The Osiris Contingency

by Virginia Soenksen

Moving around his prone body, Liane eyed the girl and

  commented, “Nice work.”

  The girl nodded, her eyes smeared with tears and mascara as she choked out, “Thanks.”

  Liane jerked her head towards the distant lights of the main street, saying, “You should get out of here before they wake up. Next time, use the stun-gun before they have a chance to outnumber you.”

  The girl managed a small, watery smile, and then turned and ran from the alley.

  Liane let out a sigh, rolling the tension from her shoulders as she reached up a hand to unmute her com. But when she did, the sound of shouting and gunfire filled her head as Owen shouted, “Liane, where the hell are you?”

  “On my way,” Liane said, her heart lurching, “Where are you?”

  “Sim factory, second floor. They’re here.”

  The air seemed to freeze within her chest as she ran to the nearest entrance to the warehouse. She was debating how she would get inside when the door flew open, a crowd of mods streaming out in a panicked frenzy. It took precious seconds for the crush to lesson enough for Liane to shove past them, and when she did, she charged up the dark staircase as she drew her weapon. Adrenaline flooded through her as she took the steps two at a time, boot steps echoing through the stairwell. When she reached the door that led to the second floor, she opened it cautiously, peering down the sight of her gun before her arms slackened and she breathed out, “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

  Before her, a forest loomed, trees stretching up to a sunlit sky. Birds flitted from tree-to-tree, filling the air with song. Liane moved deeper into the simulation, feeling her lips part in wonder at the sight of so much green. It was difficult to keep her footing over the unfamiliar, uneven terrain, and she moved with careful steps.

  A crash came from up ahead, and Liane looked up to find a

  figure in black body-armor at the top of an embankment, gun up and pointed at her. Her mind seemed to slow at the sight, her heart jolting and head filled with the soundless stream of an Agent, it’s an Agent and I’m dead… Wrenching herself out of

  frozen panic, Liane brought her own gun up, emptying it into the Agent’s chest. But the figure didn’t even react, marching towards her with deliberate steps. Liane heard the click of an empty chamber in her weapon just as the Agent opened fire. One of the shots caught her in the shoulder, but rather than the pain of a bullet, she felt the numbing sting of a simulated blast. Liane froze in realization, standing still as the Agent came closer and closer. She could see her facemask reflected in that of the Agent as she reached out a hand, sweeping it through the figure; it disintegrated into thousands of green pixels that fell to the grassy ground before vanishing.

  A sim, just a sim, she thought, still awash with adrenaline. As she reloaded her gun, she scanned the tree line and said into her com, “The simulations are active. Are we sure that the Agents are real?”

  “Yes,” Paz said over the com, panting. “I’ve got one cornered on the second floor; nightclub sim.”

  “I’m coming to you,” Liane said, just as she heard the snap of a branch behind her. Whirling, she raised her gun and nearly pulled the trigger before she registered that the crouched figure wasn’t an Agent, but a mod, his eyes wide in fear. He wasn’t from Black Sun, and a quick glance at the staff key-card told her he was just a sim facilitator. Lowering her weapon, she demanded, “Nightclub sim; where is it?”

  Trembling, he pointed to her right. “Through the door.”

  “Get out of the building if you can; take any mods you find with you,” she ordered, already turning and running the direction he had indicated. It took her a moment to find it; the door blended into the trunk of a tree, the sensor light only just visible. As she approached, the sensor tripped, and the tree slid aside to allow her to pass through into the next sim.

  Instantly, she was surrounded by pulsing music and flashing lights within a darkened, cavernous room. Liane shook her head, willing her eyes to adjust as she moved forward onto the

  illuminated dance floor. Gunshots echoed over the music, and she took off running toward the sounds. She found Paz pinned in a corner, grappling with a real Agent over a single gun. Liane took aim and fired, hitting the Agent square in the back. But the masked figure just turned, firing at Liane and forcing her to leap behind a bar to avoid being shot.

