#1 Shades of Gray- Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  "It cannot be!" It pointed the blade at her. "Puck!" Flabbergasted by its fantastic realization, the Rogue paced the room. "It cannot be!" It paused. "Could this be the reason? Is this why I cannot stop hunting you?" The Rogue pointed the knife at her again, accusing, "You are one of them!" It calmed itself, and its face softened, yearning for the truth. The Rogue gently asked, hoping this was the answer it had been searching for, "Are you one of them?"

  Chapter Forty

  The Price

  7:37 P.M...

  Kimberly's view...

  A security desk marks the boundary between Green and Yellow Division as I hurry past a dead guard slumped in a chair. I run through several more halls, following the Rogue's directions on the blueprint for Yellow Division, and it'll take me about fifteen minutes to arrive at my destination. There better be a disk, and it better have something of value on it or I'll deal with the Rogue myself. Damaged lights flicker and pop in the last section before Computer Lab Two and darken the hall. Oil mingling with the smell of decaying bodies hits me as I remove my night vision goggles from the knapsack and place them on. I activate the goggles, and the area lights up in a green hue.

  A disabled Un-Man and several dead S.C.Ms. line the hall. I grip my gun as I continue, unaffected by the carnage. I use the yellow keycard to unlock Computer Lab Two, remove my goggles, turn on the lights, shut the door, and lock it. The gray room's huge. Workstations form a triangle in the center with one workstation at its tip, facing the front door; ten run down each side, running at a forty-five degree angle, and seventeen form the triangle's base. Each workstation has a white computer desk, a smoke-colored computer chair, and a light gray six foot partition wall behind it. I walk to the workstation at the tip. The desk has a name plate with the number one on it. I start at Workstation One, make my way to the right of it, pass two through eleven, and go around the corner to the base of the triangle to Workstation Thirteen, and there lying on the desk as the Rogue promised is a disk in a clear jewel case covered with dried blood-smeared fingerprints. I set the knapsack in the chair for Workstation Fourteen, sit at thirteen, and lay my gun on the desk. I open the jewel case, insert the disk in the computer, and enter the access word Betrayal.

  It's an interesting choice for a password. I glance at the blood. Whoever created the disk, who did they sell out? I only had to double-cross that strange woman, and in the long run, what will it cost me? I turn my attention back to the computer as a folder pops up on the screen with a beep and contains several files. I click on Security Memorandum Theresa Griffin dated October 5, 13 A.D.C.; it was a week before my mom's death.

  I read the classified memo with the Sphinx Corporation letterhead, "Mr. President, I regret having to inform you that we have a traitor in our midst. Time after time she has meddled in affairs outside her department, and I have spoken with her about this, but she denies any involvement. I see only one course that can be taken, her termination. The traitor is Theresa Griffin, Project Manager of Research and Development of the Third Branch Office." I pause and wonder if this person meant more than her dismissal with the term termination. The memo ends with, "I can take care of this matter if it is your wish. It will be quick and quiet, Mr. President." It's signed Janus, Head of Security of the Third Branch Office.

  Janus? I've never heard of this person. Who is he or she? At least now I have a direction to go in. I'll find out who Janus is, and if this person had my mom killed or if he or she had anything to do with her murder, I'll terminate them. I eject the disk, place it back in the jewel case, and tuck the plastic container in the knapsack. I stand to leave, and the computer flickers like a TV when the reception is interrupted, and I face the screen as words in bold red letters scroll across it.

  You have the disk as I promised. Hope you enjoy the show. Signed, the Rogue.

  The computer flickers again, and video from a security camera plays. The feed's of Kat walking through a room filled with statues. I turn the volume up when I see her hold up the music box and the hologram's image appears. I watch on, and the hologram tells that woman about the Data Crystal. Hades! I whack my palm on the desk. That strange woman has found one of the Data Crystals. I have to retrieve it! I grab my stuff, hurry to the door, reach out my hand to unlock it, and pause. What am I doing? Am I thinking of rescuing that woman? If I am, it will make me an idiot. It will be better if I wait. The Rogue will slay the project, then I can have the music box and the crystal. I can continue the search for my mom's killer alone, but I better not wait here. I try to unlock the door, but it won't open.

