Codename: Night Witch (48 page)

Suko ignored him. The Kingfisher came to a stop, hovering a foot off the lake bed. Victoria slid the door aside. The roar of the hovering thrusters filled the cabin as much as the blowing snow and ice. Leaning over, Suko undid the straps holding Harry Jones down.

"Out."

Clutching his broken arm, he sat up and swung his legs over the side. "Is this really necessary?"

Suko shoved him out the side, where he fell with a grunt into the knee-deep snow.

"I know what you're going to do," the corporal warned. "This isn't sanctioned! I'll have to report this to the Guild."

"Fuck the Guild," Suko said. "And fuck you if you don't come back for us."

"And if I don't?" the corporal demanded.

It was Victoria who answered. "Let's just say our mistress will not be pleased. Trust me, Corporal, you don't want to find yourself on Sigrid Novak's bad side."

Suko leapt from the transport, landing gingerly in the snow. Victoria followed after. As soon as she was clear, the transport blasted away, rising into the night sky. Soon, the only sound was of the wind across the lake and Harry Jones's labored breaths. He was on his knees, staring up at them, though to his credit, he neither shook nor shivered despite the freezing temperatures or lack of proper clothing.

Suko withdrew her recoilless and chambered a round.

"So, is this to be a straight execution?" he asked. "Or do you intend to have your sport first?"

Suko didn't answer.

"You're her partner, aren't you? Her lover? I thought so. She spoke of you often. She never stopped asking me why you abandoned her. Frankly, I wondered the same thing myself."

"I didn't
abandon
her."

"No? Then what exactly do you call it? You knew where I'd taken her. You knew about my wife. Your mistress, Lady Hitomi Kimura, told you. I know she did. You
knew
, yet you never came."

"You were
gone
by the time we got there!"

"Tut-tut," Harry said. "You still knew, just the same. You knew, and you did nothing."

"Don't listen to him," Victoria said. "He's only capable of lies. He's a deceiver. That's what he does."

"And when did I ever deceive you, Victoria? Yes, I
do
know who you are. I never forget a patriot."

"I wasn't a patriot," Victoria spat. "I was a conscript. You lied to all of us. You told us you would give us a fighting chance."

"And that's
exactly
what I gave you!" Harry said. Struggling, he did his best to rise from his knees to stand before them. "I gave you more than a fighting chance. You most of all, Victoria. You were a hero to the cause. Of course, that was before you betrayed us."

"I betrayed nothing. You stripped away my mind. You stole my body and turned it into
this.
Killing me would have been more kind."

Victoria spat on him. Ice crystals formed on the spittle as it ran down his face. Harry Jones did nothing to wipe it away.

Suko grabbed him by the collar, forcing him back down. Kneeling beside him, her recoilless came up, jabbing him under his chin and forcing his head up.

It was obvious he knew what was coming next. His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched tight. "Your lover will not be pleased," he said. "She wants her memories back. She wants her life. Only I can give that to her. Kill me, and she loses everything."

"Sigrid can't know. Not ever."

Slowly, Harry Jones smiled. "She's already starting to suspect."

"All she knows is that she was at Procyon. She doesn't know what happened there. Or what she did. I won't have you
feeding
her memories back to her. Not you, or this
patron
of hers."

"She's very thorough, Ms. Tansho. She will investigate—all of this. She'll find out soon enough. One way or another."

"You're right. She will have her suspicions. And perhaps one day she'll learn the whole truth. But to suspect is one thing, Mr. Jones, even to be told the truth, another. But to ask her to live through it all over again, each and every bloody moment, knowing that it's all real?" Suko's grip on his collar tightened, and she pulled him close, close enough that their breath misted together. "I know my partner. She
feels
a great deal. Those memories will kill her, and I'll be damned if I let her relive those years over again. Maybe I can't protect Sigrid from the truth, but I
can
protect her from herself."

"And what will you tell her about this? Will you tell her how you betrayed her and killed me?"

"I'll lie," Suko said. "But it's a lie I can live with."

"She'll never believe you. She'll never trust you after this."

