Chapter 34: 33: LUCKY

Repeated bouts of gunfire generated by feed tanks of molten ammunition expelled metallic heat within the temple despite the cooling exterior temperature. Rapid deterioration from the mutating students excreted gases with complex reactions, ones that saturated the air with an additional layer of sour, putrid stench. The smell struck Elias in full once he removed his helmet, his attention skirting aside as Adam darted away from Jackal once the rebel released the hold.

Adam appeared wounded, beaten, wearing disheveled clothes drenched in too much red—whose red, Elias didn’t know. Elias moved the observation aside and kept full focus on the inked savage ahead of him. Jackal’s taunts boomed in the rotunda loud enough to echo, even without aid of the amplifiers.

“You’ve grown,” said the native warlord. “You hid from Union press for the past decade in shame for your many failures. You’re old now. I remember the child who betrayed me in Widow, a boy I held as close to me as favored brood. I see you’ve also shed skin.”

Elias glanced at the hostages grouped upstage from Jackal’s position, observing that the stage housed less rebels than Silatem’s initial count. Seemed emptier than the most recent recon from the NAV bugs. Some rebels were gone, a good number, and where they were he was curious to know. However, another number remained, about fifteen besides Jackal, which wasn’t an issue. Elias had much more than fifteen shots to unload with a single command.

“You’re right,” Elias called back. “I’m old. Less fun than before. A lot’s on my mind these days but I still laugh when there’s a joke’s in front of me.”

“Well, old friend, you see—ah, nope. Sorry. Still can’t hear you.” Jackal sighed. “I’m also old, many lifetimes older than you. Come closer—those backup boosters in your suit don’t help with your volume at all. Make a note of that for your next R&D meeting. You should arrange for some sorely needed—and embarrassingly basic—upgrades.” Jackal rested the scimitar on his shoulder as Elias moved through the disabled parasites a few meters closer to the stage. “Ah,” said Jackal. “I see you now. My eyes…they’re also old.”

“I’m glad we’ve got this chance to catch up, Imram. Now tell me.” Elias held up his hands. “What’s next? What’s the solution? We’re at an impasse. This can go a number of different ways, most of them bad for you.”

Jackal nodded. “Perfect. Asking for guidance from your master. Very good, Elias, my obedient child. You know your place and stay in it.”

“My favorite option’s to shoot you. I’ll take you out so fast you won’t have the opportunity to shut up before I do it for you.”

“Go ahead.” Jackal grinned—and from their distance apart Elias could see the smile was sharp. “Absolutely everything you decide from this point forward is fine with me. You showed up—tried to play hero. Witnessed utter devastation that you were powerless to stop and understood that your family legacy can be erased within moments. That’s what I wanted most from tonight. A view of your flushed face as you expect victory when the reality is my plan’s too far along in motion to stop. You’ve lost so many times and in so many ways.”

“What’s the plan?” called Elias.

“Destroy humanity.”

“Of course.”

“Yes. Enslave or exterminate every disgusting mortal that landed here or was bred on our soil. Return Ipir to its former glory as a paradise for pureblooded natives, not for you or the mongrels you’ve produced with your poisoned seduction of our people. Half-breeds are what I find the most distasteful of all—perversions of perfect beauty. You can smell what’s wrong with them before you ever take a single look.”

“Half-breeds. Our seduction. Rich stuff.” Elias chortled. “We don’t run Oasis—your kind made feeding on humans a sport and a luxury. Your people do quite well taking our money while enjoying our culture. Thought after all this time you’d be after something new. Something interesting.”

Jackal’s tone took on a mocking disapproval “Captain…really. A man, regardless of which planet he calls home, should never lose sight of his ultimate goal.”

Elias reached for his rifle again. “Same dog. Same tricks. You’re wasting time.”

“What you see as new tricks are methods your elders perfected long before you were seeded. Again, seek guidance from your master.” Jackal’s dark gaze simmered. “All these years and you remain a student. My student. I gave you credit too soon. Looks like there are lessons I also have to learn.”

Jackal raised his arm and Elias stood ready, pushing aside a convulsing body below him with his boot, guiding his rifle back to aim at the stage.

“You move, I move,” bellowed Elias, his voice echoing within the domed interior of the rotunda. “Are we done talking?”

