I begin to wonder why they haven't come in, then I remember the apartment's black spheres, and realize the barrier must be keeping them out.
Kimberly glances out the window and says, "I don't see anyone."
"I can feel them. They're out there. Six of them."
"You're imagining things," she tells me as she walks over to the couch, picks up my backpack, and tosses it to me. "Get out of here."
I catch it and glance down at the bag as I say, "I don't understand. I thought you couldn't let me live."
"What part of get out of here don't you understand? I'm not going to kill you, at least not here," Kimberly yells at me, then she glances at the picture, and mutters, "Not in front of her." She points to the entry and shouts, "Now get out!"
I know what will happen to me once I leave the safety of the apartment, so I plead, "Please don't make me leave. I don't want to live like that anymore."
Kimberly's view...
"Like what?" I ask, not really caring. All I know is that woman has to be mental. Anyone else would run at the chance to escape the Phoenix's fury.
I yell, "Get out! Get out before I change my mind, and I kill you now!"
Katharine's view...
Filled with hopelessness, I stand, grab the note and worn business card, and leave the blood speckled one on the table. I bend down, snatch up the music box, and put the three items in my pocket. I sling the backpack across my chest and head out, and within a minute, I stand in front of the elevator and see Kimberly watching me from the apartment. The cab opens, I walk in, and a few minutes later, the doors open to the ground floor. I walk out as if going to my own execution, continue through the building's front doors, then into the courtyard, and I stop half way to the gate. Once I walk through it, the Un-Men can attack me and the hunts will begin again. I hope Kimberly will change her mind, and I glance over my shoulder and see her watching me from the entrance making sure I leave. Disheartened, I pull the business card from my thigh pocket. It's one of the three clues to my identity or is it? Are any of them? Maybe these aren't meant for me or... maybe they're just another test, a test to see what I'll do with them. I fist my hand; I'm an idiot to believe any different. I don't need it anymore and drop it to the path, watching it fall to the concrete as one hope dies. First Preacher and now this... I don't think I can take that much more.
I sniff my runny nose and force my mind to move on to the current crisis. I remove my gun from the backpack and check the magazine; it has four bullets. It won't be easy with six Un-Men out there. I remove the Ravlek Vest from the outside of the bag, put it on over my jacket, open the gate, and step out to the sidewalk.
West 1000 Avenue is as desolate as my life. I cross the street. Lamp posts line the path heading into the empty Zeus Park as Tainted Rain pours from the thundering sky, and I shiver in the cold rain as my hair soaks with the black filmy water. I slow my pace to hold off the inevitable attack and give me time to prepare and observe my surroundings. The Ultra-Epi causes anxiety with my inactivity.
lub-DUB... lub-DUB...
Filled with gloom, I ignore the bio-mecha warning and pause, watching the Transgenic Grass soak up the rain. I don't want to think about the danger that lies before me; I want to be free of strife. At least for a few minutes, I can let my mind think of other things other than my own possible death, so I focus on the grass.
Scientists modified the Kentucky Bluegrass with an extra-genome from the bath sponge, and they then modified it further. What they created is a hybrid plant capable of absorbing large amounts of Tainted Rain. I feel the Un-Men move into position, and I know only moments remain before they attack. The Transgenic Grass releases the H2O properties of the liquid to be absorbed back into the atmosphere through the water cycle. All absorbing Transgenic Plants are created with the water release function in the World's attempt to correct the Dry Clouds problem. The Un-Men separate and circle me. Why do I know this information? Why do I know the grass then uses the petroleum base of the liquid to create energy? How do I know that it's how the plant survives? If scientists can do this... What could they have done to me? I look at my gun hand, thinking of my uncanny marksmanship and consider what they have done to me.
I feel the Un-Men watching, and I hurry past a metal bench. A green line of light hits my hand as a spot, and I watch it as the laser aim moves up my arm to my chest. Five more green laser aims pinpoint kill shots on my body. I remove my backpack, throw it back to the bench, and unset the safety on my Beretta. I dash for cover in a thicket of trees, splashing through puddles of Tainted Rain as gun fire erupts around me and several shots strike my back. The spongy Transgenic Grass cushions my fall as I roll with the impacts, and after I roll, I arch my back for the pain, force myself to move on, and spring to my feet. I have to run! I have to run or I'll die!
