Redemption Protocol (Contact) (58 page)

Havoc stripped equipment from the rear of the vehicle. Abbott stepped toward him.

“John, before you complete the set up could you see Jafari in cabin three. He’s waiting for you now.”

 128. 

The wind plucked at Stone as he rose the final few hundred meters to the top of the shaft. As he neared the surface the sound of a howling wolfpack morphed into a shrieking host of banshees. The crane assembly grew from a dot of light to a soaring insect decked in spotlights.

The alien reactor cleared the lip and the upward motion halted. Stone’s stomach lurched all out of proportion with the movement. The reactor spun slowly, suspended over the void, its upward journey completed.

Now the reactor had stopped Stone wanted to get off as fast as he could. He clipped to the secondary line leading to the hook platform and swung out without looking down. He spooled across on the horizontal line, dropping at a slight angle toward the hook platform, just wanting to get it over with. He wasn't sure if his feet touched down before he was punched to the deck.

He rolled over and saw Ekker standing over him. The three barrels on Ekker's right forearm pointed straight at him. Ekker's eyes burned brightly.

“Switch off your chatter or you're gone.”

Stone thought Ekker wasn't joking. He shut down all his outbound communication. Ekker was monitoring him and nodded.

“One packet originates from you or near you and you'll be joining your fucking bitch, you understand?”

Stone nodded, then realized that he didn't understand at all. He sat up.

“What do you mean?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Did you hurt Saskia?”

“Did I hurt her? My dick is long, Stone, but it's not that long.”

“What happened?”

“The bitch got what was coming to her, that’s all.”

Stone felt angry and lost. Ekker was probably fucking with him just to be cruel. He was sick of taking shit from Ekker. Fuck this, and fuck Ekker.

“Hey Ekker, fuck you.”

Ekker twisted to stamp Stone back to the ground. As he turned, Ekker looked over Stone’s head.

“You little bas––”

Stone had hit the emergency release on the crane harness, jettisoning their cargo. The alien reactor tumbled away, still in its net.

Ekker’s face sagged.

Stone grinned as he gave Ekker the finger.

“Smile, Ekker. It's the second best thing you can do with your lips.”

Ekker raised his forearm.

“Any last requests?”

“That you reap what you sow, Ekker, that's all.”

Ekker aimed his tricannon at Stone’s face. The three barrels looked enormous. The enormity of Stone’s mistake hit him.

Oh, fuck.

Ekker snarled.

“Well then bye bye you little motherfucker.”

 129. 

Stephanie looked between Havoc and Abbott. She tried to decide how to play it.

The dust from the incoming Gathering vehicles streamed up as they drove around the corner for their imminent joint conference with the alien.

Havoc leaned forward as he dragged two large containers toward the shuttle.

“What are you doing?” Abbott said.

Yamamoto spoke from orbit.

“You have inbound at the pyramid. The People's Republic and the United Systems. Both are flying in with one shuttle each from the south. I have requested that they stop short and approach on the surface, if their intention is to visit the pyramid.”

“Thank you, Yamamoto,” Abbott said.

Havoc dragged the containers up the rear ramp of the shuttle.

“I can't go into the pyramid for the conference. There’s something I need to do.”

Abbott took a step forward, his face incredulous.

“What?”

Havoc walked back toward them. He took hold of the end of his final container and dragged it toward the shuttle.

“Abbott, you aren't going to believe a word of this. And you probably aren't going to keep it confidential so he's going to know in any case. I believe that Tyburn is General Claudius Forge, that Forge has abducted Stone and that he is preparing to hand your alien energy systems over to the ORC, who, as Yamamoto has already said, have already landed in the area of the shaft.”

Abbott stared at Havoc, then at Stephanie.

“What?”

Stephanie watched Havoc, willing him to shut up.

Havoc moved up the ramp.

“You got that as well, didn't you, Jafari?”

There was silence for a moment.

“Yes,” came Jafari's voice.

Stephanie felt a flicker of panic.

Havoc strode out of the shuttle and toward Abbott. Abbott glanced between Havoc and the cabin with Jafari in it. Havoc stopped a short distance away.

“Now I know someone on a mission like this will be Section Nine. Discounting the diplomats and dear Steph here, I had it down to Violette Hwan or our super nerd Jafari. A Section Nine would never let Karch put a gun to their head like Hwan did. The visit to the Gathering was the clincher. So Jafari, can I rely on you to handle security in the pyramid?”

Stephanie stared. Abbott looked stunned. There was a pause before Jafari answered from the cabin.

“Yes.”

“Great. Now are you going to put down that glue gun and come outside?”

Abbott's mouth fell open. He stared at Stephanie. Stephanie lifted her hands to acknowledge her bewilderment.

Havoc walked back to the shuttle.

“Close your mouth, Ambassador, I've done a few of these. While Jafari comes outside, I’ll say it's likely that either Tomas or Charles is our saboteur, possibly both. I can't be certain but the politics of the Neuworld Empire, the planted surveillance equipment and their position all point that way. The Emperor would sacrifice them without thinking. They're probably subverted. They might not even know they’ve done it.”

Stephanie felt a wave of relief wash over her. John was such a gullible fool. He'd launched her whole sparkling espionage career by taking her to a diplomatic function with Senator Ames. And he was as easily manipulated now as he was then. Thank God. She felt a bit dizzy. She'd thought she was done for. She couldn't take much more of this. She gasped in astonishment.

