

Not With a Whisper...

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2006-2011 by Rodney Mountain

Reedit Copyright © 2017 by Rodney Mountain

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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## Other Titles by Rodney Mountain

Immortal Universe Novels

The Healy Murders

The Accidental Immortal

Undercover

The Killer Strikes

Anoki's Revenge

The Immortal Progression

Corporate Immortality

The Mullinix: Ascension

The Mullinix: Redemption

The Mullinix: Resolution

Other Works

Durell's Insurrection

Night Strike (Short Story Anthology)

The Black Fossil

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Dedication

Dedications have never been my strong suit. After a dozen novels I am at a loss on it. I guess this one goes to the kids, who have been a never ending source of consternation and amusement during most of the time I've been working on this book.
Chapter 1 – The Chamber

Terrence Strader IV stood outside the old concrete slab excavation and stretched a bit. He didn't like these excavations, but the sheer amount of archeological information they had found made them worth it despite the long hours and the heat of the long abandoned bunker.

The bunker had once been part of the fabled Area 51 group, once the home to the United States Government's extraterrestrial research and later several corporate incarnations of a strike team founded by Terrence's great-great-great-great grandfather, Adam Strader, over two hundred years before.

Time had taken its toll on what had once been Nellis Air Force base. The concrete bunker had been buried deep so they had to clean off over a century and a half's worth of blown sand to get to the contents of the long abandoned vault.

"Think we'll find anything this time, Terry?" a younger assistant asked him, "We've been digging up various parts of Nellis for two years now."

"The secrets are still here," Terrence told him, "My ancestors were inveterate file keepers. In the last three years I finally got access to the journals of Sam Remordis and his son Cliff Remordis. They don't spell out what they did, but the last recorded appearance of any immortals was during a raid here at Nellis over two centuries ago."

"You have good access," the assistant said, "I thought most of the records on it were lost when the company that bought Nellis and Area 51 went belly up in the depression of 2152."

"The freedom of information revision act is a good thing," Terrence smiled, "The feds can't bottle up anything more than two centuries anymore. Cliff and Sam's journals became public domain in 2249 and 2250, two hundred years after their respective deaths."

"Anything good in them?" the assistant wondered.

"Plenty," Terrence said, "Especially if we make a breakthrough sometime tonight."

"Right," the assistant said, "The concrete is too thick for our finders. We've spent two days with a jackhammer on this. I hope it is worth it."

"You're being paid well," Terrence reminded him, "Let's go watch while it's still hospitable to do so."

Terry Strader watched them hammer through the aged concrete and whistled at how strong it was. Time had taken its toll on some of it, but most of it would have lasted for a further torrent of centuries had his team not chosen to search the slabs for the remains of past projects.

Breakthrough came through after fourteen hours of digging and pounding. They used conventional digging methods to avoid destroying the artifacts inside the old bunker, finally resorting to electrical concrete saws and physical labor to create an entrance large enough for a man to drop down to the floor some twenty feet below.

"There's something down there," Terry said, "If nothing else there may be things we can sell off to keep the project in the black and keep our sponsors happy."

"Who goes first?" the assistant asked.

"I do," Terrence proclaimed, "If this is what I think it is, it is fitting that I am the first one back inside a building no one has used since my ancestors."

"Careful, Terry," someone advised while handing him a light, "Don't get too deep in there. We don't know what condition this place is in."

"I'll be on the subnet radio," Terrence promised, "If I lose contact follow my beacons."

Terrence Strader climbed down a rope artfully, still in decent shape despite his forty-one years. One of the assistants tossed him a spot lamp and let their boss take the first look around the room. The air was stale from lack of use, but the room was well preserved.

"The fabled work room," Terrence said, looking around. He couldn't believe that it was in as good of shape as it was. The dry heat of the underground facility made for perfect storage.

He pulled out a small handheld computer and pressed a button to reveal exacting scans of Cliff Remordis' journal. His ancestor had not been a particularly great artist, but he had sketched some basic diagrams of the facility in his journal entries.

It was humbling for Terrence Strader to walk in places last walked by his ancestors. He couldn't believe that they had done the jobs that they had done with the old fashioned tools that he saw in that room. His modern day pocket calculator was more powerful than every piece of equipment in this room put together.

