The Girls From Alcyone (26 page)

With her camouflage set to a dark, charcoal grey, Sigrid blended perfectly into the shadows as she made her way out to the terrace above the Council offices. At the upper levels, the tower was built in a pyramid-like fashion, and there was another terrace on the office-level just beneath her. Sigrid slipped up and over the high protective barrier—designed to prevent people from leaning out over the edge, no doubt—and dropped down to the lower level. The doors were locked and electronically sealed, but no match for the Lady Hitomi's excellent decryption algorithms.

Sigrid was in.

Quickly and quietly, Sigrid made her way down the hallway to the server room. She saw a guard there, walking by, making his rounds. He seemed oblivious to her, so she let him pass, before commencing the task of breaking into the server room.

The security here was much more complex. It took Sigrid almost a full minute to break through the locks on the great door, and it didn't get any easier once she was inside. The room was armed with motion and heat-sensors, audio sensors, even chemical and bacteria sensors, and cameras positioned at all angles.

Sigrid searched and found what she was looking for. The Security Node was located in a service panel in an alcove just inside the server room; she'd still need to get to that without being detected. She shrouded herself, again becoming virtually invisible—just a shimmering, translucent outline of a woman. Concentrating even harder, Sigrid lowered her body temperature by several degrees; she could only hope it was enough to shield her from the heat sensors. If it wasn't…well, she'd know soon enough.

Her optical implants picked up the location of the biological sensors. Sigrid selected four of the silicone gel-caps from the pouch at her waist and fixed them to the tiny palm-sized launcher she carried. Four quick shots took care of the sensors, coating them in a thin layer of silicone. After that, it was a reasonably simple matter to avoid the infrared beams by stepping lively as she moved toward the security panel. She couldn't deactivate the security completely—that would set off a series of alarms—but Sigrid put the system into a temporary diagnostic loop. It wouldn't last long, but she only needed a few more minutes. With the security systems temporarily deactivated, Sigrid de-shrouded. The effort had been particularly draining this time, especially after having to alter her core temperature; she didn't want to be doing that again any time soon, she decided.

Now, for the server.

Sigrid was surprised to find the security so light, and she gained access quite easily.
They probably never thought anyone would get this far
, she thought as the monitor lit up in front of her. Sigrid slipped a blank data-module into the access port on the side of the unit. Hitomi's
wish list
was extensive; she was to find and retrieve
all
files pertaining to the
Andraste
project.

It didn't take long to find the first, and one seemed to lead to another and then another. Sigrid was finding hundreds of communiqués, all of them voicing either outrage or concern over what they perceived as 'Hitomi's army of genetic monsters' and what it would mean if they didn't move to control them, and soon.

The loop in the security system would not last much longer and there were more files to download. The powerful processors implanted within her enabled her to scan through the thousands of terabytes of information rapidly. The files pertaining to the Council's financial accounts took up most of the room on the four data modules she'd brought—especially since there seemed to be
two
sets of accounts. Sigrid chuckled; she knew Hitomi would find these of great interest.

Sigrid filled all four data-modules, then cursed; there was still more. Her own PCM could accommodate some of the information, but there was too much. She was about to extract herself from the system when she spotted the anomaly. One communiqué—she'd almost missed it. It wasn't logged as all the other messages were. Someone had even tried to delete it, but they hadn't been quite thorough enough. No. That wasn't correct. Someone had tried to
repair
it.

There was no ID tag and the message was nearly completely corrupted. Much of it didn't make sense; names, dates, payment schedules. Two names stood out instantly:
Alcyone
.
Dalair.
But it was the third name that stopped her cold. Tansho.

Suko…

It was Suko's last name, but there was nothing more. There was no signature, and she couldn't make out the recipient either, but she downloaded it quickly to her PCM. With luck, Hitomi could analyze it later.

It was time to go.

Sigrid exited the server room and made her way back to the terrace; she would leave the way she came—retracing her steps, covering her tracks on the way out.

