Project Phoenix

by D. C. Fergerson

  Cora looked to Giovanna for answers. Even with her background in law, this was uncharted territory. Local police backing PMC’s under the Chancellor’s order was unheard of.

  “Tetriarch uses Bauer Securities,” Giovanna said. “So either they’re trying to pull a cover up, or the UNS is trying to provoke an incident with Germany. Given what happened to you earlier, I’d say Lucius may already know a frame-job is coming and he’s trying to keep the UNS at bay while he investigates.”

  It took time to process the information. A possible third party involved in the shooting, the NSA may have been using her to start a conflict with Germany, and the mega-corporation led by a dragon may actually be the innocent party in all of it. Scouring the data on the wet drive would take time Cora didn’t have. Every second she waited bought time for the killers to cover their tracks.

  “Gideon, can you get a message to Lucius directly?” Cora asked.

  “What? What are you thinking?” Giovanna gasped.

  “Give me a minute, let me see what I can do,” Gideon replied.

  Giovanna got out of her chair and came around to Cora. Even Johnny tensed and shifted uncomfortably.

  “You can’t be serious, Cora,” Giovanna said. “He was the primary suspect of our investigation!”

  “The only person that would be in danger here is me,” Cora replied. She sighed and shook her head. “If he’ll meet with me, I either get what I need to move on, or he breathes fire on me. Whatever the hell he does, you three disappear.”

  Johnny shook his head. “No chance of that, Cora.” He stood up and adjusted his tie, straightened his suit, and looked her in the eyes. “If you’re even thinking about facing down a dragon, you’ll need eyes on you. I made a promise to Richard.”

  “I think I can do you one better, Miss Blake,” Gideon’s voice came through the speaker.

  “It’s Cora,” she corrected with groan. “My mother is Miss Blake.”

  “Sorry, Cora. Check your phone app. That number goes to the secretary sitting outside the door to his penthouse office at Tetriarch Headquarters.”

  Cora’s eyes flared wide as she checked her phone. Sure enough, Gideon had implanted a contact in there. Feeling crowded, she walked between Johnny and Giovanna to the open living area near the front door. She took a few deep breaths. Her job had been infiltration from the day she signed up. Playing roles, projecting confidence even when it was a lie, that was all Giovanna’s department. The thought of speaking with a possible enemy and sounding strong was daunting. She knew this was a desperate play to avoid spending the rest of her life in a UNS Federal Prison. No one else could know that, especially not the dragon.

  “Calls are untraceable from the phone, Gideon?” Cora shouted back to the dining room.

  “C’mon,” he replied. “Of course they are.”

  No more thinking. Looking down at the phone screen displayed on the back of her hand, she took a breath and hit the call button. It only rang once before a woman answered the phone in German.

  “Corporate Counselor’s office, how can I help you?”

  “I’m sorry for my terrible accent, I’m still learning,” Cora replied in German.

  “Go ahead in English, then,” the secretary replied in kind.

  “I would like to speak with Lucius regarding the current situation in Marzahn,” Cora said.

  Silence. When she finally spoke, her voice came in a cryptic monotone. “And who are you, exactly?”

  “Karen Schmidt, the only survivor of the black ops team in that restaurant,” Cora replied.

  “Hold.”

  Cora leaned against the wall by the front door. Her eyes passed over Giovanna’s disapproving head-shaking to Johnny’s concern. The whole while, a terrible instrumental version of Veruca Ayers’ Love in Lasers played into her ear. That pop song was annoying when it came out in the 2050’s. The instrumental made it downright irritating. She was grateful she didn’t have to wait through it long.

  “Agent Schmidt,” a deep, baritone voice came onto the line. His accent was hard to identify, but it was definitely not German. “Are you safe?”

  “For now,” Cora replied.

  “I’m aware your government is now looking for you in connection to the events at the restaurant. The preliminary reports from my investigators would not suggest UNS involvement,” Lucius explained. His tone suggested worry or concern.

