chAPTER 17

The truck didn't look any different from when I had left it yesterday. I guess DARPA's mechanics knew what they were doing. If not, then this plan wasn't going to last very long. Some of the Truth's crew were already in their uniforms, and Brandon himself was waiting for me. "Didn't figure you'd be here," I commented.

"I guess I just wanted to wish you luck in person," he replied. "Well, that, and there's one part of the plan we came into last-minute." My eyes raised as he brandished a contraption that looked like a metallic glove for both hands. "This is what the DUP uses when they capture Conduits. It stops them from being able to use their powers." He slipped it over my hands, and I felt what could only be described as a negative energy binding my hands to the device. "Now, I made a couple adjustments. A strong enough current will be able to break them, and free up your hands, but until then, you're going to have to be stealthy." He motioned for me to let him take the Amp, which I begrudgingly did.

"Not my strongest suit," I muttered, fidgeting with the cuffs.

"Relax. All you have to do is let the DUP lead you to your cell, and you can break free and find your friend. Just be careful. The minute those things are off of you, the DUP will realize just how much of a threat you are, and are gonna go after you like a hive of bees."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Keep your head down."

With that, I was loaded in the back of the truck. As it rode to the DUP base, I found myself thinking about what was to come. It was going to be a fight. Probably one of the biggest fights I'd ever been in. To be honest, I was nervous about it. What if something went wrong? What if the DUP saw through their disguise? What if Nix was already dead? I pushed these thoughts from my mind. No room for them now. Now was the time for the plan to go into full effect.

The truck came to a stop, presumably in front of the main gate. Through the walls of the truck, I could hear the conversation outside. "Hey, I don't recognize you guys. You new?" a guard asked.

"Transfers," the disguised crew member replied. "From Texas."

"Texas? I thought all of you guys had been wiped out by the Alpha?"

My brain lurched. The Alpha. That's what they were calling the new Beast. Based on the destruction of New Marais, I didn't think I wanted to know about what was happening in other cities across the country.

The driver continued. "We were on leave at the time. We had no idea it had happened until the other day." His voice quivered at the end of that last sentence. Whoever this guy was, he was good. "We just got our orders last night."

"Welcome aboard. What's in the back?"

"Prisoner. One of the bio-terrorists."

There was a pause, and then the crunching of boots as the guard approached the rear of the truck, He opened the flap at the back and looked at me. I stared back at him, putting on my best "when I get outta here….." look. His face paled slightly upon seeing who I was. He then looked past the truck and yelled "Let them through!" The flap closed and the truck started forward again.

Now for the hard part, I thought. The truck stopped again, and the flap was ripped open, revealing four DUP soldiers and General Albert Heller himself. He was taller than he appeared on TV, and much more menacing. Without a word, he motioned for the two rear soldiers to drag me out of the truck. I pretended to put up a fight, and was rewarded with a rifle butt slamming into the side of my face. It stung, but it was nothing I hadn't felt before. Still, I wanted to put on a good "evil bio-terrorist" show, so I glared into the face of the general. He stepped forward, looking me right in the eyes, as though trying to judge me on the spot. I glared back, not saying a word. As intimidating as this guy looked, I didn't want him to know that. I wasn't afraid of him, and I had to show it. "Cole MacGrath," he finally said, his slow voice betraying his excitement to have his hands on me. "I've been looking forward to this."

I wanted to say something, anything to throw him off, to shake his confidence. But I needed this to be as real as possible. I needed to find Nix and get her out of there. Any other goals had to come second. So I stayed silent. After a moment, General Heller spoke again. "No doubt you're already coming up with a plan of escape. Let me put a stop to that right now." He motioned around him, showing me the impressive security of the base. "This is one of the most secure facilities in the world, behind the Pentagon and the White House. And, it's been heavily modified to keep bio-terrorists like you out. Or in, if we deem it appropriate." He leaned in and was literally an inch from my face. "So I'm afraid I have to inform you that any attempts to escape will be nothing more than a foolish venture."

I stayed silent through his little victory speech, giving him all the confidence he needed to let him believe that he was in control of the situation. When he was done, I kept my stony impression, frustrating him to where he ordered the guards to take me out if his sight. One of them roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a large building near the center of the compound. I put up a slight struggle, but was hit again with the butt of a rifle. Once inside, I found myself being led down a series of hallways, which seemed fairly easy to lose yourself in. Just one more hurdle to jump, I thought.

We came to what looked like a laboratory of some sort, where an older guy was working. He looked up to see us enter, then froze when he saw me. "Good God, is that who I think it is?" he asked, a sharp British accent in his voice.

"The Demon of Empire City himself," one of the guards replied, making me feel a twinge of annoyance.

I took the opportunity while they talked to glance around the lab. From what I could see, this guy was big on physics, as there were numerous contraptions and gizmos I had never seen before. On the central table sat a round object hooked to a bunch of wires. It looked almost like a ball, and had what looked like moveable parts around it.

My brain lurched suddenly. It was a Ray Sphere. These crazy bastards were making a Ray Sphere.