The place had been left in a hurry as Cliff and Sam Remordis decided to cover up a program that had been responsible for several deaths. Neither Cliff nor Sam said exactly what the project was, but they both indicated that it was something that "The Immortals" wanted to stop.

Terrence was not watching where he was going as much as he should have been and finally tripped over an object that gave him quite a fright when he shined his light on it.

"Shit!" he yelled, "They left bodies down here!"

Terrence considered running for a moment and then remembered that flesh covered androids had been commonly used in that time period, long before the global energy collapse in the previous century made them too extravagant to run. Most people in Terrence Strader's generation thought flesh droids were creatures of lore, just like dragons and pixies.

"A true droid," Terrence said, poking it with a stick, "That will make money on its own. Bonus."

He poked at the unit and wondered just what its function was and why it was sitting there in a guarding position, figuring it was a guard of some sort that had run out of power decades before. He was even more surprised that the machine had a feminine form, the dry heat mummifying the flesh outer covering of the droid.

"I bet she was cute once," Terrence said, "You aren't the prize though."

Terrence Strader continued walking around the facility, looking for any animals or equipment that was still live. The power had been cut over two centuries earlier, so nothing looked live and it had been sealed so tight that no animal, not even an insect, had penetrated the concrete barrier.

It wasn't long before he heard a strange humming sound coming from a staircase heading down, something looking like bomb shelter. It was an odd thing to find in a facility that was already under a pile of concrete, but it was even odder to find that it was locked up tighter than the rest of the facility.

Terrence checked out the lock on the door, a large one that was old but still strong. He pulled a portable plasma torch out of his pocket and cut through the aged metal. It took him longer than he wanted and the flickering light scared his crew up above, prompting them to call out to him.

"You ok, Terry?" someone shouted.

"Fine!" Terrence shouted and then mumbled, "Better than that if this is what I think it is..."

He finally broke the lock and made quick work of the electronic lock that backed it up. He was mildly surprised that it was still going after all these years, but that surprise was countered by complete and utter shock at what he saw when he went down the sixteen steps into the facility with walls thick enough to contain a nuclear weapon.

"My God," Terrence said, "The stories were true..."

He pulled out his subnet phone and hit the button for his home base as he walked around the room, circling two dimly lit coffin shaped units, both still powered by a mini-reactor. Each unit had a window at the top and showed the still breathing bodies, submerged in an ever flowing and ever renewing source of liquid nitrogen.

"You will not believe what I found..." Terrence said as he looked at them, "The stories are true."

Chapter 2 – Baltimore Remordis

Baltimore Remordis wheeled himself over to the computer table and did his normal morning run of the news wires. He ran his fingers through what was left of his hair and growled at the usual set of whining lunatics who ran what was left of the government.

"Pain in the ass," Baltimore grumbled, "I swear, listening to them you would never have thought we won a war two years ago. Damned politicians never change."

Baltimore Remordis had reason not to like the politicians. It was a spy mission that went wrong that caused the injuries that had put him into the wheelchair. He was pretty well used to it after nearly a year in the chair, but it still did not make him happy to see.

He shut off the computer and wheeled over to his kitchen and fixed himself a healthy smoothie mix, something to keep what was left of his body in decent shape. It was also one of the reasons he used a manual wheelchair instead of a self propelled. He figured that he might as well be able to move reasonably quickly in his confinement.

He had just taken his first sips when the doorbell rang. Old habits die hard, so his first reaction was to reach for the gun he rigged into an easy to get to position in his chair. He rolled himself over to the door and checked the video screens.

"Hmm," Baltimore said, "Tony. What the hell are you doing here?"

He put the gun underneath the blanket that he used to cover his legs and opened the door with his left hand. Tony Holder smiled and bowed to his old friend. He looked inside and wondered what security systems Baltimore had rigged up in his spare time.

"Enjoying your retirement, Baltimore?" Tony asked him, "Or are you still up to your old tricks?"

"Of course I am," Baltimore grinned, "What brings you here, Tony?"

"Social call?" Tony said.

"Not a chance in hell," Baltimore grunted, "You and I have known each other for nearly thirty years. Neither one of us ever made a social call in all that time."

"True," Tony chuckled, "I have some information and I figured that I should probably show it to you before I go higher up the line."

"What is it?" Baltimore said, "The Euros up to no good again?"

