Beyond the Shroud of the Universe (11 page)

“You know, sir, I’m starting to think this was a bad idea,” Master Chief said as the platoon marched up the hill. “Really. Who needs to build themselves a castle at the top of a mountain?”

“Two types of people,” Night replied. “Those who like the view, and those who want a defensible position. The fact there isn’t enough room for a shuttle landing zone anywhere close by gives me an idea on which one Arges is.”

“And that confirms it,” Master Chief agreed as they came around the final bend in the road. A large number of men could be seen patrolling the castle’s walls and the grounds around it.

“Yeah,” Night said. “It’s got a great view of Lake Lucerne, but it looks like we’ve found the source of at least some of our problems. Not even the president has that much security.”

Master Chief spat as they approached the gated entrance into the castle. “Those are mercenaries on the walls,” he said under his breath. “I recognize a couple of them. They tried to get into the SEALs but weren’t disciplined enough. They just like killing. Sir, we might want to rethink this…”

“Platoon, halt,” Night said. “Master Chief and Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick, you’re with me.”

The three Terran Space Marines advanced toward the gate, and three heavily-armed men came out to meet them. “That’ll be close enough,” the one in the lead said, “especially if you’re coming armed. Is this an official visit?”

“Yeah, we’d like to talk to your boss,” Night replied. “We’ve got a few questions we’d like to ask him.”

“Well, I’m sorry,” the leader said, not sounding sorry at all, “but you aren’t on the list of visitors for the day, so I’ll have to ask you to come back another time when you have an appointment.”

Master Chief noticed all the security forces in view had stopped patrolling and were following the ongoing confrontation. Although their fingers weren’t on their triggers, yet, their rifles were now pointing in the general direction of the platoon.

“Hey, Scabby,” Master Chief said to the leader, “we don’t have to make this into a big deal. I know it would certainly make me feel a lot better if your men kept their fingers well clear of their triggers.”

“My men are doing their jobs,” the leader gruffly said, “and you know I don’t like that name.”

“Sorry,” replied Master Chief in the same not-sorry tone; “must have slipped my mind.” He took a step closer to the leader and lowered his voice. “Now, rather than continuing to posture in front of your men, why don’t you just call up to the house and see if a few of us can come in and talk with your boss? As much as I’d like to kill you, I hate doing paperwork, and I really don’t want to start anything here that is going to end with me having to justify why I killed all of you.”

The leader looked over Master Chief’s shoulder at the members of the platoon. Their rifles were pointing in the general direction of his troops, with fingers close to
their
triggers, including the six tridents pointed at the wall. Master Chief watched his eyes as he did the math and came to the correct conclusion.

The leader backed down, taking a step back from Master Chief. “Stand by.” His eyes glazed over, like someone who had recently received an implant and hadn’t figured out how to hold two conversations at once.

Master Chief took the time to survey the other members of the security force and didn’t like what he saw. Both the lieutenants’ faces came up in internet searches as persons of interest in a number of killings; he recognized both by reputation. Several of the men on the wall were also wanted by the police, including one listed as a deserter from the U.K.’s special forces.

“
Stay frosty boys and girls,
” Master Chief commed. “
These are bad men, and this could go south without warning. They have implants, so an attack could come without any notice.
” He stretched, using the motion to gain a little space from the closest lieutenant, who was going to be the first to die if they attacked. While the leader was a braggart and a bully, the two lieutenants were stone-cold killers who would have to be taken out first.

While he waited, he started assigning targets to the platoon to kill the time, all the while smiling at the closest lieutenant. The lieutenant, a man he knew only as ‘Jackson,’ smiled back, well aware of what Master Chief’s gaze meant and obviously relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Master Chief if given the opportunity.

I’m getting too old for this shit, Master Chief thought.

“Okay,” the leader said finally. “Mr. Arges will see Captain Train, and only Captain Train, but he is to go in unarmed. Mr. Arges is well aware of Captain Train’s particular…skills.”

“
Mr.
Arges now, is it?” Night growled as he began setting down his weapons.

“Yes,” the leader said, “that’s
Mr.
Arges to you.”

“I’m ready,” Night said, stepping back from an impressive pile of weaponry. Figuring he would have to go through a metal detector, he left it all behind.

“Come with me, then,” the leader said.

As Night passed between the two lieutenants, they stepped together, blocking anyone else from following. “Just ‘im,” the lieutenant that had been eyeing Master Chief said.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh Jackson?” Master Chief asked.

“Oh, you know who I am, do you?”

“Yeah, I can recognize shit like you when I step on it.”

“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Jackson said.

Master Chief nodded, biding his time.

“You don’t seem surprised to see us,” Night noted as he was ushered into Arges’ office. As could be expected of a media mogul, the large office was tastefully outfitted with a mix of bookcases and a number of screens that gave up-to-date information on a variety of topics at a glance. Arges’ desk would have dwarfed a human; the shorter Psiclops looked like a child sitting behind it.

“I try not to be surprised by anything,” Arges replied. “Now, what is it I can do for you today?”

“Well, you could die,” Night suggested. “That would be helpful.”

