Strangers and Shadows (29 page)

“That’s far enough, Dad.”

Wizard stiffened and raised his hands in the air as if it were a natural reflex.  “Son, how good to see you.  How is everything?”

Dorian walked up and took the jump-key from him.  “Not a social call, Dad, and I think you know that.”  He looked at the assortment of equipment his father had gathered, various magnets, copper coils, power cells, and a host of other oddities.  “What is all this?”

“Just a little project I’m working on for the science fair.”

“Cute, Dad, real cute,” Dorian
said. 
“Why don’t we skip the dance and get right down to it.  We know you’ve been helping them… feeding them information… What you don’t know—is you’ve done so at our bidding.  Well, mostly our bidding.  No doubt you’ve accumulated quite a few secrets of your own over the years.  What I need to know, dearest Dad, is what, exactly, have you told them?  What do they know about our plan?”

Wizard cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.  “Well, why didn’t you say so?”  He pulled down his shirt, smoothing the wrinkles and went on, “Now, if you’ll just tell me what information you wanted me to give them, I’ll know what it is that you’re looking for.”

“No, I don’t think so,
F
ather.  You tell me everything you told them, and you tell me now.”  He thumbed the pistol’s stun setting on, the gun hummed as it cycled through its power settings.

Wizard looked around, searching for any escape, but he saw none.  His shoulders sagged slightly as he prepared to tell his son about the ambush at the Overlap, the loss of Celia and then her reappearance, Desmond going off to save her, and then the discovery of the anti-EMF device, one of which he was attempting to build a portable version of as they spoke.  He really did need to come up with a better name than the anti-EMF device—it was too wordy.  Jack had voted for the
jammer.
  It was a bit crude, but at the moment Wizard could not think of anything better to call it.

Dorian coughed abrasively, and Wizard snapped
out of
the rabbit hole he’d been traveling down.  

“Ah
,
yes, where was I,
S
on?”

“You were about to tell me what you’ve been up to, Father.”

No sooner were the words out of Dorian’s mouth then there was a flash of light.  The brightness temporarily blinded both Wizard and Dorian.

Dorian raised his free hand to shield his eyes, trying to see what was going on.  The nanites only tinted his eyes on command, or if he knew there would be a sudden change in brightness.  This surprise was not a welcome one.

Jack Spade jumped out of the nothingness between verses and into Wizard’s shed.  He immediately sized up the situation and pulled his own weapon.  

One shot was all it took.  The gunman’s hand came off at the wrist, his gun falling away with it.

The man howled in pain clutching at the end of his arm where his hand used to be.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jack said to Wizard.  “I got caught up with a last minute—thing.”  His cheeks blushed as he thought about the goodbye kiss he’d given Celia.  “Looks like I was right on time though.”

“Jack, meet my son, Dorian.”  Wizard gestured with his hand toward the gunman, who was now missing a hand.  “I do wish you didn’t have to deform him though.”  He walked over to Dorian and took back his jump-key.

“I wasn’t aware he was your son—I would have aimed a little more carefully if I’d known.  Maybe he could wear a name tag next time.”

“I suppose that would have been helpful…  Let’s just get this and get out of here.”  Wizard indicated the bundle full of parts for the jammer.

Dorian was on his knees holding the stump of his right arm with his remaining hand.  The bleeding had stopped, and with it so did Dorian’s groans of pain.  “Not… so… fast, Father,” Dorian said as he stood to his feet.  “I can’t just let you leave.”

“And just what are you gonna do about it, pal?” Jack asked, still holding the gun on him.

Dorian looked Jack straight in the eye and smiled.

A shiver ran down Jack’s spine as he watched the end of Dorian’s arm begin to morph.

Both Jack and Wizard looked on with mouths wide open as Dorian’s arm began to grow before their eyes.  First, the wrist grew out of the forearm, and then the palm.  Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  Thankfully, Wizard had the presence of mind to break free from the spectacle.

“Jack, I think it would be best if we leave now.”

Jack, still shocked, nodded his head and stepped closer to Wizard, keeping his gun pointed at the regenerating man. With his free hand, he felt for the other side of the bundle and helped Wizard lift it.  Together, they jumped.

Celia was waiting for them in her father’s office when they arrived.

“What the fuck was that about?!” Jack exclaimed.  He shivered once more as he set the bundle down at his feet and holstered his blaster.

“What was
what
about?” Celia asked.  Jack’s face was white, like he had seen a ghost, and Wizard looked a bit paler than usual too, although it was hard to tell if he could be any whiter than he already was.

“I jumped in, and Wizard’s son had a gun on him, so I shot his hand off, except I didn’t know it was Wizard’s son.  But then, the guy’s hand just starts growing back, like some kinda freaky monster movie.”

“Calm down, Jack,” Wizard said.  Apparently, he had regained whatever composure Jack had lost.  “It looks like their nano technology has advanced much farther than I knew.  I should have guessed that they would have developed something like this.”  Wizard paced as he thought.

“Is this something that’s going to affect our mission?” Celia asked.

“I don’t know,” Wizard said.  “There’s no way to be sure, but we’ll have to be very careful in how we proceed.”

“I’m not convinced we’ll have the time to be careful,” Celia said.  “If they’re holding my father, then we need to move as soon as possible.  Whatever they’re up to, I have a feeling that it’s going to go down sooner rather than later.”

Spots of light flashed in Dorian’s irises from the out-jump of his father and the man, Jack Spade.  A call came through on his link.

“Well?”

“Well, they got away, Julia.”

