Chapter 37: 36: HUNT

Clouds of heavy mist hung throughout the streets of Westmont. Threats of rain were made good, manifesting as a soft, thin patter. Although Elias returned to the command tent in full armor he still activated the hydro-shield on his bike, cutting through droplets that evaporated against the vessel’s energy field. Seven kilometers square—including the mining field—held fifteen hundred buildings that made up the Asylum town, meaning fifteen hundred points on the map were possible points of danger.

Roaring blasts from another triggered detonation followed Elias as he sped toward the CDPD camp established at the base of Kidish Pass. The rear view sensors of his helmet displayed visuals of fire leaping to the sky behind him. Search lights from CDFD emergency cruisers provided minimal relief. Elias took a sharp turn down a residential avenue. Once the fires were out detonations would halt at the temple—for now.

A stagger of bodies shambled down a wide intersection, signaling the presence of a swarm nearby. Land functions dropped from the bike upon activation and Elias hit the ground, rattling over a road that was rough from years of neglect. He raised his shields and revved the engine, accelerating toward the parasites.

He slowed when he spotted a large cluster of undead figures idling in an alley towards the west. Too old to be students and most without clothing, they’d mutated to the point where they appeared barely humanoid and had lost those identifying factors. The hosts had wandered far from the temple, similar in behavior to the other swarms that popped up around Westmont. Likely stored by rebels within abandoned buildings for later use, the infected were visibly starved in preparation for that night to create maximum hostility. All of it was accomplished right under Home Base’s nose, yet another part of Akil's master plan.

The bike passed the infested alley and Elias motored ahead for another half kilometer, shifting back to air and engaging his COM systems. Max speed was restored as Elias cut through the mist of rain, racing through the desolate streets. He turned west at the intersection and veered off the path, continuing back toward the camp. A fourth detonation made him curse—Elias didn’t want to lose that temple. At all. Not with the bodies inside—and the corresponding identities of the fallen students.

Parked CDPD cruisers lined the outside of the base camp. Elias pulled into an adjacent field and grounded his bike, hopping off the vessel and removing his helmet. He surveyed hundreds of CDPD officers moving about the camp holding equipment and he walked over to the nearest private, a young man carrying a stack of metal NAV kits from Defense. Elias stopped him in his path.

“What’s going on, Private?” he asked.

“Captain,” said the private, standing to attention with respect even though his hands were too full to salute. “We’re pulling out. The threat’s too big for CDPD to handle. General Olet’s gotten wind of what's happened here and usurped Judge Khelot, citing the attack as an official act of war. Defense is in command of the operation.”

“Defense is involved now. Olets calling it an act of war.” Elias glanced behind him at Westmont pluming in a mixture of mist and smoke from the fire. Arriving twin moons, partially occluded by building fog, beamed brightly within the clouds. “Westmont’s a conflict zone. Again.”

“Yes, sir. I believe they’re going to go ahead with the airstrike. I’m not sure since I…overheard Captain Schulz mention it.” The private winced. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone I mentioned that. I’m working toward a promotion and I’ve passed all the conditions—”

“You didn’t mention anything. Just never do it again. Where’s Captain Schulz?”

The young man shifted to the side, gesturing toward the north edge of the camp with his shoulder. “He’s receiving orders in the navigation center. He hasn’t left his position for the past twenty minutes, sir.”

“Thank you, Private.”

Elias passed through the camp at a brisk pace, reaching the tent where Schulz remained along with four officers manning displays. Schulz spoke into a communication device with full attention on the map in front of him, making no movement when Elias entered and stood beside him. Elias waited a few moments, listening to Schulz relay coordinates over COM, and lay his hand on the table to signal to the captain that he was present.

Schulz glanced at the armored fingers and then at Elias, finishing his recitation before tapping the map projection closed. The captain gestured at the officers in the tent to leave, waiting until they were gone to address Elias.

“Yes, Captain?” said Schulz, facing Elias.

“Hello, Captain,” replied Elias. “Looks like your units are pulling out of Westmont.”

“Very observant.” Schulz glanced at his COM device. “You’re late. As usual. How was your little AWOL excursion at the temple?”

“We returned one hundred forty-four survivors from within the temple. Took two trips with the assistance of Veratec cruisers to transport them to a carepoint. We did that seamlessly during the confrontation with Jackal.”

“Did you rescue the hostages he was holding onstage?”

“Yes.”

“Congratulations.”

“It’s our job.”

