by Kelly Jensen
“And you’re still going to do this?”
“I tried to argue. Told them I could take the soldiers into custody, set them up on Morrison. They...” He shook his head. “I don’t have a choice.”
Flick’s fingers were busy pulling threads along the seams of his pants. “I locked one in a prefab. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill him.” He glanced up, face pale but for the furious glint of his eyes. “Aren’t the Guardians supposed to be all about choice? That’s what they told you.”
A respect for free will was the reason the Guardians did not try to control the galaxy, even though they had the technology and the power to do so. Instead, they watched and waited, wanting to see what choices the other races made—only stepping in when conflicts got too far out of hand.
But this time...
“Not in this.” Zed scrubbed a hand through his hair. “If they were anything close to human, I’d say they were freaking out.”
Flick swore.
Zed cast a look toward the mouth of the cave, where Elias was meeting with Todd and Andy about strategy. The three of them were speaking in low tones and trying to make it look as though they weren’t listening to Zed and Flick’s conversation. He should be over there, ironing out the last details, not arguing about shit he couldn’t change.
“It’s not up for negotiation. They’re being very...firm.” How else could he describe the sense that continuing to argue would not be beneficial to his health? He’d never felt as though the Guardians were a danger before, even if he knew, intellectually, that they could be. Their motivations were still a complete mystery, even to him.
Being ordered around like this by beings he respected—had respected?—hurt more than he wanted to admit.
“Couldn’t we—”
“You think I want to do this?” Zed snapped. “I didn’t work with any of these people, but you’re right, they’re like me. Don’t you think I know that when they’re gone, that’s it?”
“Zed—”
“If we don’t act, they will erase this colony. All of it. So yeah, I guess I’ve got a choice. We can hide out here until dawn and watch whatever the Guardians plan to do, and lots of extra people can die. Or I can commit murder.”
“It’s not murder.”
“That’s not what you were implying a minute ago.”
Flick shoved to his feet and took a step toward Zed. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Why not? We all know that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to infiltrate Preston’s settlement with the intent to kill people. That’s premeditation. That’s murder.”
“No, just stop right there.”
“Probably just as well you said no to marrying me, right?”
Flick glared, then lunged for Zed, pushing him back against the cave wall. Zed braced for—something. A slap, a hard knock, something. He knew he’d been pushing, saying stupid shit, but he was tired. More than that, he was bone-deep scared. Not only of what they were going to do in the next few hours and how very many ways it could all go wrong, but of what it meant.
He was a soldier. He’d been in covert ops. He was no stranger to nasty orders—he’d carried out enough. Hell, he’d given more than a few. But that was war. Ruthlessness had been a survival tactic. Tough, morally questionable decisions had been a part of his daily life—more than he’d wanted them to be, but war didn’t often leave personal honor intact. He’d come to terms with that years ago.
But this? They weren’t at war. They didn’t have an enemy unit moving in, forcing them to take desperate measures. This was the Guardians and their fucking unknowability. He was completely, utterly in the dark, carrying out an order he found morally reprehensible, because they hadn’t left him with a choice.
He needed Flick to back him up on this—but he didn’t know if he wanted Flick to. This was his pile of shit. His problem.
Some of those thoughts must have trickled across their connection. Flick pressed up against him, chest to knee, and angled his chin so Zed could feel his breath on his cheek and ear. He panted softly, as if struggling with something, then ducked his head—burying his face in the crook of Zed’s shoulder and neck. Emotions skipped from Flick’s skin to Zed’s—fear and a small flare of hurt, understandable after the argument, both underscored by love and a need to understand. Zed shuddered, his breathing ragged.
Flick pulled away without a word, without another look, and went back to working on his generators.
* * *
Half an hour later, Zed tried not to acknowledge the spike of fear as he watched Flick leave with Qek and Andy to head back toward the settlement. If they used the same hole in the fence, they could hug the cliff wall until they got to the caves. Once inside, they’d begin laying out Flick’s bombs. Ness and Todd had already left since they had a longer distance to travel, up and out of the ravine to approach the landing crater from the rear.
Zed’s plan was pretty simple—hide in the open and create a distraction that would get Preston’s attention while Flick’s team planted the bombs. They’d discussed Zed and Elias heading into the settlement with Dayne in advance, clearing out some of the guards, but decided that was too risky. If their half of the mission failed, they’d alert Preston and her people to the action underway. Zed just had to hope if Felix met any guards, he’d do what he had to.
“He’ll be okay,” Elias murmured at Zed’s shoulder.
Part of him wanted to acknowledge Elias’s confidence in Flick’s skills. The rest of him didn’t want to jinx Flick. Zed stayed silent.
“Time to go. We got a schedule to keep.” Dayne double-checked the zip ties around their wrists and stepped to the side.
Zed tested the bindings. They were snug enough to look secure, but not so tight he couldn’t move his hands if he needed to. In the Zone, it would be a simple thing to break the restraint.
“They’re a little tight,” Elias said.
Both Dayne and Zed snorted—then they shared a smile. Zed was about eighty percent sure they could trust the colonists who had chosen to help them, but he figured he could actually get to like Dayne, given a chance.
