Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact (20 page)

“And where does freedom exist?”

Tiago looked up at the night sky,
his eyes fixating on the blue and green orb above us.

“The Moon,” he said.  “It exists
there.”

A part of me was shocked by his
announcement.  Tiago had infinite amounts of ambition if that’s where his
endgame would be.  I knew he already had a plot formulated in his mind.

But the other part of me did not
care.  The Moon, Earth, Mars, another galaxy, it did not matter where we hid,
there was still no future for us and I had my own plans to execute.

“I don’t know what crazy scheme
you have,” I said, “but I don’t want to be a part of them.  My path is set.”

I looked at Tiago and saw an
expression I rarely see - sadness.

“But what about us?” he asked me. 
“I thought we were family.”

I choke up a little bit.

“We are family,” I said teary
eyed, “but I can’t live this life anymore.”

His body drooped down and his
breathing became heavy.  “I… I… understand, brother, but this can’t be the
way.  We can’t lose another.”

My eyes narrowed and I remained
stoic.  “It’s the only way.”

He paused for a bit before he
responded to me and looked right at my eyes to see if I was bluffing.  I
wasn’t, and he knew it.

“All right, brother, I’ll respect
your decision,” he says.  “But before you do whatever it is you plan to do,
perhaps there’s one final way you can help out the brothers and sisters you
claim to love.  You say you would do anything for family, correct?”

“Correct,” I say softly.

“Then I have a plan for you.”

Two nights later, as I head to the
Gonzalez station, I feel ambivalent.  What he wants me to do will help aid my
family’s escape.  It’s pivotal that I get this done.  At the rate the United
Species Alliance is going, it won’t take long before we’re all dead.  My role
in all this can put an end to them.

But I am also angry.  I wanted to
go out on my own terms, not as a person being used in a scheme, but as an
individual who is putting an end to all his suffering.  To take that away and
put the guilt of the family on my head makes me question Tiago’s concern.  I’ve
become a pawn in one of his schemes after all.

His leadership has been
questionable these past few days.  He let Oscar and the others slip from his
fingers so offhandedly, without even a word of persuasion.  It’s like he didn’t
care about them at all.  I care about them and I didn’t want them to leave.  I
would have gone with them, too, but at that point, I had already committed to Tiago’s
plan.  I didn’t want to jeopardize the safety of those that remain, the
objective still needed to go through.

Now I hold a slight grudge.  When
they left I didn’t say how angry I was at Tiago, but he knew.  He tried to
convince me the importance of family, the importance that we do what it takes
to make sure the family lives.  I believed him, that’s why I agreed to his
proposal that night.

Then he turns his back on one of
our brothers.  Sometimes I wonder when Tiago talks about all that family duty
crap, if he just means the family members that matter to him.  His actions
against some of the others have been less than loving.  On the other hand, he
protects those he personally cares about.  I’m not sure if he thinks so black
and white, but that seems to be the case.

And I’m not sure if I’m one of
those he will toss in the wind.  But then I remember all those times that we
were kids and how he was the only one who could look me in the eye like a
brother and not a beast.  I suppose my paranoia is getting the best of me.

When I departed our hideout for
the Gonzalez station, he knew I was mad.  He asked if I wanted to back out, but
I brushed him off aloofly.  I wanted nothing to do with him.  At the time, I
thought he was a scumbag.

But as I think about it, I realize
that I told him not to tell the others what I was going to do.  He had told Ace
and Alex from the get go, because he tells them everything, but he made sure
not to tell anyone else.  Not Oscar, not the twins, not Candy, who was the only
one left after Oscar’s camp departed.  I asked him this because I didn’t want
them to be worried.  Tiago fulfilled his part.  None of them know.  Things like
that show me I can trust Tiago, that there’s nothing to be paranoid about. 
It’s a true demonstration of familial bond.

Even in this final hour, family
comes first.  That is why I’m doing what I’m doing.  This is for them, my last
act to give.

