1941539114 (S) (33 page)

Maigo tried to run around the monster, but it moved to intercept her, confirming her suspicions. “Karkinos is just here to run interference.”

Agreed,
the AI said.
Energy signatures within the city of Portland suggest the presence of not yet functional, but advanced Ferox technology, currently surrounded by a non-human force.

“That’s what they’re after,” Maigo said.

As Nemesis got back to her feet behind Karkinos, Hyperion raised a hand and waved the monster onward.
C’mon, Endo,
Maigo thought.
You know what it means.

Nemesis took one step toward Karkinos and stopped. She appeared torn for a moment, but then looked back toward Portland, where the Aeros Gestorumque were heading, if they hadn’t yet already reached the city. Then she turned and ran, unleashing her impressive speed. For the first time in her existence, she ran away from a fight.

Maigo saw a flicker of indecision in Karkinos, as Nemesis made a break for it. The monster, and its Voice, were no doubt wondering if it should chase the more fleet-footed Nemesis. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Maigo drove Hyperion inside Karkinos’s reach, and extended the three blades from the left arm and the voltage amplifier electrodes from the right.

Before the large Kaiju could react, she plunged the blades into its side, where there were no orange membranes. The AI reported a momentary resistance and then a temperature increase indicating the oozing warmth of Kaiju blood. With Hyperion’s left hand, Maigo punched the metal prongs at Karkinos’s head. But instead of stabbing the metal into the monster’s face and frying its brain—or its Voice—powerful jaws snapped down on the prongs. The jolt of electricity only tightened Karkinos’s grip, and the electrodes quickly snapped, becoming useless.

The voltage amplifier system snapped back inside the forearm, where it would heal over time, but not soon enough.

Karkinos grabbed hold of Hyperion’s shoulders, gouging them, but the attack came from behind. The Kaiju’s barbed tail pierced Hyperion’s side, and as it pulled away, it caught hold and lifted the robot away before thrashing it on the ground.

Hyperion warned of severe damage to multiple systems, but nothing irreparable—yet. The AI recommended retreat, but Maigo was defiant and angry.

She is still part of you,
the AI observed, and Maigo knew it was referring to Nemesis. It was an observation she had long suspected, that she was still a monster. The idea of turning into Nemesis again, or even something like General Gordon had become, was the stuff of her nightmares.

“You think I’m a monster,” Maigo said.

It was not meant to be an insult.

Hyperion, lying on his back, shuffled away from Karkinos. The Kaiju closed the distance, looming huge over the fallen robot.

“How could it
not
be an insult?”

It means you are powerful,
the AI said.
It means you are resilient. Defiant. An unceasing force. Like her. Like Nemesis. Whose...soul resides in you, the way yours once did in her. I believe, given current circumstances, that your potential for...violence, is a beneficial trait.

“So,” Maigo said, “you’re saying I should embrace my inner monster?”

With haste.

Maigo saw Karkinos above her, looking down with keenly intelligent eyes, now guided by a voice and lacking the pure, unadulterated rage granted to the goddess of vengeance.

As Maigo’s emotions boiled to the surface, Hyperion’s eyes blazed brighter, casting Karkinos in a red glow, which bloomed even brighter as the third and final ring on the robot’s chest lit up.

Level Three weapons now available.

Hyperion leaned up suddenly, plunging all six blades extending from its forearms into Karkinos’s gut, piercing several of the orange membranes, while simultaneously plugging the gaps.

Maigo glared up at the face of Karkinos, which showed a measure of pain, but also a look of smug assurance.
He thinks I’m beat
, Maigo thought, and then she issued her order to Hyperion with a single word: “Pull!”

Hyperion’s forearms spun with a sudden mad frenzy, tearing through the monster’s flesh like oversized blenders. Then the blades retracted and Hyperion winked from existence.

40

“Put us down right on top of them,” I say, looking down at the people atop the unfinished Luminox building. While there is scaffolding around the bottom of the building, which still looks unfinished, the roof looks solid, and changing. Two futuristic cannons have risen from the roof and are turning toward the twitching Giger, still making its way to us. “But be ready for a quick pickup.”

As we descend, I say, “Let them see us.” The last thing we need is to squash someone while we’re landing.

