Dirge Danorum
Chapter 3
It was no surprise that I was the first to come around. After all, my body wasn't entirely my own anymore. My hands weren't tied, but I was in darkness, and I wasn't by myself. My head was fuzzy, and it hurt – but I knew I had to capitalize on this opportunity. A little fumbling around told me everything I needed to know about my situation.
There was shouting. I found the doors and threw them open, climbing out of the back of the van.
I was in a large, concrete room. It had been a garage at one time, but not anymore. There were tables and equipment everywhere. People, too – and they were in an uproar. Not stalkers, civilians. One of them had noticed me emerge, and he was going for a gun on one of the tables.
"Freeze!"
"Or you'll what?" I demanded, launching myself off the nearest table. I came down, smashing him in the chest with my elbow. There was a loud crunch, and the civilian went down with a scream.
At that moment a nearby door burst open, and it was at these that the other guys had been looking. Then they'd turned toward me when I'd taken down their friend, and their focus was broken. A stalker in white fatigues and a black vest came through, a pistol raised in both hands. He shot the nearest man twice without hesitation, then pivoted and fired twice more, felling another. One of them got a shot off, but these guys weren't fighters.
I dodged under a gun and grabbed a man by the neck, lifting him off his feet and squeezing. His spine snapped in my grip, and I let him fall.
The stalker in white had fired a couple more shots, and suddenly we were the only two standing. I heard a magazine clatter to the ground, and turned to see him slam in a new one, release the slide, and take aim at me. I didn't put my hands up. He'd seen me take down two of them; he had to conclude I was on his side. Besides, though my weapons were gone, I was still wearing my armor. I was clearly a stalker, and these men were not.
It was a long moment. Finally, he pulled down his face mask.
"I know you," he said in English, and I recognized his voice. And his face. Duty. This man was Duty. We'd run into him a few days ago. He'd let us go.
He returned his CZ 100 to the holster in the small of his back.
"Did they bring you here?"
I had an urge to kill this man. But he wasn't threatening me, so I forced it down. "Yes," I replied warily. The effects of the tranquilizer were dying away.
"Right." He came forward. "Are you alone?"
"No, I have two more in the van."
The man from Duty was walking among the bodies, examining each. "Damn," he said finally.
"What is it?"
"He's not here."
"I'm right here." The voice came from speakers I couldn't see. I turned and looked at a strong door. Come to think of it, maybe someone had ducked through it during the chaos.
"Snug in the panic room, eh?" The Duty man put his hand on his hips and gazed at the door. "Well, there are ways around that."
"I didn't think you'd actually find us," said the voice from the speakers.
"I will not leave here while you are still alive."
"You're not going to leave here at all, buddy." There was something nasal and irritating about the voice. The guy had to be around my age. "You just changed it, but the game's still on."
For the briefest of seconds, the Duty man looked puzzled. "No," he said.
"Yes. Believe it. And I have everything I need in here."
"Have you got a Bible?"
"I left it at home."
"That was a mistake."
"Don't let me down." There was a crackle, and the feedback from the speakers died down. Someone had shut off the microphone.
"Let's see to your people," the Duty man said.
"Stop." I put up a hand.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're not getting near them." I couldn't have him seeing Velvet. Or Grigor. He was Duty, and they were well-known Freedom figures. "Back off. Just get out of here."
"My work isn't finished."
"I'm not going to ask you again."
Things might've gotten ugly right there, but Velvet chose that moment to step groggily out of the van. "God, my head," she groaned, tottering toward us. I expected the Duty man to go for his gun, and I was ready to take him out – but he didn't.
"Ah, yes. The illustrious Commander. In the flesh."
She looked up, frowning. Her eyes focused on him. "Oh dear," she said.
"He's not going to hurt you," I said. And that got me a strange look from the Duty man.
"Ever?" That came from Grigor.
"We meet again." I relaxed. Surely if there was immediate danger, they'd be exchanging more than greetings.
"What's going on here?"
"You're either having awfully good luck or awfully bad luck, depending on how you want to look at it. I'm not here in an official capacity," he added, and this was directed at Velvet, who was looking at him with suspicion. "You're both unhurt. That's good."
"My head hurts."
"Your equipment is probably still in the van. You should take it and go."
Grigor had been gazing over the garage. Now he spoke. "Is this the tournament?"
"Yes."
"How did you locate it?"
"I've been paying informants for over a year. Sooner or later one of the leads was bound to pan out."
"How did you cross the Channel?"
"Hitched a ride."
"Duty has a chopper?" Velvet's eyes widened.
"Several. The military's been very kind to us. You shouldn't linger here."
"What are you going to do?"
"Finish it."
"Looks pretty finished," I stated flatly. I was beginning to put it together. This was one of the secret games, where people were kidnapped and forced to fight for survival as the wealthy watched over the web, gambling millions of dollars on human lives.
Before now, I hadn't been convinced the games were real. It looked like I had narrowly avoided becoming a contestant.
"No. The gauntlet is already prepared." Ever turned toward a pair of doors marked with black and yellow. "I killed the technicians and disabled the explosives, but there are still people in there."
"Players?"
"Props. There's only one way to get them out."
Velvet shook her head to clear it. "I thought these people had been hunted and killed ages ago. I thought they would have found another place to do this."
"My research indicates the games have taken to the Zone. Something about stalkers making the most resourceful participants." Ever's voice was even, but I got the impression that he did not hold these people in high regard. I think we were all in agreement on that one. I was filling in the blanks. This was monstrous. Suddenly the cold-blooded way this man had come in shooting made a lot more sense.
"Are you alone?" I asked him.
There was a flicker of a smile on his face. "Always."
"And you aren't acting as Duty?" Velvet pressed. I could see a familiar clarity in the blue of her eyes. She was focused and awake. That was good – because if I hadn't believed it, I'd have put my hand over her mouth to stop her from what I knew she was about to say.
"For today."
"Then you won't mind accepting help from Freedom."
"There is no Freedom."
"As of right now, there is. We're it."
"I can't pay you."
"I'm not asking you to."
Ever folded his arms. "I'll confess, I'm surprised. I haven't heard very flattering things about you, Commander."
"That might have to do with the company you keep."
"Perhaps it does at that."
"This is a big job. You need the help. These games are designed to kill. You don't seriously believe you can do this alone."
"You might be surprised at some of the things I believe."
"Are you turning me down?"
"No." Ever put out his hand. Velvet wouldn't take it. I blinked. She reached out and shook. I could see her jaw clenched as she did it, but she did. She released him quickly and stepped back. "We need to regroup. You need to secure this room."
"As you wish."
Velvet motioned to me and Grigor. Ever turned and moved away. "Is everyone okay?"
"How'd they bag you two?"I asked, cutting her off. Velvet looked guilty. She glanced at Grigor, who didn't meet her gaze. She cleared her throat. Oh, for crying out loud.
"What did you just sign us up for?"
"It's not going to be easy," she conceded. "But we have to do it. This is the moral foundation of my faction."
"There are no laws here," Grigor pointed out. "You will not be perpetuating liberty by taking action here. You'll be encroaching on it. These people, however twisted, are free to do as they please in this place."
"No," Velvet said sharply, and the look she gave Grigor was truly scary. "Freedom is a privilege for humans. These are animals. And liberty is exactly what we're going to give the people they have trapped here."
"Freedom is not an engine of one person's notion of justice. Freedom is impartial."
"Maybe not the old Freedom. Your brother didn't take sides – and look where that got him. The Zone is changing, and if Freedom's going to last this time, it's going to have to change with it. Get right with that, Grigor. I'm just getting started."