November 16, 3040
11:32 PM

The remnants of storage boxes,
bits of food and clothes, and destroyed electronics surround us.  I doubt that
Primm’s law enforcement will be happy with what we’ve done, but there’s not
much they can do about it.  The United Species Alliance gave us full
jurisdiction, so we’re able to do whatever the hell it takes to get the job
done as long as no one dies.  Still, as I look around, I can’t help but think
that Fenrir and Colbo’s actions were a bit excessive.

“Didn’t really go for the quiet
approach, did you?” I say to Fenrir, who is a few feet away from me.

“You didn’t tell us we had to,” he
says sarcastically.

“Guess I didn’t.”

Another halfkind is dead and
there’s nine left.  This one had a weapon with him, which tells me he was
expecting us.  I wonder how prepared the rest of them are, that when the time comes,
if they’ll fight back like he did.  These things are scared, desperate, and
fighting for their lives, which makes them very dangerous.  I guess Fenrir and
Colbo did what they had to do in order to get the job done.

“All right, let’s gather up and go
over what we know so far,” I say.  The team has been spending the past hour
looking for clues, documenting evidence, and doing forensic tests to find
anything that could help in our investigation.  Fenrir has been on scent duty. 
I told Colbo and Borton to seal the area and find out what the halfkind was
trying to get.  Erawan is on guard duty.

Apollo had already finished his
investigation.  He discovered some very vital evidence - a data cube Lombardi
Lawton had in his pack.  I think we’ve gotten what we needed and it’s time to
figure out the next plan.

“Everyone gather around,” I say. 
“Apollo, share with the group what you found in his bag.”

“Information on nearby
teleporters,” he tells the squad.

“We also checked the security
console from where he entered,” Fenrir says, “The history log suggests he was
on the infospace looking for the same thing.  Let me take a look at your data.”

Apollo shows Fenrir the display
and he examines it.

“Yup, the information from the log
matches with what you discovered,” Fenrir says.  “It appears they’re trying to
leave Primm as soon as possible.”

“It makes sense.  I’m not
surprised that’s their next move,” I say.  “Two of their family members are
dead.  If I were them, I would leave here in a hurry, and if they make it to and
are able to use a teleporter, tracking them down will be very, very difficult.”

“Where do you think they’re
going?” Borton asks.

“We don’t know, but does it really
matter?” I respond.  “They could travel to anywhere in the world in the blink
of an eye.”

“How many teleporters are there in
Primm?” Colbo asks.

“There are two, the Gonzalez and
Li stations.  The birdman’s data was for the Gonzalez station, probably because
it’s closer to here, so I’m guessing that’s probably where they’ll be heading,”
I say.  “This also gives us a clue as to where they’re hiding out.  With no
vehicle support, it means they’re on foot.  They have to be at least within a
one to three mile radius from here and the Gonzalez station is in this area. 
They can’t risk being in the open for too long, even if it is at night.”

“Perhaps we should be finding out
where their hideout is,” Colbo says.

“No,” I interrupt.  “We know where
they’re going.  If we go looking for their hideout, it could lead to a wild
goose chase.  Why not meet them at their target and stakeout the area?  It’ll
be the perfect trap.”

“But what if we’re the ones who
are being trapped,” Fenrir says, breaking into our conversation.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, this is too
obvious.  This halfkind creature got blown to bits by Colbo and I.  We tore him
apart, just look at his corpse, and he conveniently leaves us a nice, fat clue
to cash in?  Doesn’t it seem a little odd that someone we destroyed is leading
us somewhere so obvious?”

“Perhaps,” Colbo says, “but it’s
not like he knew that we were coming after him.”

“Didn’t he?”  Fenrir says.  “He
had a bomb with him, after all.  Maybe he was sent on a suicide mission, maybe
he died because he wanted to leave a message.”

I interject.  “That’s a lot of
maybes and if that’s the case, you think these halfkinds would sacrifice their
own like that?  Send some kind of kamikaze soldier to set up this trap?”

“It’s not out of the question.”

“But he’s their brother,” Apollo
says, “it seems pretty extreme to make your own family do that.”

Fenrir pauses to think about
Apollo’s observation.  “When survival is on the line, extreme decisions are
always made.”