Chapter Sixteen
They Are Here
9:59 A.M...
Nexus Apartments' courtyard...
Moments earlier...
Kimberly's view...
Hades! This is ridiculous! I watch that woman leave and see the look of hurt she gives me before walking through the gate. Why didn't I kill her? And why did that woman look at me as if we're friends and we just had a bad fight?
I follow her, pause, and glance through the gate's metal bars as that woman crosses the street. I let her escape again, and then I notice something at my feet. Oh my Zeus! I see the Phoenix business card on the path. That little... Why did she drop this out here? I definitely don't need someone finding my calling card, so I pick it up and place it in my purse, then I watch that woman enter the park. I decide to follow her and push the gate open, looking for the Un-Men that woman mentioned. After crossing West 1000 Avenue, I trail that woman and head into the park as a few black droplets fall on the sleeve of my dark green pant suit, and then thousands fall from the menacing sky.
"Great, just great!"
Rain... and me without an umbrella. I hide behind a large Transgenic Maple a couple hundred feet away from her.
End Kimberly's view...
The tree like the Lantern Pine created its own light with the help of an extra-genome from a firefly. The light emanated from the maple's trunk and branches. Its leaves grew upside down to gather the light for photosynthesis.
Kimberly's view...
Strands of my hair fall in my face as Tainted Rain darkens them, and I rake them behind my ear. I don't know why I followed her. I still need to kill her, but that isn't it. Do I believe that woman can detect the Un-Men beyond the visual plain? My suit jacket soaks through. Hades! I'll catch a cold if I stay out here much longer.
In the distance, I see that woman pause and the beams of green light hit her. Someone's aiming at her, so I search the park. Gun fire erupts from all around the park, lighting up the bushes and trees with muzzle flashes as I duck into a thicket of trees. I pull my gun from my purse, hearing movement coming from my left and my right. I turn and lean my back against a maple as the area falls silent.
Are the Un-Men really hunting that woman? Is there a bounty on her head or a more malevolent reason? I remember our conversation from before. That woman said the Council called her the Pandora Project. She also said that they're testing her. I hear more gunfire. What kind of mess did I get myself into by following that woman here?
Katharine's view...
I franticly crawl through the small trees deeper into the park and then catch sight of a small tunnel underneath a stone bridge about twenty yards away. I desperately run for it and enter the tunnel, then an Un-Man steps out at the other end and activates my abilities. Over the past year, I've learned many things about myself, about the Pandora Project, and I know my abilities come in levels. The level I just entered is the Beta Phase, and I can't miss any target when I'm in this phase. I quickly aim with my extraordinary gift, fire once, and hit the Un-Man in its kill spot. I start down the tunnel to collect its AK-47 when two more U
n-Men appear at the same end as their brethren, and they open fire on me. I scamper back and duck around the outside of the tunnel as bullets spray past me, and a few of them ricochet off the stone wall. My hot moist breath shows up as steam in the brisk October air as I heave from the exertion. I wipe black water from my brow, waiting for the metal barrage to end, then I fire twice around the corner, hit the two Un-Men, and drop them.
I have one bullet left and there's still three more Un-Men, so I'll have to run for it. I start through the tunnel, hear Kimberly scream, and glance back. Surely she didn't follow me out here. Again a voice deep within me reasons with my heart not to let anyone suffer, and that I need to protect those who need me. I stare at the stone ceiling as the burden of doing what's right weighs on me. I look to the one end of the tunnel that means my freedom and to the other that means confrontation. It would be easier to run, and Kimberly's an assassin; she can take care of herself. I've ignored the pleas to save people before. I don't need to endanger myself for someone who's probably at the park to kill me. I turn as if I can see the Nexus Apartments in the distance. Kimberly won't help me, so why should I help her? I head toward my freedom. She's on her own just like I am.
Minutes earlier...
