Sons of Abraham: Pawns of Terror (3 page)

“She’s only twenty years younger than I am,” he stated. “I expected to find a grave. She was a child when I made her a Cyber. I’m guessing she’s in her late twenties now.”

“Yeah, about that,” Jenna started. “How exactly did you decide who to turn into Cybers? Was there a certain trait you looked for? Organ donors may be?”

“Not quite,” he laughed. “There was a test performed on them before the procedure. We worked within what used to be London. Children and young people did an aptitude test. I monitored their scores. When a candidate came along, I would check their test history.”

“So she volunteered?”

“No. Poor thing was in a car accident. She’d been in a coma for three months when her parents signed the waiver. I warned them for hours that her memories would be lost. I never have seen a couple fill with such joy when she woke, then such sorrow when she couldn’t recall whom they were.”

“So sad,” she added, tracing the girl’s face with the back of her finger. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to touch the unconscious woman, but something about the sorrow in Abe’s voice made her feel for the woman. “So was she always bald?”

“Oh no,” Abraham replied. “The cryo caused that. It should grow back. As well as her skin color.”

“Skin color?” she stammered.

“Yes,” he said. “The freezing process crystallizes the water in the cells. Her parents were of mix race. One African, one Caucasian. Her skin is usually a light brown color, with curly brown hair to match.”

“That explains the lips,” she muttered without thinking.

Abraham looked up to her, his brow furrowed in distaste.

“I’d rather hoped that racism had died a long time ago,” he told her.

“It’s just an observation,” she shrieked, jumping back from the table, her face turning pink. “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear Abe.”

Abraham leaned over the table, his head hanging low against his chest. Jenna couldn’t tell if he was looking down, or if his focus was up in her direction. The lack of pupils made it impossible to tell what the Cyber was looking at.

“No, I should apologize,” he whispered. “I’m upset and exhausted. Will you help me with her, please?”

Jenna stormed around the table and threw her arms around the disheartened man. His head slumped onto her shoulder as her hand clutched the back of his shirt. She felt his chest stutter but knew his eyes were not capable of producing tears. She couldn’t imagine such a hell.

“Of course, I’ll help you,” she whispered.

***********

Vice President Jana Wilkes had to maneuver well out of her way to avoid stepping onto the grating that covered the middle of the floor. The location left much to be desired as she kept wringing her hands together, petrified she’d catch a disease from the slime and filth that covered the walls. She made a mental note to burn her shoes. She swore under her breath. The shoes were expensive, a gift from her late sister. The blue leather heels were hard to come by, shipped all the way from Mesa nearly ten years ago.

She had reached the sub-basement of the abandoned structure, the cool, damp air making her wish she’d brought a jacket to the ordeal. The foundation of the building was cracked, a faint trickle of groundwater proving that anything can be washed away, given enough time. In the center of the barren basement rested two screens resting on a portable station, the familiar site of Mr. Jones guarding the units, waiting for his guest to arrive.

“Could you possibly have picked a worse spot?” she asked, positioning herself in front of the two screens. “I swear I saw a dead body back there somewhere.”

Jones offered no reply, instead pulling a pad out from his pocket and pressing a sequence of orders into the device. The two screens, previously showing a blank gray screen, came to life. Jana Wilkes stared back at two other Jana Wilkes’, their outfits matching hers down to the pendant on her shirt. The view was disorienting as the two digital avatars moved and swayed as she did. It was a mirror program, intended to keep the viewer from knowing the identity of whoever was on the opposite end of the transmission. The part she cared the least for was that the unknown users could switch out with someone else and she’d never know it. The program even used her own voice, which was what the group was waiting for. The program needed a sample to generate a voice.

“We need to make this quick,” she stated. “The sun will be up soon and the President is holding a press conference concerning the courtroom shooting.”

“Relax Vice President,” the left screen told her. “We assure you that you will be back in time for breakfast. We need your status update.”

“Yes,” the right screen tacked on. “We NEED your status update.”

Jana looked to Jones, noting that the man seemed off put by the location of the meeting. His eyes continuously circled the room, as if every dark corner were about to unleash a demon upon him. The clean, tall figure was only a middleman to her, but she’d rather deal directly with the tall man than the two Jana’s on the screens before her.

“Our status remains unchanged,” she snapped. “We have fulfilled our end and are moving along as scheduled. What news have you?”

The avatars went back to mimicking her, a sign that those on the other end of the feed were having sidebar conversations. Just once, she’d rather meet face to face. It was impossible to take the upper hand when she couldn’t judge body language, tone, and facial expressions. She guessed the use of the avatars also served to prevent her wishes. She was about to ask Jones to check the connection when the left avatar suddenly stopped mirroring her movements.

