Unchained (35 page)

Plass continued. “And don’t expect to see
many d’Hont. Stoll is fully in charge. The majority of their
positions have been replaced by regular military faithful to Tausek
alone.”

“
Then where are the
d’Hont?” Berman asked in disbelief.

“
Parade duty,” Plass
muttered.

A nasty snarl formed on Berman’s face. “Just
as well. At least we won’t be killing our own. So now what?”

Plass looked at Decker. “Are you still
getting Stone’s signal?”

Decker checked his tracker unit. “Yes, they
just arrived at the tower.”

“
First, we rescue Stone and
Cidra.” Plass turned to Berman. “Then we kill Tausek and
Fiske.”

“
That’s too good for either
of them,” Berman growled.

Plass nodded. “Agreed, but our choices are
limited now. I won’t let Tausek live even if we do start a civil
war by killing him.” He glanced at the time. “We only have two
hours before Major Holtz decimates the tower.” He looked back at
Berman. “And us along with it.”

“
Checkpoint Beta coming up,
sir,” the pilot interrupted over the communications link above
their heads.

The d’Hont unit automatically came to
attention while the vehicle rolled to a stop. No one moved or spoke
in the rear section as they listened to the conversation between
the pilot and the checkpoint guard. A few words were exchanged
before a thud was audible over the comm.

A few moments later, the driver reported the
status. “Checkpoint Beta is now closed for the day. Arriving at
Checkpoint Alpha in three minutes.”

As the shuttle surged forward, Berman
addressed his team. “Checkpoint Alpha will be heavily guarded. As
soon as the shuttle slows down, you are to exit via the rear hatch.
Follow the shuttle closely, using it as cover. We will take the
checkpoint by force. After that, we are on foot.”

Grey glanced around the wide concourse their
shuttle had been sitting in for ten minutes. It surrounded a round,
central structure containing several doors. He guessed the inner
circular room to be the underground portion of Tausek’s tower. He
wondered which one of the doors would lead to the tower’s single
lift.

The curved wall behind them was lined
completely with guards at regular intervals in typical Tausek
style: overkill.

He was trying to come up with an escape plan
when he caught Cidra watching him, her eyes clear and calm. Lord,
he loved her. He wanted to touch her, wanted to hold to her. What a
fool he’d been. He may have blown his chance to tell her he loved
her but he’d make sure she got out of here alive. With or without
him. Now was their last chance to escape.

Slowly, she shook her head at him. He
blinked at her. Did she know what he was thinking? She glanced at
the contingency of guards, back at him and mouthed the word
‘no’.

Grey stared back. She
didn’t want to escape? When she gave him a small smile, he realized
she must know something he didn’t. His natural instinct to escape
warred with her eyes pleaded silently at him:
trust me
.

Grey closed his
eyes.
Trust me
.
Once they were in the tower with Tausek, there would be no chance
for escape.
Trust me
. Tausek would kill them. The mission would be lost.
Trust me
. Do nothing.
Trust her. Could it be that simple? Did he love her that
much?

He let out a long breath, relaxed, and put
his life in her hands. When he opened his eyes, a single tear was
trickling down her cheek and a sweet smile played on her lips.

Finally, Fiske approached the shuttle and
assisted Cidra out. Grey was handled roughly by a guard on his
side. They were led briskly to one of the doors in the tower. Grey
bared his teeth when he spotted Stoll watching Cidra with blatant
interest. Grey shuddered to think what would have happened to her
by now if he hadn’t agreed to accompany her.

The door to the lift opened before them.
Stoll ordered all his men but Fiske to remain in the concourse
circling the tower. Then he took Cidra’s arm and led her into the
lift with Fiske and Grey following. Stoll’s hand was on Cidra’s
arm, stroking it lightly. Her expression remained stoic but Grey
could see the effort it took. He, on the other hand, was itching to
kill someone and made no effort to hide it. Stoll eyed him
knowingly and smirked.

The tower lift opened less than a minute
later on the top level of the tower. When the door opened, they
walked around the corridor that circled the lift. Additional
hallways veered off the circular corridor like spokes. They took
one such hallway and halted in front of an intricately decorated
door.

