by Minton, Toby
"Gideon?" Elias tried again.
Nothing.
He didn't react until Mos stepped up behind him and put a hand on his arm. Only then did Gideon pull his gaze from what he'd created to look at Elias. He looked down at the monitor in front of him.
"It is stable," he said, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Power levels holding," Savior confirmed from his console, then he stepped away from it to come closer, stopping beside Nikki to stare into the future.
"Mos, Coop, lock it down," Elias ordered.
Once Gideon stepped clear, they swung the sides of the module up and locked them in place, sealing the control equipment away per the plan, in case the creatures got distracted on their way through.
"Ace, if you would," Gideon said as he walked past them toward the com module. Ace followed.
They'd considered sending Gideon with Ace and the others in the transport, but their job was to secure this side of the Gateway once all the creatures were through. No one wanted to risk Gideon losing control in the confines of the transport.
Gideon stepped inside the module, and Ace closed the clear doors and sealed them with a mag-lock. Gideon stood just on the other side of the doors, staring through, but not at Ace, or Elias, or even the Gateway—his gaze was locked on Nikki.
"Command—Market," Elias said into the com. "Deliver the package."
"Copy, Command."
"Eagle—Market. Widen your pattern," Elias ordered. "I want to be sure we have them all."
"Copy traffic, Market," Corso's voice replied.
Elias looked back at Nikki. "OK, get ready."
Following his example, Nikki unfolded the light hood of the fitted suit they'd given her. Elias had to show her again how to open the slit in the top and slide the hood down over her face so it covered only her nose and mouth. The glasses she could figure out on her own.
Cole and Savior just watched. They didn't have anything to protect them from the hot, biting wind on the other side, but they didn't seem to care.
As soon as Ace got back and covered up as well, she and Elias walked to the Gateway and stepped through.
The wind was stronger on the other side. Nikki could see it pulling at their masks and tugging at the tight strands of Ace's bun. The two of them scanned every direction with their rifles and even disappeared around the edge of the frame. Ace reappeared and stepped back through to the present. Then Elias stepped into view and gave the signal.
Nikki walked forward with Savior on one side of her and Cole on the other, the tingle from the Gateway's hum spreading from her chest to her limbs as she got closer. She shivered as the tingle rippled through her, stealing her nausea as it went.
Heart pounding, Nikki crossed the threshold and—her breath caught. Stepping through the Gateway was like stepping through a wall of fire. She stumbled as she stepped through, but not out of weakness. Power flooded into her in the space of that single step, supercharging her muscles, hardening her skin.
The heat on the other side was heavy, like they'd stepped from early spring straight into the heart of summer, but it didn't weigh Nikki down like it did Elias. She felt like she could fly if she wanted.
She pulled the hood down around her neck and took in a deep breath. The hot wind was full of dust and tiny shards of rock sharp enough to cut, but Nikki barely felt them tickling against her skin. She couldn't help but laugh. Beside her, Savior did the same.
He'd stopped as well and turned back to stretch one arm out, his hand moving slowly over the threshold. He laughed again, softly, and breathed, "Magnificent."
"Nikki, put the mask up," Elias said. He stepped closer, eyeing Nikki and Savior. "What are you doing?"
"Feeling more powerful than ever, I'd imagine," Savior said.
Not even close. Not yet. The most powerful she'd ever felt was the last thing she wanted to think about right now though.
"She doesn't need protection now," Savior said, pulling his hand free. A gust blew a heavier stream of dust over them, but it parted around the shield half a meter in front of Savior. "Not the mask's, not yours, not even mine."
Elias looked at Nikki. She could just make out the question in his eyes through the light tint of his glasses.
"He's right," she said. "I'm good." She laughed again and bit her lip to stop it, but she couldn't catch the tear that rolled down into the pad of her glasses. "I'll be fine. Better than fine. You should go with the others."
Elias watched her for a second, then looked at Savior—two very different looks. "We stick to the plan. Let's move."
Keeping to a normal pace as they walked farther from the Gateway was a challenge. Nikki wanted to run, to leap, to charge something. She felt more alive than she had in so long. And she wasn't alone.
Michael was right beside her, almost literally. She could feel him with her as strongly as that day in the gym when she'd fought Cole. He wasn't pushing her out of herself this time though. True to his word, he was holding himself back. The only feeling flooding through from him was raging joy.
The four of them—five, really—stopped and turned to face the Gateway, and waited.
After a few minutes, Nikki felt the unused power coursing through her start to ebb. She could still feel the Gateway, the energy coming from it, but apparently two hundred meters was too far for her to draw it in. She started to fidget, a tremor of doubt twisting its way into her link with Michael.
It's OK, Nik, he said, his voice strong despite his attempts to hold back on the volume. If it starts to give—
"Can you still feel it?" Savior asked.
Nikki looked over to see a tiny wrinkle marring Savior's brow. "Can you still draw on it?"
Don't tell him—
She shook her head.
Or do, Michael said.
"I can barely tap it myself from this distance," Savior said with a nod, his voice low, his eyes shifting toward the Gateway. Then he looked back and lifted one hand to her, his smooth palm up. "May I?"
