Redemption (The Alliance Series Book 1) (11 page)

              "Very well, thank you." Nathan said. I nodded as well.

              "I like to come out here whenever I get the chance. The morning’s crisp air is invigorating is it not?" Peotr asked.

              The feel in the forest was one of peace. The night was leaving and a new day was dawning. That transition always held a sense of wonder. No one knows what each day will hold. Over time, we recognize that and on a deep fundamental level associate that with the dawn. It takes on a certain sense of renewal and opportunity.

              I nodded in agreement. Peotr took a deep breath in through is nose and exhaled mightily through his mouth.

              "Down to business then."

              "Frankenstein was an extremely hard thing to find. I had to use a lot of my resources to get any information for you, John." Peotr said.

              "You did find something though?" I asked hopefully.

              "Yes, yes. Not a lot but let us hope what I have found will help you get the answers you seek." Peotr said.

              "First, you were correct in your assumption that the operation is a joint venture between the US and Russia. Something you may not have been aware of is that China may also be involved, although the funding for said project does not appear in any official U.S. Congressional budget reports.”

              “Neither does it appear in any of the Russian or Chinese paperwork, which is odd really. The communists are nothing if not thorough.”

              “That can mean a few things. Either it hasn’t been brought up for the fiscal review boards yet and is operating through other budgeting techniques, using slush fund money if you will.”

              “Or it means that it was never meant to be reported. That would indicate a black operation, where the funding is hidden and the operation is not supposed to be known about. If that is the case then Congress probably has not sanctioned it. Which would mean it can’t be all that large.”

              “Small time operations are easily hidden, but large scale projects are just too difficult to hide for long.”

              “That is the good news.”

              “There seems to be some connections between the times and dates of the video footage with some of the appropriation committee members travel schedules." Peotr said.

              "In other words some high ranking politicians from Russia, China and the U.S. were all at the same place at the same time these "tests" on the file footage were taken?" I asked.

              "Exactly." Peotr said.

              "So." I said, "We have an unfunded, off the books joint operation, that in and of itself usually garners all kinds of media coverage. Politicians love nothing better than to get pictures of them being "reasonable" with foreign nations. We also have a suspiciously odd travel schedule made by members of all three nations’ political movers and shakers. That isn’t encouraging." I finished.

              "Do we know who was at the facility at that time?" Nathan asked.

              "Yes, we know for certain that all three countries had the heads of their military weapons and new technologies divisions present, as well as two or three high ranking military leaders. There was also a representative from one of the world’s largest weapon manufacturers at the facility." Peotr said.

              "Hmmm, sounds like all the people you need to showcase a new weapon system to me." I said.

              "You think maybe that’s what the people on the footage you stole was used for? Creating some mindless cyborg weapon?" Nathan asked me.

              "I don’t know, it seems likely. Green lady was on the run from something. If she was in with the weapons program why would she be trying to disappear?" I asked, more to myself.

              "Maybe she found out about what they were doing with her research and downloaded those videos as insurance." I speculated.

              "Except the people she was dealing with didn't like to be blackmailed." Nathan said. 

              "Then why were we sent? They could have just gotten someone to kill them both without sending us in. Something doesn't make sense here. We're missing something." I continued to turn things over in my head.

              Peotr looked at me with sadness touching his eyes. It did not suit him.

              "There is one more thing, John." He said.

              "There was one other person there that I had to double check for myself when I got the Intel. I was able to pull up some security footage from outside the installation, showing who came and went during that time. It was how we were able to confirm who was in attendance." Peotr said while handing me a grainy picture.              

You could tell it was from a computer printer. It was in black and white but clearly showed a dark sedan with the window rolled down.

              The angle was from a high position looking directly into the driver’s side window. Sitting in the driver’s seat going to an off the books and off the radar meeting where unethical and atrocious experiments were taking place was Lt. Col. West.

Chapter 11

Peotr looked up suddenly, tilting his head in a manner that reminded me of an animal that has heard something. His whole body seemed to tense. He sniffed the air a few times. I was just about to ask him what was going on when his eyes turned a deep yellow and his body started to sprout hair. His face began changing becoming more elongated and canine like.

              I had no more than a second to absorb that information when a roar erupted from behind us.

              Out of the tree line that surrounded the clearing came the centaur that had earlier attempted to kill both Nathan and myself.

              He leapt from cover in a spectacular display of power and grace and landed right in the middle of us.

              Nathan stumbled off balance, clearly surprised.

              The centaur faced me squarely with Peotr directly behind him.

              He leaned forward and in a classic bucking motion kicked his rear hooves into Peotr’s chest. Peotr was in mid-change and still vulnerable. That’s probably why he went for Peotr first. He clearly was the biggest threat.

