Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal Book 5) (30 page)

"Colonel," Daisy said. Mitchell looked forward. Some of the officers were running toward them, and one threw himself in front of the car, hitting the corner and bouncing off, his body heavy enough to throw the car sideways. "Frigging hell."

A second officer moved in front of the car, and they slammed into him as well, denting the front of the vehicle and bringing the car to a stop.

"What are you doing?" Mitchell said.

"Collision detection systems," Daisy said. "Automatic shut down."

"Shit. Can you override?"
 

"No."

They were dead in the water.
 

"Open the access panel below the steering column," Michael said. "Down there." He leaned forward, showing them the place. "There's a circuit board in there. Shoot it or something. It will either crash the onboard computer and force it to emergency manual, or leave it irreparably broken."

"We've got nothing to lose," Mitchell said. "Do it. Max, Lyle, we need a few seconds."

"I've got it," Max said, moving toward the back of the van where the duffel full of firearms was resting. He fished a wide, heavy weapon from it and then pushed open the back doors.
 

Daisy reached down, finding the access panel and tearing it away.
 

Mitchell heard a thunk, and then one of the police cars exploded.
 

"Give me your gun," Daisy said.

Mitchell handed it to her. Another thunk, another burst of chaos and flame. Daisy pushed herself back in the seat and shot the panel.

"Now, hit that switch and pray," Michael said.

Daisy hit the switch. The car whined to life, the repulsors lifting it back off the ground. Max dove into the rear of the van, and they started to pull away again.
 

Bullets riddled the side as they skirted the edge of the barricade, punching holes in the sheet metal. Mitchell held his breath until they were past and then watched the rear view. A remaining drone trailed behind them, vanishing a dozen seconds later when Lyle poked it from the sky.
 

"Champion marksman," he said with a smile when he ducked back in.

They all settled for a moment while Daisy got them further from the scene.
 

"We can't keep this car," she said. "It's too easy to spot like this."

Mitchell turned back toward Michael, who was breathing heavily, his face red and sweaty. He looked terrified, but focused. "I don't suppose you know how to break into cars?" he asked.

Michael nodded. "I only have one real friend in the world, and that's Kathy. If she's in half the trouble you are, she needs us. I can help you steal a car if that's what you need."

"That's just the start of what I need."

"We're going to save her though, right?"

"We're going to save everyone if we can. That's the reason I'm here. We can't go to her directly, as much as we might want to. It isn't safe for either of us, and I think Origin and I had a different plan for me, anyway."

"Origin?" Michael said. "Huh?"

Mitchell glanced at Daisy, and then back at Michael. "You both need to be fully debriefed when we have the time, but that time isn't now. First, we need a car. Then we need to find a way to get to Antarctica without the AIT catching up."

"Antarctica?" Daisy said. "Why?"

"XENO-1," Mitchell said. "There's something I'm supposed to do there."

"What?" Lyle asked.

"I don't know yet. I guess we're going to find out."

"Are you lost?" the configuration asked.
 

Katherine considered reaching for her knife, deciding against it. It was too soon.
 

"This isn't my office," she said. "I was looking for-"

"A quiet place to sit and think?"

Katherine moved toward him. She would try to get out of the room without making a scene.

He shifted to block her path.

"Or did you have something else in mind? Maybe you were waiting for me?"

Katherine took a few steps back. "Waiting for you?"

"I saw how you looked at me in the elevator."

"I didn't appreciate you grabbing my ass."

"Didn't you?" He smiled again, lip quivering as if it took a lot of effort.

"That depends. Do you have Level Five security clearance?"

He laughed awkwardly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She smiled, reaching up toward the buttons on her blouse. "It has everything to do with this."

The configuration's head tilted at an odd angle and then began to shake as if he were struggling with himself. He stopped after a few seconds.
 

"I do have clearance," he said. "Do you want to go to Level Five?"

"I bet it's quieter down there."

"I'm not going to bring you to Level Five."

"Why not?"

"I can't wait that long. I have needs. I have-" The configuration paused, shaking again for a moment. "Wants."

He stepped toward her, reaching for her shoulder. Katherine slipped her hand beneath the top of her blouse, grabbing the handle of the small knife. Trevor had said his former squad mates had been acting strangely. This was more than strange, and she still didn't know if she had been targeted because of the way she looked or because they knew who she was.

Katherine tensed as a hand pressed down on her breast. She didn't want to miss, and that meant letting him touch her.

"Cole," a voice said from behind them.

The man straightened immediately, taking a step back from Katherine. She looked over his shoulder, to where another of Trevor's teammates was standing. He was small and muscular. Ng, most likely, based on his features.

"I'm busy," Cole said.

"We have other business. You can find another one later."

Another one?

"But-"

"Cole!"

The configuration glanced at her one last time and started to turn.

Then they both froze.

"Katherine, they're onto us," Origin said in her ear. "You need to-"

She didn't hear the last part. She brought the knife to her hand and jumped on Cole's back, pushing hard as she slid it across his throat. She felt nauseous as she rode his body down.

