Hero Born: Project Solaris Page 12

  Sweat beaded Marcus' forehead as he lowered his arms. I narrowed my eyes, considering. Whatever he'd done had clearly taken a lot out of him.

  "Come on now, David. Some bad shit has gone down, but we can sort this out," Marcus stated. He seemed genuine.

  "Last chance," Summers said, as if Marcus hadn't spoken. She raised her hand again. "Come quietly, or I'll snap your girlfriend's neck. It's you we're after, David. Usir won't care if I kill the others."

  "I most certainly do care, my dear," came a cultured voice. Usir's cane clicked against the floor as he made his way through the gap where the golden iris leading into the room had been. He still looked old, but despite the cane he was far more able than a man his age should be.

  I made a mental comparison with the image I'd seen in Mohn's files, the one from the early 70s when Usir appeared even older. How the hell did someone age in reverse, and what was his connection to the Egyptian god Osiris? I wished I'd had more time to question Ka.

  "Hello, David. Why don't you put your hands down and go help Jillian?" Usir suggested. He continued forward until he was even with Summers. He gave her a level look, and she blanched as if she'd been struck. "Ms. Summers here won't bother you, as long as you cooperate. I assure you that we have your best interests in mind."

  "They killed four of our men." Summers glared at Usir.

  "A tragedy, but one precipitated by my own actions. Had I told David everything from the beginning, he'd have had no reason to break in," Usir countered, eyes hardening. "Nor am I prepared to deal with it at this precise moment. We are fast running out of time. Need I repeat your last lesson, Ms. Summers?" Usir asked. His tone suggested it was a mild rebuke, but Summers recoiled as if slapped. She gave a single tight nod of acquiescence.

  I didn't wait for them to finish, instead rushing to Jillian's side. A thin trickle of blood threaded down her forehead, but the flow had already stopped. She was breathing, and I didn't see anything broken.

  "Jillian?" I asked, cupping her chin. Her eyes fluttered open, but her gaze was unfocused. "Are you all right? Say something."

  "Ouch," she said, pushing me gently away and rising slowly to her feet. She rolled her neck, and I winced at the sound of cracking vertebrae. "Did you get the number of that truck?"

  I hugged her without thinking, relaxing my grip as I realized it might hurt her. She returned it just as fiercely, though, and seemed all right.

  "Guys?" Kali called from the platform.

  I turned to see the soldiers lowering their weapons. Usir had stepped atop the platform next to Kali, cane cradled absently in one hand like an unused prop. It was capped with a very Egyptian-looking Scarab, the kind I'd seen in books about King Tut.

  "Now then, shall we head somewhere more comfortable to discuss all this?" Usir said, giving a grandfatherly smile. "There's no need for further bloodshed, and I promise that when you understand the entirety of the situation you'll realize we're all on the same side. I regret imposing on you, but please decide quickly. Your use of Object 3 has not gone unnoticed, and the grey men will arrive soon."

  I considered our very limited options as I looked at Jillian, then Kali. If they had any ideas, they didn't communicate them. "Fine, we'll hear you out," I said, releasing a breath.

  "Excellent. If you'll follow me please," Usir said, leading us back to the elevator. No one spoke--not the guards waiting outside the elevator, and certainly not us. Everyone eyed each other as we stepped inside, Usir first, and then me.

  Jillian and Kali joined us, but Usir raised a hand when Summers moved to enter as well. "I think not, Ms. Summers. Even were tempers not flaring, I have other work for you. I need you and Marcus to secure the building and begin preparing for the coming assault."

  "Assault?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're attacking someone?"

  "No, my dear," Usir explained. "We are about to be attacked. Stand ready, Summers."

  "Ahh--hell no," Marcus said, shaking his head and looking between Summers and Usir. "You want us to get ready for a grey men assault? Fuck that. We'll lose, and you know it. Those bastards can control us. Besides, I've seen enough action movies to know what happens to the black dude."

  "Summers, handle this," Usir replied, pressing the penthouse button.

