The Rise of Io (27 page)

I
o waited
until Cameron settled in to take over Dana's watch before leaving. She went back downstairs to their room and checked who was still asleep; everyone was accounted for except for Dana. Io continued past the kitchen entrance and saw her eating breakfast at the corner. The woman gave her a lazy wave. Io waved back stiffly and noticed Dana frown quizzically and then focus again on her ragi idli.

Now was Io's chance. Moving as fast as she could in Ella's body, she walked to the front of the bath house and found Wiry Madras at the counter getting ready to open for business.

The old woman looked at Ella's awkward gait. “What's wrong with your leg, Black Cat? Are you hurt?”

“I need a tub, a private one.”

Madras's eyes narrowed. “This early in the morning? Don't be up to no good in my place of business, girl. I don't allow–” Io plopped a stack of rupees on the counter. The money disappeared so quickly she didn't even see Madras move. “First two are being drained and cleaned. Take the third on the right.”

Io hastened to the assigned room and closed the metal door behind her. She slid the lock over with a solid click, and then listened. Except for the dull gurgle of water in the pipes and Wiry Madras's sharp voice penetrating through the walls, she couldn't hear much else. Io moved to the tub, turned the water on halfway and waited, as the pipes rattled and the spout spit, until a small steady stream poured out.

Io took out her phone, dialed a number, and waited. Usually, Surrett picked up her calls in two rings. This time, it rang for ten minutes. That should have been her first inkling that something was wrong. The person that answered was definitely not her contact.

“Io.” It was a man with a thick Slavic accent.

“I need to speak with the minister.”

“You need only speak with me.”

“And you are?”

“What happened at the ambush site?”

“That was an unforeseen complication with my host. However, I fulfilled my part of the bargain to Shura. My cover is at risk. I need to come in.”

“Your vessel has inconvenienced me greatly. She allowed the Adonis and his people to escape.”

“I can fix this. I am with them right now. I can lead you right to them.”

“Are you still in Surat?”

One of the pipes began to rattle again, crescendoing until it sounded like someone was banging a hammer on it.

Ella's body jerked and then the phone fell out of her hand. She reached down to pick it up and then suddenly lost control.

“Huh,” Ella yawned. “What's going on? What am I doing here?”

She looked down and saw the phone, and froze. Slowly, she picked it up and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Io,” a man said. “Can you hear me? Io? Repeat the location of the Adonis.”

“Who is this?” Ella asked.

“What do you mean… I see. I am speaking with the vessel now.”

Ella, tell the person on the other line you are at Wiry Madras's Bath House. Just do it. I will explain everything later.

“You're the Genjix,” she said softly. “Io was about to give away our location.”

“Listen, girl,” the voice said. “All you have to do is give me Cameron Tan and I will make you wealthier than you can possibly imagine. What do you say? Work with the Genjix and I will make all your dreams come true.”

“You know what I want?” asked Ella.

“Of course. You desire what every other human in this world wants. You want to escape the slum, to never worry about going hungry or cold ever again. You desire power and riches? I can give all that to you.”

Ella pulled the phone away and stared. Finally, she spoke. “I want my amma back, you son of a bitch.”

No!

She put both hands on the phone, gritted her teeth and strained until it bent. A crack appeared down the middle and then it snapped in two. She threw the two pieces into the bath.

“Can you give me that?” she spat as the two pieces sank to the bottom of the tub.

What have you done?

Ella was about to storm out of the room when she saw the steam rise from the water and the locked door. She sniffed herself and decided she might as well take advantage of this. She swung a leg at a time inside and slowly sank into the near scalding water until only her head was above the water's surface.

“What I did, Io, is prevent you from betraying the Prophus anymore. Let me ask you: have you always been full of crap or is this a recent development?”

Why do you care what side I am on?

“Because my amma died. Because you lied to me. Because I actually like the Prophus people.”

The Genjix can offer you wealth and stability and power. Would you give all that up just because you like them? You hardly know them.

