The Seraphim Sequence: The Fifth Column 2 (48 page)

Sophia ran along the super-array’s central walkway, the spires glittering around her. It was the most direct route to the north blast door. The lights adorning the spires suddenly extinguished, plunging her into complete darkness. She stopped.

The EMP had just detonated, frying the Seraphim super-array to a crisp.

She had no choice but to move across the walkway by touch. Eventually, she got to the north blast door. Farther ahead the lights were still working. The floor was littered with dead Blue Berets. She sensed Denton nearby.

‘Where’s Chickenhead?’ she said.

‘He didn’t make it,’ Denton said, peering down a corridor on their left cluttered with kill-switch murdered soldiers. ‘Cecilia went that way.’

‘She’s moving to an adjacent base,’ Sophia said.

‘There’s a transit platform down there.’

Before she could respond, Denton was already running down the corridor.

‘Shit.’ She ran after him, collecting a Blue Beret’s pistol on the way.

The underground transit platform reminded her of Desecheo Island. She spotted a faint point of light in the south end of the tunnel. A railcar had just left the platform. Cecilia would be traveling south to the base at Colorado Springs. As Sophia stepped to the platform edge she saw another railcar sitting a hundred feet south.

Denton jumped down onto the tracks. He used the butt of his Glock to try to break the driver’s cabin window but it wouldn’t crack. He stepped back and fired his last round to break it, climbed inside and brought the railcar online. He pushed it to the platform and the doors opened with a pleasant chime.

‘All aboard,’ he said.

Sophia stepped in, DC’s sword holstered over her shoulder, P99 pistol in one hand and a Blue Beret’s pistol in the other. With a sudden lurch, the railcar accelerated into the tunnel, Denton pushing it beyond its recommended cruise speed. Sophia hoped Cecilia wasn’t doing the same thing. She also hoped this wasn’t an elaborate set-up so Denton could draw her into a trap. After all, they were shooting headlong from one underground Fifth Column base to another.

Light flashes passed her at regular intervals. The railcar moved smoothly over a southwesterly bend and when it lined up again she could see the other railcar ahead.

She entered the cabin where Denton was standing and peered at the dashboard. The railcar was similar to those in other Fifth Column bases: they ran on lithium ion batteries with hydrogen fuel cells as backup. Denton had switched the fuel cell on, giving the railcar just enough kick to close on the one ahead.

Denton noticed the Blue Beret pistol in her hand. ‘They have RFIDs now. It’s useless.’

Sophia swore and discarded it. As they drew closer to the railcar ahead, she could make out its occupants: Cecilia and three Elohim. The Elohim noticed Denton immediately and two of them brought to bear Magpul assault rifles scavenged from the dead Blue Berets. Sophia dropped out of view and scrambled from the driver’s cabin, rounds smacking into the wall behind her. Denton wasn’t far behind. Clearly their fingerprints worked on all Blue Beret issue firearms.

She shoved her P99 into the front of her waistband. Denton crouched beside her. She noticed his Blue Beret vest and remembered the EMP grenade Grace had given him. She pointed to it in one of the vest pouches. He looked down at the pouch and from the look on his face seemed to understand what she had in mind.

The Magpul assault rifles worked by fingerprint of authorized personnel only. They would work for the Elohim, but only as long as the microchip inside the fingerprint reader worked. One EMP grenade later, the Magpuls would be useless. But to ensure the grenade had enough range to knock them out, it needed to detonate inside their railcar.

Denton handed her the EMP grenade, then crawled back into the cabin, reached up to the dashboard with a careful hand and pushed the railcar to its maximum speed.

‘We only have the one!’ he yelled. ‘So for fuck’s sake, make it count!’

Their railcar accelerated and hit Cecilia’s. The impact knocked Sophia backward. Her head hit the wall and the grenade rolled out of her grasp. Cursing herself, she reached for it. Rounds punched the ground in front of her hand. She recoiled and shifted from the cabin doorway. The grenade rolled into full view of the Elohim.

‘I need covering fire!’ she yelled.

‘And I need a fucking beer!’ Denton yelled back. ‘But I’m not one to make unreasonable requests!’

Halfway to another heavily armed Fifth Column base and all they had between them was a sword, one pistol round and a single EMP grenade. She needed to fry their Magpuls
and
their railcar, and that grenade was her only means of doing so.

The Elohim held their fire, conscious not to waste rounds until either Denton or Sophia made an appearance. They could wait this out until they reached the next base. Sophia couldn’t.

The railcars took another bend. Sophia watched as the grenade rolled back toward her.

‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Come to mama.’

The grenade continued rolling. The railcars straightened out again and the grenade sat on the edge of the Elohim’s vision. She extended her hand. The Elohim opened fire.

She snatched the grenade and pulled it quickly to her chest. Rounds smacked the floor beside her.