  I hear the Rogue's voice come over the computer, and it says, "Ms. Griffin, are you trying to leave before the show is over? I think not."

  "Hades!" I slam my palm against the door and scream, "That double-crossing Rogue!" I step back, fire at the knob, and try to open it. "Let me out!"

  The door won't budge, so I return to Workstation Thirteen as computers fourteen through twenty-nine light up and show the same video of the room filled with statues. The Rogue's there, searching for Kat.

  "You!"

  I shoot the screen, blowing it. Infuriated over my own stupidity in trusting a robot, I stare at the damaged computer. What is the Rogue trying to pull? I look at the knapsack and remember the blood on the jewel case. I did wonder what the disk would cost me, so this is the price.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Elsewhere

  7:41 P.M...

  Blue Division...

  Bodies of former associates littered the halls along with S.C.Ms. and two disabled T-3s as Maxwell helped Argus toward the stair exit.

  Maxwell stated, "Wait, I've got to rest." Heaving from the effort, he paused at a corner and handed the battered Argus to his thin partner and then told him, "Give me the gun." He took the Beretta and placed a hand on his plump stomach. "I've got to lose some weight."

  "I've been telling you that for years," Peters said and asked, "How does it look?"

  Maxwell took a few more labored breaths and peeked around the corner, and a red exit sign was at the end of another long corridor. "Like the other halls. Can you carry him for a while?"

  "Yeah, you ready?"

  Maxwell nodded. He was very tired, but was more afraid to stay in one place.

  Peters started down the hall and said to the blond man, "Let's go, Joe."

  "Argus," he mumbled, holding his bruised side. "My name's Argus."

  "All right, Argus; it's only a little further."

  The three started down the hall when a T-3 appeared at the end and blocked the exit.

  "Other way! Other way!" Maxwell franticly waved the two back. "Run!"

  "Wait!" Argus said through gritted teeth and held out his hand. "Give me the gun."

  Wishing they would get the Hades out of there, Maxwell glanced at the Beretta and gave it to him.

  Argus pushed through the pain of his pummeled body and aimed for the crazed T-3 as it rushed toward them. He shot three times, aiming for its forehead, but it evaded with bio-mecha speed.

  "It can't be!" Argus fired again and missed. "The T-3s are like the Rogue. We have to go!"

  "What do you mean?" Peters grabbed him and helped him down the hall back the way they came.

  The T-3 stopped running, lifted its weapon, and fired. Click. Click. It looked at the empty gun, threw it away, and walked toward them, shouting, "Pretty poppets!"

  Argus freed himself of the tech, knowing he slowed them down. "Run, leave me."

  Maxwell paused, gasped for breath, and glanced around. "Where are we?"

  "I said run!" Argus yelled.

  "We're near room B10-011." Peters looked to his partner. "What are you thinking?"

  "Remember the toy in room B10-040?"

  Peters replied, "Yeah, let's hurry."

  Both men got on each side of Argus and forced him to continue with them.

  "Come on, Argus," Peters urged. "We have a plan."

&nb
sp; * * *

  The T-3 followed the men down several halls and around a corner as they entered a room. The T-3 paused, saw the B10-040 above the frame, and tried the knob; the door was locked. It heard switches flip and a powerful turbine activate within, and with a mighty turn and push, the T-3 forced the door open. It entered as Peters stepped from a corner and sprayed its face with a fire extinguisher. White gas blinded the T-3 for a few seconds till the mist dissipated, and Peters ran across the room, joining Maxwell and Argus in a corner to the left of the T-3. The roar of the turbine in the right corner increased as the T-3 took a step toward them and then another until a powerful force stopped it in its tracks. Kat's Beretta sitting on a table along with a metal pen in Peters' shirt pocket flew across the room and attached themselves to the roaring machine, and the T-3 slid sideways a few inches. It looked from the men to the turbine, realizing the device was a very powerful magnet, and the T-3 lifted into the air and rushed toward the magnet as if hurled.

  "Let's go!" Maxwell shouted over the wail of the turbine. "We don't want to be here if the power fails."