Stoll turned to Fiske. “I will deliver them
to Tausek myself.”

The Lieutenant hesitated slightly. “Of
course, sir. I will stand guard.”

The attack on Checkpoint Alpha succeeded
with a barrage of gunfire and a pile of dead bodies.

The sealed tower entrance now loomed before
them, unguarded but impenetrable. Plass and Berman were joined by
Rourke and Decker outside the entrance near the security panel.

“
Now what?” Rourke
asked.

Berman frowned at him. “Our security
clearances aren’t registering. Entrance can only be granted from
the inside without proper clearance. We’ll have to blast the
door.”

Plass shook his head. “It won’t work.” He
turned to Decker and Rourke to explain. “The base of the tower is
surrounded by a full circular concourse. About fifty guards are on
duty at all times. Any one of them can activate an alarm that will
drop shield doors across all the entrances. Nothing can penetrate
those. We won’t get two meters inside before we are cut off and
killed. We’ll have to call our ground teams to attack the above
ground entrances and hope the distraction draws some of the guards
away.”

Rourke watched a Servo-unit buzz happily by.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” he muttered. He snatched up
with the little unit just before it dove into a tiny hatchway. The
men looked at him in surprise.

He lifted the cleaning unit up to them. “Now
where do you think this little guy is heading?”

Plass eyed him carefully. “Probably into the
tower concourse. They cover all parts of the underground.”

Rourke smiled. “That’s what I thought. How
tightly sealed is that concourse?”

“
Completely,” Plass
answered as he watched Rourke peel a concussion charge off his
weapons belt and attach it to the Servo-unit. Understanding
dawning, he asked, “You have a remote. Right?”

Rourke looked up from his task indignantly.
“Of course. This concourse is wide open, three-hundred sixty
degrees around. Right?”

A smile tugged at Plass’ lips. “Of
course.”

Berman’s eyes widened. “That concussion
charge is going to ricochet all around the concourse.” He shook his
head in disbelief and understanding. “You’re going to knock out
fifty men with one air burst and leave the room untouched.”

“
I think we need to
reevaluate our security, Major Berman,” Plass
summarized.

Rourke placed the little unit back on the
floor. It continued on its merry way as if nothing had hindered its
duty, disappearing immediately into the hatchway.

“
Get your teams ready to
blast the entrance doors, Berman,” Rourke called out as he headed
for cover.

Everyone cleared the entrance doors. Rourke
pressed the detonation device. A muffled sound emanated from the
other side of the entrance.

“
Fire!” Berman yelled.
Laser cannons tore gaping holes through the center of the door.
Immediately, Berman’s team rushed through the jagged opening, guns
firing.

Rourke and Decker followed Berman. The
concourse was filled with smoke and smelled of melted metal, but
otherwise still and silent. Unconscious bodies littered the floors
with the Servo-unit wandering innocently among them.

“
I want them all in
restraints before they recover,” Berman ordered.

Plass walked directly to the tower lift. It
was still operational and the door opened at his command. The alarm
hadn’t been sounded, but he remained cautious. He would feel better
when all the guards in the concourse were accounted for.

He turned to speak to Berman.

Suddenly, the silence was replaced by the
tower alarm. The shield doors immediately dropped, sealing them in
the concourse. Plass spun around in time to see the lift doors
close on a stunned Barrios. As the lift doors sealed shut, Plass
swore. The old man must have walked right into the lift and set off
the alarm. So much for the element of surprise and the use of the
lift. They would be using the access shafts—all twenty floors of
them.

Cidra swallowed hard just as Stoll was about
to activate the door to Tausek’s chambers. His comm unit
beeped.

“
What’s the problem?” Stoll
barked to his chief security officer.

A deep voice replied, “Unknown at this time,
sir. An unauthorized user has accessed the lift. It sealed and
deactivated automatically. We have no other security issues at the
moment. Perhaps it is a malfunction.”