  “They’re wearing sniper armor, bulletproof front and back,” she said into her com. Another Agent appeared around the edge of the bar; Liane gave a shout of surprise, getting off two shots before she realized it was just a simulation. Over the thudding music, she shouted, “Can someone please kill the sims?”

  “Working on it,” Owen answered through the com, his words clipped with irritation.

  Drawing out a small device from an inner pocket, Liane gripped it tightly before diving out from behind the bar, firing at the Agent fighting with Paz. The soldier released the mod in favor of going for Liane, and when he made the mistake of turning his body towards her, she threw the device at his chest where it latched on and sent electric shocks through him. The Agent collapsed, and Liane ran to him, grabbing his gun before helping Paz up and asking, “Where are the others?”

  Paz shook her head, sweat beading on her forehead as she shouted over the music, “I don’t know. We got separated when we entered.”

  “Then we sweep the floor and find them as we go,” Liane said, moving towards the wall. In a moment, she found the sensor light, pulling Paz along with her as the door slid to one side and they entered another sim.

  The room was blindingly white, and Liane squinted to find they were in a lavish villa bordered by a turquoise sea. The simulated sun was scorching hot, and both Paz and Liane had their masks off in moments. Sweat trickled down Liane’s hairline as she moved through the empty villa. Two Agent sims appeared, and Paz wasted an entire round of bullets before Liane could stop her. They ran past the sims, taking stinging sim shots to the back before they reached the next door.

  The next room was even more disorienting; it was the lobby of the Agency headquarters. Liane froze for a moment, heart pounding as she fought to convince herself that it wasn’t real, that she wasn’t back...

  “Come on!” Paz shouted, yanking Liane forward a few steps

  until she realized the reason behind the fear in the mod’s voice.

  Ahead of them, three mods from Black Sun were fighting twice as many Agents. Liane stowed her gun, then charged into the fight to tackle one to the ground. The Agent tried to throw her off, but Liane gripped the woman’s head and snapped it soundlessly. Two more Agents turned to her, and one of them said into their com, “It’s her! The rogue Agent—”

  Liane charged them, drawing out a stun gun as she kicked one down, shoving the electrical prongs into the Agent’s neck even as she dodged a blow from the other. Two mods leaped on the Agent from behind, one of them stabbing through the unarmored neck guard with a knife. Liane stood, saying into her com, “They recognized me; we need to get out of here before the

  Administrators order a containment unit.”

  “Got it,” Owen said. She heard him grunt into the com, and then with the dying whirl, the simulation around them began to shut down. The Agency headquarters faded, the topography of the room returning to normal. Within seconds they were standing inside a large, empty room painted dark grey, and Liane drew her weapon as they moved to the door sensor.

  As it slid aside to reveal yet another empty room, Liane asked, “Where do we go?”

  “Down. Meet at the first-floor, south-side entrance. We’ll get

  below ground from there.”

  Liane gestured to the mods, saying, “Follow me.”

  But one of the mods hung back, protesting, “We lost Alec on this floor. We have to find him.”

  Liane nodded, jerking her head towards the distant staircase. “I’ll find him and meet you downstairs.”

  Paz and the other mods moved to the stairs, while Liane half-ran to the next sliding door. The first ro
om was empty, her footsteps echoing through the chamber as she went to the next door. It slid open silently, and the first thing she saw when she entered was two Agents standing over an unconscious figure; Liane’s stomach tightened when she realized that it was Alec, the missing mod. They already had a light-proof bag over his head, and one said into her com, “Prisoner has been subdued. Send a containment van to my signal—”

  Liane moved through the doorway firing, her bullets sparking off the Agent’s body armor. They turned and took aim at her, but Liane had enough to take off running before a hail of bullets

  surrounded her. Glancing up as she ran, she spotted the light of a sensor on a distant wall, diving towards it and just making it through the doorway. She pressed her back against the wall to one side, hearing the low thud of bullets striking the metal.

