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CHAPTER 15

Another full day went by without any word from Deitrik and I was beginning to get concerned. I tried not to let myself get too worried, though. After all, I’d dumped a pretty fantastic couple of reports into his lap, and I was sure it would take him a little while to process it all.

I was also going a little stir-crazy. I figured it was too much of a risk to come and go from the safe house any more than was absolutely necessary and I hadn’t left once since the night I got there. Don’t get me wrong, the house was nice and I didn’t mind availing myself of Carmichael’s hospitality, but I hadn’t slept in my own bed in a while and I really just wanted to go home.

Alone in the small bedroom I’d been using, I put in an encrypted video call to Lily. I’d made it a habit to check in with her regularly since the operation at Research Towers went down. Her face appeared on the screen and she greeted me with a smile, just like she always did.

“Easy!” she said.

“Are you well?” I asked. I didn’t normally talk like that, but it was a challenge phrase. We’d taken to using it as a way of letting the other know if one of us was under duress.

“All’s right in the world,” she said, answering the challenge correctly. “How’ve you been?”

“Getting tired of sitting on my butt.”

“Aren’t you glad you packed extra clothes like I said?”

I grinned. “I sure am, kid. You doing alright?”

“It’s been quiet here,” she answered. At my insistence, she’d gone to stay with friends and was laying low until this whole thing blew over. I didn’t know who she was with or where she was, and I didn’t ask. “Dante and I have been monitoring network traffic and the infostreams for any word on what happened.”

“Oh? Hear anything interesting?”

She shook her head. “Not much, Boss, at least on anything we can access. They reported the incident at the Ventura Medical Research Center as a robbery.”

“A robbery? That’s their story, huh?”

“Yup. A press release from Ascension stated that high-value biological samples from off-world were stolen, and that their security was hacked. Nothing about a missing person or a kidnapping.”

“That’s interesting.” I rubbed my chin. “Did they say anything about me walking out with her in the medical pod?”

Lily smiled. “You’re going to love this. When you took her out? They said that was them doing that.”

“Is that right?”

“We got ahold of a message sent to the management of Research Towers. They claimed that, per protocol, their patient was evacuated to another facility when the VMRC’s systems went down. Either everyone is buying their cover story or they’re too scared to start asking questions, but there’s been nothing further about the incident. I’m sure they’re going nuts wondering where Cassandra Carmichael is, but it seems like they want this kept quiet.”

“Sure seems that way, doesn’t it? Anyway, how are you getting on? Been spending a lot of time with Dante, have you?”

Her fair skin flushed just a little and she smiled the way girls do when they’re in love. “Is it that obvious?”

“I told you he was still sweet on you. Say, what happened to what’s-her-name?”

Lily’s eyes narrowed a little when I brought up the other girl. “Selena dumped him the moment he quit Arcanum.”

“I’m not surprised. By the way they acted together I could tell it wasn’t a serious thing. You’re the one he wanted to be with.”

She smiled again. “Yeah, well, we’re taking it slow, you know? Seeing what happens. It’s been good, though. Better than before.”

“I expect you’ve both grown up a little since then.”

“Now it’s your turn to dish, Easy. How are things with Dagny?”

“Eh . . . being honest, I haven’t seen much of her since we got here.”

“Oh no. I hope everything’s okay.”

I shrugged. “She’s been taking care of her sister and reconciling with her stepfather after everything we’ve been through, and we’re all stuck in the same house together. It’s got to be overwhelming. I’m giving her some space is all.”

“Yeah,” Lily agreed, “that’s the best thing to do. Still, I hope she comes back to you. It’s her loss if she doesn’t, especially after everything you did for her.”

“It ain’t like that. I did what needed to be done for the client.”

Lily actually rolled her eyes at me. “Sure, Boss, you’d have risked life and limb and prison for any rando who wandered into the office with a sob story.” She giggled. “You can fool yourself but you can’t fool me. I could feel the chemistry from the moment you two met.”

I hadn’t thought too much about what would happen between Dagny and me once this whole thing was over. I told myself that too much was going on right now to try to make any big plans for the future, but deep down I think I was scared to get my hopes up or see something that wasn’t there. You strike out as many times as I have and you learn to keep yourself at a safe distance.

Still. “She’s a hell of a woman,” I admitted.

“You should tell her how you feel. I mean it. Don’t let her go without taking your shot. You’ll regret it forever if you do. You know I’m right.”

It’s weird for a man to take romantic advice from a girl half his age, but Lily was hitting pretty close to the mark on this one. Her earnestness was cute, too, and it made me chuckle. “Okay, okay, you win. I’ll talk to her when the time is right.”

“You deserve to be happy, Boss, that’s all.”

Before I could answer, my handheld vibrated in my hand. “I need to let you go,” I told her.

“Everything okay?”

“I have another call coming in. Work-related.”

“Understood. Keep me posted.” With that, Lily disappeared from my screen and I accepted the incoming call.