  The doors slid shut and the elevator rose rapidly. I was tempted to ask about the coming assault, but decided to hold my tongue. Usir would explain what he wanted to when he wanted to. I wasn't going to try to tease secrets out, and I wasn't even sure I'd trust the answers he gave.

  The elevator slid smoothly to a halt and the doors opened with a ding. We were looking in on a single, massive office with one wall comprised completely of windows. It afforded a spectacular view of the bay, complete with the Golden Gate Bridge. A wide marble entryway led into two distinct areas: a sitting room with three couches and a recliner, and a more traditional office with a wide glass desk aimed at three sixty-inch monitors.

  "Please, make yourself comfortable," Usir said, crossing to the recliner and taking a seat.

  I followed, taking a seat on the dark leather couch. It was without a doubt the most comfortable thing I'd ever sat on, and Jillian and Kali had similar reactions as they joined me.

  "You've led us on the quite the chase, David," Usir began, giving that same grandfatherly smile. His tone suggested I'd done something mildly mischievous, instead of breaking into a secure facility, torching four guards, and then using a strange alien teleporter. "I'd hoped that we could avoid some of the unpleasantness, but that's in the past. All that's important now is what we do from here."

  "And what is it precisely that you think we should do from here?" I asked, finding Jillian's hand with mine. She gave me a reassuring squeeze.

  "The three of you no doubt have many questions, but our time is unfortunately brief," Usir said, giving a heavy sigh. His eyes held mine. "They are coming, most likely within the hour."

  "How do you know?" I replied, straightening and glancing out the window at the skyline.

  "Because you activated Object 3, David. The very instant you entered the Nexus, they were alerted to its use," Usir explained, leaning forward in his seat. He rested both hands on his cane. "Until now they've had no idea that we still had it. It took a great deal of effort to make them believe it had been destroyed when Melinda Waters used it twelve years ago. Now that they understand the deception, they'll be coming to retrieve it. What's more, they will do anything in their power to capture you, specifically. In fact you may be even more important to them then Object 3."

  "Because of the abilities they gave me?" I asked. Jillian squeezed my hand again, and I could have kissed her for it. Ka had already told us as much, but I wanted to see what Usir was willing to divulge.

  "You can control their technology, a lineage we call telemechanics," he said, leaning back in this chair. He rested the cane against his knee and steepled his fingers. "This is an incredibly rare gift, one we've only seen once before. Since then, I've finally puzzled out why. They seek to breed people with your ability, but doing so makes you a threat to them."

  "Then why breed people like me?" I said, asking the obvious question.

  "I have theories, but can't substantiate them yet. What I do know is that every member of what we call Project Solaris was given abilities when their DNA was modified. Most have several, usually in a loosely associated theme," Usir explained. He gestured at Kali. "Your young friend can channel fire, for example. But that is merely the first stage. She has several more impressive abilities that haven't yet manifested. Jillian is phasic, meaning not only can she turn invisible and walk through walls, she also possesses what we call an apex ability, the most powerful expression of your gifts. In Jillian's case, that means she'll eventually be able to master teleportation."

  Jillian and I exchanged a glance. I read the mixture of wonder and concern there. If Usir was telling the truth, I understood why. Still, there would be time to learn about that power later. For now, I needed to focus on the imminent threa
t.

  "So the grey men want people who can control their machines, but they fear another power you think I'll manifest?" I asked.

  "Precisely. The next power you'll manifest, if you follow the pattern of our late Melinda Waters, is telepathy. You'll be able to read minds the same way you do computers. Eventually you'll be able to control those minds, as if they were machines. Nor is that your apex power, the same one your mother manifested I believe," he replied. His phone vibrated and he checked it before looking back at me. "Time grows short. They have arrived."

  Chapter 25- Alliances

  The entire building shook as the elevator descended, and the car screeched as it slammed against the side of the shaft. Kali, Jillian, and I grabbed for the chrome rail ringing the elevator. Usir showed no reaction. He was like a sailor at sea, rolling with the floor while the rest of us stumbled around

  "They've arrived precisely as expected," he said, giving us a warm smile completely out of place given the situation.

