Xenofreak Nation, Book Three: XIA (13 page)

“Well?” Maddy said. “What’s your brilliant idea to get us out of here?”

Technically, Bryn wasn’t sure her idea would work, but she didn’t want Maddy to shoot Curtis and it was the only thing she could think of that might stop her.

“Use the soldiers’ nanoneurons against them,” she said. “If Padme could do it, I’ll bet Curtis can, too.”

Maddy’s mouth formed an “O” of surprise. “That’s perfect! Send them a dose of fear! You,” she pointed to Curtis. “Do it.”

“Believe me,” Curtis said fervently, “I would if I could, but I need the program.”

Maddy’s head rolled back on her neck as she directed her gaze to the ceiling. “Which the XIA has.”

As soon as the words left her lips, her head snapped upright and she jabbed a manicured finger at Bryn. “Call your boyfriend.”

Bryn briefly debated whether it would be worth it to refuse. As the one holding the shotgun,
she
should be the one calling the shots, so to speak, but refusing to call Scott because she didn’t want to blow his cover would be stupid. Scott just might be her only hope of getting out of this alive, and at this point, she didn’t think it was possible to continue to keep his identity secret. In the end, it wouldn’t matter anyway if Maddy killed Fournier.

She looked at Curtis. “Can whoever has the standalone machine activate the soldiers’ nanoneurons?”

With warning in his tone, Fournier drawled, “Cur
tis
.”

Dillo jammed the barrel of his gun into Fournier’s cheek. “One more word.”

Fournier wisely kept silent as Curtis said, “I can walk them through it.”

Maddy waved a hand at Bryn. “Call him.”

Bryn reluctantly nodded, but she wasn’t about to set the shotgun down. “Mia?”

Peripherally, she saw Mia pull her cellphone from her purse and dial. After two rings, Scott’s anxious face appeared. Bryn glanced at Fournier, who didn’t show any surprise that the xeno he knew as Cougar was in fact an XIA agent.

“About time!” Scott said. “Is Bryn with you?”

“She’s here.” Mia held the holophone up. A small silence fell as Scott assessed the situation, followed by the deadly calm words, “What do you want, Maddy?”

Bryn jumped in. “It’s not what you think. Long story short, Mia and I went to one of Fournier’s dens by accident and he brought us to his new bioengineering facility. Maddy showed up and now we’re all trapped inside the control room with his soldiers outside.”

Before she could continue, Scott asked, “Where are you?”

“Mia can send you the coordinates, but we’re at least half an hour outside the city. There’s no time for you to get here. Do you have the nanoneuron program?”

Bryn wasn’t sure at first if Scott was even at XIA headquarters because his surroundings were dark. Then she heard Shasta’s stern voice. “We will not negotiate turning over that program.”

“No one asked you to,” Maddy retorted.

Bryn met Maddy’s eyes and thought,
Yet
, but said, “Shasta, we might be able to escape if you use the program to disable Fournier’s soldiers. The ones who have nanoneurons.”

Shasta stayed in the shadows, but Bryn detected more than a spark of interest in her voice. “You have the password?”

“Yeah, and we’re in kind of a hurry.”

Shasta hadn’t admitted to having the program, but after a short pause, she said, “The printer’s interface is ready and waiting.”

“Password is 8kl94mp002z*byf6,” Curtis said, slowly enunciating the string of letters, symbols and numbers.

“Got it,” Shasta said. Then, “It’s asking for an authorized palm holoscan.”

“What?” Curtis exclaimed.

Everyone in the control room looked at Fournier. The gun against his cheek distorted his smile. “I believe the ball is back in my court.”

Bryn couldn’t help but think she’d revealed Scott’s identity for nothing. “Whose palm does it want?”

Fournier lifted his eyebrows. “Mine.”

“Good to know,” Maddy said. “I’ll be sure to cut it from your cold, dead body once this is all over.”

Another voice on Scott’s end joined the conversation. “One other person can access it.”

“Nicola, don’t!” Fournier shouted angrily.

A young woman’s face appeared in the bluish light of Scott’s holophone. Bryn stared in shock at a younger version of her mother.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Nicola said, “but I can’t let them kill you.”

Nicola turned to Scott. “Savvy can access the program. I know where he went. If Maddy Singh swears not to kill my father, I’ll take you to him.”

Scott glanced away from her earnest face, thinking it would be easy to get Maddy to make that promise, but impossible to hold her to it.

“Maddy?” he asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Maddy replied. Her holoimage practically radiated insincerity, but the words alone seemed to appease Nicola.