“Tomas or Charles. Goodness.”

Abbott's eyes narrowed as he considered Havoc’s statement.

Jafari stepped from the cabin lock with a weapon in his hand. Havoc piped data to the three of them as he stepped into the shuttle.

“I'm telling you that Tyburn and Ekker are against you. Here’s the transmission from Stone. I'm going to get Tyburn. And don't worry. If he's not Forge I'll put my hands up and Whittenhorn can lock me in the brig.”

Jafari took a couple of steps forward.

“You're losing it, Havoc.”

Havoc looked out through the closing door of the shuttle.

“Mission security is totally compromised beyond the four of us. So what you do with that information is up to you.”

Abbott raised an arm.

“John, don't––”

The shuttle door closed. Abbott pointed at the shuttle as he turned to Jafari.

“Can you override that?”

Jafari shook his head as the shuttle engines fired up. Dust clouds erupted and gas condensed, billowing around them. The noise built to a shrieking crescendo.

Jafari hefted the launcher.

“Should I?”

Abbott's eyes went wide as he looked at Jafari’s weapon. He shook his head. The Gathering vehicles rolled to a stop nearby. Zuelth sat inside the lead vehicle. They braced themselves in the shuttle wash.

Jafari frowned.

“Misinformation?”

Abbott stared between Stephanie and Jafari. His voice sounded remote as he analyzed what had just happened.

“We need to reconsider everything.”

Stephanie shook her head, still reeling.

“Yes we do.”

The shuttle lumbered forward, picking up speed.

“Do we tell anyone else?” Jafari said.

Abbott looked stunned, trying to adjust.

“Not yet.”

Jafari discretely put down the launcher as he nodded past Abbott.

> Visitors.

The shuttle cleared the pyramid wall. Its engines flared superhot and it catapulted out of sight.

Stephanie looked past Abbott.

> Behind you.

Abbott turned and smiled, opening his arms wide.

“Greetings, Arzbad-Framander Zuelth.”

 130. 

Tyburn stepped onto the hook platform. Ekker's tricannon was lined up to blow Stone's head off. Stone’s face was turned away with his body tense and his eyes shut.

“Open your eyes you little cunt,” Ekker said.

Tyburn thought that Ekker's sadistic streak rivaled his own.

“Stop, Ekker.”

Ekker’s eyes flashed.

“We can't just off this little fuck?”

Tyburn stared at Ekker.

Ekker slowly lowered his arm.

> But why do we need him?

> As long as there’s a chance Stone’s alive then Havoc won’t slag the whole place.

> Do we care?

> Of course we care you fucking moron. First,
we
might still be here. Second, we
want
Intrepido to kill Havoc. That's not going to happen if Havoc just SLAMs us.

Tyburn moved past Ekker and grabbed Stone.

“Finally, Stone makes great bait, don’t you, Stone?”

Tyburn clamped a limpet to Stone’s suit then rapped on Stone's helmet with his gauntlet.

“One packet of data and you're history. Move off the platform and you're history. Do you understand?”

Stone looked down at the limpet then up at Tyburn through his puffy eye. Stone’s face was mauled inside his helmet. He looked thoroughly bewildered.

“Do you understand?” Tyburn repeated.

Stone nodded.

“I understand.”

Tyburn smiled as he gestured at the maelstrom of the shaft.

“Hell of a day, isn't it?”

He released Stone and stepped off the platform.

“Come on, Ekker.”

Tyburn saw Stone's head slump back onto the deck. War is hell, he thought. He laughed.

 131. 

Whittenhorn spoke in Havoc's ear.

“What are you doing?”

“Flying south to help Stone. We may have an issue with the ORC. I'm going to support him.”

“Tyburn hasn't said he needs help. Has he requested help?”

Tyburn joined the conversation from the south.

“What the hell are you doing, Havoc?”

Havoc felt something snap inside him. He abandoned all pretense.

“Hello, Forge.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Been a long time. Too long.”

To his credit, Forge rallied quickly.

“Havoc, you're damaged. You have tettraxigyiom contamination. You're regressing into some kind of delusional bullshit, Son.”

Havoc assumed Forge had said 'Son' just to taunt him.

“Let's talk about that when I get there.”

Forge kept Havoc in the circuit as he spoke to Whittenhorn.

“Commander, please confirm my assessment that Havoc is code red and a danger to himself and others.”

“I... I should consult with the team at the pyramid.”

“Commander, this is an urgent operational requirement. If Havoc won't turn the shuttle round then he is out of the chain of command and a liability. Novosa has been murdered. It is likely that Havoc is our spy and assassin.”

Havoc felt a calm sink over him.

“I'm just going to assess the situation in the south, Whittenhorn.”

“Turn the shuttle round, Havoc. Tyburn says he doesn't need your support.”

“Ask Stone.”

“Stone is in the slot,” Forge said.

“Ask him, Whittenhorn.”

“Tyburn says he's not available. Turn the shuttle round, Havoc.”

“I'm afraid I can't do that.”

“Havoc, that’s a direct order.”

“I'm sorry. I have a message for Forge.”

“What?”

“It's from my wife and kids.”