Floor 21- Dark Angel Read online

  That’s when Tommy’s voice breaks into my ear. “Lieutenant Anne. What’s your situation?”

  “Suiciders, Tommy. I’ve never seen so many.”

  I watch as they bank left and start coming back at us, like a huge wave of darkness that’s about to crash against the buildings. There’s so many, you couldn’t shoot them all down, and I can feel myself stop breathing for a second. It hits me that they’re all angling our way, with those explosives beneath their wings pointed straight at us.

  And that’s when I see . . . something. It’s a trail, like a trail of fire, that cuts through the sky and right through that dark wave. The next thing I know, three or four Suiciders just explode in mid-air. You see them pop, like orange blossoms, and when they detonate, it creates this chain reaction. Every Suicider around them breaks away, trying to dodge the explosions, and the whole wave of them starts to break up. That’s when I see it again, something moving so fast that I can’t even really understand what I’m looking at. All that’s left is another road of fire through the sky and more explosions, and suddenly the Suiciders are panicking. They’re breaking off and flying in every direction, dodging left and right as they start scattering. Somewhere between the pain surging through my shoulder and the sight of all those explosions, I realize there are people screaming. It takes me a minute to realize what’s going on, but when I look down the alley, there’s raiders just running by, like they’ve forgotten about us. They’re all shouting the same thing.

  “The angel. The angel. The angel.”

  Yazzie sets me against the wall, and the whole team brings up its rifles, making a stand in case any raiders come our way. They don’t. Instead, I watch as they keep running. Maybe a second later, the ground underneath us is shaking, like there’s an earthquake or something. It’s the transport. I see it rolling by, driving as fast as it can go. With all the armor it has, it’s pretty weighed down, so it just tanks along as it tries to get out of the area.

  That’s when Tommy’s voice speaks into my ear again. “Lieutenant. Anne.” I don’t respond for a second. Yazzie’s helping me stand, and I drag my way out onto the street. I can see the transport still rolling away while whatever’s left of the raiders are running up the hill. That’s when Tommy tries to get my attention one more time. “Lieutenant Anne, are you there?”

  “What?”

  “Is everything alright?”

  “I . . . I think so. I . . . I don’t know.”

  “Well, what did you do? How’d you drive the raiders off?”

  “I didn’t. It wasn’t us.”

  “Then what was it?”

  I don’t know what to say. I’m still breathing hard, and I feel like I’m about to faint. Our medic’s got me pushed up against the wall, and I can see him about to inject my wound full of biofoam so I don’t bleed to death. In my head, I know he’s telling me to take a deep breath, but I don’t even feel it when he squeezes his trigger. I mean, don’t get me started. It hurts like hell. I’m just so dazed by what happened that I almost don’t pay attention. I can barely focus.

  “Lieutenant Anne. Dodger. What was it?”

  “An . . . An angel.”

  “I didn’t hear that. Repeat.”

  “An angel, Tommy. It was an angel.”

  Tommy’s Recording 08

  A half hour after the raiders have evacuated the area, I’m sitting next to Dodger. She’s got gauze wrapped around her shoulder, but the foam should do the trick of keeping her from bleeding out. The stuff’s organic, so it’s designed to break down after a while, but we’ll be back at Central by then. I hope. Patel and Yazzie are busy doing a check of all the injured and dead. We took a few hits, but Dodger’s team got it the worst. That bombing by the Suiciders . . . Well, it killed everyone in the building.

  She takes a deep breath. The whole time she’s been sitting, she’s barely wanted to talk. “The funny part’s that I just got done telling Gomez that I wasn’t cut out for this job.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I made a bad call, Tommy.”

  “You were trying to outmaneuver the raiders, Dodger.”

  “I just . . . I should’ve realized that they’d be easy targets up there. You even told me, Tommy. You told me to watch out for them. And I just . . .”

  “You made the call you had to. If Gomez doesn’t take that third floor, nobody kills that transport gunner. We might all be dead if she doesn’t do that. She knew what she was doing, and she went out saving people’s lives. This isn’t any different from the way things have been since we were in the Tower. People die when they’re fighting, but that doesn’t mean what they did was meaningless.”

  “It’s not the same though. When someone goes down, if it’s you that made the call . . .”

  “That’s a responsibility we take. Somebody has to.” She goes quiet, and I just pat her on the leg. “We’ll have to put a list of the dead together once we’re back home, but we don’t have to talk about that now. I’m a little interested in knowing what you saw out here.”

  I can see her skin turn even whiter than it normally is. “Honestly, I really don’t know what I saw. One second, there I am, looking into the sky, and the next thing I know, there’s . . . fire.”

  “Fire? Like an explosion?”

  “Well, there are explosions, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What I saw was a streak of fire that just crossed through the sky.”

  “Could it have been a crashing ship? A Suicider burning out?”

  “No way. It crossed a couple of times, like it was making return trips. Every time it did, there were explosions, like it was attacking the Suiciders. Then there was . . .” Her voiced fades off, and I practically have to bend my neck to see her eyes.

  “Dodger. What was it?”

  “Just, all the raiders on the ground kept calling it an angel.”

