A Method Truly Sublime (The Commander) (37 page)

“Was Lori truly that hard and mean?” Sky
said.  “Surely not.”

“Oh, Sky,” Eileen said.  Sighed.  “You’ve never really seen her bad side.”  She said the last nearly noiselessly, so only Sky could hear.  Sky had feared that, yes.

“You succeeded,” Sky said.  “With you I could hunt Monsters.”

“Pah,” Eileen said.  “If I get my degree I’m getting on th
e damned list to get out of Inferno.”

---

“I hope you’re not going along with this idea just to humor me,” Lori said.  Keaton had everyone, including Lori, disguised as male.  Lori, four eleven in sock feet, did not disguise well.  She looked like a sixth grade boy.

Keaton gave her a strange look.  “I just bet Focuses might do something that stupid.  Trust me, midget, if I thought this was a bad idea, you
would have heard about it.”

“Well, good,” Lori said.  Stalked off.

“How can you stand her?” Keaton said to Sky.  Sky shrugged. “You look more like Tim’s type, besides.”  Then Keaton stalked off herself.

Was that supposed to be an insult?  Didn’t the Arm just spend some major cuddle time with a woman?  Sky turned it around in his mind several times and decided the Arm was just crackers in the head.

They tried a straightforward approach this time.  They stole a late-model sedan large enough to fit six comfortably.  They stuffed the two captive Transforms in the trunk.  (Sky refused to even think about the trip back to the DC area to raid a Transform clinic and get a replacement juice supply for the Walking Nightmare.  The new Transform was a boy this time, not more than sixteen.  He hadn’t done more than shiver since they grabbed him.)  They would go in with stolen ATF duds and papers.  Keaton didn’t ask, likely assuming Sky and Eileen had killed the ATF agents to get their stuff.  Instead, Sky had just skunked the ATF agents, and put them in a Transform clinic with unexplained symptoms that looked like the Shakes.  Given the hellish pit that was the CDC’s Detention Center, such an event was eminently plausible.

T
hey planned to drive up to the front door around sunset.  They would do the dirty deed and flee on foot, assuming their dirty work would attract too much attention to allow them to escape in the stolen car.

The plan got them through
the outer perimeter gate.  Unfortunately, Sky’s metasense was already ringing with bad news.  By the time they reached half way to the inner perimeter gate, Sky realized they were seriously sunk, and he was about ready to throw a major Crow panic.  He finally managed to get Lori’s attention and conveyed the incipient disaster to her, without words.  Their most immediate threat loomed not too far ahead.  A group of FBI agents had pulled a car across the road up ahead, and hunched down in shooting positions behind the car.

Hancock was in withdrawal.  He
didn’t know how to tell Lori, or anyone else.

Save for state police, the FBI and the CDC guards, the other jurisdictions
had left.

“We’re screwed,” Lori said.  “They’re on to us.”

Keaton pulled the car to the shoulder and stopped it.  “Say what?  What evidence do you have?”

“There’s a trap around here, somewhere.  I can smell it,” Lori said.  She sat next to Keaton, in the middle of the front seat, the only one who willing to sit so close to the Arm.

“Don’t lie to me.  You’re not good enough.”  Keaton grabbed Lori’s chin.

“I have a source of information I haven’t revealed,” Lori said.

Keaton looked at Lori, cold as ice.  “You don’t hold out on me when we’re going into a combat situation.  That’s fucking stupid and you risk your own people as well as me.”

Lori didn’t say a word.
“Traitorous Focus bitch,” Keaton said, softly, and then she turned away.  Sky realized Keaton was as angry as she had been when she first came to Inferno.  She got out of the car and then turned back to Lori.  “This is not acceptable behavior,” Keaton said.  “Our deal no longer holds.  Goodbye.”

The Arm
started walking cross-country, across the terrain it had taken Keaton and Lori, working hard together at messing with minds, hours to traverse.  They watched her until she disappeared into the trees.  Tina spoke first.