  “That’s because I had nothing to do with it,” Cora replied. “I arrived late to the restaurant or I’d be dead in there, too.”

  Lucius let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m well aware of how much it had to take for you to make this call. I don’t expect you to trust me, but if you’re willing to let me send a car for you, I promise I will keep you safe.”

  Cora took a last look at Giovanna. She couldn’t have heard what Lucius said, but her eyes kept pleading for her to hang up. Do something else, anything but this. Cora turned her head. She didn’t want to see her reaction.

  “I’ll come myself. I know where the building is,” Cora replied.

  “Come to the rear parking garage, top floor. The code to get in the back door is 5725,” Lucius explained. “There are reporters all over the front entrance. Keep your face covered.”

  “Expect me in about an hour,” Cora replied, tapping the button on her earpiece to end the call.

  Silence gripped the house again as Cora walked back to the dining room. Giovanna tapped her foot. Cora walked to face her, but she kept her head looking away. Her temper often manifested in the silent treatment, the rest of the time shooting out rapid-fire curses in Italian that would make a sailor blush.

  “Gia, I had to,” Cora said. “These bastards...they killed him. They’re trying to put me in a hole for it. Whoever did this, I need to see it through. I need justice for him, for me - even if that means they kill me.”

  Giovanna faced her with some reluctance, but there was no disappointment in her eyes, no tears. A fire and determination had set in. She nodded.

  “If you’re doing this, you need an exit strategy,” Giovanna said. “We’re going to have to work with who and what we’ve got.”

  “I can’t ask you to come,” Cora replied.

  Giovanna put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t offer. I have my own reasons for going. Well, they’re mostly the same as yours, but the fact remains.”

  “Can your government be of any assistance?” Johnny asked her.

  Giovanna let out a bitter laugh. “The administration of my government didn’t have the stones to back this operation officially to begin with. If I’m caught, I’ll be disavowed as a terrorist that acted alone. They have to save face as long as Lucius has a seat at the EU table.”

  “Well, then it’s the three of us,” Johnny said.

  “As much as I’d kill to join in this love-fest,” Gideon’s voice chimed in. “I’ll remain here. I’ll offer you whatever remote support I can, but I’m no secret agent.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to be,” Cora replied. “And I wouldn’t want to involve you. I don’t even want to involve them.”

  “Tough shit,” Johnny said, walking for the door. “I’ll prep the car. Come out when you’re ready.”

  Johnny stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Giovanna walked past Cora, her usual scent of citrus and iris replaced by a masculine, musky odor. It filled Cora’s nostrils, making her nose crinkle.

  “You smell like a man,” Cora said, waving a hand in front of her face.

  “Puzzi come un barbone nel parco, patatina,” Giovanna said with a wave as she walked out the door.

  Cora shook her head. She knew damn well that woman just said something heinous to her and looked good doing it. She grabbed up her katana by the table and slung it over her shoulder. Looking directly at Gideon was unsettling. His body laid limp in the chair while machines tracked his vital stats. Going into NeuralNet was akin to a voluntary coma.

  “Are you going to be alright in there?”

  There was a click a
s the rig’s speaker activated. “Don’t worry about me. I know it might look odd from the outside, but us NeuralNet users are accustomed to working alone. Besides, Johnny told me there’s protein bars in the kitchen and my van is parked outside if I need to bail.”

  “Alright, I just wanted to make sure you were set,” Cora replied.

  “I’m safer in here than I am out there, from the sounds of it,” Gideon said. “Be careful, okay? I’m gonna keep plugging away at sorting this information.”

  Cora nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her response. Body language, yet another art lost to the digital age.

  She walked outside to the time of night that blanketed the countryside in an inky darkness. The car was running, and interior lights lit up her path. Giovanna already sat in the front passenger seat. Cora shot her a dirty look for taking shotgun, but got a dark smile and a wave in return. Johnny was at the back of the car, slamming the trunk shut. He tossed a rectangular object at Cora. She snatched it out of the air and examined the metal box - a clip for her Predator. Johnny really knew his stuff.