“Hello, Easy,” Deitrik said. The screen was black except for the words AUDIO ONLY.

“Deitrik! I’m glad to hear from you. I was getting worried.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long. I’ve had to be very careful about whom I discuss this with.”

That didn’t sound good. “How bad is it?”

“It’s a worst-case scenario,” he said, gravely. “The local office of the SIS is compromised. The name you gave me, Leonard Steinbeck? He’s the station chief for Nova Columbia.”

“Well, shit,” I said. “So they really are in on this.”

“They are. I can only speculate on their motives and I’ve been unable to get a lot of specifics. My routine queries have been ignored.”

“That’s a bad sign, isn’t it? Do they know that you’re onto them?”

“I am sure they do.”

“I’m sorry, Deitrik. I was afraid this would happen when I flashed my credentials to those SecFor troopers.”

“You did what you had to do, Easy. I have prepared for this contingency.”

“Are you in danger?”

“I don’t know if they’re willing to be that brazen, but I can’t rule it out. They may just be hoping to stonewall me as a way of buying time. They know that I will have to contact Earth and how long that will take.”

“Buying time for what? Sooner or later this whole thing is going to get found out, right? They have to know that.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what their endgame is, or what they intend to do with the Seraph.”

“The Carmichaels both told me that Xavier Taranis thinks he can gain immortality from it somehow. Do you think that’s what did it?”

“Perhaps. Men have been driven to do terrible things for lesser prizes.”

“Do you think the SIS itself approved this?”

“No, at least not officially. If it were, they would have brought me in on it or replaced me with someone more amenable to what they’re doing. I don’t know how far this conspiracy goes, but I intend to find out.” There was a finality in his voice that told me he wasn’t just talking tough. “In the meantime, we need to move Cassandra Carmichael. I agree with your assessment that she’s in danger and I have every reason to believe that they will try to recover her.”

“Where can we move her to? Can we get her out of the city?”

“Arthur Carmichael had the right idea: we need to get her off-world.”

“That’s a serious move.”

“It’s the best option. I can’t unravel this alone and I can’t guarantee her safety here, not with the limited resources I have available. I need to bring in higher authority on this.”

“That could still take months. If what Cassandra told me is true, the Seraph . . . that thing could put the whole colony in danger.”

“I know, Easy, I know. There’s nothing I can do about that from here, not by myself.”

“What about the Commonwealth government? Can’t we go to them, take the evidence we gathered?”

“I’m afraid that Leonard Steinbeck has prepared for that possibility, and has informed the local authorities that I have gone rogue. I don’t know if they genuinely believe his story or if the officials he contacted are in on the whole thing, but the Colonial Security Forces are looking for me, now. They raided the restaurant last night and have now staked it out, hoping I will return there. They will be disappointed.”

“My God, is your wife safe?”

“Yes. She’s with me.”

“Good, good. What about Cassandra? Are they looking for her now, too?”

“No. No mention of her has been made. They want her found, yes, but they do not want the local authorities questioning her. . . I suspect they know I had accomplices, but as of yet have not named any of them, including you.”

“That’s a relief. What now?”

“I have secured off-world passage for Cassandra, Arthur, and Dagny.”

I paused for a second. “I . . . see,” I said levelly. It made sense. It was the right thing to do. They knew who Dagny was and these people were dangerous. It was the only way to make sure she was safe, and right then I didn’t have time to get spun up over how I felt about her leaving.

“There’s something else you should know,” he said. “I intend to leave as well, with my wife. I have a duty to keep pursuing this matter, wherever it leads me, for however long it takes,” he continued. “I also have a duty to my wife, and I cannot protect her if I’m gone. It’s not an ideal solution, especially on such short notice, but it’s the best option I have.”

“Well, damn, man. I don’t mean to get all sentimental, here, but . . . you know, it’s been nice working with you.”

“I want you to come with us, Easy. I would not have uncovered any of this if not for you. You have proven to be an invaluable asset and I could surely use your help.”

He caught me by surprise with that one. It made sense, once I took a second to think about it, but still. “You want me to just drop my life and walk away from it with no notice?”

“I know it’s a big ask, but I don’t know how deep this thing goes and I need people I can trust.”

“I need to think it over.”

“I understand, but please don’t think too long. Time is not on our side. In the meantime, I’m sending you the relevant information about the travel arrangements. Unless the Carmichaels have any objections, they’ll be leaving late tonight. Whether you choose to come with me or stay here, I have one final task for you, if you’re willing.”

“Tell me what you need.”

“I need you to ensure that Cassandra makes it to her flight safely. I cannot risk the exposure of trying to arrange transportation to the departure location. Can you do this for me?”

“Sure thing. I’ll brief Arthur and come up with a plan.”

“Thank you, Easy.”


Later that evening I found Dagny alone on the house’s western balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her figure was silhouetted against the dying light as Scorpii sank below the mountains beyond the edge of the Crater. There was a cold wind in the air that night and I was wearing both my hat and coat.

