"Oh, for pity's sake," Paige said. "Come on, Paul. We all appreciate your loyalty, but trust me, no one else is going to give a damn. Just tell the man what he wants to know and get it over with."
"Paul Michael Ryman. Former corporal with the United States Army. Currently serving under Special Operations Colonel R. J. Tucker."
"Men," Paige muttered, shaking her head.
Clay spread Ryman's right hand on the desktop. A spurt of static from one set of speakers made me jump. Clay only glanced at Adam.
"Sorry," Adam said. "I'm almost done."
He jacked down the volume on the static-spewing speaker, then bent to look at the wiring on the other one.
"Okay," Clay said. "One last chance. Wh-"
The still-functional speaker broke into an earsplitting whine. As Adam reached to flick it off, a voice sounded.
"Jackson to base. Base, do you read? Repeat, security has been breached. Over."
"Hold on," Clay whispered before Adam turned it off. He motioned for me to hold Ryman still and quiet, then snatched the mike from Adam. "How do you work this thing?"
"Push the button to talk. Release to listen. They can't hear anything unless the button's down."
Clay cranked up the volume on the disconnected speaker. Static filled the room. He pushed the talk button.
"Base to Jackson," Clay said, swallowing his accent. "Ryman here. We're having equipment problems. Repeat. Over."
"Shit, Paul," the voice came back. "I can barely hear you. I said we have a breach. The f**king door's been blown off. I'm guessing explosives, but shit, you should see this. Nothing left but ash. One helluva bomb."
"No," Adam said, grinning. "One helluva half-demon."
Clay motioned him to silence, then pressed the mike button. "Where's Tu-Colonel Tucker?"
"Last time I saw him, he was on level two, taking inventory in the gun locker. He isn't answering his radio?"
"I'll try again. Maintain your position. I'm sending backup."
Clay handed the mike to Adam, then gestured from me to Ryman.
"You want him?" he asked.
I met Ryman's eyes with a cold stare. "Not really. Go ahead and kill him."
Ryman's eyes bulged. His mouth opened but before anything came out, Clay snapped his neck. Once Adam finished disconnecting the radio and security systems, we headed for the gun locker.
***
Now, we didn't know exactly where to find the gun locker. The guard had said level two, which narrowed it down somewhat. From my infirmary excursions, I'd learned that the second floor was laid out much like the lower level, one large block with a single corridor looping around and joining at the elevator. That made it easier. All we had to do was start at one end and check every room until we found Tucker. Getting Ryman to divulge the exact location of the gun locker would have taken too much time.
On our search, we found and killed two kitchen workers. No, they didn't threaten us. No, we didn't perceive them as a threat. The unpleasant truth was that we had to kill everyone. No matter how harmless they might seem, even the lowliest staff member possessed the most dangerous weapon of all: knowledge. They knew we existed, and for that, they couldn't be allowed to leave the compound.
***
While searching for Tucker, we found Matasumi in a locked room-or I should say, I smelled him through a locked door. We listened for a moment, then Paige cast a minor spell to open it. She admitted the spell worked only on simple locks, but since it was silent, we decided to try that before employing more physical techniques. It worked and we eased the door open. I peered inside and saw Matasumi seated at a computer. He was alone. I eased the door shut, bumping Paige in the chin as she craned her neck for a look inside.
"All clear," I whispered. "He's working at a computer. Doesn't seem to even realize there's a problem."
"He knows," Paige said. "Did you see the Zip disks? The knapsack? He's backing up data and clearing the hard drive before he runs."
"And he's about to encounter a fatal error," Adam said, grinning. "Mind if I handle this one?"
"I saw a gun on the desk," Paige said. "A big one. He probably grabbed the largest one he could find."
Clay glanced at me.
"I doubt he has any idea how to use it." I nodded to Adam. "Sure, go ahead. We'll cover you. Just be-"
"Careful," Adam said. "I know."
