"Hope?"
"Yes, hope," I answer and then I tell her to give that woman a false sense of possibility, "Maybe your destiny isn't to bring doom but hope. Now..." I move for the door. "If we're done up here, let's go inside and order a pizza." I start in. "I'm starved."
Katharine's view...
"Kimberly..." I call after her still afraid of exposing my secret.
She turns around and states, "Katharine, like I said, what could be so..."
I blurt out, "My wound... It's gone. There's no trace that I was ever shot."
"What? That's impossible!" Kimberly exclaims as she walks back over to me and then she demands, "Show me."
I unzip my jacket, pull the collar of my t-shirt to the side, and show her my unbandaged shoulder. I tense, not knowing how she'll react. Please don't think I'm a freak... Please don't end our partnership and kick me out of the apartment.
She examines my shoulder as she says, "Hades... It is gone, but that's impossible. When did it happen?"
"I don't know," I reply as I can't tell what she's thinking. Does she see me as a freak? Is she mentally recoiling from me in disgust?
I add, "It was like this when I awoke at Main One Hospital."
Kimberly's view...
"This is what you're worried about?" I chuckle. "Come on." I put my hand on her shoulder, reassuring her, "With all the technology the corporations have, this isn't out of the ordinary, so don't worry." I force a smile. "Come on, let's go order that pizza."
That woman believes I'm not repulsed by her freakishness, and her face brightens as she questions me, "Can we get a Coke to go with it?"
"Coke? I've never heard of it, but I'll ask, and if they don't have it, we'll get a Crite."
She runs ahead of me like some child at an amusement park who can't wait to get on a ride. I follow that strange woman back in, and we go to the elevator. I press button 31, and we make our way down. I stand behind her and stare at her back, wondering what kind of monstrosity lurks inside that woman. I need to be more cautious of her than before, and I need to reconsider this partnership. Robot or mutant... I can't trust her.
Later we enter Apartment H, and I head for my room as she sits on the couch and turns on the news. I go and sit on my bed and open the drawer of my nightstand and inside lies the marked bullet. For now, I need to keep that woman around; whether organic-mecha or wayward soul, she could still be of some use to me. I chuckle to myself again. If I want to return to work, I'll have to get rid of her. I remove the 9 mm round and decide I'll keep the bullet with me from now on. I place Pale Horse in the small zipper compartment of my zipped up hoodie. That woman did see my face, and I can't let anyone live who knows I'm the Phoenix.
In the living room...
Katharine's view...
Kimberly seems to have accepted me as I am, but what about what the Rogue said to me? I clutch a pillow, paying no attention to the TV. Am I organic-mecha? Am I some sort of freak? I dig my nails into the pillow. What if I am? What if there's no past for me to find? What then? I glance at the hall. What about my partnership with Kimberly? Will I be able to depend on her or will she kill me when she no longer needs me? I bury my face in the pillow. What does the future hold for me?
Kimberly's view...
I enter the kitchen and glance at the small round table. Nine days ago I sat there, sulking over my pathetic life. I wished that I wasn't alone, that I had more in this life, and that there would be someone there for me. Now I have more to look forward to like taking my revenge. I walk over to the cupboard and grab a glass. As for my wish... I look to that woman sitting on the couch; I need to be more careful about what I ask for.
She turns to me with a serious expression on her face and when she sees the glass, her face brightens as she questions, "Fixing tea?"
I'm amused by her simplemindedness. She is addicted to tea, and for some reason, I want to give her a least a little hospitality before I'm done with her, so I answer, "Sure, put the kettle on and set the table. Make yourself useful." I place the glass back in the cupboard and grab two tea cups. "The pizza won't be here for about forty-five minutes."
That woman turns the TV off and comes into the kitchen.
Some time later...
Lifting her cup, that woman toasts, "Here's to our partnership. May it be successful."
I clink my cup to hers. "I'll drink to that. To a successful future, wherever it takes us."
Yes... May I be successful in finding who murdered my mom.
Chapter Fifty-four
The Star Binds Them
12:40 P.M...
The Chamber...