Before she'd completed half the distance to the terrace, every sensor in Sigrid's system shot the warning to her. She rolled into cover, behind one of the many
pillars that lined the reception area. Someone was there.

Sigrid didn't breathe; she reached out with every sensor she had, scanning the vicinity. The signals she got back were confusing. She couldn't lock anything down, but was certain of it now—someone was there, watching her. She took a chance and peered out from behind the pillar.

The reception area appeared clear and quiet. She switched to her thermal optics and scanned and—
there!
She saw them. Two men hiding behind cover, and another lay in wait on the other side. They knew she was there and were blocking her exit to the terrace. There was something odd about their scans. She was only getting a partial signal, as if something was shielding them from her.

Sigrid played back the entire operation in her mind—she couldn't think of any alarm she'd missed. How was it they knew she was there?

Sigrid moved quietly into the shadows, away from the men and back toward the elevator. But her sensors picked up more movement. More men, many more, were moving toward her from the opposite direction. It was a trap.

What was it that Rosa had always drilled into her—
the path of least resistance?
She had little choice; she had to take out the three men blocking her exit to the terrace. Sigrid grabbed two flashbangs and one of the gas grenades from her belt, rolling all three in the directions of the men lying in wait for her. The explosion shattered the silence and darkness, filling the corridor with smoke and the debilitating gas. Sigrid held her breath and rolled out from behind her cover, coming into a crouch and drawing her two pearl-handled pistols.

Finally, her pursuers revealed themselves. Three men leaned out from their positions of cover. Sigrid logged the targets and fired three shots—three perfect head-shots—that bounced harmlessly off their armored helmets.

Only then did Sigrid see that all three wore some kind of mechanized armor that covered their entire bodies. She'd never seen anything like it and there was nothing of the sort listed in her database. The armor perfectly protected them from the gas bomb she'd thrown and the ballistic rounds she'd fired.

At first she'd assumed the men to be CTF security, or possibly Marines, but their armor bore an unfamiliar insignia that didn't register with her. All three men leveled their weapons at her; two had lethal looking chain guns, the kind normally mounted on heavy vehicles; they held the bulky weapons as if they were featherweight. The third man was pointing a familiar-looking riot gun at her.

Sigrid swallowed. "Crap."

The one with the riot gun moved first; Sigrid's sensors picked up the flex of his finger on the trigger and she launched herself forward, moving directly at him. She saw the flare as the weapon discharged the restraining net at her. Sigrid hurled herself out of its path. Her pistols were back in her holster and she'd already drawn the katana from its sheath as she came back up on her feet. She was vaguely aware of the net smacking harmlessly against the wall behind her. The clanking of the two chain guns firing sounded loud in her head as the armored soldiers frantically tried to track her. All her focus was on the armored man in front of her.

Her PCM registered the weak spot in his armor, just below his helmet and above his shoulders. Her katana sliced through the composite material, relieving the man of his head. Sigrid charged onward; the terrace was just in front of her; though her path took her between the two remaining men. She could feel the explosive rounds from their chain guns nipping at her heels. Sigrid crashed through the doors, shattering the heavy glass, not daring to slow. In a second she was up and over the railing, leaping from the terrace, 222 stories above the city of Buenos Aires.

For a terrifying instant Sigrid feared she'd miscalculated and leapt too far, but she crashed down onto the next terrace three stories below. The drop was nearly fourteen meters and she hit the concrete hard, absorbing as much of the energy as possible in a desperate tuck and roll. But her momentum propelled her into the oncoming railing and she smacked her head solidly on the barrier. She screamed, fighting to keep her wits. The nanomites surged through her system, working hard to repair the damage, ease the pain and keep her conscious.

She had to keep moving. The armored soldiers were already firing down at her. Sigrid ran for the safety of cover. She fired her pistols to smash the glass doors in front of her before charging inside.

Sigrid skidded to a halt. Standing, waiting in front her, dressed in the same mechanized armor and with a rocket launcher leveled at her face, was Sara.