“Elias,” replied Jackal calmly, his arm still outstretched like he were directing the proceedings before him. Under the flickering light the marks on his skin appeared alive, as if swirling with unseen heat from inside. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll shoot these hostages on stage on the count of three—including your brother—and in response you’ll fire all the little bullets you’ve aimed at us. Empty your tanks to your heart’s content—make lots of great and exciting noise. I’ll do my part in the spectacle and fireworks will launch at my word and chaos will ensue. Me and my men will go on our merry way and leave you here to sort out your latest mess. How does that sound?”

“You’re dead before you reach three,” retorted Elias.

“Okay," said Jackal. "We’ll see if you’re right—if that’s a wise decision. I’ll tell you, though, I’m feeling lucky. Let’s proceed with the farce and see what happens. Here we go, friend—one, two—”

Adam hopped up, streaking toward the warlord just as Jackal began the count. The flash of Adam’s movement jolted Elias out of hair-trigger focus and choking alarm—almost painful—slammed him in the chest. There was a firearm in Adam’s grip and Adam was going to do something—something stupid!

“Adam!” he roared, the name ripping from his lungs. “Stop! Get down!”

A shattering bang tore his focus away another time. His gaze streaked to the left side of the stage as a small solid object struck the floor, ricocheting and clattering toward the edge. Action sparked at the sudden noise and a spray of ammunition erupted from the rebels in all directions, sending Elias to dive for cover. His own men responded, shots firing from everywhere and whizzing past him overhead. His body hit the side of the solid platform holding the stage just as something exploded somewhere in the rotunda.

His focus shot toward the source of the detonation on the second floor, a spray of dust and flaring chaos by the spiral staircase on the west side. Acrid odors struck his nose as the interior of the rotunda fumed immediately afterward with billowing black smoke and brilliant flames. A cacophony of crumbling debris poured onto the main floor, a waterfall of stone, and the latent stench of the dead around Elias combined with new smells of burning flesh.

Another heavy blast from outside shook the temple, unseen but audible. Trouble—more trouble. Trouble continued, trouble was now. He slammed his helmet back onto his head, flames roaring overhead.

Elias spun around as several masses leaped over the edge of the stage and dropped from above onto the piles of convulsing bodies. The figures struggled to rise—the masses were still alive, and immediate to identify by the spray of color in their disheveled, stained costumes. They were the students, the hostages—and as he accepted their appearance another detonation from the east end of the rotunda shoved him into action. He surged forward toward the disoriented group, pushing the masses toward the stage platform for cover.

His scouring attention darted over them—there were a dozen of them there, young and covered in too much blood, screaming and shouting and surrounding him with noise. An exhale of silent relief rushed from his chest as he recognized Adam among them, blue eyes roving wild without sense, one half-hidden beneath a puffed and red-streaked lid. A figure beside Adam clutched him tight, a female with wild golden curls bobbing about her in her frenzy—the same fucking blonde that had given Elias the package with Havershaw’s COM.

“Adam!” she cried, shrill, throwing herself over Adam. “Adam! Oh! Thank God! Oh—baby!”

Elias wrenched them back and dragged them toward the hallway, corralling the delirious students towards the hall. Hunters were there and he barked at the group to hurry. “Move!” he snapped. “Go! You have to get out!”

He bounded toward the support columns bordering the main floor, regrouping with the officers assigned to flank the stage. The fires within the rotunda, a scattering of them from opposing sides, increased in intensity with heat from the exterior filtering inside as well. Jackal’s threat of more explosives concealed within the temple resonated in his mind—regardless of malfunction if the devices were present they remained a live danger, ready to detonate at any moment. Time—there was none.

“Get them out—” barked Elias, jabbing a finger at the students rushing for aid from the hunters. He tried to push Adam to move as well but Adam resisted the guidance and stumbled, almost falling as he fought back against Elias. Elias grabbed hold and shoved him back against the column, voice tight and stern. “Adam—look at me!” He seized Adam’s face, swollen from beatings, and clear-blue eyes—his own eyes—peered at him without emotion. “Fucking look at me, you son of a bitch,” he growled. “You’re running back into the fire. You’re in shock and you’re going to get yourself killed. Snap out of it!” He whacked Adam hard. “Wake up!”