  She was racing through her options when she felt it; her limbs were tingling in what was now a horribly familiar sensation. Not now, she silently begged as her muscles contracted painfully, sending her to her knees. Over the racket of gunfire, she gasped into her com, “Help…I need help…”

  On the other side of the wall, the gunshots faded, and the footsteps of the Agents neared the door. Liane pulled out another electrical device, knowing with grim certainty that even if she could incapacitate one, she couldn’t move fast enough to stop the second. When the door slid to one side, she drew back her arm in preparation only to flinch when gunshots rang through the room, aimed at the Agents. They retreated through the open doorway, and Liane looked to find Owen standing across the room at another exit, firing at the Agents as he shouted to her, “Come on!”

  Liane launched herself forward in a military crawl, scrambling towards him as he kept the Agents occupied. When she was within arm’s reach, he grasped her reaching hand and pulled her through the doorway, moving them so that the door could shut. Owen reached out with a small canister, spraying where the door met the metal wall. Instantly, the metal began to smoke and warp, the chemicals sealing the opening shut.

  Owen reached down to haul Liane to her feet, throwing her arm over his shoulder. He pulled her towards the nearby staircase, but Liane planted her feet and protested, “They got Alec; he’s still back there.”

  Owen gave a small shake of his head, yanking her bodily to the stairwell and saying over her protests, “We need to get out of here. Come on.”

  Liane swallowed her protests, trying to force her legs to support her weight as they made their way down to the first floor. The rest of the mods were waiting for them by the south entrance, Paz worriedly scanning the hall until she spotted them. Gesturing, she shouted, “Move; Agent vans spotted three blocks away!”

  Owen and Liane ran, hurrying past her to where a mod had a sewer grate already pulled aside. They made their way down the ladder, landing ankle-deep in putrid-smelling sewage. Liane pulled free from Owen, able to move normally at last. It was lucky she was, too; as they ran through the sewer away from the sim factory, she could hear a distant screech of tires coming from the street above as more Agents arrived.

  No one said much as they made their way from Whitechapel to the headquarters of Black Sun. Owen let them rest once, and as they all leaned against the slimy walls in exhaustion, he glanced at Liane and asked, “Was Alec alive?”

  Liane closed her eyes, her heart sinking as she nodded.

  “You think he’ll talk?” Paz asked.

  “Everyone talks,” Liane said softly. “The only question is how long he can hold out.”

  Owen looked at her for a long moment, his expression

  impossible to read. Then he straightened, announcing, “Let’s

  continue.”

  Liane moved to follow him, her stomach in knots. The sun was just rising above the horizon when they stumbled, exhausted, into the underground hangar. It was too early for there to be any mods up and about, something that came as a relief to Liane. She moved to head towards the showers when Owen stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he said softly, “No one blames you. For Alec.”

  There was a hard lump in her throat as she said, “I do. If I’d followed orders…” She trailed off, unable to say anything more.

  Owen’s hand on her shoulder tightened. “Next time you will. Go get cleaned up.”

  She nodded, moving away from him with a bowed head. The other mods were already in the showers when she reached the room, giving her a small measure of privacy as she undressed and entered a stall of her own. The water came out cold, but Liane didn’t move away; she just stood there, her eyes closed as the frigid spray pounded against her forehead. Shivering from the cold, she wondered hopelessly if the image of Alec, bound and captured, would ever fade from her mind.

  CHAPTER 18

  Night had embraced the city by the time Damian was summoned to the interrogation chamber. Located deep within the Agency, isolated and insulated so that none of the trainees would hear the screams, the rooms seemed far removed from the active hallways and arenas. The Supporters who worked within the

  chambers moved silently in padded

  slippers, preventing the hostiles from knowing where they were until it was too late. One of the

  interrogators was waiting for Damian just beyond the reinforced security door and led him to an observation window. When he looked through it, he saw a girl bound to an interrogation chair. Her head was lolling back against the headrest, eyelids fluttering in a drug-induced stupor and long, dark hair plastered to the side of her sweaty face. Against the painfully white room and white-suited interrogators, her neon mini-dress looked wildly bright and out of place.

