He was outnumbered and low on ammo. He rose from behind the low wall, dragging the dealer with him. Caught in a web of red beams, he tossed the gun to the ground. The first stun burst hit him in the left thigh, dropping him to his knees. The second, to his shoulder, put him on his back. He stared up at the stars as he caught his breath. Turning his head towards the sound, he blinked in the half-light. What emerged from the dark was not an armed troop, but eight of the articulated agribots that he’d observed earlier tending the lawns and gardens. Their integrated weapons recalibrated their aim as they closed in. He nodded at the ingenuity. Hidden in plain sight. What, or rather who, followed was not so easily missed. The bots made a gap in their perimeter allowing the tall figure to pass through.
The red beams of the lasers formed a mesh across the reflective surface of the full face helmet. With his massive hands on his hips, the bot master stared into the hole Helix had made in the patio. The demeanour, movement and size suggested a male, but Helix was prepared to be wrong. The masked figure stepped towards the drug dealer and knocked off the fedora. The tossing of the head suggested a silent laugh. Taking a step back, they pulled a weapon and shot the drug dealer in the face. The headless corpse fell backwards behind the low wall.
Helix stared into the unblinking eye of the gun barrel now trained on him, his own face reflected in the black visor of the person pointing it. Two bull-like jets of breath vented from the underside of the mask. Folding upwards, the visor revealed a thick black beard, broad nose and the steely eyes of Sean Archer: personal physician and butcher to Ulyana Lytkin.
Helix exhaled. ‘Phase four complete. Going dark.’
34
10 Hours
Hooded and handcuffed, Helix stumbled forward. Straining his ears, he listened for any indication of location and time. His own shambling footsteps across a polished floor and a faint hum of what could have been ventilation were the only scant clues. The mute Archer had given nothing away as he bundled him into the vehicle and removed the PCM from his calf. Robbed of his augmentations, any attempt to estimate elapsed time had fallen victim to the thoughts of what lay ahead.
A sound, like a deep breath, ushered forth the sanitised smell of antiseptic and carbolic. The scent sparked memories of convalescence, the months spent in hospital recovering from his injuries. A more recent memory of that same odour caused him to pause. A push propelled him onto his knees and then onto his face. Pain exploded in his lower back as his captor pinned him with his knee. The cuffs were released, the hood snatched away, the door slammed and locked.
The numbness in his arms dissipated as he squinted in the light. He rested for a moment on his elbows. Black had become blinding white; the floor, the ceiling the walls. Crawling forward, he rolled onto his backside and leaned against the wall of the empty box. A narrow vent overhead breathed a silent draught of cool air.
The scarcity of fixtures and fittings suggested a holding cell, perhaps a brief stay. If his plan had played out the way he intended, Sofi, in the shape of Gabrielle, would be somewhere there too. But what about Ethan? Where was he? Given Lytkin’s apparent proclivity for theatrical group torture, he was as certain as he could be that Ethan wouldn’t be far.
He’d been gagged and bagged for the entire journey. Although he remained conscious, he’d gleaned nothing about his location. The featureless box he now found himself in, offered no further clues. A shimmer across one of the walls drew his attention, like a breath upon water, ripples radiating outwards. He rolled onto his knees and up to his feet. He paused, his head tilted, listening. With his PCM absent the faint hum in his head must have originated from elsewhere. The hum became a buzz, growing in intensity with each step closer to the wall, announcing its presence. Flattening his palm, he offered it up. A hot red reflection expanded as he splayed his fingers, the hum more staccato, a rattlesnake warning. Keep away. He snatched his hand back, forward, back again. He’d seen something similar. It wasn’t solid, but it was as impregnable as any wall and a lot more lethal.
He turned his eyes upwards, ears straining in anticipation. Had he heard something or was it sixth sense? Somebody on the line, but silent. He exhaled letting the idea go. Leaning back against the wall, he bent his knees and slid towards the floor. Upon contact, the liquid crystal molecules contained within the smart glass rearranged themselves, rendering the opaque walls and ceiling crystal clear.
Gabrielle. He crossed the cell, the tension loosening as he reminded himself again that he was looking into the eyes of Sofi.
The AI folded her arms and nodded. Helix gave her a visual check. She was undamaged. The moist eyes showed an appropriate level of concern given the situation. She pointed to her cheek. Helix mirrored the action, his fingers glancing over the parallel scratches he’d acquired earlier. He shrugged. He needed to be on top of his game as much as she did. Pressing his hand to the glass, she did the same, her hand tiny in comparison.
‘I’m so sorry, Gabrielle,’ he said for the benefit of those listening.
She smiled and mouthed the words: ‘You did your best.’
He pulled away, his hand flapping at his side.
Although