I stood next to Dagny and took in the view myself. It was a little fuzzy on account of the one-way privacy screen that ran from the awning above us to the railing we were leaning on. The last light of Nova Columbia’s short autumn day was failing, giving way to the long night to come. Below us was the house’s small courtyard and driveway, surrounded by an eight-foot security wall.

“Come here often?” I said, lightly, looking out into the distance. Not long before I had briefed everyone on the Baron’s plan to evacuate them all off-world, and surprised them when I explained that I would be staying behind. I hadn’t told Deitrik yet, but that was my decision.

Dagny took a long drag off her cigarette and exhaled the smoke into the cold breeze. “I’m sorry I hurried off after the meeting. I just . . . I just needed some time to think. It was a lot to take in.” We were heading out that night, off to a small commercial spaceport outside the Crater. The Baron had arranged a shuttle to take the Carmichaels up to a waiting starship, and even had armed security waiting for us. All we had to do was get there. Carmichael’s two bodyguards were out renting armored vehicles for us as a last-minute precaution.

“It is,” I agreed. “Believe you me, when you first walked into my office, I never imagined that this would end like this.”

“You really think this is the end of it?” she asked. “That thing is still up there at Site 471. What if Cassie is right? They’re going to keep poking it and prodding it, pissing it off. What if it breaks free? She said they wiped out the First Antecessor Race.”

There was fear in her voice. It was understandable; humanity has been in space for a few hundred years now, and in all that time we only encountered a couple intelligent alien races. The only one that proved to be a threat so far is the Ceph, and we walloped them pretty hard in the war. The First Antecessor Race was far more advanced than either us or the Ceph; if the Seraphim really did exterminate them, then we wouldn’t have a ghost of a chance.

There wasn’t anything to be done about that just then, so I tried to be comforting. “It’s been there for sixty-eight million years, it can wait a few more months. Besides, this isn’t the end of this matter. I have no doubt that Deitrik will sort things out, and there’ll likely be hell to pay for Ascension and the SIS when he does.”

“You should come with us,” Dagny said, her eyes locked onto mine. A man could lose himself in that gaze.

I smiled. “Deitrik said the same thing. He wants to hire me on permanently until this whole mess has been put to bed. I thought about it, too, I really did.”

“But you decided to say,” she said, regret in her voice.

“I did. This miserable rock is my home. I was born here and I intend to be buried here.”

“That’s not the real reason you’re staying.”

“It’s not,” I admitted. “The agency is Victor’s legacy. I also can’t up and leave Lily behind, not after dragging her into this mess, and I know that girl won’t leave no matter what I say. Besides, I promised my dad I’d help him look after my mom as they got older.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Easy,” Dagny said. “I respect your decision no matter what.”

“It wasn’t an easy one to make. Part of me wants to see this thing through to the end, no matter where it takes me.” I hesitated for just a moment. My heart was racing. I gazed down into Dagny’s eyes. “And . . . watching you leave will be hard.”

“I’ll stay if you ask me to,” she said, quietly, stubbing out her cigarette on the top of the banister. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she meant it, too. For just a moment I let myself imagine what that life would be like, having her in my arms every night. Would we grow old together? We made a good team and she’d be a hell of an asset for the agency. I’d been alone since Marian left. Oh sure, there was a woman here or there, but nothing real, nothing that meant anything. I almost couldn’t picture it, picture me in a healthy relationship like a normal person.

Then I came back to reality. “I can’t ask you to do that,” I said. “It wouldn’t be safe for you here, not with you being Cassandra’s sister. I’d be a hell of a hypocrite, too, telling you to leave your family behind while I stay near mine. That’s not fair to you.”

“I guess it isn’t,” she said. “It’s decided, then.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t say anything for a few moments. “This is for the best, but . . . I want you to know something.” I looked into her eyes again. “I will always wonder how things might have turned out, if circumstances had been different. I think . . . I think being with you would have been pretty great.”

Dagny closed her eyes, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed me. We wrapped our arms around each other as we embraced. After the kiss, she turned her head to the side and rested it against my chest. A tear trickled down her cheek, and I held her tight. “I’ll never forget you, Easy Novak.”

“Hey, if you ever end up back on Nova Columbia, look me up. You know where to find me.”

“I wonder where we’ll end up?” Dagny asked, still holding onto me.

“I don’t know. Earth, probably. That’s where SIS headquarters is.”

“Have you ever been to Earth?”

“Me? No. Harvest, Sovereign, Amethyst, and San Martin, but never Earth. I’ve heard it’s nice.”

Dagny let me go and stepped back. “I’ve never been off of Nova Columbia. Neither has Cassie.”

“It’s good that you’ll be there for her, then,” I said reassuringly. “She’s been through a lot and she needs her big sister.”