I eased open the door. Matasumi faced the side wall. His fingers flew across the keyboard. As Adam stepped into the room, Matasumi bent to put another disk into the drive. He saw Adam and froze, then sneaked a glance at the gun on the corner of the desk. His hand darted out, but Adam snatched the rifle before Matasumi got close.
Adam brandished the gun and whistled. "This is one wicked piece of firepower. You got a license for it, Doc?"
Matasumi froze again, hand still outstretched.
"Didn't think so," Adam said. "Neither do I, so how about we get rid of this before someone gets hurt."
Adam started to toss the gun to Clay, then thought better of it, laid it on the floor, and scooted it to us with his foot.
"Adam Vasic," Matasumi murmured.
"You know my name? I'm flattered."
Adam grabbed Matasumi's hand and shook it. Matasumi yelped and yanked his hand back. He stared at the bright red splotches on his palm, then gaped at Adam, as if unable to believe he'd burned him.
"Whoops," Adam said. "Sorry about that, Doc. Haven't quite got the fiery stuff under control yet." Adam turned to the computer. "Whatcha working on? That's some piece of hardware. Paige, you see this? What is it?"
Adam bent and squinted at the tower box. He reached out and touched it. Sparks flew. Circuits popped. Matasumi jerked back.
"Damn!" Adam said. "That looks bad. Think you can fix it, Paige?"
"Sorry, I'm not a technician."
Adam shook his head. "Guess we're shit outta luck, then, Doc. Sorry about that. What were you doing anyway? Downloading files?" Adam popped the disk from the drive. It sizzled, then melted like wax between his fingers. "Oops. Hope you have backups."
Matasumi's eyes flickered to a locked shelf overhead. Clay stepped forward and snapped it open. Adam scooped up a handful of disk cases. This time they disintegrated at his touch, leaving only charred bits of plastic and metal.
"See?" he said, showing Clay his fistful of ash. "That's what happens when you help me strengthen my powers. Even worse than King Midas's curse. At least gold's valuable." He turned to Matasumi and shrugged. "Sorry, Doc, but it's really for the best. We can't let that information get outside these walls, can we? Oh, wait. There's one more memory bank I need to shut down. My apologies in advance."
Adam tore a wire from the computer and wrapped it around Matasumi's neck. For a second, Matasumi didn't seem to realize what was happening. Then his hands flew to his throat. Too late. As Adam wrenched the wire tight, it ignited, flared, then died as Matasumi slumped sideways, garrotted.
"You enjoyed that far too much," Paige said.
Adam only grinned. "What do you expect? I'm a demon."
"Half-demon."
"And a full demon would have tortured the poor guy first. At least I was merciful."
"Finish destroying the files and the computer," Clay said. "Then we move."
***
"Should I contact Kenneth now?" Paige asked as we left the room.
Clay shook his head and kept walking.
"But Jeremy said to notify them once we were inside and had the systems down."
"No, he said to notify him when Elena told you to."
Paige glanced at me.
I shook my head. "Not yet."
"But we could use their help."
"Whose help?" Clay said, stopping suddenly and wheeling on her. "Kenneth's? He can't fight. Cassandra's? She might fight, if she feels like it. We'll call them in when it's clear."
"But-"
"But nothing." Clay glowered at Paige. "You're asking me to put my Alpha in a potentially dangerous position where he's not only the lone fighter, but where he's responsible for two other people. I won't do that."
"I'm sorry," Paige murmured as Clay turned away.
Clay spun on her. "What?"
"I said, I'm sorry."
Clay hesitated, gave a brusque nod, then motioned us to silence and started forward again.
***
We found the gun locker. To my surprise, it was actually a whole room. Hey, I've never been in the military. I hear the term "gun locker" and I picture a high-school locker stuffed with AK-47s and grenades instead of smelly socks and week-old ham sandwiches.
I sneaked up to an open doorway, peeked around the corner, and saw Tucker scribbling on a clipboard. Not only was he alone, but he had his back to us. Maybe Bauer had a point when she made that little speech about overreliance on technology in the post-industrial age. These guys were so convinced of the impenetrability of their high-tech security system that, so long as no alarms blared, they felt safe. Tucker wasn't even armed. Really, where was the challenge?