  "So where are we going?" Jillian asked. She looked a little green, and I probably did too.

  "Back to Object 3. The bulk of our forces are arrayed there," Usir explained. He shot out a hand to steady Kali when the car bucked again. "We should be able to--"

  There was a scream of metal, and then we were in free fall. Usir wore a look of consternation, but seemed far less concerned than the situation warranted. I very nearly lost my lunch.

  "Jillian, our lives are in your hands," He said, meeting her gaze with stern emerald eyes. Had they always been that shade of green?

  The car began to pick up speed as we fell, and our feet left the floor. Jillian looked around in panic, and I didn't blame her. Kali clung to the railing in one corner, face buried against the wall as she muttered, "Oh god, oh god."

  "Concentrate," Usir's voice cracked like thunder, drawing our attention. "Jillian, we don't have time to teach you to master a new ability, so we're going to have you use an existing one. Just before we strike the ground you need to phase all of us. Can you do that?"

  "How do we know when were about to hit the ground?" Jillian asked, eyes wide. She looked like she was about to throw up.

  "David, link with the maintenance server. You'll find an alert tied to this elevator. There are motion detectors in the car shaft. Use them to calculate our rate of descent and figure out the moment of impact. Be swift. We only have a few seconds," Usir said. If our impending death phased him in the slightest, he didn't show it.

  I fought past the panic, grateful to have something I could do. The maintenance computer was easy to find, and it took only moments to make the calculations. "Jillian, I'm going to count down. Six, five, four, three, two, one."

  Jillian shot out her arms, and a pulse of cool energy engulfed all of us. A moment later we froze in place, the car rippling through us as it continued its descent. I stared down in mute shock as the car exploded into sparks and airborne shrapnel, impacting against the base of the shaft. Shards whizzed past us on a jet of flame, and I winced instinctively.

  To my surprise, our momentum was completely arrested, and we hovered in the air next to the doors that opened on the lowest level.

  "Well done, my dear. Very well done," Usir said. The doors opened a moment later, revealing a pair of well-muscled arms that forced them further apart.

  "What the hell happened in here? Sounded like an explosion," Marcus asked, poking his head into the shaft. His dark skin was slick with sweat, and his dreads framed his head like a lion's mane.

  "A minor mishap," Usir said, turning to Jillian. "Now if you could move us into the hallway I'd greatly appreciate it."

  Jillian donned a look of intense concentration, and the entire world shifted. One moment we were hovering in mid-air, the next we stood on the hallway floor just outside the elevator. Jillian released the power and we became tangible.

  "Did you just teleport us?" Kali asked, eyes wide as she stared at Jillian. I'm sure I wore a similar look.

  "I-I guess so," Jillian said, blinking. She looked as surprised as the rest of us.

  "Status report," Usir demanded, turning to face Marcus. Summers was there as well, but she hung back near hastily-erected barricades by the catwalk leading to Object 3.

  "Something impacted with the twenty-second floor. We've lost communications with everything above that, but whatever it is hasn't tried to come any lower yet," Marcus explained, matter-of-factly. "I'm betting they're consolidating their position, but they'll be moving soon enough."

  "Interesting," Usir said. He leaned against the wall, withdrawing a handkerchief to pad the sweat on his brow. "They'll be upon us soon. Is everything prepared?"

  "Mostly. Some teams are away, but the agents we have are ready to intercept them on the first floor. We've deactivated all the other elevators, so the only way onto this floor is an empty shaft," he said, nodding at open elevator doors.

  "Excellent. Marcus, I want you to head up and lead the lobby group," Usir ordered. He still looked out of breath.

  "You want what now?" Marcus asked, his dreads swishing as he whirled on Usir.

  "Wait a minute," Summers called, striding over like an approaching thunder cloud. "We fight together. That was the deal, remember? If you send him up there, I'll be powerless."

