War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past (32 page)

Upon reaching the end of the steps, there was
another pad, and he instinctively placed his hand on it followed by
his name. The door made and unlocking noise and hissed open,
showing him an enormous bay expanding further than he could see.
Everything in the underground bunker seemed to be organized in
specific sections such as rifles, blades, pistols, gadgets, and
even more. He walked over to a section that had cannon launchers
and picked one of them up, tossing it over his shoulder.

Anlon turned to Moran. "How much stuff is
here? It looks like it goes on forever."

Moran shrugged. "More than you'll ever need,
but it's here if you do happen to need it. Cruisers and gliders are
that way," he pointed.

Anlon looked to where he was pointing and put
the cannon launcher down. "How do I get the cruisers out of here if
I want to use one?"

"Take them down there," He pointed to a
circular door. "Go through that door and there is an exit somewhere
on your property, though I'm not quite sure where."

"Why does he have so much stuff hidden down
here?"

"A lot of this stuff is from past missions
your father went on. The Queen allows us to keep all of our old
equipment. That's where I got all of my stuff in my apartment."

"Where's the ship you were talking about?"
Anlon started walking to another end of the bunker, admiring the
different types of gadgets.

"We'll have to go to Hermes for that," he
replied. "It's a little too big to sneak in this bunker."

Anlon put down the watch that he had picked
up. "Hermes? The ship is on Hermes?"

"That's right," Moran nodded. "He hid the
ship in plain sight."

"When do I get to see it?"

"I'll let you know later," Moran told him.
"For now, pick out weapons and gadgets that you want to use for
your mission. You obviously can't take everything, so pick the most
important things. You can always come back later and get more if
you need it."

"I'm going to get Kanti and let her pick out
what she'll need too."

"So you're really bringing her along?" Moran
chuckled. "I guess some help is better than no help. Who knows,
maybe she'll save you from getting killed."

"I have brought this Council together today
to inform you all that my daughter has not been found," Adira
announced. "The mission has been an utter failure."

"I thought we wouldn't be called again until
she was found," Reginold replied irritably.

"I had second thoughts about holding this
meeting, but I thought it best I keep you updated on the situation
as it unfolds."

"Then keep us updated, Queen," Alura smiled.
"What news do you have for us?"

"My daughter was not where I thought she
originally was," the Queen started. "She was held there for the
past twenty years, until recently, when she ran away from those
protecting her."

"She ran away?" Reginold asked. "Why would
your daughter, the
Princess
, run away from the safety of her
home? She should know better than that!"

"She doesn't know she's my daughter," Adira
revealed. "Only Mr. Waldmunt, Armino, and I knew of her existence
and we kept her true identity from her. Maybe, if she had known she
was the Princess she would've stayed, but it's too late for that
now."

"Do you have any idea where she may have
gone?" Bertrade asked. "There must be leads of some sort."

"We have no leads at the moment," Adira lied.
"It seems to be a dead end and that's why I called this Council.
Unfortunately, we may never find my daughter."

"She is your only heir," Abdul pointed out.
"Who will take your place if the enemy is successful?"

She shrugged. "Whoever the enemy
wants
to take my place is who will take my place."

Adira got up from her seat and left the room.
Just enough information had been given to throw Kirill off track,
for a time anyway. She wanted him to believe that the retrieval of
her daughter had been a failure and finding her was hopeless in
hopes of getting to her first. It was a long shot, but it may
provide just enough time for her.

"We will have your daughter very soon,
Kirill," the blue figure informed him.

"Why have you contacted me now, before you
have possession of her?" Kirill demanded. "You're wasting my time
and risking your cover being blown."

"The Queen sent a man to Demeter, where he
was told that she ran away," the figure said. "The Kaneen who was
hiding her has no idea where she has gone. He only provided a
name."

"What is the name? I have a contact who can
find her quicker than the Queen ever will."

"Kanti Cordula."

Kirill grinned. "I won't even need to use a
database or my contact to find her. I know exactly where she is
right now."

"You do?" the figure grinned.

"I do. I have heard the name mentioned
several times with one of my contacts," Kirill nodded. "How much
does the Queen know about where her daughter may be?"