She wasn't positive what he wanted to do, and Michael was more than suspicious, but neither of them was afraid. With strength in her body again, Nikki wasn't afraid of anything.
She nodded.
Power pulsed from Savior's hand. It was a tiny wave compared to what she'd seen from him earlier, a little pulse that might have blown a door off its hinges or sent a few people sprawling. It hit Nikki like a strong breeze, pushing her back a step, and sent a ripple of power coursing through her.
Savior smiled and nodded. "Just as I thought," he said.
Nikki might have laughed. She wasn't sure. The trickle of doubt was still there from Michael, but he couldn't hide the relief overpowering it.
A crackle came over the com, but if it had words in it, Nikki couldn't make them out. She looked over at Elias, but he shook his head. They'd expected the signal to fail through the Gateway, but the trickle of doubt from Michael increased.
Nikki turned to see Impact streak through the Gateway, slowing steadily as he closed on them. He jogged the last few meters, squinting against the heat as the wind started to reach him. Then he walked to stand on the other side of Elias, never once looking in Savior's direction.
"They're right behind me," he said simply.
Nikki saw them. They bounded onto the dance floor and through the Gateway with sickening speed, their glossy black hide taking on a red tint as they charged into the dust-filtered light, their eyes glowing with hunger—far more of them than she'd imagined.
Kate
"He's through," Padre reported. "Tangos following."
"Copy that," Kate said. She touched the blue dot representing Impact and slid it off the 3D model of the op site. She slid it into the "Gateway" holding area she'd created on the side of the tac table, where Elias, Cole, Nikki, and Savior waited.
She could have pirated off the government satellites allowed to survey the area, but she didn't want to risk getting detected and calling attention to what was happening. The team was trespassing on restr
icted land. Yes, they had Savior with them. He had access codes. He was authorized. He could keep them out of trouble. But Kate didn't trust him. How could she? How could the others?
Kate didn't even want to think about what was happening on the other side of that Gateway. She couldn't. The lives that were in Savior's hands—
"Keep your focus on your job, Kate," she mumbled to herself. "No distractions today."
"Hmm?" Gram grunted from the end of the table.
"Nothing," Kate said. "Just talking to myself."
Gram nodded and sipped his coffee, his eyes going back to the model. He was used to how Kate worked. Beside him, Max didn't react at all. He continued to stare through the model, his mind probably somewhere else entirely.
There were no distractions today aside from Gram and Max, of course, but Gram always stayed out of her way when she was coordinating an op, and Max was—Max. He was giving her a break today though. No random attacks on her mind. No distracting images and sounds for her to ignore. He knew she was running the op today. He understood how important that was.
"Ghost—Command," she said. "Are you seeing any stragglers?"
"Eyes on two so far, Command," Padre replied. "Engaging."
"Copy, Ghost," she said. "Eagle—Command. Any contacts in your area?"
"That's a negative, little lady," Corso purred back. "Widening the radius as we speak."
Kate glanced up at the monitor on the opposite wall and frowned at the dot moving through Utah. Him she could track—he was outside the restricted area—even though she'd rather not. She wasn't Corso's biggest fan.
She could understand what Nikki saw in him, from an intellectual standpoint. She understood that he had that suave and dangerous thing going for him. She understood that he could be charming, in his way. She understood that he had plenty of appeal for women who liked the bad boy. She just wasn't one of those women. She wasn't attracted to anything Corso had to offer. She'd tried dating a bad boy once in college, to see what all the fuss was about, but it didn't last long.
Nikki liked Corso though, and he'd proven his worth on multiple occasions, so the rest of the team put up with him for her sake. Kate could do the same.
"Wasp—Command," Kate said. "You're clear to move in."
"Copy that, Command," Ace replied. "We're inbound."
Kate tapped the model of the transport and moved it down beside the Gateway.
"OK, honey," Becks said from the doorway. "It's done."
Ace's ex walked in wiping icing from her hands with a towel stained enough to look tie-dyed. Her plain white T-shirt had several bright smears on it as well. "I'm telling you though, those colors are too bright and cheery for that girl."
"She'll love it," Kate said. She smiled at the thought of how surprised Nikki would be—how surprised they'd both be. It was Michael's birthday too, after all.
It felt bizarre to be worrying about a surprise birthday party with an op underway, especially since she'd just reminded herself not to get distracted, but Padre had insisted. Her birthday might have come and gone by the time they got back, but Nikki deserved a little normal. Kate wasn't about to argue. They all could use a little normal.
"How's it going?" Becks asked, walking up behind Max's chair to look at the model of the op.
"She's got it under control," Gram replied in a low voice.
So it seemed, but you never knew when an op was going to "go sideways," as Elias liked to put it. You had to keep an eye on everything. You had to—
Corso's dot on the wall monitor had changed direction. That wasn't so strange, if he'd spotted something, but he'd also increased speed and not called in.
"Eagle—Command," Kate said. "What's happening?"
The squawk that replied quickly turned ear-piercing.