  When she says it, I can feel my breath stop. The whole world actually just stops moving when she says it. “An angel. Like . . . like the Angels. Like the ones in the Tower.”

  “How should I know?”

  “Are you saying it could fly? That it was attacking the raiders?”

  “I really have no idea. All I know is what I told you. If it’s the same kind of Angel as the ones we saw in the Tower . . .” She shakes her head and looks away. “I mean, maybe it was. We know Angels have way more advanced tech than we do.”

  “Yeah. You remember . . . you remember that last one we saw, right before Jackie had her last fight with David Marshall?”

  “The one that could teleport anywhere it wanted. Kind of hard to forget.”

  “So, they can fly, too?”

  “Let’s just . . . We have to find out more about it. If it’s the monster everyone’s been talking about, it would make more sense for it to be an Angel than a Creeper. We know angels don’t exactly like the rest of us, so maybe this one just likes fighting.”

  “Well, it’s hard to say what they really think in general. Yeah, though. You’re right. None of the descriptions have fit a Creeper, but if the raiders think it’s a monster because of the kind of tech that Angels use . . .” I trail off when my earpiece starts buzzing, and I immediately open my channel. “Captain Jones speaking.”

  I almost gasp in relief when I hear Mike’s voice on the other end. “What’s going on, captain?”

  “Trying to clean up after a shootout with the raiders.”

  “About that. I meant to join up with you, but we got held up.”

  “By?”

  “Think it’s the same raiders you were fighting.”

  I feel my eyebrows closing in on each other as my brow tightens. “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, we’re good. Raiders looked spooked. All of them went flying off when they saw us. Well, all of them except one vehicle.”

  “A vehicle?”

  “Transport. Saw it before it saw us, and we put an explosive right beneath the wheels. Got survivors.”

  “You captured someone?” Suddenly
, my voice is rising. Capturing a raider might at least make some of this disaster worth the trip. “Who was it?”

  “Not going to believe me when I tell you.”

  “I’ve already been told that once today. You’re going to have something really impressive to surprise me.”

  “Alright. Looks like I got Erin himself.”

  For the dozenth time that day, I feel my breath stick in my chest. “You captured the head of Erin’s Army?”

  “You got it. We’re walking him your way.”

  “I’ll call Central. If you’ve got Erin, we’ve got to get a transport out here.”

  “Kind of risky. You sure they’ll send one this deep into the Deadlands?”

  “If it means bringing in the leader of Erin’s Army alive? You bet they will.”

  NEGOTIATIONS

  Personal Recording of the President, Gabriel Branagh 02

  By the time I’ve stepped into the interrogation room, Colonel Martin’s already standing around with some guards. Tommy’s right behind me, after telling me how much he needed to be there for what was about to happen. He didn’t explain why, but after how he handled himself in the Deadlands, I figured it was the least I could do. The minute we’re inside, the prisoner, Erin, cracks a smile. It doesn’t take me more than a second to realize there’s some history between the two of them that I don’t know about. “Well, well, well. It’s the president of the dogs and the house pet himself. How’s your leg doing, Thomas?”

  I look over at Tommy, and I can see him rubbing at his thigh while he grits his teeth. It’s a little bit concerning, I’ll admit. “You two know each other?”

  Tommy nods. “First had a run in with him a few months ago, when we took an extended trip into the Deadlands to find supplies.”

  “Did you lose anyone?”

  “No. A lot of injuries. Erin here put a bullet through my leg.”

  Erin grins and raises his hands innocently. “Can’t hold it against me, Thomas. You were on private land. It was an act of self-defense, is what it was.”

  Tommy’s fists clench up. “Self-defense? You shot me while I was half unconscious on the ground.”

  “Well, your friend, Michael I believe . . . He got you home safe, now didn’t he? Besides, I don’t see you tolerating just anyone waltzing across your territory. Unless you’re going to tell me those big guns you’ve got along the bridges are just for looks.”

  “They’re there to protect us from dangerous people. Like you.”

  “Funny. I could swear that we feel the same way about you.”

  I interrupt. “Gentlemen, if you would please.” My eyes go over to Martin. “What do you have for me?”

  Martin’s a big guy, bald and putting on a little weight but with a lot of the old muscle he still has from his younger years. I see him toss a folder onto the table, and a few pictures spill out. “Our friend here was found riding in a military transport, modified for broadcasting, of course. Militia on the ground recorded dozens of personal assault gliders, more popularly known as Suiciders. Then, of course, there were at least two dozen Furies. No military designation for those either, since they’re really just hopped up repulsor bikes.”

  “Interesting.” I look at Erin. “So, you’re telling me that you were fine letting your men drive around with repulsor technology, but you went with wheels instead? What, do you enjoy the classic feeling of the pavement underneath you?”

  “Not so hard to believe, is it, Mr. President? After all, a Suicider or a Fury’s going to be able to outrun most things the Creep tosses their way. Something like a transport? Too heavy to get away with, even on repulsors. It’d be overrun before it could get a block away. No, those situations call for old fashioned fuel. You understand, of course, what I’m talking about. Gasoline.”