"This is one closer to home," Tony told him, tossing him a handheld, "Turn it on, the file should be already loaded."

Baltimore did so and saw that this was a classified satellite feed from the American Union. He watched the feed and saw several people making their way through a desert. It wasn't until he hit the button for the location finder that it made any sense at all.

"Nellis," Baltimore said, "Place has been a desert hell for over a century now. Nothing has lived in there for long since the plasma factory blew over a century ago."

"Yep," Tony agreed, "I wouldn't have thought it to be anything more than a bunch of treasure seekers if not for the alert message in the computer you left over twenty years ago."

"I remember," Baltimore nodded, "My family has been linked to that place since my ancestor Adam Strader worked there at the turn of the millennium. If there's anything left of those projects it is better left buried."

"You won't like who is actually running the project then," Tony said, "I had the horizon sats take some new images of the work crew and their leaders. I got a nice little surprise when I saw this face. I'm sure you'll recognize him too."

"Terry Strader," Baltimore said, not surprised at all, "I told him not to go searching for the old projects."

"FOI requests have him getting out some of your ancestor's journals," Tony said, "Seems Sam and Cliff Remordis both hit the 200 year mark."

"Great," Baltimore said as he looked at the feed, "Has he broken any laws yet?"

"Not that anyone alive cares about," Tony said, "The union is taking a watch only stand. I figured you would want to know."

"Let me know if anything out of the ordinary happens," Baltimore told him, "He may just be searching for the past. Let's just hope it doesn't bite him in the ass."

"I'll keep the sat trained on him," Tony promised, "Anything to be found out there?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Baltimore lied, "Can I keep the data?"

"Sure," Tony agreed, "The rebels don't even operate out of there. Too easy to detect via the new Horizon Satellites. They prefer the jungle areas in Central America now."

"Whatever Terry IV is up to," Baltimore grunted, "I doubt it has anything to do with the rebel groups."

"Why did you put in that request anyway?" Tony asked, "That's been in the system for way longer than normal."

"Family history," Baltimore told him, "My father and Terry III sat me down when I was a rookie agent and told me a bit of family history and asked me to keep an eye on events in Nellis. I guess both of them got the same thing from the previous generation. Seems to be tradition."

"Every family has its quirks," Tony chuckled, "My family has a twentieth century lava lamp that has been passed down for nearly three hundred years now."

"I think I'll take my family tradition," Baltimore chuckled, "Granted it may be ending unless Terry IV settles down. There are only three of us left now that Eric Jr and Sakura are gone."

"What happened?" Tony said, "This must be recent."

"Car accident," Baltimore said, "Hit and run driver ran into them outside Taos back in March. Probably a drunk, but they haven't found the bastard yet."

"How did Catherine take it?" Tony wondered, "She stay in school?"

"Just about to finish," Baltimore said, "I got it worked out so that she could finish the classes she left incomplete during the first summer session. She should have her degree soon. Last I heard she's working on her last paper."

"Good," Tony nodded, "Your brother may have been a flake, but he and Sakura have a good kid."

"Don't try to recruit her," Baltimore said, "She'll spit in your eye. Her father poisoned her against government service."

"Nah," Tony said, "We've had enough of your family. You were bad enough."

"True," Baltimore laughed, "Maybe Terry IV will get his shit together."

"I'm due at the white house in an hour," Tony said, "I get the fun briefing job of the vice-president."

"Fun," Baltimore grinned, "Be careful he doesn't drool on the handheld."

"I'll be back if Terry does something dumb," Tony said as he stood up, "Enjoy your retirement, Baltimore."

"Right," Baltimore scowled as Tony left, "They could have kept me to do that."

Baltimore Remordis had an idea about what Terry had found, but he took a few minutes to go through the data he'd transferred to his own computer. He shook his head and browsed through some of the journals, but lost interest quickly. He went to his safe and pulled out an aged packet that his father had given him when he was a young agent.

He looked at the packet again and memories came back. Baltimore was a late life child for Eric Remordis, but a lucky one for him. Baltimore's brother, Eric Junior, who was ten years older, showed no interest at all in the conspiratorial life that Baltimore took to like a fish in water.

