Gabby pieced it together on her own.
“These units didn’t die in combat. They were brought here because they were considered risks. They were put down by one of their commanders and one of their own.”
“Yeah, and Marisol is on this list. Her gut was right.”
Gabby was now feeling lightheaded herself. We’ll tear this place apart and see what else they’re hiding in here. If only they’d known, they would’ve approached the whole Unit 37 situation differently from the start.
“Anything in those emails concerning the new projects Dylan told us about?”
“Not yet, but I’ll keep digging.”
***
Columbus, Ohio
The older woman had wiped the counters of her kitchen as a younger one placed dishes into the dishwasher. She was careful with the expensive plates. The chime of the doorbell registered in their ears.
Maurizo had been on the couch watching the late night news when he heard it. The fit man turned off the two-hundred-inch telescreen and made for the front door, but his mother had already beat him to it. Damn it.
She checked the eyehole and immediately yelled out, “Oh, my god!”
Maurizo moved fast but froze as the door opened up. There in the doorway, embracing his mother was a ghostly familiar face. The elderly woman sobbed.
“It’s your sister! It’s my baby!”
The figure let go and headed his way, tears streaming down its eyes.
“Mari?” he asked.
All she could do was nod as they embraced tightly. He wasn’t sure if this was real or not, his face caught in a befuddled gaze. She eventually let go, her eyes lit up with merriment.
“You’re here, too,” she said as she wiped her eyes.
“Yeah, me and my wife are visiting Mama during my vacation. No C.O. on my ass for a whole two weeks.”
“You joined up?”
“You led by example there, Mari. I’m a lieutenant now, believe it or not.”
“Wow, little Maurizo is in the military. And married.”
“Well, one thing hasn’t changed.”
“What’s that?” Mari said with legitimate concern.
“You’re still short as shit.”
“Only because it looks like you got even taller since I’ve been gone.”
Their mother came between the two of them.
“Come on, Marisol. Let’s sit down at the table.”
“Yes, Mama.”
“I’ll make everyone some coffee. I don’t think it will sit well with your stomach, Mari,” Maurizo teased.
“Very funny.”
Marisol carried nothing but her old duffle bag. They entered the kitchen and the soldier was thrown aback. The island alone looked bigger than the kitchen she had watched her mother cook in years ago. Seated at the rounded glass table was a woman she did not recognize. The stranger offered her a smile.
“I don’t think you’ve ever had the chance to meet this lovely woman. This is my wife, Danielle. Danielle, this is my sister, Marisol. We’ve been married for three years now.”
“No, no, I haven’t,” Mari said, shaking her hand.
“Pleasure’s all mine. I was told you were away during our wedding,” she greeted.
“Yes, I’ve been gone for far too long, obviously,” she realized with a sense of discomfiture. “Does Carla still stay out in California?”
The question met morbid expressions.
“Carla’s leukemia prevents her from leaving the hospital. We had her moved to Seidman Cancer Center. If you’re going to be in town long, we can all visit her tomorrow,” Maurizo said.
“Absolutely,” Mari replied.
***
Rock City Salvage Station-Radiology Room
Will was seated in a chair at a computer in the dark room. Only the lamp at the desk where he sat was turned on. His ULC was stealing more files and prepping them to be sent to Alex. He didn’t read them over himself. He was still thinking about the people he’d just sentenced to death. He’d planned it from the start, but Halsey’s words were getting to him. They were following orders, just like I used to do. A chill ripped through the cyborg. Like I still do.
The wall across from him suddenly lit up, its light smothering the room. Will was startled but not enough to actually move. Keeping his cool, he realized the ‘wall’ was actually one enormous telescreen. What began playing was security camera footage of the office area below, but there were no bodies in sight. Thorton was in fact still at his head desk. The camera was positioned above the lab entrance, so all Will could see was the back of him and different interns than the ones he’d met tonight.
