If the memories of it hadn’t been taken, it would have been clear as day; at least one person had wanted to kill him, and at least one person wanted him alive.
Are they not as organized as we first thought?
A revivor pulled the tube out of his throat. Another held a metal wand to his neck. With an electric snap, his body convulsed, muscle striations standing out in shadow. The sound crackled through the hold as the soldiers continued to file out. Smoke began to rise from the metal wand in thin threads, and then a new signature began to initialize. It coalesced, and snapped into its waveform.
The waveform contained his encoded ID—that same ID that had reached out from far off, from across the desert and across the sea. It was here in front of me. As I stood and stared, I could feel him reaching. As the others helped him up onto his feet, he extended a connection out to me. I accepted the circuit, while he stood up for the first time in ten years.
Faye.
Yes. It’s me. I’m over here.
Samuel Fawkes opened his eyes. A faint silver light swelled, and began to grow brighter.
Nico Wachalowski—KM Senopati Nusantara
With Calliope’s body hoisted on one shoulder, I pushed through the throng of revivors as fast as I could. They’d noticed the blood on the gurney and were nosing past us to get at it. I adjusted her weight and headed out into the main corridor. Something crashed in the med ward behind me as I stepped onto the moving walkway and eased her down. My vision blurred as I knelt over her body, gasping. Another crowd of revivors was moving through the corridor up ahead. I couldn’t risk reviving her yet, but I couldn’t wait much longer. Her JZI would keep her blood oxygenated for a short time, but not forever.
The eyes watched us impassively as the walkway took us past them. As they receded into the shadows, several of them began to take notice, but none followed.
An explosion drummed through the ship, and the emergency lights went out completely. A beat later, the walkway slowed to a stop.
Shit …
The revivors behind us still hadn’t moved. The way ahead looked clear. I turned on a flashlight and lifted Cal up again, pain shooting through my legs.
Something darted across the beam ahead, but whatever it was, it didn’t stop for us. I staggered down the corridor, then shouldered open a door to my right, taking us into a stairwell. Up above, I could hear wind whistling through the open hatch. Gunfire cracked above the sound of waves.
She’s unconscious and we’re coming up. Can you clear a path?
Can do. Hold position.
A whine rose in pitch, then the sound of the helicopter’s chain gun blared. A torrent of rounds crashed off the deck as the racket drowned out everything else, then stopped ten seconds later.
Okay, you’re clear. Move now.
I hung on to the rail and hauled her up as cold, wet air blew down the stairwell. Over the ringing in my ears I could hear the wind howling on the deck, and the thump of helicopter rotors on the helipad outside.
Make straight for the airlift.
Got it.
Open flames blew in the wind as rain and smoke sheared across the deck in front of me. The ship tilted as a wave swelled, its nose rising in front of us. Ahead I could see the helipad. Most of the MSST who were left were inside, but two were moving toward us, carrying a stretcher between them. One of the men stopped to fire at something off to his left. I waved to one of the soldiers on the pad.
We’re here.
We see you.
An explosion went off, and fire climbed into the night sky as the surface of the water lit up. Soldiers on the helipad began firing at something off to their left. The two soldiers on deck reached us and helped me get Cal strapped in.
Now. Go now.
They ran, Cal’s body swaying on the stretcher between them as they made their way back. I stayed behind and covered them as more revivors appeared on the deck behind us. The rain was driving now, making it hard to see them, let alone target them.
Nico.
I turned toward the spot where the soldiers had fired. A small group of figures gathered on the deck, eyes glowing softly in the dark. As the spotlight swept over them, I saw a tarp come free, taken by the wind. It cracked like a whip and blew off into the darkness, revealing a small aircraft underneath.
Nico, wait.
As the floodlight focused on them, I saw Faye standing near the aircraft. Her coat whipped in the wind as she met my eye. Behind me, the MSST leader had spotted them.
We’ve got more hostiles on deck. Take them out.
Wait. Hold your fire.
There was another revivor next to Faye, a male. It had a coat draped over its shoulders, but was naked underneath. Its skin was waxy, and even at that distance I could see the network of dark veins underneath it.
As gruesome as it looked, though, I recognized that face. I zoomed in on it to be sure.
Fawkes.
He looked past Faye and met my eye. It was definitely him. Fawkes was out of stasis.
I took aim across the deck and fired. With the weather and the movement of the ship, the shot went wild and clipped his shoulder, dotting Faye’s face with black spots.
Nico, wait.
I moved toward him and slipped on the deck. I went down hard on one knee and pulled the trigger again as pain shot up my thigh. By then, the others were crowding him. I caught one of them in the back of the head as it moved to shield him. Faye stepped into the line of fire.
My finger tightened on the trigger. From behind Faye, Fawkes was still staring at me.
You kill Fawkes.
Ai had said that. She said it at the restaurant where she first dragged me into the case. To her, it was a given. To her, it was something that couldn’t be changed.
I might be able to shoot past Faye and hit him. The dark spot that floated in front of my eyes darted back and forth over his face as he watched me.
You kill Fawkes.
They were starting to move him, with Faye between us. My finger tightened on the trigger.
Wachalowski, what are you doing? Take him.
Faye broke from her position and ran across the deck toward me. Fawkes looked back over his shoulder and watched as she stopped in front of me. She stood there, like she wasn’t sure what to do.
I began to move the gun toward her when she grabbed my lapels and, before I could stop her, she kissed me on the mouth.
I began to move back, but she wrapped one arm around the back of my neck, pulling me closer, and I felt her fingers move through my hair. It had been years since we’d kissed, and even in the middle of the chaos, it struck me how familiar it felt, how that one, small, human part of her hadn’t changed. Her kiss was exactly the same as it had been before. Her lips were cold now, but still soft, and just like she had all those years ago, she still had the power to disarm me. As crazy as it was, there was still some small part of me that surrendered in her arms. There was still some part of me that remembered when my duty was to her and her alone. I’d meant to push her away, but when my hands found her waist, I didn’t.
She broke the kiss and hugged me, pressing her cheek to mine as she extended a connection and I accepted.
This is for the best, she said. I felt the shot before I heard it.
I staggered back, slipping out of her arms as she aimed the pistol and fired a second shot. It struck the body armor above my solar plexus, an inch from the first shot. It didn’t penetrate, but for a second I couldn’t breathe as I fell back onto the deck.