He put the packet aside and went back to the computer, looking through the data and wondering if he'd finally need to use the contents of the packet. Unfortunately, he knew Terrence Strader IV too well. It was why Terry III had never trusted his own son and instead joined with his cousin Eric in putting the packet with him. He just read as he waited for the other shoe to fall.

Chapter 3 – Catherine Remordis

Catherine Remordis looked at the screen of her computer and found herself completely at a loss for words. She had been working on this paper for nearly three months and it was still a complete load of garbage. The sad part for her was that she really did not care.

She finally stood up and pushed her sandy blonde hair back, retying her pony tail so that it wouldn't fall into her face anymore. She looked at herself in the mirror and just shook her head. Because of the multiethnic mix that was her background, she pretty well defined the term exotic.

Her mother was half-Chinese, yet her father was a purebred mongrel, part Caucasian, part Mexican and several parts unidentified. This led her to have a petite frame inherited from her mother, along with the vaguely Asian eye, which was oddly combined with naturally blonde hair and a bit of Latin coloring that gave her a perpetual tan.

This had not made things easy on her, though. She often caught people's eyes, but she sometimes had a hard time getting them to take her seriously. Granted, she had been having a lot of trouble taking herself seriously as of late. Even before the crash that had killed her parents she had second thoughts about the engineering degree that she was finishing.

"This is crap," Catherine grumbled, "I don't even like doing this."

She went over to the kitchen area of the school-owned efficiency apartment she'd been living in since she was a sophomore and pulled out one of the sugary cola drinks that she lived on. Her friends, what few of them still remained, were all jealous that she could eat or drink whatever she wanted and she'd never show it.

She took her drink and sat down next to her dorm room's only real window. She looked down at the bustling street some twelve stories below. She wondered why she was going the way she was, barely scraping through classes she no longer cared about.

Her parents had cared and pushed her towards a technical career, wanting to keep her away from the family business her uncle Baltimore had joined and that her grandfather had gotten killed in. She never really thought about joining that field, but she didn't want to join the one she was finishing up her degree in either.

She went over to the shelf and pulled out the family photo album, one of the things that she took from her parents' house before her uncle Baltimore had liquidated her parents' assets to give her the means to finish school.

She flipped through the pictures of happier times, mostly just her, her mother and father and occasionally Uncle Baltimore. There were a few of her second cousin Terry as well, someone she'd only seen a few times and had pretty well disappeared from her life.

Catherine loved her parents but couldn't force herself to be happy for the direction that they'd pushed her. She still missed them, but in a way she was glad that they weren't going to see her indecision. She just wished she had an idea on what to do with it.

"Oh to hell with it," Catherine said and finished off her drink, tossing it into the trash can in the corner, "I just have to get my degree in it. I don't have to work in it. Two more weeks."

She went back to her computer and continued on her paper, one that was not going to be anything more than mediocre. She was fine with that, however, as mediocrity meant that she'd at least pass. She no longer cared by how much. The rest would take care of itself later.

Chapter 4 – The Bodies

Terry Strader set up the camera in the darkened room. He wanted a permanent record of everything that transpired as he worked in that room. He didn't dare to have the cooling units moved as he didn't know whether they had deteriorated in the preceding two hundred years since they had been placed.

"This is amazing," Terry said as he looked over, "You could swear that those two were still breathing."

"If they are they aren't human," Alain Monteux said as he checked out the equipment and the checklists, "That's pure liquid nitrogen in there. A human would have frozen solid by now, probably would have broken apart from the sheer duration of cold."

"Not these two," Terry said, "I think we found the secret that the Strader/Remordis clan has been covering up for over two centuries."

"There has to be a reason they covered this up," Alain suggested, "Maybe we should leave well enough alone."

'We've come too far for that, Alain," Terry said, "Especially if the Horizon Satellites pick us up out here. If the American Union figures out that we've found something they will come chase us out of here."

"What do you expect to find?" Alain wondered, "Really?"

"Life, the universe," Terry said whimsically, "Everything?"

"Or just how to reverse death," Alain said, "Right?"

"I'll settle for preventing it, personally," Terry told him, "I'm not that picky."

"Right," Alain nodded, "Fine. I'm going to take a look at the android. If its memory is still in working order it may be able to give us a firsthand account of what happened here."

"Good idea," Terry agreed, "I want to check out these bodies some more. Let me finish with the camera."