“We are not concerned with your endeavors with the courtroom,” the left screen stated. “We want to know your progress of locating the packages. Have they been found?”

“Of course not,” she yawned. “You know damn well we’ll never find it.”

The right screen came alive as Jana was greeted with a displeased version of herself. She made a mental note to make a trip to the beauty clinic after she burned her shoes. The wrinkles between her brows were more concerning than the angry voice of the avatar.

“YOU HAD BEST FIND IT!” the right screen shouted, the speakers built into the screen cracking. “Our patience is wearing thin, Vice President Wilkes. Perhaps you are in need of motivation?”

Wilkes closed her eyes and swallowed hard. The last time she needed ‘motivated,’ she found herself short one family member. Still, she hadn’t reached her position by being timid.

“Yes,” she replied, her eyes snapping open. “I believe I did as you demanded then, did I not?”

“You did.”

“Then when do I get to see my sister? I assume she’s dead, but it’d be nice to know where to grieve.”

“Your sister is no longer your concern. You daughter, however, is. I wonder what the Queen on Eden would do if they discovered Emilia’s planetary documents had been forged? You know how they pride their population control.”

Jana did her best to keep her jaw straight, her eyes locked forward on her target. Little by little, she wanted nothing more than to tear her own face off the screens, wringing her hands around her own neck. Despite the threat, she held her composure intact.

“You know full well that the schematics for….” She started.

“Do not say it!” the left screen interrupted. “We cannot guarantee the security of this transmission.”

“I suspected as much,” she snapped. “Otherwise, I’d be welcomed by your lovely faces, rather than my own.”

The screens mirrored her once more. The pause lasted for several minutes, a sign that all was not well on the other end of the transmission. She wanted to look at Jones, to gauge his reaction to the conversation, but the tall man had slid into the shadows, making it impossible to see his face.

“We have reached a decision,” the right screen started. “You have proven yourself worthless to our cause. We will take more, DIRECT measures. Good day.”

The connection ended, both screens showing her own image, as well as the disgust upon her aging face. She stormed out of the room, barely remembering to avoid the grating in the middle of the floor. She didn’t need to turn to know that Jones’ eyes were upon her, watching her exit his presence. She’d played the part of the puppet for too long, leaving her little choice but to reach out for assistance. The possibilities swirled in her head as she reached the stairs.

“If you move her using your usual methods,” Jones called out. “They will know.”

Jana took a deep breath and climbed the concrete stairs.

2 CHAPTER two

Sargent Bearden edged the corner to the power relay station. Like many of the areas in the science facility, the power relay station led down a long tunnel, separating it from the rest of the facility. Bear didn’t pretend to know why someone would design the facility like a spider web, but he knew it was a pain in his ass to get from one place to another. He estimated the trip down the long hallway to be around three hundred yards, with only a small handful of utility rooms between the station and the main corridor.

Seasoned eyes skimmed the walls and floor, looking for more signs of violence, as he’d witnessed in the main corridor a few minutes prior. Neither he nor his two companions had seen any other signs of foul play since they’d turn the last corner. Carter stayed back, covering their six as Bearden and Mullins led the way. Bear made Mullins take point, given that it was impossible for the five foot, seven-inch man to see over the Sargent, nearly a foot taller than the Corporal was. Carter had a better chance to see around the man, his own frame reaching over six feet in height, but he insisted that the Sargent remains in the middle, an asset for them to protect. Bearden didn’t like the idea, but he knew better than to argue with a couple of former grunts.

A groan buried deep in Bear’s throat whenever the husky Mullins walked heavy on the metal grating. Unlike the main corridor, the flooring in the maintenance tunnel was a grating, with cables as wide as Bear’s head running beneath them. Lights were hung every fifteen feet over the corridor, allowing for darkness to fall in the four feet between each light’s reach. The group stayed to the edges, prepared to duck into the shadows should anyone come out of the doorway ahead of them.

The lights did little to make seeing easier in the long corridor. The dark tan of the walls absorbed the beams, rather than reflect it. The lights were covered in metal cages, to protect them when a hauler trekked down the hallway to bring necessary equipment or personnel to the power station relay. The use of vehicles was the reason for the doublewide doors, its frame buried into the ground so that the wheels of vehicles could gain access. Normally, the overhead lights were on, but the lack of power left them wanting for the flashlights in their pockets. Despite their youth, both of the two men were wise enough to avoid giving away their position by use of the flashlights. It helped that neither of them wanted to upset the large man in between them.