  Tommy pipes up from behind me. “That’s old tech. Where’d you find it?”

  “Why? Looking for a way to zip around the city yourself? Sorry to tell you, but I’m not exactly in the mood to be giving away secrets. All you need to know’s we got the fuel, which means we can drive around these forsaken Deadlands without having to worry about any Creep getting riled up. You’re not the only ones who know how to scavenge old tech, you know.”

  It’s pretty clear that Erin knows what everyone in our militia knows. Repulsor technology gets the attention of the Creep. The more you use it and the longer you use it, the more the Creep gets worked up. That’s why we don’t drive very often outside of Central. We have repulsor transports, but they’re slow, and if they got attacked, they’d get swamped by Creepers once they got over the bridge. The vehicles we have that do run on gasoline are used in emergencies, not only because they’re rare, but because gasoline and diesel aren’t replaceable. Not easily, not after five hundred years. We head out onto the mainland on foot most of the time, even when we’re moving a lot of people. The only people who really take repulsor transports out into the Deadlands live at Fort Silence, because they’ve got the firepower to protect their convoys.

  After I’ve taken a second to look through the photos, I take a glance at Erin. “Lots of Suiciders you had out there. Lot of Furies, too. And now you’re saying that you found gasoline? If I were a gambling man, which I’ve been known to be from time to time, I’d say that your crew’s stumbled onto something. Now, I don’t know if it’s a cache of weapons, an old military base, who knows? What I need you to know, right now, is that we don’t have any negative intentions toward your people.”

  “Plenty easy to say something like that after you’ve just finished sending your dogs out onto our lands.”

  “Only after you attacked a colony we had established on the other side of the river. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Proprietary Colony.”

  “I didn’t—” He almost leaps forward out of his chair. “That wasn’t authorized.”

  “You want to know the worst part about it? That was almost sacred ground for a lot of people. You know Ned Lancaster. Neddy. He did his damndest to make that a place where anyone could feel safe.”

  “That he did, and look how you disrespected his memory. Made alliances with Fort Silence. Raided our people. It’s no wonder his son won’t sit down for one of these friendly chats of yours. He’d make a strong ally out there in the Deadlands, too bad nobody can trust a bunch of backstabbing marauders who side with madmen like General Yousef.”

  “Backstabbing marauders? Do I have to remind you that it was your people who went on those grounds and killed women and children? Colonists, Erin. Now, maybe Ned Jr. doesn’t want to talk with us. Maybe he doesn’t trust us because of our past relationship with Fort Silence. But I’ll tell you this much. I’ve never ordered my people to kill innocents like that, and I especially haven’t ever dishonored the memory of a man like Ned Lancaster, who did his best to bring your side and our side together.”

  “I. Didn’t. Order it. Do you understand? They were loose cannons. Are you hearing me? They were rabid killers, and they suffered the price for it. We dealt with them in our way.”

  Tommy pops off. “Not good enough. They need to go to trial.”

  “They got a trial,” Erin snarls. “Unless you think your courts are more civil simply because you’ve got the prettiest buildings on the block.”

  “What kind of justice could they possibly have gotten when they were being tried by their friends?”

  “They weren’t my friends,” he snaps back, and I can see his eye twitching when he does. “You come out to the Deadlands with me, Thomas, then let me know how easy you think it is to keep sixteen different clans in line who’ve never had a code to live by, who’ve lived their lives without food or water. Right, we got the guns, but Central’s the one starving out the rest of humanity.”

  I cut Tommy off before he can say anything else. “Is that what this is all about, then? Food? Water?”

  “Mr. President, when in the history of humanity has it ever not been about those things?”

  He stares at me from across the table for a long minut
e, like he’s expecting me to argue with him. After a second, I look over at Martin. “Colonel. I want you take out one of our transports. Not a military one. Just a truck, something that can carry supplies. Gas fueled. Load it up with food from the Green Zone, and put a few jugs of water in there, too.”

  He doesn’t sound happy when he asks, “What?” From the corner of my eye, I can tell he’s staring me down, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of me looking back. “Mr. President, with all due respect—”

  “I already know what you’re going to say, Martin.”

  “The council will have your head for this. Both councils!”

  “I’ll explain myself to the council—both of them—once I leave here.”

  It takes him more than a few seconds before he finally growls, “Yes, sir,” and storms out of the room. The minute he does, Tommy leans into me.

  “What are you doing, sir?”

  Erin quips up from the other side of the table. “Yeah. What are you doing, Mr. President? You think this is going to solve all our problems? Don’t get me wrong. A truck full of food is nice, but it’s not going to feed all my people.”

  “No, it won’t,” I answer back. “And I’m not delusional. I don’t think this is going to solve all of our problems. That’s not what this is about. This is about getting a new start. Your people need food? Fine. My people need safety. I know it’s dangerous living out there in the Deadlands. Our colonists report on it all the time. I’m hoping you can take this as a sign that I want to work together with you, because there’s no way we survive as a people unless we start coming together. It’s taken us five hundred years just to get this far.”

  His eyes stare down at the table, and I can see him trying to process everything I’m telling him. “So, you’re saying you’re freeing me?”