The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion Book 2) (33 page)

“Yeah, but that was the harder part, right?” Lindsey waited for him to join her, then together, they started along the elevated track. “We need Teeny to join us. I’m calling him back.”

Torran nodded, rotating about to make sure the Scrags were still trapped in the station. They were. On the feed, Teeny ditched Franklin’s helmet and the mannequin before swooping out over the river and rising toward the platform. Its job was done.

Though Lindsey had devised a way to hide their wristlet signal from the Gaia Cult, the one she’d created for Teeny allowed the drone to track her. Of course, walking along the monorail line was a risk. Both the Scrags and the Cultists could spot them on the elevated track. Hopefully, they would make it to the communication tower before that happened.

“So, we escaped the Rescue Hub, made it to the monorail track, and our aerial drone killed a good chunk of the Scrags,” Lindsey said. “That’s not bad for an early morning start.”

“We just have to reach the communication tower, somehow start up the generator, transmit a top secret message to the commandant, and save what’s left of humanity.”

“Sounds like a full day’s work,” Lindsey decided.

“Just the same old, same old. Save the day. Go home. Make love to the girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? Is that what I am? We actually never agreed to titles.”

Though they were both obviously nervous, alert, and always checking behind and ahead of them, Torran loved every moment he could spend with her. It made life worth living.

“Well, girlfriend does have a nice sound to it, don’t you think?” Torran peered over the edge of the track at the road below. There were no Scrags in sight for the moment.

“Most definitely better than significant other. That sounds far too formal.”

“Lover,” Torran said, rolling the word off his tongue. “Lover sounds...”

“Sounds a bit dirty.”

“Does it?”

“Definitely.”

“So not lover.”

“Well, unless we’re naked and in bed. Then you can be my
lover
.” Lindsey dragged the word out provocatively.

Torran started to answer, but the track beneath his feet started to tremble. Lindsey crouched and grabbed onto the rail with one hand as the quaking intensified. A second later, Torran’s helmet lit up with an array of information streaming in from a nearby source, then was abruptly cut off. The air vibrated and a familiar sensation swept over him.

At the same time, Lindsey and Torran stood to face the squad tiltrotor cresting over the buildings of the upper city. Aerial drones flew at the two soldiers in a tight formation.

“Shit,” Torran breathed, realizing there was nowhere for them to go.

Lindsey turned toward him, a look of fright on her face.

Then they were peppered with electroshock discs and the world went black.

Chapter 31

Lindsey’s head pulsed painfully as she opened her eyes. At first, the world was blurry and surreal, then her vision adjusted. She was lying on a medbed and only clad in her black jumpsuit. Her armor, helmet and pack were gone. Swiping her wristlet, she saw it was locked down.

Across from her, Torran was still unconscious on another medbed. The room was white, sparse, and had three medbeds. The third was empty and it took her a second to realize they were not alone.

“MacDonald was hit a few more times than you were,” Dr. Curran said, stepping into the room from a small sanitation station in one corner. “He’ll take a little more time to recover.”

“Where are we?” Lindsey sat up sluggishly, her head swimming.

“It’s called the Louvre Rescue Center. We’re on the top floor. It’s secure. The Scrags can’t get through the bulkhead doors. We have roof access, which is how we got in.” Dr. Curran was still dressed in her Sci-tech uniform, and the bun on the back of her head looked a little ragged. Dark circles were under her eyes and there was a nasty bruise on her jaw.

Lindsey tried to drop her legs over the edge of the bed, but realized they were shackled to the frame. “Oh, nice.” She tugged at the heavy restraints, but comprehended quickly that there was no way she’d pry them off without tools.

“They’re not certain how you’ll react, so they’re taking precautions,” Dr. Curran explained.

Motioning at the scientists face, she said, “Is that what that is? A precaution?”

The older woman gingerly touched the bruise. “There was some conflict earlier, yes. Vanguard Rooney, do you know who’s holding us?”

“Us?” Lindsey stared at the scientist distrustfully.

Dr. Curran pulled up a chair and sat down between the two beds where Lindsey and Torran were restrained. “Yes, us.”

“You’re not shackled.”

“I’m not a potential troublemaker.” Dr. Curran sighed, clenched her hands together, and set them on her lap.

“That’s what the bruise is from? Them making sure you weren’t a troublemaker?”

“I admit I had a bit of a temper tantrum. Considering that I attempted to kill one of Solomon’s people, I got off a bit easy.”

