Luca (31 page)

Mercer grabs the slate from her, quickly scans it from top to bottom and hands it back. “As I would have expected.”

“And now the bad news.”

“Wait.” Mercer frowns, lifting his hand and reaching for the narco-pipe. He takes a deep inhale from the purple end. Relaxation ripples through his body. “OK. I'm ready.”

“Qaara and her fellow travelers are still alive.”

“I see.” Mercer’s frown disappears, replaced by the hint of a smile. “Do you have a location?”

“As the auroras have faded from the sky, some communications have come back online. The trackers on their gyropods indicate they’re within a few miles of the Fringe and moving this way.”

“And why is that bad news?”

The woman takes a step back. “Because they’re not alone.”

“Who cares?”

“They have an army with them.”

“An army?” Mercer chokes on a piece of lemon. “Such a quaint term. I wasn’t aware there
were
any armies left in the world.”

“There are now.” The woman hands her slate to Mercer. “One of our drones got lost during the communications blackout. It just woke up and sent this." She flips the picture on her slate to the holo in the center of the room.

Mercer stares at an image of a valley filled with ancient trucks and artillery. It all has a distinct twentieth century look. “How did this army manage to get through the Divide? How did Qaara get mixed up with them?”

“No idea, but she’s on an gyropod at the center front of the mass. Almost as if she’s leading them back here to the City."

“Why?” Mercer drops the narco-pipe, stands and circumnavigates the hologram, staring at miniatures of old army trucks and tanks from all angles, like the toys he’s seen in museums. "Why would she do this? Utter suicide.”

The woman slips the slate away. “I’m guessing she wants to see you dead.”

Mercer’s jaw tightens. “Have you alerted the authorities?”

“No. I was waiting for your direction.”

“Do it.” Mercer walks back to his chair and sits down. “Send them the images. Tell them the City is under attack from the Zone. Shouldn't take much to wipe out that army. A few heli-ships with plasma lasers will have it done in minutes.”

The woman turns to the door, no expression on her face. “There’s just one small problem.”

“What?”

“Sundown is in an hour, precisely when we enter the Cloud proper.” Her gaze climbs to the ceiling. “That’s when the real light show will begin. It will be unsettling psychologically, to say the least. Not to mention the potential effect on electronics. It could disrupt our defenses.”

“Makes me wonder,” Mercer says.

“About what?”

“How would this ragtag army have known to time their attack right when Earth is in the Cloud?”

The woman’s lips tighten into a faint smile. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Agreed.” Mercer shakes his head. “Qaara.”

“Does this do anything to change your opinion of her?”

Mercer takes a minute to consider the question. In spite of repeated efforts at recruiting her to his cause, Qaara has shown herself to be his enemy. Doing all she can, in her pathetic way, to oppose his master plan. And now, it appears she’s coming back to the City on a mission to stop him. As much as it pains him to admit it, perhaps she is expendable.

“I no longer have an interest in protecting her.”

“Might I suggest that you board your transport and get away now, before the City’s defenses launch their attack on Qaara? Just in case there are any . . . difficulties.”

Mercer shakes his head. “Are you kidding? A bunch of thugs from the Zone aren’t going to change my schedule.”

“Still planning on being the last to arrive at the Fukushima facility? Fashionably late?”

“It has nothing to do with fashion. Purely strategic. By the time I get there, I want all of my guests to be thoroughly confused, terrorized and hungry for leadership. And answers.”

“As you wish.” The woman turns again to leave. “Are you going to watch the attack?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Is my flock of drone-cams in place?”

“On their way.” The woman motions at the holo. “You’ll have a direct feed. Best seat in the house. And your special transport will be ready for a quick exit, in case you change your mind. Just give the signal, and I can have you on your way to Japan in seconds.” She leaves, and the door silently shuts behind her.

Mercer settles into his chair, eyes on the holo, anxious to watch the old-fashioned army burst into flames.

46

MARIONETTES

Jedd is the first to hear it. Or, more precisely, the first to
feel
it. In his bones.

Thump, thump, thump.

By his reckoning, they are still twenty klicks from the Fringe. The sun has just slipped below the horizon to their backs. They are pushing hard, driving the vehicles at top speed, raising a cloud of black dust that lingers in the sky like squid ink in water.

