by Franklin, TG
"It shouldn't have taken the nanites that long to repair the brain blast. Why didn't you wake me up?'
"Tried to, but the blast wasn't the only injury the bugs had to fix." He held out his hand.
She took it. Stood on shaky legs. "Do I want to know?"
"You had some pretty nasty contact burns from the paracord. A bullet ripped through your thigh, and you had some road rash and a nasty gash on your temple from the accident."
"Accident?" Her fingers found the hole in her jeans, pulled at the frayed threads. "Is David okay? Did he make it back to the med center?"
"Don't know, and before you even think about calling, I gotta tell you David tossed your phone after the accident. Hadrian's men came out of nowhere to intercept you, and he figured they were using the phones to track your movement."
"Yeah, makes sense."
"How do you feel? Is your spidey sense tingling?"
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes. "I got nothing."
"Maybe it'll take awhile, like Stran's did, or the nanites prevented the psychic shit from happening."
"I don't think so. According to Dex, Hadrian used the nanites and still developed some type of psychic power, but Dex doesn't know what the power is." She stretched, looked into the night sky needing its comfort, but the dense forest obscured her view. Left her yearning for her rooftop. "Doesn't matter right now, anyway. Whatever psychic power develops, or doesn't, I don't think it's going to help us out here." Her stomach growled. "Got anything to eat? I'm starving."
John grabbed a backpack hanging from a broke tree branch and unzipped it. "Dex said you'd need some protein after the blast." He shook his head. "Still haven't figured out how he knew you were going to blast. Anyway, There's some jerky in here, and some canned fruit, 'cause he also said you'd need the complex carbs, and a couple of energy bars."
"Let me have the fruit, first."
He pulled the top on the can and handed it to her, along with a folded camping spoon. "Finish it quick. We need to get walking. You can eat the jerky and bars on the trail."
With peach juice dripping down her chin, she licked the spoon, folded it, and stuffed it in her back pocket. "How long will it take us to get to Brushy Mountain?"
"We started out as soon as you got here. Took four-wheelers as far as the terrain would let us. Be thankful you were out, 'cause it was a damn bumpy ride. Broke three axles over that godawful terrain. I think my brain is still rattling around in my skull." He handed her the canteen. "We traveled the last couple of miles on foot and entered the forest about two thousand feet northwest of the Petros Cemetery about a half ago. We're almost a mile away from the prison. And to be honest, I'm glad you're finally awake, because I'm tired of carrying your ass."
She took a long swallow. Laughed. "Your arms can take it, and you're sure not going to hear me complaining about sleeping through the worst of it."
"Not the worst." John pulled the jerky out of the backpack, zipped the bag closed, and slung it over his shoulder. "We're at the head of the Devil's footsteps. It runs from here to the prison, and according to our guides, it should take us about two hours to get there."
"I can hike faster than that, even through a wooded area, and I'm not waiting around. We'll catch them to them."
"Don't kid yourself, Princess. There's a reason the prison was built on the side of this mountain. Some prisoners spent days wandering around up here after they escaped, and that was before the prison shut down and there were still hunting trails to follow. Plus, we'll move slower in the dark, and we've got a limited supply of glow sticks." He patted the back pack. "The guys Dex hooked us up with seem to know their shit, though. They've got some high powered flashlights, subdermal communication devices, and they're packing machetes to cut through the thick layer of underbrush, along with a couple of Glocks."
Only the military and Hadrian's security forces carried guns and had access to ammo. "What do they need with the pistols?"
"Rattlers and copperheads. They said." He glanced toward the crushed foliage.
"You don't sound so sure about that."
"Look, not long after I got to Kingston, Hadrian did a broadcast. Over everything. Television, radio, and the civil defense system. He put a price on your head." He snapped a low hanging branch, pointed it toward the woods. "Dex picked those two, and maybe they're all the way in on this, but we don't even know how much we can trust Dex."
"I trust Jonah, and he trusted Dex. Besides, our guides could have killed us at any time over the past six hours."
