Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (39 page)

“I didn’t
kill the general,” Luke replied. “He is dead, and I guess it is sort of my fault,
but I didn’t kill him.”

“It doesn’t
matter, you will go down for this,” Andreas said. Charisa went over to Andreas
and put her arms around him. He gently pushed her away.

“Charisa, I
promised I’d help you find Luke, and now he’s here. But the two of you are in
much deeper than I ever wanted to go. I’m sorry, but I need to leave now.”

“But, you
can’t go. We still need your help.”

“I don’t
think you do. And is that all I am to you? Just someone to help you get what
you want?”

“No, I
didn’t mean that.”

“Look, I
have a shuttle mission coming up and tomorrow morning I will report for
training. I won’t say a word to anyone about the two of you, but,” he looked at
Charisa, “I have to go.”

Andreas
walked to the door and Charisa went after him.

“Let him go,
Charisa,” Luke said. “He’s not in this. And we need to figure out where we are
going to go…right now. So, start packing your computer equipment. I don’t think
it will take long for them to come looking for me here.”

“It will be
Mace Magner, for sure. He’ll kill you…and, well, I don’t even want to think
about what he’ll do to me,” she said.

Meanwhile,
in a small black transport headed for Tyrine, Maeve was listening to the bug
she’d put in Charisa’s home, at Ganesh’s suggestion, through a small earpiece.

“We have to
turn back,” she said to Bearden who had been quiet since they left Ganesh’s
house.

“What for?”
he asked.

“We have to
pick up a couple of people.
Proven
allies that need our help…and they don’t have much time,” Maeve said and turned
her transport around. They raced through the air in the direction of Charisa’s
house.

Back at the
TRU Building, Mace and Ganesh arrived with the military police at Camden’s
small apartment. It was extremely crowded with seven men clustered around the
room. Terry and Camden took turns detailing the gruesome event. Mace felt a
sense of relief that no one had recognized Luke, and so far, there was no
indication that they knew of the secret army either. Mace knew exactly where
Luke would run, and as soon as things were wrapped up here tonight, he’d go
straight to Charisa’s and deal with them both.

A few
minutes later, Colonel Cline arrived and demanded that no one speak of the
biomachine as the cause of General Pike’s death.

“The story
will be that General Pike was attacked by a disgruntled weaponry worker. The
other two, Rita and Rhys, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“There’s
just one problem with that, Colonel,” Ganesh said. “No one seems to know who
this ‘disgruntled worker’ is. What if he goes straight to the press?”

“Well, then
we should go look at some security footage and see if we can figure that out.”

Mace did not
look at anyone directly, nor did he offer that he knew who was responsible.

“You are
asking us to lie for you, Colonel Cline, which makes me wonder, what’s in it
for me? And more importantly, what’s in it for you?” Camden asked. “And why are
you making all the final decisions here? Is Ganesh not also a colonel?”

“As a matter
of fact, Professor Riles, when I informed the Director of the general’s death
on the way here, I was appointed acting leader of TRU until a promotion to
general can be made official tomorrow morning.”

“So, you
have already lied to him and won your prize,” Camden said. “Which makes me
again, ask…what’s in this for me?”

Ganesh gave
him a disconcerting look and Terry seemed to be agreeing with Camden’s approach
to the situation, nodding his head when he spoke.

“You and I
can discuss this later,” Cline said. “Aldretti, stay here with Professor Riles
and the civilian while we go investigate.”

“That
biomachine is still up there, have you thought of that?” Camden asked.

Cline
paused. He had not thought of that.

“It would be
best to go up there with a handler, sir,” Mace said.

“Where are
we going to get one of those at this hour of the night?” Cline asked, then
continued. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to bring anyone else into this
situation anyway.”

“
Ehem
,” Camden cleared his throat. “If I may, General To Be,
I have the controls right here, and feel that I have a pretty good grasp on how
they work.”

Cline
scowled.

“Of course,
we can talk tomorrow…or you can sit down with me, alone, for five minutes,
right now,” Camden said.

“Cam, why
are you doing this? Those people up there deserve our immediate attention,”
Ganesh said.

“I couldn’t
agree more, Ganesh, but I’m afraid I might not get an opportunity like this
again and I’m sick and tired of being a prisoner, my friend,” Camden replied.

“Fine then.
Gentlemen, come wait outside with me,” Ganesh said to the group so Camden and
Cline could speak alone. “And, Mace, go and get tonight’s security footage for
all of the building’s exits.”

“Alright,
Professor, what do you want?” Cline asked.

“I want my
freedom, of course. Let me go home.”