The metal doors were closed, a site that failed to surprise the seasoned Sargent. Mullins guarded the seam of the two doors and Carter continued to watch their backs as Bear pulled a driver from his belt and removed the panel next to the doors. Unlike the tools found throughout the facility, the driver in the Sargent’s hand ran silent, a gift from a cable thief he’d encountered during his previous line of work. Given that the young thief had no need for the device while in prison, Bear saw no issues with keeping it for his own use. It wasn’t needed as evidence, the cables wrapped around his shoulder had provided the prosecutor with all she needed for a conviction. There was a moral issue in stealing from evidence, but Bear preferred to live in the gray.

The panel now leaning against the wall, Bear went to work on the hydraulic lines that kept the doors shut. Luckily, the engineer who designed the facility cared more about potential issues than they did the layout of their work. It could also be assumed that the engineer was a large man, given the ample amount of room Bear had to slide his hand beneath the cables and turn the emergency shut-off valve. The valve hadn’t been used for some time, but the hand strength of the large man overcame the locked valve with little effort. He grimaced as the fluids could be heard rushing into a reservoir, freeing the door.

Knowing that the moving fluid likely gave away their position, Bear wasted no time sidestepping to his right and grasping the handle of the door. The heavy metal fought against him, but he managed to tear it open in two hard pulls. The door groaned as it opened, Mullins raising the butt of his rifle up to eye level. The stocky man stepped into the room, his eyes searching for any movement amongst the shadows and many hiding places the room had to offer. Bear pulled his rifle from his shoulder, turning on the flashlight attached to the muzzle. Like Mullins, he scanned the room for any signs of life or movement.

The room was massive, with large, enclosed coils reaching twenty feet above their heads. The ceiling was in the shape of a dome, the coils all situated in the center. On a normal day, the coils would be lit up white with the energy surging through the metallic structures. They were gray at the base, a glass cover protecting the room’s occupants from the residual energy escaping them. They were a special design from Divinity Corporation, as well as a mystery to anyone who tried to work on them. There were no primitive cans of fuel lying around, nor were there any solar panels on the outside of the facility. Bear had given up a long time ago when it came to figuring out what the coils used as a power source.

“Are we clear?” Carter asked, stepping backward into the room.

Bear and Mullins looked to one another, deciding that neither found anything troublesome in the room. Bear shouldered his weapon and allowed for Carter to pass between him and one of the coils. The Sargent took the Corporal’s place at the door as Carter made for the station’s controls. Bear opened his mouth to ask how long Carter would need, but the low hum of the coils firing up made his question moot. The hairs on Mullin’s arm stood on end, a result from the discharge of energy resonated through the coil next to him. He took a few steps forward, not feeling like enjoying static cling the remainder of the day. The overhead lights flickered, then stayed on.

“Well, that was…..”Carter started.

A shot fired from above interrupted his boast, the bullet piercing his eye before exiting the back of his skull. Mullins and Bear ducked behind a coil, both attempting to locate where the shot originated. Bear crouched down, looking to his companion and pointing upward with his rifle. Mullins nodded, aiming his rifle towards the ceiling as he turned to face the coil in front of him. Their proximity to the coil made it impossible to scout the room, and the hum rendered listening for movement pointless. Bear stood, taking a step back as he kept his sites aimed towards the top of the spirals.

A railing wrapped around the top of each helix, accessible from a ladder on one side of the structure. The catwalk was grated, but the space between each circle was small, offering a little view to who stood atop. Dark blue eyes scanned the shadows, looking for the murderer. A shadow to his left caught his attention, forcing him to swivel and lower his aim at the same time.

“Got him,” Mullins shouted.

Heavy boots smashed into the metal floor, filling the room with a low thud and high ping at the same time. Bear circled the coil in front of him, making for the center space between the five structures. A series of semi-automatic fire rang out to his ten. Bear burst forward, hoping to cut off the threat. A single shot replied, followed by another thump on the metal grating. The Sargent didn’t need to see the body to know that he was alone with the target, his heavy boots slowly edging around the coil to confirm the downed soldier.

Four bullet casings lay to his left. Bear memorized the site and quickly returned his attention to scanning the room. The image locked in his mind: three of the casings came from the short assault rifle that Mullins had fired, leaving the larger casing to come from the intruder. He recalled its exact position, estimating where it would have been shot from to land in its current resting place. He thought of what he would do if the roles were reversed. If he were a smaller, quieter man, he would circle around the coil, and come up behind…….