“Leave him alone!” The blonde rushed Elias and shoved herself in between, shielding Adam with her body as she smashed a fist against his armor. “Leave him! Don’t touch him! Fuck you, asshole! Fuck you!”

“Listen—” Elias snatched the blonde instead, yanking her away from Adam to force her to face him. Tearful, enraged, hysterical eyes glared at him as she struggled to escape his hold, her face ballooned with redness around a broken nose. “Adam needs to get out,” he said to her, calming his own temper and gentling his voice to ease her down. “He’s not right in the head from all this. He keeps trying to turn around and go back inside. Something’s wrong and you have to help. He can’t do it alone and needs you. Got it?”

Help him. Him meant Adam. Elias was instructing her to help Adam. Those were directions she seemed to understand. Hoarse sounds escaped her as she panted, gaze darting wild as she tried to find control.

“Okay. Okay.” She exhaled hard. “I can help. I can—oh—”

“I’ll take ‘em,” said Hudson, moving toward Elias. “Snipers on level two said a host on the ground exploded at the same time as the other detonations. Some kind of device placed on the body. Might be more ‘round, waiting. This one—” Hudson gestured at the blonde. “Came out of nowhere. Appeared at th’ rear of the stage from below, somewhere concealed. She threw a weapon, some little pistol, and nearly got 'erself blown to bits runnin’ across. Shoved yer brother off and the rebels scattered. Vanished—must be a setup with that stage. Captain—some of these kids took fire when they jumped. Need lookin' fast but we got 'em. All of ‘em. Alive.”

“Where’s Jackal?” said Elias.

“Gone. Took out a few of 'is in the crossfire but the rest vanished with ‘im.”

Elias whipped his head back toward the shaking girl. “How did you get back in here? How did you do that?”

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“I came from…backstage—” she stammered.

“There’s no backstage!” he snapped. "That's never been in the building plan. How did you get in?”

“There—there's—a way through the back. I’ll show you—” The blonde turned toward the main floor. “There’s a tunnel and he told me you have to climb up—”

“He?”

Hudson yanked her back. “Stay put. Understood? Lookin’ round ain’t a simple task in 'ere. Place is goin’ up.” He glanced at Elias. “Might be another way to get to that stage,” he said. “Somethin’ not on the map. Rebels did it before so it’s not a surprise with this lot. Sounds like she found a friendly.”

“I want a full report on this. Talk to her.”

“Aye sir.”

“Captain.” Jovani met them as well, helmet shaking quickly. “Critical support structures were damaged with those detonations so we’re pulling the squads out. Whole western half of the temple will collapse on its own even if no other detonations are triggered.”

“Fine.” Elias looked at both Adam and the female before resuming full attention on the hunters. “All units and support, reestablish one hundred meters away from the temple. Arrange a scout to return to base and arrange for fire support from CDFD with CDPD coverage. We’ll try to prevent further unintended detonations before we lose the whole damn thing and everyone inside. I’ve got a feeling I know where to look for Jackal. You—” he pointed to the blonde. “You’ll cooperate.”

“I’ll show you,” she repeated faintly. “Please…I told you I would. I’ll tell you everything.”

A presence beside Elias made him turn and to his surprise Adam was there at his side, fully alert. More than alert—there was a visible rage burning in Adam’s blue gaze. When Adam spoke his tone hissed with bubbled anger.

“Find…Talitha,” he said to Elias with unusual calm. “Find her. Do your fucking job. Copy, buddy?”

“Who’s Talitha?” replied Elias, unflinching as he gazed at Adam.

“Figure it out, mate. If I have to pay you to give a shit about somebody name the price. You know I’m good for it. Check the family accounts, it’s all there.”

“Where’d you get the gun?”

“Had it for a while. Not that you give a shit. You never do. Thanks for showing up. Finally.”

Elias watched Adam walk away without response before signaling to Hudson to handle the rest of the evacuation. The blonde wept, covering her patched-up face with her hands, as she was led away. Adam’s blood-stained figure stepped over the jumble of bodies on the floor before disappearing around the corridor, heading toward the garden as if the route to get there was long familiar. Elias scanned the billowing flames impeding the hall to the north and moved his rifle into his grasp, his armor’s sensors advising him of a dangerous rise in area temperature.