“Maybe,” Apollo says hesitantly. 
“But the only other teleporter here is the Li station and that’s nearly four
miles away from this supply depot.  If they are heading to that one, they’ll
have to risk being seen and there are nine of them around.  Seems like an
unnecessary gamble to be walking out in the open, in such a large group, to a
station that’s farther away.”

“So, should we check out the
Gonzalez teleport as the Commander suggests?” Colbo asks.

“It’s up to him,” Fenrir says
bluntly.  “But I’m still skeptical.  Make your call, Trevor.”

I go over the situation in my mind
before I confirm.  The Gonzalez station would be the most likely place they
would show up next.  Lombardi’s evidence practically spells it out.

Fenrir does also make some excellent
points.  Things seem too good to be true.  I’m not fully convinced, though.  I
just don’t think a family would sacrifice their own like that.  I’ve seen a lot
of things in my career, but that seems too merciless to me.

“I think we should stakeout the
Gonzalez station,” I say.  “It’s the next logical move for the halfkinds.  But
I want to make sure we’re all in agreement before we execute it.  Who’s in and
who’s out?”

“I’m in,” Apollo says.  “There’s
no reason to suspect otherwise.  Just because the pieces fit doesn’t mean we
should disregard the facts.”

“Yes, the obvious answers are
obvious for a reason,” Borton says.

“And you Erawan?” I ask him.  He
nods in agreement.  “Colbo?”

“The halfkinds are scared, they
know we’re after them,” Colbo says.  “I don’t think they care for strategy now,
I think they want the fastest way out.”

I then look at Fenrir.  Judging by
his body language he’s still suspicious.

“I’m guessing you’re the only one
who thinks this isn’t a good idea,” I ask.

“I’m unsure,” he says.  “Things
never come this easy and we are underestimating these halfkinds too much.”

“Well there’s not much we can give
them credit for,” Borton says.  “Two of them are dead and their attempt to
retrieve supplies has been a spectacular failure.  I don’t think they have a
master plan or grand scheme.  I think they’re running around with their heads
cut off.”

“Still,” Fenrir continues, “the
second we let our guard down is the second they’ll strike.”

“What do you think we should do?”
I ask Fenrir.

“We should split up,” Fenrir
says.  “There are two stations here in Primm, one team of three can check out
the Li and the other team can check out the Gonzalez station.”

“I don’t know,” I say.  “I think
if our team is taking on nine possible hostiles, we should be at full
strength.  They may not be armed like we are, but a three on nine situation is
never safe.  I don’t want to take the risk on a hunch.”

“But if they’re as clueless as we
think they are, three on nine is plenty,” Fenrir says.

Taking on so many of them with a
handful of squad members could be suicide.  But if I cash in all my chips on
the Gonzalez station, and the halfkinds go to the Li station, my mission will
be over.

“Okay, Fenrir, we’ll do it your
way.  I’ll send half of us to the Li station and half of us to the Gonzalez
station.  Borton, Apollo…”

Suddenly we hear a knock echo from
the front door.

“Did you hear that?” I ask the
others.  They nod.  We’re not alone.  “Fenrir, Apollo, exit through the front
door and see what that was.  I’ll follow behind you for back up.  The rest of
you, stay here for now.”

“Why can’t we go?” Colbo asks.

“You’re all too big,” I say as I
walk away.  “You might scare it away.”

Apollo and Fenrir head toward the
knocking.  I trail behind them, gun in my hands pointing downward.  We exit the
warehouse and slink through the hallway leading toward the front.  It’s quiet,
like the warehouse, but different at the same time.  The warehouse has an
openness about the silence.  I could hear wind blowing against the outside
walls and small pieces of metal getting thrown around softly.  The hallway has
deft stillness, the kind of sound that surrounds you as the adrenaline pumps in
your body and you brace for a clash.

The front door opens and the two
canines step outside while I observe from my view inside.  Fenrir looks to the
left, Apollo looks to the right.  They see nothing and trot around the front
area.  I step outside as well.

We survey the landscape and see
squat, just an empty lot.

“Apollo, use your scent device,” I
say.  “Fenrir, see if you can pick up anything too.”

Apollo equips his scent device and
sniffs the ground diligently.  Fenrir does the same, without the gadgets.