“And they need you.”

Dr. Curran bitterly laughed. “You’ve figured some of it out, haven’t you?”

“They want the virus, so they’re going to need someone who knows how to work with it to ensure it’s properly handled. They’ll also need someone who can create the vaccines, administer it in proper dosages, and all that shit.” Lindsey flopped back onto the flat pillow beneath her head. She didn’t see the point of trying to sit up with her legs bound. “Plus, you created Maria.”

“They hoped I knew where she’s hiding. They were under the false impression I helped save her. They didn’t know I encouraged the castellan to kill her to protect The Bastion. They were surprised when I told them.”

“You’re a fuckin’ bitch,” Lindsey snarled.

Dr. Curran shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“All of this is your fault.”

Eyes flashing with fury, Dr. Curran leaned toward Lindsey. “If not for me, humanity would not have a chance at survival right now.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but you created a weapon against humanity that the Gaia Cult is going to use to wipe us out!” Lindsey crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the ceiling, not wanting to even look at the scientist.

“Of course, the Gaia Cult doesn’t see it quite that way. They feel they’re saving the best of humanity by starting a new world with like-minded people that will do away with all tech, return to the basics, and start again. They’ll leave places like this to rot away until it’s nothing more than a memory.”

“And to do that they need immunity like Maria’s.” Lindsey snorted with contempt.

“Exactly.”

“So they kidnapped you, too.”

“Yes, they did.”

“When?”

Dr. Curran stood and leaned over Lindsey so she was forced to look her in the eye. “I know you’re angry, but you’re not the only one suffering right now. Yesterday, no one returned to The Bastion. Solomon’s tiltrotor fired on the transports and destroyed them before they reached the mountain range.”

“They destroyed the food?” Lindsey stared at Dr. Curran in shock. “Killed the transport crews? Why?”

“Malice? Vengeance? Who knows?

“But the transports must have sent out a mayday.”

“Carter rigged a communication suppression system that didn’t allow the transports to call for help.”

“Carter?” Lindsey tried to wrap her mind around the idea of Carter, with his massive build and goofy grin, being a mastermind behind a suppression system.

“Yes, Carter.”

“Of course, your tiltrotor was sabotaged so it would crash into the river. That had been carefully planned out. There was a violent takeover on the remaining tiltrotor. Anyone not Gaia Cult or deemed essential to their plans was killed. There was a scuffle. I tried to kill Yates and Solomon hit me. When I awakened, we had already arrived here. I was interrogated for hours. Finally, they concluded I really don’t know where Maria is located. So then they settled in to wait for Franklin to check in. She never did. So this morning they went looking for you and happened across you on the monorail tracks.”

“So I suppose they want me to lead them to Maria.”

“They do.”

“I have no idea where she is,” Lindsey answered truthfully.

Dr. Curran pressed her lips together in a grim line, slightly shaking her head.

The room was probably being monitored. Was this her interrogation? Did she just doom herself? “I know where she was weeks ago,” Lindsey added, uncertainty filling her. Glancing at Torran fearfully, Lindsey’s heart sped up.

Noticing where Lindsey was looking, Dr. Curran said, “As for Master Seeker MacDonald, they have high hopes he’ll be joining them. His psych test reveals a man who’s very unhappy with the status quo of the city.”

“And you’ve joined them?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Dr. Curran gave her a bitter smile.

Swallowing the hard lump of dread in her throat, Lindsey said, “We all have choices. They just might be hard to live with.”

“Especially if those choices make you very dead.”

“You suspected Solomon of being Gaia Cult, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I also thought I had more time to put the pieces together.” Dr. Curran sighed, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. “Of course, I shared my suspicions with the one person I trusted more than any other, but she assured me I was being overly imaginative.”

“Martel.” Lindsey remembered the dinner reservation she’d uncovered while snooping. “She’s your...” Lindsey hesitated, remembering her conversation with Torran about relationship titles. The memory caused more pain than she’d ever dreamed. They’d never even agreed on what to call each other.

“She’s my girlfriend. Or I thought she was. And she’s in the Gaia Cult.”

“You had no idea, did you?”

Dr. Curran shook her head sorrowfully. “No, I didn’t. But upon reflection, I can see now how she seduced me. I always loved her, but she was always romantically entangled with men and didn’t show any inclination toward returning my affections. Then, soon after the liberation of the valley, she reached out to me and suggested we get reacquainted over dinner. At first, I thought maybe it was my newfound celebrity that attracted her, but she convinced me it was love. That she’d been in denial.”