‘OK, this is it.’ She pulled the pin on the grenade. ‘One, two, three.’

She lobbed it hot through the driver’s cabin, through the shattered front window, through the other railcar’s shattered back window.

‘Four, five.’

She pivoted low on both feet, P99 aimed, hoping the grenade had done its work. Two of the Elohim aimed their Magpuls at her, the third had his sword drawn. If the grenade didn’t detonate she was going to find out real soon.

‘Did it work?’ Denton yelled.

Cecilia’s railcar hadn’t lost power. That wasn’t a good sign.

She lined up the head of the nearest Elohim, on her eleven o’clock, and squeezed the trigger, aiming for his nose. His body lost its rigidity and he slumped from view. The slide on her P99 hit the rear. The other Elohim tried to return fire, but nothing happened. He didn’t bother checking for a stoppage, simply discarded the Magpul.

‘It worked!’ Sophia yelled, dropping her P99. Not on the entire railcar, but at least on their rifles.

The third Elohim reached for a grenade of her own, one of the high-explosive variety. She pulled the pin and held firm, cooking it.

‘Grenade!’ Sophia yelled.

She ran from the cabin toward the rear of the railcar, tucked herself into the corner and covered her head with her hands. Denton was in the other corner, sheltering himself as best he could.

The explosion was muffled, but that wasn’t what concerned her. Their railcar was losing power. Cecilia and her Elohim were starting to gain some distance.

‘No,’ she said.

She ran back through the railcar, building up as much speed as she could. She ran through the driver’s cabin and assessed the situation mid-stride. Three Elohim. One dead; one with sword drawn; the third reaching for a sword of her own.

The gap between the railcars had widened. Fifteen feet.

Sophia pushed up onto the dashboard with one foot and continued her sprint—out of the railcar. She jumped. The tracks rushed beneath her, the tunnel lights washed over her in brief, illuminating pulses. She wasn't sure she was going to make it, but as she reached the end of her jump she was able to wrap both arms over the window frame on the back of the railcar. Her feet dangled just above the tracks. Had her jump been a few inches shorter she wouldn’t have made it. Bits of glass cut into her but she ignored it.

The Elohim nearest to her came at her, blade slicing downward for Sophia’s head. Sophia leaned to one side, let go with one hand and pulled her own sword from its saya. She got it halfway out before the Elohim’s sword came crashing down. It struck Sophia’s half-brandished sword and swept over her back.

The Elohim moved for another strike, but something struck her hand. She dropped the sword and it fell to the tracks below. Sophia looked over her shoulder to see Denton standing in the railcar cabin. He’d thrown his empty Glock.

Sophia drew her sword completely and seized the Elohim’s sword hand, pulling her over. She almost fell from the window, but adjusted her balance, widening her legs, and held fast. Sophia pulled her leg over and kicked her in the face. She fell backward, which gave Sophia just enough time to climb into the railcar, tachi in hand.

Cecilia retreated to the driver’s cabin, closing the door.

The Elohim reached for another sword—from the Elohim Sophia had shot with the last round from her P99. Sophia stomped down on her hand, stopping her. The other Elohim attacked. Sophia brought her tachi up, intercepting his sword. The first Elohim moved in again, kicking Sophia’s leg out from under her. Sophia fell to one knee, deflected another strike, and a third. The female Elohim drew the sword from her dead colleague. Now both Elohim wielded swords.

Sophia found herself trapped in a corner. For most trained fighters, being stuck in a corner was an unfavorable situation. For Sophia, it played to her strengths. It was how she’d overcome DC in the command and control room, and it was how she planned to overcome the Elohim in this railcar.

The left Elohim thrust his sword at her. She stepped forward, avoiding the blade, and used her tachi to deflect the right Elohim’s sword. She took the left Elohim’s sword hand and pulled it over her head. The two Elohim swords clashed together. Sophia kicked the left Elohim in the side of the knee, knocking him down.

The right Elohim was still standing and still armed. She struck overhead. Sophia brought her tachi up, intercepting the strike at an angle. The Elohim’s blade slipped down hers. She whipped her tachi around and her blade ran across the Elohim’s neck. She dropped to her knees, blood shooting from a carotid artery.

Sophia turned to the other Elohim, who had gotten to his feet. She batted his sword into the railcar window. He came around with it again and she ducked, pulled his elbow in. His sword struck his own neck. She watched him collapse, then turned to see Denton’s damaged railcar losing speed behind her.

He gave her a casual salute.

Sophia turned her attention to Cecilia. She wasn’t hiding in the driver’s cabin any longer. She stood in the doorway, unarmed, holding the hypodermic needle she’d loaded with the anti-Chimera vector in the command and control chamber.

‘I suppose you’re going to tell me this is the end of the line,’ she said.