“Is that what I think it is?” Jedd says, leaning forward over Qaara’s shoulder to squint into the dark sky ahead. “Attack ships?”

She looks up with her genmod eyes. “Right on schedule. Atmospheric ionization stopped a couple of hours ago. Auroras are gone. The calm before the storm. Communication links might be back up and working, which means we’re on their radar. If I know Mercer, he's watching us right now in his holo room, lemon slices at his fingertips.” She turns, giving Jedd a perfect view of her perfect profile, lit by the bright red sunset to the West.

“Lemons?”

“Long story. Later.”

Ricky pulls his gyropod closer. “If there is a later.” He extracts his jax from his pocket. “Connectivity is spotty, but you're right about the network. There’s enough to do an audio analysis.” His fingers brush the side of the jax in rhythm with the tapping of his thumb on the end. A holoscreen pops up. "Looks like a full squadron. Twenty-four of the City’s heli-fighters. Closing fast. Cannons will be in range in less than three minutes.”

Jedd considers their situation.

He’s purposely put off making up his mind until the last minute.

And now it
is
the last minute.

“Do we run or stay?” Jedd scans the army behind him, then stares at Qaara. If there is a full-scale attack, there isn’t much chance she'll be alive an hour from now. His insides melt.

“Moses said we could leave as soon as we came within sight of the City.” Jedd points ahead. “I’d say we’re close enough. If we take off now, we might be able to get away from the main body of the army before the carnage begins.”

Ricky glances over his left shoulder. “Agreed. I say we make a run for it
now
. Get some place underground and out of sight where the bio-targeting algorithms can’t find us."

“Qaara?” Jedd says. “Are you with us?” He prays she'll take the easy way out and follow them.

“I’m staying with Moses.” She glares at Ricky and then at Jedd. “
We’re
staying with Moses and his army.”

Ricky rolls his eyes.

“Are you crazy?” Jedd can’t suppress the sudden image of a laser blast catching him in the torso and blowing him apart.

“Nope.”

“I get it.” Jedd’s hands slide off Qaara’s shoulders. "Moses is a charismatic guy. He has you under his spell.”

From out of the dark sky, they hear a high-pitched scream, like a baby. A massive explosion blooms a hundred meters ahead. Another scream passes overhead and makes impact just off the right flank of the army.

“They’re firing blind missiles.” Ricky points to the east. “I've read about their tactics. The first shots churn up chaos. When they engage on their bio-detectors, the real destruction begins.”

The army halts. From the look on people’s faces, it’s clear that raw fear is about to take over.

“Look,” Qaara says. “I’m no fan of Moses. He's looking for power, plain and simple. But his people deserve better. They’ve been locked up in the Zone for generations by people like Mercer. They deserve a chance to take back their future. I’m staying with them."

“I don’t believe this.” Jedd loosens his grip on Qaara’s shoulders. "What about the Cloud? How can they take back their future if they’re
dead
?” His chest resonates with the sound of the approaching attack-helis.

“I said they deserve a
chance
. Some of them may find a way to survive.” Qaara looks east, in the direction of the City. “If my theory about the Cloud is right, the attack-helis are going to fall out of the sky in seconds. Higher electronics will no longer function. This army is the perfect way, the only way, we’ll ever get safe passage back into the City. No Peruvian Mafia or Fringe thugs will bother us if we’re riding down Fifth Avenue atop a tank. It’s the only chance we’ll get to let the world know what’s coming. The only chance to save civilization on the world's terms, not Mercer’s.”

“Lots of
ifs
.” Jedd slips his fingers into Qaara’s hand and grabs Ricky's arm, pulling them both close. “I don’t care about saving civilization or the world. I don’t care about Moses. I just want to save my friends.”

Qaara turns and pulls him close until their foreheads touch. “Then stay with me.”

On the left flank, a cargo truck full of ordinance erupts in flames with multiple secondary concussions. Cries of terror rise from the field.

Moses appears behind them. “You’re not going to desert me in my hour of need?”

“Whatever gave you the idea we’d do that?” Jedd surveys the crowded vehicles behind him. “Now, let me give you some advice.”

Moses nods, suddenly meek.

