The Day of the Nefilim (23 page)

“Very good.” The Secretary-General was staring at her.

Alexis knew what was going on. She arched her back slightly so that her uniform stretched tight across her breasts.

She stood up and came around his desk, unzipping her jacket as she went. In a single efficient and calculated movement she climbed out of her pants and onto the Secretary-General, straddling him in his chair. His stomach made it difficult, and she was balanced precariously on the edge of the chair, her knees on either side of his. She reached down to the side of the chair and twisted a lever. The back of the chair swung back, taking the problematic abdomen with it.

“That’s better,” she said, sliding upwards, at the same time unfastening the belt on the Secretary-General’s trousers. She lowered her face onto his, taking his tongue into her mouth.

“Nngg…” The Secretary-General reached out and punched the intercom. Someone in the outer office answered. “No interruptions,” he said, his voice thick. He brought his hand back and put it between her legs, pushing as many fingers as he could into her.

She moved further up, rubbing his face between her breasts, laughing as he moaned and covered them with slobber. Reaching below her, she started rubbing him, slowly and firmly.

“Who’s a hard Secretary-General, then,” she said, her tongue in his ear now. She pushed his hand away and put his penis between her legs, rubbing it back and forth against her wetness. The Secretary-General moaned and slobbered some more over her nipples.

She thrust downwards, driving him into her. She moved with a hard, insistent rhythm, her hips grinding against the flab that covered his pelvis. A few seconds later the Secretary-General made a loud gasping sound and had an orgasm inside his Vice-Secretary.

* * *

FROM THE AIR, they couldn’t see anything that might distinguish the site they were looking for. There was nothing except a few outcrops of rock scattered around in a wide expanse of snow. A mile or two away, a range of hills reached for the sky in a half-hearted attempt to escape the monotony of the landscape.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Bark was asking. “There doesn’t seem to be much here.”

“It is. The keeper says we are almost above him. He says we should land.”

“Land…?”

The blue woman was insistent. “He just says that we need to.”

I suppose he knows what he’s talking about,
thought Bark, taking the ship down. They landed near a small pile of rocks.

“There,” said the blue woman. “He says that the entrance is among those rocks.”

“I’m not so sure about this,” said Pig. “There’s something about it that I don’t like. I have a feeling.”

“I agree,” said Sahrin.

“Who am I to argue,” said Bark. “We’ll leave the crystal on board until we make sure it’s safe. I’ll go, and a couple of others can come with me. Everyone else can stay on the ship. Any volunteers?”

Sahrin was already lowering the steps to the snow. “Me.”

“I’ll show you the way,” said the blue woman.

A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of the rocks. Bark was about to suggest that they look around for an entrance when there was a loud grinding sound, and a section of the rock in front of them slid into the ground, revealing a flight of metal stairs that led down to a set of doors.

“That’s pretty obsessive security for such a quiet neighborhood.”

“You’re starting to sound like an Earth girl, Sahrin,” said Bark. “The sooner we get you away from all these bad influences, the better.”

“What bad influences?” Sahrin asked, feigning confusion. “They’re all so civilized here.”

“It’s not entirely their fault,” said the blue woman as they went down the steps. “They haven’t exactly had a free hand.” They stopped in front of the door.

“How do we open it?”

“Never mind,” said the blue woman, and a second later the door slid open.

They entered and found themselves facing a glass wall. On the other side of it were some doors, and a couple of corridors that disappeared off somewhere. Before they could say anything or wonder what to do next, a section of the glass wall slid away and one of the doors beyond it opened.

“Must be our boy,” said Bark. “Let’s go.”

The keeper was there, alright. He was tied to a table in the center of the room. A Nefilim was adjusting a device that had been put around his head. Lights pulsed, illuminating the man’s face like something from a fairground. The keeper saw them enter and tried to twist his head, but the device wouldn’t let him. He was held fast. He tried to speak, but couldn’t.

Behind the Nefilim stood a couple of soldiers, their guns already trained on Bark, who had walked in ahead of the blue woman and Sahrin.