Zed bumped Elias’s shoulder with his own. “Suck it up, Captain.”
Smiling, Dayne picked up her carbine rifle and nodded at the path before them.
The settlement’s gate came into view within about twenty minutes, just as they’d planned. Zed tensed up, waiting for some sign that they’d been spotted.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“Dayne! Shit, that you?”
Dayne gave Zed a shove forward. He purposely stumbled, making it look as if she’d hit him harder than she had. “Yeah, it’s me,” she shouted. “Look what I caught.”
The guard cranked open the gate. “Where’ve you been? We’ve been trying to raise you, or Todd—”
“Whatever, Ricky. Main thing is, I tracked these two down.” She shot him a triumphant grin. “That bounty is all mine.”
Ricky looked at Zed and Elias, then back to Dayne. “How the hell...?”
“Amazing how many men will do anything you ask rather than risk having their balls blown off.” Dayne winked.
Ricky paled. “Y-yeah. Right. So, uh...you gonna take them to see Preston?”
“Yeah. Wanna help?” When Ricky hesitated, Dayne rolled her eyes. “C’mon, man, the lopers won’t be out until later, and it’s not like there’s anyone else out there we need to watch for. Unless another ship crashed. Is that why you were looking for me?”
“Nah, we found Mahavir and Ling locked in a prefab. Knocked out.”
“No shit?” Dayne poked Zed’s shoulder. “You two do that?”
Zed was glad to hear the soldier Flick had disabled had been found, though—made his job a little easier.
A little.
“Preston’
s losing her mind.” Ricky moved up beside Elias, then paused. “I thought the second guy was blond?”
Zed tensed. Todd had assured them that not everyone had been in the mess when they’d been brought in the first time, only a few of the more senior people, so their appearances weren’t widely known. Two strangers was what they’d been told, and that’s who Dayne had in zip ties.
Dayne made a noise of disbelief. “I think you’ve been smoking up too much.”
“Shit!” Ricky leaned in. “Don’t say that too loud, okay? I don’t want anyone raiding my stash.” He grabbed Elias’s arm and jerked him forward. “C’mon. Hey, about that bounty, you won’t forget I helped out, right?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll remember.”
Zed was surprised when Ricky led them behind the prefabs instead of directly through the center of the settlement. Guess he didn’t want to split the bounty any more ways. There were no guards at the cave entrance. Zed shared a significant look with Elias. Had Flick and Andy taken them out, or was something else going down? He didn’t dare look for the bomb Flick’s team was supposed to have left there.
Then they were in the caves, walking through a nearly familiar series of tunnels and into the area Preston used to train her recruits. They rounded the door into the gym, Dayne giving him another shove for show. A quick glance told him Preston and her remaining soldiers were all present, including four who could Zone that he recognized from his training session. They stood at attention as Preston fiddled with her medical wallet. A pair of the recruits sported bruises on their faces—they must be the two Flick and Elias had fought earlier. Ling was probably the smaller guy with Asian features, which meant Mahavir was one of the ex-AEF soldiers Zed had trained the day before. Where was the fifth Zone-capable recruit Flick had referred to? Was she in the medical wing, recovering?
“Look what I’ve got,” Dayne announced, maintaining the ruse to keep suspicions at bay for as long as possible. “I’ll be taking my bounty now.”
Preston turned, her eyes widening as she spotted Elias. “Where did he come from?”
“Thin air,” Elias answered, his voice deadpan.
Zed looked at the recruits. “Those of you who haven’t been altered need to get the fuck out now.”
“What? Why?” The young-looking ex-AEF soldier Zed had argued with the day before—Baby Face—stepped forward.
Preston scoffed. “Zander, you’re hardly in a position to—”
“You all felt the scan earlier, right? That weird, tingly, invisible-fingers-in-your-gut thing?” Glances back and forth told Zed they knew exactly what he was talking about. It wasn’t a sensation you easily forgot. “That was the Guardians. They’re—”
“Shut him up,” Preston growled at Dayne.
Dayne shrugged. “Pay me.”
“The Guardians are in orbit and—”
“Shut up!” Preston darted forward, her hand raised to slap Zed.
Zoning, Zed snapped the tie binding his wrists and grabbed her hand before it could connect. His skin tingled at the contact, but he didn’t have time to puzzle out why. He yanked her close. A couple of recruits stepped forward—knights in fucking tarnished armor—and Dayne raised her rifle to encourage them to step back. Reaching over, Zed freed Elias and ignored his protest at the rough treatment.
“I’m not going to shut up, Carly,” Zed growled. “The Guardians want this new project terminated. I’m giving the kids you haven’t fucked with a chance to run.”
“W-what happens if we don’t run?” one of the university crew stammered.
Fuck, this was difficult. Thank Christ for the Zone, or else he wouldn’t be able to get any words past the churning of his gut. “They want you dead.”
“He’s lying!” Preston pulled on his grip, but she had no hope of breaking it. She was caught, and Zed knew what he had to do. He didn’t want to—even though she deserved—
Preston yanked on his hand again—but this time, she paired it with an upraised knee. Right to his balls. Really fucking hard.
