Heavenfall: Genviants Book 1 (18 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Anger pushed aside the shock of seeing her father alive. The tears that burned her eyes sent spikes of rage through her veins. Her muscles shook with it. On trembling legs, she went to her father, sat beside him, and cradled his head in her lap.

Barely alive. Emaciated.

Shallow breaths rattled in his chest. Tremors racked his thin body. On closer inspection, she saw his veins, blue and bulging through the paper thin skin on his face and the backs of his hands. She cringed at the scars marring his wrists and neck where the shackles had dug into his flesh.

"What have you done to him?
Where's my mom?"

Hadrian looked bored, and he waved
her question away. "Your mother died in the lab accident. She wasn't useful. As for your father? He's dying now." His features hardened. "Which is less than he deserves. Perhaps, you should ask what he has done to me."

"I don't have to ask. Dex told me. My father extracted the codes for the energy web from your mind."

Hadrian exaggerated a shudder. "Ah, yes. The extractor." His laughter echoed through the room. "I'm disappointed in you, Mary. I warned you not to listen to Dex. There is no extractor. He is a fabrication. A fiction fed to you through Dex."

"No." She whispered the word, refusing to believe Dex had betrayed them. "No! I don't believe you. Stran read Dex."

"He fooled your psychic lie detector because Dex believed everything he told you. Still believes it, I'm certain." The mirth left Hadrian's voice. "Dex thought he could fool me. Of course, I discovered his plan immediately, and I allowed him to continue because his pathetic attempts to gain information amused me for a time. Until I found a way for him to be useful."

Hadrian turned toward the door where John, Aaron, and Lee stood, guns aimed at Hadrian and his guards. "Gentlemen, you cannot possibly hope to attempt a rescue. Are you willing to sacrifice your lives for her?"

"The girl means nothing to me," Lee answered. "All we want are the codes. We get them, we leave. What happens after is none of our business."

"My God, are you all idiots? There is no extractor. There are no codes. In fact, I've gone to great lengths to ensure that a large portion of the energy web will fail in key locations.
China, Eastern Europe, Africa. Millions will die."

"Why?" Mary whispered. "Why are you letting them die?"

"Perhaps you haven't been able to stay abreast of current events. News casts and such." He smiled. "I'm not responsible for the inevitable loss of life. You are. Your father will die knowing that history is going to blame you, his precious daughter, for sabotaging the energy web, and for the resulting death and destruction."

"Revenge?" It didn't make sense. "He worked with you. He helped you. He
—"

"He tried to destroy me!" His hands clenched and red suffused his face. "Tried to destroy my legacy." He looked down, eyes wide, and opened his hands. Gained some composure. "However, despite his treachery, I have discovered a new legacy. Observe."

It seemed to happen all at once, the transformation. She focused on his eyes, but not his eyes. Not his features. Not his hair. He stood a little taller. Looked a little leaner.

Looked exactly like the president.

A shape shifter. Explained a lot, like how Hadrian was able to fool Dex and plant the false info. How he was able to gain so much control of the government. How he had managed to blackmail foreign officials, if Dex was even correct about that part of Hadrian's plan. But the answers only led to more questions. And they were running out of time.

"Demon!" Brother Samuel yelled. Spittle flew from his mouth. "Son of Satan!"

Hadrian held out his hand, and one of the guards handed him a pistol. He pointed it at the preacher, but hesitated. "It's the strangest thing, but no matter how irritating he gets, I simply cannot bring myself to kill a man of God."

She shifted, covering as much of her father as possible. No illusions, here. She'd seen it in Hadrian's eyes. He had no intention of letting any of them live.

"On the other hand," he continued. "I have absolutely no problem killing the president." He pointed the gun at the president's head and pulled the trigger.

She immediately covered her ears with her hands, more out of shock than protection. Her ears were already ringing. Specks of blood dotted her shirt, her hands. Her father's cheek.

He hadn't even flinched when the gun fired.

Gone.

