The Phoenix Variant: The Fifth Column 3 Read online

  Sophia tried not to think of her. Or her location. What she was doing.

  Denton turned to Czarina, who was still holding the electroshock pistol. ‘Have the Blue Berets sweep the dining concourse in Grand Central,’ he said. ‘They should find Nasira. And a … friend of hers. Dyed red hair.’

  Sophia felt her stomach tighten. She tried not to think of Nasira and focused on Denton. Focused on Czarina. Any escape or sabotage plans that floated in her head, she had to push away. If Denton could snatch fragments of her thoughts then anything was fair game.

  ‘There’s a little more to it than just fragments,’ Denton said. He snapped his fingers. ‘Tyler, how does it work? Tell her what you told me this afternoon.’

  One of the scientists, plain-clothed like the others, froze in position, blinking.

  ‘Oh, well, a significant portion of our DNA are actually viruses. The virus DNA is absorbed—’

  Denton shook his head. ‘Just get to the Phoenix virus, the mislabeled sample we found in this base that I injected an hour ago. The Scryer.’

  ‘Ah yes, that Phoenix virus rapidly integrated with your DNA and began coding proteins that release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine,’ Tyler said. ‘It activated the parasympathetic element of your autonomic nervous system. This is called being in a state of cholinergia. Which you’re experiencing at this moment, Colonel.’

  Denton drew a circle in the air with one finger. ‘And after that?’

  ‘Well, from the preliminary tests we ran on your blood work and brain activity, it appears to be altering your brain function. We cannot determine gene expression without—’

  Denton held up a hand. ‘Without using a breath mint,’ he said. ‘I can smell the garlic from here and it’s quite disgusting.’ He turned from Tyler to Sophia. ‘So the upshot of it is I can remotely read electrical signals from your brain and interpret them.’ Like tuning a radio. All I have to do is adjust the dial and listen.’ He smiled, his gaze drifting from Sophia. ‘Doors open that I didn’t know existed. I’m hooked into a stream of information no one else can access.’ He closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I feel connected, alive.’

  Denton placed the empty syringe on the moss-coated table. ‘And now I’ll have another virus to add to my collection.’ He opened and closed his fist, then dabbed some blood from his elbow. He rubbed it between two fingers, deep in thought. ‘Sorry love, but you can’t read my thoughts,’ Denton said. Then he paused, fingers apart. ‘But you can smell them.’

  Sophia didn’t say anything.

  He nodded, intrigued. ‘You’re picking up on pheromones, aren’t you?’ he said. ‘Clever girl. Finally, achievement unlocked.’ He approached her. ‘How? By accident? Naturally? Some sort of deprogramming glitch?’

  Sophia honestly didn’t know how it happened, but it had started at the festival that evening.

  ‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Maybe it was the tracking marker you removed recently. We were following you, but I didn’t want to collect on that just yet. Tried it this week and noticed you were off the grid.’ He smiled. ‘Just when I needed you too.’

  She watched him unroll his sleeve. ‘You wanted me here?’

  He shrugged. ‘It was really a matter of who or what arrived first. The meteorite from the museum or yourself. I could take either.’

  ‘That meteorite has the same—’

  ‘Phoenix virus as you do,’ he said. ‘Save your energy, I can finish your sentences for you now.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want to steal your fun,’ she said.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘No, I’m having a wonderful time. Your boys needn’t run so recklessly with that rock of theirs. Considering I don’t need it anymore.’

  ‘Then why are you pursuing it?’ she said.

  ‘For my collection,’ he said. ‘Nothing against your blood, but I prefer something a little more solid.’ He inhaled sharply, then drummed his fingers on the empty syringe. ‘Tell me, what do you smell on me?’

  ‘It’s not a smell,’ she said. ‘Well, your deodorant wore off.’

  ‘Well, whatever you call it.’ He tapped his nose. ‘It’s collected here and processed in your brain so let’s not get pedantic. Unless it’s me doing it, in which case it’s acceptable.’

  Sophia swallowed. ‘Desperation.’

  Denton’s hand hit the table, hard, dislodging moss. ‘If there is one thing I am not, it is desperate. Not anymore, at least.’

