Ashes

by Russ Linton

  "The whole world is looking for you! You can't go to the U.S."

  "Spencer won't hurt me."

  He wanted to ask if she was sure about that. His buddy had been on a straight up rampage after Crimson's death. What was the body count, half a dozen Augments?

  "He might not, but the government will do anything to have their pet back. Meanwhile, this guy," Eric waved a hand at the Wen Hu's dossier photo, "has heard off FreedomJoke that Charlotte's running wild. He'll be gunning for you. Russia, the same."

  "I'll be fine. These powers, I feel I can control them. I've learned a lot from—" her eyes suddenly fell.

  Eric swallowed, recalling his own guinea pig days. "Vulkan. You can't leave. You think he was a murderous animal before?"

  "He won't go anywhere anymore. He's mine. I know what to do with him." Mrs. H was looking right through him now, and he felt a chill not caused by the drafty office.

  Maybe this was a good idea. Isolation hadn't done either of them any good. She was starting to show a little of that batshit crazy.

  "You can keep him under control? From any distance?"

  She nodded. "It isn't about distance. It's more about connections. The more you know somebody, the closer they are, if that makes sense. Once you've made contact with one mind, it can open connections to the minds they've encountered. Physical space isn't part of the equation." She lost focus, staring through the floor. "Journeys can even be made from which people don't often return. Like when I'd thought I died."

  Eric pushed his glasses up and tapped the frame. The theory sounded odd, but at the same time, it could explain a lot about how Chroma operated on the networks. Distance was a consideration when it came to latency and such, but Chroma did have this odd habit of leapfrogging around. Much of her hacking was based on social engineering. Isolate those idiots who used the same password for every account or clicked on unsecure links, exploit, repeat, lessons she'd learned using her mental powers as an interrogation bot were now applied to a new realm.

  "Fascinating." He wanted to throw in a Spock eye twitch but didn't have the audience for his goofing off. Spence, that's right, she needed to see him. Who didn't? He sat and took up the keyboard. "I'll arrange a ride. It's going to take a while to make it happen, maybe a week? With all the shit going down I can't afford to burn the base." Already he was reaching out to those in the Collective who'd agreed to handle logistics. "Oh, and you'll take one of our phones. In case you need me. Hit both auxiliary buttons simultaneously to wipe it. You'll want to do that if you get caught."

  "Eric, honey, if I get caught, we've got worse problems."

  "Right," he said. Spinning the chair, he found her at his side.

  "Thank you," she said as she leaned down to hug him. He sunk into it and squeezed his eyes shut. Not that he was going to cry, he might, or maybe it was allergies. They never dusted this place.

  "Anything for you, Mrs. H" Eric stared at the corner where Babe sat, lifeless. "When you find him, will you talk to him for me? Try to make him understand?"

  She smiled, and while it should have comforted him, it felt cold. "Sweetie, I know you didn't mean to. But Spencer, he's not a mind reader like I am." Eric squirmed at the uncomfortable memories and the dead stare. "You'll need to tell him yourself."

  CHAPTER 24

  JACKIE WANDERED CLOSER and watched the two men she assumed were Augments go about their business by the corpse. The dead scattered among the rubble of a city or village wasn't a new sight to her. Crumpled, the headless body could have been a discarded dress, torn and shredded on the battlefield.

  She always secretly wished the clothes would be empty. At times, they were. Shoes were a common find, lost between destinations. Other times, dead eyes broke the spell. Missing her head, the Lady's remains became a grotesque combination of found object and human being.

  "Tell your girl," said Danger, knife sawing into one of the thicker branches wrapped around Hound. "No photos."

  "Best listen to Danger, hon."

  Jackie let the 'hon' slide and dipped her camera. "Who was she?" she asked.

  "That's what I was tryin' to find out," Hound growled.

  "Keep your mouth shut unless you want to bite your tongue clean off," said Danger. He twisted another branch, sawing into the base as he pulled. A snap and Hound dropped, mid-complaint, stumbling to one knee. Danger tossed the branch into the flames and dragged his companion to his feet. "We done here?"