Stoll pinned Grey with a savage glare.
“Somehow I doubt that. I will be in my office. Report there as soon
as you isolate the problem.”

He turned to Fiske. “Hand them over to
Tausek. Then remain on guard outside the door. I won’t take any
chances.” He warned the young Lieutenant. “There is no need for
Tausek to be aware of the security issue. I will deal with it
myself.”

Fiske answered, “I understand.”

The moment Stoll rounded the corner out of
sight, Fiske stepped behind Cidra. He released the restraint
mechanism, but didn’t remove them. She looked at him as if afraid
to believe. “What are you doing?”

He smiled slightly. “Giving you a fighting
chance. The restraints are released. One good tug will free them
completely.”

She gazed at his face in amazement. It
appeared to soften and grow younger before her very eyes. “The comm
unit...” she began.

“
Is in your boot,” he
finished, looking up at her through long lashes. “Don’t do any
dancing or the transmission will suffer.”

Grey asked, “Whose side are you on,
Fiske?”

Fiske turned to face him. “I am a d’Hont
guardian. My loyalty begins and ends with them. Not Stoll, not
Tausek, not even Plass. I am part of a secret order dedicated to
the preservation of the d’Hont.”

He looked at Cidra, his voice sympathetic.
“We saw what happened to the Kin-sha—destroyed by one incident. My
order was formed shortly after that for the sole purpose of
preventing a similar incident from decimating us. Our preservation
effort extends beyond the political realm, beyond the power of any
ruler. Even Stoll is unaware of it. I’ve been watching him for some
time, earning his trust, and keeping close. The time has come to
eliminate him as a threat to us.”

As he spoke, Fiske stepped behind Grey and
released his restraints. In one swift move, Grey pinned Fiske to
the wall behind him, crushing his throat with his hand.

Grey hissed. “Give me one
good reason why I should believe
anything
you say.”

Cidra answered, “We need him to establish
the communications link, Grey. We have no choice. We have to trust
him.”

He turned to look at her and she saw the
shadows in his eyes lift. He released Fiske and stepped back.

Fiske massaged his throat and looked at her.
“Thank you. I was having some difficulty vocalizing.” Then he
narrowed his eyes at Grey. “You’re faster than you look.”

Grey’s mouth kicked up. “You should see
her.”

Fiske gave Cidra a nod. “It is time to face
Tausek. Are you ready?”

“
I’m ready.”

“
I’m not.” Grey pulled her
into his arms, restraints and all. He kissed her hard, desperation
turning to passion to tenderness. Cidra leaned into him, welcoming
the heat and harbor he offered. A soft moan slipped through her
throat. He did this so well. And she needed him so much.

Grey broke off the kiss and spoke in her
ear. “Cidra, I love you.”

She smiled. She had known he loved her when
he trusted her in the shuttle. “It’s about time. I love you,
too.”

Grey smiled back. “I’m a slow learner. Lucky
for you, I don’t give up easily.”

Fiske fixed Grey’s restraints. They turned
to face the door to Tausek’s chambers.

Cidra eyes met Grey’s for a long moment in a
silent declaration of a deathless bond. Fiske activated the door,
and they stepped into Tausek’s chambers together.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Rourke felt the heat from
another laser blast zing past his head and yelled, “You have
got
to be kidding. There
must be another way to the top.”

Behind him Berman bellowed, “Shut up and
shoot or get out of the way.”

Rourke gritted his teeth and concentrated on
the gun battle. They were advancing up the tower at a crawl. This
was the third such battle since the lift had been sealed and they
had been forced to scale the tower level by level. Each battle grew
hotter as more guards from the upper levels descended to protect
their ground.

Laser blasts ricocheted off the corridor
walls and floors at dizzying speed. The haze of burned materials
and flesh hung in the air. Berman had already lost several men and
they still had a long way to go yet.

As usual, when the last tower guard went
down, they all scrambled to reach the next access shaft.

Decker ran up the corridor behind Rourke.
“This is taking forever. There’s no way they will still be alive by
the time we reach the top. Plass tells me we have another seventeen
levels to go.”