  He held up two fingers and at first Sophia thought he was giving her the peace sign.

  ‘Two Phoenix viruses down, one to go,’ he said. ‘Oh, but I can see myself in your mind.’ He leaned toward her, entranced. ‘Strength. Resolution. It’s—’

  ‘Cold,’ she said. ‘There’s a void.’

  ‘There is no void,’ he said in a low voice.

  She could smell his breath. ‘There is,’ she said. ‘I can feel it. No one else has it.’

  ‘The word you’re looking for is evolution,’ he said, drawing the pistol from his holster.

  Sophia stared down the barrel of his Heckler & Koch USP pistol.

  ‘And thank you, by the way,’ he said. ‘It’s been fun.’

  A deep groan echoed from the depths of the OSS base. It wasn’t a human groan, but a metallic one. Something exploded below them. They all looked sharply down through the grated metal floor. A surge of foaming water burst through the walls and filled the base below them.

  Denton turned to his team. ‘Pack it up!’ he yelled. ‘Get everything back to the surface.’

  Something slammed across Denton’s pistol, knocking it from his grasp. Sophia identified the shiny blur.

  DC’s sword.

  It hit the metal floor with a high-pitched clang. The pistol skittered across the floor. DC lifted his sword and cut horizontally. Denton reeled back, across the moss table. The sword caught the wire attached to Sophia’s neck, tearing the electroshock pistol from Czarina’s hands. Denton’s team hustled quickly through the exit on Sophia’s left, across the spindly catwalk that connected to the outer ring of the OSS base.

  Czarina drew her pistol and took aim at DC.

  Water exploded into the room—spraying shattered glass across the table, covering Denton. He slid off the table, landed beside it, covered in clumps of moss. Sophia shut her eyes as the water and moss washed over her. She stood up—Day of the Dead makeup stinging her eyes—and thrust her plasticuffed wrists down hard across her midsection. The force of the impact snapped the bindings.

  Czarina’s pistol washed between her knees. She went to grab it but her fingers were still numb from breaking the plasticuffs: it slipped away, carried by the water. She turned to chase but lost sight of it immediately. Water surged around her hips and poured through the only place it could—the exit on her left. Denton’s team made it across the catwalk, the last of the scientists slipping but regaining his footing. They made it out.

  DC cut the air with his sword. Czarina weaved to avoid the blade. Sophia got to her feet and moved around DC, avoiding his sword. She could see Denton doing the same, edging for the exit.

  She yelled to DC. ‘Stop Denton!’

  DC rolled across the table—sword held to one side. He came up and lashed at Denton. It would have been a quick decapitation, except Denton knew it was coming. Denton kicked under the table, knocking DC off balance. Sophia moved for Czarina but a hard surge of water pinned them both to the wall.

  Czarina reached for a knife and went in for a backhanded stab. Sophia smashed her elbow into Czarina’s forearm. She took the electrode wires still attached to her neck and wrapped them around Czarina’s arm, around her neck—then tore the barbs from her neck.

  Blood, diluted ruby red with water, washed down her arm. She kicked Czarina hard in the midsection, sending her sideways along the wall—out the exit and sprawling across the spindly catwalk. More water rushed through and knocked Czarina off the catwalk.

  Sophia dived for her, tried to grab her hand. She missed. Czarina dangled under the catwalk from one han
d. Sophia checked over her shoulder. Denton was behind her. He turned as DC closed on him, sword in both hands. Sophia scrambled farther onto the catwalk. She rolled to her feet and swiveled, facing them.

  Denton was unarmed, trapped between DC and herself.

  DC thrust his sword forward. Denton sidestepped the blade, then ducked the next attack. DC moved closer, slicing Denton from every angle. The frenzied movements of the blade made it difficult for Sophia to get any closer and help subdue Denton, who seemed able to evade every strike. He advanced on DC, tearing the sword from his grasp and almost cutting his head off.

  DC rolled back into the room.

  Denton brought the sword toward her. Sophia ducked under the handrail. She swung between the handrail supports. Denton struck the next section of handrail. It buckled under the force of the strike and knocked Sophia off the catwalk completely.

