Psion Omega (Psion series Book 5) (45 page)

Hudec pulled the pin, waited, and threw, but the
drone gun shot the grenade midair where it detonated harmlessly. Kawai had her
shields up, but somehow Matthews wasn’t covered. Bullets or shrapnel or both
hit him in the eye, throat, and chest. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Dave Hudec cursed.

“I shielded—I thought you were—” Kawai
tried to explain to Dustin, but his glossy eyes and blood-speckled face left
her frozen.

“Todd and Matthews are down,” Hudec reported. “What
are our orders?”

Another rocket erupted from the tower—the same
tower Nikotai had reported as clear. It flew toward Kawai and Hudec.

“Incoming bogey!” Nikotai shouted.

Kawai fired concentrated blasts at it while more
shots rang out across the park. The rocket exploded next to the drone gun,
disabling it. Kawai scanned the area for signs of more incoming fire. “Are we
clear?” she asked.

No one answered.

Kawai chanced a glance behind her but saw no one.
“Hudec?”

Crackling sounds came from her com. Nikotai’s voice.
She couldn’t make out the words. Kawai dropped down and almost sat on Hudec.
Most of the top of his head was gone and a pool of blood spread out underneath
what was left. She gazed across the park at the tower where the Aegis stood
with their rifles, sights trained in her direction.

Tears leaked from Kawai’s eyes. She couldn’t
breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t fight. Not anymore. No more deaths.

One. One more
death
.

Kawai jumped the barrier and ran at the tower. Her
eyes fixed on the Aegis, willing them to shoot her. Another Aegis from the
rocket tower stood and pointed his launcher at her path, but three holes
plugged his chest before he could fire. Something hot and fast whizzed past the
left side of her head. Another brushed her right arm. A third. A fourth. More.
All barely missed. Still Kawai ran at the tower, arms and legs pumping wildly,
her ears filled with the sound of white noise.

She was more than halfway there when one of the
rifle-bearing Aegis took two bullets: one to the shoulder, spinning him, and
one to the back. The other Aegis ducked for cover.

No!

And before Kawai knew it she was off her feet and
crashing into the grass, blindsided by someone bigger and faster than she. It
was Nikotai on top of her. For a moment she thought he was dead, but then he
looked at her.

“What are you doing!”

She had no answer. Only sobs.

He grabbed her and pulled her under his chin.
“You’re going to live. You’re going to survive this.”

“I was supposed to die!” she shrieked. “Why did you
save me?”

“I didn’t save you. I tackled you. They must have
fired thirty rounds before I could reach you. All at you. All missed.”

“Why?” It wasn’t a question from her lips but a
demand.

“Fate. Luck. I don’t know.” Nikotai let her go.
“That part’s up to you.”

* * * * *

Sammy was back in the forest. One minute he’d been laying on his
back, exhausted, looking up at pure white, the next he was here. Scattered rays
of moonlight filtered through the trees. Everything was wet with an autumn
smell of molding leaves and wet earth.
You
can still win, Sammy
, a familiar voice said.
You can still save her. But there is only one way. It has to be my way
.

“You again.” Sammy knew the voice. He’d heard it so
many times. “Why do you keep bugging me?”

Sammy walked faster until he came face to face with
the shadow. They mirrored each other in height, but the shadow had no features
to distinguish it—a being of pure black. Sammy could see eyes moving in
sockets, but no iris, no pupils, no sclera, just black. He saw lips and teeth,
all black. No blemishes or wrinkles or scars.

Only black.

When Sammy held up a hand, the shadow mirrored him,
but Sammy did not touch it. He only looked. The closer his hand came to the
shadow hand, the more he felt the energy of it pulsing and pulling. “Are you
going to give me the key or what?”

You think this
is a game?

Sammy connected their palms and fingers. The shadow
brightened and shrunk until it disappeared, leaving Sammy with the key. The
beautiful key. The head of the key was rounded in gold and silver. The polished
metal gleamed brightly in the moonlight, its shaft and cuts perfectly tapered
and tuned.