“Alright,
but you have to admit that you are an accomplice to Ganesh and his biomer
theft.”

“So, you
believe that too?”

“We have the
proof.”

“Then why do
nothing about it?”

“Honestly?
You haven’t figured that out? I pegged you as smarter than that, Professor. Do
you know how much it would cost to hire you officially? Between you working on
the space travel project and Lee Tripple developing a failsafe for the
biomachines, why would we rock that boat when we can keep our eyes on you,
here?”

“I
appreciate you being forthcoming with me, General. So, I guess we are negotiating
now.”

“I suppose
we are,” Cline said. “Stay on the space travel project. You’ll be paid as a
consultant. You can have your precious freedom, but in return, you give us
access to Tripple Laboratories and you say nothing of General Pike’s death. Lee
Tripple will go down for the biomer theft.”

“Take the
spies out of the supper club and tell me what you want from the lab. I will go
personally and retrieve what you want. And, leave Lee out of it.”

“Deal, but
if I’m not happy with what you bring me, I will personally see to it that Lee
Tripple has his amnesty revoked and everything in that lab becomes government
property.”

“I’ll pack
my things. I assume you will arrange a transport to take me home.”

“Yes, fine,
but we’ll expect you back at work bright and early in the morning. But first,
you will accompany us to the site of tonight’s tragedy to control the
biomachine.”

“Done. I’m
glad we’ve come to this new accord, General,” Camden said. He was actually
gratified to not be leaving the space travel project. If the technology somehow
worked, he wanted his name attached to it. He wasn’t worried about Lee or his
lab because he was certain his privacy would remain undisturbed. Never in
history had an amnesty, such as his, been overturned. Still, he’d just made a
deal to save himself by selling out his friend, so as an afterthought, Camden
asked. “What exactly do you want from Tripple Laboratories?”

“Anything
and everything related to the biomer. I don’t want a single bit of that
material in the hands of anyone but this government,” Cline said.

Camden
didn’t think that would be too difficult, but then Cline continued.

“I also want
his notebook. I want to know everything he’s accomplished in that lab. If he
possesses powerful technologies, the government should possess them, too.”

Camden
raised his eyebrows at Cline, but said nothing. He knew that there was no way,
short of killing Lee, that he would part with his notebook and give up his
secrets. But Camden would worry about that later. He had a little time to come up
with an alternate plan.

Maeve Daire
arrived at Charisa’s house thirty-five minutes later. Luke and Charisa were
almost finished packing what they thought was important, but still had not
figured out where to go. Charisa had an aunt in the south and Luke thought they
might try to make it across the sea and stay in a village in one of the frozen
regions. They didn’t have much money between them but decided they could hide
somewhere and buy some time.
 
Then
later on, they would be able to hack into a financial institution and secure
what they needed to live…indefinitely.

Maeve
hovered her sleek black transport just outside Charisa’s house.

“Go and get
them,” she said to Bearden. “They at least know who you are.”

“If I do
this, will you take me to the safe house?”

“No, you
will still go to Tyrine. Now, go, Hurry up,” Maeve said.

Bearden went
to the door and knocked, realizing as soon as he did that they wouldn’t answer.
After what he felt was too long of a wait, he took a few steps back and ran
full force, shoulder first, against the door, ramming it open. Charisa and Luke
were standing in the kitchen with knives and heavy objects in their hands. The
sight of them, frozen with fear and so poorly armed, made Bearden smile.

“I’m here to
help. I promise,” he said.

“Sergeant
Leitner? Is that you? What are you doing here?” Charisa asked.

“It seems
that we are all on the same side. There is someone outside who has come to take
you somewhere safe. I know it’s hard, but you have to trust me and you have to
come now.”

Charisa and
Luke looked at each other wondering what to do. Leitner was government and this
could be a trick. Bearden walked toward one of their packed suitcases and
picked it up.

“There’s not
much time. Major Magner will be here soon.”

“Ha!”
Charisa shouted, pointing a knife to Bearden’s chest. “How do you know about
that?”

“Put that
thing down. You’re going to hurt someone. Look, I’m on the same side as Colonel
Ganesh and if you want to live, you had better come with me now,” Bearden said.

“Colonel
Ganesh,” Charisa said to Luke. “I was right! He is on our side. I think we
should go with the Sergeant.”

“Are you
sure? I am not going back to the unit as a prisoner,” Luke said.

“What can I
say to convince you?” Bearden asked. “Mace Magner fired me this week. I was
working as a spy for Ganesh. As long as you are fighting against the Daxian
government, I am on your side.”

“Well, that
changes things,” Luke said.