I backed away from the door and motioned to Clay. He crept to my side, glanced around the door, and shook his head. We broke into a flurry of sign language. Then I nodded, stepped back, and waved Adam and Paige forward. Clay glided around the door, shoes silent on the linoleum. When Adam tried to follow, I put out my hands to stop him. Clay could handle this alone. Better if we stayed hidden.
I closed my eyes to sharpen my hearing and tracked the whisper of Clay's breathing, mapping it against Tucker's. The gap between them closed. Then, as I waited for the scuffle of the attack, two loud clicks shattered the silence. Guns.
I lunged into the open doorway. Paige grabbed the back of my shirt, stopping me just as two guards stepped from their hiding places, guns trained on Clay's head.
ANNIHILATION
Clay froze in mid-step. His eyes flickered from one guard to the other, but he didn't move, didn't even complete his stride. Tucker turned to face him, smiling.
"So it is you," Tucker said. "The brute who took out my men near Augusta. If we hadn't found the camera, I wouldn't have believed it. Three of my best men. Killed by one rabid dog."
Clay said nothing. Adam, Paige, and I stood in the open doorway. Tucker ignored us.
"Not a bad idea, disabling the radios and alarms," Tucker said. "Not bad, but not brilliant either. You underestimated how well I've trained my men. As soon as Jackson realized we had a breach, he sent one of his team to warn me personally."
Paige held my arm. As Tucker spoke, she squeezed it. Thinking she was frightened, I didn't brush her off. Then she pinched me so hard I had to bite back a yelp. When I glared down at her, she nodded almost imperceptibly toward the nearer guard. I returned an equally discreet head shake. No way was I endangering Clay's life by attacking a guard. Paige squeezed my arm harder and shot me an impatient look. I turned away.
Tucker continued, "Yes, I know it's four to three right now. Not outstanding odds for our side, but I expect them to improve at any moment. One of my men is gathering backup as we speak." He tilted his head. "Do I hear footsteps? I think I do. But you're the one with bionic hearing. Tell me, how many men are approaching? Four? Six? Ten?"
Paige murmured under her breath. It didn't sound like English… Shit! She was casting a spell. Before I could stop her, the guard who was farther from us tensed. He looked from side to side, only his eyes moving, slowly flooding with panic. I knew then what Paige had cast: a binding spell. Paige released her grip on my arm and I flew at the nearer guard. As I slammed into him, a shot fired at the ceiling. I wrenched the gun from his hands as we fell to the floor. The second guard was turning now, the spell broken.
Adam hurdled over me and threw the other guard into the wall. Clay grabbed Tucker by the neck. As I drove my fists into my target's gut, his knee caught me in the chest, winding me. The stink of burning flesh filled the room. The other guard screamed. At the sound, my guard hesitated just long enough for me to catch my breath. I heaved him over my head and into a set of heavy steel shelves. The back of his head slammed into the top shelf corner. He hung there a minute, suspended in midair. His eyes blinked once, then he toppled face first to the floor, blood gushing from a crevice in the back of his skull. Clay checked the guard's pulse as I stood.
"Dead," he said.
One glance at Tucker and the other guard told me they suffered from the same condition.
"Can you hear anyone coming, darling?" Clay asked.
"Tucker was bluffing earlier," I said. "But they're coming now. At least four. As many as seven. We should run."
"Run?" Adam said. "Their seven to our four? That's decent odds."
"I want excellent, not decent. Seven to four almost guarantees a loss on our side. Are you volunteering for the position?"
Adam glanced at Clay.
"Elena's right," Clay said. "We run now and hope they split up. If they don't, we pick the battlefield. Here, we're cornered."
We left the gun locker.
***
Though I could hear the guards coming, they weren't in sight yet. We made it around the corner. Then we ducked into an open doorway.
"They're at the gun locker," I whispered as I listened. "They're talking… they see Tucker. One-no, two are staying to check for vital signs. The rest are going to keep looking. They've slowed to a walk, but they're coming this way."