“I know. I just . . .” She trailed off, reached up, and gently caressed the side of my face with her hand. “I’ll always wonder, too. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us . . . for me.”

I grinned. “Think you could leave the agency a positive review before you leave?”

That got her to laugh. “Of course. Five stars. Dedicated detective, pretty good in the sack. I’m sure it’ll bring in a lot of business.”

The compound’s front gate opened, and two black, armored sport/utility trucks rolled through the courtyard and into the garage. “Looks like our ride’s here,” I said. “Guess we should go get loaded up.”

“Yeah,” Dagny said. She squeezed my hand, took one last long, lingering look into my eyes, and walked away.

I was right; it was hard to watch her go.


It was the dead of night when we rolled out of the safe house. The two armored trucks that Carmichael had rented were the well-equipped sort that politicians and VIPs use, with plush interiors and a smooth ride. Carmichael’s bodyguard James was driving, his usual suit replaced with an armor vest and combat pants. Cassandra was in the back seat. She didn’t say much and I didn’t blame her. I’m sure all this was a hell of a lot to process, and she was still recovering from her ordeal.

I was in the front passenger’s seat, also wearing body armor, with my .44 holstered under my right arm. The bodyguards had provided me with a weapon, a commercial clone of the Mk.211 rifle that the Nova Columbia Defense Force used. These rifles fire 8mm explosive, armor-piercing ammunition and are accurate as hell. I was issued one of these during the war and being handed one was like shaking hands with with an old friend.

The other vehicle took the lead. This one was being driven by Steven and was carrying both Dagny and Arthur Carmichael. I opted to ride with Cassandra, not only because she was the primary mission objective, but because . . . well, I’d already said my goodbyes to Dagny. There was no sense dragging it out with a long, awkward car ride. I didn’t need the distraction.

After the first half hour or so the stifling silence started to get to me. Everyone was on edge and I wanted to break the tension some if I could. I looked over at James. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s going to happen to you boys once Carmichael leaves?”

James shrugged a little without taking his hands off the steering wheel. “Not sure yet. I’ve been working for Mr. Carmichael for five years now. We’re both getting a pretty generous severance package, so we should be set for a while. It’s just kind of sudden, you know?”

“You don’t work for Ascension, do you?”

“No, we work directly for Mr. Carmichael.”

Cassandra spoke up from the back seat. “Arthur hired Steven and James after he helped break up a criminal theft ring that was stealing from the company. The ones who didn’t go to prison tried to kill him.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “I’m just surprised that he didn’t get security directly from the company.”

“Oh, they offered,” James said, with a knowing grin. “Not to brag, but Steve and I are a lot better trained and equipped than your typical corporate security dregs.”

“Arthur wouldn’t trust anyone from Ascension anyway,” Cassandra said. “If you have company security protecting you, you can be sure they’re reporting on everything you do corporate.”

“It’s kind of funny that he worked for Ascension for more than thirty years but doesn’t trust them,” I said. “Not that I blame him.”

“He didn’t trust them because he was a career company man,” Cassandra replied. “There are a lot of people in the company like that.”

I looked back over at James. “You aren’t worried that somebody from Ascension will come after you?”

“They’re welcome to try,” he said with a chuckle. “No, I’m not worried. I’m sure they’ll come by asking questions and offering bribes, but I won’t have anything useful to tell them. I don’t know where Mr. Carmichael is going.”

“I’ll be sticking around, too,” I said. “You mind doing me a favor? If I give you my contact info, will you let me know if they come sniffing around? I’ll return the favor, of course.”

“That’s a good idea,” James said. He nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

We followed Route 2 through the southern outskirts of the city. Traffic was light that night, especially for a six-lane highway, and we made good time. After another thirty minutes we climbed the long upward slope and left the Crater behind us. The highway stretched out into the arid, rocky plains beyond.

Things were quiet and everything seemed to be going according to plan. We would be at the departure location in another hour, and after that? Well, my part in this whole thing would come to an end. Dagny had paid me in full, I’d received a nice chunk of cash from Deitrik, and had a hundred thousand dollars from Arthur Carmichael filling up my accounts. I would be all set for a while. I could give Lily a raise and maybe take my first-ever real vacation.

The proximity sensor in the dashboard of the truck started beeping then.

“What is that?” Cassandra asked, nervously.

“Incoming aircraft,” James said, glancing at the display screen.

I closed my eyes tight for a second, and took a deep breath. That’s what I get for thinking positive, I thought.

“Mr. Novak,” the bodyguard said, “he’s coming from behind and on our right.”

“I don’t see it yet,” I said, ducking down a little to try and scan the night sky through the armored window. “Notify the other vehicle that we’re being pursued.”

“Hold on,” James said. I was pushed back into my seat a little as he stepped on the accelerator. The armored sport/utility truck had a big motor and was surprisingly fast for how heavy it was.

I turned back to Cassandra. I could tell she was scared, but to her credit she was maintaining her composure.