Choose
.

To Sammy’s left, the cave. He had descended its
depths but never unlocked the metal door he stood at and contemplated more than
once. To his right, a lake, massive and serene. It extended out as far as he
could see. At the edge of the lake was the raft. The raft was a pathetic thing,
held together by twine, its log boards raggedy and uneven. Yet somehow he knew
it would stay afloat with his weight on it.

“I’ve already chosen.”

You have not.
Listen to the sounds in the cave.

Sammy walked closer to the cave’s black mouth and
heard voices coming from below. Quiet laughter, kisses, soft whispers.
Jeffie’s voice
. They were the
unmistakable sounds of love. The sounds transformed into her pleas for
help—pleas he had heard many times in the dream. He knew they came from
behind the iron door at the bottom of the cave’s steps.

Only the cave
will give you the power you need to save her
, the voice told him. Sammy sensed
the raw power down there, the promise it held. A rush of cool air from within
blew over his face, filling him with an energy that made his skin tingle.

“What source of power is so great that it hides in a
cave?” Sammy wondered aloud.

The power is in
you
.
But down there is the way to unlock it
.

At those words, Sammy understood perfectly what he
should do and what sort of power such a place would unlock. He took a step
backward, then another, and then he ran to the raft.

Loneliness
.
That’s where this raft takes you. Jeffie’s
death. And yours. You will die wondering what could have been
…
if you’d only descended into the lair of
power
.

Sammy laughed. “You don’t know the future.” He used
his key on the padlock that secured the chain connecting the raft and the pole.
Then he stepped gingerly onto the raft, threw the chain off, and sat. “I made a
promise.”

When he pushed off from the
shore, a sense of calm filled him. He tucked his knees up to his chest, rested
his chin on his knees, and listened to the waters as they splashed around the
edges and through the cracks between the logs.

The voice in his head grew dim,
faint, and eventually silent. But the water whispered his name. “Sammy … Sammy
… Sammy.”

He dipped a hand in the water and savored the
coolness of it. The pale blue moon was big and full on the horizon. It seemed
to Sammy that if he floated long enough, he’d crash into the sky. Then a black
spot appeared in the middle of the moon and grew larger as Sammy drifted
onward.

An island.

The strip of land wasn’t much longer or wider than
two or three cruisers put together. A small grove of trees stood in the center
of it, their trunks straight and proud. In the midst of the trees, something
reflected the moonlight, glinting white or gold. When the raft bumped into the
shore, Sammy climbed out and headed toward it.

Vines hung down from trees like a veil, their
tendrils swinging softly in the breeze. From within he caught a scent of
something like apples or nectar. He pushed aside the vines and walked through
the veil. White flowers clung to the vines on the other side. In the center of
the petals were seeds of gold, silver, and topaz. The flowers captured every
ray of moonlight and reflected them so perfectly that the inner sanctum of the
island was as bright as day. Sammy’s eyes widened as he turned in a circle,
examining all of it with wonder and awe.

In the center of the island was an elegant altar of
stones almost twice as tall as himself. Each stone was cut and shaped, smoothed
and polished so the altar looked more like a miniature Mayan temple, larger at
the base and slightly tapered so that each successive row was smaller than the
one underneath. The lowest layer of stones was jet black. But each successive
level grew lighter until the perfectly square slab at the top was whiter than
even the flowers.

Seeing nothing but the altar, Sammy considered going
back to the raft, but he did not want to leave. Then it occurred to him what he
should do. He climbed the rocks, and with every rock he ascended, he felt
something leave him—something he didn’t mind parting with. Finally, at
the top, he pulled himself onto the altar. It was more comfortable than he
would have believed, so he laid down, stretching himself out. Energy rushed
into his body, filling him with light and joy, so much that he glowed with it.
Every fear, worry, doubt, and regret vanished from his mind.

A smile grew on his face. He couldn’t contain it. He
didn’t want to. And when the energy and joy became so great that he could
hardly bear it, Sammy closed his eyes and woke.