A moment later, everyone bustling about on the roof can see the X-35’s mirrored surface. And yet, not one person gives it a second look.
Because they’re not human,
I tell myself. For all we know there’s a whole fleet of Future Bettys in the city.

The familiar figure of a bulbous, well dressed man steps from a stairwell door and onto the roof. He gives a casual wave at the landing X-35, knowing we’re watching him. I have a tendency to want to punch things that annoy me, and often try with mixed results. As the hatch opens, though, I head for Cole, and I remind myself that decking the man will do no good, and will likely break my hand.

“Glad you could make it,” Cole says, and I can’t tell if he’s being honest or facetious.

Since I can’t slug him, I decide to be a dick instead. I hold a hand up to silence him, and toggle my throat mic. “Alessi. ETA on—”

“The delivery has already been made, Jon,” Alessi says, but it takes a moment for me to realize her voice didn’t come from my ear bud. It came from behind me. I spin around, but find only Cole, smiling at me like I’m adorable.

I glance at Collins. There’s a look of horror on her face. She saw something I missed. When Lilly hisses at Cole, the puzzle pieces fall into place.

Alessi’s voice came
from Cole.

The big man steps to the side and sweeps his hand out at three coffin-like containers being rolled toward us by a group of people who look like random citizens gathered from the streets. The storage units are, in fact, what I was waiting for.

“We’ve made some modifications,” Cole says in Alessi’s voice, souring my stomach. “And some improvements.”

“What have you done with Alessi?” I ask, hand on my sidearm. I’m not going to punch him, but I might very well shoot him.

“Absolutely nothing,” he says.

I toggle my throat mic again. “Alessi, are you there? Answer me!”

Cole reaches up to his own neck and toggles a mic. “I’m right here, Jon.” Cole’s Alessi impersonation reaches my left ear normally and right ear through the bud. “Right where I’ve always been.”

“
You
are Maggie?” Collins says, using Alessi’s first name.

Cole motions to the men bustling around behind him, prepping the two cannons and arming themselves with an array of weapons I don’t recognize. “Sometimes me. Sometimes one of them.” He sets his eyes on me. “For all you know, your new wife is one of us, too.”

I clench my fists, but show impressive restraint.

“The real Maggie Alessi died seven years ago, in a car accident. When Katsu Endo became involved with General Gordon, we resurrected the half-sister he didn’t know existed, built a life for her and reached out.”

My anger shifts to a strange kind of sadness, like mourning the death of a friend. Since inheriting control of Zoomb, I’ve become...close to Alessi. Despite the rocky start to our relationship, I came to trust her. We had personal conversations. She gave me advice, often good advice. And all that time, she—
was him? Or one of them?

“Did Endo know?” I ask.

Cole shakes his head. “And I suggest you keep it from him, given his volatile position.

“You might not see it now,” Cole says, “but we
are
friends, Jon. We are allies. And I know you better than most. How you feel. How you think. What you’re capable of. I know you’re about to punch me, but—”

“You’re a hologram, right?” I say.

He reaches out a finger and pokes my chest. “We don’t have time for theatrics. I showed you one of my true selves because I need you to know you can trust me. We have worked together for years, Jon. And you need to believe me when I tell you, the fate of your planet depends on our success today. You want to kill me, I know. We helped make you that way. But right now, we have a common enemy.”

He glances across the city. Giger is coming for us, crushing buildings beneath its rigid mass.

“The Luminox is a gateway,” Cole says. “The first of many. And when it is complete, our forces from around the universe, in all dimensions, will be able to join the fight, here, just as we will be able to join the fight there. We are uniting the resistance, but if we lose the Luminox, Earth will face ruin.”

Some of what he’s said is mind-boggling. The Luminox will be some kind of wormhole connecting Earth to other worlds, and other dimensions? This is nuts, but then, what about the past few years isn’t nuts? I loathe this man, and what he’s done to us, but if Lovecraft and Giger are just the beginning, I won’t deny that Earth is going to need help. “Okay, Paul Revere of the Cosmos, I’ll bite. What’s the plan?”

