The Deaths of Tao (10 page)

“Hey, Wheels,” Roen smiled. “Let’s call a truce. I mean, we’ve crossed paths a dozen times and haven’t gotten along, but let’s try and make nice this go around. Pretend it’s our first date again, alright?”

Wuehler, with his eyes closed, shrugged. “Just follow orders, Roen. Don’t get anyone killed.”

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Roen grinned.

“I’ll shoot you myself if you disobey.”

Roen sighed. “And I thought we were about to share a beautiful moment. Why did you have to ruin it?” A few seconds passed. “So do we have the details of what happened prior to the
Atlantis
’ capture?”

Without opening his eyes, Wuehler bent down and picked up the notebook that Roen had laid aside. He flipped to the next page and placed it in front of Roen. Then he turned his back to him.

“I didn’t realize there was a page two.”

Your physical competency seems to directly correlate with idiocy.
 

Roen skimmed through the rest of the mission summary. The
Atlantis
had picked Dylan and his team up in Shanghai just after he rendezvoused with one of their double agents. He had received intel that led him to Taiwan. The
Atlantis
tried to sneak through the Strait of Taiwan when the South Sea Fleet boxed them in. During the ensuing battle, the
Atlantis
was crippled, but only after she took out two Chinese subs, a destroyer, and six ASW combat choppers.

“Old girl didn’t do too badly for herself,” Roen murmured, not without a bit of pride.

Wuehler opened one eye and nodded. “Damn straight. Abrams is pretty ace. I hope to see that old dog still alive.”

Before she lost propulsion, Admiral Abrams had pushed Dylan and his small team into individual escape pods. The last communication from the
Atlantis
was the pods’ trajectory toward the northwestern coast of Taiwan. All five of the ejected pods were confirmed destroyed shortly after launch. Taiwanese authorities had recovered the wreckage of all the pods and four bodies. Dylan’s was the only one missing. The
Atlantis
now was in Genjix hands and the status of her crew was unknown.

“That tough bastard. I won’t believe he’s dead unless I see a body. Not even a torpedo and the ocean could kill him.”

Yen likes his hosts like that.
 

Roen looked at his watch. They were landing in Los Angeles in six hours and then it was off to Taiwan. His mind raced back to Jill and the past twenty-four hours of his life. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until they were huddling together looking at pictures of their son. Tao had him so focused on this Quasiform discovery that it had completely overshadowed the pain of missing his wife and child. Now it was rushing back like water through a broken dam.

As far as Jill was concerned, he’d been holed up in that missile silo for the past year. If she only knew the truth – he had actually spent barely any time there. The two main reasons he had chosen the silo were the munitions stash and its proximity to her base of operations. One thing Roen was adamant about, much to Tao’s irritation, was to always be there for Jill when she was on assignment. That he never wavered on. She was the last thing on his mind when he finally dozed off.

 

When they reached LAX, the team walked to their layover together. The rest of the guys gave Roen the same cold shoulder that Wuehler did. All except for Faust. Faust had always treated him fairly, and Roen was grateful for that. The others only knew him by reputation, which, while not entirely unjustified, gave them the impression that he was as dangerous as the Genjix. They walked by a corridor full of windows, and Roen stopped to admire the sun-soaked landscape. After living in a cave and operating only at night, like a vampire, seeing the sun felt like a surprise visit from an old friend.

“Always seventy plus or minus two in Los Angeles,” he murmured, admiring the cloudless sky.

We should build our headquarters here.
 

“Nah, traffic’s a killer on the 405. Besides, too many paparazzi.”

Who would want to take a picture of your ugly mug?
 

“Hear, hear,” Roen chuckled. “I wonder what Jill and Cameron are doing right now.”

The thought of Cameron brought another stab of pain to his chest. He hadn’t seen his boy in so long, and now with him staying with his grandparents in... His thoughts trailed off. Roen stood there in the middle of the pedway, completely blocking traffic. His eyes wandered outside again, and then back at the signs floating above his head. Restroom to the right. Ticketing upstairs. Luggage Claim down the stairs. No entrance after this point. Car Rental to the left. Roen made up his mind and took off running after Wuehler. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and spun him around.

