Haywire (23 page)

“
I did. I’ve already placed a call through to the Assistant Director. Do you want me to patch you over now?”

“
Yes, please.”

There was a brief burst of static, and then AD Anderson said, “Delgado, what have you got for me?”

“
Sir, I believe we have a lead on the Campbells. It looks like they and an unknown third party are heading for Mars. I still don’t know who’s with them or what’s compelling them to run.”

“
And do you think this third party is the Titan Dr. Campbell’s assistant thought he saw?”

Alex sucked air through his teeth as he considered how to answer the question. He didn’t think Beddor was the type of person who was given to hysterics and saw things that weren’t there, but when guns were shoved in your face and the adrenaline started pumping, anyone could be forgiven for having a faulty memory. Other than Beddor’s admittedly hazy account, Alex hadn’t see anything to make him believe a Titan was suddenly in their midst.

“
The evidence doesn’t back that up, Sir,” he said. “If there’s a Titan involved, then they’re keeping a pretty low profile, and from what I remember from my history lessons, low profile wasn’t exactly their forte. From what I’ve seen I believe it’s one of the pirates, and they’re using Dr. Campbell and her son as hostages until they meet up with the rest of their people.”

“
On Mars?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, or they could all be getting together on Hygeia now. I can’t know until I get there.”

“
I understand,” Anderson replied. There were several seconds of silence, and then the AD said, “Alex, I… It’s come to my attention that you and Dr. Campbell have a personal relationship. You failed to mention that in your initial report.”

The light in Alex’s chest dimmed. He didn’t know how to respond. He’d hoped that wouldn’t come up. But it had, and he knew he had to say something. “I know, Sir, but... right now that doesn’t matter. She’s still a citizen of the Alliance. I’m the only investigator out here, and all our relationship does is motivate me even more to finding out what’s going on.”

In his mind, Alex could see Anderson’s left eyebrow hoisting into the air. It was a common look the AD had when someone tried to piss on his leg and tell him it was raining. “You expect me to buy that?”

“
Yes, Sir,” Alex replied, knowing he had to be completely honest or risk upsetting his superior even more. “It’s the truth. I’m the best man you’ve got, I’m on the scene, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to bring this situation to a swift and safe resolution. And, frankly, even if you gave this to another agent I’d still do what I have to do.”

The AD was silent for several long heartbeats before he finally said, “Okay. If I had anyone else out that way that was half as good as you are and half as prepared, I’d probably yank you, but I don’t. So get to it, Agent. You say they’re headed for Mars?”

“
Yes. But, before they can get there they have to stop at a mining facility at Hygeia. That’s where we can catch them. I’m taking a shuttle out there, and I’d like a tactical team going with me as backup.”

“
Done. I’ll have a rapid response shuttle and SWAT meet you here on Minerva. It’s a good thing those freighters are so goddamn slow. You won’t get to Hygeia before they do, but you won’t be far off.”

The spot of light in Alex’s chest returned, brighter than before. “Thank you, Sir. I’m also going to contact the security out at Hygeia. They need to know I’m coming, and that – should something go wrong – they can’t allow the
Bonny Lad
to leave that asteroid. Hopefully that won’t happen though, and I’ll be able to defuse the situation long before they know there’s trouble.”

“
Sounds like a good plan, Alex. I’ll make sure your order to Hygeia gets all the clearance it needs. There’s one more thing, though, before we disconnect. My office has been getting calls from the media about what happened at the museum. I didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know, but only because what they already know is pretty considerable.”

Alex closed his eyes and grunted. It had only been a matter of time, but he’d hoped it would have taken longer before word got out. Once the media got involved, investigations got infinitely harder. “You think one of the museum employees talked? Maybe Alicia’s assistant?”

