Kirk's blood ran cold at the certainty of Lynch's words. "I didn't have a choice."
"From where I'm sitting you seemed to have had many choices. You simply made every bad one possible."
Kirk lowered his voice, trying to ignore the bead of sweat that dripped down the side of his face. "You think I'm doing this because I want to? He took my family. He made me do this. Be the face of his insane stunt. I had to go along, or he'd kill them. My wife. My sons, my daughter. He promised to kill them all. And I believe him. He was always psychotic. Even before Mars. Before he changed into what he is now."
"Kilgore." Lynch's eyes gleamed as he processed the new information. "That explains many things."
"He's insane. Whatever gave him those abilities has driven him mad. He was desperate to find a way into this Haven. Said what he needed could only be found here. All of this… it's just a front. A distraction while he finds whatever it is he's searching for."
"And what is he searching for?"
Kirk's voice turned bitter. "As if he'd confide in me. Whatever it is, he's willing to sacrifice me and all of my men to accomplish it. It's like he's separated himself from the basic elements of human nature. I don't think he even recognizes himself as human anymore."
"I'm not surprised. Kilgore never did think much of people. That's what made him such an effective tool. What about the explosives?"
"There are no explosives. The whole threat is a bluff. My men are all that holds this city, and they aren't enough to cover every entry point. Sooner or later someone's going to get in."
"Even better. The question now is: what do you want me to do about your situation?"
"Get me out. I'll open the shielding, let your men in. Surrender completely. But it has to be done now. Before Kilgore resurfaces."
Lynch tilted his head. "I'm afraid it's too late for that, General."
Kirk felt Kilgore's presence before he turned around. He was just there, as if borne of thin air. He stood several yards away, expressionless. Several yards were all that separated Kirk from instant death.
He cautiously raised a hand. "Kilgore. Listen…"
Kilgore took a step forward. "I leave for just a few hours, and you're ready to betray me. I warned you of the cost of betrayal, didn't I?"
"No, please. You don't understand…"
"Understand what? That you're afraid? Fear is common to most men, General. Many of your men were afraid on Mars. In the cold, desolate dunes of the red planet. That didn't stop you from sending them to their deaths, did it?"
Kirk edged backward. "I didn't know, Kilgore. I was as blindsided as the rest of the Legion. But there are better ways to seek justice if that's what you're after."
Kilgore took another step closer. "Justice? That's a word, General. A term spun in whatever way works best for the institutions that use it to their advantage. I don't want justice. I want to know what happened to me."
Kirk backed away, legs trembling. "I… can't tell you what happened. You fought your way to the portal. You went inside. And when you came out you had—"
"I know what happened. I don't know how. Or why. Or who's responsible."
"And you think we can find the answers here?"
Kilgore closed the distance in a sudden blur of movement, seizing Kirk by the throat before he could react. His feet left the floor, body dangling in Kilgore's unbreakable grip. Kirk grappled with all of his strength against the hand that cut off his oxygen, but he may as well have been a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. He saw his face reflected from the mirrored surfaces of Kilgore's sunglasses, contorted in terror.
Kilgore's grin was a terrible rictus of clenched white teeth. "We won't find any answers, General. I will find what I seek on my own. I'm afraid your part in this undertaking has reached its conclusion. Consider it the cost of betrayal."
The fingers tightened around Kirk's throat, crushing like a vice. The pain of his trachea collapsing was so intense that he would have screamed if he could have. Instead, only the weakest gurgle emitted when darkness closed in on his consciousness. As he died, he realized that Director Lynch hadn't signed off his transmission. His holographic profile still emanated from the wall. Watching in silence as Kirk was murdered in front of him.
Kilgore released Hamilton's dead body, letting it collapse to the floor. He looked over at Lynch, who looked back with the inhuman stare that intimidated so many in his presence.
No more.
"Are you entertained, Lynch?"
"Kilgore. What are you doing? What did you do with Maximillian? Is he alive?"
"I don't answer to you anymore, Lynch. That ended a long time ago."
"But you answer to someone. I know it. You're not a mastermind, Kilgore. This started on Mars. The changes. Your abilities. I can help you find the answers you're looking for. Don't you think it about time to come back home?"
"Home? Back to the HSSC? The viper den of backstabbing and betrayal?" He sneered. "Look at you. You think you're so secure in your hidden lair. Watching everyone. Pitting one faction against the other. Manipulating from the shadows. Your time is almost up, old man. I've seen the future. You're not in it."
"I don't need to be. My legacy will continue without me. But you — you're alone out there, Kilgore. After this, you'll be the most wanted man in the world. You need allies. Tell me what this is about, and I'll see what I can do. Maybe our mutual interests align."
"Our interests are anything but mutual. You're a relic, Lynch. A ghost who doesn't know he's already dead. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is that it's not worth the time. The winds of destruction are headed your way. You won't be able to do anything except witness and tremble at the destruction of everything you've spent your life constructing."
He held out his hand. Light flickered, and a remote device appeared. Pressing the button, he watched Lynch's surprised face fade away, along with every light in the room. Walking to the hallway, he stuck his head out the door. The guards were already alerted, running and shouting orders under the harsh glare of the emergency lights. Kilgore motioned to one of them.
"We've been hit with an electromagnetic attack. Sweep the building for intruders."
"What about General Hamilton, sir?"
"I'm protecting Hamilton. You lead the floor search."
The guard saluted and yelled orders to his fellows. Kilgore waited until they ran down the hallway before kneeling. Closing his eyes, he focused on where he needed to be. The electric charge pulsed, raising the hairs on his body and tingling from head to toe.
The world flashed.
He stood in a scorched circle, examining his new, brightly lit surroundings. The Reservatory, Maximillian's main intelligence compound. The size of a city block, it was almost entirely taken up by a massive circular Core Sphere, created with the same liquid metal material that covered the surface of the Maximillian Tower. It swirled in its transparent housing like something alive, the billions of nanoparticles working in unison to operate the fusion-based generators that powered the city, along with harvesting, interpreting and allocating the massive loads of data through server virtualization to keep the city's digital and electronic functions operating at peak efficiency.
Sergeant Chen yelped and nearly tumbled from her chair at a nearby control center when he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Oh! Captain Kilgore. I… didn't hear you come in. There's something funny going on with the system. I think someone outside is trying to—"
"General Hamilton is dead."
Her eyes widened. "Dead? How? When did—?"
"We have a traitor among us. Or a cell of traitors. I found Maximillian. He was outside the Haven, communicating with an HSSC agent. I overheard him saying he had people on the inside that could get the HSSC in. Our people, Chen. When I went to report it to General Hamilton, I found him dead in the command center."