Tuesday, November 11, 2087

BRICKERT’S SQUAD WORKED their way to the front of the blockade as
quickly as possible, motivated now by incoming rockets from the rooftops. Their
noted presence allowed Sheep Team’s other squad to reach the drones virtually
undetected. The grenades did their job, taking out three of the four drone guns
stationed at the wall of the barricade.

“Incoming rocket!” one of his squad members shouted.

Brickert whirled and blasted while shouting into his
com, “Can someone get a hit on that guy?”

Moments later a NWG cruiser slammed into the
building where the launcher-toting Aegis had been, exploding and spraying glass
and metal like rainfall.
I didn’t mean
like that
. The image sobered him. How many good men and women would die
today?
Sammy, Jeffie … who else? Is
Natalia already dead?

“Do we have any air support left?” he asked into his
com.

“All the eagles are down!” Justice responded. “All
the goose nests have been taken out. Do what you can to disable the
block—” The voice cut off abruptly.

Justice too?

Brickert ran for the last drone gun as three CAG
cruisers flew overhead. As they passed, they split their ranks, one veering off
left, another right, and the third going straight up. Squad B provided cover
for Squad A as Brickert led A to the front of the blockade. It took several
blasts to disable the last drone gun, and when he finally did, the enemy
cruisers fired their missiles at his team.

“Take cover!” he yelled.

All nine soldiers on Sheep Team dove for the dirt as
two missiles roared in and rocked the ground, spraying earth and smoke like
blankets over everything in sight. Brickert’s ears rang from the concussion,
hot blood trickled down the side of his head where debris had cut him. “Sheep
Team report!”

Only four answered. Brickert called for medics to
his location.

“No medics left,” another voice said. Brickert
believed it was Lorenzo Winters, but couldn’t be sure. “Tag the bodies and move
on.”

We can’t win
, Brickert
realized.
All our cruisers are gone.
They’re mopping us up.
He checked the time. 0841. Sammy was almost an hour
late activating the kill code, if he was alive at all.

Brickert got up on unsteady legs. The first thing he
saw when he climbed the blockade with the remaining four members of the team
was Natalia’s smoldering car. The explosives in the car had detonated well
short of the first barricades, but Sheep Team found no corpses in or near the
vehicle. Knowing medics would not be coming, Brickert split his four soldiers
in twos to search for what remained of Pig Team.

Brickert gave Lorenzo an update of his team’s
situation while he searched. “We’ve breached the northwest blockade. No sign of
Pig Team, but we’ve got a small squad of cruisers circling overhead. They’re
prepping to attack again.” Brickert stared up into the sky to spot the
cruisers, and saw an odd shape in one tree’s branches.

A well-executed jump-blast got him into the tree. It
was Natalia, her body cradled by three branches, her face and arms cut and
bleeding, burns traveled up her right leg and ribs. Brickert said her name
softly and felt for a pulse. It was weak, so was her breathing. He said her
name a second time, but she did not stir.

Taking her in his arms, he jumped down from the tree
and carried her onto the nearest patch of grass that wasn’t exposed to overhead
cruisers. “I’m sorry,” he told her under his breath so the com couldn’t pick up
his voice. “I should have disobeyed orders and come after you. I don’t think
we’re going to win, Natalia. I don’t think—”

At least a dozen cruisers flew overhead, streaking
and roaring through the sky at something in the distance—a long black
shape. Brickert moved in front of Natalia to cover her. “What is this? What’s
happening?”

He stood up straight to see, but still couldn’t see
through all the wreckage. A dozen missiles launched at once, their sounds
followed by a strange roar. Brickert jumped back into the tree, climbing as
high as he dared. His eyes widened and his breath left his lungs in one great
rush.

“They’re coming,” he shouted down to Natalia, his
team, whoever could hear. “I can’t believe it. There’s so many … The people are
coming. Not hundreds, not thousands. Hundreds of thousands, Natalia! Hundreds
of thousands. And those cruisers—” His face whitened and his jaw
slackened. “The marchers are going to be massacred.”