  Damian glanced at his escort who explained, “Truth serum was administered to the subject two hours ago; there was no resistance or immunity. She’s a small-time dealer of mod serum caught during the perimeter sweep by the secondary team; it seems your Agent saved her from a nasty end at the hand of

  unhappy customers.”

  Damian shook his head in mild exasperation, looking through the glass at the sedated mod. “Liane always did have a weakness for lost causes. Is there anything else to be extracted from her?”

  The Supporter chuckled. “Everything will be extracted from her. You’ll get a full report, of course; after we’re finished with the interrogation and before she’s terminated, just in case you have questions.”

  Damian nodded, quiet for a moment as he gazed through the glass at the girl who Liane had saved. It would be easier, cleaner, to rid them of the loose end. But Liane had wanted the girl to live; perhaps that was what made him say, “Mind-wipe her instead of termination, then release her back in the city. She’s of no risk to us.”

  The Supporter looked slightly surprised but was wise enough to say, “Of course, sir. Now, I think you’ll find that our next

  subject will be of more use to you…”

  The Supporter moved down the hall to yet another door, this one with a blinking green light atop it. He scanned his print, and the light turned red as he pulled open the reinforced door. Damian moved through it, ordering, “I want a moment alone.”

  Lights blazed on when he closed the door behind him, causing the young man within to jerk to awareness. Not that he could go very far; the restraints on the chair prevented all but the most minimal movement. The hostile breathed hard as Damian entered, watching with swollen, bloodshot eyes as he pulled over a metal chair and sat down. Damian let the mod take him in, letting the fear of a new and unknown danger take hold. For a moment, the only sound within the chamber was the gentle drip of the IV and the rapid beat of the heart monitor attached to the hostile.

  “Your name is Alec, I believe,” Damian said, noticing how even the sound of his voice caused the young man to wince.

  But the mod said nothing, glaring as best he could with his

  ruined face.

  “I understand you haven’t said much of anything since

  waking,” Damian went on. “Despite the best efforts of the

  interrogators. Impres
sive. Then again, I don’t imagine Black Sun would let anyone patrol without giving them some training in resistance techniques.”

  The mod remained silent, and Damian inclined his head as he went on, “You can’t imagine how eager I’ve been to speak with you. But I wanted to give you time to understand what is going to happen here, and what isn’t.”

  Damian stood, walking slowly around the mod’s chair. The young man’s eyes followed him fearfully as he went on, “What isn’t going to happen is any rescue. Your friends were eager to save themselves, so I doubt they’d even try looking for you, but just in case we’ve taken extra precautions with your

  containment.”

  He came to a stop behind the chair, the headrest preventing the mod from seeing him as he went on, “What is going to happen is this; we are going to have a conversation. We’re going to talk about many things in here, things you never expected to share with anyone. This is a room of truths. You’ll be honest with me, and I’ll be honest with you.”

  The mod huffed a low laugh. “You expect me to believe that?”

  “You should,” Damian said simply.

  “Then tell me how you’re going to kill me.”

  Damian moved towards a small metal tray in the back of the room, saying, “If you give me what I want, then it will be an

  injection. You’ll drift off to sleep; as peaceful a death as anyone could ever want. If you resist or lie, I’ll think of something more…creative.”

  The mod’s jaw clenched, and he said from between his teeth, “I won’t betray Black Sun.”

  “You will.” Damian returned to where the mod could see him as he added, “But this isn’t about Black Sun, really; this is about the girl who recently joined your army and was with you last night. Blonde hair…different colored eyes…beautiful…”

  The mod looked at him in recognition but remained silent.

  “Her name is Liane, unless she fed you a pseudonym,” Damian went on. “She’s my Agent; no different from any of the other ones you’ve hunted down. She didn’t tell you that, did she?”