Kate waved her hand through the volume control, muting the channel, and took a quick breath. Heart suddenly pounding but hands steady, she checked her encryption and ran a quick network diagnostic. What she saw was impossible, or so she'd believed until now.
Mind racing, Kate accessed every satellite in the area, not bothering to cover her tracks. It was too late for that.
At the same time, she started initiating emergency protocols she never thought she'd have to use.
"Katie girl, what's wrong?" Gram asked.
"Cut the lines," she replied calmly, her focus on the many tasks she was trying to do at once. Too many.
"What?" Becks asked.
"You're sure," Gram said, already rising. It wasn't really a question. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't have said it otherwise.
"Cut them all. Now," she repeated.
"Go!" Gram barked at Becks as he hobbled for the steps as fast as he could. "That wall. Network port in the corner."
Kate heard them rushing to do as she ordered—Becks to the primary connection, Gram to the satellite backup lines. She was racing against them now, racing to pull as much data from her system's killer as she could before the death blow fell.
The main network went down before she could piece together a full sat map of the Wasteland, but she got close, enough to see what she was praying she wouldn't. She executed the remaining protocols as quickly as she could, an icy spike boring into her chest, until the final satellite backup went dark. Then she started pulling what she'd gathered onto a data chip.
"That's it," Gram called from the server pit.
"Now the power, Gram," she said, raising her voice just enough for him to hear. She had trouble being loud when she was focused. "Not enough bandwidth left over for your mouth," her favorite professor had joked once.
She saw his face now. Then she thought of the plants in her room. She'd have to water them. And Nikki's cake. Oh, Nikki's cake.
The systems started powering down per her programmed sequence. She lost monitors, the tac table, then her virtual controls. The control station on the platform went dark, then the steady red lights in the darkness around her, her constant companions, started winking out one at a time.
She still had voice control for another few seconds. It was so much slower than her virtual controls, but that was OK. She had only one command left.
"Execute program Doomsday Daisy one five eight," she said.
There was no confirmation, but she didn't need it. The last of the power went down, but not before the first of the charges went off. One by one, the drives on the servers flashed and melted, filling the command center with the acrid stench of ozone and burning plastic.
"Jesus," Becks said. "That's that. What now?"
"Now we run," she said, turning to meet Gram's eyes. "We have to run."
She started moving then, rushing through the physical tasks that were so much slower, so much more so because she was distracted by a single thought that kept looping over and over in her mind.
They're counting on me, and I can't even warn them.
Max disagreed.
Chapter 42
Nikki
Nikki slammed her fist into the armored chest of the creature before her, sending it flying.
Another slashed at her head, and she ducked, punching down into its knee, crushing it. She was moving before it fell, spinning under another slash and coming up with an uppercut that took yet another out of the fight.
Nikki wasn't worried. There were more. There were always more. The more she fought, the louder she yelled, the more they swarmed. The more they swarmed, the more she got to do what she was made to do.
She fought without thought, without fear, without hesitation, striking at every snarling face, every roaring mouth. They'd hunted her for weeks, terrorized her even in her dreams. Never again.
A pulse of energy washed across her from behind, pushing her forward. Savior's pulse sent a ripple of renewed strength through Nikki's body as it toppled the creatures facing her. She was on them before they could stand, tearing through them like a whirlwind.
She kicked the first out of the pack, backhanded the second into the air, and caught the arm of a third
as it tried to rise. She spun, swinging the creature into the others, sweeping them aside.
Sounds of battle washed over her as she fought, but Nikki had surrendered to the battle lust. Sound meant nothing unless it pointed her toward her next target or alerted her to an attack. Everything else she blocked out, ignored, no matter how loud it grew. She could listen later. Right now, she had work to do.
Savior pulsed another wave to her right, and Nikki followed, tearing into the dazed creatures in its wake.
They fought well together. Not as well as she and Michael had, but it would do for now.
Michael.
His voice was thundering inside her head, but she'd blocked it out as well. This was her kind of fight. They'd agreed on that at the start. This wasn't a fight for careful skill and defensive tendencies. This was a brawl. So no tips from him—no distractions. She'd fight this battle her way.
But he was shouting, desperately.
"STOP!" she bellowed into the roaring face of a frenzied creature. Then she whipped her fist into its jaw hard enough to crack vertebrae.
That word didn't come from her mind though. It came from—
A creature reared and slashed. Nikki twisted and swept the arm across her, locking the joint in a maneuver she didn't know, and snapping it. She spun under the next creature, sweeping its legs, then following up with a flipping hammer kick she'd never mastered.
Only she didn't do any of that. She was a passenger in her own body. Michael had taken over.
What are you doing? she shouted in her mind. You swore you'd never—
"Didn't you hear her?" he said through her mouth, which was more than a little disorienting.
Her battle lust was shaken when he took over. It crumbled now.
Another creature pounced, and Michael reacted. Nikki's body spun and caught the creature in a scissor kick, driving it face-first into the hard ground. She rolled to her feet, ready for the next attack, but there were no creatures close enough to be a threat—none moving, anyway.
"It was Kate," Michael said. "She was reaching out to us. She said—too slow. Here."
