Arvad closed the laptop, blinked at it for a few seconds, and then returned it to its place inside the hidden safe. He had hurried back from the show as soon as he could in case his operative needed to contact him. Things were still moving forward, but he couldn’t shake a sense of unease. He sat back in his chair and stared across the room at nothing. The whole operation had been a gamble from the beginning. Any number of things could have gone wrong at any moment. The Andrani Collective, with their vast, hidden information network, could have caught wind of what he was trying to do. Hidden spies in the employ of Carthage’s competitors could have found him out. Every element had been carefully placed, every person involved expressly chosen. Arvad could not hope to control all these disparate elements, but he didn’t necessarily need them to.
He just needed the pieces to move in the right general direction. How exactly they arrived there didn’t matter as much so long as it didn’t jeopardize the overall goal. That was another thing that set him apart from CEOs of other companies. Where they tended to micromanage every element of their business, Arvad pushed responsibility and ownership down the chain as far as possible. Tempered just enough with the edge of ruthlessness, it made Arvad an effective leader for Carthage. Carrot and stick.
He reached for his cup of coffee and drained the last of it, which was starting to cool. Despite a few hiccups, the pieces of this particular mission were generally moving in the right direction. Soon, he would have what he needed from Mamertine Solaris. He had lost the feed from the hacker, but that was okay. She needed to concentrate on getting Specimen 2246B off that station. So long as they made it out in the next five or so minutes, they would avoid the Andrani.
Arvad scowled at his empty cup on the desk. The Andrani. The universe’s biggest bogeyman. There were even religious nuts dedicated to them, calling them divine retribution that humans so rightly deserve. Arvad just saw them as another obstacle to overcome. Someone else that stood in the way of what he needed. While he’d only had to kill three of his own employees in his tenure as CEO, he had destroyed hundreds if not thousands of others, whether through corporate shuffling or hostile takeovers. And that doesn’t count the assassinations and extortions against his enemies, both within and outside of the company. All who had dared stand up to him fell away like dust in the wind. The Andrani were all that remained.
The CEO picked up his mug and moved back to his private kitchen. He thought about making another cup, but a glance at the clock on his wall told him this would be a bad idea. He had enough trouble sleeping at night. Adding more caffeine at this point would make the problem worse. Instead, he prepared some tea to kill time. Each passing minute seemed to drag longer than the previous. He ignored other entrities from his communicator. Those problems could wait. He would only talk with Silk when she contacted him again. Once he was sure they had cleared that region of space and the Andrani had not noticed them, then he could relax and get back to the rest of the business.
A new ping from Unknown came up on his screen.
“Complications.”
Arvad frowned at his phone. That could mean anything. He quickly moved back to his desk, retrieved the laptop from the safe, and brought up the messaging window again.
He typed, “Wrong?”
Instead of a reply, the vid window popped back up. When the stream finally finished buffering, a face stared directly into the camera. The face belonged to the captain of Gecko squad. She had removed her helmet and held it in one hand, letting it dangle by her side. Blood smeared her cheeks and a stream of it ran down one side of her face. She looked pissed. This was reinforced by the gun she held up to the camera. The feed was coming from the hacker’s helmet cam.
Arvad grunted. He liked the captain. She was the most capable leader of any squad operating in the quadrant, evidenced by their string of successes. Arvad had at one point even thought about including her in the final retrieval, but, counter to the rest of the merc population, she had a moral streak that made her inflexible. She was supposed to meet her end in that cargo bay. Clearly, he had underestimated just how good she was.
Behind the captain, Arvad could see Niko and 2246B crouching low against the wall. Niko had a welt on his forehead. ADirectly in front of Niko a tall, thin man stood with his rifle pointed at Niko and 2246B. That would be Tracer, one of the replacements Arvad had arranged for Gecko. Now the captain’s escape made more sense.
Arvad took a breath. This was okay. He could work with this. All he needed was for the primary pieces to be in their place, no matter how they got there.
He switched to the messaging window and typed, “Audio”.
A few seconds later, sound crackled through the speakers.
“Can you hear me?” he said.
Evy blinked a few times and then her face hardened. “Yeah, I can you hear you, you son of bitch,” she said. “You the one who called this job?”
“I am, and I see you’ve successfully retrieved the package.”
“Don’t bullshit me,” said the captain, nearly yelling. “You set us up and turned my hhacker against me!”
There was no point in lying to the woman. It would only delay their escape and ignite an already volatile situation. Arvad maintained calm as he said, “I simply made alternate arrangements with her. But, that’s not important right now.”
“Not important?!”
“Captain, I shouldn’t have to remind you that the Andrani Collective’s arrival is imminent. You have less a minute to exit the station.”
“I know that! And what if I decided to leave your precious objective behind for them.”
“You could do that, but then I would make sure to tag your ship as carrying quantum entanglement tech, which would invariable draw the Collective’s attention to you almost immediately.”
The captain’s mouth opened and closed, her expression one of shock and incredulity.
Finally, she recovered and said, “You bastard.”
“I don’t disagree, but you now have less than thirty seconds. If you wish to see another day, captain commander Vissa, leave now.”
She snarled and hit the camera, cutting the feed.
Arvad sat at his desk staring at the blinking cursor of the message window. All he could do now was hope and wait.
-+-+-
2246B stared at the sniper’s rifle as it shifted back and forth between her and Niko. If she moved fast enough, she could strike his throat and then his left knee, disabling him. The captain would require less effort to dismantle.