Kimberly's view...
A gust shakes rain droplets from the maple I'm standing next to and turns my green outfit to the color of oil. The Un-Men haven't spotted me yet, but I know I'm vulnerable here. I look down at my pumps. Hades... I've ruined my shoes coming out in the rain, but I can't worry about them right now. Nexus is about five minutes away if I run for it, so I dash back towards the apartments and near the next large tree when a muscular man steps from the bushes.
"Team Leader here," the Un-Man relays in a Russian accent. "Civilian encountered." It pauses for a few seconds, then repeats what must be an order, "I will take the civilian as a hostage." The Team Leader aims its AK-47 at me and says, "Stay where you are and you will not be hurt."
"Right. I'll do that," I tell it as I shoot three times, hitting it in the chest.
The Team Leader marches towards me like a runaway hover freight train as I fire four more times, empty the gun, eject the magazine, and slide in a new one. I fire twice more before it reaches me, but my attack does nothing to stop it. It hits me across the face with the back of its hand, bruising my cheek, and then it grabs my arm. It squeezes my wrist till I drop the gun and cry out in pain.
The Team Leader drags me to a clearing and yells, "Pandora, surrender or we will kill the civilian." It scans the area and states, "I detect two of my brethren are still functioning and that you have disabled the other three. Come out now!"
The Team Leader squeezes my wrist, and I cry out again as I struggle against its hold, trying to free myself from its mechanical grip.
"Do you really think she's going to come back for me?" I question the tin can. "You're wrong!" I remember how I almost killed her, and I tell it, "We're not the best of friends."
I punch it in the jaw with my free fist, then shake my hand in pain, realizing that was a stupid move. If I want to stay alive, I have to stay smart.
"Be still," the Team Leader orders and then shouts, "Pandora, you know we will kill her if you do not surrender."
"I know," that woman replies as she walks down the path and stops about ten feet away.
Her eyes blaze like a demon's in the darkness of the late afternoon, and in amazed terror, I gape at her as they burn with blue fire. I shake off my dismay, reverting to the cold calculating mind of a Closer. I have to get a hold of myself, and then I focus on a new realization. That woman actually came back. I thought she'd be long gone by now, but here she is. Surely that woman didn't come back for me. I deny the notion as my confusion over her actions turn to suspicions.
"Drop your gun," the Team Leader orders her as it pulls me in front of itself and wraps me up in its arms as if we're lovers.
Katharine's view...
I glance at my gun and know I don't have a chance with only one bullet. One of us will get hurt if I try to take out the Un-Men. I glare at Kimberly. She probably followed me out to the park to kill me. It was a really bad mistake on her part.
"Let me go!" Kimberly struggles against the Team Leader again and yells at me, "Shoot it!"
Kimberly has nothing to do with my problems, so I can't let her get hurt, but I don't want to be captured, not again. I shiver, not only for the cold but in fear of what happened about eight months earlier. The decision to surrender rips at my gut. On one side I fear torture at the hands of the Factory and on the other I can't let someone suffer because of me, even if they're an assassin. I lay the gun on the ground as I feel my Ultra-Epi Light Emissions fade.
"You!" I yell to get Kimberly's attention. "Once the Un-Man releases you, run and abandon your weapon, and they'll leave you alone." I kneel to the spongy grass and water soaks my pants as my weight forces the liquid to the surface of the green blades. I place my hands on top of my head as the other two Un-Men walk out of the shadows. I feel sick, knowing the pain that waits for me at the Factory, and I yell, "Hurry! Go!"
The Team Leader throws Kimberly to the side as it states, "Pandora, we finally have you again."
She stumbles to a tree and runs toward her apartment, glancing over her shoulder. The Un-Men ignore her and focus on me. I notice she ducks into a few bushes after running some distance and then she watches us. I have no idea what she's doing.
The Team Leader, who is a T-5, relays to the Factory, "Pandora has been secured. Send in a retrieval team." It tells its brethren, "ETA fifteen minutes." It points to a T-3 who's a five foot eleven model with brown hair and orders, "You, secure the area."
