by Thomas Davis
“Miss Fisher I… I can be useful to you.”
“I doubt that.”
“You would’ve killed me already if you didn’t think I could be useful.”
“Or maybe I just want to hurt you first. You know what I am and who I am. Remember?”
“I’m an incredible hacker. No one else could’ve reconstructed that footage. All of my skills can be at your disposal.” Garret was breathing heavily and sweating.
“I went through a lot of trouble purging all footage related to that incident from existence,” Catherine sat the mug down, leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Where did you get it?” Simon stood from his chair. He walked towards Garret as he reached behind his back. This was it; this was how it’s going to happen. Garret’s entire body tensed up. He closed his eyes, pressed his chin down into his chest, and braced himself for what was to come. In the darkness behind his eyelids he heard something drop onto the table. He cautiously cracked open his right eye to see what it was. Simon had left a data pad resting on the table in front of him. Based on the cartoonish stickers on the edges, Garret could discern that it was his pad. Catherine leaned forward placing her elbows onto the table, “Show me how you did it.”
Simon was already cutting Garret’s hands free so he could operate the pad. Garret rubbed his wrists for a while until Simon placed a hand on his shoulder. An icy chill ran down his spine. Simon removed his hand and Garret got to work. He took Catherine on a tour of his custom software and explained his process in depth. Catherine was knowledgeable enough to follow and verify what he spoke of. Simon just stood behind him and looked perturbed.
“So… You reconstructed the scraps of binary code?” Catherine was taken with his process. “How did you even know to look for it?”
“I was just screwing around,” Garret responded. “After I realized what it was it took me months to put all of the pieces together and trace it back to you.”
“Amazing.”
Simon watched from afar. He was displeased with how Catherine and Garret seemed to be bonding over their shared admiration for technology and science. He wanted to yank the man from the table and strangle the life from him.
“So, it’s like I said,” Garret swallowed. “It would be a waste to just kill me. With everything I have to offer you?”
Catherine stared down into the darkness in her cup, “I suppose I could use someone with your skill.”
“Yes,” Garret was relieved. He would get to live another day. He had convinced her.
“You work for me now.”
Garret stared at her with eyes full of gratefulness.
“Say it.”
“I work for you now.”
“Good.” She proceeded to pour her remaining coffee out onto the carpet then presented the cup to Garret. She gestured for him to take the empty mug, “Could you go and fetch me a refill? Thank you.” She politely grinned. With trembling hands Garret took the mug from her. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Simon glaring at him as he walked to the decorative coffee kettle in the corner of the room. With shaking hands Garret filled the mug. He tried as hard as he could not to spill any. He took an enormous breath before returning to Catherine with her beverage.
“Sit,” She said in a kind tone.
Garret carefully slid down into his chair cautious not to spill the hot drink, “Miss Fisher I just want you to know that I appreciate this second chance you’re giving me. Considering everything.”
“No harm no foul,” She casually brushed it off. “Right now, is about moving forward.”
“Thank you. Miss Fisher,” He passively offered the cup to her with both hands.
She placed her hands around his, “No. That’s for you. It’s a special blend I prepared myself.” She looked him in the eyes. “Try it.” She let go of his hands and sat back in her chair.
“Yes ma’am.” Garret was eager to please her. He gulped down the beverage regardless of how hot it was. Catherine watched him intently. He forced down half of the drink before she stopped him.
“Do you like it Garret?” Catherine asked.
“Yes,” He gasped. He had ignored his breathing while he drank it.
“You’re being honest with me, correct? From this point forward, I need you to be totally honest with me.”
He pondered her request. In all honesty he didn’t even remember how the coffee tasted. He was too afraid and eager to appreciate the flavor of the drink. He wasn’t expecting to be quizzed on the quality of it. He also didn’t want to offend this woman who held his life in her hands. He figured it was best to tell her what she wanted to hear. “It was delicious Miss Fisher.”
“Good. That’s wonderful.” She smiled warmly as she leaned across the table and took the mug from his hands. “A man should enjoy his last meal.”
“What?” Garret let out a hard cough.
“I’ve never been much of a cook Garret.” She was deadly calm, “but I make an amazing cup of coffee. It’s not steak and potatoes but it will have to do.”
Garret clutched his chest with his right hand as fell face first onto the table. He was having a coughing fit. “I thought you… had forgiven me?”
“This is forgiveness. Don’t worry; it will all be over soon.” She lovingly brushed a strand of his hair behind his ear. “You never asked why the footage was so important.” Garret was convulsing with his face pressed to the table. He was unable to move but he could still comprehend her. “Whoever that Arez girl was. She was important enough for the Arez to send in a team to retrieve her and also important enough for their armada to openly attack a Terran station when they got her back with all those injuries.” She caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers. “I was so desperate to prove myself back then. I never thought thousands would die as a result of my actions. I was just trying to help. Unlike you and your comrades, I had pure intentions but still events spiraled out of my control and that day will forever haunt me. My dreams.”