"Paul Michael Ryman. Former corporal with the United States Army. Currently serving under Special Operations Colonel R. J. Tucker."
"Men," Paige muttered, shaking her head.
Clay spread Ryman's right hand on the desktop. A spurt of static from one set of speakers made me jump. Clay only glanced at Adam.
"Sorry," Adam said. "I'm almost done."
He jacked down the volume on the static-spewing speaker, then bent to look at the wiring on the other one.
"Okay," Clay said. "One last chance. Wh-"
The still-functional speaker broke into an earsplitting whine. As Adam reached to flick it off, a voice sounded.
"Jackson to base. Base, do you read? Repeat, security has been breached. Over."
"Hold on," Clay whispered before Adam turned it off. He motioned for me to hold Ryman still and quiet, then snatched the mike from Adam. "How do you work this thing?"
"Push the button to talk. Release to listen. They can't hear anything unless the button's down."
Clay cranked up the volume on the disconnected speaker. Static filled the room. He pushed the talk button.
"Base to Jackson," Clay said, swallowing his accent. "Ryman here. We're having equipment problems. Repeat. Over."
"Shit, Paul," the voice came back. "I can barely hear you. I said we have a breach. The f**king door's been blown off. I'm guessing explosives, but shit, you should see this. Nothing left but ash. One helluva bomb."
"No," Adam said, grinning. "One helluva half-demon."
Clay motioned him to silence, then pressed the mike button. "Where's Tu-Colonel Tucker?"
"Last time I saw him, he was on level two, taking inventory in the gun locker. He isn't answering his radio?"
"I'll try again. Maintain your position. I'm sending backup."
Clay handed the mike to Adam, then gestured from me to Ryman.
"You want him?" he asked.
I met Ryman's eyes with a cold stare. "Not really. Go ahead and kill him."
Ryman's eyes bulged. His mouth opened but before anything came out, Clay snapped his neck. Once Adam finished disconnecting the radio and security systems, we headed for the gun locker.
***
Now, we didn't know exactly where to find the gun locker. The guard had said level two, which narrowed it down somewhat. From my infirmary excursions, I'd learned that the second floor was laid out much like the lower level, one large block with a single corridor looping around and joining at the elevator. That made it easier. All we had to do was start at one end and check every room until we found Tucker. Getting Ryman to divulge the exact location of the gun locker would have taken too much time.
On our search, we found and killed two kitchen workers. No, they didn't threaten us. No, we didn't perceive them as a threat. The unpleasant truth was that we had to kill everyone. No matter how harmless they might seem, even the lowliest staff member possessed the most dangerous weapon of all: knowledge. They knew we existed, and for that, they couldn't be allowed to leave the compound.
***
While searching for Tucker, we found Matasumi in a locked room-or I should say, I smelled him through a locked door. We listened for a moment, then Paige cast a minor spell to open it. She admitted the spell worked only on simple locks, but since it was silent, we decided to try that before employing more physical techniques. It worked and we eased the door open. I peered inside and saw Matasumi seated at a computer. He was alone. I eased the door shut, bumping Paige in the chin as she craned her neck for a look inside.
"All clear," I whispered. "He's working at a computer. Doesn't seem to even realize there's a problem."
"He knows," Paige said. "Did you see the Zip disks? The knapsack? He's backing up data and clearing the hard drive before he runs."
"And he's about to encounter a fatal error," Adam said, grinning. "Mind if I handle this one?"
"I saw a gun on the desk," Paige said. "A big one. He probably grabbed the largest one he could find."
Clay glanced at me.
"I doubt he has any idea how to use it." I nodded to Adam. "Sure, go ahead. We'll cover you. Just be-"
"Careful," Adam said. "I know."
I eased open the door. Matasumi faced the side wall. His fingers flew across the keyboard. As Adam stepped into the room, Matasumi bent to put another disk into the drive. He saw Adam and froze, then sneaked a glance at the gun on the corner of the desk. His hand darted out, but Adam snatched the rifle before Matasumi got close.