“What are we going to do?” she asked. She was wearing a ballistic armor vest that was a little too big for her.

“We’re going to keep going,” I said. “My SIS contact has people waiting for us. These assholes aren’t taking us without a fight.”

“Easy, I’m scared. I just feel so . . . so powerless.”

“I know, but we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” I thought for a second. “Say, you know how to shoot?”

“What? Yeah, I guess. I did marksmanship in Frontier Scouts when I was a kid. Why? I don’t have a gun.”

I reached back toward her. In my hand was my backup, the little 9mm snub pistol. I handed it to her butt-first and was pleased to see she carefully kept her finger off the trigger when she took it.

“You’re giving me a gun?”

“Yes. It holds ten rounds but the bullets won’t penetrate armor. If you need to use it, aim for the head and make your shots count. Keep it hidden in your pocket unless you need it.”

She hesitated and looked down at the small weapon in her hands. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Keep it with you until you get safely aboard the ship.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said, and turned back around. Truth be told, there probably wasn’t much Cassandra could do with that little pistol if things went sideways, but I figured not feeling helpless would keep her from panicking.

The truck’s threat warning system sounded another warning tone. “What now?” James asked. We were driving fast, weaving around the few other cars on the highway, and he didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“It’s another aircraft,” I said, looking at the display. “This one is coming up on our left. Shit.”

“Can you see them?”

I peered out the window again. To our right, coming in low over the highway, was a boxy VTOL, its fuselage briefly illuminated by each streetlight as it flashed past them. “Yeah, I see it. Three o’clock high. It’s matching speed with us.”

We were speeding along at nearly a hundred miles per hour. “I don’t think this thing will go much faster,” James said.

“We can’t outrun them,” I said. “Keep going. Let them make the first move. They might just follow us to the departure point, and they’ll be in for a surprise if they do.”

“How did they know where we are?” Cassandra asked, from the back seat.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Strap yourself in.”

“There’s the other one,” James said, quickly shifting his glance between the road ahead of him and the driver’s side window. “It’s matching speed also.”

I covered my eyes as a blinding light shined in my window, so bright it caused the window to auto-tint. It was a spotlight from the jump-jet on our right. The one on our left was shining one on the other truck. We continued to speed along for a few moments until Steven, driving the truck ahead of us, stepped on the brakes and began slowing down.

“What the hell is he doing?” I asked. “Why is he slowing down?”

“I don’t know,” James said. “He—oh shit!”

The lead truck swerved violently into the left margin, scraping against the ceramicrete barriers before straightening out back on the highway. It continued to slow down.

A voice emanated from the truck’s tactical radio. “James,” it said. It was Stephen, who was driving the other vehicle. “Do you read me?”

James spoke into his headset. “Loud and clear. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Everything is going to be fine,” he said, calmly. “Listen to me very carefully. It’s over. You need to exit the highway and come to a stop.”

“What? What are you talking about?” James asked.

“There’s no getting out of this unless we cooperate,” Stephen said. “Don’t worry, I made us a deal. You and I will be set for life. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

“He sold us out,” I said, bitterly.

I could tell by the death-grip he had on the steering wheel that James was seething with anger. He replied over the radio, “Just like that, huh? After all these years you just stabbed Carmichael in the back?”

“You’re damned right I did,” Stephen said. “It’s nothing personal. I just got offered a better deal. Do I have to remind you that he was about to leave us behind? He and his family get to safety, but what about us? You know we’d be the first ones the company came looking for.”

“God damn it!” James snarled, slamming the steering wheel with the palms of his hands.

“James,” Stephen continued, “you need to be smart about this. All we need to do is stop and let them take the Carmichaels. By tomorrow we’ll each have two million dollars in our pockets. Are you really going to risk your life and become a fugitive from the SIS just to protect our last client? Think, James, think.”

James looked over at me. His usual emotionless demeanor was gone. I could see the pain on his face. “What do we do?” he asked.

“We’re going to keep driving,” I said.

“We can’t leave Dagny and Arthur behind!” Cassie protested.

“Yes, we can,” I said, coldly. I looked back at her. “I’m sorry, kid, but you’re the priority here.” I looked back at James. “Keep going.” He nodded, stepped on the accelerator, and sped around the other vehicle.

Stephen spoke over the radio again. “James, I wish you wouldn’t do this, but you’re not leaving me any choice. If you don’t pull over and come to a stop right now, I’m going to kill the old man first, then the broad. Am I making myself clear?”

“Don’t do it!” It was Arthur, shouting in the background. “James, get her to—gah!” He fell silent.

“Don’t make me hurt them,” Stephen said. “I don’t want to, but I will.”

“He always was a cold son of a bitch,” James snarled.

“You have to stop!” Cassandra cried. “Please! Don’t let them kill my dad and my sister!”

“No,” I said. I was sweating. My heart was racing. I knew I was signing Dagny’s death warrant. “We have to keep going. That’s the mission.”

