by Rachel Aukes
Seda had been watching Reyne, and his lips parted when realization struck. He took off his jacket and began scrutinizing it. After a moment of searching, he plucked something off it. He tossed the tiny tracker back to Reyne. “So that’s why you grabbed me earlier. This entire time, all you had to do was press a button, and I was a dead man.”
Reyne stuck the track back into its storage slot on the swivel base. “At the time, I didn’t trust you.”
Seda’s brow rose. “Now you do, I hope.”
“I’m getting closer.”
Chapter Thirteen
Caged Power
Reyne massaged his face, trying to make the cloned skin over his real skin tingle less.
“Itches, doesn’t it?” Critch asked. “It eventually quits feeling like bugs crawling on you and more like bugs just sitting on you. Give it a day or so.”
Reyne frowned at him. “This mission will be over in six hours.”
Critch shrugged.
“We’re approaching the entrance and no drones have come alive yet,” Boden announced from the front seat of their repainted hovercraft. “Seda was right about the CUF logo serving as a free pass.”
When a door in the side of the building opened, allowing them to drive inside, Reyne tapped his comm. “Seda, we’re heading inside. We’ll notify you once we’re in position. Keep your eyes and ears open out there and be ready with the transports.”
“Copy that,” Seda’s response came through Reyne’s earpiece.
“All right, everyone,” Critch said. “Check your earpieces to make sure you’re reading me. Remember that these earpieces are programmed so that transmissions go out to everyone wearing them. That means keep chatter to a minimum. Make sure you have your gas masks. I don’t need any of you falling asleep on the job.”
“Set your weapons to ‘stun’,” Reyne added. “We don’t want to kill any prisoners.”
“Unless they intend to kill you. Then, by all means, kill them,” Critch said.
Reyne frowned at his fellow captain, but Critch was looking out the window. His body was taut with tension, and Reyne knew his compatriot was already back inside the Citadel. Reyne became worried. If a week inside that prison haunted a man like Critch, what kinds of mental states would the other prisoners be in?
The vehicle stopped and they all stepped out, wearing the black torrent fatigues Seda had provided. In the dark, they could nearly pass as dromadiers, who wore blue suits.
Reyne’s team was composed of Sixx, Boden, and Maddox—a member of Critch’s crew. Critch’s team included Birk, Nat, and Grundy—all from his crew.
He noticed a scanner off to their right, and its red eye ran over each vest in quick succession. A second later, an automated voice said, “Welcome to the Citadel. For your safety, wear your vest at all times. Should you need support or directions, please proceed to the nearest terminal.”
From where they stood in the receiving bay, there was a single large door straight ahead. Birk and Nat moved around the back of the vehicle they’d come in and lifted out a large metal box.
“Make sure it’s good and grounded,” Critch ordered. “We don’t want to risk frying it.”
“We’ve got it, captain,” Nat said.
When the pair rejoined their group, both teams moved toward the door, which opened when they drew near. Once through, Sixx swung off his satchel and pulled out a handful of silver orbs.
“Hello. We weren’t expecting company tonight.”
Reyne looked up to see a man heading down the steps toward them. He was wearing civilian clothes and had pale skin, as if he hadn’t been outside in months.
Alex, from Critch’s crew, stepped forward. “We were assigned to run audits on your systems.”
The man leaned against the railing. “I don’t understand. We passed the audit last month. Why another one so soon?”
Alex shrugged. “Who knows what’s going on. All I know is our workload has tripled all of a sudden with random audits. You know the CUF. If there’s one thing they’re good at, it’s red tape.”
The man rolled his eyes. “And spending taxpayer dollars. You need any help from me?”
“Nope,” Alex replied. “It looks like we should be out of your hair in a few hours.”
“I’ll be off shift by then, so if I’m not around, just ask for Ginny if you need anything.” The man waved and started to walk away, and then paused. “Oh, wait. You’ll need the master key. Hold on.” He jogged up the stairs.
Reyne noticed several hands resting on their holsters, and he swallowed, hoping no one got twitchy.
The man reappeared and held out a small card before dropping it down. Alex caught it. “Thanks, buddy. Should I just leave it with Ginny when we’re through?”
“Yeah, that’s great. Thanks.” With that, the man disappeared.
When Alex turned to face Reyne and the others, he seemed as surprised as Reyne felt. “That was easier than I expected. I guess civilians working for the CUF are a bit more laid back than the CUF.”
“I don’t think these guys get much company,” Sixx said. “I’m guessing no one ever comes here who isn’t either in cuffs or under orders to be here.”
Alex swiped the card over the scanner, and it came to life. “Master key detected.”
“Computer, we’re running tests on your air and power systems. Your sensors will pick up anomalies. Disregard all anomalies in those systems for the next eight hours.”
“Confirmed. Power systems and air systems will be set in test mode until 0420.”
“Gas masks, everyone,” Critch said.
“These are handy little things.” Alex waved the keycard before he slid it into his pocket. “Much easier than coaxing a hardheaded system into playing nice.”