Mr. Decuma pulled up new bio-data on his laptop. "The Cerberus Project has gone above our expectations; this experiment has surpassed the old project."
"I do not know about that," Mr. Morta stated. "We were unable to activate Pandora's potential."
Mr. Decuma uttered, "As I thought, one of us has taken a liking to the wayward project."
Mr. Morta said, "It is not like that."
"What is it like?" Mr. Decuma asked.
"I believe Pandora is the superior design. We are the ones who failed for not providing a sufficient catalyst. We should have done more."
Appalled, Ms. Nona questioned, "Our fault?"
"Yes," Mr. Morta answered. "Maybe we should have told Pandora about its past, then Pandora would not have been so driven to search for the missing pieces."
A male supervisor handed Ms. Nona a report. "There seems to be a problem with our acquisition of the Factory's assets; there is one Research Outpost in Antarctica, Vulcan Station, that the T-3s did not attack. If the Sphinx Corporation Main Office finds out part of the Factory has survived, we will have to turn over everything we acquired from the Factory to Vulcan Station."
Mr. Morta stated, "The situation could be a test for Cerberus. The new project can close the outpost for us, and we can see how Cerberus reacts with the human element."
"A fine idea," Ms. Nona said as she curled up her thin cherry-red lips in a grin.
"I agree," Mr. Decuma replied.
"It is settled then," Mr. Morta said. "We will send Cerberus to Antarctica."
* * *
7:01 P.M...
No setting sun declared the approach of night, and all was black. Darkness lingered, but a glimmer of hope existed. Zax turned his van down an alley beside Dad's Donuts, activated a garage door, and pulled into the Maydag Auto Garage and within, the place was quiet. All the mechanics had gone home for the day. Zax parked, went to the second storage room, unlocked the door with a key, and went in. Broken equipment and tools along with used oil and other discards filled the cobwebbed shelves, and the place smelled of dust and gas. Zax went to the back wall, looked up at an unlit light, half unscrewed the bulb from the socket, and pulled the chain. The back wall flipped around a hundred and eighty degrees and on the other side, Zax walked along a gray stone passage to a metal door with no knob. Beside the door was a camera and an intercom.
"Identify yourself," a man's voice commanded.
Zax looked up into the lens. "Delivery Man." He waited a few seconds and added, "R.G. wanted to see me."
The door slid open, and Zax proceeded halfway down a white tiled hall to a glass enclosed security desk and there, three men and a woman monitored security screens. All four were armed, and one of the men waved him up to a bio-detector. Zax went and stood in the device as the man scanned him for life signs.
"Oh, what's this?" the security officer uttered. "Do I detect a bio-mecha?"
Zax started to answer, "I'm not..."
The security officer interrupted, "Nope, all human. Delivery Man isn't an Un-Man today. You may proceed."
Zax mockingly laughed at the snide remark and continued down the hall. The passage ended at a door, and he opened it and entered a dark room. Its center was lit by one single light, and he went and stood in it. Zax waited a few minutes in silence
.
A mechanically altered voice of R.G. spoke over an intercom. "Delivery Man, were you able to retrieve the scans I requested?"
"Yes." Zax cleared his throat. "The two conveniently ordered a pizza, and I was able to intercept the delivery boy and exchange the pizza box with one of mine. Ms. Griffin took the box from the delivery boy and the hidden scanner picked up her Star Cipher."
"Yes, I know of that one. What of the other?"
He answered, "There was none on her left hand, but there is a Star Cipher on Katharine's left."
"That's most interesting. What does it mean to have two bear the Stars instead of one?" R.G. paused. "They don't know it yet, but the Stars bind them to a destiny; one I will make sure they fulfill."
"What kind of destiny?" Zax asked.
"One I'll tell you in due time. Good work. Continue to monitor the two. I'm most interested in how they will work together, and what they will accomplish. There's so much for them to do." R.G. paused and asked, "Did you discover anything else?"
"Yes, before they threw the box away I was able to over hear some of their conversation. Kimberly's looking for who killed her mom."
R.G.'s view...
