The Cronian Incident (The Formist Book 1)

by Matthew Williams

  “C’mon, Jerry. How could you have thought you were ever beyond our reach? Did you actually think you, the doctor, and a bunch of Cronian terrorists would be able to pull one over on us?”

  “They seemed to do just fine snatching Doctor Lee out from under your nose.”

  Adler’s tone hardened. “Yeah, they did that. And the moment that happened, they sealed their fate. The only reason we waited this long was because we weren’t sure who all the players were. Once we had them all on the board.”

  “And I guess I helped in that regard?”

  “Yes, you played your part quite well. Thanks to you, the information has now been liberated, and we know Doctor Amaru was in on the whole thing. Hell, you even led us to the bastards’ hideout.”

  Ward cursed under his breath. He felt Amaru’s eyes on the back of his head. Even without turning, he could tell how she was looking at him now. Knowing he had revealed her and inadvertently led the enemy to her co-conspirators’ doorstep, staring at him angrily and pityingly at the same time.

  “So, what happens now, hmm? I assume if you’ve covered all the angles, you know what we’re planning next.”

  “Correct,” said Adler. “Your ship is currently headed to Rhea, where another cell is waiting for you. The location was in the facility’s database, but we were sure to pry Valeri’s memories from her skull, just to be sure. You’ll be pleased to know she died bravely. If she’d been smarter, she would have saved her last bullet and put it through her head.”

  Amaru jumped from her seat and slammed her hand against the terminal.

  “You fucking asshole!”

  Adler’s voice turned jovial again. “Oh, hello, Janis. I was hoping you were listening in. It’s only fitting you’re party to this conversation. It may be the last we ever have. Depends on you, of course. Like I said, we know where you’re going. We also know that at your current speed, you won’t be able to get there before we’ve had a chance to dust off and take you out.”

  Amaru grabbed Ward’s shoulder. “Is he telling the truth?”

  “Yes,” Ward muttered, leaning back in his seat. While he didn’t know what their shuttle was capable of with any real certainty, he knew the Cǎiguāng-class skiff Adler and his crew were in possession of was light-years ahead of it in terms of sophistication. Best bet, they would be halfway to Rhea before the ship’s guns cut them to ribbons.

  “Of course, there is another way,” said Adler.

  “Yeah, what’s that?”

  “You turn around right now. Bring the shuttle back to the facility and surrender yourself and all of Doctor Lee’s materials to us. We’ll make sure you get back to Mars, at which point you can do whatever the hell you want.”

  Ward guessed these words were meant for him and him alone. He looked at Amaru, who looked as dejected as he felt.

  “And what about Amaru?” he asked.

  “She’ll be free to do whatever she wants. We can drop her anywhere in the System once you’ve brought her back to us. As long as she stays out of our way, we’re willing to let sleeping dogs lie.”

  Amaru laughed bitterly. “What guarantee do we have of that?”

  “You don’t,” came the curt reply. “Though I don’t imagine you have much in the way of options. If we get what we want, we’re willing to be reasonable. This offer won’t last forever. Make your choice soon.”

  No amount of bio-augmentation could prevent what Ward felt next. It was as if his mind had fallen into a hole, surrounded by darkness and recrimination. Once again, he had failed. But this time, it was worse. He had nothing to blame for his miscalculations and blunders. Unlike last time, he hadn’t been using. He hadn’t missed something because he was high, or failed to protect someone because his judgement had been comprised. He had failed because of his arrogance. He knew the Chandrasekhars hadn’t been on the level and they had some sort of agenda. He knew Adler was a threat and he had to be up to something.

  But somehow, he’d still seemed to think he alone would outsmart the Chandrasekhar clan, that he could operate in the dark and figure things out without them ever knowing. With all the resources and machine intelligence they had at their disposal, they had probably figured for all the outcomes long before they had even approached him on Mercury.

  Ward deactivated the comm. Adler’s voice still came from the other end, outlining the ways in which they had been outmaneuvered and were screwed. For a moment, at least, he and Amaru could speak freely.

  “I’m sorry, Janis. I almost wish I had been in on their plan. That would have been far more dignified than being their tool.”

  He half-expected she would hit him, or say something bitter and ugly. He was surprised when her gentle hand touched his shoulder.

  “You weren’t alone. We all thought we could pull this off. We completely underestimated them. I of all people should have known they would have been prepared.”

  Ward looked at the terminal again. They had hours to go before they reached Rhea. He could alter their course, send them somewhere else. Adler and his people would be able to track them wherever they went. With their names now being broadcast to the entire system as terrorists and fugitives, they weren’t likely to survive even if they could make it to the authorities.

  Ward struggled to think of something. It was like groping around in the dark, searching for some sliver of light which might indicate a way out. But every way he looked, things seemed to converge on the same place.

  “There must be a way,” he said aloud.

  “Like what?” said Amaru. “We can’t keep running, if they can run faster. You know they’ll kill us the second they get what they want. Unless you know of some place we can reach with access to a quantum processor and a big signal array, there’s no way we can get the information out before they end us.”

  Just like that, it hit him. A single name that solved all their problems. Well, not exactly, but it did present a third option. He swung around in the chair and began busying himself at the terminal.

