the guard was concerned, Trevor might as well have said Third Legion HQ or the Ops Center. It seemed to make no difference.
Five minutes later a car arrived. Trevor gave the driver the exact directions.
'Do you know where one-dash-one in the industrial sector is?'
Again, the driver showed no concern. Apparently the Ashley of this world was the only one who thought any of this was a big deal.
Trevor relaxed. Why so anxious? This was his world now. It belonged to him.
I own it.
– Minutes after Trevor Stone departed, Major Forest parked at the curb in front of the skyscraper hotel. She slipped out of the sleek coupe and entered the tall building, rode the elevator to the penthouse, and entered the suite she shared with the Emperor, walking in on the two body guards in the midst of a conversation.
'Should we call someone?'
'Yeah, well, Snowe might be pissed if we don’t.'
'Director Snowe might be pissed if you don’t do what?' She surprised them.
They did not have to speak, their wide-eyes and pale complexions told the story.
She nearly screamed, 'Where is he? Where did he go?'
'I don’t know. Some girl started bothering him outside and gave him something. Really freaked him out. Next thing we know he’s telling us to stay put and heading out the door.'
'What? What lady?'
'Don’t know. We just told her to get off, figured she was a crazed fan or something. Never saw her before. She was wearing techies, dark hair. She acted like she knew him but I've never seen her around him before.'
Nina’s eyes worked side to side as her mind calculated. As she found one potential, terrifying answer, she raced out of the room and down the elevator to the sentry in the lobby.
'Trevor. Did he come down here a few minutes ago? Did he leave again?'
'Yes, he asked for ground transportation.'
She leaned in close to his face.
'To where?'
'Industrial Sector. That’s all he said.'
That was enough. Nina put the puzzle pieces together. Panic sprouted in the center of her stomach and spread through her entire body. If she hurried, if she were fast, maybe she could keep everything from tumbling down.
Nina bolted out the front door knowing that the race was on.
–
Twilight turned into darkness. With nightfall came a sharp chill, part of a moist wind that suggested a rainstorm approached.
Trevor’s taxi pulled away, leaving him on a street to the south of the wide, long building that resembled an industrial cathedral made from metal.
A dusty taste of soot and a sour smell of combustible fuels filled the air. He heard a steady drone; the drone of machinery at work, machinery producing the supplies keeping Thebes alive and fighting.
He avoided the front of the building where he noticed activity on what appeared to be loading docks. Besides, markings on the key card he possessed pointed to the south side entrance. At the same time, he could not shake the feeling that he should avoid drawing attention.
His nerves trembled anxiously. A part of him-a very big part-wanted to turn around, forget the place, and go back to killing aliens by day and partying by night. He found he preferred that simple approach.
Still, he managed to subdue the urge to retreat, squashing it with bravado.
I’m the Emperor! I can go wherever I want!
Trevor approached the side door.
Go back! Turn around!
A security camera focused on the person who approached the side door, slipped a key card into the lock, and followed Reverend Johnny's footsteps into the heart of Thebes.
– Director Jakob Snowe sat in a windowless office inside the Operations Center scribbling another signature on another set of orders, this one approving the promotion of a junior officer who had served him well; one of his many friends well-positioned in the military, manufacturing, and administrative sectors.
One of those friends walked in to his office after a quick knock. Snowe did not look up from his paper.
'Mr. Director, security called. You wanted to be notified if The Emperor went to building one-dash-one. He was spotted on an exterior camera entering the building alone.'
Snowe jumped up and moved around the desk for the exit first at a walk and then at a slow jog.
'Muster the men and warm up my Skipper.'
The Director joined the race.
–
The room smelled of grease and cleaning chemicals. An eclectic collection of maintenance items-from mops to spare electronic parts-lay about the area in lockers and on tables, in corners and on shelves.
He spied the trio of passages leading away from the room and felt as if he had accessed a sort of backstage entrance to the place. Those passages looked less like typical corridors and more like maintenance tunnels, resembling the type of hallways one might find running through a shopping mall behind the retail spaces.
Of course, Trevor did not know which way to go. Thankfully, the sound of approaching footstep from behind a set of double doors directly in front of him made the decision easy: he pushed through a metal door and proceeded along a tunnel cutting behind offices and workshops. He walked in silent steps, moving fast but hiding all the same.
Why am I hiding? I'm The Emperor! I own this place! Everything here is mine!
Funny how petty that sounded when trying to convince himself. Yet he knew it to be true. From staked aliens to murdered Committeemen, Trevor Stone had purchased Thebes and all its people. Somewhere ahead waited another piece of that inheritance.
– A light drizzle fell, causing the black-topped boulevard to glisten in the street lights.
Nina's car screamed around a corner, fish-tailing through an intersection in a fit of over steer. The squeal of the slipping tires bounced off the tall, empty buildings surrounding the lonely street. As she pushed the throttle, the roar of the engine sounded even louder.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel. She bit her lower lip to the point of nearly drawing blood. The buildings on either side became one constant, ugly blur.
Something caught her eye.
Nina looked out a side window painted with droplets. Overhead, a Skipper flew by and she knew where it was going and she knew who was on board.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!'
Forest pounded her fists on the steering wheel then slammed the accelerator to the floor. The car’s rear wheels chirped from the onslaught of torque and propelled her forward even faster, but not nearly as fast as the Skipper.
– Trevor moved along a tight corridor. The background sound of grinding, turning, churning machinery continued at a constant, low hum.
He passed supply closets and exit doors and fire control equipment and utility cabinets, traversing a labyrinth spider webbing through the entire building. Yet, the halls and passages, the door ways and intersections flowed like tributaries feeding a river, leading toward a central area. He felt it calling to him.
– The AATC came to an abrupt, rough halt on the landing pad atop building one-dash-one in the industrial sector. The ship had barely stopped moving when the hatch lowered open.
Director Jakob Snowe and an entourage of well-armed faithful followers hurried from the craft.
– The car came to a halt outside the building. Nina swung open the door, exited, and ran through the cathedral-like entrance, avoiding a supply truck as it drove away from the docks. Two guards watched her enter but did nothing to stop her, a superior officer.
Nina knew she needed to beat Snowe to the security control station on the upper level of the complex. From there she could track Trevor. If she could get to him before the Director, maybe she could stop this before it
