Justin slipped it into the slender pocket on his jumpsuit's right thigh. He pulled the jumpsuit hood up over his head, then reached behind the command couch to another storage area. From there, he pulled one of the mirrored facemasks Alexi and his men had already donned. Tightening it into place by pulling on the straps, Justin crossed to the Centurion'schin and leaped the one-meter gap to the lab's roof.
Justin caught up with the other eight commandos at the doorway leading down into the lab. It already stood open, and two men had reached the bottom of the stairs without injury. Silently, the others followed, tension winding inside them like a viper.
Justin watched the two pointmen move into the brightly lit corridor. He found himself tensed against the sound of gunfire. When neither man evaporated in a hail of plastic flechettes or bullets, Justin started breathing again. Both men signaled that the corridor was secure.
Justin smiled as he stepped into the passageway. Lab Techs lay in the corridors as if it were naptime in a nursery school. Halfway up the corridor, a number of fluids puddled into an oily slick where a Tech had dropped a tray of samples. As the puddle neither smoked nor bubbled, Justin simply ignored it.
He pointed to the doors up and down the corridors. "Fan out in pairs. Eliminate dangerous situations—shut off burners or boiling things and don't go wrecking anything. Use the cameras you were issued to document anything interesting. Scour this level and look for the stuff our scientists showed us as being a clue to a myomer experiment. Let's do it fast. We don't want to take more time than necessary."
The black-clad Maskirovka agents spread out like living shadows through the facility. Though the third and second levels were filled with wondrous machinery, none of it yielded their quarry. On the first level, though, back in a lab tucked in a corner, Ling reported success.
Aside from the two people posted at the door, the team crowded into the small lab. Standing over the snoring body of a white-haired researcher, Ling pointed at a thick, black bundle of myomer fibers. Two meters long, it was anchored at one end to a steel I-beam and attached at the other end to a piston-like, spring-loaded tensometer. A digital display on the piston reported the tension to be at 4,000 kilograms.
Justin glanced at Alexi. "That's a finger flexor. That's muscle four times as powerful as the fibers on my Centurion!Can you imagine what a full arm muscle or leg muscle could do?"
Alexi shivered. At a nod from Justin, he worked the piston's controls and reduced the tension to nothing. The myomer fiber fattened as it grew shorter. Alexi unhitched it from the piston, then shook his head. "Justin, this stuff is so light. Using this, we'll be able to add more weaponry to our 'Mechs."
Maximovitch, poking around in a container of holovid disks, laughed aloud. "Looks like I've got documentation on two series of tests run with this stuff, as well as the notes on its development."
Justin nodded. "Good, Georgi. Take them." Justin directed one other commando toward Alexi. "Li, I want you to carry the muscle. We had planned to cut it up, but that's when we thought it would be heavy. The rest of you form up out in the hallway and head toward the front of the building. It's time for us to get out of here."
Justin waited for the others to leave the lab before he crossed to the container Maximovitch had rifled. He pulled Candace's holodisk from his pocket and dropped it in with the others, then cried out as a horrible, high-pitched wail screamed through his skull.
Both hands went to his ears, but the sound died quickly enough for him to hear a needle pistol being cocked. He turned slowly to face Anatol Ling and stare down the barrel of the agent's pistol. Raising his hands, Justin let steel fill his voice. "What is the meaning of this, Ling?" I hope someone picks up the broadcast and comes to investigate.
Justin's distorted image pendulumed back and forth across Ling's curved faceplate as the agent shook his head. "The squeal was a jammer, Xiang. No one can hear you." Waving the gun's muzzle, Link forced Justin back and away from the holodisk collection. "Well, well, what have we here? Treason on the part of the Duchess of St. Ives?"
Justin stared at the pistol. Ten meters between us. I can cross that distance before he gets a second shot off, and the needles don't have the mass to stop my charge."You're working for Romano Liao, aren't you?"
Ling's nod was almost respectful. "You are quick, Xiang. Yes, she wanted to make sure you would not return from this mission. I think, however, she will be more interested in hearing about this disk than a description of your death. She wanted me to shoot you first in the groin, you know. Your death will earn me her thanks, but this disk ..."
As Ling shifted his pistol from his right hand to his left preparatory to grabbing the disk, Justin reacted. Moving to his own left, he cut the distance between them in half by the time Ling's finger tightened on the trigger. Fire exploded from Justin's flank as needles raked like barbed claws through his vest and flesh. The pain shocked him and cost him a second as Ling thrust the gun at Justin's stomach and pulled the trigger again. Two gunshots sounded as one. Ling's faceplate fragmented into a thousand mirrored splinters as a cloud of darts slammed into the left side of his face. Already dead, he spun away from the impact, crashing against a slate-topped lab table. He slid to the ground in front of where Justin Xiang knelt with both arms clutched around his midsection.
Justin looked up as Alexi dropped to his knees beside him. Concern and fear shot through the Tikonov native's voice. "Take it easy, Justin. We'll get you out. You'll survive."
Justin nodded heavily, then coughed. "Yeah, I will. My flank feels like it's on fire, and my stomach hurts like hell." Hearing Alexi gasp, Justin forced himself to laugh. "It's not as bad as you think, Alexi."
Malenkov patted Justin's shoulder reassuringly. "You're in shock. He shot you twice at pointblank range, Justin."
Justin could hear what Alexi was thinking. Needle pistol shot in the stomach at that range, my insides should be pate.Justin eased his left hand out as he straightened up. "I'm fine, Alexi. If I'd not been so close, I'd have been in trouble."
Justin opened his left hand, revealing a myriad of crisscrossed silver scars on the metal palm and fingers. "Instinctively, I grabbed for his gun to redirect it. My hand blocked the blast at the muzzle before the darts could spread. The impact drove my fist back into my stomach, knocking my wind out, but I'll be all right."
Alexi looked down at Justin's right side. "What about the first shot?"
Justin shrugged and slowly stood. He steadied himself against the wall. "Flesh wound. Needles cut some coolant lines, and that stuff stings like hell in the lacerations, but no real damage. Just some more scars."
Justin caught Alexi looking at the holodisk from Candace, but the slender man only shrugged. "You're my boss, Justin. You know what you're doing. I know you're not the spy I'm looking for, so I trust your judgment."
Justin cocked his head to the side. "Then why did you come back here?"
Justin heard Alexi's smile in his voice. "Didn't trust Ling." Punctuating his remark, Alexi stepped on Ling's jammer and destroyed it.
Radio chatter suddenly filled Justin's ears. "Xiang, come in! Kwok and I have four 'Mechs coming in. Two read as Valkyries,one Jennerand a Centurion.We're moved to engage."
"Roger, Ivanov. Hold them. I'm coming up." Justin pointed toward the lab's door. "Alexi, get everyone out and back to the ship. We'll hold the 'Mechs off, then join up. Got it?"
"Check." Alexi hesitated. "And Justin?"
"Yes?"
The tall man pointed at Ling's body. "I'm glad we got that Davion assassin before he got you." Justin nodded. "Amen to that. See you on the ship."