“I need to take a later flight,” he said urgently. “I have the safe house coordinates in Taipei. I’ll only be a day behind.” He turned to leave and stopped. “Sorry,” he said finally, really meaning it.

Wuehler seemed stunned and looked like he was about to blow a gasket, but then he noticed the desperate look in Roen’s eyes. “One day I can give. Two and I’ll shoot you when you walk through the door.”

Roen nodded. He appreciated this gesture and reminded himself that whatever happened, he owed Wuehler one. Then he took off sprinting down the left corridor as fast as he could.

 

NINE

PLANS AND PIZZA

That was my first encounter with Tao. It was not unusual for Quasing not to have crossed paths, but I had heard of him. He had a distinguished history among us, and was reputed to be a firebrand. His work as an empire builder could not be overlooked.
 

And though the Genjix had captured and imprisoned my host, I was not ready to join the newly founded Prophus faction. It was one thing to passively object to the old order, it was another to outright rebel. Tao made sure I had little choice in the matter.
 

Baji

 

Jill rubbed her eyes and looked at the time: 7.15pm. For the past two days, she had pored over all the documentation Tammy had pulled for the South Seas Sanction. It was a behemoth seven-hundred-page stack of trade papers that was as interesting to read as a Latin dictionary.

She looked at the lopsided battle on the white board of her office wall: sixteen Genjix senators against just three Prophus senators for its passage. Its success would come down to a list in the middle column of four senators who were sitting on the fence.

“Tammy,” she called as her assistant was sneaking home for the night. “Schedule a meeting with Gastigone, Garritano, Young, and Karn before you go. Make it before next Thursday. Then I need you to pull every initiative these senators are backing. I need it tonight.”

The look of disappointment on Tammy’s face could kill. Jill wouldn’t have ordered this if the fate of the world wasn’t on the line. She made a mental note to buy Tammy lunch tomorrow. She watched as her assistant huffed back to her desk and then focused again on the forty-page list of imports/exports in the sanction.

The Genjix were trying to slip something past the Prophus, something that they wanted badly enough to offer significant political capital for it. She notated several possibilities, from military grade electronics to rare minerals to energy sources. Then she compiled a list of elements from heavy water to experimental metals to biological specimens. By 9pm, she had gotten through less than ten percent of the banned list. She was about to order delivery for dinner when a reminder popped up on her computer. Jill grimaced.

“You think Paula would mind if we skip it? I’m not in the right mind for cocktails right now. All I want to do is finish this and get home.”

Have her meet you at your place. It is more secure anyhow.
 

That was a great idea. Jill might get some actual sleep for once. That and she could use a nice hot bath. She called Paula on her way home and changed their plans to 11pm. The first thing she did when she walked inside was kick off her heels and run the water in the tub. Ten minutes later, she was drinking a glass of pinot and soaking her exhausted body in a steamy bath.

She closed her eyes and tried her damnedest to unwind. Jill couldn’t remember the last time she wasn’t stressed. A few minutes later, she slipped into an exhausted slumber. She woke to a light tapping on her shoulder. It took a second to get her bearings. She noticed the cold silver barrel of a pistol close to her face. With a start, she lashed out.

“Easy there,” Paula cooed. “Just me.” She holstered her pistol. “Had me worried. Thought there was foul play when you didn’t answer your phone. Can’t do my job knowing the love of Roen’s life isn’t safe. I’ll feel better when Marco arrives. “

“Stop being on his side,” Jill yawned and stood up, shivering. She must have been out for a while. The water was nippy and her fingers and were wrinkled like dried plums. “Did I miss our meeting?”

“Not if we have it now,” Paula grinned and handed her a towel.

“How did you get in here?” Jill asked, wrapping the towel around her body.

Paula shrugged. “Snuck in through the pool deck of the high-rise. You’ll need to get a new lock for your front door. I’ll wait outside.”