“Now what?  We’re screwed, blued and tattooed without the Arm.  Why’d you…”

Lori did something with the juice that froze Tina’s jaw.  Lori motioned ‘shh’ with a finger across her mouth and Tina nodded.

“Grab the Transforms from the trunk,” Lori said, whispering.  “We’re ditching the car.  Wipe it down on the way out.”

They took off cross-country, going the opposite way from Keaton.  Sky metasensed Keaton closely.  Once away from the car, Keaton turned to move toward the Detention Center.  She reached the inner fence relatively quickly, moving at Arm speeds.  She stopped and waited.

“Keaton is using us as bait,” Sky said.  “She’s about two kilometers away from us now, almost on the other side of the Detention Center.  I’ll bet she’s counting on us making a mess of things, attracting the attention of the authorities, and allowing her to get in.”

“We will
not
make a mess,” Lori said.  Without warning, she gagged, bent over and vomited.  The wind had shifted, now coming over and around the Detention Center.  Tim bent over double himself.

“What the hell?” Lori said.  She fell down on her hands and knees and vomited again.

“You smell the dross from the CDC building.  I told you the place was bad.”

“That’s ridiculous.”  She paused and gasped, attempting to control her nausea.
“We’re a half mile away.  How can anything be so bad?”

“We’ve never been downwind of
the CDC before.  The place has always been bad.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Lori said.  Sky raised an eyebrow, but Lori glared, gritted her teeth, and did something with the juice.  She stood up then
, no more vomiting, her face pale and her jaw tight.

They got, back through the trees to the outer perimeter wall.  “Do I have your permission, my gracious lady, to cover us with dross constructs?” Sky asked.

“Will they work against police?”

“This set will.  Not against any Transforms and certainly not against the Arm.”

“You have my permission.”

Sky gave it some thought, then decided to use his ‘lost Canadian girl scouts’ illusions.

“We’re little girls,” Sky said, referring to the illusion.

“Compared to Keaton we’re goddamn toddlers,” Tim said, referring to their competence.

Sky didn’t correct Tim at all.

“Halt!  Stop right there!”

Four state troopers poured over the rise to their left, weapons in their right hands, flashlights in their left.  Sky stopped, as did the others.

“Can you help us?” Lori said, her voice mimicking a grade school child.  “We lost our mommies.”  Needless to say, she used her charisma.  Big time.

“Why certainly, little ladies,” the victim said.  The other three policemen nodded in agreement.  Yes, yes, the one policeman would escort them back to civilization and their mommies.

In a few moments, they continued on their way, their ranks now swelled by one policeman.

“Get him good, Lori,” Sky
said.  “These disguises won’t last much longer.  I’m not that good a Crow, you know.”

“I’m not that good a Focus either,” Lori
said.

Despite her comment she had no problem with the policeman:  ‘Yes, mistress.’ ‘No, mistress.’ ‘Whatever you desire, mistress.’  Not much mind left, but obedient.

“This is extremely distasteful,” Lori said.  “There’s one Arm who’s going to regret this little escapade.”

Sky winced.

With Sky’s help they managed to avoid the rest of the police, state troopers, CDC guards and FBI agents combing the area.  Keaton wasn’t so lucky.  On the far side of the compound, now four kilometers away, Sky metasensed Keaton streak toward the CDC building and rip through the inner wire like
confetti.  She drew fire.  Soon a helicopter took off after her, forcing her to duck right against the building.  Eventually, she realized Hancock was in withdrawal.  She might be able to get to Hancock with her lone assault.  She wouldn’t be able to get out again while dragging Hancock like a sack of spuds.  Keaton had counted on Hancock being at least marginally functional.

Keaton fled toward the opposite side of the compound
from her entry, toward Sky and Lori and the rest of the crew.  She ripped through the inner wire again and didn’t stop running until she reached two kilometers out.  As far as Sky could tell, Keaton took only two bullet wounds, neither of which would count as more than a scratch for an Arm.

Keaton returned to the campground two hours later, just before dawn.  The only sounds were the calls of a few early-rising birds.  The night stayed clear and Sky would have considered the pre-dawn sky beautiful except for the miserable quest and the Walking Nightmare.