The doctor finished talking and the guards moved me along. I continued staring at the Sphere for a moment, before allowing them to carry me along. We came to a smaller room off to the side of a hallway, which was blank and empty except for a rolling table of equipment with wires sticking out of leading to a chair, which Nix was sitting in. "Nix!" I shouted, moving forward quickly only to be hit in the back of my knee and sent tumbling to the ground.

Nix looked up weakly and saw me. "Cole," she said, her voice tired and distant. She managed a small chuckle. "What took you so long?"

A DUP guard shoved me again, and I decided I had had enough of this. I concentrated my energy into my hands and the bindings snapped. I then immediately turned and clocked the guard that kept hitting me, knocking him to the ground. The other guards reacted immediately, but I was just a touch faster, grabbing one guard's gun barrel and kicking him away before the gun exploded, then beat down the other guard. I then ran over to Nix and started pulling the wires off of her. "It's okay," I said, though I felt I was lying through my teeth. She looked horrible. Whatever the DUP had done to her, it wasn't good. "It's okay, I'm going to get you out of here."

But she had already lost consciousness. Picking her up gingerly, I ran to the hallway, where another few guards were waiting. I fired a few bolts in their direction, then ran into the adjoining hallway. I couldn't fight these guys like this. I'd have to avoid them. Making my way through the maze of the corridor, I found myself back in the lab. I saw the Ray Sphere again, and considered grabbing it to throw it into the ocean, but I didn't want to drop Nix to do that. Instead, I made a note to tell Heller about this right away. Not that I'd forget about this. I ran forward, hoping that I was retracing my steps correctly, when I ran into the scientist guy. We paused, staring at each other for a moment, both wondering what the other would do. After a moment, he lifted his arm and pointed down the corridor to my left, showing me the way out. I nodded gratefully to him, then turned to leave, but not without one last look toward the Ray Sphere on the table.

On the way out, I ran into a few more guards. Gently letting Nix down, I ran headfirst into the crowd, throwing my fists and feet toward anybody close enough to be hit by it. In a couple of minutes, I had gone through the entire corridor, and I ran back to get Nix. Time wasn't on my side anymore, and I needed to get out, now.

Sure enough, an explosion rocked the compound, and I knew my distraction had arrived. I ran even faster, hoping to slip out in the chaos. But as soon as I burst outside, the DUP saw me and began training their fire against me. I turned around and absorbed the shots to protect Nix. It hurt, but I'd live. The group that was firing at me suddenly flew off to the side as they were hit with a shockwave blast. I nodded gratefully at Quake, and ran to the entrance. A few DARPA agents and the Truth's crew were covering me as I reached it, and saw a truck ready to escape with Nix. I handed her to the agents in the back, then turned around and ran back into the compound, hoping to get to that lab again and grab the Ray Sphere. But now the entire DUP was out and firing at our little resistance. The tide in the battle was quickly turning, and not in our favor. My best bet was to cover our retreat. So I continued firing, throwing in a lightning strike here and there, keeping the DUP at bay while those that were still inside time to pull back. Quake, however, ran forward, blasting at as many DUP soldiers as he could. Groaning, I ran after him. I didn't need to be rescuing two Conduits today.

I caught up to him as he was thrashing a squad near the entrance of a building and grabbed his shoulder. "Come on, we're getting out of here," I shouted over the noise of battle.

He shrugged me off and made a huge crack in the ground for a few soldiers to fall into. "This is what I came for," he replied lowly.

He stepped forward to chase more DUP soldiers, but I stepped in front of him. "Later," I said, brokering no room for argument. "We need to go before we're too outnumbered to get out of this alive."

He groaned, which actually sounded more like a snarl, but nodded, running back toward the entrance with me right on his heels. We took care of a few problematic individuals on the way, and got everyone we could outside the gate before dispersing into the city, trying to lose the DUP. I ducked into the sewers and moved toward the warehouse, hoping that it would work twice. I got to the grate nearest the warehouse and climbed up, sneaking in to avoid the now-upgraded DUP patrols. I saw the medical team carry Nix into the med wing to take of her, then shut the door. I stood near the med wing for a while, ignoring Heller and Mendoza when they tried to talk to me, silently praying that she would be alright. I never knew whether or not I believed in God. I'd always thought I was too busy to think about it. But if there was a God, I hoped that he would help Nix recover.

A couple of hours passed, and Heller finally convinced me to take a shower. After stepping out and getting dressed, I walked back to the med wing only to see that she was still a work in progress. Turning away solemnly, I was about to walk to the bunks when my phone went off. "Cole MacGrath?" a British voice asked.

I frowned. "Who is this?" I demanded.

"My name is Doctor Robert Kinsley. I know you are somewhere in Washington, and I would like to discuss something with you."

"Yeah, look. I don't know you, and I have no reason to trust you enough to risk getting caught by the DUP with this much heat out there."

"True. But the information I have should be well worth the risk."

I was perplexed. "What information?"

"Why, the Ray Sphere, of course," he replied.