“James,” Cassie said. I looked back at her again. She had the gun I’d given her extended in her right hand, pointed at the back of the driver’s head. Tears were streaming down her face. “Stop this car right now or I swear I’ll shoot you. I mean it!”

“Cassandra,” I said.

She didn’t let me finish and pointed the gun between my eyes. “Shut up! How can you leave Dagny to die like that? You bastard, she loves you! She trusts you!”

“I know, damn it, I know! I don’t want to do this, but my job is to get you to safety above all else. You’re the key to all of this! Now put that gun down, you’re not going to shoot me.”

“You’re right,” Cassandra said, lowering the gun. “I can’t hurt anybody else.” Leaning back against the back seat, out of my reach, she raised the little pistol to her right temple. “But I can kill myself.”

“Time’s running out, James,” Stephen said, over the radio.

I held my hands up, really slow. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing rapidly. Sweat and tears both trickled down her face. “Cassandra,” I said, as calmly as I could, “this isn’t the answer. Please put the gun down.”

“Shut up! This is all my fault!” Her right eye twitched and she began blinking rapidly. “I tried to tell it that this would happen, I tried to tell it! This is the only way!”

“It’s not the only way,” I said. “James? Start slowing down. Tell them we’ll stop.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pull over or I’m going to blow my brains out!” Cassandra cried. She was scared, desperate, and quickly growing unstable.

I couldn’t risk calling her bluff. “Yeah, I’m sure,” I said. I tapped the controls and linked my own headset to the radio so I could talk to Stephen. “Alright, you bastard, you win. We’re coming to a stop.”

“You made the smart choice, Mr. Novak,” Stephen said. “I’m going to pull back in front of you and you’re going to follow me. There’s an off-ramp coming up, County Road Four. Exit there and turn right. We’ll head away from the highway, then come to a stop. You’re going to disarm and get out of the truck with your hands up. Do exactly what they tell you and you’ll live through this.”

The Baron needed to know what was happening. I pulled out my handheld and went to send a secure message, only to discover that I had no signal. “Damn it,” I snarled. “Comms are being jammed.”

James looked surprised. “What? We were just talking on the radio!”

“One of those birds has an advanced electronic warfare suit. Probably SIS. They can pick and choose which frequencies to let through and which to jam. Hell, they can probably pinpoint every device in this vehicle.”

The exit for County Road 4 was coming up quickly. James looked over at me with a worried face. “You really think they’ll let us live?”

“They need Cassandra. Us, not so much.”

“They will!” Cassandra said. She still held the pistol against her head despite her shaking hands. “I’ll make sure they will! I’m sorry!”

I thought for a moment before speaking again. “James, there’s no reason both of us have to take this risk.”

“What are you talking about?” he said.

“When we get to the end of the off-ramp, I want you to come to a stop. Cassandra and I will get out. As soon as we’re out of the vehicle, you step on it and don’t stop for anything. Get to the meeting point. Tell Deitrik, my SIS handler, what happened.” I handed him my handheld. “Give him this. I’ve been recording everything. He’ll know it’s not a trick.”

To his credit, the young bodyguard seemed hesitant. He barely knew me and had no personal connection to Cassanda, but it was clear he didn’t feel good about just leaving us behind. “I don’t like this,” he said.

“I don’t like it either, kid, but there’s no reason you have to let them take you.”

“You really think they’ll just let me go?”

“They might pursue you, but they’ll need some pretty heavy firepower to stop this thing. Why risk that kind of exposure once they have their prize? My gut tells me that as soon as they have Cassandra they’ll be satisfied. For now, anyways. They’ll come after you eventually, but Deitrik will make sure you’re protected. Don’t believe your partner’s promises about that money, either. Two bullets cost a hell of a lot less than four million dollars.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

I patted him on the shoulder. “It’s alright. It was nice working with you. Get to Deitrik as fast as you can. Tell him what happened. He’ll know what to do.”

“Easy, you should go, too,” Cassandra said, quietly. “Just let me get out.”

Being perfectly honest, I thought about it. It was tempting. It seemed prudent. There was a chance that James and I would both make it to safety. The only problem was, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. “I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I promised Dagny I’d see this through to the end. I can’t leave her, not like this.”

“Easy, please,” Cassandra pleaded. “You don’t have to do this.”

“You don’t have to do this either, kid. You made your choice, I made mine. We’ll go through it together.” We exited the highway and headed down the ramp. I unbuckled my safety restraint. “This is it. Remember, as soon as we’re out the door, you go. They’re not going to risk a traffic camera recording them blasting you on a public highway. Get to the spaceport as quickly as you can.”

“I will, Mr. Novak, I promise.”

“Thank you, James,” I said, as we slowed to a stop. The other vehicle had already made the turn, but paused to wait for us. The two VTOLs hovered nearby, engines screaming, one of them still shining that damned spotlight on us. I set the rifle aside, opened the door, and stepped out. Cassandra followed suit.