“Yes. And
there is someone outside, right now, to take you two to a safe house and you’d
be foolish not to come.”

Charisa saw
sincerity in Bearden’s eyes, and since they didn’t have a better plan, she
picked up a suitcase and walked outside. Following her lead, Luke and Bearden
grabbed the other packed bags and loaded them in the tiny transport.

“What the hell
is all this, Bearden? I sent you in for two people, not two hundred pounds of
luggage.” Maeve said.

“Hey, it’s
you! The mystery nurse.” Luke said, recognizing her beautiful face.

“Oh my God!
It
is
you.” Charisa said to Maeve as
she climbed in the transport. Well, trust me, whoever you are. If you
are
on our side, you do not want the
government to find this equipment.”

“Fair
enough. It will be a tight fit. I’m Maeve, welcome to the resistance. Ganesh
told me about you.”

“Thank you
for coming, Maeve. I’m Charisa and this is Luke. And just so you know, you have
just rescued two of the top computer programmers and hackers in existence.”

“Incredible,
and I’ve got the scientist who knows the most about the Daxian weapons. I will
say, this might be my best ever night for recruiting. Don’t worry, Charisa, I’m
going to bring you and Luke to a safe house. But first, we need to drop off the
ever helpful, Sergeant Leitner.”

“Could you
please lose the ‘Sergeant’, already? I’m just Bearden Leitner now. That
designation has brought me nothing but misery,” Bearden said. Maeve smiled at
Bearden’s comment.

The next
morning, Cline’s promotion to general became official. A statement went out to
the press about General Pike’s death and with the help of Major Magner, a
programmer named Luke
Rappaman,
had been identified as
the shooter. By 10:00, the newly appointed General Cline was on a conference
call with the Director and the Regent to talk about gaining access to Tripple
Laboratories, in case Camden didn’t get him what he wanted. And Camden, with
his freedom again, went home, changed into one of his finer suits, and paid a
visit to the newly widowed Enira Pike.

She greeted
him with open arms, though there were tears in her eyes. She was clearly
grieving for her husband, but at the same time, she was happy to be free of
him. Enira knew she loved Camden more than he loved her, but still, less than a
day after her husband’s death, thoughts of being with him openly had crossed
her mind.

“I’m so
sorry, Enira,” Camden said. “How are you doing?”

“I think I’m
still in shock, it just doesn’t feel real,” she replied, still locked in his
embrace.

“I can
understand.”

“Oh, of
course you can. You’ve been through this,” she said, thinking for a second of
Camden’s wife. Camden gave her a weak sympathetic smile. He wanted to feel
sorry for her, but comparing her and the general’s marriage to his and Rosa’s
just pissed him off. What he and Rosa had was so much more. It had been years
before Camden had considered being with another woman, but he would no doubt be
in bed with Enira tonight. It sickened him a little, but he had needs, after
all.

Maeve Daire
had returned early that same morning, after she’d dropped Bearden off in a
Tyrinian camp, and settled Luke and Charisa into the safe house, run by a young
girl named Madelyn. After her long productive night, she had little time for
rest. She would have to return to Tripple Laboratories to try and negotiate
with Lee Tripple. Maeve planned to once again break into the building to catch
him off guard. She didn’t have time to schedule an appointment and she also
didn’t want to risk Lee censoring his work before she got there.

At 11:30,
when she had rested and changed into her black ops clothing, she entered the lab
though the elevator shaft, accessed by the ladies restroom. She’d come in today
pretending to be a passerby who just needed to use the facility, but she knew
that the lady at the desk would grow suspicious after a few minutes. Maeve
worked fast and got through the security room in almost half the time as
before. But this time, when she entered the lab, her presence was immediately
known and she found herself standing face to face with a confused but confident
Lee Tripple. Instinctively, Maeve grabbed her gun from her waistband and aimed
it at Lee’s head.

“Don’t
shoot. I won’t try to stop you,” Lee said and stuck one hand in the air and the
other in his pocket.

“What’s in
your pocket? Did you alert someone? Take your hand out where I can see it.”

Lee did not
obey her order and left his hand where it was.

“Perhaps I
did alert someone. How did you get in here? I know you’ve been here before.”
Lee said.

“It wasn’t
hard…breaking in,” Maeve replied. Lee took a step toward her, squinted his
eyes, and pursed his lips. She cocked her gun; ready to fire even though she
had no intention of shooting the man she’d come to negotiate with.

“Are you
going to kill me?” Lee asked.

“Maybe. Have
you alerted someone to my presence?”

“That’s
irrelevant,” Lee said.