Sixx glanced around to make sure everyone had their gas masks on. “Showtime.” He tossed the orbs into the air, where they floated, and he hurriedly slid on his mask. “Three, two, one.” His countdown came out muffled through his mask.
The orbs disintegrated, and a white haze shot out in all directions.
“Set your timers,” Sixx said. “Nine minutes until the air clears, starting now.”
Reyne checked the time on his comm before looking at Critch.
Critch nodded. “We’ll see you back here.” He motioned for his team, and they took off at a quick walk down the stairs.
Critch’s team was taking the generators on the other side of the prison and would need at least an extra thirty minutes to walk the distance through the lower levels. Since Reyne’s team was responsible for taking down the nearby generators, he had the additional task of making sure the staff had all succumbed to the gas before they set off any alarms.
Reyne motioned to his team, and Sixx took the lead up the stairs, with Boden right behind him. Maddox covered their rear. Sixx’s temperament had become less lighthearted and far more sullen and straightforward since the meeting with Lincoln. Reyne knew the man was pretending that everything was fine, when in fact he was fighting an internal battle to stay here with the crew and not run back to Devil Town to squeeze Lincoln for information.
Sixx stopped outside the first room they reached on the next level, which turned out to be the computer room. Through the glass door, Reyne recognized the tech who’d greeted him. The man now lay sprawled on the floor, having not even made it back to his desk before Sixx released the gas. They continued down the hall, finding individual quarters lining the walls. Small windows on each door confirmed that the staff—nine in total—were all down.
Reyne transmitted to all the teams. “Staff are confirmed down.”
“Received,” came Critch’s voice.
Seda’s voice soon followed with “copy that.”
Satisfied, Reyne’s team made their way back down to the main level, then down another flight to the level where the backup generators would be. So far, it felt like they were in an office building rather than a prison, since he’d yet to see a single cell, let alone a prisoner. In fact, the on
ly sign that they were in a prison at all was the drones perched near the ceilings in perfectly spaced lengths.
Sixx’s wrist comm beeped. “Looks like our nine minutes are up.” He slid off his gas mask and breathed in the air. Then he turned and gave the others a thumbs up. “Not the freshest air down here, but more comfortable than wearing a mask.”
They each removed their masks and hooked them onto their belts. Sixx continued to lead the way, using the map on his comm to guide them through the tunnels. They walked slowly but with purpose so that their movements triggered no attention from the drones.
“They could use a cleaning crew,” Sixx muttered as he brushed away a cobweb. “One last turn up ahead.”
A few seconds later, as they made a turn, a set of machines came into view. The backup generators were larger than most primary generators. They were bulbous, red metal monsters humming quietly along as they sat within a thick cage of metal bars.
“What a waste of titanium,” Boden said.
Maddox shook his head. “The real waste is letting them idle. Burning juice just to have them ready to power the prison in a second rather than in several seconds.”
Reyne nodded. “Let’s get prepped.”
Boden and Maddox pulled off the bags they each carried and carefully removed the contents. Inside each bag was an EMP bomb and detonator, though Maddox’s was several times the size of Boden’s.
Maddox chuckled. “Let me guess. She said size doesn’t matter and you believed her.”
Boden shot the other man a wry glance as he continued assembling his EMP. He plugged the wire detonator into the bomb and slid the device through an opening in the cage. He unraveled the wire and held up the detonator. “Armed and ready.”
Maddox, who’d also been working on his bomb, climbed to his feet, standing over the larger device. “Big Betty here is also armed and ready to go.”
Reyne nodded before transmitting to everyone, “Team North is in position and ready.”
“Team Rebus is ready to take the entrances,” Seda replied.
Several seconds later, Critch’s voice came through. “Hold on. Team South needs another minute.” He sounded out of breath, and Reyne wondered what they had encountered on their journey across the prison’s underbelly.
They waited. Every few seconds, Reyne found himself eying the nearest drone, expecting it to light up and sound the alarms, but it never moved. After a minute, Reyne’s heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. After another minute, he transmitted again. “Team South, what’s your status?”
No response.
He frowned and looked across his team’s faces. Everyone looked impatient, and Maddox looked worried. When Critch’s rushed voice finally came through their earpieces, Reyne jumped.
“Team South is in position and ready. Discharge generators in six, five, four, three, two, one. Now.”
Reyne kept his eyes on Boden during the entire sequence and watched him depress the detonator. The peculiar thing about EMP bombs was that they gave no visual or audible cue that they’d been detonated. There was no boom, no bright flash, nothing. The only sign the EMP had worked was that the constant humming of the generator suddenly faded to silence.
“Team South reports successful discharge. Ready for full discharge.”
“Team North reports successful discharge and is ready for full,” Reyne said.
“Team Rebus is ready to discharge on your count,” Seda transmitted.
Reyne turned to watch Maddox. “Discharging in six, five, four, three, two, one. Now.”
Maddox pressed the detonator. The lights went out, blanketing them in darkness. Critch’s team would’ve discharged a large EMP bomb at the same moment as a redundancy, and it was clear at least one bomb worked. Outside, Seda had released an EMP across the entire fringe station to fry local CUF systems and cause chaos.