"Take your time," Alain agreed, "We should have some, after all."

Terrence Strader played around with his camera and examined the devices more carefully. He was amazed that they were still powered after all these years. Whoever had created the power source had planned carefully, as every bit of power was going to keeping those pods cold.

Alain went to the abandoned droid. He could tell that it had once been in the shape of a woman and that it had been a very advanced model. He picked her up and laid her out on a table to see whether there was any circuitry he recognized. Of course, since it was technology that had been obsolete since long before he was born he didn't recognize any of it.

So instead of mucking around with a piece of technology he didn't recognize he instead explored around the chamber, finding a room that had equipment that looked as though it matched the droid. He went and picked up the droid unit, taking her to the table that matched her size and hooked the ancient equipment up to her.

"Looks like a perfect fit," Alain said, "Too bad I don't have any power."

Alain knew that the pods that Terry had found were powered, so he began to look for the power source to see whether there was anything he could do with this droid. He knew that if it was operational he could use it as menial labor to get some of this stuff boxed up. Not to mention an operational droid this old would bring big bucks on the grey market.

Terrence Strader went over to the tanks and touched the glass of the outside, bringing his finger back because it was so cold. He was really beyond his depth with this. He was expecting some equipment and maybe some books.

He pulled a chair out of the pile and sat down in it for a few minutes. He pulled out his handheld and started to read Cliff Remordis' journal again. The last entry about his time at Area 51 was the most useful for him.

### 21 July 2035

My father is listening to Glen Strader again. Damn it, you'd think that a man who spent twenty years as a cop would have more backbone than that. Mason Stone is thousands of miles away and my dad and Strader are scared shitless of him. They're trying to get MacManus to shut down the research program on the subjects. I wash my hands of the whole thing. Allie and I are going to leave the kids with dad and head off for an exploration trip into Laos.

This now made more sense to Terry. He now knew he had the test subjects that Cliff had been talking about. He didn't know how they ended up here like this, but he did have more of an inkling what the research was. He pressed a few buttons and came to a much later journal entry from Sam Remordis.

### 30 October 2046

I swear, if Cliff doesn't watch it he's going to get himself killed. He's left me with the kids again. I swear, I'm getting too old to take care of children like this. Glen and Kristen have been taking care of them, but this is a major hardship on them as well. Especially with Glen about to take my place running what is left of this facility. Luckily the kids get along well, especially the older ones. I just hope Glen has a plan for MacManus's folly. That's another thing that Cliff will have to answer for someday, but thankfully not on my watch. I'll let Glen deal with that stupidity. I'm too close to Cliff, so I don't want to know what he plans to do with the subjects. Glen will deal with it.

"That's why I don't have more info," Terry mumbled, "Glen Strader must have set this up after Sam Remordis retired. That puts this somewhere around two hundred years old."

"You find anything yet, Terry?" Alain asked him as he walked in, "Any of this making sense?"

"I'm missing some pieces of the puzzle," Terry grumbled, "I had enough to find the place, but this was set up by the one ancestor of that generation that I don't have the journal for."

"So where does that leave us?" Alain wondered.

"We have them," Terry said, "And there's probably more info in this place. What have you found out about the droid?"

"Advanced for her time," Alain told him, "Looks like she was left here to protect the place, but her power supply drained years ago."

"Her?" Terry asked, "It's a droid."

"She was a flesh covered droid," Alain said, "Complete with flesh generator. The type that's been illegal since the cybernetic ethics law of 2045. I'd say she's been in here since the place was closed up."

"Think you can start it up again?" Terry wondered, "It probably knows more about this than anyone."

"I don't know if I can control her," Alain said honestly, "No one has dealt with a device like this in almost a hundred and fifty years."

"Let's see what we can find," Terry suggested, "The droid is likely safer than the bodies. Do we have anyone who knows that technology?"

"Mary Vershaun," Alain told him, "She's been studying 21st century cybernetics for years. She'd love to take a crack at it. She's up front studying the parts room."

"Bring her back," Terry said, "Keep her out of the body chamber. I don't want anyone seeing that but us for now."

"Right," Alain nodded, "Have you figured out anything about the power yet?"

"I'm still trying to figure out where it's coming from," Terry admitted, "No sign of a generator. Most nuclear fuels would have fizzled out by now. I can't even find the wires."