  "Hardly, my dear," Usir countered, giving her an annoyed look. It was the only expression other than kind or jovial I'd seen him wear. "You have a telemechanic, a phasic, and a pyrokinetic right here. You can borrow their abilities while Marcus leads the battle upstairs. It's critical that we give David time to operate Object 3. If that means sacrificing the rest of us, so be it."

  "Use it to do what?" I asked.

  "You're going to teleport all of us onto the ship assaulting this building," Usir replied, smiling at me as if he'd asked that I fetch him a beer. "Since the grey men are assaulting us, the ship will be understaffed. That should give us enough of an advantage. We clear the ship, and you take control of it."

  Chapter 26- Mother Ship

  "You want him to do what?" Jillian asked, stalking up to Usir. She waved a finger under his nose. "I've heard some bad plans, but that's the worst. Ever. You know as well as I do that the grey men can control us. Hell, they're probably already doing that to the people you left upstairs to fight them."

  "They can control most of you, it's true," Usir replied smoothly. "But I'm betting they cannot control David. Not completely. That's why they so desperately want him dead. If we can get him aboard one of their ships, then we can commandeer it. That will give us access to their network, and from there we should be able to disable their beacon."

  "Beacon?" I asked. The building shook again, and we could hear screams from the levels above.

  "It's a device that allows your 'grey men' to seek and locate their subjects," Usir explained. "If we can neutralize it they'll no longer be able to track their subjects. You will free every person like you in the world in one swift stroke, denying the grey men the army they're currently building."

  That got my attention, and that of Jillian and Kali. All three of us stared at him. Even Summers stood there gaping, so I guessed this was a plan he'd been keeping very close to the vest until the last minute. He'd probably only told us to secure our cooperation.

  "So we invade the ship, take out the few remaining grey men, and then sabotage this system?" I asked. It seemed possible. After all, I could control their technology. "I'm on board. Should we get moving?"

  "Not just yet," Usir said, fishing out his smartphone and checking something.

  I looked at the feed and knew immediately what he was waiting for. He wanted the grey men to engage his forces.

  A panicked voice came over Marcus's radio. "My god, Jones just turned on us! The grey men are controlling the supers!" If I'd thought Marcus was grim before, I'd been mistaken. His face tightened, and his eyes smoldered.

  "If we're going to do this, let's get moving," I said, striding down the hallway towards the catwalk that led to Object 3.

  "Do
that," Marcus said, turning to face the elevator shaft. "I'll stay here and hold them off, but you'd better be quick."

  We sprinted up the catwalk, skidding through the shattered iris. Object 3 beckoned me, its intelligence anxious to be used again. I walked up the black stone ramp to the golden disk, and the others joined me.

  I took a moment to hack the security camera feed in the lobby, and my stomach lurched. A haze of smoke hung over the blackened lobby. Charred, broken bodies littered the room. There were at least twenty, maybe more.

  The supers had begun descending the elevator shaft, carried by one or more telekinetics. The grey men clustered behind them, corpse-like bodies floating down after their charges.

  "They've entered the elevator shaft. They'll be on us in seconds," I said, releasing the feed.

  "Marcus..." Summers said, trailing off as she looked back up the hallway imploringly. It was the first emotion other than anger I'd seen her display.

  "He's alive, for now, safe behind the barricades," I said, trying to affect a detachment I didn't feel. "Everyone group as tightly around me as possible. We're getting out of here."

  I closed my eyes and reached for Object 3. I visualized my destination, the ship hovering above the building. I pictured the ship I'd been taken aboard, trying to give the platform an exact understanding of where I wanted to go.

  Object 3 had apparently originated from a smaller version of the same ship and was designed to ferry passengers back and forth between them. All I had to do was pull the trigger. I opened my eyes and faced Usir.

  "Before we go, you're going to answer a question, Usir." There was a crash in the distance, then shouts. Then gunfire.

  Usir nodded at the hallway. "We have rather urgent business."

  I had leverage right now, and I was going to use it. "We know that Usir is a lesser-known name for the Egyptian god Osiris. We also saw a picture of you from the 1970s, and you appear to have gotten younger since then. Who or what are you?"