Reyne dropped the now-useless earpiece and pulled out several glow sticks from his pocket. He cracked them and handed one out to each of his team. He flashed the light at a drone and relaxed when it showed no signs of activity.
“Let’s get upstairs to hook up with Team South,” he said. Without waiting for a response, he began jogging back the way they’d come. His joints protested the beating of his boots against the concrete, but adrenaline and anxiety helped him ignore them.
He turned the corner and kept going. His wrist comm had been fried during the EMP, and so they had no maps. But Reyne’s memory was as good as ever, and he recalled every turn they’d made until they found themselves back on the main level.
There, Sixx and Maddox went to work manually opening the door that led outside while Boden knelt at the metal box they’d left near the vehicle and powered up the equipment. He looked over his shoulder. “Everything’s in the green. We’re good.”
“Good. Now we wait,” Reyne said.
Once the two men had the outer door open, they moved to the inner entrance that led to the prison area. Sixx spoke. “Whoever designed this must’ve figured the prison would never be without power. It has no manual locking mechanisms.”
“So you can get it open?” Reyne asked.
“A baby could get it open.”
Reyne watched as Sixx and Maddox cut whatever cables they deemed necessary, and soon climbed to their feet.
“Ready whenever you are,” Sixx said.
“We wait for Team South.” The waiting was near unbearable as they lingered in the receiving area for Critch’s team to return. Reyne could hear human activity growing within the prison area, and he knew Seda would have the main entrance open by now.
“They sound like they’re tearing the place apart,” Maddox said.
With every scream and shout he heard, Reyne craved to launch the contents of the crate. However, if they opened the inner door to release the system before Reyne’s and Critch’s teams were ready to leave, the teams could be swallowed in a sea of fleeing escapees.
Reyne tossed a hurried glance at Boden. “We give them five more minutes before we launch.”
With his comm now offline, Reyne had no timer, so he guessed. When he reached what seemed to be three minutes, he heard the sounds of boot steps running up the stairs. He grabbed his pistol, but holstered it as soon as he confirmed it was Critch and his team. Wet sheens covered their faces, and they were breathing heavily.
“About time,” Reyne said. Without further acknowledgement, he turned to Boden. “Power it up.” He then pointed to the prison area’s entrance. “Open it up.”
Sixx and Maddox slid the door open and jumped out of the way as several prisoners toppled through. When the escapees climbed to their feet, their wide gazes scanned the room, and then they barreled past Sixx and Maddox as they fled outside.
“You’re safe now,” Reyne called out after them. “Head to the transports.”
He had no idea if they’d listened, because they’d already run outside and disappeared around the wall.
A glow filled the room as the drones in the metal case shot to life and flew through the doorway and into the prison area. Reyne stood and watched as tiny light pellets began to fill the prison, lighting it up with thousands of miniscule stars. A gentle automated voice blared out from the drones’ speakers.
“The Citadel is being shut down, courtesy of the torrent army. Make your way to the central entrances where transports wait to bring you to safety. Move in a steady but cautious manner to the transports. We ask that you please assist anyone who may not be able to get to the transports on their own. You are safe. You do not need to hide or run away.”
The message repeated as the drones flew around the prison, lighting the way to the entrances.
More and more prisoners began to pour through the doorway nearest Reyne and shoved their way outside.
“We need to get out of here!” Critch yelled, and Reyne couldn’t agree more. He made sure his team was still with him, then joined the wave of foul-smelling humans. Once outside, the people seemed to scatter rather then head toward the tra
nsports, which he had expected but was still disappointed to see. They looked like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
The eight torrents stood in silence as everyone else rabbited around them. Critch came to stand at Reyne’s side.
“I was beginning to worry about you,” Reyne said.
“Nothing we couldn’t handle. When I was a prisoner, I couldn’t get through all the passageways without getting zapped by one of those wasps flying around all the time. I didn’t know that there was a fire door midway down the tunnel that they keep locked. We had to move through the general population, which slowed us down.”
“Any of them attack you?”
Critch chuckled. “I wasn’t wearing a disguise this time. You’d have thought I was some kind of god the way they all threw themselves at me.” He stared out into the night and sighed. “It’s chaos out here.”
Reyne looked across the barren fields, with thousands of shapes—all wearing gray prison garb—running in every direction. A significant number were walking in relatively ordered lines to the procession of EMP-shielded, dark-painted buses Seda had arranged.
In the distance, Rebus Station stood dark since Seda had detonated a massive EMP in the area to serve as a distraction.
A bullet-shaped cruiser zoomed toward them, scattering prisoners out of its path. The hovercraft slid to a stop, and a door opened to reveal a frowning Seda. “Get in. We’ve got a problem.”
As everyone piled into the craft, Reyne asked, “What’s the problem?”
“Mason has made his first move,” Seda answered. “There’s a squadron of CUF gunships entering Terra’s orbit right now, and every single one of them are on a direct path to the Citadel.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ghost Ships
“The gunships will slaughter everyone,” Reyne said. “Without heavy ground-to-air artillery, we don’t stand a chance against them from the ground.”
“We need to get to our ships,” Critch said. “We can draw their attention away from the people.”