A second later, the truck’s tires squealed as James hit the accelerator. The armored truck sped off. It climbed the on-ramp and got back on the highway, disappearing from sight. As I guessed they would, both aircraft remained overhead. The other armored truck flipped around on the road and pulled up to where we stood. It stopped a few yards away, blinding us with its headlights. The driver’s side door opened and Stephen stepped out. Even a truck that large was cramped for the big man, and it noticeably lifted on its suspension when he got out.

I looked over my shoulder at Cassandra. “Get behind me. Stay close. We might still have a chance. Don’t do anything crazy.”

Without saying anything, Stephen opened the back door of his truck, reached in, and pulled Dagny out by the arm. She was kicking and struggling but was no match for the strength of the cyborg. He had a large gun in his other hand, pointed at her head.

“Easy!” Dagny cried. It hit me like a knife to the gut. Her face was bloodied.

“Shut up, woman,” Stephen snarled. He looked up at me. “What game are you playing, Novak? Where’s James?” His raised his voice to make himself heard over the roar of jet engines. One of the aircraft stayed aloft, illuminating us with a spotlight, while the other began to descend.

“He decided he didn’t trust your new friends here,” I shouted back. “Where’s Arthur Carmichael?”

“He’s alive, if that’s what you’re wondering. The old man’s just taking a nap right now because he thought he’d be clever and grab the wheel. Your girlfriend here’s a feisty one, too. She tried to pull a gun on me.”

A hundred yards or so away, the second jump-jet touched down, kicking up a huge cloud of rocky dust as it settled onto the pavement. It was facing away from us. A cargo hatch in the rear slowly opened, revealing several people inside, backlit by red interior lights. The group disembarked as soon as the ramp was down and began heading our way.

“Hand over Cassandra Carmichael,” Stephen commanded, “and I’ll send this one over to you.” He squeezed Dagny’s arm, causing her to wince in pain. “Cassandra is coming with me either way. Your choice.”

A pulse of anger shot through me. My muscles twitched and I had to deliberately stop myself from pulling my gun. I stood there, jaw clenched, raging on the inside, but completely helpless.

The bodyguard kept his pitch up. “Your only chance of getting out of this alive is to cooperate. Ascension and the SIS are willing to make a deal with you. You two can still walk away from this with a fat bank account. We all can.”

“Get off of her, you bastard!” It was Arthur! He lunged out of the truck, grabbing at the cyborg’s right hand. His face was bloody and bruised but the old man had some fight left in him. Struggling for the gun, Stephen shoved Dagny to the ground, turned, and punched Arthur in the side of the head with all of his mechanical strength.

“Arthur!” Dagny screamed.

In a flash, my gun was drawn, extended in my arms, and pointed at Stephen. I fired off a snap shot. The bullet struck him in the left side, under his arm, detonating with a small flash. I don’t know if it managed to penetrate his armor vest or not, but the cyborg winced in pain and staggered back. He looked up at me with a surprised expression on his face.

Time seemed to slow to a stop. I fired again.

The gun barked and recoiled in my hand. I hit the bodyguard right between the eyes and, while it didn’t exactly take his head off, the explosive .44 slug sure made a mess of him.

I didn’t waste a second. “Come on!” I said, and grabbed Cassandra by the wrist. I pulled her along with me as I ran to Arthur.

Dagny scrambled over to her fallen stepfather. “No,” she cried, holding his head up in her arms. “Oh God, no!”

Cassandra fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her sister. I knelt down to take a look at Arthur. One punch from that clanker was like getting hit in the head with a metal baseball bat.

“He’s dead,” I said. “Come on, we have to go.”

“We can’t leave him here!” Dagny protested. Cassandra was sobbing uncontrollably now.

“We have to go, now!” I shouted, pulling Dagny to her feet. “Get in! Both of you, get in, now!”

“Stop right there!” an electronically amplified voice boomed. We were too late. The people from the landed VTOL had caught up with us. There were six armed men pointing weapons at us and they had us dead-to-rights. “Drop your weapon, now!” the voice ordered.

I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily. So close. So damned close, but almost succeeding still means you failed. I dropped my gun and slowly turned around, raising my hands over my head as I did so. The armed men moved closer, into the aircraft’s spotlight so I could see them. They were dressed head to toe in black tactical gear and body armor, their faces concealed under helmets. Ascension Special Response Team, I guessed.

The next thing I knew, Cassandra moved in front of me, placing herself between me and the shooters. “Stop!” she said, shouting to be heard over the noise. She had my backup pistol in her hand, the muzzle jammed up under her chin. “Everybody stop or I’ll kill myself!”

The tactical team stayed where they were. They hadn’t expected that.

“Stay back! I’ll shoot, I swear to God!” The top of Cassandra’s head only came up to my chin, so she wasn’t exactly a human shield, but the Ascension goons stayed where they were. I figured they were under orders to bring her back alive.