“You’ve seen
my face.”

“And you’ve
seen my lab, so we are at an impasse.”

“Not really.
I’m the one with the gun.”

“But not the
only one. Isn’t that right, Dana?”

“That’s
right, Lee.” Dana’s voice popped out of nowhere.

“Don’t try
it, girl. He would be dead before you pulled the trigger. Then you still have
to hit me. Are you willing to risk that?” Maeve asked.

“It’s a
chance, and since you’re probably planning to kill us both anyway, I’ll take
it. You won’t be the first government agent we’ve taken down,” Dana said.

“Well,
aren’t you plucky,” Maeve said. Dana rolled her eyes and re-aimed her gun.

“What is it
that you want?” Lee asked. “Because if it’s something other than our certain
death, I can probably help you.”

“You knew I
was coming,” Maeve said.

“No, just
looking for a chance,” Lee said.

“A chance at
what?”

“Put the gun
down and we can talk about it. You do work for the government don’t you?”

“It’s
complicated,” Maeve said.

“Things
usually are these days,” Lee said.

“Who are you
and who sent you?” Dana asked.

Maeve did
not answer her, but thought of Ganesh, then Naja, and their cause. This man,
Lee, who had, so quickly, found a way to disarm the biomachines could help
Tyrine develop a weapon to win the coming war. He probably already had the
answer to saving Tyrine, right here in this lab. She really did not want to off
him just because there was a gun pointed at her.

“Look, both
of you, I was not sent on a kill mission here. It’s unfortunate that you two
are here and lying in wait for an ambush, which by the way, is a little odd for
scientists,” Maeve said.

“We’ve been
surprised before,” Dana said.

“I just want
to talk,” Maeve replied.

“Camden sent
you,” Lee said, mostly to himself, but both girls heard. Maeve looked confused.

“That’s
ridiculous, Lee,” Dana said. “She’s here because the first thieves didn’t get
what they wanted.”

“Maybe.”

“Of course,
we corrected the security breach that Bearden established. I guess it wasn’t
enough since you’re standing here,” Dana said.

“Which is
why Camden had to have sent her,” Lee said.

“We take
matters in our own hands now,” Dana continued, trying to intimidate Maeve.

“Impressive,”
Maeve said. “ But you are wrong. I don’t know a Camden,” she lied.

“Whether you
know him or not, he is the reason you are standing here…no other scenario is
rational. Which makes you…for hire?” Lee asked.

“She’s not
government?” Dana asked. “Why would Camden send someone to break in, and with a
gun?”

“He needs
something. And since we’ve lost Sergeant Leitner, this is the only way,” Lee
said.

“Something
huge must be happening at TRU if Camden is this willing to risk your life,”
Dana replied.

“I know what
he needs,” Lee said.

“The virus
code,” Dana said.

“Or more of
it.”

“She’s been
here before. It explains the missing vial,” Dana figured aloud. “Did you know?”
She asked Lee.

“Of course.”
Lee replied. “No one comes in and out of my lab without my knowledge.”

“Why didn’t
you say anything?” Dana asked.

Lee
shrugged.

Maeve sighed
with shallow hindrance because she hadn’t been as slick as she’d thought
and
they seemed to forget for a moment
that she was standing there pointing a gun at Lee. She wasn’t sure how to
proceed with these two. They were definitely oddballs, but fascinating all the
same. Since she was worried about what was in Lee’s pocket, she interrupted
their conversation.

“What’s your
name, girl?” Maeve asked.

“Dana Hanks.
Fugitive.”

“So, it’s
true that you don’t leave this building?”

“Yes, it’s
true. Which means I am totally stir crazy and not afraid to use this gun.”

“I believe
you. However, you are not the problem. He is.” She nodded to Lee.

“Lee? A
problem? Believe me, you couldn’t be more wrong. I practically live with the
man and can barely get him to talk to me,” Dana said. Lee scrunched his
forehead and gave her a dirty look.

“Besides,” she
continued, “He has no agenda. He could care less who you are. And if you really
are working for Camden, you should let him help you.”

“Fine, let’s
talk,” Maeve said. “On the count of three, let’s put down our weapons.”

Lee looked
back and forth between the two women hoping that they really would put their
guns down.

“One…two…three.”
Maeve dropped her gun and ducked out of the way in case Dana took a shot. She
didn’t, but after seeing the intruder surrender, she lowered her gun. Maeve
stood from her crouch and righted herself. She had plenty of other ways to kill
them if she needed to.

“My name is
Maeve, and I am here at Colonel Ganesh’s request. I’m sorry about the
intrusion,” she started again.