“I was hoping so much you’d make it, Bark.” It was Thead’s voice.

Sahrin, who hadn’t entered the room yet, thought quickly. They hadn’t seen her. She stopped just outside the door, staying out of sight. She kept quiet and listened to what was being said.

The voice she didn’t know belonged to the General.

“That’s enough, Thead. You. The one in the weird getup. You have a piece of crystal with you. Where is it?”

Bark ignored the question. “Thead, what’s going on? What are you doing with these people?”

“Don’t worry about your friend, asshole.” The General’s voice was hard. “He’s with us now. He’s a bright boy, he knows the winning side when he sees it. Now, what about you? This is the only chance you’ll get.”

“Forgive me if I seem impolite,” smiled Bark. “Thank you for the offer, but your approach leaves something to be desired.”

The General made a
tut-tutting
sound. “Such manners… normally, I might be impressed by your spirit. I might even be inclined to play with you. But not today. Where’s the crystal?”

Neither Bark nor the blue woman said anything.

“People never learn, do they,” said the General. He drew his pistol. “If I were you, I’d talk, now.”

“I’m curious, whatever your name is,” Bark said. “How did you send those messages to…” He almost nodded towards the blue woman, but she was standing next to him, and he didn’t want to give anything away. “…us?”

“You’re stalling for time, my friend. No matter. The message you received was just another example of how the new technology can be used. The device we have attached to the keeper allows direct control of his mind. He is a transmitter, if you like. We used him to bring you here. Does that piss you off? It shouldn’t; it’s just the winners winning and the losers losing. Get used to it. Now, where’s the crystal? You’re trying my patience.”

Bark said nothing.

“Idiot.” The General turned his gun towards the blue woman and fired.

Where the bullet entered her, her skin parted, becoming a swirling vortex of liquid blue light. The bullet fell harmlessly to the ground.

“Would you care to try that again, General? I assure you, the same thing will happen,” she smiled.

The General did try, a couple more times, with the same result. The robe she was wearing was torn by the bullets, but she was untouched.

The General stared at her. “What the fuck
are
you?”

“One of those that you would hunt down and exterminate like vermin, General. And before you ask, the chances of me changing sides are less than zero.”

He lowered his gun. “Take her.”

One of the soldiers went to grab her by the arm. She melted away under his touch, as though she was made of water. She collapsed into a pool of liquid on the floor, and instantly reformed, rising like a summoned spirit.

The soldier backed away in confusion. She stood naked before them, her skin glowing like blue-tinted glass reflecting the sun.

“Jesus, you people are weird,” said the General. “But whatever you are, rest assured, I’m going to get the crystal. And I’m going to get that ship of yours. Kill the male.”

The soldiers both turned towards Bark. He recognized the weapons they were pointing at him. They were the same as the ones he had seen used in New York.

Shit,
he thought.

He heard the hiss of the beam. And then…
he wasn’t dead
. Or if he was, it wasn’t what he was expecting. He opened his eyes in time to see the soldier nearest to him flicker out of existence.

There was another hissing sound. The second soldier turned into a dark, burning shadow before disappearing.

The General and the Nefilim didn’t move. The General raised his hands, palms outwards, as if to caution Thead against a rash action.

“Thead, what the hell are you doing? Are you mad?”

“Oh, I know what I’m doing, General.” Thead indicated the keeper with his weapon. “Let the prisoner go. Untie him. And you,” he said to the Nefilim, “…take that thing off his head.”

The General and the Nefilim did as they were told.

“You’ll be sorry, you little shit,” the General snarled through clenched teeth. He loosened the clamps on the table.

“Not as sorry as you,” said Thead, and fired, turning the General into a black smudge on the floor. He turned to the Nefilim. “Against the wall.”

“What’s going on?” Bark asked. “I thought you’d changed sides. What happened?”

Thead looked shocked by the suggestion. “Of course not! I’d never go over to these animals! I was with them because I was forced to. I was held prisoner after I was captured, and if I hadn’t pretended to go over, they would have killed me on the spot. You’ve seen what they’re capable of. No, I’ve just been waiting for the chance to get back with you all. When I heard about this trip, and that the purpose of it was to capture you and the ship, naturally I made sure I came along. I had to make sure that they didn’t succeed.”