Tears filled his eyes. Thousands upon thousands
would be turned back or slaughtered.
Where
are Sammy and Byron?

* * * * *

“Sammy …” Jeffie’s voice came through his com, whispering so softly
he barely heard it. His eyes fluttered open, dry and sore. When he realized
he’d fallen asleep, he gasped and jerked.

“
Sammy
.”

“Sorry. I’m awake.”

“Oh, great. You’re awake. What is the deal with you
and falling asleep during really important, really stressful situations? I’m
covered in dead people and having a panic attack over here.”

“I didn’t know I was asleep,” he whispered back.

“The batteries are almost dead. She’s killed me, and
you’re about done. How was your nap?”

“Short, but I actually feel a little better. Not so
tired.” Sammy peered through the coffin-shaped holographic projection that hid
him from view where he lay on the floor near the back of the white room. Near
the elevator stood the Queen pointing what looked like a miniaturized blitzer
at Sammy’s holographic image. Disappointment etched her face as she fired one
into his left eye. Then she adjusted her aim slightly to the right eye and
fired again.

“How much time is left on the battery?” he asked
Jeffie.

“Less than a minute. Five minutes until kill code
activation.”

“What to do with your body?” the Queen asked Sammy’s
hologram that now lay motionless on the floor. “Maybe I’ll preserve it. Start
my own personal museum.”

“I don’t think it’ll keep,” Sammy said as he rolled
over the floor, out of the holographic box he’d been hiding in. No sooner had
he stepped out then all the holograms in the room flickered away, the batteries
finally drained. The white pillars in the room flickered and disappeared,
revealing the twin holo-projectors underneath. “See?” Sammy gestured to where
his fake body had lain. “Meat nowadays. You never know what it
really
is.”

The Queen’s eyes looked like they might pop. She
took a step back, her blitzer pointed at Sammy’s chest. “No …” She closed her
eyes and shook her head. “No … I killed you. I just killed you. You’re dead.”

“It’s 1025, Sammy,” Jeffie said as she climbed out
of the elevator covered in the gore of the Hybrids and Thirteens. “Less than
five minutes until the next—”

The Queen jerked her head to look at Jeffie. “And
you! I KILLED YOU BOTH!”

“Too many crazy pills for this one,” Jeffie told
Sammy.

“You know what they say about women and the
hot-to-crazy scale.”

“Are you saying
I’m
crazy?” Jeffie asked.

“Shut up!” the Queen fired a blitzer at Jeffie, but
Jeffie jumped away. “This isn’t real! This is a lie! The fox … someone … I
killed you!”

“Yep.” Sammy tried to stay light on his feet, but
his body was slow and worn. “I’m just an illusion. So if you’ll go on upstairs
back to your therapist—”

“I had the element of surprise!” She fired another
round, this time at Sammy, but he ducked it and shot a blast back at her.

“Not really a surprise, Katie,” Sammy said. “Diego
told us about your new skills. Why do you think I brought these?” He pointed a
thumb at the holo-projectors. “We spent weeks recording ourselves fighting
other Psions and Ultras. For you. I knew you’d figure it out. Knew you’d show
up.” He sniffed and wiped an eye mockingly. “This was my going away present for
you.”

She attacked him with blasts. He dodged and fired a
blast back at her. The little nap had re-energized his arms, but his legs still
felt stiff as boards and his head was full of fog.

“You look like you’ve been through the ringer,”
Jeffie said to the Queen. “Did our holograms wear you out?”

“Cowards!” she snarled, diving at Sammy.

The Queen was faster than him, stronger, more
tireless. Her Anomaly Thirteen gave her those abilities; Sammy had passed on
them. But he had to believe he was
better
.
He hopped over her while firing blasts back at her, but she nulled them with
blasts of her own.

“You couldn’t beat me so you used tricks!”

“Yeah,” Sammy said, circling her, “I guess I did.
But you sent your army of undead ahead of you, so I think we’re even.” He
signaled to Jeffie to reopen the back door and prepare the terminal for the
command.

“One minute!” Jeffie called.