02.20.2045 Will read in the corner of the screen. Something strange was going on here, and he shut down the computer and retracted his ULC. Still, the recording played on. Just as he was about to leave the room, a group of people entered from the same hallway his team had used. The camera angle gave a perfect view of their faces. Out in front was Commander Kane, followed by a woman with a child.
No, two. Tears flowed down his cheeks. He knew those faces. The child that woman held, despite the fact that he’d never before seen an image of him, Will knew exactly who that was. My son. He’s my son.
Julissa walked in holding a baby Damien in her arms, at the time asleep. Will walked past the desk now, only a few inches from the telescreen itself. He felt as if he would collapse right there, his legs having turned into flimsy sticks.
The camera switched views and he went into a panic. If he didn’t see them again, he’d use his fists to smash in the telescreen. The new room to be seen looked quite like the Cyborg Malfunction Area at UNR HQ. The camera this time was much closer and was about eye level, giving a much better view. The cyborg lying on the chair was an unconscious Will.
That must be where the others are right now. Judging by the date this had to have been right after his initial surgery. Will heard footsteps, looking behind him at the locked door. Not now!!
Then he heard it: “Mommy look, it’s Daddy!”
The footsteps had come from the recording’s crystal clear audio. Kane, Zaneta, and Julissa were now in a circle around Will. Zaneta was much shorter than when he’d seen her that day in the Chancellor’s office. She’s only eleven here. Look at her.
Will lost all touch with reality at that point. He heard Alex’s voice, but it had become a distant whisper. Will removed his earpiece as he drifted farther away. He watched his family try to talk to their father and husband. He didn’t budge. He didn’t even open his eyes. He cried just as they had twenty years ago. Kane even tried comforting them with a few words.
Will fell to his knees. That same despair and rage that filled him before killing Krenzler and Myers overcame him again. This time there was no one to hit.
“Get up! Say something!”
His pleas did nothing to rouse Will from his slumber. And he knew that eventually they would leave the room with false promises of a medical miracle to wake William Marconi. Instead, Unit 21 would wake and go off to war for his Chancellor. For the UNR. William Marconi would never return.
***
Jacob and Adar were heading back with one of the shelving units for each of them. They were almost at the room where Jacob had seen velocide for the first time. Lt. Neeson couldn’t shake a disturbing idea out of his head.
“You think it’s right moving them like this?” he asked as he trailed behind.
“We’re kicking the UNR in the balls and giving them the burial they deserve. Seems fair, right?” Adar replied.
“Yeah, assuming our friends in the government don’t try to get their hands on them.”
“Then we’ll do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The thought of Declan demanding they hand over the neoartium was wishful thinking at its worst, but Jacob was glad to see Adar felt likewise.
“Damn straight,” Neeson said.
In the office area close to the desks, a tile on the floor began to move. Slowly and very care
fully, it was lifted out of place. It was set down gently, as all around the room others were also moved. Soon one small open space had become several enlarged pits. The hunters began to emerge from their hiding spots.
***
“Will, what the hell is going on? Do you copy?” Alex repeated in frustration. Will had stopped downloading and sending files to him, so clearly something was up. When the cyborg of all people didn’t respond, he smelled trouble. Why didn’t you wear a damn helmet cam like everyone else!
Vivi took a drink from her flask. Alex almost asked for a sip. When it’s over. For right now he needed someone to check up on Will.
“Joe, could you,” he began before Brielle called to him.
“Sir, it’s urgent!”
Alex sighed before turning in his chair. Bri was on the ramp, phone at her ear.
“Yes, Tremblay?”
“It’s Declan. He wants a report on the status of the mission. He wants to know why we’ve stopped the data feed.”
“Tell him I’m working on it.”
“Alex, what’s up?” said Halsey over the intercom.