Scott looked at Bryn. She held the shotgun confidently, but her eyes were huge.

“Hurry,” she said.

“I’ll call you back.” Scott shut his holophone and pinned Nicola with a hard stare. “Where is he?”

“Third floor.”

Alton, standing next to Shasta, asked, “What’s on the third floor?”

“A branch office for the National Library of Medicine.” Shasta handed the printer to Scott. “Do
not
lose this. Alton, go with them.”

Scott led the way to the stairwell on the other side of the building, keeping a cautious lookout for any lingering hostiles. Power to the building was out, so this stairwell, too, was dark. With Scott’s flashlight illuminating the way, they went up past the destroyed door on the second floor platform, and then stopped in front of the holoscanner near the door to the third floor. The backup generator ensured that essential systems were working, so Alton was able to gain them access to the floor.

Scott had never been on the third floor, but from what little he could see, the office space was configured similarly to that of XIA headquarters. He didn’t know much about this branch of the National Library of Medicine except that it was obscure and its employees kept to themselves.

He thought they’d have to hunt Savvy down, but Nicola called, “Felson! I need you,” and within seconds the savant appeared within the circle of Scott’s flashlight beam.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Daddy needs you to activate the program.”

Savvy turned his head away and appeared to be studying the carpet. “He never said that.”

“I know what he said, and you’ve done a great job, but things aren’t working out the way they were supposed to. Maddy Singh showed up at the farm and one of her soldiers has a gun to Daddy’s head.” Nicola’s voice broke.

“How do you know?”

“I just talked to him!”

“But if I activate the program, it will only affect your father’s soldiers.” Savvy began to rock a little, as if arguing with Nicola upset him.

“And Maddy is surrounded by them. If she can’t escape, she’ll kill him.”

“Why doesn’t he call them off?”

Nicola released a short, frustrated breath. “Because he doesn’t trust her! But at least this way, there’s a chance she won’t kill him. If his soldiers attack, Daddy’s dead for sure.”

Savvy’s mouth tightened. “No. I won’t do it unless he tells me to.”

Alton lifted his gun arm and pointed it at Savvy’s head. “How ‘bout if
I
tell you to?”

“You won’t shoot me.”

“That one?” Nicola said, glancing at Alton. “Yes, he will.”

“Yeah, Felson,” Alton said. “You don’t want her to see your brains splattered all over the wall, do you?”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?”

Nicola put a hand on Savvy’s arm. “This is coming from
me
, Felson. No one’s pressuring me. Please just do it. I don’t want Daddy to die.”

Scott opened the printer and held it out.

Savvy looked so conflicted he seemed like he was about to implode upon himself, but he finally reached out and took it. He set it on a nearby surface and activated the holoscanner. Moments later, a holoscreen popped up.

“Wait,” Scott said, as something occurred to him. “How does it work?”

“I send a signal through the nearest cell tower,” Savvy said.

“Will everyone with nanoneurons be affected?”

“Unless I deselect their name.”

“Then do it,” Scott said. “Deselect Bryn Vega’s name.”

“Why is
she
there?” Savvy asked.

“Never mind,” Nicola said. “Just hurry, okay?”

Scott watched over Savvy’s shoulder as he scrolled through a long list of names. He found Bryn’s and did something. When he gestured with his hand, every name but hers turned red and began to blink.

Scott took out his holophone and called Mia again. She answered immediately.

“You’re good to go,” he said.

Dillo glanced out the door and muttered, “What are they
doing
?” After a moment, he added, “Oh, they’re definitely freaking out.”

There was a loud
pop
, and Dillo guffawed and exclaimed, “Guy just shot another guy! Looks like it’s affecting three or four of them, at least. Now’s the time.”

Bryn’s heart started beating faster. She had the shotgun, but barely knew how to use it. She didn’t even know whether she had another shot left or if she’d already expended her one and only bullet. Even if she had more ammunition, she didn’t know how to load it. It seemed a poor choice to go out into a gunfight under the circumstances. She hated to admit her lack of knowledge to Maddy, but she had no choice.

Before she could say anything, however, the Mad Eye queen bent over the dead xeno, unclipped an ammo belt from his waist and tugged it out from under him. She then strapped it around her hips, pulled Fournier’s pistol from her inside jacket pocket and held it out to Bryn.

“Trade you. I’m more of a shotgun gal.”

After they swapped weapons, Maddy swung the barrel of the short shotgun towards Curtis.