“
Could have been, but hell, it could have been one of the visitors too. Or all of them for all I know. They wouldn’t cite sources. Either way, they know a group of armed people broke into the museum, and that Dr. Campbell and her son were somehow in the mix. We’re giving them the usual terrorist spiel. For now the words ‘Titan technology’ haven’t been brought up, but I expect that’ll change if word leaks about that secret level under the museum. I will do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Let me know more as it develops on your end, and I’ll do the same. Anderson out.”

Alex passed through the spaceport airlock as a soft chime filled his ear.

“
Your shuttle is prepped for launch, Alex.”

“
Thanks, Isabel. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

An electronic laugh wafted out of his helmet speakers. “Probably end up on the other side of Neptune wondering where your coffee was.”

“
How in the hell did we not know about this?” Lieutenant General Harper asked, anger coursing through his veins instead of blood. His grip on the computer pad in his hands was so tight it nearly cracked. The room he sat in was as dark as his mood.

Next to his desk stood Major Fuqua, the bearer of the bad news that had been delivered to his doorstep. Lesser men would have flinched at the tone Harper used, but not Fookie. The man was a rock, born and bred for intelligence work. Harper had never seen him rattled, not once. It was one of the many reasons he loved the man. Fookie was as calm as a Sunday afternoon, and Harper needed someone like that to temper his rougher edges.

“
Someone slipped up,” Fuqua said.

“
Well no shit. Not just someone, but a lot of someones. We all fucking slipped up. An entire laboratory, hidden under our very noses. I can’t goddamn believe it.”

The major reached out and pointed toward the pad’s display screen. “As you can see, Sir, there was –”

“
I can goddamn well see it, Fookie. My eyes aren’t so bad I need you pointing shit out to me. It was shielded, I get it. What I don’t get is what Groesbeck was doing down there.”

“
We’ll know shortly, Sir. As soon as Lieutenant Zaki forwarded his report up, we sent a team to check it out. They’ll be in and out before the AFI’s forensics team can touch down. Local authorities won’t even know we were there, nor will the media.”

Harper leaned back in his plush chair and reached into his jacket for a smoke. “We can’t wait around on them. Shit is in motion, Son. If we’ve got criminals smart enough to know the location of a secret Titan facility we had no clue about, not to mention a bunch of goddamn reporters sniffing around, then our problems are just beginning. Even as we speak they could be putting Groesbeck’s data up for sale to the highest bidder, or – God forbid – they could have the nanites themselves. Do you know what they could do with Titan nanites, Fookie?”

“
Nothing good, Sir.”

“
You’re goddamn right, ‘nothing good,’ “ he replied as he withdrew a cigar. The major had a light ready for him after he bit the tip off and shoved it into his mouth. “Hell, there’s even a chance an actual goddamn Titan is involved! By this time tomorrow we could be up to our asses in suped-up freaks, any one of them capable of shredding our ships into confetti.”

“
Sir, there’s no real evidence that a Titan has retur– “

Harper blew smoke out in a thick cloud. “You get my meaning. Goddamn it! I knew this Titan shit was going to bite us in the ass one day. ‘All hail the great saviors!’ What a load. If I’d been alive and in command, you can bet your stripes I wouldn’t have signed off on that mess. The only hands I trust that kind of power in are my own.”

“
Then perhaps we should–”

As Fuqua spoke, a bright beeping sound emanated from the comm he wore around his left ear. After he tapped it, the small monocle sitting in front of his left eye lit up with incoming text. “Sir, we’ve intercepted another transmission from Agent Delgado. He believes he’s found the destination of the thieves. They’re aboard a Union freighter, the
Bonny Lad
, and are en route to the Hygeia Mining Cluster. Their ultimate destination appears to be Mars.”

The lieutenant general slammed his fist down on the desk. “Mars! I should have known the Union would be involved in this. Can we get to Hygeia before that damn agent does?”

Fuqua reviewed more data, and then said, “No, Sir. The closest asset we have is the
Culper
.”

“
That’s Townsend’s ship, right?”