The Queen saw this and laughed. “That signal will
never go out.” She fired three blitzers at the computer but the discs did not
penetrate the reinforced metal.

She fired again, this time at Sammy. He barely
avoided the blitzer, and used her missed attack as an opportunity to draw in
closer. The Queen tried to blast him away, but he jumped and shot himself back
down at her from the ceiling. His knee connected with her nose, making a
distinct crunching sound.

When Sammy saw the blood run down her face, he
laughed. “Seriously, how many times have I broken your nose? I think your
plastic surgeon owes me a gift basket.”

The Queen cursed at him and sent a blitzer disc at
Jeffie.

“Look out!” he shouted.

The blitzer disc caught Jeffie in the lower torso,
slicing a thin line clean through her abdomen and passing through just where
her kidney would be. Jeffie cried out as she grabbed at the wound and fell.

Sammy blasted himself at the Queen, wrapped his arms
around her, and drove them both to the ground. He roared every curse he knew
while pummeling her head with his left hand and slamming the blitzer in her
hand into the floor with his right. The Queen propelled both of them upward
with blasts from her free hand and feet, nearly forcing Sammy’s skull into the ceiling,
but he narrowly avoided it with blasts of his own.

“Sammy … the code,” Jeffie said. “Ten seconds.”

“Can you fight?” he asked her.

“I can hold her off!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” the Queen screamed and
grabbed at Sammy. She drove him to the floor so fast it stunned him. Before he
regained his wits she swung the blitzer at his head. Sammy raised his hand to
block her, but Jeffie rammed the Queen in the left flank, knocking her off
Sammy. He shot across the room to the alcove with the desk and screen. His
fingers flew over the keyboard, entering the code that Diego had guarded for
years. All for this moment. But by the time he finished typing and jammed down
the standby button, the clock read 1031.

* * * * *

Pain deeper and hotter than anything Jeffie had known radiated
through her side as she bowled into the Queen.
Ignore it. Protect Sammy. You’re dead anyway
. The Queen grunted as
she and Jeffie tumbled to the floor. She blasted Jeffie away, glaring as though
Jeffie were lower than animal droppings.

“Don’t touch me!” the Queen snapped as she wiped a
trickle of blood from her lip. “This doesn’t concern you. Leave if you want. I
don’t care.”

“Afraid to face me, Katie?” Jeffie asked, sounding
braver than she felt.

Using the Queen’s first name had the effect Jeffie
wanted. She blasted and ran at Jeffie, who stood in place, absorbed the blasts,
and let the Queen tackle her. When they collided, Jeffie wrapped her up tight,
then bit the Queen in the neck. She bit as hard as she could and tasted blood.
The Queen shrieked and blasted Jeffie away again, sending her skidding across
the floor on her back. The collision created waves of agony up and down
Jeffie’s side, but she ignored it, struggled back to her feet, and spat the
Queen’s blood from her mouth.

“You taste like chicken.”

The Queen turned her attention to Sammy, filthy
names spewing from her mouth. But before she could reach him, Jeffie blasted
the Queen away and scrambled to block her path. The Queen shot her blitzer,
sending disc after burning disc at Jeffie until her trigger brought nothing but
an empty clicking sound. Jeffie tried to dodge them all, but couldn’t. The
Queen was as fast and clever as Sammy. One disc hit Jeffie’s leg as she
flipped, searing the inside of her thigh; another sliced through her ribs on
the right side. A third narrowly missed her face, but left a thin burn on the
bridge of her nose and cut strands of her hair as she whipped her head around.

Between her injured knee and punctured abdomen,
landing on the floor was pure torture. And the Queen was waiting, blitzer at
the ready, hitting Jeffie so hard in the face with the butt of her weapon that
the bones in Jeffie’s face crunched. Blood choked Jeffie’s airway and she
coughed up spatters of red phlegm. She grabbed the Queen blindly and blasted
with her feet, carrying both of them near the elevator shaft. She meant to land
on the Queen, but the Thirteen twisted around in the air. When Jeffie hit the
ground, she thought she would never move again.