“Yes, I
know, follow me,” Lee said, satisfied that his assumptions about this woman
were correct. As they walked down the hall, the phone in Lee’s office started
to ring.

“Wait here,”
he said.

Dana’s eyes
moved back and forth between Maeve and Lee

It was the
lady at the desk, calling to check on Lee.

“A woman went
into the bathroom and after ten minutes, when she didn’t come out, I checked on
her, but the bathroom was empty.”

“Yes,” Lee
replied, “She’s here and we are fine.”

“Are you
sure? I can call for help.”

“Yes, I’m
sure. I have to go.”

Lee hung up
and continued down the hall with Maeve at his heels.

“Have you
come to help us?” Dana asked Maeve, who towered above her in height. With the
weapons out of the equation, Lee and Dana let their curious natures dominate
the newly forming atmosphere between them.

“I may be
able to help you, but this will be a negotiation, not a hand out,” Maeve said.

They settled
in the kitchen, around the small table, all a little on edge, and Maeve, still
had her hand on the handle of her gun.

“You can
relax, Maeve,” Dana said, “No one has been alerted to your presence here. “Lee
tends to freeze up when startled. He was bluffing with his hand in his pocket.”
Lee scowled at her words once again. Maeve studied the two for a minute before
she spoke; they both had a coldness and awkwardness about them, but at the same
time there was
a warmth
in the air. And the bond
between the two was clear, but most importantly, to Maeve, was that they were
unpredictable.

“Lee,” she
finally said, “Your amnesty is in negotiation for elimination with the heads of
state. With the war breaking out, it won’t be long. You’ve already had a break
in, and soon, they won’t need to be covert. They will come into this place with
force and probably media. I am prepared to offer you a safe place to move your
lab.”

Dana’s eyes
grew wide and she stared at Lee, not knowing what he might say.

“What do you
want in return?” Lee asked. His calm tone made Dana want to kick him under the
table. She was panicking inside.

“I want the
virus code, all of it, and all the raw material that you have to make more. And
instructions on how to make it.”

“You’re
crazy!” Dana burst into the conversation. “He won’t give you that.” Lee held
his hand up as if to “shush” her.

“What are
your intentions?” he asked.

“To disable
as many biomachines as possible before they are cemented under the ground. All
of the unused biomer is to be put on a shuttle and returned to Myris in a few
weeks. I need what you have left, to continue producing the virus code and
stockpile it, in the event the biomachines are ever dug up.”

“Seems
fair,” Lee said. “Okay. We will make preparations to move the lab.” He began to
stand.

“We’re not
quite done here, Lee,” Maeve said. “I mentioned this is a negotiation.”

“You want
something more from me?” Lee asked.

“I want you
to build a weapon,” Maeve said in a hushed voice, “far more efficient than the
biomachines, something that will ensure Tyrine’s freedom.”

Dana pushed
back her chair and stood up with a disgusted sigh. She put her hands on her
hips and walked aimlessly around the room. Maeve followed her every move with
her eyes…just in case. Lee scratched his head and mumbled something inaudible.

Several
minutes went by and no one had spoken. Dana stopped pacing and was leaning
against the counter with her arms crossed. Lee was staring intensely at nothing
over Maeve’s head. She wasn’t used to negotiations going quite like this, but
she didn’t want to push too hard. What she asked for was more than technology;
it was treason. A few more minutes passed and Maeve grew impatient trying to
guess what they were thinking.
People
usually talk back without being prompted.
She thought.
These two are in outer space, a couple of weirdoes, freaks of nature…

“The weapon
is not a problem, but there is one more thing I need you to do for me.” Lee’s
voice broke Maeve’s train of thought as though there had been no pause in the
conversation.

“Finally,”
she said. “I thought you’d forgotten I was here.”

“Lee! You
can’t!” Dana shouted. “Giving her a weapon to use against Daxia…that will be a
death sentence for everyone we know.” Her voice trailed off. “My parents.”

“Not
necessarily,” Maeve replied. “If the Daxian government steps down from trying
to take over Tyrine then…”

“That won’t
happen and you know it,” Dana cut her off.

“Look, it’s
going to get bad for everyone. I’m offering you a chance to stay out of harm’s
way and continue your science. No one else is going to make you the same offer,
especially when they come in here and arrest you for murdering a government
official.”

“Are you
threatening me?” Dana asked and walked back over to the table.

“I’m telling
you the truth of your current situation and handing you another option,” Maeve
said and stood up, towering over Dana. “I’m not negotiating with you anyway.”
She looked back at Lee.