The Blue-Haired Bombshell

by John Zakour

  ‘‘Never been a big fan of semi-intelligent plants,’’ Elena said.

  Nudging Carol I said, ‘‘I told you she’d come in handy.’’

  We proceeded to the door.

  ‘‘An analysis of the door shows it is not locked,’’ HARV said. ‘‘How do you want to proceed?’’

  I spun toward to Priscilla, ‘‘You and ten of your men follow Carol, Elena, and me in. Have the rest secure the area.’’

  Priscilla gave me a little salute. Not sure if I liked it or not. She tossed me a little kiss. I was sure I didn’t like that.

  I turned to the door and kicked it in.

  ‘‘Ah, the subtle Zach-lite approach,’’ HARV said with way more than a hint of sarcasm.

  I led the charge into the Moon’s Asteroid Tracking and Blocking Station.

  Chapter 40

  Sputnik was frantically working away at the main control panel in the middle of the room. Well, he wasn’t so much working as barking orders at Melda. Lea stood behind them, eyeing us.

  Sputnik’s other daughters were spread throughout the building. They had removed their PIHI-Pods and were converging on us. A good many of the younger psis were lying on the ground. Apparently our initial attack had taken them out. Despite that, there had to be at least a dozen other children and wives of Sputnik ready to stop us at all costs.

  One of our apes fired a stun blast at three young psis. The blast swerved past them. It hit a plastic wall, harmlessly fizzling out. The psis pointed at the ape. He and two of his compatriots stopped their charges. They went rigid then flew backward into the wall. They crashed to the ground, out cold.

  Our other ape allies weren’t faring that well either. Without the element of shock and awe on our side the psis were able to avoid most of the apes’ shots. The apes weren’t so lucky. General Tang was leading the defense against the apes.

  ‘‘How dare you betray me!’’ she shouted to two apes who had grabbed her by the arms. Both apes went flying off her smashing into the walls.

  Elena and Carol though, were another story. Elena hated Sputnik and was showing it by mentally pummeling his offspring and spouses. She made a beeline toward Sputnik, taking any psi who crossed her path out with a single glare, reducing them to a quivering, fetal position.

  Tang, having shed herself of the apes, ran over, blocking Elena.

  ‘‘Sorry, young one, you won’t get past me,’’ Tang shouted, pointing at Elena.

  With that Elena ran right past her without seemingly giving her a passing thought. Obviously though, Elena did shoot a bit of her attention at Tang. The moment she passed her Tang fell over stiff, locked in the pointing position.

  ‘‘Impressive,’’ HARV commented. ‘‘Elena took Tang out as an afterthought.’’

  Carol covered my and Priscilla’s backs. She wasn’t as flamboyant as Elena but she was just as effective. She was aptly deflecting any mental or physical attacks that would come my way. She too was reveling in her own power, her hair crackling with energy as it danced around her shoulders. It was scary and inspiring at the same time. (Just as long as I didn’t think about it too much.)

  With Carol as our cover, Priscilla and I were splitting the room in half. I took the right, using GUS to pick off any of the psis that Elena missed. Priscilla used her hand and foot weapons to clear the left side.

  So far, we were winning the battle. The problem was the war wasn’t over yet. Sputnik’s biggest guns, Lea and Melda, hadn’t even entered the conflict. I wasn’t going to let that bother me though. I couldn’t let that bother me.

  Now that we had taken out the excess psis it was time to concentrate on Sputnik. I was actually a bit perturbed that he didn’t even seem to be worried that we were storming the room.

  ‘‘HARV, any idea what Sputnik is up to?’’

  ‘‘Yes, of course.’’

  ‘‘And?’’

  ‘‘He is trying to regain control of the deflector beam and push the asteroid back into Earth.’’

  Nope, that wouldn’t do. I aimed GUS at Sputnik. I pulled the trigger. Bolts of energy flew from GUS. One directly into Elena’s back. One into Carol. One into Priscilla. The three of them fell to the ground.

  ‘‘GUS, that wasn’t what I wanted!’’ I said.

  ‘‘Sorry,’’ GUS said in Melda’s voice. ‘‘That’s what I wanted.’’

  GUS flew from my hand into Melda’s.

  ‘‘Oh, this is so not good,’’ I said.