              Peotr sailed through the air. Arms and legs flailing in that limp way you associate with someone who is knocked out, but hasn't stopped moving yet.

              He landed hard, slid another five feet and came to rest at the base of one of the massive pine trees that lined the area. He quickly reverted to human form. All signs of his transformation left his body.

              I wasn't sure if he was dead or just knocked unconscious, but either way he was not going to be helping us.

              I had to take care of the present threat to be able to go to my friends’ aid.              

That was exactly what I had in mind when I gathered energy for a blast.

              I raised my hand and pointed my palm right at the same spot I hit stinky yesterday.

              With a snarl, I released an amber bolt before the centaur was able to get his balance back after his attack on Peotr.

              The blast hit the centaur in the chest and raced down his body into the ground, effectively rendering it harmless.

              "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Isn't that how the saying goes among you hairless two-legs?"
              Apparently, the centaur had devised a way to ground out my bolts.

              Well damn.

              I had planned to use the electric shock to lock up his muscles so that Nathan could counter his strength and speed giving me enough time to figure out a knockout blow.

              I couldn’t just run, Peotr was hurt and I didn't know how badly.

              The centaur had taken the opportunity while I watched my bolt ground out to unclasp his broadsword and commenced to swing it with the full intent on removing my head from my body.

              I showed him my objection to that idea by dropping into a crouch and running to his left after he swung his blade in a head chopping motion to his right.

              As the centaur turned, tracking my movement, I looked over and saw Nathan was on his feet looking towards the tree line.

              "Give me a hand would ya?" I yelled.

              Without turning his head, Nathan yelled back, "We have more incoming!"

              I looked at where he was concentrating and saw movement in the fog that still covered the ground.

              There! The fog moved like water as if a group of sharks were swimming just below the surface.

              All at once, fifteen to twenty elves rose up from the fog they were using as cover, raised fifteen to twenty bows and released fifteen to twenty arrows right at me.

              Elves, what the hell were they doing here? Elves habitat was in the Otherworld. They lived in a massive forest that spanned thousands of miles. Untouched wild lands that housed some of the most amazing creatures. 

              It wasn't unheard of to have elves roaming our forests. They lived close to rifts in our world and theirs. Perhaps it was the bond between the natural forests of our lands and that of the elven lands that allowed them to cross over easier. Elves lived in a manner that most resembled that of an ant colony. There were classes of elves that were determined from birth. Some were gatherers, others were fighters, still others worked as laborers, building and shaping their homes, creating weapons and clothes. It was very communistic in its structure. The only way it worked was having an all-powerful queen. She made the rules and she was followed unerringly. Nothing happened in elven society without the approval or knowledge of the queen.

              That meant that the queen had approved of her fighters joining the centaur in killing us. That had to mean something important. I just couldn't figure out what right now. 

              Why am I always the first target? I wondered.

              I raised my arm up and channeled a slightly different form of energy to my palm. 

              Releasing a torrent of fire about six feet in diameter, I swept my hand back and forth, engulfing the oncoming arrows in fire.

              I hoped to god that they were not fire resistant.

              They weren't.

              Fifteen to twenty charred arrow shafts fell harmlessly to the ground in front of me.

              By that time, the centaur had completed his change in direction and was once again bearing down on me with his broadsword leading the way.

              Nathan, in the meantime, had engaged the elves and had suspended about half of them in an instability field.

              They hung a few inches off the ground, unable to get any purchase. They were pumping their legs and arms, running in place.

              That didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

              The rest of them ran around Nathan, escaping his attempt at snatching them. They were extremely nimble and fast. Just as one would expect from elves who spent their lives traversing the woods and tree branches like we do sidewalks.

              They bounded along the ground and bounced off trees moving as though the laws of gravity didn't apply to them.

              As the first few came to intercept my path I was able to see them with more clarity.

              Most people think of elves as all beauty and grace. They are not. If anything, they are all unnatural beauty and disjointed grace.

              They wore the same earth tones, green, brown and tan. Some had green vests with green leggings while a few had long sleeved brown shirts with what seemed like leather pants.

              They all had different ornaments dangling from their pointed ears and around their necks.

              Most consisted of strange looking animal teeth and small odd skeletons.

              They were short, maybe three feet tall at the most. Their skin was pale, almost white. They had large cat shaped eyes that seemed a little too large for their heads and consisted of hues that ranged from violet to red to yellow. 

              Most had long black hair braided down their backs with more trinkets placed in their ponytails.

              A few others wore their hair free, and it seemed to flow almost as if they were in water.

              It was odd looking at the way their hair moved.

              They had wide mouths, when the first few came to within about ten feet they smiled, showing small, sharp teeth, perfect for biting and tearing flesh.

              I didn't think they were interested in a formal greeting so I stopped and turned around, facing the same way as the charging centaur.