  The three rushed out and headed for the main entrance.

  * * *

  Elsewhere in Noir...

  Zax waved to one of his fellow security officers as he left the Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office. He made his way to a black sedan, started up the car, and left the parking garage, and once he was about ten miles away from the office, he placed a hands-free device in his ear and made a call.

  "This is the Delivery Man, give me a direct line to R.G." A few seconds went by, and he continued, "I have some important news for you. Kimberly and Katharine are at the Factory." He listened. "I understand you don't want them there since the T-3s malfunctioned, but they're there." Zax nodded. "Yep, the S.C.Ms. let them through the gate with no problem." He cleared his throat. "The reason I called, the Rogue is also at the Factory." He sighed inwardly. "Don't get upset. There was nothing I could do. Remember, we don't have them on a leash. All I need to know is, what do you want me to do?" Zax turned down an alley beside Dad's Donuts, activated a garage door, and pulled into the Maydag Auto Garage and inside, several mechanics worked on vehicles. Zax said, "Yep... Yep... I understand. I'll get right on it."

  Chapter Forty-two

  What Is The Truth?

  7:58 P.M...

  In the Gallery...

  Ginn's statues seemed to watch Kat with their stone cold gaze as his harmonious creation played on, trapping her in its gentle rhythm. Her eyes drooped, and she sneered, fighting the peace that endangered her as the sounds around her became clear. She heard the hum of the lights, the low rattle of the A.C., and the Rogue's shoes stamping across the concrete floor as it backed away from her. The bio-mecha warning her heart drummed, faded along with the urgency of the situation. She fell to one knee and covered her ears, but she couldn't get the melody out of her head, so Kat forced herself to remain up and resist the urge to lie on the floor.

  "It cannot be!" The Rogue pointed its knife at her. "After a year of hunting you, surely I would have noticed you are not quite human. I would have or would I? Tell me! Are you one of them?"

  Katharine's view...

  My eyelids grow heavy as I focus on the Rogue. The room whirls around me, and I put a hand to the concrete floor in an effort to combat the effects of Unfinished Melody. What's the Rogue questioning me about? Am I one of what? I lay the gun down and smack my face, trying to snap myself out of the haze; it works for a few seconds, and I grab the gun. I lift myself, stumble back to a statue, and lean on its metal base. I can't worry about what the Rogue's freaking out about as the melody takes hold of me again. I have to do something about Unfinished Melody. I glance down and see the music box at my feet, and with the Rogue preoccupied with its fervent rantings, I seize the opportunity and quickly scoop the music box up and close its lid.

  I shake off the effects, raise the PPK, and yell, "What are you talking about?"

  End Katharine's view...

  The Rogue ecstatically said, "I should have known; no human could do what you do."

  "What are you saying?!"

  "Come now, do you ever wonder why you have no memories?" The Rogue studied her anew. She had always been an object of fascination to it, but now she was a goddess of a new whimsical world. "Come to think of it, I have never seen you cry. Are you not capable? Do you not have emotions?"

  She shouted, "Of course I have emotions! Get to the point!"

  "My dear Pandora, you are not human." The Rogue laughed, overcome by that revelation and the realization that it may be one step closer to knowing why it had to hunt her. "You are an organic-mecha. Why else would you have Ginn's Unfinished Melody?"

  Kat chuckled, keeping the gun leveled on it. "That's stupid."

  "Is it? Is it really?"

  "Yes! And it makes no sense!" A sinking feeling hit her, and she shouted, "Why would you say such a thing?"

  "Because I have come to the conclusion that it is true; remember I had said the Sphinx Corporation was working on organic-mecha that could pass as human. You must be their only success."

  "I am human," she insisted and glanced at her left shoulder that throbbed. "I bleed."

  "I also bleed, though my blood is synthetic oil. How hard would it be to make that oil look like blood?"

  She continued her argument, "I have flesh and bone, not metal parts."

  "That is also possible. Man does clone human organs. How hard would it be to put them all together?"

  Denying the notion, Kat said, "You're lying. Messing with me. I'm human, and I'm leaving."