The Nefilim turned towards Bark and the blue woman as if it was about to speak. Before it could say anything, Thead fired. The creature joined the General.

“It was about to attack,” said Thead, lowering his weapon. “I’ve been around them long enough to know.”

Outside the room, Sahrin had been listening. She heard Thead’s words, but her mind was replaying the scenes from the attack on the underworld – Thead in a helicopter, smiling and laughing as he gunned down mutants. What he was saying sounded convincing, and yet… It doesn’t matter what people
say
, Sahrin thought, but what they
do
. But then, he had just saved Bark and the blue woman from being killed. She stepped out into the doorway.

Thead was the first one to see her. “Oh, Sahrin. I didn’t see you there.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered, would it, Thead?”

Tense looks passed between them. Any further conversation was stopped in its tracks.

In different circumstances, Bark might have questioned Thead about what Sahrin had told him; how he had been taking such pleasure in his part in the killing in the underworld. He might have, but the fact that Thead was holding a gun was such a strong and effective distraction that the thought never occurred to him.

Thead saw that Bark and Sahrin were both looking at him in a manner that was altogether too calculating. The blue woman, who had retrieved her robe from where it had fallen, was looking at him with an equanimity that worried him just as much. This was a little less friendly than the reunion he had been planning.

“Here,” he said, handing the gun to Bark. “You’re the Captain. Please take this thing off my hands.”

Bark took the gun without saying anything and turned to the keeper. Behind her back, Sahrin took her finger out of the ring of the grenade she had been holding and slipped it back under her jacket.

“How are you feeling?” Bark asked the keeper.

“I’m… I’ll be all right.” He looked normal enough, in much the same way that the shopkeeper had. Which, given the relative scarcity of normal-looking mutants, was an indication that this place, whatever it was, had some human traffic, and that the keeper had to interact with it.

“I’m sorry about all that,” said the keeper. He was middle aged, a few years younger than the shopkeeper had been. He was dressed in a white coat, devoid of markings except for a small symbol on the lapels.

“Not to worry,” replied Bark, choosing not to display his relief at still being alive. “We can get the crystal from the ship, and if you’re up to it, you can show us where the node is.”

The keeper sat up. “Yes. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Quite frankly, I sometimes doubted that this day would ever come. Now, the node. It is in another part of the base.”

“Base? Is this an installation of some kind?”

“Oh, yes. It’s… how shall I describe it… a scientific and research station. I suppose those are the right words. I’ve been working here for years, with the other scientists. Now, if you can get the crystal, I’ll show you where it must be placed. But it would be best if you…” – he spoke to the blue woman – “don’t go with us into the lower levels of the base. Your appearance would attract attention. There are only humans down there.”

“Of course. I’m just happy that we found you before they did you any harm.”

“I’ll go with you back to the ship, then,” said Bark. “Sahrin, you stay here with our friend.”

Bark and the blue woman were heading for the stairs when they heard footsteps. Someone was coming down, in a hurry.

It was the Senator. He was holding the crystal, and was breathless from running.

“Nefilim ships! Three of them, they came from behind the hills!”

“Shit! What were they doing?”

“Nothing, at first. Then they started towards us. That’s when I got the crystal and jumped ship. I thought it best to get it down here, where it’s safer. Where I
hope
it’s safer, at least.”

“Everything’s fine. We were just coming up to get the crystal. I’ll go back up to see what’s going on. This is the node guy. He says that the blue woman shouldn’t go any further, so the rest is up to you and Sahrin. And Thead. Go with them and place the crystal.”

The keeper stopped looking at the crystal. “If you’ll just wait here, I’ll get some clothes for you all. Dressed as you are, you’ll be noticed immediately.”

He left the room. A few seconds later they heard the hiss of a door opening and closing. Bark looked at the weapon he was holding and wondered how much life was left in it. There was probably some way of telling. He wondered what it was. “Let’s go.”