"Hadrian wants you alive. They don't need to kill you to collect the reward. All they have to do is deliver you into Hadrian's hands, and for all we know, they'll turn you over as soon as we reach the prison."
"Or, they might not. Too late to worry about it now." More worried about the possibility of running into snakes and other crawly things than Hadrian's security force, she took a tentative step and stopped. "Got any duct tape in your backpack?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Let's tape up our pants legs and shirt cuffs. Don't want any uninvited guests."
"Good idea." He dropped the pack, pulled out a roll of tape, and tossed it to her. "Not too tight."
She wrapped the tape around ankles and wrists and handed it back to John. "We'd better catch up to our guides before your stick runs out."
John grinned. "Never let me down before."
At least he hadn't lost his sense of humor.
The trail their guides left behind required too much concentration to allow further conversation. More than once, they misread and had to double back. John had been right about the forest. They'd been walking for about thirty minutes and had maybe traveled one hundred feet.
"This is ridiculous." With her hands fisted on her hips, Mary did a three sixty looking for signs.
"I agree." The man's voice echoed from out of the shadows followed by the crunch of his boots over the brush. "You should have stayed where we put you. Nearly got yourself shot."
Mary waited until the second man walked into the dimming sphere of light from the glow stick. "We don't have a lot of time here. Figured we catch you on the way back, and did."
"You got lucky we saw the light. Neither of you can read a trail worth shit." He turned his head and spit. "You're going in the wrong direction."
She refused to feel embarrassed. Refused to be intimidated by the two men looking at her with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "Okay, that's on me. How far off are we?"
"Not too far. We can make it up pretty quick." He stepped a little closer, flipped on his flashlight, and pointed the beam at her chest. "But understand this, you do what we say, when we say, from here on out. Got it?"
John moved to stand between them. "Then we'd better get started. We've got four, maybe five, hours before the wave hits."
"Got another problem," the second man said. "Looks like your backup ain't going to make it. Last anybody knows, the Dragons were heading north on 441 when the blockades went up, had to detour. They might've made it to Norris, but nobody knows for sure. We got people on the lookout, and they'll radio us if they learn something."
If the Dragons didn't make it past the blockades, chances were Niko and Ursula hadn't either. "How many guards are at Brushy Mountain?"
"Don't keep many. Fifteen. Maybe more if they're transferring someone in."
"Hadrian knows we're heading there," John interjected. "Probably pulled more guards, some military, to greet us at the door."
The first man snorted. "Most of them are locals. Born and raised in Morgan County. Doubt they'll stick around. More likely they'll be trying to get their families to safety. Survival's a mighty powerful instinct, and even the promise of a reward won't keep 'em there."
"What about you? You thinking of turning us over once we get there?" Mary asked.
"Ain't stupid." He grinned and started walking. "Can't spend a reward if you're dead, and Dex says the energy web won't work without you."
"You trust Dex?"
> "I owe the man my life." He patted the Glock holstered at his side. "Owe Hadrian, too." Without further elaboration, or explanation, he took started waking.
She followed the man. John caught up to her, and the second man fell in step behind them. She kept pace, but didn't venture too close to their guide. Mary recognized the cold hatred in his voice. It mirrored her own, and she wondered what Hadrian had done to the man, or someone he loved, to cause it.
Wondered, but didn't dare ask. After all, she wasn't stupid, either.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jonah's head buzzed. Like standing in a room with a hundred radios on low volume and one click off the station. Lots of info. Nothing clear. In his gut, he knew something important was coming through, but he couldn't pick it out of the white noise. "Everybody, hold up!"
Michael and Dex broke away from the front and made their way back to him. "We're less than a mile from the gate. You'd better have a damned good reason for stopping, 'cause our headlights make great targets. If they've got any snipers up there, the guys on point, hell probably all of us, are dead."
"Then cut the damn lights and shut up. I'm trying to concentrate here."
Michael started to say something, but Dex cut him off. "Don't."