  “We’re coming in, Adler. Don’t shoot us down while we’re on approach.”

  “What?!” Amaru screamed. Ward terminated the comms and began manning the controls.

  “Don’t worry. I have a plan,” he assured her.

  “What are you talking about?” Amaru asked.

  “I know someone who can help us,” he said. Releasing the autopilot, he began inputting the commands for a course correction. “She’s far, but if we can get a signal to her, she’ll be able to make sure this information gets out.”

  “Who?”

  Ward turned around in the seat. “You said we need two things, right? Someone with access to a quantum processor and a signal array big enough to make the transmission. I know where we can find both. Only problem is, we have to go back.”

  “Back where? To Titan?”

  “To Huygens,” Ward corrected, turning back to the terminal. “Hopefully, Adler won’t know what we’re doing until we’ve reached orbit. Then we can slip into the spaceport and get into the city proper. I have a device back at the hotel which will let me download Lee’s files into a data cube. Assuming we can gain access to the local servers, I can then upload the data to where she can get at it. Once she’s secured it, she’ll be able to decrypt all the information and make sure everybody in the System can see it.”

  “Are you insane?” Amaru asked, forgetting temporarily about who he was talking about and focusing on the decidedly crazy part of the plan. “If Adler’s telling the truth, and the Gendarmes think we were involved in a terrorist cell, they won’t exactly be in a talking mood. Even if we’re lucky enough to be arrested and not shot in the process, Adler will turn up again and kill everyone to get to us. If we go back to Huygens, the only question will be who shoots us first – the Gendarmes or Adler’s goons. Or worse, who else is going to die to protect us.”

  “True,” Ward conceded. “But given how suicidal this plan is, there’s no way Adler is prepared for it. He’ll be rushing to get to Hu
ygens to stop us, and we might be able to get this signal out before Boyagan and his people can arrest us. Given our limited choices, it’s really the only one where we don’t come out total losers.”

  Amaru put her hands to the sides of her head. His admittedly suicidal plan was clearly giving her a headache. But at least she seemed to understand it was their only real option, short of surrender or death. “So, we’re likely to die no matter what?”

  “Without a doubt,” Ward said matter-of-factly. “But at least we’ll be able to throw a serious wrench in their plans before they kill us.”

  Amaru considered what he was saying. Her expression said it all. She even began reciting it to be sure her appraisal was correct.

  “Get into the colony, make it to the hotel, and then break into the colony servers. That’s a fucking crazy plan!” Her expression softened. “I think I can help.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She ran a finger along her lower lip, tugging gently at it thoughtfully.

  “Do you still have Finch’s comlink?”

  “Yeah.” Ward sensed where she was going with this. “You think she can help us?”

  “Maybe,” Amaru said, then looked to his holster. “You may not need to leave your gun behind after all. Though you’ll have to make sure to compose this message exactly right.”

  Amaru began laying it out for him, what he needed to say, what he needed to ask for, and where to tell Finch to send it all. Ward smiled. He knew it was wishful thinking, but as he listened to Amaru compose their message, his plan suddenly began to feel less hopeless.

  Thirty-Eight

  The navigation system began to beep at him, letting Ward know the spaceport authority was now tracking him. When the request came in to surrender the controls to the automated landing system, he obliged. The human voice sounded pleasant and businesslike, which was a good sign. Then again, that was exactly what he would expect if Boyagan was already there and telling the controllers what to say.

  “Almost there,” he told Amaru. “Let’s hope the Gendarmerie haven’t locked the port down yet.”

  “What are our chances?”

  “What, you mean our chances of landing without being shot up? Or our chances of making it out of any of this alive?”

  “The former,” she said.

  Ward considered that quickly and figured even money wasn’t entirely unreasonable. “About fifty-fifty,” he said.

  Amaru said nothing more, taking what comfort she could from those even odds and, apart from some heavy breathing, keeping quiet the rest of the way. Ward was doing his best to keep his breathing measured, and his bioimplants were working overtime to keep him from being overcome by anxiety. They were walking into a trap, he knew. Their only goal was to live long enough to get the job done.

  All the bioenhancement in the world couldn’t keep him from wanting to panic. At best, it only helped him to push it aside.

  “Automatic landing system synced and engaged,” said the controller, still sounding jovial. “Please remain in your craft until docking is complete.”

  “No arguments here,” Ward said. Outside the cabin window, the atmosphere of Titan rose to meet them. It was like they were hovering above a murky brown ocean. Even when the nose of the ship began to dip into the cloud cover, it still looked like they were contacting a liquid. After a few minutes of gentle cruising, the lights of Huygens became a hazy glow in the distance.

  “There it is,” Ward whispered. “We’re almost there.”

  Amaru got up from her seat and walked to his side, placing her hand down into his and squeezing it tight. Her other hand was firmly gripped onto the back of his seat to keep her braced.

  “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be up until we land,” he scolded her.

  “I’m tired of sitting. If this is the last time I’m going to see it like this, I want to be on my feet. I want to watch as we take her in.”