He nods at the men behind us, and they open the three containers, revealing the battlesuits within. They’re black, and kind of horrifying, with armored plates, face masks and red eyes that contain reverse-engineered sensors taken from GOD’s night-vision goggles, which colorize night vision and provide battlefield data. The suits contain synthetic muscle fibers triggered by the wearer’s actual muscle movements. With the suit on, I’ll be as strong and fast as Lilly, with enhanced vision and situational awareness. And Lilly...I suppose she’ll be more like Maigo.

The synthetic fibers also go rigid when impacted from the outside, protecting against falls, bullets, knives or claws. Added to all of that is an array of small repulse discs that allow for some serious jump distance, and with the wingsuit function enabled, flight...in theory. Collins and I have practiced with most of the functions, but we haven’t attempted flying yet. How different can it be from piloting a drone while clinging to its back?

“You said you made changes,” I say.

“To the weapons system,” he says. The suits were designed with one thing in mind, responding to a Kaiju threat. The weapon we developed was essentially a laser bomb. Once launched, it would attach to the target and fire a high-powered laser into the target for an extended period of time. The four circular devices attached to the suit around the waist, have been replaced by something else...something I recognize. The four simple-looking black discs appear innocuous enough, but they’re deadly as hell.

“Are you
shitting
me?” I ask. “Bacteria bombs?”

These things were the inspiration for the laser bombs, but are far more volatile. While the laser’s power is finite, lasting only long enough to do significant damage, the bacteria consumes and multiplies exponentially, eating through anything it touches, including Kaiju flesh. Once released, it can be neutralized only by incineration or by salt water.

“Your use of the Swarm in Boston revealed the ineffectiveness of directed energy weapons against the Gestorumque. They’re useful for causing temporary damage, and as a distraction, but we already have that covered.” He motions to the two cannons tracking Giger. With a vibrating hum, one of them fires, sending a bright yellow beam of light through the side of the thirty-story PacWest building and into Giger’s charging form. The Kaiju is knocked sideways, and a black line is carved into its exoskeletal body, but the damage to the monster is minimal. The building, on the other hand, is now on fire. The second cannon fires with similar results, knocking Giger onto its back, its limbs rapid-fire scurrying in the air. The blasts are really just annoying it.

“We’re at
war
, Hudson,” Cole says with a snarl. “Half measures and hopeful thinking aren’t going to win. This time there is no one to sacrifice to the Gestorumque. The only lives we have to offer, are our own. Now will you fight with us, or not?”

Before I can answer, a massive explosion rises in the distance. The light plumes high as a shockwave rolls through the city, flattening buildings and tossing cars. It races toward us, shattering the windows of the skyscrapers around us before slapping into the Luminox with a concussive roar.

Then, out of the still rising ball of brilliant flame, a smoking projectile rises into the sky. Cloaked in smoke, I don’t recognize it until Collins does.

“That’s Karkinos,” she says.

I nearly laugh. The Kaiju has been launched miles into the sky, and its smoldering core reveals a massive wound. But then I remember it was Maigo and Hyperion who were facing the giant.

Karkinos arcs toward the city and drops like a bomb, landing a mile away, but with enough force to knock out the rest of the windows in the city and shake the Luminox beneath us. The sound of shattering glass resounds from the shaken city, and millions of tiny dancing lights bounce off the still standing buildings, sunlight glinting off the falling shards. The sound and light display is drowned out when a twenty-story building topples on top of the smoking and unmoving Kaiju.

“Maigo,” I say, speaking into my comm. “Are you there?”

When there’s no reply, and I clench my eyes shut, Cole puts his hand on my shoulder. “This. Is. War. People die.”

I glare up at the inhuman man, who has defiled my life and the lives of everyone I love. “Give me a damn suit.”

41

Dressed in battlesuits, Collins, Lilly and I stand on the Luminox’s edge. Cole and six of his men stand with us. They appear ready for battle, too, but they’re unarmed and not wearing suits.

“Lead the way,” Cole says.

“Umm, okay?” I say, and I prepare to launch myself off the edge. There’s a grinding of bones and a slurp of flesh from behind me. I turn around slowly and find seven transformed Ferox gnashing their teeth, twitching their tails and looking absolutely ferocious.