Sharpe End

by James David Victor

  “Sharpe is fine, thanks,” she called back, annoyed but stalling as she tried to figure out what the heck to do.

  “Ah, but I am to understand that you and the estimable Mister Sharpe are no longer together. At least in a romantic sense.”

  She looked at Blake with her eyes wide in a ‘what the heck’ expression, which he mirrored.

  “Although I suppose one can never really assume,” he went on, sounding like he was having a chat over coffee rather than…whatever this was. “I mean, you guys are working together again, working close and all. Feeling some of those flames rekindle?”

  “What is your deal?” Raven said, unable to help herself.

  “I like cats.”

  Raven blinked, then looked at Blake, who looked back just as confused.

  “What?”

  “Cats. I know you like cats, Missus Sharpe . You spend so much time with one. They like to play with their food. Toy with their hunts.”

  A shiver ran down Raven’s spine and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sudden tingles covering her skin and the way her chest constricted.

  “How are you enjoying the silence?” Greyson asked a few moments later. Raven could practically hear the mocking smile in his voice. It made her grind her teeth. “It’s hard to not have your AI and pet, I’m sure. You know why that is, right? It’s this city. Every building was built with heavy amounts of Quartzite. I don’t know if you know this, but in high enough concentrations, it can actually interfere with or even block incoming and outgoing signals from bio-neural implants.”

  While she appreciated that bit of information, she still couldn’t really understand why he was doing this… Well, she could actually, but that’s what frightened her the most.

  He was just toying with them. He was hunting them. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around?

  “We have to get rid of this guy,” Raven said, her voice just barely past “mouthing the words” levels.

  “How?” Blake mouthed back.

  With a face that would have been comical at any other moment, Raven used her fingers to mimic walking out there and then finger-gun-bang-bang. He looked at her flatly and she shrugged. She was running out of ideas.

  Blake blew out a breath.

  “You two don’t want to chat anymore?” Greyson called in, sounding mockingly saddened about it. “And I thought we were just getting off to a good start. If we are done with the conversation, though, I can just take care of the rest of business.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Raven sighed.

  “We’re happy to keep chatting,” Blake called, shrugging at her. “You just seem to have the conversational advantage over us.”

  Greyson laughed. “Well, that’s kind of the whole point, you know? You don’t get to be good at my job without knowing how to get the advantage in pretty much any and every possible situation. I imagine it’s the same for you in your jobs. Well, at least for Missus Sharpe. I hear you’re not quite so good at it, Mister Sharpe.”

  Raven looked at him, worried a brash decision was incoming, but he just sighed and shook his head.

  “Can’t be good at everything, you know,” Blake called back. “Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge that.”

  “Very mature, Mister Sharpe,” Greyson replied. “I have to admit that I’m not very good at cooking. I try, you know, because I like to get away from the food processor sometimes, but it never works out. I always end up having to trash the food and just end up with a meal from the processor anyway.”

  Raven was beginning to wonder if she hadn’t actually woken up after that fall through the street, or maybe not even from the ship. Was this all some really detailed, involved dream? Because whatever it was, it just couldn’t be reality. It was just too ridiculous to be real.

  And yet, she knew that was the part that was wishful thinking. This was actually just ridiculous enough to be real, because who could make this up?

  “I have an idea,” Blake mouthed to her.

  24

  Raven didn’t really like this plan, but she didn’t have a better one.

  Keep him busy. Keep him talking. She repeated the words over to herself as she sat with her back against the wall, right next to the window. Greyson was just outside, far more confident than she was feeling. She hadn’t turned back to the window to look at him again since he started talking, but she still had the image of him just sitting on that stone wall, looking totally at ease.

  She really wished she was feeling better. She would probably just try to jump up in the window and shoot him. But in this situation and condition, she wasn’t going to trust she had a chance.

  “So quiet all of a sudden?” Greyson taunted. “Nothing more to say?”

  “You’ve been doing most of the talking already,” she called back. “Which still has me perplexed. I mean, you could’ve just killed us. Why keep talking?” Okay, so it wasn’t really the best line of conversation, but she was struggling. What did one talk to a psychopath about anyways?

  “Why not?” he returned, and she had no idea what to say to that. Thankfully, his love of his own voice saved her from that. “Truth is, I feel almost bad.”

  “What do you feel bad about?”

  “You’ve a remarkable career, Missus Sharpe. I would have liked to have known how well we’d have done against each other in a true situation,” he said.

  She frowned. “What does that mean?”

  He laughed. “I’m not quite the comic book villain, to monologue my thoughts and plans to you, even if you won’t be alive for much longer,” he said. “But it’s like killing a big predator animal. Like the lions and tigers on Earth.”

  Those were both animals that had been under fierce protective laws for a long time. Had he actually hunted them and gotten away with it?

  Then she reminded herself that he also hunted people for a living. So did she, but for him, it was to kill them. So how could she really be shocked that he would kill animals?