  Water rushed beneath her. Her fingers found purchase and she hung in the path of the foaming water. She shut her eyes against the blast, pulling herself up to see properly. There was salt in the water and it made her eyes sting. She was hanging under the catwalk, not much further along from where Czarina had hung.

  She tried to look through the crashing water around her but couldn’t see the operative anywhere. Her eyes burned. She blinked, wiped her face across her arm to get the salt out. All that came off was a smear of her Day of the Dead makeup.

  Above her, Denton and DC struggled across the catwalk. She could hear the clang of the sword striking metal. The catwalk buckled slightly and dropped a few inches. It wasn’t in the best shape and banging it around with the sword certainly wasn’t helping.

  She lifted herself up until the top of her head pressed against the grille. The water pushed on her, eroding her grip. Above her, the battle shifted farther along the walkway, away from the room. She let go with one hand and allowed the water to force her back, then reached up to grab the edge of the catwalk. It wasn’t much of a grip but her other hand was slipping.

  She grabbed the lip of the catwalk with both hands. She was waist-deep in fast-moving water. The catwalk shivered a few inches lower.

  Sophia grabbed one of the handrail supports and held. Every muscle in her arms and shoulders burned in protest. She pulled herself up to the handrail, grabbed it with both hands and hauled herself onto the catwalk. She could see Denton forcing DC into retreat. She could also see a Blue Beret at the far end, taking up a position in the next room to fire on DC.

  ‘Behind you!’ she yelled above the roaring water.

  DC dropped to one knee and kicked behind him. His boot caught the Blue Beret’s kneepad and knocked him onto his face. DC grappled for the carbine. It bounced off the handrail and disappeared into the water. The Blue Beret drew his pistol. DC’s hands closed over it. Their legs and arms entangled as they fought for control over the pistol. DC wrenched it from the Blue Beret, breaking the soldier’s finger through the trigger guard, and aimed at Denton—who batted the pistol off the catwalk with his sword.

  Sophia looked for anything she could use. She still had her ruck on, so she searched for her spare Gerber knife, only to remember she’d given it to Aviary as a present. Denton swung at DC again, but DC rolled over the Blue Beret. The sword struck the Blue Beret in his sternum, fracturing the boron carbide plate and continuing part way into the soldier’s chest.

  Sophia moved quickly for Denton. He knew she was coming and freed the sword from the Blue Beret’s armor by pressing his boot onto the soldier’s chest. He turned and carried the sword over his head. Sophia weaved to one side, hitting the handrail. It came free and she teetered on the edge. The sword struck the middle of the catwalk behind him.

  She did the only thing she could do—threw herself backward onto the pinned sword. She landed on it before Denton could draw it free, protected by her ruck, and kicked him in his midsection. He lost his grip on the sword and landed on top of the critically wounded Blue Beret, almost rolling off the catwalk and into the water.

  Sophia moved off the sword, her ruck still intact. She drew the sword as she moved and came to one knee. DC was nowhere to be seen. It was just her and Denton now.

  She slashed left to right, just over the handrails. Denton dropped back on the Blue Beret to avoid the blade. She slashed again, right to left. This time Denton dived forward, over the Blue Beret. The blade passed over his head.

  Sophia retreated and slashed downward, aiming for the back of his head. He rolled to one side. The blade missed. She kept her strikes light and controlled, careful not to embed the blade in the degrading catwalk. Denton’s roll knocked an upright off the walk completely and the entire handrail on that side fell away.

  More room for her to manipulate the sword—she slashed across from her shoulder. Denton rolled the other way, leaped back to his feet. She moved in, worked the blade from side to side. The blade struck the left handrail and it peeled off, dangling from the end of the catwalk.

  Denton came so close that she thought he might get around the blade. She retreated quickly. His movements were precisely timed and responsive. She kept slashing, thrusting—but Denton evaded every strike as though he knew it was coming before it happened.

  He smiled and retreated a step, hands comfortably resting at his sides. He knew he was untouchable and there was nothing she could do about it. She watched him turn and walk away, toward the end of the catwalk.

  Then she had an idea.

  She brought the sword down across the catwalk before her—across the fractured steel, peppered with mold. Denton turned, saw the strike in mid-motion, and reacted. The blow cracked the catwalk. Two-thirds of the catwalk—with Denton standing on it—tipped downward.