  Chapter 41

  The only people or animals left standing in the room were me, Sputnik, Melda, Lea, and Aprill. We had come so close, but I was starting to worry that it wasn’t close enough.

  I was outnumbered and outgunned. My only hope was I wasn’t outsmarted.

  ‘‘HARV, are you still with me?’’ I thought.

  ‘‘Of course, my programming and defenses are significantly more robust than GUS’. I’ve learned much after our little encounter at the North Pole last year and the earlier incident at the Convention Center.’’

  ‘‘Can’t you ever simply say yes?’’

  ‘‘Obviously I can, but I choose not to.’’

  Verbose or not, I was glad that I had HARV in my assets column. For all his many flaws, HARV is an incredible ace up my sleeve (or more accurately stuck in my brain).

  ‘‘Has he managed to get control of the deflector beam yet?’’

  ‘‘No, of course not,’’ HARV said confidently. Then, ‘‘Oops, didn’t see that coming . . .’’

  ‘‘Didn’t see what coming?’’ I asked.

  Sputnik looked up from his control panel. ‘‘I’ve activated the backup deflector beam on the other side of the Moon.’’

  DOS! Double DOS! HARV really should have seen that one coming. Figures the World Council would have a backup the one time it really messes up things.

  ‘‘HARV, how come you didn’t know there was a backup?’’

  ‘‘Because it’s not in any of the specs,’’ HARV answered.

  Melda patted Bo on the back. ‘‘That’s because the council didn’t have the foresight to envision the need for a backup.’’ She patted herself on the chest. ‘‘That was my idea.’’

  Well, at least now my universe made sense again. Everything else had failed. It was time to try a desperate move . . . I needed to try to reason with a politician.

  ‘‘Listen Sputnik, it’s not too late,’’ I said.

  ‘‘It is too late, for Earth!’’ he shouted. He waved his hand over the control panel. He looked up and grinned. ‘‘I pushed the asteroid back into Earth’s path.’’

  ‘‘Then you are dooming the Earth and the Moon,’’ I told him.

  ‘‘What are you talking about?’’

  ‘‘Shara has tipped off the Earth and they are retaliating.’’

  Sputnik took a step back from the control panel. He inhaled and exhaled quickly. In his egotistical rampage, he never conceived that somebody would betray his cause.

  ‘‘Damn that bitch!’’ he shouted. ‘‘No wonder I never slept with her.’’

  ‘‘Ah, she’s my sister,’’ Melda reminded him.

  ‘‘So?’’ Sputnik shot back to her. ‘‘How does that affect me?’’

  ‘‘I’m just saying you shouldn’t call her a bitch,’’ Melda said. ‘‘It’s degrading.’’

  I shook my head. Only I could get caught in between a family scrabble while trying to save the world.’’

  ‘‘People, can we please try to concentrate on the task at hand here,’’ I shouted to Sputnik and Melda.

  Sputnik and Melda both turned their attention back to me. ‘‘Oh right, destroying the Earth,’’ Sputnik said.

  ‘‘Push the asteroid back away from Earth and I will contact them and have them stop their missiles,’’ I told them.

  Sputnik stood there, motionless. His face turned red with a mix of anger and frustration.

  Lea looked up at the dome observatory. ‘‘I do see missiles coming in from Earth.’’

  Sp
utnik remained motionless. I couldn’t tell if he had snapped, was deep in thought, or both.

  ‘‘It’s not too late,’’ I repeated.

  Sputnik slowly shook his head no. ‘‘It is too late,’’ he said sullenly, ‘‘for humans.’’ He turned to Melda. ‘‘My escape shuttle is ready?’’

  Melda nodded slowly.

  ‘‘Then my family and I will survive. All is well. Actually, this is even better than I had planned. The new, new world we build will be totally pure.’’

  ‘‘Sorry to burst your dream of Adam and Eve and Eve and Eve, but building a world with just your progeny is no way to start a new civilization.’’

  He pointed to me looking over his shoulder at Melda and Lea. ‘‘Squash him like the bug he is.’’

  Melda took a step back, distancing herself from her husband. Moving toward him, Lea curled her hand into a fist.

  ‘‘You lied to me,’’ she said coolly, eyes fixed on Bo.

  ‘‘Lie? Me? How?’’

  Wow, witty retort, I thought. ‘‘HARV, can you push that asteroid past Earth again?’’