This is most interesting. Did someone tell her or did Kimberly remember the fiery incident on her own?
I ask, "Anything else?"
"One other thing, Katharine has lost her memory; she doesn't remember anything past a year ago."
"I was afraid of that," I state and order, "Set up a surveillance of their residence. I must know more."
Zax's view...
"Understood, I'll get on it right away."
I leave as I consider how the Stars might bind the two to a destiny. Is this a destiny that will help Noir and destroy the Dry Clouds or is there something R.G. is hiding from me?
Chapter Fifty-five
Arrival at Vulcan Station
9:12 P.M...
At the bottom of the world...
The Vulcan Station resided near the South Geomagnetic Pole at the center of the East Antarctic ice sheet, and it was also located five miles away from where the Dry Clouds' Curtain ended south. A helicopter flew over the icy land of white and blue, racing a coming snowstorm.
A Council S.C.M. pilot talked to his three passengers on their headsets. "E.T.A. five minutes and once we land, make sure to take everything with you. I'll be lifting off once you've clear the landing pad and won't be back till this storm clears. It could take me a few more days to return for you than what you planned to stay." He glanced at the younger of the two men. "Make sure you accomplish your task by then."
The passengers nodded their understanding and started on their gear. Any part of their body exposed to the frigid elements could freeze. They pulled on their full head and neck cold weather masks made of a soft nylon-coated neoprene, and then the three put on gloves, checked their boot buckles, and zipped up their brown fur-lined, hooded, white parkas. The helicopter landed, and two men and a woman disembarked with bags of equipment and clothes and headed toward the facility. A polar wind hit them the moment they stepped off the aircraft, chilling them to the bone, and they hurried toward the station. Once they cleared the pad, the helicopter lifted off and threw snow on them. The three stopped at the entrance.
The younger man urged, "Hurry, Dr. Seeker, before we freeze out here."
"I'm going as fast as I can." The older man placed his right gloved hand on a machine, a thermal scanner read his palm through the material, and the device confirmed his identity. "There, now we can go in."
The facility's metal door unlocked, slid up, and then two S.C.Ms. rushed out; they wore dark blue parkas with white fur-lined hoods. They aimed their black FAMAS at the three. The two men and the woman raised their hands as the head of the Vulcan Station followed behind the Corporate Military men; he wore a white parka.
"Dr. John Gelid?" the older man questioned, wondering why they were being treated this way.
"Yes." The head of the facility offered his gloved hand and shook the older man's. "And you must be Dr. Robert Seeker." John motioned for the S.C.Ms. to proceed. "Scan them and make sure they are human then search them and their things."
"What's the meaning of this?" Robert demanded as he and his companions lowered their hands.
John smiled, trying to reassure them. "Don't worry, Dr. Seeker, this is only a precaution; of what we know, we are the only Factory facility still in operation." The wind whipped the brown fur of his hood. "We have to remain operational till the Sphinx Corporation Main Branch Office can send us in some support, and I'm sorry to say, but the T-3s are very clever."
A S.C.M. looked around skittishly. "One of those flipped out machines already tried to enter the station two days ago." He eyed the younger of the two men. "Now isn't a good day for taking in new recruits."
"Lieutenant Bentley!" John snapped. "I believe we have frightened our guests quite enough."
"You might run the station, Dr. Gelid, but security is my responsibility." Bentley walked over to the younger of the two men. "Who is this, Dr. Seeker?"
"My assistant Charles, Charles Smith. I vouch for him. He's worked with me for years."
Bentley snarled at the assistant. "I don't trust him, so he better be on his best behavior."
"What's this?" the other S.C.M. questioned the woman.
"A cigar box." She opened the ten inch by ten inch container. "Cubans. One of my vices."
The S.C.M. nodded, seeing the cigars. "All clear."
"Good, let's get out of this arctic air." John waved for the three arrivals to follow him in. "Dr. Seeker, you were supposed to be here days ago."
"Yes, I'm sorry." Robert paused to let the woman walk in before him. "There was a hold up getting a pilot and a helicopter to fly us down here."