“Tell everyone to spread out. Get the anti-aircraft trucks and tanks into position and ready to fire. The assault is about to begin.”

“I won’t forget your loyalty to our cause.” Moses squeezes Jedd’s shoulder, slaps Ricky on the back, turns and runs to his truck, speaking into a large black radio he presses against his lips.

More explosions rock the field.

“When does the light show begin?” Jedd leans in close to Qaara. “If we’re going to survive, we need that EM scramble effect you were talking about.”

Qaara turns to face west. “The sun has dropped below the horizon. Dusk is upon us. If it’s going to happen, it will happen soon.”

“And if not?”

“Then at least we know we tried.”

The low-frequency sound of rotors once again resonates deep in Jedd’s chest cavity. His heart picks up the rhythm, and it beats in unison.

And then a swarm of attack-helis pops above the horizon, arranged in four groups. The two outer groups break away. The two inner groups spread.

“Unless I’m mistaken,” Ricky consults his jax, its holoscreen winking in and out, “that’s their classic tactic. They’ll spread out, enclose us in a ring, interlink targeting vectors. And then unleash the plasma lasers. The good news is, we have a few more minutes before the final blow.”

The outer edges of the army fan out on the plain. Massive barrels of anti-aircraft guns slowly rise from truck beds. Hundreds of men and women in assorted army fatigues take cover behind scattered tanks.

“Shouldn’t we find something to hide behind?” Jedd points at a transport truck ten meters away.

Ricky shakes his head. “Ever seen plasma lasers?”

“Nope.”

Ricky waves his hand over the field. “Veins of liquid lightning drop from the sky, searching for the shortest path through human DNA to the ground. Hiding won’t help.”

“Good to know,” Jedd says. “So all we can do is watch and wait.”

“Pretty much,” Ricky says.

The four groups of attack-helis separate.

Jedd slides off the gyropod and moves to Qaara’s side. “Sorry for the mess I got you into.”

“I was just about to say the same to you.” She takes his hand in hers and squeezes.

“Hey, what about me?” Ricky fakes a glare.

“We
both
owe you an apology,” Jedd says. “And our lives. If we escape."

The attack-helis fly in a pattern, taking positions in a wide ring around the army. Jedd estimates the ships are two hundred meters off the ground.

“Fire!” Moses yells.

There’s a deafening roar as two dozen antiaircraft guns mounted on the back of trucks start blasting.

“What are the chances they’ll hit one out of the sky?” Jedd says.

“Not likely,” Ricky says. “I’m guessing they've already engaged their anti-proximity algorithms. Bullets and shells are relatively slow-moving objects, easily dodged.”

As he speaks, the sky is dotted with tiny black explosions close to the attack-helis, bouncing and bobbing from side to side.

The sky darkens. A few stars appear.

One by one, green grid lines light up on the undersides of the attack-helis. A low-frequency whine mixes with the
thump, thump, thump
of their rotors. Slowly, blue tubes protrude from the sides of each ship, the sizzle-pop of static electricity dancing around their open mouths.

“Here it comes,” Ricky says. “Thirty seconds to go.” He pulls out his jax and points it in the air. “I’m going to try to stream this on my Mesh-site, for posterity’s sake.” His jax takes on a red glow.

The low-frequency whine builds to a crescendo. Antiaircraft guns flash in all directions. Green ships dance like hornets in the sky, avoiding the projectiles. Neon lines of blue light jump from the tubes on the sides of the ships, connecting each to its neighbor, tying them together into a single ring of fire.

Ricky drops to his knees, still holding the jax aloft.

Now or never,
Jedd thinks.

He turns and pulls Qaara closer. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?” Qaara looks up through long eyelashes.

The red glow of Ricky’s jax starts to blink and fade.

As Qaara stares up at him, Jedd pulls in a deep breath, finds his courage and starts. “I just want to be certain you know how I feel. About you.”

“What do you mean?” Qaara’s head cocks to the side.

“It’s hard to put into words, but I want you to know—”

Qaara’s eyes wander from Jedd and stare past him into the twilight. And then they grow wide.

The dark sky glows blood red.

“Hey, what happened?” Ricky shakes his jax. “I lost the connection to the Mesh.” He looks up at Jedd, sudden understanding in his face. “I think—”