  ‘‘Already on it. Just keep them busy.’’

  Now that was something I could do. Sputnik’s cart was already leaning. It just a needed a little push to tilt it over, spilling his apples all over.

  I pointed at Lea, saying strongly, but not overly accusingly, ‘‘So you’re the one who killed the council members.’’ I wanted her guilty, not defensive.

  She bent her head down, not looking at me, keeping focused on her father. ‘‘Yes,’’ she said solemnly. ‘‘Once we had the pass codes to take their cameras offline, I turned my body into energy, entered the room, and killed them all.’’

  This was where things got dicey. I wanted to shove her over the edge but toward Sputnik. Turning an angry young girl against her dad wasn’t going to be all that hard. The trick was getting her to concentrate her anger only on dad.

  ‘‘He probably told you ‘Kill a few people for the good of many,’ ’’ I said, looking at Sputnik the entire time.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lea nod weakly. She was on the hook, now to reel her in.

  ‘‘He told you that by killing three people you would not only free your own people but also save the lives of billions on Earth.’’

  Lea nodded again, this time with a bit more conviction.

  ‘‘He had you convinced that by killing those people Earth would change its mind and we wouldn’t be where we are right now,’’ I stated.

  Lea hung her head. ‘‘Yes,’’ she said meekly.

  Waving my finger at her I said, ‘‘Now, look where you are . . . about to kill billions, including your own people.’’

  Sputnik turned to Lea. ‘‘I didn’t plan it like this, but truly it’s better this way. This way, only the extreme, best genes survive. The new race we start will be incredible!’’

  ‘‘You’re powerful Lea, but you’re not a god,’’ I said.

  ‘‘But you should be! You should be!’’ Sputnik told her.

  ‘‘That’s why I killed Uncle Mo,’’ Lea said, ‘‘He wanted Elena and me to be gods.’’

  ‘‘You killed my brother!’’ Sputnik shouted.

  ‘‘I mentally commanded him to crash his shuttle. He had discovered a way of unlocking that part of the mind that Elena and I keep locked up, our subconscious safe-ties. Once I picked that from his mind, I learned how to convert my body into energy,’’ she paused and lowered her eyes. ‘‘I learned so much more. My and Elena’s minds are so powerful. I can see the strings of the molecular structure that bind you all together. I could rearrange you all into turnips if I pleased.’’

  ‘‘Incredible,’’ somebody said. It may have been me.

  ‘‘Yes,’’ Lea continued. ‘‘Power like this cannot be trusted with Elena. That’s why I killed Mo, so he could not share it with others.’’ Lea lowered her eyes, ‘‘I’m not even totally sure if even I have the mental resolve to handle this kind of power, but it’s a burden I must live with.’’

  ‘‘Why didn’t you just wipe Mo’s mind?’’ Melda asked, being more of a scientist than a mom.

  Lea shook her head. ‘‘I couldn’t take any chances. If power like mine ever fell into the wrong hands, which are any other hands than mine, it could be really bad.’’

  ‘‘You mean like destroying the Earth and the Moon?’’ I asked.

  Lea dipped her head even lower, her entire body slumping over, quivering.

  As Lea was pouring out her heart, HARV was electronicallytrying to take control of the deflector beam. Interestingly or scarily enough, Melda wasn’t trying to stop us.

  ‘‘Zach, I’ve got control of the second beam. The asteroid is now safely going to miss Earth, again,’’ HARV told me.

  Now it was time to shut down Sputnik for good.

  Lea had been stewing in her own juices for a while now. Another nudge and she was going to blow. I needed to make sure the fallout didn’t take us all out.

  ‘‘It’s not too late, Lea. You can stop this,’’ I told her.

  Lea looked at me for the first time. ‘‘But I killed so many people. My father told me by doing that it would never come to this . . .’’

  ‘‘He lied, Lea. He lied. This is what he wanted all along. He never wanted to live in peace with Earth. He just wanted to carry on his bloodline to make the perfect race,’’ I said.

  Lea stood there in silence. She knew what I said was true; most of her believed me. A small part still clung to the hope that maybe following her father wasn’t wrong.

  ‘‘Look how easily he was willing to toss the Moon aside,’’ I said.

