place in DC, and I tried it. Not my thing.”
“I can’t picture my little sis at a hookah bar anywhere,” Alicia replied with a chuckle. “And here you are, right in front of me at a hookah bar!”
“And this time there’s no guy trying to get in my pants, at least,” she said with a smile. Noticing their worried looks, she hurried to add, “Hey, I said trying. The guy that night? No way.”
“Too much information, regardless,” Alicia said. “You’re going to give Marick the wrong impression.”
“As if we haven’t met… oh, right,” she said and leaned in, lowering her voice, “the memory thing.”
“The memory thing,” Marick said with a laugh. He glanced over and nodded as the waiter set down a plate of chicken kabob and yellow rice in front of him, then a salad for Alicia. Shrina got a plate of stuffed grape leaves, olives, and hummus. “Don’t worry. I’m giving everyone the benefit of the doubt,” he added after the waiter had gone.
“And, as I said,” Shrina pointed out, “I did not sleep with the guy. Totally not my type.”
“Do you have a boyfriend now?” Alicia asked. “Or maybe someone who is your type but might not be your boyfriend?”
“Really?” Shrina said with a raised eyebrow. “Conspiracy brewing, lives in danger, and this is what you want to talk about?”
“Yes and no,” Alicia said and waited.
“No, no boyfriend or whatever at the moment. And—to answer the second part of your question—not exactly, though there’s a guy who’s very nice and, well, we’ll see.” She leaned forward. “Now it’s your turn. You say New Origins is going to make a military move. Do you know when? What kind of numbers?”
“We intercepted communications, mostly, but it shows preparations are underway. And numbers… enough to matter.”
Shrina frowned. “Okay, here’s the deal. My contact, this person I think I can trust, is the same guy I’ve been interested in.”
“On this side of the ocean, you said,” Marick interjected.
“Ah, yes. We met just before I went into the academy, and we hit it off. Turns out, he was off to join the foreign service. Sometimes we chat online, but… he’s in Rome.”
“Why Rome?” Alicia asked.
“Cover, but… I’m not supposed to know this, but I used my contacts to find out, and I think it’s legit. He’s there to make a move against the Benendatti.”
Marick sucked in a breath. “You mean we’d be walking into a situation where he’s already stoking the fires of one of the most notorious groups of bounty hunters alive? The ones most likely to have a bounty on our heads?”
“The fact that this seems risky would be an understatement,” Alicia said.
“True.”
They both looked to Shrina, waiting.
“Triston’s working with a man he only says the nicest things about. Basically, he hopes to follow him around for his career.”
“You’ve met this guy?”
“Not exactly, but he’s up there in the political game and can get this information into the right, actionable hands.”
Alicia took a moment to process this, then shook her head and leaned back. “Please tell me you don’t mean the ambassador.”
“He requested Triston personally,” Shrina said. “What can I say?”
“He would be more likely to be on Washington’s side,” Marick chimed in. “Not many White House-appointed ambassadors fall to the bribes of the corporations, I’d think.”
“Unlike Congress,” Alicia said with a scoff. She�
�d had her share of experiences with the government and agreed. A political appointee in a country like Italy was likely to be connected, and if this Triston guy could make it happen, it was worth a shot.
“So, you want me to take this super important information to him and hope he’ll believe me?”
“And hope you don’t get discovered along the way… and killed,” Marick said and turned to Alicia. “We have to go with her.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“Can’t I just…” Shrina said, frowning and glancing down at her hands. “Of course not. I was going to say couldn’t I just message it over to him or something, even on a secure line, but I know, I know.”
“I wish it were that easy,” Alicia replied, putting a hand on her sister’s arm. “Believe me, there’s a lot about life lately that I wish were easy, but it simply isn’t. The stuff we’ve gone through to reach this point…”
“Oh, I’m not backing down or anything like that,” Shrina said. “Just thinking. If you have a group of PD soldiers after you—”
“The Taipan and Nightshade herself,” Marick interjected.
“Yes, them. Don’t you think it’s likely they’ll have the major entrances to New Origins HQ under surveillance?” Shrina said and glanced over at the green bag. “Hope you have some cool tools to get us past all of that.”
“And Washington?” Marick asked, eyes moving from one lady to the other. “Certainly not an option?”
Alicia shook her head. “Surveillance around there would pick us up in a heartbeat. If I were in their systems and could manage to change what they were looking for, or take down the system itself, maybe, but then a whole number of criminals might go uncaught because of me. You think I want that on my conscience?”
“But it doesn’t sound like Italy is any better,” he protested. “We’ve got to have another option, no?”
Alicia thought about it, wondering if there was anyone from her past who could work with them. But they all thought she was dead, and they all either worked for the government or in a contractor position, which was practically the same thing. She even had no reason to trust those who had gone corporate.
“This man,” Alicia said and turned back to Shrina, “why, exactly, do you think you can trust him?”
“I really can’t say anything that would assuage your worries,” Shrina replied. “It’s a feeling. It’s the way we connected, the way—”
“The way he seduced you?”
Shrina glared. “To be clear, no. That actually didn’t happen, but it wasn’t my choice that time. Not that it’s any of your damn business, but he felt it better to wait since I was at the academy and he wasn’t sure at the time where the foreign service would send him.”
“Sounds like a weirdo,” Alicia said, “turning down my sister as she flung herself at him.”
“I didn’t…” She let out a sigh, shaking her head and smiling. “Funny how much I forgot you liked messing with me.”
Alicia shrugged and gave her sister an apologetic smile. “You always did get so worked up. How could I resist?”