"Hello Sigrid," she cooed.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Reunion

"Sara…"
Sigrid's mouth hung open. Sara stood before her; she was older now, but it was definitely Sara. She was alive! "But…how? We thought you were…"

"Spare me the false concern."

"What are you doing here? How'd you—"

"Believe it or not, I'm here for you."

"Here for me?" Sigrid frowned. "To kill me, you mean."

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm here to help you."

"But you—you're dressed like them, like those
men
."

"Them? Don't worry about them."

Sigrid folded her arms and eyed the rocket launcher warily. "Right now, I'm more worried about you."

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead." Sara lowered the launcher. "Sigrid…what do you really know about Kimura? Do you really trust them? They left me for dead—they took us all. You don't owe them anything. I can help you."

"Help me?
And were your
friends
back there trying to help me? Is that what you call it?" Sigrid had no loyalties to the corporation. But the Lady Hitomi…the woman was
not
what Sigrid had expected. Sara, on the other hand, was the last person Sigrid was willing to trust.

"We don't want to kill you, Sigrid. But make no mistake, if you choose to work against us—you, or any of the girls…" Sara took a deep breath and frowned. "The Council will try to control you. We can't let that happen."

"Is that why you're here? To stop the Council, or to get me?"

"Like I said. We can't let them take any of you. They'll use you, Sigrid. They'll use all of you."

Sigrid's hands slid down to her hips. "And this is how you want to recruit me—at gunpoint? What if I say no? What of the other girls?"

Sara shrugged. "You're either with us or against us. Now, are you going to stand down like a good little girl, or am I going to have to blow you to bits." Sara aimed down the sight of the launcher. "I'm happy either way."

Sigrid pursed her lips. There was no way in hell she trusted Sara, or would let her harm the girls from Alcyone.

Sara hadn't noticed Sigrid's hand resting casually on her belt, hadn't noticed the tiny frag grenade she rolled between finger and thumb. Sigrid popped the frag and charged straight at her. Surprised, Sara fired, straight at Sigrid's face, but Sigrid was already moving sideways, spinning, continuing her charge forward. With her shoulder down, she barged heavily into Sara, tackling her. She released the grenade; it clattered along the marble floor toward the elevator doors just ahead. The blast blew the metal doors inward sending bent and twisted shards tumbling down the long shaft.

Sigrid somersaulted right over Sara, wrenching herself from the girl's hands as Sara made a desperate grab at her. Sigrid didn't stop, and she dived, head first into the open shaft ahead of her, disappearing into the smoking darkness.

The last thing Sara saw were Sigrid's heels disappearing over the edge of the elevator shaft. She hauled herself up and ran to the charred opening, staring down into the abyss. She saw nothing. Her scans couldn't pick anything up either. It was difficult to imagine Sigrid surviving the fall, but she thumbed the comlink on her armored collar. "She's in the shaft. Check the perimeter—nobody lets her get out."

* * *

Sigrid was grateful for Hitomi's planning as she hurried to the
Starling
waiting for her on the roof. Shrouded in camouflage, it sat still and quiet, looking black as the night around them. The skin of the heavily-modified craft glimmered faintly under the torrential downpour. Had it not been for the rain washing over it, Sigrid might not have seen it at all.

She'd barely put her foot on the mounting step when the pilot gunned the thrusters, sending the craft rocketing up toward the spilling clouds overhead. Sigrid stood on the rail, one hand gripping the open doorframe above her as she stared down at the diminishing city of Buenos Aires, with its bright, colored lights blurred and muted, dimmed by a thick layer of fog and a swirling of low-lying clouds.

The Hotel wasn't far; the flight through the dismal weather was mercifully brief. The pilot circled once, dropping altitude, hardly slowing long enough for her to leap onto the roof, skidding and rolling to stop on the slick surface. Her suite was only a few floors down so Sigrid chose to scramble down the exterior to the balcony below rather than risk being spotted in the halls.