Haywire (26 page)

Alex shook his head and tried to keep his face neutral. “Like this? No.”

Agent Hutchins tightened the strap that held a long knife to his thigh and stood up. “Have you ever fired your weapon at anyone? I mean, anyone not made of wood and at the end of a shooting range?”

Hating to do it, Alex shook his head again. “I’ve drawn it a few times, but usually that was enough to control the situation.”

Several of the SWAT agents nearby grunted light chuckles, but none of them looked right at his face and laughed. Instead they slapped energy clips into pistols, checked power packs on rifles, and tucked grenades into pouches.

Hutchins walked over and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Don’t let these kids get to you. Nothing wrong with never having to shoot someone. Hell, there’re lots of days when I wish I’d never had to do it. It’s what I’m good at, though, and if it means good people are saved from bad, then it’s what I’m going to do. Now, tell me again what we’re heading into. I read the report, but I want to hear it from you.”

Starting from the beginning, Alex worked his way through the facts of the case in as succinct a manner as he could manage while avoiding baseless speculation. Agent Hutchins nodded through it all and kept his eyes locked forward, his attention laser sharp. But, when Alex was done, he said, “You’re not telling me something.”

“
Pardon?”

“
You’re leaving something out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s a hunch you’re too embarrassed to share, or you caught a lead in a less than legal manner. Whatever it is, just spill it. I don’t care about anything but completing my mission and getting my people back safe. If you know something, or think you know something, I want to hear it.”

In his head Alex debated whether or not to say the word that had tripped through his mind for the past several hours. It was crazy, and he still didn’t believe it, but it was still in his head nonetheless, and the SWAT agents deserved to know. The look on Hutchins’s face said he wasn’t taking no for answer either. Finally he said, “There might be a Titan involved.”

The sudden whistles and sharp inhales were about what he’d expected. He even felt the shuttle shimmy as his words filtered into the cockpit.

“
You have got to be joking,” one of the SWAT agents said.

Another stepped forward and holstered his pistol with a harsh shove. “Bullshit.”

Hutchins held up his hand and glared at his people. “Let the man speak.”

Knowing there was no point in backtracking, Alex said, “We don’t have any solid evidence that this involves the Titans, but an eyewitness placed one at the museum, and traces of nanites were also found. Who this Titan might be, why they’re here, or what their goal is, we don’t know. Trust me, I don’t want to believe it either. It’s just . . .”

“
Just what?” Hutchins asked.

Alex struggled with voicing the dark thought that had skulked through the back of his mind since leaving the museum, but then figured if he was in for a penny he might as well be in for a pound. “As much as I want to discount the idea, my mind keeps slipping back to that secret lab under the museum. It was like a slaughter house down there. Six pirates, all torn to pieces. I’ve got no idea what happened down there, but the idea that Dr. Campbell or her son could have done all that... Hell, that’s as unbelievable as a Titan returning. Frankly I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Hutchins stared into his eyes for several seconds before nodding and checking the straps on his armored vest. “I wish I’d known about this before we left Minerva. I’d have brought along an armored division. Or at least a couple of nukes.”

Alex felt a laugh build in his throat, but his worry kept it from rising. “I don’t think it’ll come to that. Most likely all we’re dealing with is a lone pirate on the run and keeping hostages around in case things go south.”

“
Don’t make it sound so easy,” someone said just loud enough for him to hear. He couldn’t see who the speaker had been, but the sentiment was shared on the faces of most of the SWAT agents.

“
There’s nothing easy about this,” he said, raising his voice to make sure everyone heard him loud and clear. “I’m in charge of this operation, and if a shot has to be fired, I’ll be the first one pulling the trigger. I understand the danger, believe me, and I’ll be right out in front. Am I clear?”

Hutchins gave him an admiring look, and then said, “Crystal, Agent Delgado. Right, people?”

The rest of the SWAT agents turned forward and echoed his words. A few still seemed skeptical, but most looked amped and ready for anything.

“
Agent Delgado,” the shuttle pilot said, “you wanted to be told when we were closing on Hygeia? Well, we’re closing.”

Alex turned and ducked into the cockpit. “Okay. Please open a comm channel.”

The co-pilot reached over and hit a short series of buttons, then handed Alex a headset. “It’s open.”

Being bent over with his head stuck in the cramped confines of the shuttle cockpit, it was awkward getting the headset slipped on, but after the microphone was over his lips he said, “This is Alliance Agent Alex Delgado calling Hygeia Security, come in Hygeia Security.”

Blood pounded through Alex’s ears for several long seconds before a brief burst of static flittered through his headset speakers.

“
This is Security Chief Acevedo, Agent Delgado. Go.”

“
Acevedo, what’s the situation with the
Bonny Lad
?”

“
So far there’s little to report. Their water delivery is almost complete, but they still have to refuel before they can depart. They aren’t going anywhere.”

Alex closed his eyes, thankful for a bit of good news. “That’s what I wanted to hear. What about passengers? Has anyone left the ship?”

“
Three people were logged through our debarkation system. So far they haven’t gone back aboard. Do you want me to have my people search them out and put them under surveillance?”

“
Get eyes on them,” Alex replied, rubbing at his lower lip in contemplation, “but be discreet. I don’t want to take a chance on spooking them. Just… find them and then use your closed-circuit cameras to monitor their activity. We should be there shortly.”

“
Understood, Agent. You’ve been cleared for docking clamp Bravo-Five. We’ll meet you there.”

“
Very good. Delgado out.”

Hutchins walked up next to Alex and stuck his head in the cockpit. “We good to go?”

“
Yeah, looks like it,” Alex replied.

Stepping back, Hutchins put his hands on his hips and grunted like a man gearing up for another hard day at work. “Okay, folks, it’s time to mount up.”