The Zone deadened some of the pain, but not all of it. Zed’s breath rushed out of him and his grip loosened. Preston pulled away, shouting at her recruits. Elias was yelling too, telling the non-altered kids to run—
The boom of Dayne’s gun brought everything back into focus.
“Fuck!” Dayne grabbed his elbow to get his attention and pointed at the door. “Preston’s running!”
There was only one place she could go—and Nessa and Todd were waiting there. But they’d need backup. “Elias! After Preston!”
With a nod of acknowledgment, Elias darted after the good doctor. Ricky started to follow, but Dayne tripped him. He went sprawling into a nearby stack of improvised weights—mechanical equipment of some sort—and lay still.
Zed straightened and turned to address the men and women she’d left behind, his hands raised in a harmless gesture. “The Guardians want to erase this experiment, but if you surrender, maybe I can—”
“Fuck that!” The soldier he’d pegged as Mahavir rushed forward.
As though that were a signal, the rest of the recruits burst into motion. Four of the non-altered ran for the door, including Ling. Zed let them pass, focused on Mahavir. The guard phase-shifted, possibly trying to get the jump on Zed, but that wasn’t happening. Zed shifted too. Mahavir looked shocked when Zed grabbed him—more evidence of Preston’s crappy training. That had been the whole point of the original program, the idea that phase-shifted soldiers could fight phase-shifted stin. Zed grabbed the guy’s head and twisted. They both fell back into the real world and Zed let the body drop to his feet.
Dayne brought her rifle to bear once again, but nothing happened when she squeezed the trigger. “Piece of shit,” she grumbled. Tossing it to the ground, she pulled out a wicked-looking hunting knife. “Always be prepared, my mom told me.”
Zed grinned. Despite his injuries and fatigue, he had a distinct advantage over their opponents: he’d trained for eighteen months to learn how to use his abilities and then actively employed them in war zones for six. Four against two wasn’t the best set of odds, but he’d faced worse.
“Bring it,” Zed growled.
* * *
The interior of the cave system was too quiet. The lack of sound set Felix’s skin to crawling—though he’d been unsettled since they passed the prefab where they’d locked those couple of guards and found the door hanging open. The lack of guards at the entrance to the caves had been weird too. Preston was definitely up to something.
Felix pulled the second retooled generator out of Andy’s backpack. The first had been armed and wedged into a wide crevice near the entrance to the caves. That was the most important bomb. The one he’d had to set before all the others. The one he’d primed to detonate at a signal from his bracelet if the timer failed or if he was captured. It would collapse the front entrance to the cave system, leaving the landing crater as the only exit—an exit Nessa and Todd could close if they had to. If anyone other than Felix or Zed approached.
He set the second bomb on the floor and glanced up at the smooth stone ceiling of the chamber Preston used as an operating theater, looking for any indications of weakness—stress fractures, rough seams in the rock. He found one near the rear wall, an uneven lip of stone that might or might not indicate a natural fault.
“Shove it under here.” Felix gestured toward the banks of monitors and medical equipment lining the wall.
Qek helped him position the generator before connecting the detonator with her nimble fingers while Felix synced his bracelet to the timer. Andy stood guard. Had Zed caught up to Preston yet? Had he—
A small beep announced the sync was done. He shut off the display. “Two down, one to go.”
“Fix?” Andy asked.
Felix glanced up to find Andy holding a bundle of gray f
abric. “What’s up?”
“You might want to come see this.”
Felix stood and walked over to the second hover float, currently unpowered and resting in a cradle. Beneath a stasis field lay a body with skin as gray as the sheet that had been covering it. It was the woman Preston had operated on the same day as him. Yesterday? Felix shifted his shoulder, pulling forth a small ache. The woman—his co-victim—was dead.
He couldn’t decide if he should be relieved or saddened by her death. He’d never known this woman, had never even learned her name. Her being dead meant he didn’t have to kill her. It also meant Preston’s attempt to graft a shard to her spine had failed. The Guardians would still want her destroyed, though. She was altered. A super soldier. A dead soldier.
Qek touched his hand. Looking down at the friend he too often took for granted, Felix folded his fingers around hers in something more than the casual touch he usually gave back. He’d always found her company restful and quietly instructive. Ashushk friendship was deep and profound, something humanity should strive to emulate. Right now, he took the wordless understanding she offered. Then he let her hand go.
“The body needs to stay here,” he said to Andy.
Nodding, Andy replaced the sheet.
Felix’s wallet chimed softly. He opened the channel reserved for the Chaos crew and Nessa reported in. “Two guards at the landing pad, both subdued. Neither of them were super soldiers. They were loading supplies into the larger shuttle.”
“No sign of Preston?”
“None that I could see.”
“If Dr. Preston is not in the landing crater and not here, then she is still gathering that which she deems valuable,” Qek said.
Her soldiers and any data she wanted to keep.
“She’ll be in that cavern she uses to train her people,” Andy said. “She’s got an office behind there, and living quarters.”
“That’s our next stop,” Felix said. They’d already marked it on their map as must destroy. “We’ve got one charge left to place, then we’ll be headed your way, Ness.” Where was Zed? At the training facility with Preston? That could be good or bad.