  Hound stood over the body, head shaking, his nose twitching. "Afraid not. Gonna have to check the command post before we gather up the boys and send 'em home."

  Home. Jackie hadn't heard the word in weeks. Spoken around the base, it could start arguments, fist fights. Plenty talked about messages they wanted to leave or discussed ways to hide letters scattered in places Haj wouldn't bother to search. She'd been doing the same with her memory cards, trying to protect them from the elements so some future archaeologists could dig them up.

  But home. Could that really be possible?

  "You have a bird? An evac?" she asked.

  Danger smiled a gruesome smile as he wandered toward the command bunker. Hound watched him go. "We got coordinates, that's all. Locals shouldn't bother you none on the way out. You killed their valley. Here, grab her feet."

  "What?"

  "Grab the feet, I'll take the messy end."

  "Why doesn't..." she indicated the darkness where Danger had disappeared.

  "He don't like cameras. Lights. People. Nothin' much lately." He dipped and scooped the corpse up under her arms, careful to not contact the bloody stump of her neck. Jackie shuddered and put her hands on the ankles. "One...two...three."

  The body felt weightless, frail. A deity of the wooded slopes, she'd become a bundle of twigs in death. Jackie tried not to think of anything but getting the poor girl wherever this Hound guy wanted.

  She had the misfortune of having seen bodies burn before. Combat zones often had curled, charred figures bent into tortured poses. Those had started to become set pieces in her landscapes. One would always stay with her, though.

  Her mind strayed to her father. Peaceful, and nothing like himself in a suit and tie, she'd wanted to wake him, so he could see how lame he looked. They'd laugh, knock back one last beer, or three.

  An excess of blood alcohol could account for why her father's body withered so quickly like a time-lapse video of decaying fruit while another body took shape in the incinerator's embrace.

  She'd been so certain she saw Ember in the flames that she tried to talk the funeral director into letting her scoop out the ashes herself so she could inspect the interior. He refused. The remains had to cool, but he did have a nice gilded urn in their Remembrance package.

  She'd handed him the empty film canister. "As much as you can fit in here."

  "Throw her in," Hound said flatly. "On three again."

  Around "one" Jackie's arms went limp.

  The torso landed awkwardly in the fire, legs hanging out. Hound sighed. Jackie didn't flinch as he moved toward her and slung the legs into the flames.

  "Why?" she managed. "Why burn her?"

  "S.O.P. ever since the program spat out someone like Cyrus." He snarled at the other Augment's name. "Never know what kinda powers the enemy got, 'specially after Killcreek." He sniffed, and concern creased his forehead. "Sorry, I coulda' done this myself. Just had a girl once to help me out with these problems." He stared into the fire watching the corpse blacken. "Took care of 'em faster than this." Shaking the memory free, he gave her a piercing stare. "Saw ya in the firelight and, well."

  Jackie waited for him to say more but he dug his fingers into his white hair and stared off toward the command post.

  "How long have you been in Afghanistan?" she asked.

  "No pictures and no interviews either."

  Hound's nose continued to work, his scowl deepened. Soon, Danger emerged, an upturned helmet tucked under one arm.

  "Dammit," Hound muttered and met Danger halfway.

/>   Without thinking, Jackie raised her camera and fired. The old soldier's scruffy white hair practically glowed. His companion filled the outline of his shadow with an eerie perfection. Warmth colored the sandbags and plywood, but the command post doorway stayed empty, a silent barrow.

  The whisper of her shutter didn't go unnoticed. Hound scowled over his shoulder. Striding towards her, she swung the camera under her arm, out of his reach but he didn't mention it.

  "Head on up the hill with Danger. You'll need the rest of the boys to grab what supplies they can carry before we start humpin'."

  She nodded and followed orders before anything else could be said. Danger had already disappeared into the forest. She kept walking, not quite sure where the nameless Augment was but knowing she wanted to leave the base behind for good.

  UPHILL AWAY FROM THEIR razor wire prison and the greasy smell of burning flesh, Jackie hadn't wanted to come back. But they couldn't abandon everything to the enemy, and whatever the plan to escape, it didn't sound like a short hike.

