Heavenfall: Genviants Book 1 (10 page)

David waited for them at the bottom of the stairs. He still looked a little pale. He'd traded the hoodie for a t-shirt and leather jacket. The thick material hid the twitching caused by the mech, as well as the cuts on his arms. As long as they drained enough to get through security, no one in the bar would know he was mech. The face tats might make people suspicious, but if David didn't set off the security alarms, the people in the bar would probably think her and David were wannabes.

"How
are the arms?" Mary asked.

David flexed his fingers. "Don't feel anything from the cuts. Figure there's some nerve damage there. The pain in the muscles throbs like a bitch, but everything works. I'll be able to ride and keep the bike steady when you jump, but if something goes wrong and you have to baton back to me? I can't promise we'll stay upright."

She gave him a teasing grin. "I'd take you with two bum arms over a squid any day." She pointed to the window. "Those the guys you picked?"

He followed her gaze. "Yeah. The best of the squids."

"What did you tell them?" Jonah asked.

"That we had a new job. High risk. And if they fucked up, I'd personally rip the mech out of their arms."

"What about Ella?"

"Told her she'd be riding with Michael, and her part was to make mech security think she was Mary. She's
ready. Didn't even wince when I told her about the shoe polish on her hair. Went straight to the building, darkened her hair, and changed her clothes to match Mary's."

"Great. Looks like we're all set. You go on out, get everyone ready to ride, and give me a minute with Mary, okay?"

"Sure." He held his hand out to Jonah.

Jonah took the doc's address out of his pocket, smacked it in David's hand, and pulled him into a one arm around the shoulder hug. "Good luck, man."

"Don't need luck when you got the skills." David pulled back, went to the door. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe."

"You'd better," Jonah yelled as the door closed behind David, "or I'll personally rip the mech out of your arms and beat you senseless with it."

"Jonah!" She gave him a light jab with her elbow. "Stop being the big and bad, overprotective brother. We'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."

"Me? I got the sweet end of this deal. I get to sit at a comp and input a few codes while you do all the dangerous shit."

"With controller mech, and we both know it's a lot more dangerous than the devil's footsteps." She buried her head against his chest and finally let the tears flow. "Jonah, I'm scared. After losing mom and dad, I don't think I could bear it if you looked at me the way Dex does."

"The way Dex does?"

"Without emotion."

He took hold of her shoulders and leaned back. "Look at me. That will never happen. You hear me. Never. As soon as the web is fully functional, I'll go back to the doc, make him take the controller mech out."

Snot clung to her upper lip, and she let go of his hands to rub her sleeve under her nose. "Promise?"

"I promise." He laid a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It's not fair. I should be the one getting the mech and the cushy comp jockey job. You ought to be riding into danger and breaking into creepy old prisons."

"Yeah." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes. "Guess Dex has his reasons."

"And probably good ones. I just wish I knew what they are."

"Better quit wondering and get to riding. Don't know how long David's arms are going to hold out."

"Crap! Why did you let me stand here blubbering?" She threw her arms around him and gave him squeeze. "Love you."

"Love you, too, sis. Be careful out there, and don't take any stupid chances."

CHAPTER TEN

Corene rolled onto her side, covered her ears, and curled up in a ball. Moans, screams, and the laughter of the mad echoed around her. Must be what hell sounds like, she thought. No relief from the constant torment of those in pain.

Or the smell.

Piss and vomit and blood permeated the air around her, and she twisted on the thin mattress trying to cover her mouth and nose as well as her ears.

It didn't help.

Somewhere a door opened and closed. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The only light in the room came from a stained glass window. A scene of the ascension maybe. Lots of angels. It scattered macabre shadows on the yellowed wall opposite the window. Where the paint had peeled, it looked as if one of the angels had a gash across its heart.

Not in hell. One of the churches. This area of the fringes is lousy with them, and she had no way to know which one he'd brought her to. There were at least half a dozen around the park. People flooded to them during the early years. Then, during the bad years, the riots, people had abandoned their faith. Hell saw an opportunity and seized it. Fire consumed their minds, and hands that once folded in prayer turned violent. They even destroyed the funeral home behind the duck pond.

Dex's choice of church didn't matter. They were all the same.

Welcome to the First United House of Holy Horrors. A sanctuary for controllers too junked on artificial stimulation to function, and the poor souls who didn't quite recover from a brain blast. They weren't dead, but trapped in the terror of psychic nightmares, because their minds couldn't accept their new extrasensory abilities.

She clenched her fists so that her fingernails dug into her palms. "Damn you, Stran. You promised!"

"Don't blame Stran." Dex's voice carried from the shadows. "I'm responsible for you being in the church, and I'm already damned.

"How long have I been out?"