“Drop your weapon!” one of the security men shouted.

“You drop your weapon!” Cassandra shouted back, defiantly.

“Enough of this!” It was a woman’s voice this time, dusky and authoritative. She stepped into the light from behind the tactical team. She was an older woman, mid-fifties maybe, dressed in a brown overcoat that came down to her knees. She had fair skin and gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. I recognized her from Carmichael’s files—it was Blanche Delacroix, the security manager for Project Isaiah.

“Lower your weapons,” she commanded. One of the security men protested, but she wouldn’t have it. “Do as I say! She’s no good to us if you stress her into a relapse!” She turned toward us and took a couple steps forward. “Cassandra, there’s no need for this,” she said. She was trying to sound soothing but still had to raise her voice to be heard over the noise of the aircraft hovering nearby. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Shut up!” Cassandra screamed. I was worried I was going to get a front-row seat to a young woman blowing her brains out. “You killed Arthur! You murdered him!”

Delacroix took a couple more steps forward, holding her hands up so we could see them. “That wasn’t us,” she said. “He was under specific instructions not to harm either of you. I didn’t want this. I’m sorry.”

“You—you’re sorry?” Cassandra protested, anger resonating in her voice. “You kept me prisoner then killed Arthur and now you think you can just say you’re sorry?”

“We were keeping you alive,” the older woman said. “It’s a miracle they didn’t give you brain damage when they brought you out of that coma.”

“Stop lying, you bitch!” Cassandra shrieked. She was breathing rapidly, like she was about to hyperventilate, and her hands were shaking. “Take one step closer and I pull the trigger!”

“Okay, okay,” Delacroix said, stopping where she was. “Let’s talk, then. What do you want?”

“I’ll go with you,” she said, “but you have to let Easy, Arthur, and Dagny go.”

“Cassie, no!” Dagny protested.

Cassandra ignored her. “Let them drive away in that truck and I’ll come with you.”

“I can’t do that,” Delacroix said.

“Bullshit!” Cassandra snarled.

“You see that VTOL, the one with the spotlight?” Delacroix asked. “That’s an SIS aircraft. Your friends are wanted criminals who conspired with a rogue SIS officer and committed a long list of felonies. Detective Novak there just killed an SIS asset. You’re lucky they didn’t fire on you.”

“That’s not true!” Cassandra screamed. “You’re twisting again, twisting!”

“What else did they tell you?” Delacroix asked. “Let me guess: they said the Security Intelligence Service was somehow illegally conspiring with Ascension. They claimed that your abduction was a rescue and not a kidnapping. They crafted a convincing story where they’re the heroes. Am I getting close?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Cassandra said. She was crying now. “You’re confusing me!”

“I didn’t want anything to happen to Arthur. For God’s sake, I worked with him for months and knew him longer than that. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, and wouldn’t have, if not for Mr. Novak.”

My eyes narrowed but I didn’t say anything.

“We can still work this out,” Delacroix continued. “Just come with us, all of you. Mr. Novak, you were being used as a pawn by a corrupt SIS officer looking to line his own pockets, but the shooting that just happened was still clearly justified. All of you are victims in this, don’t you see? Nobody else has to get hurt. Cassandra, put down that gun. This is madness.”

I knew what she was saying was bullshit, but her spiel really wasn’t for me. They were trying to talk Cassandra down, but it wasn’t working. The girl was barely holding on and my gut told me that when it became clear Delacroix wouldn’t give her what she wanted, she’d pull the trigger. I looked over at Dagny, who was looking back at me. She didn’t say anything, but she read my face. She nodded.

I put a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. It startled her and she turned to that she could see me. Her eyes were wide, she was blinking rapidly, and she was sweating despite the cold night air. “It’s okay, kid. Put the gun down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Dagny moved closer. “Cassie, listen to Easy. You don’t have to do this for us. I’ll never forgive myself if you commit suicide trying to help me. I just lost Arthur, I can’t lose you, too.”

Cassandra teared up. “I’m sorry. I tried.”

“I know,” I said. “You got guts. Sometimes there’s no just good way out.”

She nodded at me, then turned back around. “I’ll come with you, Blanche.” The pistol clattered on the pavement as she dropped it. “Just don’t hurt them. I’ll cooperate, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt them.”

“Of course, dear,” Delacroix said. I had to hand it to the old hag, she could feign sincerity like a pro. “You have my word.” She held out a hand. “Please, come with me.”

Cassandra took one last look back at Dagny and me, then walked over to Blanche Delacroix. The older woman put an arm over her shoulder and led her toward the landed jump-jet. She said something to the security team as she passed. I didn’t hear what, but I figured it out a few seconds later.

Dagny and I were thrown to the ground and handcuffed. A black bag was pulled over my head yet again. Restrained and unable to see, we were led to the waiting aircraft.


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Framed