“Listen, Joe, I need you to—”
Alex’s heart stopped. No, no, no. On both Adar and Jacob’s cameras he clearly saw troops arrive at the hallway entrance. They wore the black of the UNR. Before Alex could even begin to count them, the enemy fired first. The sound of the gunshots made Alex flinch as if he were there himself. All he could hear was a slight grunt, and both Adar and Jacob’s cameras hit the floor.
“Jacob? Adar?”
There was nothing but the sound of boots approaching.
“Sir?” Bri asked.
“Alex?” Joe asked again.
Jacob’s gone. Alex’s morbid assumption came to an end as he saw both the fallen cameras begin to move. The camera, however, did not show Lt. Neeson returning to his feet. Instead, the camera began to move forward along the floor. He’s being dragged.
“We have hostiles closing in from the hallway! They have Jacob and Adar!”
Everyone in the lab halted what they were doing.
“Take defensive positions!” yelled Halsey.
Every soldier began to scramble behind something they hoped could take bullets. The salvage lab didn’t offer much, though. There was one thing that could work pretty well and even though Gabby hated the idea she accepted it. She led by example and went over to one of the shelving units and flipped it on its side. The bags fell over in a mess, but behind the sturdy metal they were made of she seemed reasonably safe. The others were quick to follow, but even then a problem arose.
They were only four tables between them and about three, and three was pushing it, could securely fit behind one for shelter. There were still fifteen of them here and all huddled for cover best they could. All except one.
“Nusaybah, no!” yelled Gabriella.
“Listen to her! Get down!” screamed Malik who was huddled with Halsey and the remaining Neeson.
Nusaybah stood as the others ducked before the bullets were even flying. Her karambit wouldn’t do for this. No, she readied her C8A3 assault rifle. The woman took off ahead, to the protest of all.
Nusaybah got to the cyborg treatment center and took cover behind the chair where cyborgs met their fate. It was all she had. From there she could see the hallway they’d used to get down here. One UNR soldier dragged Jacob, another Adar, with another three at the top at the entrance. Another two were heading down. And probably more in that room up top, Nusaybah considered as she sat there.
“You, don’t move!”
She’d been spotted, which she knew would happen quickly in her position. No pulling back now. Nusaybah slid the visor down from her helmet and switched to thermal view. Other than the numbers against her she had been analyzing one other vital variable: distance. She only had a few seconds to gather it all, but she went with it.
The two UNR soldiers had just entered the lab, only to see a grenade roll up to their feet.
“Oh, shi—”
The explosion came not a second later. A few pieces of hot metal from the grating floor flew past Nusaybah, but none directly hit her. She took no time to bask in her luck or even thank God. She got down on the floor. There was a plethora of smoke and fire and the smell of burnt flesh, but none distracted her. In the haze, five heat signatures still stood, though they were hunched over.
Nusaybah took her five targets and sprayed bullets on each one of them. Two were head shots with the other three being direct hits to the chest area. Either way, each target got at least two bullets each. Killing that fast was almost pure instinct and even though she’d stopped firing, she kept her gun on the people she’d just shot.
Nusaybah’s gun trembled as she did now. The smoke was settling, so even Alex could see through her camera. None of the five targets she’d shot had gone down. They all stood there as if nothing had happened. Nusaybah did the only thing she could think to do and fired more shots to the head, only to hear a DING of metal on metal.
From the flames in front of her, figures arose. Nusaybah was in a demented nightmare. The two soldiers who should’ve been killed by her grenade stood before her with tattered clothes and roasted skin. Their guns were gone, probably blown to pieces at such close proximity to the explosion, but their eyes were locked on to Nusaybah. The dead men began to walk toward her with no fear. The others resumed pulling Jacob and Adar away.
“Hostiles are cyborgs, I repeat, hostiles are cyborgs!” Nusaybah yelled as she opened fire desperately. Guns had given her power since she was a child, and now they proved useless. She began to pull back, but with twenty rounds left she wasn’t going down without a fight.