Adam brandished the gun and whistled. "This is one wicked piece of firepower. You got a license for it, Doc?"
Matasumi froze again, hand still outstretched.
"Didn't think so," Adam said. "Neither do I, so how about we get rid of this before someone gets hurt."
Adam started to toss the gun to Clay, then thought better of it, laid it on the floor, and scooted it to us with his foot.
"Adam Vasic," Matasumi murmured.
"You know my name? I'm flattered."
Adam grabbed Matasumi's hand and shook it. Matasumi yelped and yanked his hand back. He stared at the bright red splotches on his palm, then gaped at Adam, as if unable to believe he'd burned him.
"Whoops," Adam said. "Sorry about that, Doc. Haven't quite got the fiery stuff under control yet." Adam turned to the computer. "Whatcha working on? That's some piece of hardware. Paige, you see this? What is it?"
Adam bent and squinted at the tower box. He reached out and touched it. Sparks flew. Circuits popped. Matasumi jerked back.
"Damn!" Adam said. "That looks bad. Think you can fix it, Paige?"
"Sorry, I'm not a technician."
Adam shook his head. "Guess we're shit outta luck, then, Doc. Sorry about that. What were you doing anyway? Downloading files?" Adam popped the disk from the drive. It sizzled, then melted like wax between his fingers. "Oops. Hope you have backups."
Matasumi's eyes flickered to a locked shelf overhead. Clay stepped forward and snapped it open. Adam scooped up a handful of disk cases. This time they disintegrated at his touch, leaving only charred bits of plastic and metal.
"See?" he said, showing Clay his fistful of ash. "That's what happens when you help me strengthen my powers. Even worse than King Midas's curse. At least gold's valuable." He turned to Matasumi and shrugged. "Sorry, Doc, but it's really for the best. We can't let that information get outside these walls, can we? Oh, wait. There's one more memory bank I need to shut down. My apologies in advance."
Adam tore a wire from the computer and wrapped it around Matasumi's neck. For a second, Matasumi didn't seem to realize what was happening. Then his hands flew to his throat. Too late. As Adam wrenched the wire tight, it ignited, flared, then died as Matasumi slumped sideways, garrotted.
"You enjoyed that far too much," Paige said.
Adam only grinned. "What do you expect? I'm a demon."
"Half-demon."
"And a full demon would have tortured the poor guy first. At least I was merciful."
"Finish destroying the files and the computer," Clay said. "Then we move."
***
"Should I contact Kenneth now?" Paige asked as we left the room.
Clay shook his head and kept walking.
"But Jeremy said to notify them once we were inside and had the systems down."
"No, he said to notify him when Elena told you to."
Paige glanced at me.
I shook my head. "Not yet."
"But we could use their help."
"Whose help?" Clay said, stopping suddenly and wheeling on her. "Kenneth's? He can't fight. Cassandra's? She might fight, if she feels like it. We'll call them in when it's clear."
"But-"
"But nothing." Clay glowered at Paige. "You're asking me to put my Alpha in a potentially dangerous position where he's not only the lone fighter, but where he's responsible for two other people. I won't do that."
"I'm sorry," Paige murmured as Clay turned away.
Clay spun on her. "What?"
"I said, I'm sorry."
Clay hesitated, gave a brusque nod, then motioned us to silence and started forward again.
***
We found the gun locker. To my surprise, it was actually a whole room. Hey, I've never been in the military. I hear the term "gun locker" and I picture a high-school locker stuffed with AK-47s and grenades instead of smelly socks and week-old ham sandwiches.
I sneaked up to an open doorway, peeked around the corner, and saw Tucker scribbling on a clipboard. Not only was he alone, but he had his back to us. Maybe Bauer had a point when she made that little speech about overreliance on technology in the post-industrial age. These guys were so convinced of the impenetrability of their high-tech security system that, so long as no alarms blared, they felt safe. Tucker wasn't even armed. Really, where was the challenge?
