Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (41 page)

He was an
easier target than she anticipated, probably because of his recent grief, and
several drinks later they were leaving the bar with their arms around each
other’s waist.

“Let’s go to
your place,” Maeve said. “I want to see where you live.” She leaned in and
kissed his neck pretending to be as drunk him.

“Aren’t you
staying in a hotel nearby? Let’s just go there. You don’t need to see my place
tonight.”

“You’re so
secretive, I love a mysterious man,” she replied, trying to choke down the
vomit that surfaced in her throat as he stuck his tongue in her ear and his
hand in her crotch. She led him to the seedy hotel she’d booked under the name
Helen Adeo, just in case the night turned out this way. She’d put a cheap
bottle of strong liquor in the room and hoped Mace would indulge to the point
of passing out before he was able to engage in any sexual activity. Men like
this were tricky. They didn’t trust anyone and had fragile pride.

After four
shots of cheap booze that Maeve only pretended to drink, Mace pushed himself on
her, ripping her dress with his drunken clumsy hands. She tried to stall his
advances so the alcohol would get to him, but after a while, she just decided
to get it over with. She finished undressing herself and when he entered her,
to Maeve’s relief, he climaxed only a minute later. He tried to kiss her again,
but finally passed out before he reached her mouth, letting his head fall on
her naked breasts.

She waited a
minute and when he started to snore, rolled him off and pulled a small bottle
out of her bag. With a dropper, she released three drops of liquid into his
open mouth. It was the same sedative she would use on the transport driver next
week to get Lee’s shuttle container to and from the lab. She stood over Mace,
naked and sick to her stomach, watching his reaction to the drug. It took
thirty seconds to take effect. His snoring stopped and his eyes opened, looked
at her, and then rolled into the back of his head. She noted the time and went
to work digging through the pockets of his clothes that were carelessly strewn
around the room, not bothering to dress first.

Maeve made
copies of all of his keys, access cards, and sources of identification. After
she put her tools away, she went to check on Mace. He was still out. It had
been an hour and five minutes. She pulled back his eyelids to scan his retinas,
and then recorded his fingerprints into her computer. Finally, she drew a vial
of blood and took a hair sample. Maeve packed up all of her supplies in a black
case, took it with her to the bathroom and locked the door. She took a quick
unsatisfying shower. She would have stayed in for an hour if it hadn’t been as
filthy as the rest of the room. She wrapped herself in a towel and sat in a chair
opposite the bed and waited for the drug to wear off. Two hours and
twenty-three minutes passed and then Mace’s breathing returned to normal and he
began snoring again. “That seems accurate, three drops for almost three and a
half hours…” she noted.

Maeve stayed
in the chair until early in the morning. When Mace began to stir, she crawled
into bed next to him and faked sleep. He got up, dressed quickly, and left
quietly, without even a glance back at her.

“We’re ready
to go, Director Fitzhugh. The crew is confident and the biomer is all accounted
for, packed, and ready for transport to the launch site. We’ll load just before
the launch since security isn’t as strong there as it is here at the unit,”
General Cline said to the director over the phone.

“Good,
General. We’ll schedule the flight for two days from now, 5:30 a.m. I’d like to
avoid the press as much as possible for this one.”

“I agree,
discretion is vital so soon after General Pike’s unfortunate death,” Cline said.

“How are
things progressing with Professor Riles?”

“So far,
just fine. He shows up, works and goes home. His fascination with the project
keeps him coming back…well, that and the threat of incarceration.” The two men
chuckled at Cline’s response. “Is there any word on the Tripple Laboratory
amnesty revocation yet?” Cline continued.

“Still under
review,” Director Fitzhugh said. “This has been a highly debated topic with the
board. A touchy subject, but hopefully they’ll reach a decision in another
couple days.”

“You agree
with me that Lee Tripple’s position is a threat to the Daxian government, don’t
you?” Cline asked.

“Yes, I
agree, but unfortunately, the Regent is not convinced. He respects the way
Tripple’s amnesty came about. He is standing on principle, but I am pointing
out a very real threat. Not to mention, he is suspected of hiding stolen
government property.”

“I’m not
worried. I believe the Daxian board will protect its government before a single
crazy scientist,” Cline said.

“A powerful
and respected scientist, General.”

“
Ehem
…of course… he is a valuable citizen.”

“I’ll see
you at the launch, General. Good day.”

“Good bye,
Director.”

On the night
before the transfer, Maeve hid in the transport driver’s home. She’d retrieved
the soldier’s name and address by using Charisa to hack into
TRU’s
files with the personal identity data she’d gathered
from Mace last week. The timing of her plan would be tricky, but with Ganesh
waiting at the TRU Building to release the transport to the driver, there was a
good chance for success. The transport had already been loaded with biomer
packed containers, and Ganesh was taking a huge risk by helping with the plan,
but he had a feeling his time at TRU was growing limited. He’d noticed a shift
in Quinn’s demeanor the last several days. It made him worry that Quinn’s
assignment was coming to a close, which meant Ganesh’s life was in danger.