Lindsey rubbed her lips together, not really wanting to feel bad for the scientist, but she actually did. “That’s really fuckin’ awful.”

“Yes, well, we’re all fools for love at some point. Look at what the castellan did for Maria. I never dreamed he loved her so much.” Dr. Curran wistfully sighed, then returned to her chair.

“What happens next?”

“They’ll talk to you. Hope you see the error of your ways and embrace the future by helping them find Maria. Which you should do if you want to live.” Dr. Curran’s voice was somber and devoid of warmth.

“Is that a threat?” Again, Lindsey wondered if this was the interrogation. Was Dr. Curran lying to her? Creating false sympathy? Or was there something more at play?

“No, Vanguard Rooney, it’s just reality.”

“Then reality can shove it up its asshole,”

Anger was keeping Lindsey from despair. There had to be a way out of the situation. She’d never allow Gaia Cult to find Maria. That would doom everyone in the city. The idea of tricking them came to mind. She could maybe use the remote communication cloud to divert the Gaia Cult to a wrong location, but Carter was a concern. He’d probably be watching her every little move if they allowed her near the equipment to transmit messages to Maria, and it was uncertain if his skills matched her own. Maybe it was arrogance, but she doubted he could best her.

“Listen to what they have to say,” Dr. Curran urged. Tilting her head down, the scientist moved her lips, but didn’t say actual words. It took Lindsey a few seconds to finally figure out what she was mouthing.

I have a plan.

* * *

The three prisoners were being escorted down a long corridor and Torran was still struggling to wake up completely. It had been disorienting and infuriating to return to consciousness strapped to a bed. He’d been relieved to see Lindsey was all right, but unnerved by the presence of Dr. Curran.

“Bloody hell,” Torran growled, rubbing the top of his head vigorously with his bound hands. “How many of those damn things did they hit us with?”

“Enough,” Dr. Curran replied.

When he dropped his hands, Lindsey shifted her bound wrists so she could intertwine her fingers with his. There was no point in denying their relationship in front of the people who’d seen him leap into a river to save her. There was also a strong possibility they’d been watched before the food retrieval mission had even become a reality.

“No touching,” Carter ordered.

Lindsey gave the man a dark look, but let go of Torran.

“It’ll be okay,” Torran said to Lindsey.

“If you cooperate,” Yates interjected. Her short blond hair was slicked back from her face making her appear even more imposing.

The two women had been filling him in on their circumstances when his former squad members had come to claim them. Carter, Yates, and Ramirez had stripped their armor of their insignias and now wore Gaia Cult armbands. All three had remained unresponsive to every question hurled at them while they were releasing Lindsey and Torran from the bed restraints. The Cultists had then shackled their prisoners’ wrists and ankles, making it difficult to walk. Dr. Curran, apparently having gained some of the trust of the Cultist, was left unrestrained.

Now Torran stumbled beside Lindsey through the new headquarters of the Gaia Cult. Since there wasn’t power in the facility, remote generators were tucked near doorways to give power only to certain areas. It left most of the floor in the dark, which was disconcerting. Torran found it amusing that a group so adamantly against tech were dependent on its use.

The prisoners were escorted into a large room that had once been the primary hub of the rescue center. There was a lot of damage to the room, and upon closer inspection, Torran saw it was probably from the evacuation. Entire consoles had been yanked out of the walls. A few of the old screens were operational, and Torran saw more of his former squad members working to restore others.

Meanwhile, Chief Defender Solomon sat in the command chair, observing their approach. As they stepped into the room, she gave them a disquieting smirk. “Welcome.”

“You have a strange way of making people feel
welcomed,”
Torran said, holding up his bound wrists.

“And this place doesn’t really feel all that welcoming,” Lindsey added, looking about the room. “Not very safe either.”

“I beg to differ, Vanguard Rooney,” Solomon said. “When this facility was built, it was claimed that no Scrag could ever breach the doors. It was created to survive in the worst outbreak. This declaration was actually correct. The Scrags didn’t breach the doors. Gaia Liberation opened them. One floor after the other. Except for the one at the far end of the hall. We kept that one closed so we could return for needed equipment after the facility was abandoned.” Solomon pointed at one of the screens that revealed a stairwell packed with Scrags. “So if you’re worried about security, I can assure you: we’re safe.”