"About two hours. Jonah should be at the surgeon's office by now, and Mary and David are probably walking into
Sensations
, or getting ready to."

"What about Stran?"

"After I dropped you off here, I went back and told Stran you died from the brain blast."

"He believed you?"

"I'd told him something was blocking my signal to the nanites. You were already half-dead by the time I got there, so it wasn't a hard sell." In two steps, he stood beside her, his hand out to help her up. "He didn't take it well, but he's still riding with the Dragons to meet up with Ursula and Niko."

With Dex's help, she stood, noticed that someone had replaced her bloody clothes, and gave a silent prayer of thanks that she didn't have any serious injuries. Still a little shaky, she grabbed Dex's forearm and took a few tentative steps toward the door. "Okay, good. That's good. And in case I forget, or change my mind later, thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. But I still don't agree with your decision. You shouldn't go looking for your family alone. It's too dangerous, and will be more dangerous after the wave hits. Stran would be an asset to you, protect you against people who'd lie to you, or try to take advantage of you."

"No. We stick to the deal." How could she explain to Dex, to anyone, why she'd chosen to do it alone? The story she'd told everyone? Bogus. Her family left without her because they feared her. They didn't want to be found. Thanks to Brother Samuel, her parents believed psychic ability was akin to the mark of the beast and didn't waste any opportunity to tell her so, or to make the sign of the cross when she walked into a room. Or brandish real crosses at her like she was some kind of vampire. And the interventions? The worst. All those strangers praying over her, laying their hands on her. Admonishing her to renounce the evil inside her soul.

How appropriate that she'd gotten her psychic powers in a church.

Her brother would call it ironic. Only twelve years old and already having the headaches. He'd managed to keep them hidden from their parents, but when Mary and Jonah got the codes and boosted the web to full power, her brother might not be able to hide the effects of the transformation any longer. If her parents abandoned him, left him alone to face a brain blast and the wave....

Best not to think about it now.

And when Stran's power developed from reading simple emotions by a touch to full on telepathy, he'd know. He'd see her lies, and her hatred, and how could Stran love her once he saw the darkness inside her? No. Better that everyone, especially Stran, think she's dead.

"Okay. Think you can walk on your own?"

The double meaning of his question didn't escape her notice. "Yes, I'm sure. Let's get out of here."

They made their way down the hall to the sanctuary. The pews, lectern, and choir seats had all been scavenged, and black, charred spots covered the wood floor where hymnals were burned. Pieces of the books laid scattered across the floor. One torn page had a few words she recognized from
Amazing Grace
. Unlike her parents, she wasn't much into prophetic signs, but she figured she'd never be more lost than she was right now, and maybe grace would lead her to her brother.  She reached down to pick it up, but as soon as the thought entered her mind, the paper floated up from the floor and into her hand.

"Telekinesis?" Despite what she'd always told Stran about not caring what her psychic ability would be, she had to admit that telekinesis was pretty cool. And she had questions. Could she move any object, or did her ability have a weight limit? Could she unlock or untie? Could she control it, like swinging a bat twenty feet away from her?

"Come on, we don't have much time."

She followed him to the altar and the ambulatory to another hallway which led to a back door.

A member of the Bobcats guarded the entrance. "It's good to see someone walking out of here for a change." He slid the thick bolt out of its catch and opened the door.

Freedom. She took a deep breath of it. The door scraped closed behind her, and she closed her eyes, envisioned the lock, and concentrated on moving it.

"What the hell?" The guy's voice drifted through the door followed by the loud clank of the bolt being slammed back into place.

They'd exited into what was once a prayer garden. Dead rose vines covered the stone pathways and crunched under her feet. A wrought iron bench lay rusted and mangled in the weeds. Bits and pieces of crumbled statuary filled the little fountain. A Bible rested on the rim. Evidence that someone had sought peace here recently. She hoped they'd found it.

Dex stepped around the rubble and stopped at the gate. "Are you sure about this? My information on your brother's location isn't reliable. There's still time to meet up with Ursula and Niko at the rendezvous point."

"I've got to try to find him. Just tell me what you know."

Dex pushed on the gate. The hinges protested with a harsh screech, but surrendered to Dex's strength. "Satellite surveillance is sketchy. The tracking device you planted in your brother's stuff is still working, but the signal is intermittent. We lost them just west of Jackson about eight days ago. Even if they stay close to the interstate, catch a ride or two, they can't be any farther than Memphis." He stepped through the opening and waited. "The good news is that you should be able to reach Memphis in less than a day if you take the crotch rocket you have hidden in your parent's garage. The interstates are in better shape once you get past Cookeville and head into middle Tennessee. Hadrian keeps ours busted up to discourage travel around here, and gas should be easier to get, too." He stopped at the car and leaned against the door. "The bad news is that the wave is expected to hit about the same time."