Catherine looked down at Garret more closely. He was motionless with his right cheek mashed down onto the table and his eyes open. A small puddle of drool had collected beneath his mouth on the table. She stood up using the table to brace herself. “I’m glad we could have this little talk Garret.” She whispered. “It feels splendid to say these things out loud. To confess.” As her adrenalin began to quell an empty sadness started to fill her belly. She had succumbed to her darker nature and now the reality of the moment was becoming apparent to her. She called out to Simon who was quietly reveling in the scene. “Was it everything you had hoped for Simon?”
“I’m sorry?” Simon was puzzled by her question.
“You wanted this didn’t you?” She was holding the half empty cup. “How was it, Simon?”
“I don’t understand what you are getting at.”
“You would have me believe that you couldn’t handle these amateurs without my involvement? I know how capable you are. Don’t insult my intelligence like that.”
“You think I wanted this. To put you in harm’s way?”
“You wanted to see the monster up close,” She tossed the mug away spilling its poisonous contents onto the rug. “I confided in you and you used it against me.” Her eyes watered up. These weren’t the false tears she would use to manipulate others. These were authentic. “And you didn’t even do it to gain anything. You did it just to prove that I’m just as sick as you are.”
Those words stabbed Simon in the gut. His head felt light and his stomach turned.
Catherine turned to face him. “You see Simon, when I finally realized just how broken I am, I tried to use it to help others.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I thought that, maybe if I’m incapable of ever being happy, at least I can make the galaxy a happier place, a better place. That maybe I’m like this for a reason.”
“I want to support your goal.”
“No. You don’t want anything out of life Simon. You just want to fill that bottomless pit inside of you.”
> “So, do you.” Simon said defiantly. “You enjoyed taking that fool’s life. The look in his eyes.”
“I did enjoy it.” Catherine stood in silence for a short while, “You think that makes us the same, don’t you?”
“…”
“That person you just witnessed, I hate that person. I was depending on you to keep her at bay but you brought her out.”
“There is nothing wrong with you Catherine.”
“I thought we understood each other Simon.” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “I thought you understood why I always left the desk drawer unlocked.”
“We can figure this out.”
“You’re fired Simon.” Catherine turned and began to walk away.
“What?”
“You heard me. You’re fired.”
“Don’t do this. Please?” Simon finally accepted his error.
“These things.” She stopped. “These terrible things that need to happen. I’m not ignorant of them. You were supposed to be my shield Simon, my knight. You obviously can’t handle that responsibility anymore.”
“It is… It is my task to anticipate your needs.”
“And you’ve failed at that task.”
Simon was feeling desperate. He needed to give her a reason to change her mind. “What about the body?”
“I don’t care Simon. Clean up the scene, leave him for investigators to find, I just don’t care anymore. Maybe I belong in a cage. Maybe I should be put somewhere where I can’t hurt anyone else. Maybe. That’s what we both need.”
Simon was shaken to his core. His goal was to set her free from her inhibitions but all he managed to do was hurt her. All he had accomplished was to violate the trust that she reluctantly granted him. He watched her leave and an unfamiliar sensation coursed through him. For the first time in his life Simon experienced the pain that he had caused someone else. He was paralyzed by it. He couldn’t explain himself; he couldn’t call out to her. All he could do was watch her walk away. He heard the door open and shut. He pressed his back to the wall behind him then slid down to the floor. He was alone again.
16. Life and Death Battle: Tena
Cody Outpost
In a multilevel barrack that he had apparently claimed for his own personal use, the Crimson Death sat on his knees praying in a room on the upper level. Chase stealthily approached. There he is. After all these years, all of this training, the moment of retribution has finally arrived. The guilt Chase had felt for breaking off from the rest of the team to pursue the Crimson Death melted away. He was face to face with the monster, at last. Chase had the upper hand in this encounter. The Crimson Death’s spear was well out of his reach leaning upright in the corner and he was unaware of Chase’s presence. As he entered the room Chase fired a couple of shots at the spear. His opponent upon hearing the shots snapped his eyes open. The first shot barely missed but the second struck the crystal housing in the base of the weapon disabling it. It wasn’t capable of blocking a Charge-Blade without its power source. Chase dashed forward and slashed at the Arez general. The Crimson Death dodged the slash narrowly then glanced down at the pistol on Chase’s hip and wondered why the boy didn’t just shoot him dead.
Chase spoke to him in Arez, “The Evening Dove. 5 years ago. You killed my parents, my friends, everything I ever loved!” He pointed the sword at his enemy. “I am here to collect on your debt monster!” Chase’s bottom lip quivered with anger. He lunged forward once more. The Crimson Death leaped and rolled across the room to what remained of his weapon then hurled the half spear at him like a javelin. As Chase cut the rod out of the air, the Crimson Death used the distraction to escape through the door, leaping over the railing and down to the deck below. The large alien man hit the ground running full speed. Chase was taken off guard by this turn of events. Is he going for help or to find a weapon? He jumped down and chased after him.
***
Sam Hawkins rendezvoused with Jake and Edith on the ridge near the base perimeter. Since this was a stealth mission the team was restricted to line of sight communication lest the enemy intercept their transmissions. Jake saw that she had returned alone, “Where’s Shonen Boy?”