Jonah gave him a nod and closed his eyes, barely aware of Michael giving the order for everyone to cut off their headlights. Palisade's wireless network had connected to his new mech as soon as he'd gotten into range. If he didn't sort out the signals, he'd go into overload before he made it to the gate. Most of the signals were garbage. Redundant monitoring of systems. Television and radio waves. He cut through the junk, pushing it to the edge, and zoned in on one weak incoming signal he'd almost missed. It shouldn't have been able to penetrate a simple home firewall, much less the amped up security of Palisade, but the signal found an opening and snaked its way in.
He focused on the data wave and rode it to an unused controller comp. "It's Niko."
"What do you mean?" Michael asked. "Niko isn't here."
Jonah opened his eyes and let them get adjusted to the darkness. "He's holed up in a cabin with Ursula at Norris Lake, but he left me a message." He tapped the side of his head. "I'm in Palisade's wireless network. The virus Mary uploaded? Niko wrote it. Piggy-backed the message on it and set it to upload to my new hardware when I got in range. He says he can use the virus to allow me into Palisade's security, like a bridge, until I can get to a comp."
"A bridge?" Michael pointed toward the gate. "Great. Maybe he can build a freakin' bridge to get us over the guys with guns."
"Or, he could just tell them to let us through," Jonah countered. "The primary function of the virus is to override Hadrian's orders."
"Smart ass." Michael put the bike in gear and took off
"Hey," Jonah yelled after him. "It's my coping mechanism."
"Nope." Dex shifted and let off the brake. "You've always been a smart ass."
Yeah, Jonah admitted to himself, he had. Maybe, if they survived this, he'd work on it. With Niko buzzing his brain, more messages and instructions, Jonah followed Dex to the front of the pack. "Niko says there's four, maybe five, of Hadrian's security goons at the gate. Their existing orders are to capture us alive. Probably for leverage. If Mary gets the codes, Hadrian can use us as trade and come out like a hero. The other hundred or so are straight up military. Commandos, and if we pushed new instructions to Hadrian's security force, the soldiers won't be interested in any overriding orders and won't follow them. Even with Corene's help, the odds aren't looking so good."
"Sorry, guys." Stran nudged his way forward. "I thought I'd lost Corrie when she blasted. I'm not going through that again, and I won't let Corrie go up against those guys. It's too dangerous."
Corene bristled. "Nobody makes decisions for me, and I say I can handle it."
"Stran's right," Dex said. "It's too dangerous. Not only for Corene, but all of us. If they start shooting...." He let the words hang in the air.
Jonah weighed the options. They couldn't go in fighting, but they couldn't back off. Couldn't waste time trying to find another way into the complex. "We surrender."
"What? No." Corene shook her head. "I can take those guys. No problem."
"Look, thanks to Hadrian's announcement, they think we're the bad guys here. That we're the reason the energy web is going to fail." Jonah looked each of them in the eye until they grudgingly nodded in agreement. "We go in fighting? None of them are going to believe we're here to get the web working. They'll shoot to kill. But if we surrender, Hadrian's men will escort us into the complex. Once we get clear of the GI Joes, Niko can override Hadrian's orders and have security take us to the prison comp. I do my thing, and we head to the main controller comps. If we run into any trouble once we're in, Corene can take care of it."
There were some grumbles, but no outright objections. Michael gave the signal, and they took off for the gate. Dex sped up, broke away from the pack, and rode straight to the line. "Hold your fire! We've got Jonah Sullivan. We're unarmed, and we're here to surrender."
It worked, and Jonah didn't need Stran's psychic ability to know the soldiers would have preferred to beat the crap out of the Dragons instead of allowing Hadrian's men to escort them into Palisade.
In less than ten minutes, the bikes were parked in a secure area, and the guards, under Niko's direction, led them through a maze of hallways to the prison control room. A dozen controllers sat at comp panels. "Damn, how many controllers does it take to keep a few prisoners in Brushy Mountain?"
