Mission Origin View (Final Days Trilogy) (28 page)

“
Better you don’t know in case you’re arrested,” the figure said with a smile that Gideon could just make out in the moonlight. “Call me Miner. As long as neither of us can match a name to a face, the better off we’ll be in case something happens.”

“
Okay, Miner,” Gideon said returning a smile.

“
Ready to move out, Lieutenant,” Xia said over the platoon channel.

“
Miner, I guess you’re on point,” Gideon said. “We’re going to go to camo mode, so you won’t be able to see us, but we’ll be right behind you.” Miner turned and started walking, and the marines followed in single file and disappeared in the moonlight one by one.

Marine Extract Team, Trade Town, Planet Corot

0223
—February 26, 2372

The
marines followed Miner to the outskirts of Trade Town. They’d been walking for about an hour, passing a few buildings and parked vehicles, and luckily they hadn’t encountered anyone. Now, Miner was taking them through streets and alleys, walking at a slower pace, and using hand signals to halt and start the marines to allow vehicles to pass or an early morning pedestrian to walk by. Ten minutes later Miner and the extract team were positioned behind a fleet of heavy-duty mining vehicles parked across the street from the apartment building where Dr. Bailey lived.

“
Anna, contact Stephen and have him send a message to Doctor Bailey’s universal com address,” Gideon said aloud into his helmet.

“
Stephen is attempting to contact now,” Anna responded, paused for just a second, and continued. “Doctor Bailey is located on the fifth floor, apartment five–two-three. I’ve uploaded the apartment location and layout of the building on your heads-up display.”

“
Thank you, Anna. Send the layout to the rest of the extract team,” he requested.

“
Information transmitted to the extract team,” Anna confirmed.

“
Does everyone have the building layout?” Gideon asked over the platoon channel. Everyone sent an affirmative chime.

“
Gunny, you’re on point. Sipes, you’re next. Mucha, cover our rear. Kindle, Manelly, stay with Miner and let me know if we have company. Move out,” Gideon ordered.

The invisible team of
marines hurried across the street and leaned against the building a few meters from the entrance. Within a second the team’s external appearance merged into the wall behind them. As the rest of the team waited, Xia entered the unlocked large double doors in front of the building. Seconds later he opened the same doors and motioned for the team to follow. No guards were posted, and the lobby was empty.

“
There’s an ID scanner used to secure access to the elevators and a key pad securing the stairs,” Xia reported as the team entered.

“
We’ll take the stairs. Mucha, override the key pad,” Gideon said.

Mucha slung his weapon behind his back and locked it in place. He then used his electronic warfare scanner to access the code pad. Within milliseconds, the electronic warfare scanner
had accessed the key pad’s wireless communications and was already executing a brute force attack by trying every combination of numbers to gain access to the stairs. A few seconds later the door opened, and the team hurried into the stairway.

“
Gunny, lead the way. Sipes, follow me. Mucha, rear guard,” Gideon ordered. The team quietly walked up the stairs to the fifth floor.   

Xia used his electronic warfare scanner to probe fo
r alarms on the entrance door to the fifth floor. The scanner found and disabled a simple door alarm. He opened the door slowly and entered the hall. “Clear!” Xia said over the platoon channel.

“
Mucha, stay here and keep this door secured,” Gideon ordered.

“
Yes, sir,” Mucha said.

Xia, Gideon, and Joseph slowly walked down the hall to room 523. It was now 0245. Without an order Xia used his
warfare scanner to open the locked apartment door and disable the alarm. The door opened, and the team entered a dark apartment. Their helmets automatically adjusted to the dark so they could see as if a light were on.

“
I’m picking up two thermal body images in a room in the back of the apartment. It must be Doctor Bailey and her son,” Xia said.

Xia led the way again. The door to the room was open
, and Gideon could see Dr. Bailey and her son sleeping in a bed. A night light was on in an adjoining bathroom, and his helmet adjusted to the dim light. Gideon secured his weapon on his back and disabled his armor camo. He then leaned over the bed and, using his right hand, quickly covered Dr. Bailey’s mouth. With his left hand he pulled her out of bed. He felt her begin to struggle as she awoke.

“
Doctor, I’m Lieutenant Klaxton, a United States Marine. I’m not going to hurt you or your son. All I want to do is talk with you. If I remove my hand, will you remain quiet and talk to me?” Gideon asked.

D
r. Bailey slowed nodded yes, and he removed his hand from over her mouth but continued to hold her.

“
How did you get in? And what are you doing here?” she demanded without shouting.

“
Did you receive an invitation from the United States to join a scientific research mission?” Gideon asked.

“
No. What’re you talking about?” she said sounding confused.

“
The United States sent your government a request for you to join a scientific expedition. Doctor Seth Harper, Doctor
Heli Jones, and Doctor Aaron Kastriva are also part of the expedition and are now in orbit aboard our starship, waiting for you,” Gideon said.

“
I was never informed about the mission,” she said.

“
Does that surprise you, given the way New Kalgoorlie treats its citizens?” Gideon asked.

Gideon could feel her body relax a bit but didn
’t release his grip on her.

“
No. No, not really. But I would have refused to be a part of the expedition anyway if given the choice; I have a baby to take care of now,” she answered.

“
So you don’t want to come with us?” Gideon asked.