Sophia approached slowly. ‘It’s unfortunate that everyone around me has a habit of dying.’

‘My death won’t change anything,’ Cecilia said. ‘It won’t make you feel any better. It won’t make you feel any more free.’

Sophia placed the tip of her tachi blade above Cecilia’s breastbone. Cecilia moved slowly, her hand offering the needle.

‘I’m giving you the ultimate freedom,’ she said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’

‘I’m not afraid,’ Sophia said.

She pushed the blade through Cecilia’s throat. Cecilia’s gaze remained riveted to her as blood poured down her chest. Her body trembled, then went limp, suspended on Sophia’s sword. Sophia withdrew the blade and Cecilia slumped to the ground.

Sophia went into the driver’s cabin and brought the railcar to a standstill. Everything was quiet now, dark.

As she stepped over Cecilia’s now lifeless body, she almost crushed the hypodermic needle underfoot. She sheathed her tachi sword and bent down to pick it up. Under the railcar’s fluorescent light, the contents of the vial seemed tangerine in color.

One injection and all her nightmares would be erased. The pain from losing Benito and Freeman, subsumed. It could all end now.

Jay opened his eyes. He couldn’t see much through his blindfold until he switched to infrared. When he did, he was surprised to see that the shocktroopers who had captured them were no longer standing. They lay on the ground, their body heat gradually dissipating.

Jay pulled his arms over his legs and slammed them into his ribs, breaking the plasticuffs. Nasira, behind him, ripped off his blindfold. She was already unbound. He switched out of infrared. She moved around him and he saw she was still coated in vegetable oil, which he found equal parts appealing and kind of gross.

‘What happened?’ he said, surveying the shocktroopers. ‘Did you do that?’

Nasira shook her head. ‘If I did, I’d totally be taking the credit. But whatever it was, works for me.’

He looked at the shocktroopers more closely. They lay crumpled with no signs of injury. He didn’t know what had killed them but suspected it had something to do with Sophia, Damien and the others. He checked the smartphone and found himself laughing with relief when the screen pinged Sophia and Damien. They were alive. And they were between Concourse B and C.

‘We should make sure they’re OK,’ Nasira said, retrieving her earpiece and microphone from one of the fallen shocktroopers. ‘I’ll hail them on the radio.’

She paused and bent to retrieve something from the ground. She held it up for Jay to see. It was his father’s gold cross and chain. One of the shocktroopers had ripped it from his neck when stripping them of anything they might use to escape. As Jay took it from her, their fingers touched for a moment. He let the cross slip off the chain, to the ground. The thought of his father made him angry, and the thought of his brother made him sad. He opened his hand to inspect the chain, but couldn’t see it because his eyes were tearing up.

Nasira took the chain from his hand, retrieved the cross and threaded it. She bent to one knee and clasped the chain around his neck. Before he knew what he was doing, he rested his head against her side, overwhelmed with emotion. Neither of them spoke. He felt her hand across his neck, then she stood up.

‘Sophia and Damien are back,’ she said. ‘No other survivors?’

Jay nodded.

Nasira offered her hand. ‘It’s over. We can go home now.’

***

As Damien emerged into the half-destroyed Jeppesen terminal, Sophia could make out Grace in his arms. When he reached her, she saw tears on his face just starting to dry. He walked past her without saying a word. Sophia reached out and, walking with him, checked Grace’s pulse.

There was nothing. She was gone.

‘Damien,’ Sophia said.

He kept walking.

‘Damien,’ she repeated.

He halted, looked slightly over his shoulder. ‘I’m saving her.’

Sophia stepped around so that she stood in front of him. ‘No, you’re not.’

His eyes were rimmed with new tears. ‘Yes, I am.’ He went to step around her but she blocked him.

‘You need to stop.’

He seemed in a daze. She grabbed his shoulders so that he was forced to focus on her. She could almost see his vision clear. Then, he slowly nodded. Together, they lowered Grace to the tiled floor and placed her arms at her sides. Damien was just on the edge of keeping himself together.

He trembled slightly as he said goodbye, kissed her and stood.

‘Are you OK?’ she said. She knew it was a stupid question but she didn’t care.

‘Love nothing and nothing can be used against you,’ Damien said.

Sophia thought about it for a moment, then said, ‘That sounds horrible.’

She turned to see a squadron of Abraham’s men enter the terminal, accompanied by a stressed and exhausted-looking Aviary. Jay and Nasira were with her. Nasira’s shoulders visibly slumped with relief when she saw Sophia alive. Jay moved toward Damien and put his arm around him.

‘Where’s the others?’ Nasira said.

‘Denton has disappeared. Chickenhead and Abraham were killed,’ Sophia said. ‘And DC was a mole.’

Nasira blinked in disbelief. ‘Motherfucker.’