"Not just Brushy," Dex answered. "This is the center for all prison operations across the state, plus Hadrian's private security facilities, and that," he pointed to an empty spot. "Is the main prison comp."
"Michael, get with Dex. He knows the complex. Work out a route between this location and the control cluster. The most direct route, a couple of alternates. Where we're most likely to run into trouble." He pointed to a clock. "How much time do we have?"
"Three hours," Dex answered. "Three and a half, tops."
Jonah sat, got comfortable, and went to work. "This won't take long. David, keep a watch the door in case anybody gets nosy."
Again, the protection on the system lacked any sophistication, and he navigated his way through without any problems. Having Niko do a ride along in his brain helped, too. Together they made quick work of opening the gates of Brushy Mountain, and Jonah used his ability to lock down the system to ensure the prison stayed open for Mary. Strange thing, though. Not many of Hadrian's guards were on duty, and the override of their orders took about a nanosecond.
"Okay, Dragons, that was the easy part." He stood and stretched. "I'm hoping our escort can get us all the way to the web controller facility, but I'm not counting on it. It won't take long for them to discover the breach in the prison system and report it. Means they'll send the sec mechs who are independent of the system after us. If we come across any of them, we'll have to fight our way through. Corene, you charged?"
"Ready to rock and roll."
"Good." He turned to Michael. "We got a plan?"
"Yeah, we're ready."
"I hope it's something a little more thought out this time than getting through alive? Or surrendering?"
"Hey, wasn't my idea to surrender. That one's all on you."
"And it worked," Dex added before Jonah could defend his choice. "Got us in without a fight, and it was expedient. Time is as much our enemy now as the wave, or any security we meet on the way. The controller facility is at the other end of the complex, and not all of the buildings are connected. We'll be exposed and vulnerable during the short periods we'll be outside."
Michael nodded. "We don't need to give them a big target. Better to travel in pairs when we go from one building to another."
"Agreed," Jonah said. "How much time will it take us to get there?"
"If we manage to evade sec mech?" Dex answered. "About forty-five minutes."
"Better get moving, then."
C
HAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Surrounded by dense forests, the old Brushy Mountain prison reminded her of a medieval fortress. From their vantage point on the ridge, Mary surveyed the area through a set of binoculars John had brought. It looked deserted and ominous in the dark. The original wall had crumbled, but a new fence encompassed the grounds, complete with the type of impenetrable gate Hadrian used at Palisade. Thanks to Jonah, at least she hoped it was Jonah, the gate was open, but there weren't any guards in sight.
"It's too quiet." she whispered. "I thought Hadrian would have guards here. Jonah gave orders for the regulars to get out, but I figured Hadrian to have maybe five or ten guards outside watching for us and more inside. He should at least have somebody walking around outside on the lookout for us. Think Hadrian moved the prisoners before we got here?"
"No, princess. Looks like an invitation to go right in."
"A trap?"
"I think John's right." Lee, one of their guides, crouched down beside her. "Hadrian wants you alive, and he's got to know you'd come here armed. Because of the virus you uploaded, he can't control the security force. He doesn't know who's controlling the programming and can't be sure the guards won't turn on him. Better for him if he goes in low-key. Clears the place out. He's probably waiting for you inside with one or two regular mech guards. Won't know for sure until we get inside."
"We need a plan." John stated. "Could be mech sharp shooters in the towers waiting on us to get out in the open. Maybe he can't kill you. Doesn't mean he can't injure or kill the rest of us."
For reasons she didn't understand, she felt compelled to concentrate on the area, to try and see into the darkness. Dreamlike scenes filled her mind, followed by a wave of nausea. Overwhelming. It was the only way she could describe the sensations assaulting her. She stumbled backward from the psychic force. It left her dizzy and light-headed, but she knew, with certainty, that Hadrian, his personal guards, and the prisoners were the only people inside the prison. "There are three prisoners." She had to stop. Take a deep breath. "Important, really important, and close to death. But their faces aren't clear. It's like there's interference or something keeping me from seeing them."