And again, she never had the chance to say goodbye. To tell him she loved him one last time.
All the pain, loneliness, and heartache of the past five years burst through the barriers she'd built. She choked back the scream threatening to erupt, ignored the tears burning her eyes. She noted that John and Lee hadn't moved. Still stood in the doorway, Glocks aimed at the guards. In her peripheral vision, she caught movement. Aaron shifted a little so Hadrian stood his the man's line of sight. No fear or regret in their eyes. A quick nod from each of them, an affirmation, and she stood to face the monster.

Hadrian spoke, but the words were distorted. Muffled. Like she was hearing them through water. Residual effect from the shot. But his words didn't matter. Probably gloating.

She dug her hands into her pockets and palmed the 9mm. Her hands weren't shaking now. "Shut. The. Hell. Up." Not bothering to take the gun out of her pocket, she pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through her leather jacket and caught Hadrian in the side.

A fraction of a second later, John and Lee fired. The guards crumbled to the floor.

In the background, Brother Samuel raised his voice in prayer.

Her second shot hit Hadrian's chest, and the son-of-a-bitch still hadn't dropped his gun. She pulled the Glock out of her pocket, looked him straight in the eye, and pulled off two more shots. One in his throat. One between the eyes. Gun still clutched in his hand, he corkscrewed and fell into a bloody heap. It was almost graceful. Behind him, Lee worked to free Brother Samuel. She leveled the barrel, ready to empty the magazine.

John rushed forward and grabbed her arm. "That's enough," he said. "Hadrian's dead."

Panting, she lowered her weapon. "Not dead enough." She tried to walk away, but her anger broke through the surface of her calm, and she turned and kicked him. Kept kicking him until she felt the satisfying crunch of his spine under her boot. "Hope you have to crawl through hell."

"We need to get out of here." John pushed her toward the door. "Radio Dex. Fill him in about the codes. Find someplace safe to ride out the wave."

Her stomach clenched, and bile rose in her throat. How was she going to tell Jonah she'd failed? They'd had enough fire power. She should have fought to get her dad out of there instead of allowing Hadrian to distract her.

"My child." Brother Samuel stopped her and laid his hand on her shoulder. Gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I know what you must be feeling, but there is nothing you could have done. Your father is in a better world, now. He shall be rewarded for his suffering."

Mary knew the preacher meant to comfort her, but she didn't want his assurances. Yeah, like the universe cared about what she wanted. "Thanks." The word sort of just fell out of her mouth. Awkward and too fast.

From outside the room, John called for her. "We got hold of Dex. We need to go. Now."

Brother Samuel smiled at her. "Go with your friends. Do what needs to be done. My place is here, caring for the dead."

She nodded and silently walked away, but stopped at the door. "Look, I don't know much about religion, how all the rituals and stuff work. You say your prayers over them, give them their propers, whatever, but no absolution for Hadrian. You got that? He burns."

"Of course, child. There are punishments in the afterlife as well as rewards. Hadrian will receive his due."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The Dragons made it through to the last building with no problems. "Stay sharp," Jonah warned. "Niko's monitoring the security cams. He says sec mechs are set to intercept us when we enter controller central, and there's no way to reroute."

"How many?" Michael asked.

"Ten, maybe twelve. He says the feed's too grainy to get an accurate count."

Michael's features hardened, his posture straightened. Military mode. "Our escorts have side arms. Can you order them to provide cover fire?"

"Can do, but it won't be much. They aren't carrying extra ammo."

"It'll be enough. Have two of them go in with David and Stran. Pick off the easy targets. The other two will go in with Corene and the second cluster. Provide them with cover while Corene does her thing. And Corene?"

"Yeah?"

"Leave the weapons intact this time. We might need them."

"Sure thing."

"It'll be chaos. Too many bodies in too tight a space, but it should clear the way for me, you, and Dex." He did a quick sweep. "Where is Dex?"

"Taking a phone call," David answered. "Least that's what he said before he ducked in to the office we just passed."

"A call?" Michael asked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is it a euphemism or something for taking a piss?"

David shrugged. "No idea."

The sound of furniture and glass breaking reached the hallway, and dread hit Jonah square in the chest. He knew what Dex meant. His man at
Brushy Mountain had checked in, and it didn't sound like good news.

Jonah pushed past the guys and burst through the door. "Did something happen to Mary? Is she okay?"