"I'll have Mary look at the droid," Alain told him, "They have an energy tracker. It should be able to trace it."

"I'll go grab it," Terry nodded, "See what you can do."

Chapter 5 – The Awakening

Alain and Mary worked on the droid, figuring out the connections with the aid of several old manuals while Terry worked on the power problem. None of them wanted to make this public yet, so Terry used the power tracking device on his own.

It didn't take long for the device to find where the power was coming from for the pods. Terry tried to open up the door to where the power was coming from, but it had jammed shut, most likely resulting from the slow shifting of the earth.

Terry kicked it a few times, and finally the door gave and creaked open. A few more pushes and the power supply was revealed, shooting a blast of heat at Terry. A geothermal system had been put in that had continued operating long after everything else had shut down. Terry was impressed that the technology from that far back was still working.

"So that's how," Terry said, "Impressive. That makes a bit of difference."

He looked around the power room and found several books on the facility. Evidently, it had been designed to protect against a nuclear attack. The equipment was simple and physical, over-engineered to last for a long time.

He touched a status panel and a monitor actually turned on. The last activity had been in the year 2114 when it had been switched from an active circuit set to a pod-only circuit support. Evidently, the droid out there had switched it over before she ran out of power.

Terry decided to tempt fate and flipped on the full blown power for the facility. Everyone inside jumped into the air as the lights began to turn on and Alain actually banged his head on a cabinet door as the power began whirling in one of the machines.

"Jesus!" Alain yelled, "What the hell was that!"

Terry left the body room and walked into the droid room, grinning at the pained expressions on Alain and Mary's faces. He sat down, looked at the droid and grinned.

"I figured out how to turn the power on," Terry grinned, "Think you can get this bitch working again?"

"We've gotten her hooked up to the unit," Alain said, "Her innards are good, though I don't know whether the battery unit is going to hold after all this time."

"Wake her up so we can get some information," Terry said, "I don't care about anything but the information."

"It will be a while," Mary said, "This equipment is so old it isn't funny."

"We may not have time, boss," a young man said when he came in, "Sorry for interrupting, but you told us to come in if anything happened."

"What is going on?" Terry asked.

"American Union choppers," the young man said, "Heading in our direction. Don't know whether it is a patrol or if they're planning on dropping in."

"Ok," Terry said, "How far out?"

"Just entered into the zone," the young man said, "They are coming slowly, trying to play it nonchalant."

"That gives us an hour or two," Alain grumbled, "What do we do, Terry?"

"Too soon," Terry grumbled, "Get all hands cleaning out the non-body area. Get them out of here before the AU choppers make it in. That stuff alone will be enough to justify the run."

"You thinking of leaving them?" Alain said.

"No," Terry sighed, "I'm thinking about opening them up and taking the bodies with us."

"That could be dangerous," Alain reminded him.

"This whole project is dangerous," Terry said, "You have 57 minutes to get that droid talking. If you can't, I'm cracking the shells and using the antifreeze suit down there to pull the bodies out. Better we take them than the union idiots."

"Agreed," Alain said, "Let's get to work, Mary."

While Alain and Mary tried to work on the droid, Terry oversaw the cleanup. The crew did a masterful job of stripping the place of everything valuable and getting it up to the two cargo choppers. Terry told the remaining crew chiefs to get those choppers out of restricted space, preferably in the opposite direction from where the American Union crew was coming in from.

"We'll meet up in two days," Terry said, "If we don't show, assume the union got us and sell off what you have. That will be your payment."

There were nods all around, as the equipment was likely worth more than they'd been promised to begin with. They all left quickly and after liftoff went as far away from the old base as those aircraft could take them. The only aircraft remaining was a smaller one that would be enough to take the droid and the bodies.

"How are you doing?" Terry asked them, "Any luck?"

"Subsystems are going," Mary said, "We won't get her conscious in time, not without more power. I can't tell what this thing is using, and power equipment this old is extremely unpredictable."

"Ok," Terry sighed and looked at his watch, "We're running out of time."

"What do you want to do, Terry?" Alain asked.

"Let's open the pods," Terry said, "Mary, get the droid mobile while we do that."

"Right," Mary nodded, "I take it I don't want to know what you're up to?"