  “They are beautiful and majestic, apex predators until humans are around. You really hate to kill them, and end the hunt by removing such an amazing thing from the world, but then you have to remember that you’re on top. It’s your right to do so,” he went on. “I kind of feel that way about you.”

  “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended,” she said.

  She was offended.

  “Flattered, of course,” he said.

  Raven rolled her eyes. He had a healthy ego, that was for sure. Oh, yes, she was definitely flattered that he was going to kill her, but only after lamenting her death. She just couldn’t see her way to being flattered by that.

  “Mister Sharpe has grown awfully quiet,” he went on after a moment.

  Her heart skipped a beat with panic, looking at the empty space on the wall to the other side of the window. He had slipped out the back several minutes ago, but she didn’t know how long it was going to take him to work his way back around. She had to keep him from knowing that, though.

  “His ego is bruised after your comment earlier,” she said, wincing and feeling bad for saying it even though Blake wasn’t even there. “He doesn’t really want to talk to you anymore, but I do, so I took over.”

  Greyson made a strange, noncommittal sort of noise in his throat that was just loud enough to be heard. “Tell him to not be so sensitive. No, you know what? I will. Don’t be so sensitive! The truth will set you free!”

  Raven made a face. “I don’t think he’s convinced. In fact, neither am I. The truth will set you free? I didn’t expect such a cliché from you.”

  “Hey, those phrases are still around for a reason, because they suit. I’m not above using one when the situation calls for it,” he replied easily, casually deflecting what might have poked at another until they took a shot or came charging in. Greyson didn’t seem to take offense, which she was grateful for.

  “I suppose you’re right,” she said, aiming for placation just to be on the safe side. “I try to av
oid them myself.” She never cared whether she said them or not, but anything to keep the conversation going.

  “Hmm. I think that surprises me. You’re a rather focused woman. You spend that much time considering every word you say?”

  He was too astute.

  Raven made a face, eyes rolling again. “Well, yeah, probably. I guess I should have said that I would really prefer to avoid them, but I guess I don’t waste a lot of time actually trying to do so.”

  “That, I can believe,” he said. She could hear a condescending smile in his tone.

  Come on, Blake, where are you?

  She really didn’t think she would be able to keep this going for much longer. She wasn’t good at small talk in even the most ideal of circumstances.

  “This has been fun, Missus Sharpe,” Greyson started up again a moment later, “but I’m afraid I do have a job to do. While I would like to keep talking, and would honestly like to spare you, a man in my line of work can’t be called out for picking and choosing. You know, reputation is everything. I’m sure you’re aware.”

  “Wait,” she said, trying to not sound desperate. “Surely we can keep talking a while longer. I mean, I—”

  “I’m afraid not,” he interrupted her. “I can only indulge myself for so long and I’m afraid that time is just about up. Don’t bother trying to make a break for it. I have the house wired up already and you won’t make it out before I press this button.”

  Raven closed her eyes, wondering if this really was going to be the moment. It hadn’t been a great plan, but she thought it might work…

  “What the—” Greyson suddenly shouted.

  25

  Kyra sat, staring at the door.

  Much like the energy tripwire, this just screamed that it didn’t belong here. It hadn’t been put in along any natural timeline for this place, but as some amendment later on. To her mind, it had to have been put up by the same people who set the trap. There was something going on inside, and someone didn’t want anyone else to know about it.

  ‘I’m sitting in front of a door, ’ she told the AI, no small amount of annoyance in her voice as she did. ‘It clearly does not belong here. I have no idea how to get past it. ’

  The presence of the door did, however, make her even more sure that Raven was behind it. Somewhere in the caves beyond this door. It made complete sense to her, and she was a creature to trust her instincts.

  Sadly, she had no instinct about how to get to the other side.

  ‘There are some elements and aspects that I’m able to pick up on sensors, but the signal has degraded rapidly since you drew nearer to it. I fear that we will lose communication soon if you proceed any further, ’ the AI said.

  ‘I’m positive that this is where Raven has ended up, ’ Kyra said. If Silvanus was already losing the signal, then it made sense why they wouldn’t be able to talk to Raven or Blake if they were deep inside this cave system.

  ‘Could you describe the door to me? ’

  Kyra rarely had all the right words to describe things for humans, and it was even worse with the exacting computer nature of the AI, but she’d do her best.

  She looked over the entirety of the thing in front of her. ‘It takes up the whole of the cave tunnel here, ’ she began. ‘I don’t see any sort of space around any edge that I could go through. ’ That part was especially vexing. ‘It is made of some sort of dark material. A kind of metal, I think, and very shiny. There are multiple seams that I can see, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you which part is the one that opens. Some of it may just be aesthetic. I can’t tell the difference. ’

  ‘Are there any lights or sounds from it? ’

  Kyra gave it the good once-over again. ‘No sounds, ’ she reported easily. ‘I think I see a small light down by the bottom corner. It’s smaller than the tripwire light was, and is white. ’

  There was several moments of silence before, ‘Is there any sort of button, a specially delineated shape or depression around the light? ’

  Trusting that if there had been another tripwire, Silvanus would have told her, she moved closer to the lower corner of the door where she saw the light. It blinked slowly, so it took a little more effort to see it and be sure of it.