The driver,
Gabriel, went to bed early, so he would be able to wake up in time to have the
transport at the launch site by 4:00 a.m., an hour and a half before the
launch. It seemed odd to him to cut the timing so close, but his clearance was
limited, which prevented him from asking any questions. He didn’t know what he
would be carrying or why he needed to be armed. Once Gabriel was asleep, Maeve
went to work changing all of the clocks in his flat and re-setting his alarm.

When he
woke, two hours earlier than he thought, he rushed to get himself to the TRU
Building, feeling extremely tired. Ganesh was waiting to meet him with his clearance
to release the transport. Maeve was already hidden in the back seat of the
driver’s cabin when he arrived at midnight, thinking it was 2:00 a.m. Ganesh
handed Gabriel his directions to the launch site and had him sign and time
stamp a release form. Then, he gave him a cup of coffee, courtesy of the unit,
with Maeve’s drug dropped around the rim. He was grateful for the steaming cup
and climbed into the transport. Seconds later, he was out. Ganesh helped Maeve
move him to the other side of the driver’s cabin and she was off. She drove at
top speed through the clear night sky.
 
Myris was the brightest of the three moons tonight; as if ready to
welcome home the living biomer it lost.

Maeve first
arrived at the nearby safe house, where she’d left Charisa and Luke to help
organize the government resistance. She landed in a side alley where five young
men, including Luke were waiting with wooden crates to unload biomer from one
of the shuttle containers. They worked fast under the pressure of Maeve’s direction
and were done in fifteen minutes. Just as she was closing the back of the
transport to leave, Charisa ran out of the house, holding a letter in her hand.

“What’s
this?” Maeve asked, taking the letter.

“I know this
transport is bound for the shuttle mission, I found the details when I hacked
Magner’s files. Anyway, please, if you can, get this letter on board. It’s for
one of the mission soldiers.”

Maeve gave
the envelope a quick glance and saw ‘Andreas’ written on the back.

“I’ll do
what I can, Charisa. Thanks again for being brilliant.”

“It’s what I
do.” Charisa smiled and ran back inside.

Maeve saw
the outlines of Lee and Dana’s forms standing on the roof before she landed at
Tripple Laboratories. They looked impatient, like they had been waiting hours
for her arrival. This made Maeve smile. There were metal containers around them
and the three of them went to work in silence as soon as Maeve hopped out of
the driver’s seat and bid them “Good morning.”

Lee and Dana
wheeled a very large cart holding the first sealed metal crate while Maeve
opened the back of the transport. It took both of them to push it and it was
almost as tall as the shuttle container it was going into.

“We have
three of these crates to load,” Dana said to Maeve, who jumped in to help push
the metal box into the container.

“Fine, but
let me help you. I have to leave here in fifteen minutes if this is going to
work.”

The three
ran to the next cart, and then the last, pushing and loading as fast as they
could. Once the final crate was loaded into the container, Dana started to cry.
Lee looked at her like she’d lost her mind and Maeve didn’t have time to be
compassionate.

“I have to
go…right now,” she said. “So, whatever you’ve packed in there, Dana, say your
goodbyes.”

“I have,”
Dana said, stopping her tears and holding her head up.

“Good,”
Maeve said, “And by the way, Bearden’s sorry for what he did. Just thought you
should know.”

Dana was
taken aback by this comment and looked strangely at her, wondering what she
knew about Bearden. But just as she opened her mouth to ask, Lee cut her off.

“I don’t
think anyone will be able to open those boxes,” he said to Maeve. “I plan to
join them within a year, so I’ll need the exact landing coordinates from the
shuttle. I assume you can get those for me.”

“You’re
going to Myris? That’s good. I didn’t want you living at my house the rest of
your life.”

“Nor do I
want to be there,” Lee answered.

“I’ll send
the information tomorrow. In the mean time, here are the directions to my beach
home and the access codes to enter. Good Luck, Lee.”

“And to you,
Miss Daire.” Lee took a small brown envelope from Maeve.

“I’ll be
expecting a report next week on our weapon for Tyrine. I’ll contact you,” Maeve
said just before closing herself into the transport and taking off again.

“Goodbye, my
little ones,” Dana said softly as the embryo packed container flew away. Lee
ignored her and shoved his free hand in his pocket thinking about the future on
Myris. He’d had the foresight to pack in those containers a variety of plant
life, also in stasis, suitable for the Myris environment, along with lab
instruments and drugs that could cure just about any known ailment. He had
begun to look forward to his future move to the first Myris colony, which he
envisioned himself creating.

Maeve
arrived back at the TRU building minutes before Colonel Talper showed up. It
was now almost the scheduled time to see the transport off to the launch site.
Gabriel had already started to stir a few minutes after leaving Tripple
Laboratories and Maeve drove with fury to get back before he came to. She
landed just where she’d taken off and Ganesh hurried to help move Gabriel back
to the driver seat. He opened his eyes just as Maeve replaced his drugged mug
with a fresh coffee that Ganesh handed her. Maeve had to duck down fast in the
back. She saw Colonel Talper walking toward the transport and realized she’d
missed her window of time to get out. Instead, she crawled through an opening
in the back of the cabin that led to the load compartment. It was a tight fit,
but she managed to wriggle herself flat against the side of one of the
containers. Ganesh leaned in the driver’s side window.