  Perrino had put a bullet in his head when Korengal's protector came for them. The helmet Danger had carried included the Captain's personal belongings. She steeled herself and let the journalist in her go through the motions of documenting the scene while the soldiers scoured the base.

  Left alone, she searched the paperwork in the command post, ignoring the gore. She saw no mention of Augments and no clues as to Ember's whereabouts.

  Outside, she could hear the remaining soldiers make quick work of the base. Jacob's commands floated inside, directing men to dismantle gun positions and gather supplies. Orders were given to destroy extra munitions, set charges.

  Danger had been in the bunker first, and then Hound had removed the body. They could've already taken anything deemed sensitive. Let them try and cover it up. Covert games and proxy wars weren't going to be hidden on her watch.

  Jacobs appeared in the doorway. "Come on, ten minutes, and we blow this place to shit."

  The burly soldier led her outside where the pungent cedar smoke and gunpowder had intensified. She raised her hand to protect them and found her pack already propped against the sandbag wall.

  "Got some shit together for you," Jacobs said. "Can you carry it?"

  He'd stuffed her pack with MREs on top of all her own gear. "You didn't fuck with my camera equipment?"

  Jacobs' looked offended. "Would I mess with one of these asshole's rifles?"

  "No, I guess not." She grunted as she slung the pack over her shoulder. "But you wouldn't pack them a snack either."

  "I'd breastfeed one of these motherfuckers if it would keep him alive." He winked. A solid punch in her arm sent her wobbling sideways.

  She snorted and watched him walk away. How he'd managed to keep a sense of humor baffled her. Without him, the whole base would've come apart. Life had obviously led him to this moment and in a strange way, her to him. His resilience kept her, the men, sane. It made a bond which she'd given up on when her father passed. Facing death with dignity and purpose had helped her to heal.

  Ten minutes on the dot and their new companions took them uphill with Danger far ahead on an invisible point. Nobody spoke. Wind through the trees and the soft crunch of boots on gravel replaced the crackling of fire. Even the screaming monkeys gave a reprieve, a solemn moment for the loss of their Lady.

  An hour later, Hound called for a stop. This was the furthest she'd been from the base in months. During the long deployment, she'd have been nervous away from the walls. Now, she could tell they all felt free.

  "I know you boys know better where you are than I do. We're in a rat's nest. Little warrens all through these hills and valleys. You got to avoid every single one. Your objective is to reach Asad."

  Jackie knew the moniker - Asadabad or the capitol of Kunar province. By air, it was maybe ten miles. On foot, dodging villages and patrols, she could only guess how far.

  "Camp Wright?" she asked. "Can't they send—"

  All eyes were on her. Hound's showed more patience than most.

  "There is no Camp Wright. You've got zero friendlies in country. Afghan forces have managed to hold against the Taliban and ISIS and whatever other tribes want a piece. Remnants of the International Security Force in Asad will be able to see you home. They'll assist your exit, but only through covert channels. I'd watch yer ass around them, too."

  Jacobs spoke up. "Sir, what exactly happened?"

  "I know y'all have heard bits and pieces. Home is hurtin'. There was an event. Power grid failure."

  "Someone couldn't flip a damn switch and come get us?" Franklin blurted. As far as senses of humor went, his hadn't resurfaced.

  "Not that easy, son. We're talking seventy percent of the U.S. without power when it all went down. Generating stations destroyed, most of 'em made out of parts sourced internationally."

  "So we come out here to fight for the world, and they leave us hanging?" Franklin scoffed and threw up his hands. Nearby, Donovan backhanded Franklin's shoulder. Jackie saw Danger emerge from the trees and exchange a quick glance with Hound.

  "The rest of the world has its own problems," Hound explained. "Something of a global revolution you might call it."

  Jackie could sense the bitterness in his tone. "Other Augments?"

  He gave a mirthless grin. "A dumb kid mostly. But yeah, Augments were involved."

  "Ember?" she said without giving it a second thought.

  Hound's nose twitched. "In a way."

