The Rise of Io (26 page)

He shivered. “It's cool tonight.”

“You should be used to it,” she said.

“Nah, I like my heat.”

“You don't sound like any Nepalese I've ever met,” she said. “Where are you from?”

“My family moved to the States when I was four. Raised in Atlanta, actually, where it's sweltering. Actually, it's not too different from here.”

“How did you get involved with the Prophus?”

“Crappy grades and an extensive shoplifting record closed some doors. Joined the army instead. Found out I was actually pretty good at playing soldier and got recruited by the Prophus. You?”

“Genjix killed my amma. Living on the streets ever since.”

“And now you're my superior officer, Commander,” he joked. “You're pretty good with a knife. You almost got me back at the airport.”

“I would have if the rest of your folks didn't save you.”

“Probably true. Where did you learn to fight?”

“Kung fu movies and a pole dancer.”

He chuckled. “Is there a reason you don't use a gun?”

“There are no guns in Crate Town.”

Nabin frowned. “That's not really a reason, but OK.”

The two settled into a comfortable silence. By now, Crate Town had shut down, and the horizon to the west was nearly pitch-black except for occasional lights dotting the night. In the sky, she saw the blinking red light of a plane descending. A lone dog howled until someone yelled for it to shut up.

Ella thought about her home. Were the Genjix looking for her there? She thought about that stash behind the hidden plate and worried. Everything she had in the world was in there, and now she might not be able to go back. Or maybe she was just being paranoid. If the Genjix had known about her place all along, why wouldn't they have just picked her up long ago?

Then it hit her. The answer was staring her in the face. They hadn't picked her up all this time because they didn't want to. “Io, what game are you playing?”

All you had to do is ask. Of course they knew where you lived. You have to believe me when I say I hid my real plans from you for your own protection.

“You should get some sleep,” Nabin said. “It's going to be a long day tomorrow.”

The idea of sleeping after the adrenaline-filled day reminded Ella how exhausted she was. She was about to drag herself off to bed when she realized that Nabin was going to be on watch up here by himself for gods knew how long. She stifled her yawn. “How long are you stuck up here?”

He checked his watch. “Three hours thirty-nine minutes and forty-one seconds.”

“I'm not tired yet. Mind if I keep you company?”

“Would be my pleasure.”

Ella thought she heard Io make a strangled noise. She leaned into Nabin and looked up at the stars that were just beginning to pierce the black veil of night. “Tell me about this Atlantis place you're from.”

“Atlanta.”

“Isn't that what I said?”

“No, you said Atlantis. That's a mythical sunken city… never mind.”

C
ameron Tan woke
with a start and tried to sit up, stopping only when the pain in his chest reminded him of yesterday's events. He took a labored breath and forced himself up. He took a quick count. He was missing one.

It is 0600. Dana has third watch.

“Got it, Tao.”

It was a good thing someone was on watch, if anything just for the space it freed up in this small room. It was so cramped, they wouldn't have been able to fit anyone else in here unless they started stacking bodies. Heck, he didn't know how they were squeezing five in now. He made a face at Jax's bare feet inches from his face.

Jax and Lam were sleeping next to the cot in the center of the room. Nabin and Ella were asleep on the other end, leaning against each other back to back. That did not look comfortable. A wave of guilt washed over Cameron for having hogged the only cot. The team had insisted though. He was the only one dumb enough to get shot.

Twice.

“Thanks for the reminder.”

There was also Dubs. Cameron spent a few moments mourning his friend. No matter how many times it had happened to Cameron, the hurt never went away. Dubs was one of the first to sign up when Cameron had created this team. They had met in the early days of the war and had promptly gotten into a fist fight over a game of bridge on a C-130 transport flying to the front line. The guy had bloodied Cameron's lip. Cameron ended up separating Dubs's shoulder. Dubs was in a firefight that very next day and had scored the most Genjix kills. That was when Cameron knew he wanted him on his team.

The worst part was the team wasn't even supposed to be here. They were supposed to be on vacation, sitting on the beach in Whitehaven sipping Mai Tais and being obnoxious tourists. Cameron took out his phone and read the message:

URGENT. EMILY GONE. GREECE MYSTERY SOLVED. JUSTICE FOR SETH.