“Yes. A shame, however, that Silatem remains unreliable as a trusted partner on the field. Real lone wolf types, aren’t you? Reckless.” Schulz rose from his chair. “Why did you return, Captain? You rejected our partnership. You acted alone, taking Mr. Hodges and company along with you for the ride. You can’t possibly think we have words left beside what’ll be in our depositions when we’re in court.”

“Are you still in charge?” asked Elias.

“No.” A bristle of pride rustled Schulz to straighten further. “The emergencies here surpass CDPD’s capabilities. Major Carter of Union Defense commands the actions in Westmont going forward.”

“You—or he, whoever’s making decisions—can’t launch an airstrike. We have evidence from a surveillance bug that there may be large quantities of pressurized ether cannisters of a commercial variety within one or more of the homes.” The CDPD captain’s face remained stone. “I’m sure you understand the ramifications for Westmont if they’re ignited. For many things.”

“Yes. Terrible reality. A town slated for demolition will be demolished without extra expense.”

“Are you serious?” Elias frowned. “Those students, their bodies—keep reanimating out there. They don’t stay down. It’ll take time and work to subdue them, identify them for notice—”

“Major Carter's aware of the cost,” Schulz replied, tone cool. “Hand over your intelligence regarding the explosives. I’ll forward it to the major and he’ll consider the potential shockwave before acting.”

“What about the students?”

“What about them? I’m sure you did a good enough job retrieving survivors. PHS emergency carriers are en route to evacuate the wounded to safety and those left haunting the temple, well…Altir’s reported over nine hundred missing students from four academies so far and counting. What are we supposed to do with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of infected bodies housing a parasite evolution we don’t know how to manage?”

Elias scoffed. “Unbelievable. You gave up.”

“Like you said it’ll take time and work. Time we don’t have, not with residential areas located so close to Westmont.” Schulz hardened his tone. “I lost men tonight, Captain. I put more of my own on the line against your…twenty-three officers. Jackal’s still running loose based on returned reports and those detonations have moved from the temple to Sector Two—”

“Sector Two?” Elias alerted, interrupting Schulz. Residence 9819 was in Sector Two. Hodges was on the way there. “When did that happen?”

“Didn’t you hear it? That was the last detonation occurring under ten minutes ago. Just received word of a new blaze from CDFD, one not located at the temple. The risk level’s too high for them to continue containing the fire so they’ll do one more pass with retardant before evacuating.”

“Show me the map,” said Elias, turning toward Schulz’s display. “Let me see where in Sector Two that bomb went off.”

“No, Captain.”

“What?” Elias looked at the captain incredulously. “There’s a chance this is related to those fuel containers.”

“It’s not my problem—or yours—anymore.” A faint smile crossed Schulz’s face. “Congratulations, Mr. President, on the end to Silatem’s suspension. You’re truly acting on your own as a sovereign entity within Union borders if you proceed. Take it up with the major. Also…leave the command area. You have no authorization to be here. I wouldn’t want to file a complaint against your company so soon after your operating rights were restored. I’ll remind you as well that the powers that be are sensitive to war actions at this time”

Schulz folded his arms and waited. Elias tightened his mouth and nodded after a few seconds of silence. “Fine, Mr. Schulz,” said Elias. “Understood. I’ll obtain surveillance from Major Carter using the correct channels.”

“Sound decision, Captain. Good luck.”

Elias accessed his COM within the CDPD service area immediately after leaving Schulz’s presence. An indicator within one of his numerous encrypted frequencies alerted him that Sesha transmitted a large amount of data directly to his device, although he nudged it aside as a reminder. There was no mystery anymore on whether Jackal and Akil were the same person. The data was confirmation for his records and he’d clean up her intelligence transfer with the corresponding legal documents now that Silatem was operational. All that mattered at that moment was eliminating the rebels.

“Heywood,” said Elias once he connected with the admiral. “We’ve got a problem. Looks like ether cannisters are the final surprise—close to eighty hiding in a single home here. Might be more. I’ve got visuals to confirm and we thought that location might be where Jackal’s running to next, but I’m not so sure anymore. Looks like he might have something bigger than the temple massacre planned. Already heard news about a detonation within the town itself.”

“Right, El.” The admiral’s rough voice spoke fast in his ear through the COM bud. “This is a major operation. Makes sense, when you think about what happened to the Dugals. I’m already getting intel streams about the airstrike. Defense refuses to play around with Jackal.”

“Jackal is Akil, Shawn.”

“What?”

“Jackal is Akil. Akil is Jackal. Akil's not dead.”