"Perhaps. But she'll be free of you."

Suko shoved him back with such force it drove him skidding backwards in the snow. Standing over him, she raised her recoilless and pulled the hammer back.

The shot echoed across the lake bed and through the surrounding woods. But the shot hadn't come from Suko's gun.

Spinning around, she turned to Victoria. She was standing at her side. Smoke wafted from the barrel of her sidearm, the exhaust vents glowing from the expelled gas.

"
Victoria!
What did you—?"

"He was right. If you try to lie about this, Sigrid will know. And if she knows, she'll only ask more questions. Questions, Suko, we dare not answer."

"If she won't believe me, what makes you think she'll believe you?"

"Because I'm going to tell her the truth. That I wanted Jones dead. That there was no way in hell I was going to let him leave here alive. I
know
what he did to her, Suko. I understand—maybe better than she does herself. The only difference is
I
remember. I remember everything. I wouldn't wish that on her. Not anyone. Not even him."

Suko shook her head, still in shock and trying to grasp what just happened. "It's a half-truth. She'll know there's more."

"Yes. And she'll hate me for it. But that's my gift to her. And to you."

Ice crystals carried on the wind swirled around Suko. They penetrated the thin material of her suit, hitting her like tiny pinpricks only to melt against the heat of her skin. The gun felt suddenly heavy in her hand and she holstered it. It was over. The ordeal was over. Harry Jones was dead. And Sigrid was free. She stared down at his corpse. His eyes were open and vacant, staring up at the night sky. He couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

Victoria knelt by his side, checking him, perhaps just to be sure.

"My God, Suko. Seven of your own sisters dead—twelve hundred Kimurans—and all by her hand. She can't ever know. Not about any of this."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Crossroads

June 30, 2354

The Crossroads, Free Southern Territories, Earth

Blinking open her eyes, Sigrid found herself staring up at a white tiled ceiling. The bright lights of an operating theatre shone down on her. This time, though, her optics compensated instantly. Her PCM was operational and functioning perfectly, and she knew exactly where she was.

Hitomi smiled down at her. In her hand was a tiny set of forceps. Grasped in those forceps was the shining six-centimeter probe that had been stuck in Sigrid's head for the past two weeks. Hitomi dropped it onto a stainless steel tray with a loud clatter.

Sigrid sat up slowly and flexed her jaw. Victoria's probe was only a thin sliver, but it had felt like having a large steel rod lodged in her cranium, and she was glad to be rid of it.

"That feels
so
much better."

"The access port is still broken," Hitomi said, "and two of your primary processors have failed. I'll have Dr. Garrett have a look at that when you get home."

Home.

The word sent anxious tendrils shooting through her.

Sigrid had spent the last week here in the Crossroads, working with Lady Godelieve, helping to restore and rebuild the trading post. While the work she did was necessary and welcome, Sigrid knew this was busywork. She was delaying things. She was nervous about returning home and having to face her sisters.

But she couldn't delay things anymore. The time had come.

Word had already been sent ahead. Her sisters would know she was coming, and they would be waiting; though what kind of welcome awaited her, Sigrid could only guess.

By now Sigrid knew more of what had happened. It wasn't a secret that she and her sisters of Alcyone had fought, but when she pressed Suko for details, those details were few and far between. "She wasn't there! She didn't see anything! It's all lies and bullshit!"

Suko was angry—she still blamed everything on the CTF and Harry Jones and the Independents. But she was also protecting her. That was obvious. The process would take time—for all of them—and she knew that, but it was enormously frustrating. What would she say to them when she got home? What would any of them say? Could she even face them at all?

"They will understand," Hitomi said.

Sigrid blinked back at her; she couldn't help wondering if Hitomi was reading her mind.

"They—?"

"You were
wondering
about your sisters again—yes, I
can
see it in your eyes. They love you, Sigrid. They know what was done to you."

"Do you really think they can forgive me?"

"I
think
," Hitomi said as she took Sigrid's hand, "they already know that there's nothing to forgive. You suffered a great wrong, my dear. Things were asked of you that no one has the right to demand. Now is the time for healing, and I think we are all deserving of a rest."