“So, if you
don’t have any questions, Corporal, You are ready to go,” he said. “And I’d
drink some of that coffee, I think you just dozed off for a second.”

Gabriel
looked around with confusion as the drug wore off almost as quickly as it had
taken effect.

“Um…I guess
I did. I apologize, Colonel.”

“Just don’t
let it happen again. This is an important package you are carrying. Oh, and
here comes Colonel Talper.”

“Good
Morning, Colonel,” Talper said to Ganesh. “I see we are ready to go.”

“Packed and
secure. Colonel Talper, this is Corporal Gabriel Nash. He will be driving you
to the launch site this morning.”

“Yes, we’ve
met. Let’s go, Corporal. We’ve got a strict schedule to keep to and General
Cline is waiting.”

“Yes, sir,”
Gabriel said and lifted off toward the launch site. Maeve stood in the back
cursing her timing. Ganesh wrinkled his forehead as he watched the transport
drive away hoping Maeve would not be discovered.

About two
hours later, Maeve felt the transport slow and then come to a stop. She
positioned herself to crawl back through the opening between the passenger
compartment and load area, where she was hidden. Pressing her ear against the
metal, she heard Colonel Talper and Gabriel exit. She waited a few minutes and
pushed the door…locked…from the other side. She didn’t panic because it was not
in her nature. Instead, she pulled a small tool from her pocket and started to
pick the lock just as the back of the transport was opened. The voices of
military personnel flooded the load compartment and Maeve shot up quickly to
her previous standing position, so she would not be seen. Still not panicked,
she reached for her gun and peaked around the container, to gauge what she
might have to face. There were at least thirteen armed soldiers and three very
official looking men. If she got out of this unnoticed and without killing
anyone, she’d later reflect on this moment as her closest call.

A half hour
later, the transport was backed up to the shuttle bay. Maeve’s only shot at
escape was to hop aboard the shuttle in between container transfers and creep
out when everyone was gone, just before the launch. It was already 5:00 a.m.,
which meant this was not going to be a lingering operation. Lee’s container was
the first to be loaded onto the shuttle. Then, after only seven minutes, four
more were onboard. When they came to the container Maeve was hiding behind, she
stayed right against it as they pulled it out from the opposite side. Once they
cleared the transport entry, she climbed up to the top and lay flat just as a
man came around the back to push it the rest of the way onboard. Gun at the
ready, she held her breath. She lay there silently and listened to the sound of
the director’s voice and another she did not recognize, but assumed to be the
newly promoted General Cline. The men came through, inspected the load, and
left.

Maeve hopped
down from the container when the voices were gone and the transport had flown
away. She peaked out of the shuttle bay ready to make her escape and found
herself eye to eye with Mace Magner and his hand was on the shuttle’s
mechanical controls.

“Well, what
do we have here?” he asked with a snide smile. “A spy at the bottom of her
game. And here, I thought you liked me.”

“Sorry, no.
But, at least I get to kill you now. That makes our night together all the more
special.”

Mace grabbed
her by the back of the neck and she shoved the barrel of her gun in his gut. He
laughed at her.

“Don’t even
think about it, you worthless whore. If you shoot that thing we both die.”

Maeve gave
the trigger a slight squeeze and then stopped.

“Why will we
both die?” she asked.

“Ahh, never
been this close to a launch before have you? The atmosphere in this dock is a
volatile mix, and highly pressurized. That gunshot will cause an explosion,”
Mace said and put his hand on the gun.

“I don’t
believe you,” she said.

“Are you
going to risk it?”

“You’re
bluffing,” she said and pulled the gun away to point it at his head.

“You’re
right!” Mace answered and shoved her hard. She fired off a shot that missed
Mace and ricocheted off the metal walls as she tumbled backwards.

“We should
rid this planet of all tramp spies like you!” Mace shouted and shut the shuttle
doors. Maeve scrambled to her feet and slammed her body into the closing doors
a second too late. She was trapped. Mace’s laughter penetrated the shuttle
walls and she heard his boots stomp away.

“Shit!”
Maeve shouted, pounding her fist on the door. The shuttle engines started up
and Maeve ran around the shuttle bay, fighting against the pressure change that
was now occurring inside and looking for something to secure her body during
takeoff. There were doors on the far side of the bay and she ran through the
one marked ‘crew passage’. She opened every door in the corridor, holding her
chest and gasping for air until she found a room with space gear. The shuttle
was thrusting through the air now and she knew any second they would exit the
atmosphere. She sat against the wall and held on to a table bolted to the
ground. Her body felt crushed. If she could just last a few more seconds, she
would be okay. She saw an air supply linked to a helmet hanging on the opposite
wall. She darted towards it and threw it over her head. The shuttle shook
violently for a few seconds dropping her to the floor and she passed out just
as the shuttle’s pressure normalized.