“Why do you want to be Genjix then?” Ella shot back.

There was a long silence before Io finally spoke.
They are offering me something that has eluded me ever since I came to this planet.

“What's that?”

To do something important, to be someone important again. I used to be a highly respected Quasing, admired for my position and knowledge. Ever since we came to this wretched planet, I have been marginalized, made inconsequential while others of lesser skill prospered.

The Genjix offer me a chance to reclaim my position. They are creating something big, important, something that needs my knowledge. They need me to succeed. It will change the world. I will finally leave my mark and save my people like I was supposed to when we crashed.

“What is it? What are you supposed to do?”

I will not tell you unless you join the Genjix.

“OK, I'll join the Genjix. What is it?”

You cannot lie to me, Ella. I will know when you are actually ready. Until then, I will do everything in my power to support them.

“Wait, let me get this straight.” Ella spoke aloud as she organized her thoughts. “You are unhappy with the Prophus and with Earth because you're not very good at anything anyone cares about on this planet?”

Well, not in so many words.

“And because of this, you think defecting to your enemy is going to make a difference? That it's worth killing other Prophus? Did you kill Emily on purpose?”

That was unintentional. I had already defected by the time Emily came to India. She was tracking someone she believed responsible for her friend's death almost ten years ago. The trail led her here. I tried to dissuade her from coming, but she would not listen. The two situations were unrelated originally.

“Originally?”

Like I said, things got complicated.

Ella waved her hands. “Did she want to join the Genjix? Was she complicit in switching sides so you could feel good about yourself?”

No, she was not.

“Then what do you think was going to happen once she found out what you planned to do? You didn't care if she died, did you? She was your friend and you signed her death warrant, you awful, terrible, disgusting monster!” Ella emphasized her words by raising a fist in the air and smashing it down on the water's surface, making a mess of the room.

Something in Io snapped. What little patience she had left evaporated, and her desperation blended with her frustration and anger. Whatever emotional concoction it produced was only exacerbated by the pressure of the defection and by the fact she had been so close to her goals so many times, only to have fallen short by some unforeseen circumstance.

STOP TALKING!

Ella froze.

You think you know what is right or wrong? You think you know everything? Well, yes, Emily probably would have had to die, and it is tragic those other Prophus agents had to die and maybe Cameron and his team may have to die, but you know what? Living things on Earth die. It is what happens.

I have roamed this planet since the dinosaurs. I watched them become extinct. I have been in fish and apes and cats and rodents. I have been in everything, thousands of creatures, and they all died. A human's life is not even a drop of the Eternal Sea, so stop acting like life is some precious gift from a higher power. Death is not some tragic occurrence that must be prevented at all costs. Everything dies, Ella. Everything is expendable.

I have lived this cycle again and again and again. I have tried to follow what I felt was right and I cannot do it anymore because none of it makes a difference. I refuse to continue this futile existence. I am going to join the Genjix and I am going to break this cycle. You can either help me willingly, and I will guarantee your safety and a long life and all the wealth you can imagine, or you can oppose me. It will not matter, because I will find a way in the end with or without your help.

Ella stood up abruptly. “Not if I tell the Prophus about you being a traitor first. You'll never get to join the Genjix then!”

No, you will not.

“Yes, I will!”

And here is why. If you tell them, they will do whatever it takes to stop me from defecting. The only way to do that is to either imprison me or to kill me. The only way they can do that is to inflict the same punishment on you. Even your friends the noble Prophus will lock you up or strangle you just to get to me. What do you think about that?

Ella was stunned. “They wouldn't.”

They would. They will, so you will listen to me very carefully, Ella Patel. You will not tell the Prophus anything, because the moment you do, your life is forfeit. It will be over, and you will see how truly cheap a life is. The best case scenario is they will throw you into a maximum security prison and you will never see the light of day. The worst case scenario is they will lock you in a room without any means of escape, and then kill us both. It is in your best interest, in our best interest, for you to keep our little secret.