The door slid shut once everyone was in, and Bentley locked the door and had the other S.C.M. guard the entrance.
"Well, we're glad to have you here. I hope our work can help Research Project Clean Air." John pushed down his hood, removed his mask, and unzipped his parka. He took off the coat, revealing he wore several layers of clothing. "You should find our ice core samples helpful in your research."
Everyone else removed their cold weather masks.
"It's what I'm hoping for." Robert unzipped his coat. "Since the cores contain climate records for almost a million years, I'm confident they will shed some light on the planet's Dry Cloud problem." He removed his gloves. "One thing we haven't been able to explain is why those born in the Dark Half and those that lived there several years can breathe the polluted air without some side effects. There are particles of petroleum and other harmful elements in the air, so why aren't traces of them found in the blood or lungs of the Dark Half's residents?" Robert scratched his head. "One of many puzzles like the biggest one of all. What caused the Dry Clouds? They appeared overnight. I guess we won't solve the mystery so quickly." Robert glanced around. "Where do we start?"
"Do you wish to rest or at least freshen up first?" John asked.
"No." Robert rubbed his hands together to warm them. "I would prefer to get to work."
"Right, then." John motioned to the lieutenant. "I'll have Bentley take your things to your rooms, and we can begin."
Robert nodded and said, "Stephanie."
The woman stepped forward. "Yes, Dr. Seeker."
"Go help the lieutenant."
She grabbed some of their suitcases and followed Bentley and once they were some distance down a hall, she asked, "Do you have much wildlife here? I didn't see a thing the helicopter ride over."
Bentley looked annoyed over his bellboy job. "Only the occasional lost Skua; it's a brown bird." He glanced at her. "Would there be an extra Cuban in that box of yours?"
"We'll see. Maybe one."
They turned a corner.
"This way Dr. Seeker and Mr. Smith." John walked down a hall, opposite the one the lieutenant went down. "The main lab i
s this way."
Before the men followed, a loud noise boomed from the entrance, and the S.C.M. guarding it turned, taking a few steps back as the large door shook. Something hit the entrance again, and the metal door vibrated, toppling ice to the floor. The third, fourth, and fifth hits smashed the side of the door, and the S.C.M. leaped back. Five T-3s stood outside, covered with snow and ice, and they held a six foot battering ram, dropped it, and started through the opening. The S.C.M. shot, and the T-3s evaded his fire. He started to radio for help, but a T-3 shot him in the head.
"Run!" John shouted. "The T-3s have penetrated Vulcan Station!"
Chapter Fifty-six
The Takeover of Vulcan Station
Five T-3s smashed their way into the facility, and their searing scarlet dot-light glowed in the ice dust. Bentley and Stephanie ran back down the hall, joining the three men.
"Un-Men have broken in," Bentley radioed. "Security to the entrance." He opened fire. "Doctors, run!"
The three men and the woman rushed further into the station and soon, ten S.C.Ms. ran in, passed them, and opened fire on the T-3s. They managed to disable one of them, but lost five of their own, and the remaining four T-3s marched forward.
"Fall back!" Bentley ordered, but before he or his men could react, a metal sphere the size of a golf ball rolled past him toward the T-3s. The sphere halted, glowed, and shrilled. Bentley turned. "A high impact grenade. Get down!"
The blast knocked the S.C.Ms. to the ground and destroyed the T-3s. Bentley peered up as the snow and ice settled. His body felt on fire, and he wasn't sure what had happened or who threw the grenade.
Stephanie walked past a pile of cigars she'd dropped to the floor; she had removed the Cubans to pull out the hidden explosive. Stephanie moved to Bentley's side, holding the empty cigar box in one hand and a lit cigar in the other. She placed the box on the ground, put the cigar in her mouth, and picked up an assault rifle from one of his dead men. Stephanie made her way to the T-3s and put a bullet in each of their foreheads and then returned to Bentley's side.
Blood trickled from his mouth as he started to question, "Why did you..."
"Shh..." She knelt beside him. "Quiet. The Un-Men are dead. Everything will be alright now."
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