“The Crimson Death is here at Cody.” Sam placed her hands on her waist as she caught her breath. Jake nervously studied her heart broken expression as he placed his right hand on her shoulder. “Chase he… He went after him. We have to go back in, retrieve him.”
“No.” Jake said sternly as Sam and Edith looked at him in surprise. They weren’t in the habit of leaving teammates behind. No matter the circumstance. “I’ll go in alone. I’ll attract less attention that way.” Jake walked towards the base as a subtle blue glow emanated from his Versatile Layer. “Get word to Amarillo to send reinforcements. Edith, if anything red starts coming this way you light it up.”
“Yes sir!” Edith and Sam said in unison.
***
Chase entered into a military storage warehouse with his laser pistol at the ready. As he stepped through the doorway a piece of factory equipment fell down towards him from overhead. It was attached to metal wire. The Crimson Death leaped from behind a nearby storage rack and snatched the gun from Chase’s hand as the young man tried to evade the falling piece of equipment. The Crimson Death took aim as the equipment crashed onto the floor narrowly missing Chase by inches. He managed to get off one shot that missed before Chase drew his sword and sliced the gun in half. Chase spun around and kicked the Crimson Death in the sternum and sent the large Arez tumbling across the warehouse floor.
“I thought you looked familiar child. I remember your father’s last moments.” The Crimson Death said as he picked himself up off of the floor. “He screamed like a woman when I gutted him.”
“RAAAAGHHHH!!!” Chase shrieked as he dashed at his enemy. The Crimson Death grabbed the side railing of a large storage rack and pulled it down towards Chase as he approached. Chase halted in his tracks as the structure crashed down before him. He glanced down then quickly up at his opponent. The Crimson Death had hurled a cargo crate and it was sailing through the air at breakneck speed towards him. He pulled the trigger on the stock of the Charge-Blade then slashed the airborne crate in half vertically. The contents of the crate, mostly small components and tools, spilled out into the air around him. He lost sight of his surroundings. As Chase regained his bearings, the Crimson Death emerged from the debris with his right arm cocked back and ready to strike. Chase reacted instantly. He flipped 10 feet up onto a support pillar behind him. He leaped from the pillar just as the punch missed him and impacted it. The pillar exploded into a thousand fragments due to the force of the blow. He landed on the other side of the fallen racks and caught his breath.
“Is that all you got monster?”
***
Jake arrived at the scene of Chase and the Crimson Death’s first clash. He examined the severed pieces of the Crimson Death’s spear strewn about the floor. “No blood,” he thought out loud. “There’s still time to save him.” He searched for clues to ascertain where the fight had moved. The bent railing caught his eye. “The Crimson Death ran from him?” Jake’s face contorted in worry. He leaped over the railing. He inspected the lower deck and deduced what direction the two took off in. “I’m coming kid,” Jake ran full speed down the long corridor. “Just stay alive long enough for me to get there.”
***
Chase breathed heavily as he slashed. It was becoming a war of attrition. The Versatile Layer gave him superior speed, more agility, and equal strength to that of his opponent but the Crimson Death still out maneuvered him. It was like the Arez behemoth was five steps ahead of him. He needed a plan and quick. If he used that move he knew he could pull out a victory. He had perfected the Blitzkrieg, Captain Takeda’s signature technique, without a weapon there was no way the Crimson Death could counter or dodge an attack that powerful and fast. He could close the distance and end this battle quickly.
Chase pulled the trigger and grinned. “It is time
to put an end to this!” The Crimson Death took two steps to his right and picked up a chain lying on the floor. Chase took a wide stance then angled the Charge-Blade behind himself out of the Crimson Death’s view. He pulled the trigger and felt the power coursing through the blade vibrate throughout his entire body. His hair stood on end as he reversed his stance and slid forward. He stabbed the sword repeatedly with overwhelming speed almost impossible for the eye to follow as his momentum carried him forward. The Crimson Death dashed backwards until his back smacked against a pillar, which halted his retreat. The blade entered the Crimson Death’s side and he spat up some dark red, almost black, blood. “This is for all of the innocent people you have murdered!” Chase yelled in a righteous fury. He had him dead to rights. With a simple twist of the blade Chase would have justice for all that died at this monster’s hands. He looked him in the eyes, “Any last words?”
“Yes,” The Crimson death grimaced in pain. “You talk too much boy.” The large alien then proceeded to obliterate the pillar behind him with a mighty swing of his arm. Chase attempted to twist the blade but his arm wouldn’t move. He glanced down to see that his adversary was holding a chain wrapped around his wrist preventing his movement. The Crimson Death was waiting for this opportunity. He had systematically destroyed the other three support beams in the center of the warehouse as they fought. He spent the last the last five minutes baiting Chase into launching a high-risk attack that would leave the boy open. It was all a trap. The large chunks of the roof crashed down on top of them both.
***
Outside the base the alarms started blaring. Cody Outpost became a beehive of activity. Sam and Edith inconspicuously watched from the ridge, ready to act. Edith pressed the stock of her sniper rifle into her shoulder as she gazed down the scope. “Finally. Time to get a few kills in.”