She followed him out of the garden without asking how he knew about the bike. "You know, you still haven't told me what you get out of this deal."

"I'll tell you when you come back."

"Then you're screwed, because once I find Grady, I'm going to keep on riding. To
Portland or Seattle, maybe. I've always wanted to see the northwest."

His smug impression said he didn't believe her. "I'll be at the med center on Middlebrook."

"And I'll be somewhere between Knoxville and Nashville, but good luck." She took off at a light jog, not wanting to stick around and listen to any more of Dex's cryptic conversation. The bike was gassed up and ready to roll. All she had to do was grab her backpack and hit the road.

***

It never failed to stun Mary, the difference between west Knoxville and the fringes. Almost as if the riots had never happened in this part of the city. The people who lived here had more money. Better access to the supply chains, food and medicine. Plus, it didn't hurt that a lot of them worked for Palisade and other Oak Ridge facilities, or the county government. All by Hadrian's design. He'd taken advantage of the panic and confusion when the wave had first been discovered. Displaced a huge chunk of the populace for his big wigs while the military seized Oak Ridge. Hadrian's control over the military happened gradually. A special order from the president gave Hadrian command of a small force for Palisade security. He meched them out, and word spread. It didn't take long before the volunteers started showing up, and his small force grew into a personal army. Rumor was that Palisade used more resources manufacturing mech components than controller components.

Grudgingly, Mary gave him his props and reminded herself that Hadrian wasn't stupid. He'd engineered a good plan.

From the outside,
Sensations
looked like an average combo bar and strip club. A plain white sign with red lettering marked its location, and the words "Live Dancers" painted across the front of building. They pulled into the parking lot and circled around the building. No windows on the front, two small windows on the left side. Probably bathrooms. Double doors split the building in half, one marked as the entrance. If they had muscle on the door, he was perched inside. Looked like about twelve cars in the parking lot. A decent crowd, considering the time, and she'd bet more than a few people had walked in. She doubted the dancers were on stage this early in the day, so most of the patrons were probably stim junkies or heavy drinkers.

David backed the bike in a spot between two cars parked in front of the building and cut the engine. Not really a parking space. The cars left a wide gap between them, and it was just big enough for the bike, plus it kept the bike partially hidden. A quick glance confirmed that Michael and Ella and the other riders were in place.

They dismounted and walked to the door. "Pay attention, Princess. You don't trust anybody in this place. And when we go in, you stick with me and don't say a word. Got it?"

"Got it."

"And when we go through the security arch, you go first. If it makes me as mech, you run like hell and get that drive in a port and then get out. You don't even think about waiting for me, or trying to help me." He handed her the keys to the bike. "Listen. If anything goes down in there, anything at all, you hightail it out. Michael is keeping watch from across the street. If you come out alone and he can't make it to you in time, you take the bike. Don't look back. And don't worry about ditching the bike when you jump to John." He grinned at her. "Just try not to scratch it up too bad, okay?"

"David, I can't..." she started to protest, but he ignored her and opened the door.

Hot air, weighted with cigarette smoke and the smell of cheap beer, wafted over them in the entryway followed by the strains of some country ballad from the jukebox. David stopped in front of the arch and nodded to the muscle, who sat on a stool with his back propped against the wall, eyes half closed, and arms crossed over his chest.

Peeking over David's shoulder, she surveyed the place. In the right corner, away from the light given off from the overheads, a stage jutted out of the floor, about three feet high, and boasting four sections. As she suspected, no dancers contorted their way around the poles, and she felt a twinge of disappointment that her curiosity wouldn't be satisfied. Plain, wooden tables surrounded the stage, and a horseshoe shaped bar stood in the center of the bar and provided a divider. The lone bartender handed a couple of bottles to a waitress who meandered through the scattering of tables to the left and delivered the brew to a group of blue collar guys. Probably on their lunch break.

"You two don't look like our normal clientele." The muscle straightened on the stool.

"First time here. We've got business downstairs. Wouldn't mind pointing the way, would you?" David took hold of her elbow and stepped toward the arch.

The man's arm whipped out and blocked them. "I'm not seeing controller hardware." He gave their face tats a long, hard look. "And we don't allow members of mech gangs inside." He pointed to the security arch. "Mech detector. We're not going to have any trouble, are we?"

"Nope. Guy downstairs wa
nts some real to augment his stim program. Just delivering the goods."

"You want the door in the back left corner. Stairs lead down to the stim bar." Muscle guy leered at her and reached out to touch her face. "The tat's kinda hot. Maybe when she's finished downstairs, she could
augment
my program. How much?"