"Do you want to talk about Merlin, Kilgore?"
Heart pounding, he froze so suddenly that Mateo stumbled backward, off balance. Kilgore ignored him, placing two fingers on his datcom.
"Who is this?"
"An old friend. We should get reacquainted. Top of the Maximillian Tower. Now."
The caller clicked off. Mateo rushed toward Kilgore, fists flying.
Kilgore spun, hand flashing with light. The Five-Seven pistol appeared. His other hand streaked forward, throttling Mateo with a strike to the throat. Mateo gurgled, dropping to one knee. A smile spread across Kilgore's face. "A tad too slow, boy. The Rush only lasts so long before it dies out. Just like you."
Mateo's body jerked when Kilgore shot him twice in the chest, then aimed for the head. He paused.
Agony exploded when a bullet tore through his shoulder, spinning him around. Agent Hessler leaned over a computer desk, Agent Chen's pistol in his fist.
Kilgore dropped to the floor, sliding to avoid Agent Hessler's following shots. Firing back, he ran for the door and kicked it open, stumbling outside. Red-cloaked soldiers ran back and forth, shouting and shooting at one another. They never noticed as he staggered along, clutching his wounded shoulder. Fires roared from nearby buildings, and smoke fanned across the air.
The wind kicked up from a red-painted aerial vehicle directly above, descending for a landing. Reinforcements. Kilgore dropped to one knee, fist planted against the ground. Envisioning the Maximillian Tower, he focused the charge. Electricity crackled, and blinding light flashed around him.
Jinx landed the Cayenne, completely stunned at witnessing Kilgore vanish in a flash of flickering light. Leaping out of the vehicle, she ran inside the Reservatory. For a moment she was shocked once more. She had only heard reports of Maximillian's famous intelligence center. The colossal Core Sphere, glimmering with tantalizing mystery; the source of Maximillian's data and technological prowess. Thousands of data points waiting to be infiltrated, the gates of digital heaven for someone like her.
Her moment of euphoria shattered when she saw Mateo lying on the floor.
Agent Hessler staggered over, face haggard. "Kilgore. Where is he?"
She ignored him, running to Mateo and dropping down to examine him. She nearly screamed when he suddenly sat upright.
"Ey pipo, Mateo! what the hell?"
He opened his jacket, revealing the cyber-suit underneath. She recognized it from the bar in Tijuana, one of the suits the mercenaries left behind.
He smiled. "Sorry, Jinx. I think I fell asleep."
"You fell asleep? After getting shot?"
His mouth stretched in a wide yawn. "It's the Rush. Drains my energy."
"Tell me about it later, chulo. Come on." She helped him to his feet, draping his arm over her shoulder. "Hessler, will you be okay? I only have room for two in the Cayenne."
He waved her onward. "I'll blend in until reinforcements get here. Go on, get out of here and activate that suppression system. Or Kilgore gets away clean."
"He'll do more than that. He'll kill Happy if we don't stop him," Jinx said, tapping her datcom. "Deejay?"
"I'm in. Activating the system now."
Outside, rain poured down as if conjured by magic, a steady downpour that pounded the streets. Supporting Mateo, Jinx yanked her hood over her hair and walked into the downpour, headed for the Cayenne. Mateo stared at the rain in wonder.
"It's sparkling."
Jinx paused for a second to look. Mateo was right. The water glimmered as if charged with static electricity, sparkling in the light like liquid diamonds. Nanomachines, interacting through the raindrops. Creating a dampening shield. Cutting off the source of Kilgore's mysterious power.
She looked up at the Maximillian Tower. "Okay, Happy. It's up to you, now."
Happy looked down at General Hamilton's corpse. "Guess that's it, huh?"
Cash stared, completely crushed. "Dead."
They stood in Maximillian's command center, helmets removed. The city glimmered around them, the carnage below nearly invisible from the height of their vantage point. Hamilton lay on the floor in front of them, sightless eyes staring into the beyond.
"Yeah, he's dead all right."
"But… we did everything right. We beat the odds to make it up here."
"Can't count on all the chips falling in place in an op like this, Cash. It's a wonder we're still in one piece."
"Yeah, but…" He gestured helplessly. "Dead."
"Yeah."
"We don't get paid if he's dead."
"I know. Sucks, but what can you do?"
An outbreak of rain broke outside as if a storm appeared from nowhere. Water streamed down the windows, blurring the majestic view of city lights. There was something off about it. It… glimmered.
"Come on, Cash. I gotta get to the top of the building."
He stared at the body, fists clenching and unclenching. "Go on without me."
She paused, turning around. "What?"
"You heard me. It's over. Time to clock out. I got places to be. You can come with us if you want. But we're outta here right now."
"So that's just it? You're going to turn tail and run?"
His head snapped up, eyes blazing. "As opposed to what? Fighting some super-soldier for the fun of it? You said something to me earlier. About how I kept chasing after you like a cop. Well, you're chasing after this guy like an Agent. You have to complete your mission, don't you? Well, what's in it for me? Nothing, that's what! I had everything going for me until you showed up."
Her mouth twisted. "Oh, like you needed convincing. I'm the one who voted against coming here, remember? All you could think about is your big payday. Always you all the time. You don't know the meaning of teamwork at all. The definition of camaraderie."
He stalked toward her, jabbing an accusing finger. "You mean like your team? The one who set you up, gave you to the monsters? I learned the hard way not to trust anyone. No one. Just me! Maybe you should learn the same lesson before you lose more body parts."
Her jaw trembled. "Yeah, maybe I do. Go on, slink back to your beat-up transport and your electronic girlfriend. I'm better off on my own."
His mouth worked, eyes wide in outrage. "That's my line, by the way. Eh, forget it — I'm outta here."
"Then go."
"I'm leaving. And not because you told me too. Because I want to."
She shook her head, watching him storm out of the room. Exhaling a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and headed up the stairs to the rooftop.
When she opened the outside door, Kilgore waited for her.
He stood in the pouring rain, still as a statue. She moved forward cautiously, rifle raised. Looking him over, assessing strengths and weaknesses. The way he stood, as if one leg bothered him. The bullet wound in his bare shoulder, weeping blood that mixed with rain and dripped from his fingertips. The snarling grin fixed on his face. He looked the same as when she last saw him. Only his hair color had changed — from jet black to white as snow.
He tilted his head. "Max. I have to admit that I'm surprised. Of all the enemies in my past to expect, a dead woman wasn't at the top of my list."
She circled to the side, flanking him. He didn't turn, didn't acknowledge her movement. The rain fell like shattered glass from a crystalized ceiling, glinting in rainbow flashes.
"You look pretty alive yourself. But you weren't dead at all, were you? You were just on Mars."
"What better way to begin a new life? And what a life it's turned out to be."
"You don't know a life outside of murder and torture, Ethan."
"Ethan died two deaths. Once on Earth, another on Mars. It's Beowulf now."