Heywood was silent for a moment. “That’s not possible,” he said.

“Oh. It’s possible. And he’s here tonight, executing his latest plan. A saluktu he’s worked on for years, including the supply thefts noted to us by our friend Mr. Grimley.” Bitterness flooded Elias. “Akil slaughtered those kids. Poisoned them with some new strain of parasite that we can’t trace yet. Keeps them coming back after elimination without stopping and others are infected within our borders as sleeper agents. To top it off, looks like he set up Westmont to blow to pieces.”

“Did Jackal confirm he was Akil?”

“Aye. Everyone on scene at that temple has footage from their helmet cams of the admission. My brother and a number of other students were eyewitnesses as well. Apparently Jackal—Akil—kidnapped one of the students, a Pal ward of ours, claiming she’s his daughter. He’s holding her somewhere in Westmont now.” Elias chuckled without humor. “So tell me—how successful was an airstrike against the fucker the first time around? Seems he likes the heat. To add to that, the bastard’s been prancing on Union soil all this time with diplomatic immunity, crooning his shite music. What a fucking insult. He and his whore fooled me. If I’d had any idea…I guarantee you I’d be facing another suspension for what would happen to either one of them.”

“All right, Pendergast. All right. Point taken. If what you’re saying is right…well. Hell. Fucking hell.” Heywood paused again. “Olet’s the one that ordered Defense to respond. I can’t usurp his orders. Major Carter’s the only one that can decide what to do about those cannisters.”

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“I’m not leaving, Shawn. Heard the suspension’s lifted—so thank you for that.”

“At zero hour it’s official. Finally went through after all your briefings on the disturbances and your prompt responses in Union’s interest. Your early notification of a major attack on Westmont also helped. Without you we’d be more than a few leagues behind.”

“Right. So it’s not time for us to withdraw. Time for us to work harder. To win.”

“You can’t operate further in Westmont and Veratec’s been shut down too. Defense ordered Hodges to retreat. You’ll have to evacuate unless I put in an emergency contract for a new hunt with waivers for safety warnings.”

“Do it,” said Elias. “Put it in.”

“You’ll only be authorized to hunt Jackal. I can’t have you racing around looking for rebels all night. You can retrieve whatever captives your target’s holding but you can’t interfere with Carter’s response—or the airstrike if he chooses to go through with it.”

"What about the bodies of those students?" Elias grimaced at the mental image of hundreds of minors bloodied and mangled on the temple's main floor. "Destroying them should be the last option."

"I'll plead the case directly to Olet if I have to. I can relay a message to him with a reminder about optics. If there's a significant amount of those cannisters the effects of setting them off might end up more devastating than we can expect, losing him public confidence."

"Bill and Barbara—what were they trailing with that ether station?"

"It's not hunter related so you—and I—don't have clearance to know. They agreed to meet with you to talk about rabid activity in the area, not about that ether station or their tasks. But I’ll see now if the chain of evidence leading to tonight justifies that share of information." Heywood sighed. "Looks like we'll be hunting close to home again, and after a long period of peace."

"All right. Get that contract in—I'm running on no time." Elias peered at the smoke billowing in the distance from Westmont occluding the sky. "I'll lose broad COM capabilities once I get back in the field but I'll be going right for Jackal. Silatem won't evacuate until Jackal is captured or eliminated. Airstrike or not."

"Got it. I'll get to work."

"Thanks."

"Find the piece of shit."

Elias nodded. "Working on it."

He disconnected from Heywood and headed back to his bike, placing his helmet back on his head to reconnect the sensors. Gloved hands grasped the handle bars as he activated the engine, shifting to air.

☼ ☼ ☼

"Sorry, Captain. Really sorry. He told me he had to take a leak. I thought since he was your brother and part-owner of Silatem he was all right to leave alone—"

Anger surfaced in Elias that he promptly batted down. That was an emotion he couldn't use when he needed full control. His men knew he was angry because when he spoke he was calmer than usual. His tone remained professional as he addressed Lieutenant Davies, a young man less than a decade older than his brother. Davies showed impressive skills for quick achievement on the field, which was why he held elevated rank and confidence among the senior officers, but he displayed less impressive instincts for high command.

"What did he take from inventory?" asked Elias, settling into his seat in the captain's quarter.

"A helmet. A holster with a SR 110A sidearm—"

"He has no idea how to fire that thing. No idea how to activate the helmet."

"Yes sir," said Davies, jaw raised and face stoic. "He also took a vest and a Viper 6 blade."

"Wonderful."