“Did you learn anything?” she asked.

“No.  And I was interrupted before I could plant the disinformation.”

“I see.  Return at once.  We need to reconsider our approach.”

“Was that an order?”

“Of course not, darling.  Forgive me, I’ve just been a bit on edge lately.  I’ll see you soon.”

The call ended and Dorian let out a long sigh as he looked over his new hand.  The nanites had done quite a nice job.

Mad Science

The jammer was bulkier than Wizard would have liked, but for the limited time, and it being more or less a prototype, he was pleased with the results.  He just hoped it worked when they got into the thick of things.  The jammer fit into a pack which Celia could then strap on her back.  It was best that she should carry it.  Not only was she stronger than any one of them, but it was her abilities that would be affected by the EM fields.

The plan was simple.  They would jump in, split up, find Desmond and Kid, and jump back out.  How they would accomplish their tasks was more of a gray area, however.

Wizard had the best working knowledge of the Embassy and h
ad
familiarized them with the layout of the complex building as best as he could.  “The holding cells are here,” he indicated an area on the map on his data pad
,
“
a
nd here is where the political offices and the Prime Minister’s chambers are.  Desmond could be anywhere, but he’ll most likely be in one of those locations.”  He looked up at Jack.
 
“Unfortunately, we have no idea where Kid might be.  He could be in the Embassy or they might have him somewhere else entirely.  Hopefully, Desmond will have better intel.  If we can find him, we will have a much better chance of finding Kid.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jack said.  He was getting antsy.  

They gathered around in a circle, facing outward.  Their jump spot shouldn’t be guarded or shielded, but there was no telling what they might find and they were going to be prepared, just in case.  The layout could have changed, or some tightly wound, hot shot guard, straight out of basic training, could be looking to make
a name for himself
.

The jump went exactly as they’d hoped.  Jack, Wizard, Asher, and Celia flashed into a storage closet in the basement of the Embassy in the Seventh.  It was dark except for the glow of Wizard’s data pad.  Celia could see almost as well as if it were daylight, thanks to her superior genetics, but the rest of them had to make due with what little light they had.  

The closet was just large enough to give them a little room to move around.  Outside they could see the glow of the hallway lights and hear the occasional footsteps of someone passing by.  As long as the Embassy bathrooms didn’t run out of sanitizer, they should be able to remain in the closet undetected until Wizard had time to hack into the building’s central computer.

“How’s it coming
,
old man?” Jack asked.

“Zip it, sonny, the adults are working here,” Wizard shot back playfully.  He entered the final keystroke.  “There
…
”  He inspected his handiwork.  

They gathered around the display.  “We are here,” Wizard indicated the red dot on the screen
,
“
a
nd the detention cells and Lady White’s Chambers are here and here.”  

“Were you able to find out where my father and Kid are being held?” Celia asked.

“Unfortunately, no.  There was nothing about them in the mainframe, but not to worry.  I didn’t expect there would be.”

“Alright, how do we wanna play this?” Jack asked.  

“I think it best if I remain here and monitor the network.  Besides, I would only slow you down,” Wizard said.

“Sounds good.  Jack, you and Asher take the prime minister’s chambers and I’ll take the detention cells.”

Jack opened his mouth to protest but Celia continued, “I don’t want to hear it, Jack.  There’s no negotiating this.  I’m more trained and capable than anyone here.”  Jack closed his mouth and nodded his consent.  “Good.  Wait here for ten minutes or so and then move out.  I’m sure by then I’ll have pulled most of the guards in my direction.  You should have an easier time with most of them out of the way.”

“What do you plan on doing?”  Asher was concerned.

“Don’t worry about her
,
Ash, she knows what she’s doing,” Jack said.  “You just be ready to move.”

“
Aww...
Thanks, babe,” Celia teased.  “Be ready to move.  Wizard will tell you when.”  She tightened down the straps of the jammer, gave Jack a wink and a smile, and stepped out into the hall.

In The Dungeons

I should have checked to make sure this thing works before I left
, Celia thought.  She took out the letter from her father that was in her pocket and placed it on the ground.  She made sure no one was coming and reached out with her mind.  She instantly found the piece of paper and lifted it off the ground and into her outstretched hand.

“Powers: 
check
,”
s
he said to herself.  She could breathe a little easier now that she knew the jammer was working, but not too easy.  She had already been taken by surprise once, and she didn’t plan to let it happen again.

Celia had memorized her route to the holding cells.  She could have just pulled the directions out of the mind of every simpleton that came within range of the jammer, but sometimes the old ways were the best ways.

The hall was deserted, but that would change once she got closer to where she was going.  Celia needed a disguise or a distraction—something to prevent her from being seen.  Or did she?

She didn’t have far to go, Jack and Asher would have the much farther journey, and if she did her job right, they would be able to move about more freely in the midst of the chaos.

A few minutes later Celia was halfway to the holding cells as she was finally spotted.

“Hey!”  The young guard looked like he was fresh off the boat.  

Celia quickly turned and ran around the last corner she had taken and waited.  The sound of footsteps drew closer.  He was running after her, hard.  As he entered the jammer’s range, Celia could feel his precise location as he ran down the hallway.  She lashed out with a stiff arm that caught the guard in the throat as he turned the corner.  A muffled gasp escaped as the man fell and then he
was
silent, knocked unconscious by Celia’s boot to his head.

She dragged the body off to the side.  There was no time to hide it properly, and little point to it as well.  She continued toward the detention center, picking up her pace to a brisk walk.