The T-3 nods its understanding and walks off as the Team Leader picks up my weapon and checks its magazine.
"One bullet. You should have fled, but we were fortunate to find someone strolling the park."
It pushes the bullet from the magazine, and the 9 mm round falls to the ground, disappearing into the grass. The Team Leader reinserts the magazine and tucks the gun in its waistband as I remain silent and search for the weapon Kimberly dropped. I swear no matter what, I won't go back to the Factory.
Chapter Seventeen
Zeus Park
11:16 A.M...
A round clock sitting on a steel post about a hundred yards down the path ticked away the seconds as a screech owl perched in the maple. The small bird turned its head a hundred and eighty degrees, studying the two Un-Men and the kneeling woman. Mud and oily water soaked Kat's shoes and the shins and knees of her pants. She stared at the ground and shivered, keeping her fingers locked and her hands on her head. There were thirteen minutes left before the retrieval team got there. She wiped the black filmy water from her face on the shoulder of her jacket. Kat had thirteen minutes to change her fate. A Type One model she had dubbed Pretty Boy months ago stood behind her, and its shoulder length bleached blond hair swayed in the breeze and that along with the lanky Un-Man's corky smile gave it the appearance of a surfer even in the business suit. The Pretty Boy kept its AK-47 leveled on her.
A grenade's throw away, Kim hid in some bushes. She couldn't go back to the apartment, not until she eliminated all the witnesses. Robots or not they saw her with a gun, and they had to be eliminated along with that woman. The only thing Kim had to do was find her weapon.
The T-3 returned and reported to the Team Leader, "I have secured this side of the park. I will patrol the other half."
It started off and entered the area Kim took cover in, and after desperately scanning the area, Kim saw a large branch on the ground, grabbed the limb, whacked the T-3 in the face with all her might, and smashed its polarized spectacles. Her attack cut a gash under its right eye, and its shiny metal cheekbone showed through the damaged artificial skin.
The T-3 removed its broken sun glasses and tossed them to the ground then turned its head, unaffected by the blow. Its sun-blazing dot-light brightened a
nd changed to a deep red as the T-3 said with a British accent, "Poppet, you want to play?"
She dropped the limb and scurried off toward West 1000 Avenue, realizing the only thing she did was make the robot upset.
"Do not leave, poppet! The fun is about to start."
The T-3 opened fire with its AK-47 and wildly shot in her direction.
Back at Kat's position...
The Team Leader and Pretty Boy received a message from the T-3.
"T-3 has again encountered the civilian, and the female has attacked it," the Team Leader stated. "The female is fleeing." It paused. "Transmission garbled. Transmission ended with... kill poppet? I do not understand. Repeat communication." After about ten seconds, the Team Leader said, "T-3 has failed to report, and it may have been damaged." It turned to Pretty Boy. "We may not be able to contain Pandora with only two units, requesting orders from the Factory on how to proceed."
They turned their heads when they heard gunfire, and with them distracted, Kat seized the opportunity to escape and dashed into the woods, hoping to reach Kim in time. The Team Leader motioned for Pretty Boy to recapture her.
"Do not destroy Pandora. The Factory wants her functioning."
"Understood," it stated and rushed into the woods.
Leaves and twigs brushed by her face as Kat hurried into a clearing. She halted, spotting the rampaging T-3 as it shot up the area, and her Ult L-E produced charged particles and sparked from her eyes as she entered the fray again. The T-3 ran out of ammo, ejected its magazine, and started to place in a new one when Kat ran behind it and jumped on its back. She covered its eyes with her left forearm and grabbed its rifle with her other hand. Kat jerked the AK-47, aiming the weapon at the Pretty Boy as it rushed after her, and several shots hit the Pretty Boy's chest as Kat wrestled with the T-3. The Pretty Boy charged till Kat managed to aim the rifle at its forehead, and then it fell like a tree cut down by a chainsaw. The T-3 grabbed her vest and hurled her from its back. She rolled with the throw and ran for cover behind a large bronze statue of a man wearing a toga and holding a lightning bolt.
#1 Shades of Gray- Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness Page 12