“
Yes, Sir. He’s running a surveillance op at the Ceres-Hygeia Conduit. The ship is fully loaded with hunter-seeker missiles and has a seasoned tac team ready to board and storm.”

Harper chuckled, the sound rumbling up from low in his throat. “I bet. They’ve been waiting for weeks for something to pop up out there. Let’s give them a real target to go after.”

The major pulled out a palm keyboard and began typing. “What exactly do you want them to do? How far does their authorization go?”

Harper closed his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose for a long second before replying. “Having Titan tech on the loose is bad for a lot of reasons. We have to get it under lock and key goddamn ASAP, and we have to maintain secrecy on this at all costs. The media already knows more than they should. Tell that tac team they’re to secure whatever Titan tech they find by any means necessary, even if it’s walking and talking. And, if they can’t secure it, they’re to destroy it and leave no witnesses behind.”

“
No witnesses?” Fuqua asked. “Not even–”

“
I don’t like it, damn it,” Harper said, cutting him off, “but it’s got to be done. I’ll not have that sort of technology used against the Alliance. Not on my watch. I want this shit secure. Now.”

The junior officer nodded. “Understood, Sir. I’ll coordinate things from command.”

As the major left the room, fingers busily typing at his small keyboard, Harper picked up his phone, hit a button, and cradled it against his shoulder.

“
This is Lieutenant General Harper. Get me the president.”

“
This is the cap’n,” Finnegan said, her voice falling like lead from the cabin speakers. “We’ve been granted permission to land at Hygeia, so we’ll be touchin’ down shortly. All crew, get to yer stations. To our passengers, strap yerselves in.”

Shawn awoke with a start, the captain’s words cutting through his dreams like a buzz saw. He hadn’t meant to sleep through their trip to Hygeia, but he had anyway. As he stretched in his seat he noted that his muscles didn’t burn as fiercely as they had hours before, and the ache in his bones was gone. All in all he felt okay. Great, in fact. The status displays in his eyes didn’t bother him anymore either. The only item of note was a recommendation that he eat soon to replenish lost nutrients. The rumble in his stomach seconded the motion.

Across from him, Artemis was belted down and still out like a light. As she dozed, her armor moved in subtle motions across her body. One moment it seemed as hard as titanium, and the next it softened to butter and shifted, only to harden again. In his enhanced vision the shadow of her infection was getting worse as it won out inch by inch against her defenses.

“
Can you see it yet?” his mother asked as she yawned and locked her seatbelt into place.

He looked at her, uncertain what she meant. She pointed out the porthole on his left. Stars glinted at them in numbers he couldn’t even begin to count. Here and there he saw the engine glow of a starship, but as he shifted his gaze forward he saw a large cluster of lights arrayed around a large, oblong asteroid. He couldn’t judge its size since there wasn’t anything to compare it against, but he knew from his school studies that Hygeia was a bit over five-hundred kilometers long, and over four-hundred kilometers thick.

There were bits of activity across its surface as small vehicles and suited workers floated around it, but nothing leapt out at him as especially intriguing. Other asteroids floated in orbit, and several of them had structures on their surface with red light pouring from them. Further out were more asteroids, some tethered together, all of them glowing. His view became blocked, however, as the freighter entered one of Hygeia’s cavernous docking facilities. As they passed through the opening, Shawn felt the pressure of artificial gravity pull at him. On the rock walls that surrounded them were gouges left by mining equipment that had bored out the area. Lights and scaffolding crisscrossed the walls like a skeleton. Ahead of them was a broad, flat landing pad. Several loading vehicles were idling nearby, ready to board the
Bonny Lad
’s cargo holds and get to work.

“
Everyone hold on to yer knickers,” Finnegan said. “We’re touching down in five… four… three… two… one.”

A bone-jarring thud reverberated through the freighter as its landing skids hit the reinforced pad. The sudden vibration shook Artemis from her slumber.

“
Where am I?” she asked, her eyes unfocused and sluggish. “What’s happening?”