"I believe she knows nothing, but I can't be
sure," the figure admitted. "She called the Council together,
saying she knows nothing, but from the intercepted call, I know she
was lying to throw us off."

"No matter," Kirill waved his hand. "I will
have her before the Queen can send someone to retrieve her."

Camillus got on the elevator and overrode the
access code to ascend up to the second floor of the prison. He had
to get to Kanti Cordula before anybody else did, those were exactly
his exact orders. Retrieving her was now his sole mission; his
secret identity no longer mattered. His ultimate functions had been
performed and now it was time to leave.

Camillus exited the elevator as soon as the
doors slid open and he took a left to Kanti's office. When he
arrived at the door, he stopped and knocked.

"Come in."

Camillus opened the door and entered, not
bothering to shut the door behind him. Kanti looked up from her
monitor, surprised to see him standing before her.

"Camillus? What are you doing out of the
database?"

"We need to leave Kanti," Camillus moved
towards her.

Kanti reflexively backed up. "Leave? What are
you talking about Camillus? Why did you leave the database?"

"I will tell you once we leave here," He
grabbed her arm. "Right now, it's time to go."

"Where are you leaving?" She pulled back.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"We have to go now!" Camillus ordered. "Get
up and come with me!"

"No. I'm not..."

"You're in danger!" Camillus interrupted
her.

"Danger? What do you mean I'm in danger?"

"It's too much to explain right now and it's
not safe here anymore," Camillus spoke quickly. "I'll take you to
Anlon first and you can talk to him, but we
need
to get out
of here now!"

"How do you know about me and Anlon?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on him and I
know that you both are up to something," he revealed. "Stop asking
questions and just follow me."

"We go to his house. Nowhere else."

"Yes. We'll go straight to his house,"
Camillus nodded. "Whatever will get you to leave this place."

Kanti got up from her desk and headed for the
door. "Let's go then."

Kanti followed Camillus, who was almost
running, to the elevator where they descended down in silence. She
led the way off and to the circular door and it hissed open,
allowing both of them to exit, but not before Giustino came rushing
towards them.

"What are you doing out of the database
Camillus?" he shouted.

"I'm taking him in for repairs. He's
malfunctioning and I had nothing else better to do," she lied.

"I'll have someone else take him in, don't
worry about it. I have your reassignment ready for you."

"He really needs to go now," Kanti insisted.
"He'll break without his repairs."

"I really need you to come for your
reassignment now," he glared.

She rolled her eyes and walked over to
Giustino. "What is it? Can't it wait until I've finished this?"

He grabbed her and dragged her over to his
car, opening the passenger door and shoving her in before getting
in the driver's seat. As the car started, a loud crash came down on
the vehicle and the roof caved in. Camillus' hand penetrated
through the roof and yank the ignition from the car.

"What's this stupid robot doing?" He looked
to Kanti.

Kanti tried to get out, but found that the
door wouldn't budge. Before she could try again, the door flew off
of the hinges and Camillus pulled her out.

"Get to your car!" he ordered as Kanti
scrambled on the ground.

"Get back here now!" Giustino got out of his
car in pursuit of Kanti.

Kanti opened the door to her car, but before
she was able get in, Giustino was pointing a gun at her. She held
her hands up and slowly walked towards him.

"You're coming with me Kanti," he panted. "I
have your reassignment for you and you won't be staying on Gaea for
it."

She slowly continued moving forward as
Camillus approached Giustino from behind, pouncing on him and
breaking his arm in half to reveal the white bone beneath. Giustino
screamed out in pain, grabbing at his severed arm to stop the
bleeding. Camillus quickly grabbed his head and twisted it,
breaking his neck and instantly killing him.

Kanti looked at him in horror. "What's going
on Camillus? Why was he trying to take me?"

"Get in," he ordered. "We're going to Anlon's
house."

Anlon ran down the stairs, after hearing
somebody walk into his house and yell his name. He hadn't been
expecting anybody and had just finished bringing around a cruiser
stockpiled with weapons. After reaching the bottom of the stairs,
he saw who it was. Camillus was standing there, covered in blood,
with his arm wrapped around Kanti.