  ‘‘Yes, he’s evil, like my uncle was,’’ she sighed. ‘‘But so am I. I have killed.’’ She shook her head. You could feel her sadness. ‘‘I was so wrong . . . No human can handle this kind of power.’’

  ‘‘Yes, but if you act now, you will save billions. That’s got to tilt the karma somewhat in your favor.’’

  Lea nodded. ‘‘Yes, father was wrong. I can’t let billions die.’’

  Sputnik thrust a finger at her. ‘‘This isn’t totally on my head! I never told you to kill my brother.’’

  Lea dipped her head lower. ‘‘He was wrong, like you.’’

  Sputnik pounded his chest. ‘‘Wrong? I can’t be wrong! I’m a political administrator! I’m not wrong just because some people don’t agree with my choices.’’ He stopped and smiled. ‘‘Actually, by destroying everything but my bloodline this plan is turning out even better than I anticipated.’’ The smile stretched across his face. ‘‘Actually, I’m betting this was what I had originally planned.’’ A slight pause. ‘‘Yes, yes, that’s it.’’

  Okay, Sputnik had tied lead weights around his ankles, ate a big meal, and then dove into the deep end.

  ‘‘Shut this whole operation down now. I’ll tell Earth all is well. They’ll call off their missiles. It’s all good,’’ I said, skipping over the part where Lea and Bo would have to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

  ‘‘No!’’ Sputnik shouted.

  ‘‘I was talking to Lea, not you,’’ I told him.

  ‘‘I will not be ignored!’’ Sputnik shouted.

  Sputnik bounded across the room, landing on top of me and driving me to the floor. It hurt, but not nearly as much as Sputnik thought it would. In his rage, Sputnik forgot he wasn’t the only one in the room wearing souped-up bio armor. He was on top, but hardly had the advantage. His weight was already leaning forward as he was trying to force me to stay pinned on the ground.

  I kicked up with my legs, using his momentum to spring him forward. I grabbed his right arm and pulled forward, sending him tumbling off me.

  Rolling on top of him, I hit him with a left to the chin, followed by a right. I felt his teeth clank together both times. It felt better than it should have. I had him ripe for finishing off. Then I delayed for a nano. I don’t know what it is about me that I get such enjoyment out of pummeling politicians and admi
nistrators.

  That little hesitation hurt me—literally. Sputnik’s top half sprung up like an old jack-in-the-box. Extending both his fists, he drove them into my solar plexus. The push sent me hurling across the room. I was winded, but thanks to my armor, I was far from out.

  I saw Sputnik push himself to his feet and clamber over to me. He bent over and wrapped his arms around me.

  ‘‘Gee, I didn’t know you were sweet on me,’’ I told him.

  He squeezed and arched his back backward, lifting me up in a bear hug.

  ‘‘Nothing like a good Russian bear hug to squeeze the life out of an opponent,’’ he said.

  I gave him an A for effort. He was really hurting me. True, his body armor was enhancing his strength, but mine was propping up my endurance. So we were even. I always like to give a man his due.

  The thing was, I saw this move coming probably before he was sure it was the move he was going to use. As he grabbed me I was able to keep my arms free and mobile. That meant while he had the advantage, it was only a slight one. Taking my index fingers I rammed them into the two pressure points right below his nose.

  Sputnik relinquished his grip on me, grabbing his face as I dropped to the ground. Doesn’t matter how big or strong a man is, if you hit these points right it will force him to let go. There are times it really pays to have a girlfriend who is an expert martial artist. (Not to mention being so experienced in having people try to kill me.)

  Not wanting to give Sputnik any time to recover, I lunged forward, head butting him dead-on in the forehead.

  He crashed backward to the ground.

  Just for good measure I kicked him in the groin. Yes, it was a low blow, but the guy was willing to kill billions. He deserved it.

  I reached down to my ankle holster to pull out my old-fashioned gun. To my surprise, Sputnik beat me to the punch. He had GUS pointed at me.

  I dove to the ground just as he fired. The shot whizzed past me. I rolled for cover then sprang to my feet.

  ‘‘HARV, how can he use GUS against me?’’ I asked.

  ‘‘Melda must have reprogrammed him,’’ HARV said meekly. ‘‘It’s not really all that surprising. I am sure Randy gave her access to almost everything.’’ HARV paused for a minute. ‘‘I am receiving a message from GUS. He says he is so sorry for firing at you but he can’t help himself.’’