She blinked. Where had that come from? Up until now, violence was not a concept she entertained. Not five minutes before, 2246B could not even fathom inflicting harm on another being. She searched within her programming and processing to understand. She found that the violence lay within a built-in survival protocol. 2246B thought about removing it but decided against that. She trusted Niko. Niko was trying to save her. Shutting down survival subroutines would likely impede his efforts.
Slow comprehension dawned on her. She knew she was an artificial lifeform, one created from both organic and inorganic materials. Part grown, part manufactured. But the dividing lines between the two parts was not so clear. 2246B knew that her strength lay in the way she learned and processed information. That processing was yet another mixture, this time one of biochemistry and software. The term cyborg, while technically correct, didn’t seem quite right. Deep within her genetic makeup, she detected that she was human…mostly. Something else had been mixed in. “Dragon” was the only word for it, but 2246B had no idea what that meant. What did a mythological creature have to do with her origins?
She processed all of this while the captain—Evy was her name—spoke with someone through the camera mounted to Silk’s visor. The hacker stood with her back pressed into a corner of the room. When Evy and the sniper caught up with them, there was a lot of shouting, and Evy pushed Silk into a room with a large table and chairs all around. Evy then took Silk’s gun and shoved her into the corner.
2246B sensed that Silk had betrayed the others, but it was hard to tell exactly how. The absence of the big one and the one with sword might have something to do with.
“You bastard,” the captain yelled. She then smacked the helmet.
Silk let out a grunt of pain from the blow. The captain then grabbed the visor and flipped it up to reveal Silk’s face. The girl behind it looked pretty with freckles and blue eyes. A judgment of personal features? Adding more and more processes all of the time.
The captain glared at Silk for a long moment.
The hacker squirmed under her gaze and then squeaked out, “Captain, I’m so—”
“Don’t!” growled Evy. “You don’t get to be sorry.”
“Cap,” said the sniper without looking at her, “we’re outta time.” 2246B noticed he had a strange accent.
Evy grabbed Silk’s collar, yanked her close and said, “Take us to your extraction. You so much as think about ditching us and I’ll put a bullet through your skull.” She then shoved her toward the room’s door. “Lead the way.” Then to the sniper, “Tracer, cover our six. Keep these two moving.”
The sniper motioned with his rifle for Niko and 2246B to follow. The five of them weaved through the office area. Taking a route to places 2246B did not recognize. When they reached a lift tube, the captain made them stop.
“An elevator?” she said, snarling. “Really?”
“It’s the fastest way,” said Silk.
The captain grunted. “Fine.”
“What’s wrong with the elevator?” said Niko, a question that 2246B had also wanted to ask.
“Tactical nightmare, hoss,” said the sniper. “Confined space. Fixed movement. Only one way in or out. One of those squads catches us in that thing and we’re toast.”
Niko swallowed and paled a little as the lift’s doors opened. They entered the lift and gathered inside its confines. Silk pressed a button for Level 2.
“Level 2?” said Niko. “That’s waste processing and fluid filtration. Why are we going there?”
“We’re going to the sewers?” said the sniper.
“There’s an external access hatch,” said Silk. “Our ride is waiting for us there.”
As the elevator began to close, 2246B heard a shout from somewhere down the hallway. A group of soldiers appeared at the far end. They raised their guns and began firing at the elevator.
The sniper shoved 2246B and Niko against one wall. Evy and Silk pressed against the other side. Bullets peppered the back of the elevator and the walls surrounding the opening. More rounds pelted the doors as they slowly closed. One of the soldiers charged forward to reach the doors. Just as he reached the door, the sniper swiveled his rifle and fired. The attacker’s head snapped back as blood and brain matter painted the nearby walls and ceiling red. He dropped to the floor, dead.
2246B processed this, trying to understand what it had witnessed. One organic creature had ended the life of another right in front of her. It continued to process this as the elevator doors shut and the lift began accelerating downward.
Before the group could breathe a sigh of relief, the elevator shook. Niko and Silk lost their balance and fell to their knees as the others swayed.
“The hell was that?” said Evy.
Silk recovered and pulled down her visor. Her lower lip began quivering. “It’s the Andrani,” she said. “They’re here.”
A heavy silence settled into the elevator as the rumbling continued.
Finally, Evy cursed and glared at 2246B. “Just what the hell are you?”
The cybernetic dragon-human hybrid shrank back.
“Now, hold on,” Niko said, his tone reproachful. “Don’t pin the blame on her. They’re after the entire operation. 2246B is just a small part of that.”
Evy cocked an eyebrow. “Small? So, it’s just coincidence then that this is the one specimen or unit that we’re taking out of here?”
Niko’s mouth worked. “That doesn’t change anything.”
“No, she’s right,” said Silk, her visor flipped back up. Her attention on Niko, she said, “If you hadn’t retrieved this one, my instructions were to locate 2246B specifically.”
“What’s so special about me?” asked 2246B, her internal control processors working to understand the implications of the conversation.
“I...don’t know,” said Silk. She gave Niko a questioning look.
The young software engineer stammered as he said, “I-I...um...I don’t know either.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” said Evy, her tone accusing as she glared at Silk. “Or you’re lying.”
“I’m not lying!” Silk fired back. “Why would I at this point?” The woman sunk down to the floor. “The Andrani are here and we’re done.”
“Not yet,” said the captain. “Not while we’re still breathing.” She turned to Tracer. “As soon as that door opens, take point. Anything, and I mean anything living gets in our path, don’t hesitate.”
“You got it, boss,” replied the sniper.
She turned to 2246B and Niko. “You two will fall in behind Tracer.” To Niko, she said, “You make sure it stays with us.”
Niko swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”
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