"Kid slipped out while we were interacting with PHS," grumbled Hudson. "No sign of him anywhere."

"Of course not."

Davies stiffened further. "He was only out of my sight for a few minutes. I didn't consider it out of bounds to give him privacy. He's not a prisoner. That was an error of judgment and I apologize, sir."

"All right, Mr. Davies," said Elias. "We have to deal with this situation as it stands." He scanned the commanders who'd clustered in the quarter. "You're all going back to HQ. Silatem’s operational again and I need you to start cleaning up the backlog of outstanding issues. I'll…stay here."

"Alone, Captain?" asked Reiser. "That's high risk. Especially if an airstrike's on the way or if Jackal detonates. The armor withstands heavy impact but it won’t help you much in that environment."

"Heywood understands the strike needs to be halted. He’ll figure out how to delay that response. Jackal’s looking for me and he'll wait until I reach him, so it makes no sense for a bulk of the men I rely on to help run Silatem to be here in one place, facing danger." Elias paused on each one as his decision rolled over in his mind. "This was between the two of us from the start. Wherever Jackal goes, Adam will go too. I'll find them both—and the captive."

"Sir," said Agost, stepping forward. The tenured senior officer saluted. "I offer my service in your hunt. My gear's already calibrated to search for explosive signatures and I can defuse complex devices. You might need my help. And—" He continued before Elias could interrupt. "My niece attends school in Altir. I don't know for sure if she would've been here, she’s a bit young, but for the sake of my brother—"

"Approved, Commander," said Elias, nodding. "You can remain."

"Me too," rumbled Hudson, peering at the rest of the officers. "Another gun, Captain, never hurts. Cover might be nice when yer chasin' that bloodsucker. Helps yeh keep focus."

"Mr. Hudson—"

"I should stay too," piped in Davies, lowering his head. "It's my fault your brother ran off. Another pair of eyes to search for a problem that’s got nothing to do with Jackal."

"Elias—" began Noor, rustling from his quiet watch in the corner to intercede as well.

"Enough!" Elias barked before the others could start, holding up a hand to quiet them. "I get it. You're all going to request to stay. That's not going to happen. I want you back at HQ." He pointed at Hudson, Davies, and Agost. "You three—you'll continue operation with me in Westmont." He turned his head and met Noor's eye. "Mr. Noor, I need you at HQ. Especially you."

Noor nodded, settling into place again. "Understood, Captain."

"Thank you." He rose from his chair. "We'll take this cruiser. The rest of you, take the remaining vessels. Support the evacuation procedure with the survivors. I want to make sure they all get back to Capitol City with PHS. They're still under our protection from Khelot's original orders."

"Aye."

The men saluted, separating to head back to waiting vessels. Elias dismissed Agost, Hudson, and Davies to prepare while he exited the cruiser, hopping out of the main cabin to the foggy and damp streets of Westmont. Without his helmet he smelled the stench of char in the air—fire from the explosions that still simmered in the air.

His gaze fell on the Veratec cruiser idling meters away from the PHS carepoint awaiting evacuation as well. Captain Hodges stood outside with his first officer deep in conversation and halted the talk once he spotted Elias approaching. Hodges folded his arms and raised his jaw in greeting once Elias was close.

"Time to go," said Hodges.

"I'm staying," replied Elias, peering at the two men as rain pattered against his head. "Heywood's contracting Silatem to retrieve or eliminate Jackal. I've got three for support but other than that…nothing else."

"Don't know if you're brave or stupid, Pendergast," said Hodges, chuckling. "Real clear Jackie's got a hard-on for making you suffer. Don't want to see what he'll do if you're cornered."

"He’s the one that should be worried if I’m cornered." Elias glanced over his shoulder at the stir of activity as medics steered students quietly toward waiting carriers. "Schulz said there was a detonation in Sector Two. Did you try going there?"

"Fishing for intelligence. Aren't you independent again, mate?" A tight smile crossed Hodges' face. "We shouldn't even be talking anymore."

"All right."

Elias turned to leave and a few steps away Hodges called out to him.

"Made it half a kilometer into Sector Two when an abandoned multi-level residence blew apart. The armored cruiser could take it but we were jostled pretty good." Hodges glanced at the survivors as well. "Nowhere near 9819. No landing pad. Seemed like a warning shot. Might have triggered something going into the area."

"I see." Elias nodded at Hodges. "Thanks for the heads up, Captain."

Hodges chuckled and gave Elias a small salute. "No problem, Captain. Try to hold onto yours."

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