I backed away from the door and motioned to Clay. He crept to my side, glanced around the door, and shook his head. We broke into a flurry of sign language. Then I nodded, stepped back, and waved Adam and Paige forward. Clay glided around the door, shoes silent on the linoleum. When Adam tried to follow, I put out my hands to stop him. Clay could handle this alone. Better if we stayed hidden.
I closed my eyes to sharpen my hearing and tracked the whisper of Clay's breathing, mapping it against Tucker's. The gap between them closed. Then, as I waited for the scuffle of the attack, two loud clicks shattered the silence. Guns.
I lunged into the open doorway. Paige grabbed the back of my shirt, stopping me just as two guards stepped from their hiding places, guns trained on Clay's head.
ANNIHILATION
Clay froze in mid-step. His eyes flickered from one guard to the other, but he didn't move, didn't even complete his stride. Tucker turned to face him, smiling.
"So it is you," Tucker said. "The brute who took out my men near Augusta. If we hadn't found the camera, I wouldn't have believed it. Three of my best men. Killed by one rabid dog."
Clay said nothing. Adam, Paige, and I stood in the open doorway. Tucker ignored us.
"Not a bad idea, disabling the radios and alarms," Tucker said. "Not bad, but not brilliant either. You underestimated how well I've trained my men. As soon as Jackson realized we had a breach, he sent one of his team to warn me personally."
Paige held my arm. As Tucker spoke, she squeezed it. Thinking she was frightened, I didn't brush her off. Then she pinched me so hard I had to bite back a yelp. When I glared down at her, she nodded almost imperceptibly toward the nearer guard. I returned an equally discreet head shake. No way was I endangering Clay's life by attacking a guard. Paige squeezed my arm harder and shot me an impatient look. I turned away.
Tucker continued, "Yes, I know it's four to three right now. Not outstanding odds for our side, but I expect them to improve at any moment. One of my men is gathering backup as we speak." He tilted his head. "Do I hear footsteps? I think I do. But you're the one with bionic hearing. Tell me, how many men are approaching? Four? Six? Ten?"
Paige murmured under her breath. It didn't sound like English… Shit! She was casting a spell. Before I could stop her, the guard who was farther from us tensed. He looked from side to side, only his eyes moving, slowly flooding with panic. I knew then what Paige had cast: a binding spell. Paige released her grip on my arm and I flew at the nearer guard. As I slammed into him, a shot fired at the ceiling. I wrenched the gun from his hands as we fell to the floor. The second guard was turning now, the spell broken.
Adam hurdled over me and threw the other guard into the wall. Clay grabbed Tucker by the neck. As I drove my fists into my target's gut, his knee caught me in the chest, winding me. The stink of burning flesh filled the room. The other guard screamed. At the sound, my guard hesitated just long enough for me to catch my breath. I heaved him over my head and into a set of heavy steel shelves. The back of his head slammed into the top shelf corner. He hung there a minute, suspended in midair. His eyes blinked once, then he toppled face first to the floor, blood gushing from a crevice in the back of his skull. Clay checked the guard's pulse as I stood.
"Dead," he said.
One glance at Tucker and the other guard told me they suffered from the same condition.
"Can you hear anyone coming, darling?" Clay asked.
"Tucker was bluffing earlier," I said. "But they're coming now. At least four. As many as seven. We should run."
"Run?" Adam said. "Their seven to our four? That's decent odds."
"I want excellent, not decent. Seven to four almost guarantees a loss on our side. Are you volunteering for the position?"
Adam glanced at Clay.
"Elena's right," Clay said. "We run now and hope they split up. If they don't, we pick the battlefield. Here, we're cornered."
We left the gun locker.
***
Though I could hear the guards coming, they weren't in sight yet. We made it around the corner. Then we ducked into an open doorway.
"They're at the gun locker," I whispered as I listened. "They're talking… they see Tucker. One-no, two are staying to check for vital signs. The rest are going to keep looking. They've slowed to a walk, but they're coming this way."