  “You got a small arms dealership in that trunk?” Cora asked, opening the back door.

  “Mostly just what I need, or might find myself needing,” Johnny replied. “If you’re looking for an upgrade, I can put you in touch with my guy, Derk. He’s a troll at this biker bar in the Kreuzberg area. Not a bad guy for a nine-foot, fanged-toothed monster.”

  Cora smiled and got in. She tried to enjoy the company of Johnny and Giovanna as they departed for Berlin. Anything was better than letting her mind stray to the knot in her stomach. If it was her last night on Earth, at least she could sit in the back seat and listen to them argue over what to play on the radio, just like Mom and Dad.

  In The Lion’s Maw

  By the time Cora reached the fourth floor of the parking garage, her calves felt tight and hard. The three-block walk from Johnny’s car to the garage was brisk, even invigorating. Weaving around parked cars, security cameras, and using small bits of magic to hide had drained her. There was only one door at the top floor of the parking garage. She collected herself and punched in the pin code. The door clicked and she pulled it open, only to find two Bauer Securities agents in full armor waiting on the other side.

  “Hey guys,” Cora said with a smile, raising her hands.

  One guard stepped forward and patted her up and down for weapons, but she had left those on Johnny’s backseat. The other guard waved a wand over her, checking for all of her chips. His eyes stayed fixed on the readout from his wrist computer.

  “Is this thing broken?” the guard said.

  “It’s not broken,” Cora replied before the other guard could answer. “I’m tech-less.”

  The guard patting her down furrowed his brow. He checked both of her wrists, stepped behind her and lifted her hair to check the back of her neck.

  “No tattoos, either,” Cora said.

  Both guards looked at each other for answers. One turned to her, a bulky former Marine, by the looks of it.

  “How do you live like that?”

  “Comfortably,” she replied.

  “Ma’am, if you’ll follow us,” the other said in a joyless cadence.

  She did as she was asked, walking into the most state-of-the-art technology campus in the EU. Vibrant, primary-colored trim accented bright white walls and matching tiled floors. It looked and felt modern and new. Even at the early hour, the halls bustled with people going to or coming from all over the sprawling layout. Holographic people stood at every fork along the way, eager to direct, answer questions, and offer friendly comments to employees as they passed by.

  The two men used a key to enter a glass elevator. The view through the glass overlooked the street below, and a modest view to the heart of Berlin. Instead of floors, the keypad required a code to take them to its only destination - the top-floor penthouse office. As the tube sped up the side of the building, the neon lights of the city illuminated the entire skyline. The city glowed and moved, flickered and pulsed, and the time of day became lost.

  The elevator opened to a wide room with black marble floors and sandstone walls. At the end of the room, three steps led up to tinted glass doors. Beside the door, a brass placard bore the dragon’s name. Couches rested against the left wall, and a blonde-haired woman sat at a desk on the right. Her eyes stayed fixed on Cora as she approached with her guards, judging every step.

  “Agent Schmidt,” she said. “Go right in, you are expected.”

  The sound of Cora’s riding boots echoed through the empty space to the stairs. The glass door felt heavy as she pulled it open. Lucius’ office was more sandstone and marble, and needlessly expansive. Six vid screens lined the right wall, all of them running different media channels, all of them muted. A small round conference table rested near the screens. The lights were dim in this part of the room, with only the screens to show the long walk to the desk at the far end of the room.

  Lucius got up from his chair and came around, his face hidden in shadows. Even in the darkness, there were his eyes glowing orange, like two rising suns. It would have been frightening, had it not been so beautiful. Cora stopped in her tracks, staring into those eyes as he approached. He crossed into the light of the screens. She had seen him on GNN so many times, but to be in his presence was a different experience. His chest was wide enough to fit two of her, and he was easily a foot taller. His silver mane of hair shone from the light, yet his face showed little age. By all estimations, he appeared to be a man in his thirties. He stopped in front of her, with one hand in his suit pocket, and another extended to offer a shake.