‘My thoughts exactly,’ Sophia said. ‘Are the vans ready?’

‘We’re FBIed and ready to roll,’ Nasira said. ‘But we need to move now.’

She led everyone to the vans, breaking into a run when they reached the Garage West parking lot. Sophia had to navigate around a dozen dead resistance and police bodies as well as a few smashed Pariahs in order to reach the vans. The sun had risen and Sophia blocked it with her hand to see the FBI lettering on the vans. Given there were only a few resistance members left, they only needed to take three vans.

Sophia attached her FBI patch to her chest and jumped in the back of the first van, followed by Damien and Nasira. It wasn’t long before the van, with Jay driving, reached the police perimeter on the outskirts of the airport. Sophia could only hear Jay’s voice clearly, but he talked his way through the police block, explaining that they had been ordered to withdraw. The police officer questioning him was probably confused as to why they were allowed inside in the first place, but wasn’t too willing to question the FBI’s hostage rescue team too closely.

A moment later, the van was moving again, followed closely by their two other vans with Aviary and the surviving resistance squadrons. Damien was silent for the entire trip, and when it finally came time to change vehicles, he stepped out of the van without a word.

‘Thank you,’ Sophia said to Aviary.

She looked shaken, but uninjured. ‘Glad we could help,’ she said. ‘This isn’t over, is it?’

Damien and Jay exchanged a knowing glance.

‘Not for a while yet,’ Sophia said.

Aviary nodded and turned to join the resistance squadrons, who had since shed their uniforms down to their original civilian clothes and now moved into a mall parking lot across the road. The vans couldn’t be used any longer, everyone needed to source alternative transport.

Nasira handed Jay a piece of paper. ‘Be at this diner tonight, at nine.’

Jay took the card. ‘Why?’

‘To question the meaning of life,’ Nasira said. ‘Why do you think? Debrief.’

***

Sophia was relieved when the diner’s door jingled and in walked Damien and Jay. She checked their expressions as they approached. They looked tired, but nothing that suggested danger. If there were anything wrong, they’d have given her a signal by now.

They sat down opposite Nasira and herself and the waitress came over.

Jay flashed his best smile and ordered bacon and eggs over medium with black coffee.

‘It’s night-time,’ Nasira said.

‘Third breakfast,’ Jay said. ‘Shh, I haven’t eaten in a whole day.’

‘Shush me again and I’ll serve you over medium,’ she said.

Jay turned to Damien. ‘Is that flirting or does she hate me?’

‘It’s more or less the same thing,’ Sophia said.

‘OK,’ the waitress said, looking at Damien. ‘And you, sir?’

‘Same,’ Damien said. ‘Scrambled.’

‘Is that all?’ she said.

Damien nodded, his eyes glazed over.

The only other customer in the diner was a truck driver, and he seemed more interested in the televisions than anything else. Sophia turned to the screen nearest her. There was no sound but she’d been reading the subtitles for the last hour.

‘The riots have dropped off,’ she said. ‘Since we destroyed the transmitters and the super-array.’

‘Blamed it on the terrorists,’ Nasira said.

Jay shrugged and, as the waitress returned with their coffee, spooned in an obscene amount of sugar.

‘So Denton pretty much just hired us as his clean-up crew,’ Damien said.

‘Wouldn’t be the first time,’ Nasira said.

‘What happened to him?’ Damien asked Sophia.

She didn’t know what to say. ‘He vanished. I don’t know where he is.’

‘Will he come for us again?’ Damien asked.

‘To kill us or work for us?’ Nasira said.

Damien shrugged. ‘Neither sound appealing.’

‘Is he back in the Fifth Column now?’ Jay added.

Sophia shook her head. ‘I wish I knew.’

‘I wish I didn’t,’ Jay said. He slumped back in his seat, pulled a twenty from his wallet and added it to the modest pile in the middle of the table. ‘I’m guessing we don’t get paid for this one?’

‘Afraid not,’ Sophia said. ‘All the Akhana accounts disappeared overnight.’

‘Motherfuckers cleaned it up real quick,’ Nasira said.

‘I just wish we could’ve done it differently,’ Damien said, stirring his coffee.

‘You can’t wish that,’ Sophia said. ‘You do what you’re trained to do, you adapt to the situation and you find a solution.’

‘Yeah, but what if you don’t like the solution?’

She reached over and held Damien’s spoon still. ‘If you couldn’t adapt, you wouldn’t be here. None of us would be.’

She knew what he was going through because she was going through the very same thing. She wouldn’t dare admit it, but everything she had was sitting at this table.

‘We just, like, totally saved the world from the brink of collapse, huh?’ Jay said.

‘No.’ Sophia reached into her jacket pocket and touched the cool glass of the tangerine vial that contained the anti-Chimera vector. ‘But we postponed it.’