  Denton was in mid-jump. He landed on a parallel catwalk one level below, and crashed into the handrail support.

  She was ready too. Her end of the catwalk remained stable, but it wouldn’t be for long. She jumped. A clear, prepared jump that brought her into the center of the parallel catwalk, sword held out to one side. She wasn’t letting him get away that easily. She dropped into a shoulder roll and came to her feet. She stood and drew her sword in. She was farther from the rush of incoming water now but the water level in the flooding base began to swell beneath her.

  Denton didn’t wait for her to advance. He moved for the exit as fast as possible. She looked down to see water lapping her feet. Behind her, the catwalk shook suddenly.

  She spotted Czarina. She’d fallen from the higher catwalk and, carried by the water, grabbed hold of the parallel catwalk as she passed under it. Czarina was clinging to it now, elbows over the side, mouth just above the water.

  Denton made it to the end. He gave her a quick salute before disappearing into the outer ring of the OSS base. She wanted to pursue him, but there was Czarina.

  ‘Hey!’ DC called out from the room above.

  He was still alive. That was a good sign.

  ‘Get out of there!’ he yelled.

  Sophia turned to see Czarina’s elbows slip. She disappeared from view. Sophia could see fingers clinging underneath. The water pulled on Czarina. She had only moments before she’d lose her hold completely.

  Sophia looked up. DC had gone. He was the only one who could operate any of the Blue Beret firearms. Maybe he’d catch up to Denton and take him down.

  Sophia dropped the sword on the catwalk and ran to Czarina. She slid across the end, her slide spraying water into her own face. She reached into the rushing water and grabbed Czarina’s wrist.

  Sophia braced herself with the tips of her boots clamping each side of the catwalk. She hauled Czarina up. Her wrist surfaced. Sophia brought her other hand across, pulled Czarina with both hands. Every muscle in her arms, shoulders and back burned to get the operative to the surface.

  Czarina gasped for air, held onto Sophia. The catwalk buckled and Sophia plunged a foot deeper into the water. She heard her sword slide down the footbridge, coming to rest beside her leg. She ignored it and pulled Czarina up by her red jacket and onto the catwal
k. Czarina clawed across the metal, rolled out of the buckled section and onto higher ground. She coughed water.

  Sophia took her sword and rolled away. Czarina propped up on her elbows, strips of long brown hair smeared across her face. She coughed more water and stared evenly at Sophia.

  For a moment they just stared at each other. Sophia wondered what to do next. Leave her. Kill her. Wound her. Capture her. Deprogram her.

  There wasn’t much time for any except the first. But she’d gone to the trouble of rescuing her, leaving her seemed senseless—and careless if Czarina tracked her and killed her while she was trying to escape.

  ‘Why did you do that?’ Czarina said between breaths.

  Sophia could sense lingering aggression. It pushed out toward her in waves. Czarina was not her friend. The pheromones or whatever DC called them, they were warning signals. And she was getting them loud and clear.

  She did the only thing she could do.

  ‘Children three that nestle near, eager eye and willing ear,’ Sophia said. ‘Pleased a simple tale to hear.’

  Czarina twitched.

  Sophia reached for her sword. ‘Children three that—’

  ‘Access permitted,’ Czarina said suddenly.

  Sophia swallowed. ‘Execute parapsyche designation Lycaon,’ she said.

  ‘Lycaon loaded,’ Czarina said. Goosebumps crept across Sophia’s neck. ‘Request command.’

  The waves of aggression dropped off. Now there were no warning signs at all. Sophia didn’t know if this was a good thing or whether it was worse. She rose to her feet. ‘Follow me,’ she said.

  ‘Command received,’ Czarina said, mirroring her movements.

  ‘I’m your ally,’ Sophia said. ‘Echo status.’

  Czarina stared at her with mild curiosity. ‘You are my ally.’

  ‘DC is your ally,’ Sophia said. ‘Denton and all Blue Berets are hostile.’

  ‘Copy that,’ Czarina said. She didn’t move.

  Water lapped at Czarina’s ankles.

  ‘Where is your firearm?’ Sophia said.