“Gahh!” Ella smashed the water again with her fists. “I hate you!”

Fortunately, that is irrelevant.

There was a banging on the door. “Black Cat, what is all that noise?” Wiry Madras said through the door. “The entire building can hear you scream. You better not be up to no good.”

“Hey, what's going on?” Another voice, Cameron's this time, joined Wiry Madras's. “Ella, are you OK? I'm going to break the door down.”

“You better not hurt my door,” Wiry Madras barked back.

So what will it be? Keep our little secret, or risk death and imprisonment? The choice is yours, stupid girl. Choose wisely, because it will affect you for the rest of your short insignificant life.

A
fter her bitter
and exhausting argument with Io, Ella decided the best way to avoid talking or hearing from her Quasing was to be unconscious. She hadn't had a lot of rest the previous night anyway, having stayed up with Nabin until the end of his watch. She dragged her weary but now clean and refreshed body back to their room to try to get a few more hours of sleep.

Fortunately, Lam and Jax were up now, so it was a little less cramped. In fact, since Cameron was on the roof keeping watch, the cot was free. Ella made a beeline for it. Before she lay down, she remembered what that damn alien could do while she was passed out. She took out a rag and began to tie her left wrist to the rusty metal frame of the cot.

Is this really necessary?

“Damn right it is.”

After she was satisfied that the knot was good and tight, she settled down to sleep. It wasn't the most comfortable position, lying with one arm hanging next to the headboard, but she didn't have much choice. Ella shifted a few times until she found the least uncomfortable position and was soon fast asleep.

No sooner had she closed her eyes, she woke with a start and found herself sharing the bed with two others. Actually, it was more like Nabin had moved her against the wall so Nabin and Dana could sit on the cot. The rest of the team was sitting in a tight circle on the floor of the room, whispering fiercely amongst themselves.

Awake again?

Ella yanked her right arm and noticed that she was still tied to the bed frame.

Are you really going to tie yourself to something every time you sleep for the rest of your life?

“You don't have permission to control me when I sleep anymore.”

She shifted and began to work on the tight knot. Nabin's eyes flickered to her wrist and then he turned his attention back to the group. She liked that he didn't pry.

The conversation the team was having was getting heated. Harsh words were being hissed and they were talking over each other so much she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Most of the anger, however, seemed directed at Cameron.

Ella was about to speak when she decided to keep her mouth shut and figure out what was going on.

You know, I have been listening. You can just ask me. Just because we are on opposite sides does not mean we cannot be civil.

“I hope you die in a fire.”

If I get burned, so do you. You know that, right?

“Just go away.”

Well, I intend to be mature about things. If you must know, Cameron just ordered his team to continue onto their destination to Sydney, Australia, for their vacation.

“That sounds nice of him. What's the problem?”

He is not planning on going with them.

“This is all off-book,” Cameron was saying. “And a personal matter.”

“Those were Genjix,” Nabin said. “That makes it Prophus business.”

“We have no support, no supplies, no backup.”

“That's why this isn't the time to go rogue, Cam,” said Lam. “As your auxiliary, I go where you go.”

“As Lam's Pilates partner, I go where she goes,” added Dana.

“As Dana's ex-boyfriend,” said Jax, “I go…”

“All right, all right.” Cameron threw his arms up. “I get the point. Wait, you guys dated?”

“For like eight months,” Nabin said. “How did you not know?”

“That's not the… We're getting off track. Damn it, guys, we have no mission here, and that's that. I'm giving you a direct order.”

Jax scanned the faces of the rest of the team, leaned back against the wall, and gave Cameron the middle finger. “With all due respect. Sir.”

“Is this really how you want to spend your downtime?” Cameron asked. “Chasing my ghosts?”

“Oh, I'm still taking my downtime,” said Jax. “You're just going to reschedule it for us after the Tanzania assignment. Besides, there's the issue of payback for Dubs.”