Hitomi tightened her grip on her hand. The simple gesture was enough to send her anxiety retreating back into the darkness, calming her. And the idea of rest did sound lovely. Time alone. Time to heal. And Sigrid knew exactly who she wanted to spend that time with.

"Go to her," Hitomi said. "I can feel her pacing outside. She's wearing a groove into the walkway."

Sigrid slid off the examination table, bending to kiss Hitomi on the cheek.

"Thank you, Hitomi."

"Whatever for?"

Sigrid picked up the metal probe from the tray, crushing it in her fingers. "For doing what you always do. Making me feel human."

~ - ~

As she exited the examination room, Sigrid barged directly into the rather large figure of Lars Koenig, the now ex-marquis di Valparaíso. His left arm was in a sling, and his head was wrapped in a heavy bandage. He was also under armed guard. Two of Colonel Bhandari's soldiers flanked him on either side.

"Ms. Rodriguez," Lars said. "Or should I say, Ms. Novak."

"Mr. Koenig."

"They told me what you did," Lars said. "I-I don't know what to say. I can't thank you enough."

"Thank me? Are you sure you want to do that? I did burn down your palace, Mr. Koenig."

"Yes," Lars said, scratching absently at the bandage across his forehead. "You did do that. But you also exposed that traitor Smith. Or Jones. Or whatever his name was. And you didn't kill me. I know that's why the magistrate sent you there."

"I was sent to kill an enemy of the Consortium, Mr. Koenig. It wasn't hard to see that you were being used. Just as I was used. Trust me, you weren't the first person to be fooled by Harry Jones."

"And I know you told the magistrate exactly that. I think it's the only reason why she's stayed my execution. Pending my trial, at least."

"The magistrate is a fair woman. Your trial will be just. Tell her the truth, Mr. Koenig, and all will go well."

Sigrid turned to move past him, but he stepped in front of her.

"I still hope our paths cross again—should you ever find yourself in need of a friend."

For a moment Sigrid caught the familiar spark in his eye, the same light of kindness he'd shown to her in Portillo. The ex-marquis was a curious man indeed.

"Be careful of the company you keep, Mr. Koenig. The next sleeper agent who comes to kill you might not change her mind."

~ - ~

Exiting the hospital, Sigrid was greeted by a glorious winter afternoon, rare for this time of year. The rains had let up, and even the clouds parted to let at least some sunlight through. The air had a crispness she hadn't sensed in a long while, and it perked her up.

Though she groaned at the sight of the crowd that was gathered and waiting for her.

Ever since her return from Portillo, the stories continued to swirl around her, growing in size and pushing the boundaries of plausibility. The taller the tales, the more the crowds swelled wherever she went. More than forty people were gathered at the hospital gates. Dozens of hopeful eyes fell upon her—the well-wishers and the curious.

Sigrid paused for a deep breath before descending into their midst. Hands reached out to her from the crowd. Not knowing what else to do, Sigrid shook the hands closest to her, giving nods to those people further away.

"You don't have to greet them all, you know," Suko said.

Sigrid was aware of Suko behind her, of course. She came to stand by her side, taking her into her arms, and for a moment the crowd melted away.

"They only want to catch a glimpse. They want to see if the Night Witch is real."

"God, I hope not," Sigrid said. "They'll only be disappointed."

"Disappointed?"

"When they realize I'm not really seven feet tall."

"Mmm. And you don't wear spiked epaulets or wield a flaming shield either. Yes, the press has gotten rather out of hand, haven't they? Frankly, I should think they'd be ecstatic. You're far more relatable than some cybernetic Viking priestess from Beta Aurigae VI."

"Beta Aurigae?" Sigrid said. "Nothing lives on Beta Aurigae."

Suko rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying you're human. That's why they love you."

"That, and the fact that we may have just wiped more than two hundred trillion in adjusted Federated dollars' worth of personal debt from the markets."

"Yes, there is that." Suko released her from her coiled embrace to take her hand. "Come, there's something you need to see. I think you'll be pleased."