As the SWAT agents reached for clips and armor straps, Alex walked over to one of the open lockers and pulled on SWAT armor, which was heavier than the combat vest he normally wore. His fingers fumbled over the unfamiliar straps, so a woman walked over and helped him. She looked too young to be SWAT, but her eyes had years. She’d seen combat. She’d killed. Her nametag read GRACE.

“
This stuff will limit your mobility some,” she said, “but it’s strong enough to stand up to any ballistic weapon short of a cannon. Do you need help with your guns?”

“
Thank you, but no, Agent Grace,” he replied. “Wearing armor isn’t part of my normal duties, but I’ve handled plenty of guns in my day. I’ll be all right.”

Grace looked him over one last time, then nodded and went back to her locker. From it she pulled a pendant hanging from a necklace. He couldn’t tell what the pendant was of, but she kissed it before placing it around her neck and behind her chest plate.

“
We’re getting close, folks,” the pilot called out.

Alex reached back into the locker and pulled out his pulsed-energy handgun. The power level was already set to maximum, so he slipped it into the holster on his right hip. He then drew out another pistol. It was a Winchell PR-9. Small yet powerful, it was easy to disassemble and clean in the field, the firing mechanism was auto-adjustable to a wide range of ballistic loads, and its fail rate was astonishingly low. Because of that it was the standard handgun for SWAT. He tucked it into the holster on his left hip, then shoved half a dozen extended clips into his left thigh pocket. The last item he took was a pulse rifle, which he slung over his shoulder after making sure the power pack was full.

“
No grenades?” Grace asked as she ambled up next to him. She had three grenades hanging from a strap on the lower portion of her chest plate.

“
For all our safety, no,” he replied. “I would probably just end up blowing my own foot off.”

Grace laughed and nodded in agreement. “They can be tricky, yeah. Thrown just right they can clear a room, but thrown just a little wrong and all sorts of bad things can happen. I stick mainly to flashbangs. I trust my pistol more than I do my throwing arm.”

Finally feeling a little tension drain away, he added a laugh of his own. He then pointed at her neck and asked, “You bring someone you love with you?”

Grace looked confused for a moment, but her eyes lit up as she caught his meaning. “My brother. He’s SWAT too. It’s a ritual we both do when we’re about to get dropped in the shit. So far we’ve made it back alive every time. How about you?”

“
No rituals for me, I’m afraid,” he replied.

“
No, not that. Someone you love. I don’t mean to pry, but when you mentioned Dr. Campbell your eyes looked really sad. Kind of a tell.”

Alex was impressed with the SWAT agent’s intuition. “Dr. Campbell… Alicia… We’ve been dating for a little while now. We were supposed to have lunch earlier today, as a matter of fact. Her son came to visit, and it was going to be my first time to meet him. I was hoping I’d get to impress him.”

A tender smile bloomed across Grace’s face, and with a pat on the arm she said, “You still might, Agent Delgado. You still might.”

Before Alex could thank her, the shuttle pilot shouted, “One minute to lock down!”

Moving like a well oiled machine, the SWAT agents stepped to the outer walls and grabbed the thick metal rails located there with both hands. The shuttle shimmied and dipped beneath them, and Alex could feel a bout of motion sickness about to hit him before the ship stopped moving with a hard thud. The agents let go in unison, took hold of their weapons, and gathered near the aft of the shuttle.

“
We’re locked,” the pilot said. “The rear gangway is clear and pressurized. Hatch open in three… two….”

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Shawn couldn’t help but enjoy himself as he, his mother, and Artemis sat in a booth near the back of a Thai restaurant in the Hygeia Station Promenade. A large plate of kai phat khing sat in the center of their table, and he picked at it while taking in his surroundings. His mother ate the stir-fried chicken sitting in front of her like she was starving. Artemis, her arms held close and the skin of her face pulled tight, didn’t eat anything.

“
So these people live on the asteroid they’re mining?” he asked, gesturing at the handful of people who sat at other tables.

His mother, in an uncharacteristic move, sucked sauce from her fingers in a very undignified fashion, then said, “Some of them do, yes – those with a long-term contracts. Others live on habitats built on adjoining asteroids. More than likely the corporate officers shuttle in from space stations or moons further out.”

Shawn glanced over at Artemis to see if she had anything to add, but the Titan sat on her floor cushion in silence. When her eyes were open they were usually cast down into her lap, but she mostly kept them closed, locked in her own world. He tried to imagine what internal struggles she was fighting to maintain control over herself, but he didn’t know where to even being to understand, so he left her alone and hoped she could hold it together a little longer.

“
Well, for a Promenade this place is pretty dull. I bet my band could liven things up around here.”

His mother nodded at him, but then her eyes dropped in sadness. The expression lasted for less than a second, but he’d seen it, and he knew why – his band days were probably over. He hated thinking about it, but it was true. If they somehow found a way to survive the coming attack, and that was a big if, he’d be left a freak of nature, a Titan in a universe where no more Titans existed. All the things his mother had worried about hours before, about him being locked down, poked and prodded, turned into an experiment, would all come to pass. His old life was over, and nothing could change that.

“
Are you all right?” His mother reached and caressed his face.

“
He’s realizing that some realities are harsher than he’d imagined,” Artemis said, her tone as cold as space.

He turned to glare at her, and he could feel tears well up behind his eyes, but he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right. He had to be strong. Horrible things were coming, and if he wanted to stop them he had to be strong. Sucking in air, he shook his head and wiped his hands clean on a napkin.

“
I’m fine. It’s just… I think we should head back to the ship. It’s early, but Capt. Finnegan might be getting ready to depart, and I don’t want to hold her up.”

“
We still have–” Artemis began to say before he coughed and cut her off.

“
Let’s just go,” he said.