He reached the rest of the Silatem hunters and found that they—along with the men of Veratec—were ready and able to pursue Jackal again under his direction. Steady streams of communication, now partially restored after the launch of the Silatem disruptor, provided enough capability for Elias to form another plan.

☼ ☼ ☼

Adam heard Gracie crying in the Silatem cruiser as they headed away from the temple, though he didn’t look at her. He only saw Jackal’s pistol in the hands of the Silatem officer standing in front of him, turning it over and over in weathered, scarred palms. Commander Hudson had introduced the gentle man with deep Porta-Paux skin and silver hair as the chief mission navigator Mr. Noor, second in command for Silatem after Elias. Someone he’d met long ago as a child, a good friend and colleague of his father.

“Tank’s almost empty,” said Noor, examining the firearm with a shrewd gaze. “Can’t even extend the caliber size with these levels. I’ll document this as evidence since you won’t need it anymore.”

Adam remained emotionless. “Yeah,” he said. “Right. Not anymore.”

“Your brother will catch Jackal. The rebel won’t get away. He might have escaped under Union’s watch under a different name but he’s finished tonight with us. We have strong leads on where to find him and we’ll move as soon as Elias returns. If your friend—Talitha—is ali—” Noor stopped, thinking better to himself. “If she’s with Jackal we’ll find her and bring her back. Elias is on his way.”

“Yeah,” Adam repeated. “He’s on the way. Great. What a relief. Everything will be ace now.”

“Tides will turn, Adam. Have faith in that much—in your family’s company. You’re lucky this young lady, Miss Finnegan—she’s the daughter of Capitol City’s Peace Commissioner I heard—took such a risk to intervene. It wasn’t wise but we used the unexpected action to our advantage. Her distraction allowed us to get all of you out in one piece without further delay. You’re here and so is she, along with the rest. Some good fortune.”

Adam’s gaze rolled over at last in Gracie’s direction. The movement ached within his lids. Pain meant nothing to him anymore, as pain was something that happened and when it did, he would deal with it. Just a vivid sensation to remind him he wasn’t dead.

Gracie was out of her red imp costume and wore trousers underneath a t-shirt emblazoned with the CDPD logo, her splinted nose bleeding again from the jostling she’d taken during her rescue. The new clothes were already ruined, stained with grim red and dark streaks.

She turned away from him when his attention fell on her, hugging herself and taking no notice of the blood running past her lips, since tears were already streaming from her eyes. Her corkscrew curls lay mussed and trashed, flying out of the knot she’d tied above her head. Every so often she hiccuped, swallowing her crying.

“Yeah,” agreed Adam, gaze rolling back to Noor. “Lucky.”

Noor’s lids narrowed as he studied Adam. He ended his examination of the weapon and lowered his hands, maintaining his placid demeanor. “What did you plan to do when you stood?” he asked. “We weren’t expecting that move either. It could have ended…another way. You, of all, know not to interfere with a hunter working. Were you going to shoot or…?”

Adam shrugged. Noor waited. After a long span of no response Noor nodded, patting Adam on the shoulder.

“You need rest,” he said. “We’ll tend to you and Miss Finnegan with the best we have available. This ordeal’s over for you and you’ll be going home before you know it. We’ll find Talitha once we get Jackal.”

That made Adam smile.

“Perfect,” he said.

A frown crept to Noor’s face and his attention remained on Adam, staying silent until a communication over the Silatem cruiser’s intercom snagged his focus. He glanced at the device on the wall and the arrival of another hunter distracted him further still. Noor turned back to Adam after a short conversation but found that Adam was already seated.

“Stay easy,” said Noor, approaching Adam once more. “We can give you a sedative to help with the shock symptoms. I know nothing’s easy right now and this solution’s only temporary, but it can soften what you’re feeling for a while.”

Adam nodded. “Right,” he said. “Nothing’s easy.”

“No. But you’re not alone.”

“I don’t want a sedative.” Adam’s demeanor turned cold. “I’ve had enough. Fucking keep it.”

The navigator nodded. Another communication forced Mr. Noor to speak rapidly over the intercom and he patted Adam on the shoulder, rushing back to the bridge with new urgency. Adam’s gaze returned to where Gracie had been but he found that she’d already left sometime during his conversation with Noor. No one was in the cabin with him anymore.

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