Attached to the message were coded rendezvous coordinates, and now they were here. Cameron had read that message a hundred times and analyzed it a thousand ways. His team had just completed an extended operation stabilizing Tanzania, and this was the first opportunity he could find to come. Unfortunately, Dana had caught wind of it and the rest of the team followed.

Now Dubs was gone.

Cameron took out a worn photo from his wallet and studied the faded image. This had become a ritual for him every time he lost someone under his command. It was a photo of a bunch of college kids posing in front of the Parthenon in Athens on a perfect summer day. He was the lanky one on the left end. There was Emily with the guy she was dating at the time – what's his name – in the center. Next to her were Negin, Annelie, Marilyn, Surrett, Yang, and then Seth. Cameron's gaze lingered on the Chinese kid and then over to Seth. Emily and Seth were his best friends during university. The three of them, all children of Prophus operatives, had enrolled in a summer program in Greece the summer before the war had started.

And then the war had started.

That picture was taken the day before the first volleys. The next day, Greece declared for the Genjix. The three of them and the rest of their class suddenly found themselves behind enemy lines. Cameron was ordered to leave his friends behind and smuggle a Prophus operative with important intel out of the country. Cameron had taken it upon himself to lead his friends and several of the other students to safety as well. In the end, Seth and Yang hadn't made it. Those were the first two people to die under his command.

How many times do I have to tell you? It is not your fault. We were betrayed. One of the other students was a Genjix, or at least a sympathizer.

“I should have been able to get them all out.”

The odds were stacked against you. You did your best.

Somehow, the Genjix were able to hound them every step of the way. At the time, Cameron was convinced it was Yang, the son of a powerful businessman in China with Genjix ties. He believed Yang was betraying them right up until Yang died saving his life. Cameron closed his eyes and replayed those scenes in his head.

Yang and Seth.

“I was suspicious of the guy who saved my life.”

I thought it was Yang as well.

“That doesn't make me feel any less guilty.”

One of these days, I am going to wipe those memories from your head.

“Can you actually do that?”

If I cannot, then I will make you drink a jug of tequila while you are asleep.

Cameron's gag reflex kicked in, remembering Emily's twentieth birthday. He brushed his finger along her face in the picture. It had been over five years since he had last seen Emily. The war had separated them by an ocean. The incidents in Greece had hit her hard. She had become a Prophus operative, she said, because she wanted to make a difference. Cameron knew it was also because it was her way of coming to terms with Seth's death. He wondered if she had ever found that peace.

Enough wallowing in the past. It is time for answers.

Cameron looked over at the sleeping Ella, and then stood up and tested his body. A little stiff here and there and definitely a busted rib, but nothing too serious. His range of motion was going to be limited for the next few weeks. That was his own fault anyway, freezing up like that when he saw Alex. What a rookie move.

You think?

“I don't need a lecture right now.”

It has been far too long since your last one.

“What are you talking about? You harped at me for half an hour last month when I lost track of the supply convoy.”

Like I said, far too long.

Cameron knelt down next to Ella and waited. Her eyes opened. “Cameron or Tao?”

“It's Cameron. Io?”

Io nodded. “Outside.” She tried to stand. Cameron grabbed her arm to support her and together they tiptoed out of the room. Io's control over Ella's body wasn't great. She looked as if she might tip over a few times. He wasn't sure if that was because Io hadn't gotten used to her new body yet or if the Quasing just wasn't very good at controlling unconscious humans. In either case, walking up the stairs to the roof proved too much of a challenge, so Cameron just picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Dana waved from her little perch as they walked onto the roof.

“I'll take over,” he said to her as they joined her in the shade.

Dana frowned. “Sure, Cameron? I only started about fifteen minutes ago.”

Cameron shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” Dana gave him a nod and went inside.

Io sat down awkwardly on a cracked plastic chair while Cameron leaned against the railing. He scanned the expanse of Crate Town. “I'm sorry about Emily. You lost her and her father pretty close together. That must have been hard.”