  Cora looked down at his hand and took it with a firm grip. Even if she was trembling inside, she had to play the part. Once Lucius looked at her, his strong, confident expression broke. His lips parted, but he clamped his mouth shut, as though hiding surprise.

  “I haven’t seen the likes of you in a very long time,” he said with his deep voice and exotic accent.

  Cora raised an eyebrow, silently asking for more information. On its own, it sounded like a pickup line.

  “Native Americans,” he said with a bow of his head. He shook off his expression and returned to a pleasant smile. “We have terribly few here in Germany. I once knew of your people when they flourished across all of North America.”

  Cora held her ground and said nothing. Lucius pulled his hand from his pocket and motioned to the small conference table.

  “Please, have a seat. You’re gaunt,” he said. “Have you been running all night? You must be starving.”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” Cora replied.

  Lucius pulled out a seat and offered it to her. “I insist. Really, it’s no bother. I have a five-star chef on the floor below us.”

  “You’re rather accommodating given what I’m certain you already know about me,” Cora said. She reminded herself to maintain strong eye contact, though it wasn’t hard with his eyes.

  Lucius took in a breath and sat down. He waited a moment, lost in his own thoughts or choosing his words carefully. He swept his silver hair off his shoulders and sat back against his chair.

  “From the past thirty seconds, I have learned a great deal that wasn’t in any file I may have had,” he said. “But for argument’s sake, let us try a different tact. We shall compare notes against each other, escalating the personal data we’re aware of until one of us gets uncomfortable.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you know about me,” Cora replied.

  Lucius smiled with a flawless set of white teeth. “You are one of few humans in memory that looks into my eyes. You’re not afraid of anything, are you?”

  Cora shrugged. “I’m not afraid of you. What’s there to be afraid of? If you wanted me dead, your goons could have thrown me from the elevator, or shot me in the parking lot.”

  “Fair enough,” he replied. He swiped out his wrist screen and pressed a few buttons. “It’s almost breakfast time, right? Eggs Benedict alright with you?”<
br />
  “That’s fine,” Cora sighed. Arguing with him would be pointless. Bigger things were at stake.

  With a few more swipes, the six screens behind him changed to black, with white text scrolling by. Another screen showed photographs of her in college. Another showed scans of her driver’s licenses at home and here in Germany, including the three assumed names she registered with.

  “Oh, so you’re my secret admirer,” she said sarcastically. She nodded, pointing at him. “I was starting to wonder if I’d ever find you.”

  Lucius let out a loud, reverberating laugh. Shaking his head, he let the expression fade and became serious.

  “I’ll go first,” he said. “Your name is Cora Elizabeth Blake, born April 8, 2058. Parents Joseph Blake, deceased, and Irene Blake, currently sitting as Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago and a top-five pick for the Supreme Court. You graduated Walter Payton High School in 2073 at the age of fifteen and enrolled in college for pre-law. Got your bachelor’s degree at nineteen and passed your LSAT exam with a 175, which got you into Harvard Law School, specializing in International Law. Dropped out your sophomore year, likely when you were approached by the NSA. Two years training, one year actively infiltrating museums around Europe, trying to find out what I was up to. Did I miss anything?”

  Cora looked up and pulled her mouth to the side, pretending to give it thought. It was all a show. Her heart pounded, terrified with the amount he knew about her. Richard had explained that most every trace of information about her would be scrubbed from NeuralNet upon joining the NSA. They were supposed to make any public profile of her vanish.

  “I travelled a bunch in my early twenties,” she replied, pointing at the screen. “You have any bikini shots of me in Maui in the official file?”

  Lucius laughed. “Your audacity amuses me. Quite honestly, if you had said no to the NSA and finished your degree, you’d probably be working here. I have lawyers that would kill to have your pedigree, insight, and test scores.”