“Right. Point is, you asked if I had someone. He’d be the one.”
Alicia and Marick shared a look as they each considered it. The trust had to be worth putting their lives on the line, but neither of them had anything better at the moment. It was the only option.
“Wonderful,” Alicia said, throwing her hands in the air. “Looks like we’re going to Rome.”
“Our first family trip in a while.”
“The last being to… where again?”
Shrina cocked her head, then reached into the bag and opened it, wide-eyed. “Hell if I know. Holy hell, what is this stuff?”
She pulled out one of the tubes of the alien energy that powered the teleportation device.
“Be careful with that,” Marick warned. “It’s saved our lives a few times.”
“Doesn’t answer the question.”
“You’ll likely find out before this little journey is over,” he said, standing now and taking it from her.
“Lets him teleport,” Alicia offered.
“Get out of here,” Shrina said with a frown, then glanced at Marick, doubtful. “For real?”
He nodded, and grinned. “You could say that, yes. But we have a very limited supply, and it has saved our lives more than once. We can’t be doing it just to show off.”
“Well then,” Shrina said, standing and stretching in a way that reminded Alicia of looking in the mirror, “let’s go get into some trouble so I can see it in action.”
18
Intrepid: Space Station Horus
A lower room of Veles’s place was now blocked off from others entering, with only Veles, Trish, Worm, and Beetle sitting on toshoks. Set was back in the kitchen. The former PD soldier had just given her story, telling Veles about her interactions with Marick and her reasoning for switching sides.
“My brother was always looking out for me growing up,” Trish continued, “so when I wanted to join up, he did, too. Well, now I’m realizing my mistake, and I might’ve taken him with me. I want to set things right.”
Veles nodded, analyzing her as he ran his thumb along the hilt of the knife at his side. Everyone there was very aware of how this could go, but Intrepid was ready to intervene if the man tried to attack Trish.
To Intrepid’s relief, Veles removed the hand and instead pulled up a chair to sit across from Trish.
“And you’d help us in hopes of reversing all this? What if Nightshade returns with your brother and he fights us? Tries to kill you, even?”
Trish laughed. “Some ties are stronger than military propaganda, even in a civilian military.”
“So, you’re counting on his loyalty to you over PD?” Veles said and cocked his head in thought. “Is that even possible?”
“Isn’t the fact that I’m here proof enough? If the brainwashing or mind-manipulation was so strong, would I be able to sit here, talking like this?”
He considered that, then shook his head. “You have a point, which makes me feel better about the soldiers we’ve killed in the past. I always had a horrible feeling that they didn’t have a choice. But now I know those little pit-stains deserved what they got.”
“To an extent,” she replied, unsure.
“You’d join us and still point the finger?”
She nodded. “If we can incapacitate them in other ways, yes. Many of them are my brothers and sisters, in a sense. I trained with them, bled with them. I know they’re not all bad people.”
“No group of people ever are,” he replied. “Unfortunately, in war there are often larger considerations at play. As leaders, we grieve for those who lose their lives because they followed the wrong side and didn’t think to stop and ask themselves if what they were doing was right. All of my followers can leave at any time, as can you. That is, if you’re accepted. How do I know you’re not a plant?”
“Because I’m going to help you find out who ratted you out to that… rat, Captain Legorn,” she said, leaning in and smiling, “and because that’s simply not how I roll.”
“I see.” He scratched his head, stood, and then stuck out his hand. “Welcome to the team, then. You’ll understand if we keep an extra pair of eyes on you at first, but find this mole and I’ll consider that a step in the right direction.”
“Deal. And here’s that step.” She patted the side of her uniform. “I have the comms unit the captain used to communicate with said mole. All we do is use it now and see whose device goes off in this room. If nothing else, we know all here are likely safe, and the mole doesn’t know what’s happened to the captain yet.”
Everyone in the room stared at the place in her armor she’d just patted. For a moment she stared back, smiling, then started to reach for it.
A man in the back, one Intrepid had heard called Eyes for his role of lookout on operations, bolted back and lunged for the gun at Beetle’s side. He caught an elbow in the face instead, sending him back into
the arms of Worm. Two men turned to get to him, but the guy was all over the place, freaking out, eyes wide and cursing, shouting that he’d see them all burn.
“You think you’re safe here? Any of you?!” Eyes shouted. “They’re coming for you. They’re all coming for you!” He laughed hysterically, then spun, managing to break free, and ran for the stairs.
“Stop him!” Veles shouted, but he was already at the top of the stairs, busting through the door and into the kitchen where a they heard a slicing noise and then a thump.
A moment later, Set appeared in the doorway, wiping off his cooking knife. “We’ll want this sterilized before using it on the food, I imagine.”
“Set, good work,” Veles replied. “But, please, just find another knife.”
“On it,” the tall, creepy man replied, then disappeared. The sounds of a body being dragged away were eerily loud.
Everyone stared at each other, eyes darting around in case anyone else moved.
“Should we still try it?” Worm asked, finally breaking the silence.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Trish replied and opened the side of her armor, pulling out an energy bar and taking a bite. She looked a little sick because of her role in Eyes’ death but was doing a good job of keeping it down. “If I hadn’t been bluffing, that is.”
“Whoa…” Beetle said, his mind blown. “Whoa, what?!”
A loud laugh echoed throughout the room, and Veles said, “I like this one.” He patted Trish on the back, then stuck out a hand. “Welcome to the team.”
She swallowed, switched the energy bar to her left hand, and clasped forearms with him. “Glad to be here, sir.”