"You!" Ng said. "Two of you?"

She slid her hand beneath Cole's body, grasping for one of the guns. Ng charged her.

She pulled the gun, throwing herself backward and shooting at the same time. Her first four rounds went wide. The fifth hit him in the shoulder throwing him sideways. He caught himself on the wall.

Katherine braced herself and fired twice more. The bullets hit the configuration in the chest. It wasn't enough to stop him.

"You won't get out of here," he said. "Either of you. Not now."

She shot him in the head. He was still coming, reaching out for her. She shoved him aside, into the wall again. This time, he stumbled and fell over.

"Origin?" Katherine said.
 

"I'm pinned down. Katherine, you need to escape."

"We haven't gotten what we came for."

"It's too late. He was expecting this."

"Frigging Coates," she said out loud.
 

They should have been smarter, but what other options did they have? She knelt down and replaced her spent pistol for Cole's other sidearm, and then moved next to Ng to grab his weapons as well.

She paused as she reached under his suit jacket. She had an idea.

"I'm not giving up yet," she said. "Can you hold tight?"

"I'm barricaded. Trapped."

"Good enough."

"Katherine, what are you planning?"

"To be the hero you want me to be, I guess."

She didn't feel like a hero. Her entire body was shaking, her breathing was ragged, and she wanted to vomit. Shooting down bogeys was one thing, killing an enemy soldier another. Cutting a man's throat was something else entirely.

She lifted Ng, throwing him up and over her shoulder and trying to ignore the warmth of the blood on her blouse and arms. She carried him from the room, checking both ends of the hallway for more guards. She was alone for now. It didn't seem as though they had raised an alarm in this part of the building.

She grunted and continued down the hallway, past the offices. There were people in some of them, and they drew back in shock as she passed, but didn't confront her. Not everyone in here was under Watson's control.

She rounded the corner, winding up only a few feet from the next security checkpoint. The guards there stared at her in disbelief as she dumped Ng's body from her shoulder and pushed it through the scanning arch.

It crossed the threshold and then fell to the ground. The guards started to stand. Katherine aimed and fired, hitting each in the chest and knocking them back down.
 

The door to the high-security area slid aside.

Katherine jumped over Ng's body, running through the door.
 

"I'm in Level Five," she said.

"How?" Origin replied, her voice pleased and surprised.

She passed another row of heavy doors. These had no viewports, and each was marked as hazardous. She didn't know what was behind them and didn't have time to care. She kept going, searching for a terminal.
 

A scientist turned the corner ahead of her, freezing at her sudden appearance. She thought he would run, but instead, he charged, shouting and throwing himself at her. She didn't shoot, catching him, turning his momentum into the wall, and finally hitting him on the back of the neck. She could feel the control device crunch beneath his skin as he dropped to the ground.

She followed his tracks, heading down an adjacent corridor to an open office door. A terminal waited on the other side, and she slapped the transmitter down on the table.

"Making the connection," she said.
 

"Receiving," Origin said. "I don't know how, but you did it. It's time to call the cavalry."

Katherine had one more device on her, and she withdrew it and tapped the single button on its surface.
 

"Kate?" Trevor said a moment later. "I'm on my way."

"Origin is in trouble. Head to the upper floors. I'll meet you there."

"Affirmative."

Katherine dropped the device to the ground, stomping it beneath her shoes. There was no sense risking that Watson could trace the signal. Then she closed her eyes, took a few strong breaths to try to calm herself, and headed back out into the hallway.
 

She had gotten Origin connected to the mainframe.
 

Now she needed to get her out of the building.

"Anything?" Katherine asked. She had left the transmitter on the desk, crossing back through the security checkpoint and heading for the elevators. She was still alone for now, but she knew it couldn't last.

"I have to be cautious. If I go too deep, we may end up in a direct confrontation. This form is too fragile to defeat him that way."

"I'm coming to you. Trevor is on the way."

"Katherine, there are a number of guards outside this door. I can't hold it forever."

"You get the intel, I'll worry about the guards."

She surprised herself with her bravado.
 

She dashed through the hallways, careful around corners but otherwise sprinting. The scientists and lab techs who saw her coming were quick to get out of the way, but she had to slow as she approached them in case they were under Watson's control. None of them tried to grab her, and she made it back to the first checkpoint without interference.

Too easy. It was all too easy.

She reached the elevator and froze. What if Origin was already compromised? What if she were speaking to Watson instead of her? There would be no reason to come get her when she was heading right for them.

She paused, suddenly uncertain, all of her confidence waning in an instant. She didn't know how to trust anything. Allies were turned into enemies. Innocent people were used and abandoned or worse. Michael was missing. The Dove was certain to be sabotaged. The future wasn't just hazy. It was black. Empty. Dead.

A panic overtook her. She stared at the door to the elevator but didn't summon it. What was she doing? Origin needed her, and she was inactive. Paralyzed. All of her life, she wanted to travel to the stars. If she had known the price she would have to pay, would she still have followed the path?