  ‘I think so, ’ Kyra said, although with uncertainty. Even with her sight, it was hard to see details on the dark metal in the dark tunnel.

  ‘Try to press it. ’

  Now Kyra looked incredulously at her paws. Exactly how did that daft AI expect her to do that? The cat was positive this door and any buttons on it had not been built with her paws in mind.

  Still, she knew that she couldn’t worry about that. If she had to press a button to open this door, then that’s what she had to figure out how to do.

  Sighing, she laid down in front of the little light and lowered her head as close to it as she could. Her eyes traced the lines that she could see to what she thought might be a sort of button. Lifting one paw, she extended her claws and tried to press the button with one of them.

  They seemed to be too large, however, to fit the small space. The curve of her claws, normally a benefit, made it hard to properly reach it.

  Kyra felt her frustration rise, but she worked to stifle it.

  She tried twisting her paw. It couldn’t move quite like a human’s wrist could, but she managed to angle it so the tip of her claw was toward the button. She pressed it, then pushed harder to make the button actually sink back into the metal.

  The door groaned, and the metal made a rather disconcerting grinding noise as it split at the biggest seam down the center.

  Kyra pushed herself to her feet and took a step back. Her body tensed while she waited to see what was on the other side. She couldn’t be sure it was clear of threat, and she wanted to be ready in case she had to claw someone’s face off. There had been more surprises on this job than she was comfortable with.

  Nothing was there, however, so she let herself relax just a little.

  ‘The door is open, ’ she reported back to Silvanus.

  ‘My sensors can’t penetrate any further than where you stand, ’ the AI replied. ‘I feel safe in saying that our ability to communicate will cut off once you pass through that door. So, be careful, Kyra. ’

  The big cat already hated the feeling of being cut off from Raven, and it was going to be even worse to lose touch with Silvanus. Kyra rarely hesitated at anything, but she did at that moment. Not out of indecision, because she was going in there to look for Raven no matter what, but just because she wasn’t looking forward to being entirely alone in her own mind.

  It had been a really long time since that had happened.

  ‘I will, ’ she finally said. ‘I don’t like the idea of being cut off any better than you do, but we need to see if Raven is in there. Have you updated Axel and Nyx about what we’re finding? ’

  ‘I have, ’ Silvanus replied. ‘Axel already searched his location and didn’t find anything, so he’s on his way to your location. It will take him a while longer, however, as I have advised him to avoid the area where you met trouble. ’

  ‘Good call, ’ Kyra said.

  With that, Kyra stepped through the door and into the darkness beyond.

  26

  Being quick, covert, and quiet all at the same time was a much bigger challenge and strain on the system than Blake would have suspected before trying to do just that.

  He honestly didn’t like his own plan that much better than his ex-wife did, but he also knew that they needed to do something, and nothing better was coming to either of their minds. This idea didn’t have much going for it other than the fact that it existed, so they were going with it.

  Blake had crawled under the window and hurried out the back door, rushing back the way he and Raven had just come to get to this house. This time, he went much faster than he had before since he was on his own, although it was slower than he might have been if he’d been in top form.

  All he could do was pray that Greyson�
�s stupidly good hearing didn’t pick up on the sounds of his movement, being covered by Raven’s small talk.

  That part was naturally the other concern. He knew it wasn’t her strong suit.

  He got to the house they had first entered, which was as far as one could go before hitting the rock wall. Slipping inside, he walked close to the front door but paused and waited, listening. He thought he could hear their voices, and there wasn’t any gunfire, so he took that as a good sign.

  Now, this would be the really hard part.

  He waited until he heard the voices again. He couldn’t really understand what they were saying from there, but he knew who was speaking when. When Greyson started talking, Blake darted from the door to the large rock across the street on that side of the gorge and then knelt behind it.

  Again, he waited.

  He listened.

  Had he been noticed?

  And so began the most dangerous game of leapfrog ever.

  There was just enough large debris and parts of buildings for Blake to hide behind as he made his way forward, but he knew that he could only go so far before the highly observant Greyson ceased to be distracted by Raven’s chatter. Every move forward was pushing his luck, and it was a judgment call about when he’d gone just far enough.

  One he wouldn’t get a second chance to make.

  Blake didn’t get quite as far as he would have liked before he realized things were about to take a terrible turn.

  He was close enough to hear what was being said and the words ‘wired up’ stood out pretty strongly. He knew that it was now or never.

  The problem was the detonator in Greyson’s hand, which looked particularly old-fashioned, but Blake couldn’t stop to think about that. He had no way of knowing if it was rigged to go off if Greyson died, even without pressing it, but the other problem was, of course, that he had no time at all to try to figure it out first.