  "Not this time. Whatever you are, I am going to end your existence." The Rogue paused. "But before I do, I thought I would let you know that your friend..."

  "What about her?" she interrupted.

  "Kimberly betrayed you. She traded your life for bits of information."

  "You're lying!"

  "Am I?" The Rogue imprinted her reactions to memory; nothing would escape its sight. "Who suggested that you come to the Factory? Who said you should search this room where I found you? Who is looking for a disk? And who would do anything for that disk?"

  "She wouldn't." Her deceit surprised Kat, and she denied the possibility. "She wouldn't."

  "Are we talking about the same assassin? Surely you are not this naive, Pandora. I know you are trusting, but surely not this trusting to believe a killer."

  Katharine's view...

  "She..." I start as I don't know how to react.

  Kimberly wouldn't sell me out... We're partners; we're supposed to watch out for each other. Not... My faith in Kimberly fades. What do I really know about her? I close my eyes, realizing her betrayal, and it hurts; it hurts deeply.

  I know one thing about Kimberly and that's her drive to find the truth about her mom no matter the cost. I open my eyes and state, "What?" I shrug as if the betrayal doesn't matter to me, and I act as if it doesn't sting. "What do you want me to do? Cry?" I put on a good front. "Like you said, I can't."

  End Katharine's view...

  "No, I do not want you to cry," the Rogue answered. "I only wanted you to know, she will be getting hers."

  Her heart skipped in dread as she took a few steps forward and demanded, "What do you mean? What have you done?"

  "I did not lie to Ms. Griffin. I told her where the disk could be found, and all she had to do was bring you here." The Rogue rapped its chin with the blade. "I did forget to mention I told the T-3s she was coming, and for my efforts in getting the Chairman's daughter here, they agreed that they would let you two in and wait before attacking. Did you not think it was odd the T-3s never found you two?" It continued after she didn't respond, "Well, like I said she will be getting hers, after all, I did tell them to wait." The Rogue looked to a watch on its wrist. "Ms. Griffin should be entertaining guests right about now."

  Chapter Forty-three

  Always Know
>
  8:18 P.M...

  Katharine's view...

  The walls seem to move in on me as I aim the gun at the Rogue. Kimberly betrayed me, and the Rogue betrayed her. Is there no trust in this world? Do I really want to know my part in it? Maybe it's best that I don't remember. Those thoughts quickly vanish from my mind, and I forget about my own peril as the Rogue unfolds its plan to me and alarm sets in. I bolt for the exit to go help Kimberly, but it moves and blocks my escape, and I yell, "Get out of my way!"

  End Katharine's view...

  Her reaction baffled the Rogue, and it asked, "Why would you try to save her? She has done nothing but hurt you." Unable to process the information, it inquired, "Why such loyalty?"

  "I..." she started to answer, but she didn't know. Kat only knew that there was this nagging feeling from a memory that wouldn't surface, and the locked away event pestered her and beseeched her to act. She finally answered the Rogue, "I need her resources, besides..." Kat thought of Preacher. "No one should die." With all her soul, she swore, "I won't let anyone else die."

  "Are you not forgetting something? Before you can save anyone, you have to prevent your own demise." The Rogue lunged, coming after her with more determination than it had before.

  She shot twice at it, but it dodged the speeding projectiles. The Rogue swiped its blade at her four times as she stumbled back from the slicing attacks, and then Kat regained her balance and kicked its hand, knocking the Bowie from its grip. The Rogue beamed like a cobra before it strikes and tackled her to the floor, and it slammed her gun arm down, forcing the PPK from her hand. She punched it in the face several times with her left fist, and her attack damaged the artificial epidermis covering its metal skull right below its left eye. The Rogue relished in the battle; this is what it had been waiting for. It seized her by her t-shirt, lifted her from the floor a few inches, and whacked her head on the concrete. The blow knocked her out for a few seconds, giving the Rogue enough time to pin her with its left elbow and reach for its knife. The large blade laid a foot from its grasp, and the Rogue stretched to snatch it as Kat woke up. She pressed against its elbow that pinned her to the floor, but she didn't have the strength to push it off.