There was a chorus of “yays” and “damn rights” from the team.

Cameron sighed. “You're a bunch of magnificent loyal bastards. All right, fine, you insubordinates get to stay. Now to business. This asshole here is our main objective.” Cameron took out his phone and projected an image onto the wall. To her surprise, Ella recognized who it was. “This is Minister Surrett Kapoor, newly elected deputy minister of Gujurat, and a Genjix operative. He's also an absolute piece of garbage and our target.”

The blood drained out of Ella's face as Cameron laid out what they were trying to do. If she had thought she was already in way over her head before, she was definitely out of her depth now. These guys here were talking about assassinating not only a public official, but someone expected to be the future prime minister of India. Not only that, his mother had been one of Ella's favorite actresses growing up.

Really?

“I used to try to do my hair like her, and now I'm working with people trying to kill her son.”

“Any questions?” Cameron said when he was done.

Ella raised her hand. “I don't understand.”

Cameron looked in her direction. “Is that you, Ella, or Io?”

She nodded. “It's me. Why is offing Surrett Kapoor the main objective? I thought you were focusing on this construction site.”

Cameron grimaced. “Like I said earlier, this is a personal thing. As for the Genjix site, that's going to require a lot more manpower than us five. Command doesn't know enough about it to make a move. The Genjix have been disrupting satellite surveillance, and we haven't been able to get any intel from the ground because of our operatives getting killed as soon as they arrive. India is leaning Genjix, and any major operation could reignite the war, so we have to be damn sure we know what we're doing before we act.”

“But I've been sending…” Ella stopped.

Be quiet.

“Io, what happened to all the scouting stuff I did? You kept it from them! You asshole! I worked really hard to take those pictures and videos.” Ella's blood boiled.

Did you actually think I was going to send any useful data up to Command?

“I hate you.”

“First things first,” Cameron said. “We lost most of our stuff to the ambush. What's our current situation?”

“Well,” Lam ticked off points on her fingers. “Like you said, limited weapons and ammo from what we carried on our persons, currencies only in Euros and US dollars, which probably means we'll draw attention wherever we spend it, no live satellite up-link since we left all that crap in the trunk.”

“We do have a Penetra scanner,” Dana piped up.

“Hooray,” Cameron said, not sounding very enthusiastic.

Jax raised his hand. “I dropped my duffel during the fight. I have no spare clothes.”

“Me neither,” said Nabin.

“Anyone else?” asked Cameron.

Everyone raised their hands. The mood in the room grew somber.

“Resupplying is our first priority then,” said Cameron. He pointed at Jax. “You're responsible for getting us fed. Lam, get us hooked up with Command again. Find a way to get a computer that is compatible with our crypto keys. Dana, you're on contingency extraction. Find us a way out of here once all hell breaks loose.”

“What about me, sir?” Nabin asked.

Cameron grinned. “You have the most important job. You and Ella take care of supplies and clothing. Especially clothing. I want fresh underwear by tonight or someone's getting guard duty every night until I do. Lam and I made a list.”

Nabin grinned. “I do have the best style.”

Dana bounced a piece of paper off his head.

He turned to Ella. “Guess you're stuck with me.”

A little smile crept across Ella's face.

“Sir,” Lam asked. “What about weapons and ammo? We're pretty dry.”

“That's my job,” Cameron replied. “We're close to the old front line between Pakistan and India, and there are half a dozen abandoned military bases nearby. Someone has to be entrepreneurial enough to be selling them on the black market. I'll try to tap into that.”

Ella raised her hand. “I know all the big Crate Town dealers. Also, Manish, my trainer, is a former operative. He has some old gear stashed away.”

Old is an understatement. Most of it is probably from the 1980s.

“Bullets are bullets, right? It's not like they're expired fruit.”

You have so much to learn.

“I guess I'm with you two for the day then.” Cameron stood up. “Report back here by 1800. Let's get it done, people.”