“Until the Eternal Sea,” Io said. “She was a dear friend to you as well.”

Until the Eternal Sea.

“What happened?” Cameron asked. “What was she doing here in India? I followed up on her assignment before I arrived. She's supposed to be in Thailand, but she went rogue.”

“She found a lead, Cameron. They killed her for it.”

“What lead?”

“Emily came across a financial statement from an Indonesian law firm while tracking Malaysian separatists. The Genjix were using the firm to funnel funds for political campaigns. She came across a small-time Indian politician that they were throwing their support behind.” Io took out her phone and pulled up an article. She handed the phone to him.

Cameron read it aloud. “In a surprise to most pundits, the dark horse candidate won a landslide victory over incumbent Harrauj Bandi, making him the youngest ever to occupy the office in this region's history. The son of a Bollywood actress…”

His voice trailed off when he scrolled down to the picture of the deputy minister. Cameron took out the photo from his wallet and placed it next to the one on the phone. He looked older and had lost his awkward boyish grin, but it was the same man. There was no mistaking it. Cameron was staring at Surrett Kapoor, his childhood friend, now a Genjix-backed politician.

If that is not a smoking gun, then it is a hell of a coincidence.

He looked at Io, who nodded. “You and your friends were betrayed by a Genjix operative, which is what led to Seth's death.”

Emily found Seth's killer. It had been Surrett all along.

“He was responsible for Yang's as well. I never found out who it was.” Cameron's voice broke.

“That is why she went rogue,” said Io. “She was tracking Surrett when we were attacked by the Genjix.”

Cameron clenched his fists. “That bastard is going to pay for this. Pay for everything.”

I understand your need to find justice for both Emily and Seth, but you have a more pressing problem. Alex is here as well. That is not a coincidence.

Tao was probably right. They had lost most of their supplies at the factory. They didn't have a real base of operations to work out of. They didn't even have a clear Prophus objective. His team was supposed to be enjoying three weeks of R&R in Australia before heading back to Tanzania to search and destroy a Genjix-backed arms manufacturing ring. Instead, he had led his people here on a personal vendetta.

“I'm a bad leader. I'm sucking them into my private crap.”

Your team will follow you to hell, even to Florida.

Cameron turned to Io. “How is Alex involved in all this? It's been fifteen years since I last saw her. I can't believe she just happens to be here while I drop in.”

Io shrugged. “I do not know anything about that. To be honest, I am surprised your paths did not cross earlier. You are arguably two of the top operatives in either organization. It is as if you have been avoiding each other.”

“Hardly.” His tone was harsher than he had intended. Cameron drummed the railing with his hands. “Let me get this straight. Emily tracks Surrett and uncovers a massive base under construction in western India that has been cloaked from satellite surveillance. The Genjix find and kill her, but not before she sends a warning off to the Prophus. Command sends two separate units to investigate, both are missing and presumed dead.”

What does Io hope to accomplish here with a new host? She should have left as soon as Emily died, especially in a country as dangerous as India.

Cameron stopped drumming the railing. “What are you still doing here, Io? You had no actionable items once Emily passed.”

“Is it not obvious? I am here to finish what she started. I owe that much to her. On top of that, the Genjix are building something big there. I gathered as much intel as I could with a new host and limited resources, and then once I could not proceed further, I sent for you.”

“All off-book? Command says they've been trying to recall you for weeks.”

“Command does not view revenge as a legitimate operational objective. Besides, the girl does not want to leave.”

Cameron nodded. “I can see that. Ella comes across as stubborn. She's a little firecracker. How are things going between you two?”

“She is headstrong, untrained, and difficult.” There was a pause. “Her loyalties are easily bought.”

Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

That is not my read on her as well.

“She is a conwoman and a thief. She is unreliable.”

Either I am mistaken or she is more skilled at her game than I give her credit for.

“I'll be careful around her then,” said Cameron.

Io nodded. “All right. We had better head inside. I can feel my host rousing. Remember, Cameron, watch what you say around the girl. Ella Patel cannot be trusted.”