  "She's in the U.S.?" Jackie's heart sank.

  Hound shook his head. "Haven't seen her since then. Heard rumor she was freelancing with the Chinese, but that's just rumor."

  Jackie fell silent as Hound continued to detail the situation to Jacobs and the men. This was their workplace, she reminded herself, she was only here as an observer. As she listened to the continued conversation, she understood more. Power got cut in the U.S. and world financial markets collapsed. U.S. forces were retreating to protect and rebuild.

  How had Ember been involved?

  They discussed routes. Places to obtain local clothing, vehicles, and alternates if Asadabad wasn't an option. Before she knew it, Jacobs and Hound were shaking hands. A map was exchanged, and the men appeared to be forming up on the opposite side.

  "Wait, aren't you coming?" Jackie asked. The two Augments, her best bet to finding more like them, stood together.

  Hound's eyebrows furrowed. "We've got other orders. Gotta track down where this rogue Augment came from."

  "How'd Haj get an Augment anyway?" asked Donovan

  "We don't know yet. Besides, your orders are to get home safely."

  Hound's answer seemed to satisfy Jacobs. He motioned for the team to fall in. "Copy that, sir. Been an honor to work with you." Another handshake and he signaled to move out.

  Jackie held her ground.

  "Come on, Lois Lane. You're gonna miss your flight."

  She watched Franklin grumbling into the trees. Donovan sneaked a peek over his shoulder. The rest of the group kept moving, their pace buoyed by hope. The mother hen grew restless.

  "Where do you think the Augment came from?" she asked Hound, ignoring the weight of Jacobs' stare.

  "Well," he scratched at his non-regulation beard. "Intel has bets on China. There are other...theories."

  China. Rumors put Ember there he'd just said.

  She jogged over to Jacobs, thumbs tucked under the straps of her pack. The urge to follow him and her surrogate family was almost unbearable. But they all had family to go home to, and she needed to find what was left of hers.

  Saying goodbye wasn't a bad thing, she knew. When you never got the chance to was when things got bad.

  They shook hands. She gave a salute. He returned a goofy grin impervious to war and started to speak before she cut him off.

  "Spare the weepy bullshit. Power or not, we're all getting drunk when I see you back home," she said.

  "Fair enough."

  One last photo. The shot captu
red several nods, waves, brief interruptions of their constant scan of the mountains. Donovan sighted her with his finger and fired. Franklin spread his hands and strutted backward saying, "Nobody to carry yo' shit but you." Jacobs gave her the finger, and she returned the gesture with a smile.

  She was surprised to see Hound waiting patiently. "I'm going with you," she told him.

  "Thought you might," he replied. Danger eyed them both suspiciously and slunk off into the shadows.

  CHAPTER 25

  THEY SPENT REST OF the night and part of the next day wandering the mountains. Camping under the stars had gotten her through some rough times at home. One summer, she'd backpacked sixty miles of the Appalachian Trail.

  Trail being the keyword.

  Here, they followed none. On occasion, they'd stumble across a game trail or a hidden smuggling route which happened to be going their way. Mostly they followed wherever Hound's nose seemed to indicate, and Danger's ability to move undetected placed them.

  Until she caught the edge of the charred forest, she had no idea where they might be. They'd circled back toward the base. Voices carried from the hilltop. Hound nodded at her, reassuring he'd heard the same, probably well before then. They couldn't see the former outpost, but she guessed the locals had come to scavenge.

  Why they'd circled back was a mystery as well. Then Hound removed a scrap of cloth from his pocket and inhaled the scent. Vibrant green, she recognized it at once. The image still framed in her mind, she could see the rumpled dress, burnished gold flashing in the pyre.

  Hound pointed the way, but Danger led. Places where the elder soldier's nose indicated stuck close to marked paths which the girl must have used. But he never questioned Danger's frequent diversions, only followed, and later guided them back to her scent.

  Their intensity kept Jackie quiet. That and the need to save her breath. The old man set a blistering pace. Old... Apparently, Augments took on the outward appearances, but age never affected them the same.