Chapter 11 - To End is to Destroy
October 22, 2065 - Rock City Salvage Station, New York
Nusaybah remembered her training and knew even with standard bullets she had one viable strategy: a bullet to the eye. The two closest to her were right on her at this point, but hopefully she could take down at least one of them. That’s when she felt something hit her neck.
Nusaybah felt little to no blood and what her hand felt was some kind of dart. The effects came not long after. A sudden numbness swept through her body from her head to the tips of her toes, causing her to collapse onto the floor. Another second went by and her vision was an assortment of colors with no definable lines or shapes. When the third second came along, she was conscious of nothing.
“They’ve got Nusaybah now!” Alex reported.
“We know what we’re up against, so what’s the play?!” yelled Sgt. Neeson to Noah across the room. She had an idea, but her soldiers had been the makers of a few strategies. As a sign of respect, she wanted the squad leader’s suggestions. Wilson didn’t fail her.
“Maneuver, Disarm and Suppress, Sergeant!” he said.
“Then let’s roll with it! Maneuver DS, come on!”
As one UNR troop carried off Nusaybah, the other began to head down the secondary hall. To his surprise, a woman was running head on at him. He recognized the target: Gabriella Neeson, one of the top targets. It was only then he noticed the strange gun she held in her hands.
Goodbye. Gabby let loose with a fully charged pulse rifle shot, frying everything in front of her for several meters. The lights above shattered in a stunning firework display as the burnt crisp of a UNR soldier fell flat on his face.
The one carrying Nusaybah turned around with a look of confusion on his face. He saw his fellow soldier lying on the floor without so much as a twitch.
“Hutchens?” he asked. Then came the full brunt of the counterassault.
Halsey, Noah, and Malik used their assault rifles to pepper the three UNR soldiers standing guard at the top of the hallway. Their well-aimed bullets blew away the guns in their hands, though, unfortunately, the two taking Jacob and Adar had already gotten back to the office area.
As the follow-up came Kurt and Gabby, both taking aim with their pulse rifles. Kurt locked on to the one holding Nusaybah first. The UNR soldier
’s eyes seemed to reflect some of the terror of what was about to happen, even though he didn’t understand it. Kurt released the trigger after a nine-second charge. It was more than enough to kill the soldier, who dropped Nusaybah to the floor.
Gabriella went for the homerun, aiming her pulse rifle up at the trio. This time, however, the element of surprise was not with them. Gabby fired, but the cyborgs had cleared the hallway entrance.
“Fuck!” she yelled. Gabby wanted to run up there and continue the fight head on, but she remembered the last time she’d rushed into something like this. Last time her father, now her brother. They won’t get away with this. On a comforting note, the assault had accomplished something. Nusaybah was back with them, even though she couldn’t stand, let alone fight.
“Nusaybah? Nusaybah?” Malik repeated as he held her. The others stood in a circle.
“She breathing?” Gabby said.
“Yeah,” Malik answered, “but there’s no waking her. We need to see what it is they put in her.”
“I think we should focus on why they’re trying to take us alive instead of killing us,” Noah commented.
The others acknowledged this with stares but no words. It was a mystery why their death wasn’t a priority and shook them to the core. They weren’t given long to think on the situation.
“This is Sgt. Flemming,” a voice yelled out to them. They assumed the man was up somewhere in the office area, though technically they couldn’t be entirely sure.
“I think we can both agree there’s only one logical course of action to take. You’ve been given a grand opportunity to surrender. Your friends are still alive. I suggest you all take the deal.”
“I suggest you go fuck yourself!” Gabriella roared.
“A little indignation is expected, and I generally assume not everyone will accept the invitation. At the very least, Gabriella, have the tact to let those who wish to surrender do so.”
The soldiers gathered there in the cyborg treatment center didn’t budge. None from the Salvage Area came running to give themselves up. Halsey spoke for his comrades.
End of Knighthood Part II: The King's Move (Reverence Book 3) Page 9