“
No!” she yelled loudly enough to wake her baby. Gideon quickly placed his hand over her mouth again, and she again began to struggle. The baby started to cry, and Gideon felt her trying to pull away from him to get to her baby. The baby cried louder as she continued to struggle. She suddenly stopped struggling as she and Gideon watched her son, in the faint light, levitate from the bed and stop in midair. Joseph, his armor still in camo mode, had picked up her son to try and quite him. That was the last thing she saw before Xia injected her in the back of her neck, knocking her out.

“
Sipes, put the baby back down on the bed and help me slip the spare armor on the doctor,” Gideon said as he slowly laid the doctor’s limp body onto the bed. Joseph laid the baby down, and it stopped crying. Xia automatically moved out of the bedroom and stationed himself at the apartment door, standing guard. Joseph removed the spare armor from his rucksack, and within minutes he and Gideon had Dr. Bailey in the suit.

“
Anna, take control of Doctor Bailey’s armor and enable camo mode,” Gideon said. Anna acknowledged his command and enabled the armor’s camo. The baby started to cry again. This time, more loudly.

“
Sipes, pick up the doctor, and let’s go!” Gideon ordered.

Joseph just stood there.

“Sipes, did you hear me? Pick up the doctor and let’s go,” Gideon said again.

“
What about the baby, sir?” Joseph asked.

“
What about the baby? We leave the baby here, and we take the doctor and go,” Gideon said.

“
Sorry, sir, but that’s not right. We can’t leave the baby here to become an orphan like us,” Joseph explained. “Sir, do you want him to be an orphan?”

Gideon stood there
, struggling with his emotions and trying to control his anger. Maybe everyone was right about Sipes. He was just a big, dumb man with the mind of a kid. He had no sense of duty or military respect.

“
We have company,” Manelly reported over the platoon channel. “A security vehicle just pulled up in front of the building, and two armed men entered the front entrance.

“
Everyone, verify your weapon is in particle-beam mode and fire only if you have to,” Gideon ordered. He didn’t want the loud sound of mag rounds accidently being fired.

“
Sipes, I don’t have time to argue with you. Pick up the doctor and let’s go!” Gideon said, his voice laced with impatience.

“
Sir, if we leave the baby here, it’ll cry louder and louder until his mom picks it up. The baby needs his mom, and he doesn’t want to be an orphan. Can’t we take him with us, sir?” Joseph pleaded.

Gideon knew he had to hurry and didn
’t have time for this. He quickly decided to just shoot and kill Joseph for disobeying an order, pick up the doctor himself, and go. Then a thought crossed his mind.

“
Anna, are these apartments soundproof?” Gideon asked as he slowly began raising his weapon toward Joseph.

“
The apartments are not soundproof per the layout and detailed building diagrams Stephen supplied,” Anna answered.

Gideon lowered his weapon; Joseph
was oblivious to what Gideon had planned to do.

“
We’ll wrap up the baby in a blanket and put him in your rucksack,” Gideon said as he looked around the room for a small blanket. He found a baby blanket lying on a nearby chair, picked up the baby, and wrapped the baby in the blanket. The baby stopped crying and was quietly whimpering as Gideon laid the baby in the bottom of Joseph’s armor rucksack.

“
Sipes, use your heads-up display and soundproof your armor rucksack. There should be plenty if air for the baby in the sack until we get out of town,” Gideon said.

“
Yes, sir,” Joseph said. It took a few seconds for Joseph to find the option on his heads-up display, and then he enabled it. “Done, sir.”

“
Pick up the doctor, and let’s go!” Gideon ordered again.

This time Joseph picked up
Dr. Bailey and draped her over his right shoulder.

“
Two armed men just got off the elevator on the fifth floor,” Mucha reported from his stairway position. “They’re headed your way, LT.”

Xia stood ready behind the now
-closed apartment door. Gideon and Joseph stood behind him, waiting.

“
Mucha, if they stop at the apartment door, take ‘em out,” Gideon ordered as he heard their footsteps come down the hall.

***

Mucha watched as the armed men approached the apartment door and then passed it, walking farther down the hall. They suddenly stopped at another apartment and began beating on the door with the butts of their weapons.

“
Open up! Open up!” one of the men shouted.

The door opened slowly
, and an old woman stood there, shaking.

“
Is your husband here? He’s three hours overdue reporting to mine three-four-A-F!” the man shouted.

“
Yes, he’s in bed sick,” she answered, her voice laced with fear.

“
Sick! Is he too sick to report to work?” he asked.

“
Yes. He has a fever, and I don’t have anything to give him for it. He can hardly walk,” she answered.

“
When did he go to the community medical center?” he asked.

“
Last week. He’s been sick for five months, but they couldn’t see him until then,” the old woman answered, paused to swallow, and continued. “The medic said medicine would be sent once the test results came back, but we haven’t received anything yet. My husband is the shift manager and has been going to work every evening sick, but this evening he was just too sick.”

As the old lady was talking
, one of the men detached a communications pad from his belt and began typing. Mucha looked as the man received some information a few seconds later. Mucha watched the man’s lips move as he read to himself, and placed the device back on his belt. “Help your husband to the door. I want to speak to him,” the man who used the communications device demanded.

The old women left the door open
and went back into the apartment. A few minutes later the old woman and a skeleton of a man appeared.

“
I checked with the community medical center and accessed your medical record,” the man who had used his communications pad said. “You have stage-four lung cancer, and it has been decided by the community medical managers that you’ll not be treated because you’re too old. We’ve been ordered to retire both of you. Thank you for your loyal service!”