A few minutes later, a bathrobed Jill walked out to the living room. Paula was lounging on the couch watching the cricket score recaps on ESPN. She gestured at a large thin crust pizza on the coffee table. Jill’s stomach reminded her of how famished she was.

She grabbed a slice and sat down next to Paula. “So what’s the scoop? Is the capital of the free world going to hell in a hand basket?”

Paula handed her a large manila packet. “Here are the latest intel reports. DC is already crispy. All I can do at this point is keep you lot out of the fire, or at least not too badly burned. What’s happening on the political front?”

Jill told her about the offer Simon made to Wilks, cutting through the fat and focusing on the sanctions that the Genjix seemed desperate to lift. She then laid out her alternatives to prevent Wilks from agreeing to the Genjix’s proposal.

“Start with the list of materials the sanction blocks,” Paula said, mouth half full. Jill handed the stack of paper to her. Paula glanced at it and frowned. Then she skimmed through the pages. “That’s a long list.”

Jill nodded. “We need better specifics. A lot of the banned tech on the list is predator drone technology. Could that be it? Are the Genjix trying to build a fleet of unmanned drones?”

“None of our intel suggests Skynet coming online.”

Doubtful. Control through a host is difficult enough. It is doubly so to control a proxy through another proxy. Besides, we harbor prejudice toward artificial intelligence.
 

Paula finished her slice of pizza and helped herself to another. She stared at it lovingly. “You know what I love about America? Your food. Now I know why you’re all so fat. You have the best food. It’s just too bad your tea is so awful.”

Jill went to the table and began to pull notes from the reports. She was going to need more time to go through everything. That meant she had to delay Wilks’ meeting with Hogan – by weeks if possible. “I need a better excuse to keep this meeting from happening,” she muttered. She turned to Paula. “I’m going to be busy for a while. You heading back out?”

“In a bit. If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish catching up on today’s breathtaking cricket replays,” Paula replied.

“Be my guest.” Jill began laying out a new plan to entice Wilks from Hogan’s deal. It would have to be a large package with several things from his wish list. The first thing she did was write down all of Wilks’ goals, from his pet projects to his major initiatives. Then she made several lists of other senators’ goals that Wilks could support. Then she connected the dots and packaged several potential deals.

Two hours later, she finished her plan and reviewed it. It was a solid start, though she was dubious about pulling it off. She stood up and stretched, bending her torso side to side. She looked at the clock: 3.42am. She’d better head off to bed. It was another early day tomorrow.

“You alright there, Paula?” she asked, turning to see what the other woman was doing.

Paula was sprawled on the couch with a half-eaten slice of pizza on a plate resting on her belly, sleeping in what seemed like a very uncomfortable position. Jill smiled and went to get the extra blankets. She moved the plate of pizza aside, layered the blankets over the sleeping agent, and tucked a pillow under her head. Then she dimmed the lights and went to her room.

 

Paula knocked on Jill’s bedroom door. Without waiting for a response, she walked in and sat down at the foot of the bed.

Jill’s eyes fluttered open. “Hello, Yol,” she said.

“Baji,” Yol answered through Paula. “It has been too long since we last spoke.”

“October 1944, just before the death of the Desert Fox,” Baji said solemnly.

Yol nodded. “Rommel was a good man, even if he was on the wrong side of history.”

“I did what I could for him, though the SS had long decided his fate.”

“You saved his family,” Yol replied. “That was more than enough considering the circumstances. Your host’s hands were tied at High Command.” Yol looked off into space and shook her head. “I had high hopes for him as a boy. In any other time, he could have become a great person. He was my Sonya. It was too bad we could not prevent the rise of the Third Reich.”

“Nor the Japanese imperial expansion,” Baji added. “Our entire network in China dissolved in under a year. We should have rebuilt it immediately after the war. But we focused on America and the reconstruction of Europe, allowing the Genjix to gain a foothold there. Now it is the base of their power and nearly impossible to crack.”

“Many mistakes were made. The twentieth century was a catastrophe for us and for humanity. The blame for a dozen wars lies at our feet,” Yol shook her head in disgust. “Sometimes, I wonder if Tao is right.”