  Strictly speaking, it was the ALS that was taking them in, but Ward didn’t mention this. He appreciated her feeling and held onto her hand. The last few bumps and chop they absorbed together as the little craft sailed through the last few kilometers separating them from the spaceport.

  The time it took them to cover the few kilometers seemed to slip away too quickly. For their entire approach, Ward wanted to preserve the distance. As much as they needed to land, he wished they could simply hover there in the sky forever.

  When on borrowed time, every passing second felt precious, and far too short.

  #

  Huygens customs looked significantly different from this end of things, thought Ward. Without the benefit of setting down in a private landing area, and an express process for getting them through – courtesy of the Chandrasekhars’ influence – the process was far more time-consuming and strained. A long line moved forward slowly, each person stepping up to a small gate to be inspected by a sensor torus, and to have any identification they possessed looked over by agents.

  Ward kept his hands by his sides, breathing slowly and carefully. His left hand was scarcely touching against the Rutger, resting safely against his ribs in its holster. Amaru stood next to him with one hand on his arm. He felt the slight tremble in her fingers and knew she was making contact to steady her nerves, like him.

  The wait was interminable, and every passing second only made the urgency of their situation more real. It also made him increasingly worried Finch wasn’t going to come through.

  Where the fuck are they? he kept thinking, wanting to scream it aloud. There was no need to voice their shared anxieties right now and make a bad situation that much worse.

  The line advanced forward again. Another person stepped into the torus and had a bright wall of light descend on them, a modestly dressed man wearing a kufi. There was a loud beep and the scanner light turned red. One of the agents moved in and began inspecting the arrival, who cooperated with a physical search. Questions began to fly as to why he had tobacco in his possession. The line mercifully stalled as he explained it was for personal use and the agents had to explain to him such items weren’t permitted to be carried in public, something to do with the recycled air.

  “Excuse me.” A new voice intruded on Ward’s nervous bubble. Amaru and Ward looked to their side, where an agent was stepping forward to meet them. Ward breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the face of Koryo Nan and the uniform had no business going together.

  “Is there a problem?” Amaru said, recovering quickly.

  “You two will have to come with me, please,” Nan said, reaching towards them. Ward and Amaru did as they were told, leaving the queue and moving to their right, as indicated. The other people waiting in line paid them only passing attention, clearly embarrassed for their sake, but not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Even the agents at the front didn’t bother to look closely or interfere.

  Exactly what they needed.

  They walked briskly, moving directly ahead as “Agent Nan” walked behind them.

  “Keep moving,” he whispered. “Go to the door directly ahead.”

  Ward spotted the door he was referring to. A side access led out of the spaceport’s main entrance corridor. It took all his self-restraint to prevent him from breaking into a run. Still, once they reached the door, he wasted no time in going through it, once their agent friend had it open for them.

  The door slammed shut, and the pretense was dropped.

  “Never thought I’d see you again,” Nan said, sounding rather bitter.

  “The feeling was mutual,” Ward replied. “I figured if we did meet again, you’d be the one I needed to be worried about, not happy to see.”

  Nan’s eyes narrowed. Amaru didn’t bother to ask what the hell had happened between the two of them, and got them right on task. “Finch tell you what we need?”

  “Yeah,” said Nan, producing an external drive, like the one Houte had given Ward what seemed like a lifetime ago. Ward took it eagerly and inspected it. Its capacity would be barely
sufficient, but if he cut some corners and compressed it enough, he could make do.

  “She tell you where we need to get?” Amaru said next.

  “The colony’s central servers,” Nan said, nodding again. “Just what the hell do you want with that place, anyway? And why did you need to come back here?”

  “That’s, complicated,” said Ward, dodging the question. “The point is, we need to get there without security knowing about it. Is there a route we can follow avoiding any checkpoints or sensors?”

  “Not a problem. There’s a route going through the old maintenance tubes of the place. People use them all the time to smuggle things. Seriously, though, why do you need to get there?” Nan was nothing if not persistent.

  Ward looked at Amaru. Time wasn’t on their side and there was no way to explain their situation in brief. “I take it you haven’t heard?”

  Nan frowned at Amaru. “Heard what?”

  “We’re fugitives now. The Gendarmes are looking for us. And there are some far more dangerous people who will kill us on sight.”

  Nan looked left and right down the side hallway they had stepped into, as if he suddenly expected armed men might be closing in on them. Satisfied, he turned his newfound anxiety on them. “What the fuck have you gotten yourselves into? Can this be traced back to Finch?”

  “No way,” said Ward. I’ve scrubbed my comlink records so there will be no indication of communications between us. And now you’ve done your part, you can be on your way. This is all on us, from here on out.”

  Nan eventually accepted that and began issuing them directions. He spoke hurriedly, wanting to get away from them as soon as possible.

  “One problem,” he said. “Once you infiltrate the servers and do whatever the hell it is you’re doing, getting out is going to be a problem. You hack into them, security is going to know sooner or later, and they’ll be able to find the source of the intrusion eventually. Are you planning on staying in the tunnels forever?”

  “No,” Ward said, flatly. “This is a one-way trip. Whatever happens afterward, it’s for keeps.”