Bear crouched eight inches, then lunged backward, the butt of the gun leading his way. As he’d anticipated, the killer had tried to circle around behind him. His timing was perfect, but he’d underestimated the height of the invader. The bottom corner of the stock struck the head of the blonde woman, forcing her head down into her thin neck. The enormous man wasted no time, pulling forward and then lunging back once more. This time, the blow struck true, the curved end of the stock smashing into the thin, blonde haired woman’s face. A crimson spray filled the air as she fell backward, the back of her skull smacking hard against the metal floor.

Instantly, the Sargent recognized the woman, but couldn’t recall her name. She was a new lab assistant, the black dress pants giving away her position. The lab coat would have been obvious, clearly, why the woman had chosen not to wear it. Instead, she wore a black tank top, though it looked a size too big for the short woman. She let out a soft moan while the blood rushed down her nose and face.

Bear wasn’t feeling in the mood to take prisoners, especially after he’d just lost two of his men. The long knife was pulled from its sheath, then plunged into the pale woman’s neck. She gurgled her own blood as it filled her mouth. He twisted the knife, counter-clockwise, then withdrew it from the flesh. As she drowned in her own blood, Bear wiped the blade clean on her dress pants, watching her die.

“Come in Sargent,” Ilda yelled through his neck com.

He raised a bloodstained finger to his device, activating the voice recognition. The woman before him had stopped her pointless struggle to live, her hands clasped around her own throat to stop the bleeding. Bear knew it was a horrible way to die, but the little bitch had deserved it.

“Go for Bear,” he replied.

“We heard shots, is everything alright?”

“No, Carter and Mullins are down, as well as that new, blonde lab tech of yours. She was the one that killed the power.”

“Mary? Mary killed your men? I don’t understand how that is possible.”

“Not a good time to be asking me questions like that. What’d ya want?”

“Protocol. Just checking in.”

“Copy,” he finished.

Bear shook his head and took off at a dead sprint down the long corridor. Numbers ran through his head, as well as motives. He’d guessed there were five harriers in his binoculars when he’d looked to the Northern horizon. The radar showed incoming from the south as well. Military harriers could carry ten in their hold, leaving a possible one hundred intruders. The unknown factor was leaving him guessing as to how many were already within the facility.

He’d just turned the corner when Janys James crashed into him again. Same as before, she fell backward as he barely budged from his path. He let out a sigh of relief and helped the Corporal to her feet.

“You need to have a beeper on your or something,” she moaned as she was helped to her feet. “I heard shots and your talk with Ilda. Where you heading in such a damn hurry anyways?”

“Where’s your crew?” he asked, ignoring the question.

“Left them at the defensive grid,” she replied, still rubbing the back of her head. “Can’t see anything on radar. So either they landed or they left.”

Bear continued down the corridor, slowing to a brisk walk. He didn’t need a degree in infiltration to know that the harriers had already landed. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the harriers on the north side were the main target, leaving the south side as a distraction. He’d suspected as much the moment Ilda called him. The facility had little of value to offer thieves, and the call broadcasting back to Earth made it pointless for a takeover. That left the Tower as the likely target.

“We need radio silence,” he said, turning off his neck com. “Turn yours off, now.”

Janys raised an eyebrow to the order but reluctantly turned off her com device. She had to jog to catch up with the walking wall, his strides covering more ground than hers. She pulled up beside him, noting the blood on his hands. She quickly looked over the rest of his towering body, thankful not to see any wounds on his body.

“Okay, so where we heading?” she asked again.

“The Tower,” he muttered, taking a right at the next crossroad.

“Why?” she asked. “Ilda didn’t say anything about being under attack.”

“She couldn’t, and she wouldn’t have called after hearing gunfire. She said she was following protocol, but the rules call for radio silence from civilians during a situation like this.”

“Maybe she just forgot? We need to head back to Central.”

“Ilda wouldn’t forget. She wrote the protocols.”

************

“Abe, can you come over to the common room?” Sandra’s voice bellowed over the PA.

Thoughts raced through the mind of Captain Julius Quaid, weighing the possibilities that were laid out before him. Only an hour ago, the Cyber had requested they return to Earth. The conversation had ended poorly, with Quaid arguing that the Hopper did not have the clearance to pass through the larger Gabriel Rings. Planet to planet travel was available to all, but one required special clearance to use the larger rings that were made for system-to-system travel. Abraham had stormed off, no longer wishing to continue the pointless conversation. The events of the last ten minutes would make Abe’s request nearly impossible.

“What is it now?” Abraham asked, storming into the room.

Quaid looked to Sandra Oliver, displaying that he didn’t wish to start another argument with their new passenger. The last words Quaid told him was that he could find his own ship if he expected a trip to Earth.

“Abe, I need to show you something,” Sandra started, pressing buttons onto the buttons surrounding the large screen on the wall. “Not sure you’re gonna like this.”