In the next several hours, Ella became a damn rock star in Crate Town. Cameron and Nabin were two strangers in a foreign place with hardly anything more than the shirts on their backs. They needed a ton of supplies and had seemingly endless funds. Word spread across the markets that the Black Cat was buying, and all the merchants swarmed to her.

However, information was a commodity in the slums, and two military foreigners throwing money around definitely warranted interest. It wouldn't take long for news about them to fall into the hands of the wrong people, so the two men used Ella as their intermediary for all the negotiations in order to keep their identities hidden.

Ella had Cameron and Nabin covered from head to toe in wraps and wearing sunglasses. She kept them hidden nearby as she walked the market and shops to carry out the transactions. She would take a list of the things they needed, find the right merchant and then return to confirm the price.

Not only was Ella able to help them obtain clean underwear, toothpaste, battery packs, vodka, and something called Rice Krispy treats, but Cameron was in too much of a hurry to haggle.

This setup offered her enormous bargaining power, and she was able to skim off the top from both sides. She charged five percent from Cameron for making the purchase, and three from the merchants as a kickback. By midafternoon, she had made enough not to have to work for the next year.

What did I tell you about embezzling from the Prophus?

“What do you care if I steal from them, you Genjix-loving alien? Besides, I consider this a transaction fee for my services.”

It is just really bad form. Besides, if you get caught, it will spell more trouble for me.

“So is setting your own people up to get murdered. We all have our vices.”

Merchants were offering Ella favors and bribes just so she would buy from them. Everyone who had ever offered her a piece of candy or bread when she was beggaring now appeared along Ella's path in the market to remind her of their kindness. Everyone who had ever waved a stick at her when she was thieving was practically throwing treats and money her way.

“Ella, my dearest friend,” Ghanash cried out. “I have the freshest fruits picked from the trees just this morning.”

“Health to you, Ms Patel,” Yunni waved her over. “Spices, dried fish and DVD players. Pirated movies from the latest blockbusters, as well as exotics that will get you arrested.”

“Ooh.” Nabin took a few steps toward him. “It's pretty long lonely days. I wonder–”

“Focus, A-D-D.” Cameron yanked him back by the collar. He turned to Ella. “You're really popular.”

“Just a woman of the people.” She didn't bother trying to hide her smugness.

Within a few hours, they had crossed off most of the items on their list. Right now, Ella was neck-deep in negotiations with all three of the Fabs on a supply of miscellaneous military gear, including night-vision goggles, body armor plates, bolt cutters, tourniquets and a host of other replacement items for those Cameron's team had lost during their flight from the factory. To her surprise, one of the few things Cameron and Nabin insisted on was a supply of water bladders.

Readily available water is crucial for any operative.

“What's the big deal? When I lived on the streets, I'd go for an entire day without a drop of water.”

You also are not a hundred-kilogram man lugging half his weight in armor in thirty-eight degrees.

The big negotiating stumbling block was a weird little box with a handle attached to it called a frequency visualizer. Ella didn't know what it did, but both Nabin and Cameron seemed to value it. The Fabs had no idea what the thing was either, but they noticed Nabin and Cameron studying it and jacked up the price.

The two men, their bodies and faces still covered, were leaning on the wall at the back of the gallery while Ella and mainly Little Fab screamed at each other about the astronomical prices that they were demanding for this stupid piece of tech. Of course it would be the greedy Fabs that finally threw out a number that made Cameron balk.

“I could buy an entire cluster building to house this thing for the price you're asking,” she yelled. “Or better yet, we can just run operations from a five-star hotel.”

“Go ahead and run it blind then,” Fab replied. “You're not going to find anyone else in Crate Town with this baby.”

“You don't even know what this baby is.”

“We don't need to know what it does,” Little Fab replied. “All we need to know is your people want it. Look, this is the lowest we'll go. Stop wasting our time. You want it or not?”

Nabin waved her over and whispered. “We want the frequency visualizer, but the price is too high. If they can't be reasonable, we're done here.”