Dex looked around at the damage like he was surprised to find himself in the middle of it. "Mary? What? No, she's fine. Just shaken up a bit. They're on their way here."

"Shaken up? What the hell happened?"

"Short version? The president is dead. Hadrian killed him. Hadrian's dead. Mary killed him. The man we thought was the extractor isn't an extractor, and he's dead. And the kicker? There are no codes. Never were. It was all a ruse, intricately engineered by Hadrian." Dex kicked a chair. "He played me. He rigged the web and used me so he could blame you and Mary when parts of the energy web fail."

"Why?"

"Whatever whacked out reason he had, it doesn't matter. What matters now is getting the web repaired and to full power. Can you do it?"

Jonah started to answer, a knee-jerk yes, but stopped. "I don't know. Depends on how he's got it rigged. How many controllers are left, and the biggie, how much time until the wave hits."

Dex checked his watch. "Conservatively, a little over two hours. Is it enough?"

"It'll have to be."

Michael appeared in the doorway. "We're ready out here. You guys good to go?"

Jonah took a deep breath and nodded. "Just give me a second to send the new orders to the drones." By the time he made it out to the hallway, everyone was in their designated teams.

Michael started barking out instructions. "Alpha team, go left and low. Bravo team, follow alpha team to position one. Once in position, Corene you pull the doors off by their hinges and send those suckers straight into the sec mechs. Take out as many as you can. Charlie team, we'll follow. Questions?" Everyone stayed silent. "Good. Move out."

"Wait!" Jonah pointed to the ceiling. "The lights. They'll see us coming as soon as we open the door."

"And what do you suggest?" Michael asked. "I don't see any switches, do you? And we don't have enough ammo to shoot them out."

"Niko says he can cut them."

"Then quit jerking around and get it done."

The building went dark, including the outside lights mounted on the corners. "Alpha team," Michael called. "Go in ten, nine, eight..." He kept counting and walked to the door. "One."

Cool air swept into the hallway as the doors opened and the group made their way outside. For the first time the cold got to him, and Jonah shivered.

Michael took one step outside and held the door open. "Corene, wait until alpha team is close before you blow those doors. Bravo team, go in five, four, three, two, one."

His eyesight adjusted, Jonah watched the teams take their positions. Alpha team formed a semi-circle in front of Bravo team, ready to protect them from whatever threats lay ahead. Corene stood, radiating confidence. Jonah couldn't hear their voices, but Corene nodded once. Twice, and then the left door escaped its hinges with a loud screech, flew inside, turned sideways, and took out four, no five, sec mechs. Before the soldiers hit the ground, their guns were wrenched from their hands and floating toward Stran and other members of Alpha team.

The right door didn't do as much damage. The remaining men had scattered to find cover after the first attack, but Corene was able to pull more guns.

"Suppressive fire!" Michael yelled, and like a rattler, and the teams snaked forward. At the entrance, Stran took point, firing in a wide arc as the Dragons moved in behind him.

Jonah grimaced as he watched. Each side suffered casualties, but at this distance, it was hard to tell if any of the Dragons who'd been shot were dead or injured. He couldn't think about it. Not now. Doc Ernst and one of the squids had stayed behind, and they'd take care of any wounded.

"Okay Charlie team," Michael said. "Let's go."

Dex and Michael went out shoulder to shoulder, a human shield, and Doc followed a few steps behind.

The sight of Hadrian's elite forces cowering before Corene greeted Jonah as he entered the building, and despite the circumstances, it made him chuckle. "Corrie, you got everything under control?"

"Betcha. According to these guys, there aren't any more sec mechs in the building."

"You believe him?"

"Considering I had their balls in a kung fu grip when I asked? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're telling the truth."

"All of them?" Jonah let out a soft whistle. "Remind me to never piss you off."

Dex walked over to the bank of elevators and punched the button. The door immediately dinged and opened. "The main controller comp is subterranean."

The five men piled into the elevator and rode it down. They exited into a large room with barely enough space to walk between the rows and rows of control comps. "Where's the main?" Jonah asked.

Dex started walking. "Follow me."