“I want the Transforms,” Keaton said.  “Our partnership is over.”

Lori stood, shook the dew off her, and walked over to Keaton.  The rest of the team stood.  Wary.  Exhausted.  Too much stress and too much failure.  “Tell me, Arm Keaton, did you reveal everything you can do?”

“I hired you.  You didn’t hire me.”

“You hired them,” Lori said.  “You talked me into joining you.  I never agreed to tell you everything I could do.”

“
This was no personal capability.”  Keaton looked the rescue team over carefully.  She suspected.  Sky had been expecting her to figure out his ruse since the quest started.  He felt lucky his secret had lasted this long.  “That was a Crow.”

“I may have a few Crow contacts,” Lori said.

“May?”  Keaton made a grab at Lori, but Lori danced back.  Keaton played.  She didn’t use anything close to full Arm speed.

“Okay.  Yes, I have Crow help.  The Crow won’t reveal himself near you.  Crows are utterly impossible to deal with in a rational manner.”

Sky’s sweet love would regret her comment later.  Perhaps singing mice in her delicate unmentionables drawer?  That would do.

“Not as far as I’ve seen,” Keaton said.  Sky almost lost
himself to panic at that comment.  “So, how’d you get the message?”

“I’m a witch,” Lori said.  Truthful, but not relevant.  “You wouldn’t understand.”  Also true.  Keaton would never understand falling in love, getting pregnant, etc, etc.

“I smell a rat,” Keaton said.  Truthful as well.  She strode over to Sky and the other Transforms, and to the volunteer Transforms.  Sky had to repress a smile.  Hiding as one of the Transform zombies would have been a perfect trick, save for the inevitable dénouement when the Arm tried to juice suck a Transform and got Monsteraide instead.

“No rats there,” she said of the hapless zombie
s, and turned her eye back to the rescue team.

The Arm stood in front of the four of them and became DEATH.  Sky saw Kali incarnate and bowed
on one knee.  He had no idea what the other three Transforms did, or experienced.  He couldn’t see them anymore.  Or hear them.  All was Kali.

“Impressive,” Sky heard Lori say from somewhere in the next county.  Sky had to react as himself.  If he let himself waver from his hard won skills dealing with Arm
, he would revert to normal Crow behaviors and blow the whole charade out the crapper.

“A lover seeking repentance, a terrified and much more pathetic woman Transform than I’d realized, a guy who now knows how he’s fated to die someday, and a defiant asshole who’s spent too much time sucking down his Focus slash lover’s idiot ideas.  Not any Crows here,” Kali said.  “A real Crow would have spooked when I did that and I
would have had a fun chase until the asshole sicked up on me.  So, midget, you do have some method of witchy communication you aren’t sharing.  I’m not surprised.  I’m also not surprised a goddamned rabbity Crow can’t join our crew – Crows seem to have this chickenshit problem.”

‘A defiant asshole who’s spent too much time sucking down his lover’s ideas?’
Keaton had indeed picked up Sky’s unusual nature, but she had picked up the wrong thing!  She realized he was Lori’s lover and thought she penetrated the whole secret.  Perhaps he would escape with his freedom!

Sick-up?  Here was one Arm who
had spent far too much time talking to Gilgamesh.  No wonder she held such a disdainful view of Crows.

“Midget, you’ve got one chance to keep working with me.  Either way, it’s going to be time to scream.  I want the information this Crow is providing you for my planning.”

“Just signals, ma’am,” Lori said.  ‘Ma’am?’ She was spooked too?  Not good.  Sky’s vision still hadn’t broken free of the Kali effect.  Very bad.

“Fuck.  Can you go out in the woods and talk to him?  Something?”

“Let me think,” Lori said.  “Perhaps I can set something up.”  Sky had a bad idea about what Lori would propose.  No, he didn’t want any part of that.  Nope.  Nuh uh.  Bad move.

“Good.  Think while you’re screaming, bitch.”