Bryn didn’t know why she felt compelled to keep Maddy from killing the squirrelly man, but she said, “Don’t shoot him.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Maddy replied, but she fired the shotgun anyway, right past Curtis’ head. She must have been aiming for the control room’s circuit breaker panel, because the room went dark. Now Curtis wouldn’t be able to monitor them after they left. Bryn’s ears were ringing, but she heard Maddy’s voice come out of the darkness. “Dillo?”

“Ready.”

Diffuse light filled the room as he opened the door and yelled, “Hold your fire or the boss gets it!” He forced Fournier ahead of him out onto the platform. Maddy went next, and then it was Bryn’s turn. She held her arms out in front of her like she’d seen on holovision, elbows locked, gun swinging from side to side. She knew Mia was very close behind her because she could hear her breathing.

The first thing she did after stepping over the threshold was lift the gun towards the roof of the prefab in case the sniper had returned. The last thing she expected was to see him there, just extending his rifle out over the edge to take Dillo out from behind. Firing at him wasn’t even a conscious decision. Her finger twitched on the trigger and the gun bucked in her hand, turning her locked elbows to noodles.

The sniper disappeared from view, but she knew she’d hit him because the oddly-shaped rifle fell to her feet. Dillo glanced around and met her eyes.

Yeah, I just saved your sorry life
, Bryn thought.

Mia quickly picked up the rifle and nudged Bryn. “Go!”

Bryn was vaguely aware her shot had set off a response. As they ran for the stairs, she looked out over the railing to see two soldiers sprinting for the nearest door. One of them began firing blindly over his shoulder at them, until one of his comrades stepped out from behind a steel column and fired back.

“Look at ’em shoot each other!” Maddy sounded elated.

One of the running soldiers fell, but the other made it to the door. As soon as he disappeared outside, Dillo stepped up the pace, forcing Fournier down the steps and across the floor. When they reached the nearest steel column, Bryn saw one of the soldiers curled up in a fetal position behind it, lost in the throes of fear his nanoneurons were producing. Not far away, another man lay clutching his bloody midsection and rolling in agony.

She almost felt sorry for them. She’d experienced that same flood of terror only a few days ago, courtesy of Padme. Even the memory of it made her shudder.

The soldier who’d shot one of his own turned to them and fired, but his clip was empty. He kept trying to fire, spasmodically pulling the trigger until he finally threw the gun at them. It fell far short and clattered across the floor. He sank into a squat and wrapped his arms around his head, screaming, “Make it
stop
!”

Behind him, Bryn saw the scientists inside the biodome crouching behind and under the furnishings. She couldn’t tell if they were affected by the signal, too, or simply hiding from the crazed gunmen.

They made it to the door. The soldier who’d run out was nowhere in sight, but a saddled, riderless horse stood nearby, its reins tied to a rusty pole. She wondered if it belonged to the sniper she’d shot. Walking quickly and in close proximity to each other, they left along the same broken walkway they’d arrived. Dusk was falling and the temperature had dropped. Bryn was glad for the warm coat Mrs. Padilla had given her. She thought about pulling the wide hood over her quills, but didn’t want it to obstruct her vision.

When they reached the road in front of the old manufacturing plant, they found Rose, the female xeno Maddy had left guarding Fournier’s soldiers. She was lying face-down on the tarmac and her jacket had been partially pulled from her body; evidence of a struggle. Bryn saw the woman’s xenograft on her lower back: the orangey scales of a reptile in the shape of a rose. Mia knelt down to see if she was still alive, but from the size of the puddle of blood under the body, Bryn didn’t think it was necessary to check.

Maddy shot Fournier a malicious look that spoke volumes about who she blamed for Rose’s death. He seemed not to notice. There were dark pink splotches across his cheekbones, and his eyelids were rimmed with red. He was the only one not wearing a coat. When Dillo urged him to continue, he stumbled along, every ragged exhale visible in the frigid air. It was obvious pain and blood loss had worn him down.

They continued on through the open gate and up the little hill. The animals were still running loose, but Bryn didn’t see as many. They’d either left the area, or with night falling, had located someplace to hide. The domesticated ones might have even gone back into the barn. As they made their way down the hill towards the farmhouse, Mia’s holophone rang. It was Scott.

“Are you safe?”

“For now,” Mia replied.

“Well, get out of there as soon as you can. Apparently Padme built a failsafe into the new version of the program. The nanoneuron bursts are self-limiting to prevent killing anyone. You’ve got one minute until it shuts off.”