“Helpful to you, perhaps, but not helpful at all to the accomplishment of my plans.”

“Let’s talk about those plans,” Night said. “What are you hoping to get by helping the Iranians and the Efreet?”

“Who says I’m helping them? Are you accusing me of treason?”

“Yes, I am, you bastard. I know you’ve been helping them and passing on information to them. You’re going to pay for it.”

“I am?” Arges asked. “How? Are you going to kill me?”

“If that’s what it takes,” Night replied, “I’d be happy to kill you myself.”

“You accuse me of passing information to your enemies,” Arges said. “Whatever could I hope to gain from doing something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Night admitted, “but I notice you said ‘my’ enemies and not ‘our’ enemies.”

“
You don’t know,
” repeated Arges, ignoring the last part of Night’s statement. “That’s a problem for you, isn’t it? When it comes right down to it, success in life and politics is all about information and knowing where the bodies are buried. If you have the information, you can act from a position of strength. If not, well, look where it’s got you.”

Sensing a trap, Night dove to the side, but he was too late. Four glass walls erupted from the floor, and slammed into the ceiling. Night was trapped in the resulting glass box.

Arges came around his desk to stand in front of Night. “You don’t look quite so dangerous now,” he said. “Would you like to threaten me some more?”

“No need. Just let me out and I’ll kill you. No threats are required.”

“I don’t think letting you out would be a good idea,” Arges replied. “Killing you would be much better for my own long-term health.” He turned to the security force leader. “Go to the armory and begin passing out the special weapons and equipment.” His gaze returned to Night. “And now it’s time for you to die.” He walked back to his desk and pushed a red button.

Gas began billowing into the glass box.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

The leader of the security force returned, carrying a portable television. “Mr. Arges wanted you to see this.”

“What is it?” Master Chief asked. The screen came alive with a picture of Night in a glass box. A visible gas filtered into the box, and Night fell over after a few seconds.

“It’s a video of your captain dying,” the security force leader said. “He threatened my boss.”

“Just putting him into the box wasn’t enough? Arges had to kill Captain Train?”

“This is a live feed to show you how much Mr. Arges believes in permanent solutions.”

“And why are you showing me this? Both you and your piece of shit boss have to know seeing this is going to make me have to kill you.”

Arges stepped in front of the camera. “I just wanted you to have one last view of your Captain Train before he dies. He attacked me, and I was forced to defend myself.”

“If you have him trapped, why do you need to kill him?”

“I have ruled this planet since before you first ventured forth from your caves, and I have done so because I do not tolerate threats, either to me or to my rule. I have killed off far bigger threats than you, and I thought it appropriate to make an example of your captain so you know what will happen to you if you decide to strike at me again.”

“I can’t wait,” Master Chief said.

“You can’t wait for what?” Arges asked.

“I can’t wait to get my hands around your throat so I can choke the living shit out of you.”

“You are going to kill me?”

“Damn right I’m going to kill you, you worthless bastard, in the most painful way I can imagine! Just let me get ahold of you; your ass is mine!”

Arges looked to the side. “Did you get that?” he asked. He turned back to face Master Chief. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m afraid you leave me with no choice but to defend myself until the authorities get here.”

As one, all of the security force pointed their weapons at the platoon.

“What’s it going to be?” the leader asked. “Are you going to leave quietly, or do you want to throw down?”

Master Chief looked around the area of the gate. In addition to the men he could see, there were several other thermal blooms that were probably people hiding in the woods to either side of the path. Even with their combat suits on, half of the platoon would be dead before they could return fire. Not good odds.

“We’ll leave,” Master Chief said, “but we’ll be back. Count on it.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” the leader said.

“Me too,” Jackson added, winking at Master Chief.

Master Chief turned and began walking away from the gates. “Let’s go,” he said.

“
We’re not leaving, are we?
” Sergeant Hattori ‘Yokaze’ Hanzo commed. “
We can’t let him keep the captain’s body. It would not be honorable.
”

“
We don’t even know if he’s dead
,” Master Chief replied. “
We just know they
said
he was dead. They might be keeping him alive for some purpose. Either way, we’re not leaving him here.
”

“Damn right,” several voices said.

“
So what’s our play?
” Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick asked.

“
When I give the word, we are going to throw ourselves off the road and into cover, and then we are going to assault back up through his piece of shit castle. The overuse of explosives near the gates is authorized, as there were people hiding in the woods on both sides. We’ll smoke them out with superior firepower.
” He paused. “
Anyone
not
ready to do this?
”

Calvin stopped and set his third load onto the pile. Although bulky, it wasn’t as heavy as it would have been on the planet. “What
is
all of this stuff?” he asked.

“Currency of various types,” Nightsong said. “It turns out the moon is just as good as a bank. Aside from…uh… not getting any interest on your money, that is. Arges would never think to look here.” He saw Calvin had stopped. “Keep moving! We don’t have all day.”

Calvin knew his chances for rescue were fading fast. After fleeing the planet, Nightsong had brought them to the far side of the moon where he had made Calvin help load boxes and bags onto the courier ship. They were headed somewhere, but Calvin doubted it was going to be home.