He turned to Michael and David. "You guys go guard the elevator. I don't expect any trouble, but I'll work better if I'm not worrying about it."

"You go do your thing. We got your back, man," Michael said.

He and Dex made their way through the maze to a massive comp station. Unmanned, thankfully. Jonah didn't want to make a statue out of anyone. Not that he wouldn't if he had to, but it was a small relief to not have to make the decision. "Listen, once I port in, I'm gone. In the machine. Don't try to pull me out. I don't care if I'm frothing at the mouth, having seizures, or if my freaking ears are smoking. You got it?"

"Got it."

"And if anything happens, promise me you'll take care of Mary. Watch over her. She deserves..." His throat tightened, and for the first time he understood, really understood, why they fried the controllers' limbic systems. "Tell her I love her."

"You'll tell her yourself."

Jonah simply nodded and sat in front of the comp. Nothing to do now, but plug in and pray.

Niko, you still with me?

All the way, dude.

Jonah located the
connection he needed, and with trembling fingers, plugged it into the port on the back of his neck.

Information punched through his brain. No precision. No finesse. More like a drunken brawl. Arms pumped with data and swinging their fists in every direction.

Concentrate!
Niko's voice broke through the chaos.
Find the controllers and follow them. Figure out which parts of the web are weak or missing.

Inside the system, Jonah rode the swirling whirlwind of ones and zeros until he found his bearings and the paths he needed to take.
Niko, you seeing what I'm seeing?
Not only had Hadrian severed parts of the energy web, he'd maneuvered controllers onto the paths at key gateways and had left them there as guards to prevent anything from getting through. Statues. Not just shadows, either. Jonah sensed a consciousness in each one.

Sick bastard.
Niko said.
No alternative, man. You gotta shatter them.

What will it do to them?

Don't know. Maybe they'll be absorbed into the network. Maybe they'll poof. Hate to say it, but their fate belonged to Hadrian the minute they agreed to be controllers. Whatever you do now is a mercy.

Jonah knew Niko was right. Didn't make it any easier, though. Each time he broke through, he imagined the statues screaming. Might've been a mercy for them, but he'd hear those screams in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

Once the paths were cleared, he went to work and discovered that Hadrian had relied too much on the statues. The sabotage wasn't on the same level as the original programming, but the massive amount of it meant he couldn't complete all the repairs in time. He pulled controllers off stable parts of the web, but it still wasn't going to be enough. Deliberately, he masked locations and worked on the breaches as he came to them. After the first few, the work became automatic.

Hey, looks like you're getting some outside help.

Absorbed in the network, he'd almost forgotten about Niko.
What's happening?

Wave's getting close. Fifteen minutes or so until Heavenfall, and every country with the capability has prepared missile launches. Seems that none of the world leaders totally trusted Hadrian to deliver on the protection.

Fifteen minutes? No way. I've only been in the system a little while.

Almost two hours, dude. And it's time to cut loose. You don't want to be in there when the wave hits. Every hit the energy wave takes will be like a spike in your brain

I'm staying.

Sorry, but I got my orders.
I'm checking out, now. Good luck.

Jonah didn't have a chance to argue before Niko pushed him out.

"Look at me." Dex snapped his fingers, clapped. "Come on. Look at me."

Jonah opened his eyes, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. His mouth was dry, and his voice sounded more like a growl. "Plug me back in. Now."

"No can do. Mary cut the cord. Literally." Dex pointed to the comp. Mary stood beside it, knife in hand and the severed wire in the other.

"I lost dad. I wasn't about to lose you, too."

Still disoriented, he didn't think he'd heard her right? "Dad? What?"

Mary
placed the knife on the console, put her arms around him, and hugged him tight. "I'll explain later. Once you've recovered."

"The wave?"

"Any second now," Dex answered. "We're safe down here, and the rest of the Dragons are with us. Got some injuries, one maybe fatal, but Doc and Ella are taking care of them. A couple of squids went through the place, found a kitchen and brought us what provisions they could find." He laid a hand on Jonah's shoulder and squeezed. "You did all you could. We all need to get some rest. Some food and water. Tomorrow's going to be one hell of day."