"You got it," Terry winked at her, "Just get that thing ready to roll. We will take what we can and get out of here."

Terry and Alain went down into the pod room and looked at the two pods. Terry went over to the wall and put on one of the moldy protective suits. Alain did the same and went over to look for a manual. He didn't find one so went back to Terry. He seemed to have another idea in mind.

"Always the hard way," Terry said, picking up a surprisingly solid fire axe from the wall, "All metal axe. They don't make them like this anymore."

"Are you insane?" Alain said, "You're going to do it that way?"

"Everything is jammed shut," Terry said, "Time to unjam the works!"

Terry, annoyed at being pushed to this point, raised the axe and brought it down on the latch on the outside of the pod. Alain simply stood back and let Terry take out his anger on the pod. Finally, when the latch refused to give he raised it up again and slammed the blade down on the glass, shattering it and letting the liquid nitrogen hit the air.

When this happened, the power system tried in vain to keep the system cooling. The ancient computer pulled in more voltage, causing more heat, until the system finally let go, sending a surge of power both through the bodies and through the rest of the electrical system

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" the man in the tank yelled, jolted into consciousness by the electrical current, "Damn you, Strader!"

Terry was understandably freaked out by this. He tried to hit the man with the axe, but despite being awakened from a cold freeze the man in the pod was faster, dodging the axe and grabbing it away from him. Terry tried to dodge man and the coolant that was coming out of the system.

The electrical surge wasn't limited to the pod room, however. The remaining surge coming from when the first pod shut down went straight to the nearest source, the droid room. Mary Vershaun was unfortunately touching one of the leads and the current went straight through her body, killing her almost instantly. The rest of it jump started the droid on the table, sending her power systems into a forced power up.

Alain knew things were going badly, so he tried to run from the door, but the man threw the axe at him, hitting him in the back. Alain fell down to the floor, dying immediately. The man pulled himself out of the tank and went over to Terry Strader and pushed him against the wall.

"Who are you?" the man growled, "Now!"

"T-t-t-Terry..." Terrence Strader stammered, "I..."

"Where is Glen Strader?" he said, interrupting him, "He has a lot to answer for."

"D-dead," Terry said, "Nearly 180 years ago."

"What year is it?" he hissed, "Now!"

"2251," Terry said, "Who are you?"

"Bolantine," he said, growling again, "Where is Nikki?"

"Nikki?" Terry wondered, "She might be the one in the other pod..."

"Open it!" Bolantine fumed, "Two hundred years! That son of a bitch! He'd better be glad he's dead."

"I..." Terry said, "Alain..."

"You'll be next if Nikki is hurt," Bolantine said, "Open it!"

"The axe," Terry said.

Bolantine growled and went over to Alain's body, pulling out the axe. He went over and looked at the second pod and took some satisfaction that they at least kept him and Nikki together. He raised the axe and shattered the glass covering on Nikki's pod. The change in the power dynamic sent the entire power output from the generator convulsing through the droid and shattering nearly every light bulb in the complex.

"Rise!" Bolantine exclaimed, reaching his arm into the freezing liquid to pull Nikki out, "No more of this shit. It's time for us to live again."

"B!" Nikki exclaimed as she woke up, "How long?"

"Too long," Bolantine said, "Come on out."

"We're in Greg's bunker," Nikki said, looking around, "How the hell did we get here?"

"If you believe him," Bolantine said, pointing at Terry, "We've been here a couple hundred years."

"Who are you?" Nikki asked Terry, "How did you find us?"

"My ancestor's journals," Terry said, "The American Union... Will be here soon..."

"That doesn't sound good," Bolantine said, "How did you get here?"

Bolantine went over and applied pressure to Terry, not knowing what was going on. He was pissed and didn't care who knew it. He objectively knew that Terry wasn't responsible, but he didn't care. He pulled Terry's wallet and handheld out of his pocket and looked at it.

"Terrence Strader IV?" Bolantine said opening the wallet and tossing the handheld to Nikki, "One of the Strader bunch. Goddamn it...I knew I should have killed Glen Strader when I had the chance."

"Too late now," Nikki said, looking at the computer, "He's long dead. Is this a radar track, Strader?"

"Yes," Terry said, "The American Union forces are about 20 minutes away."

"Ok," Bolantine said, "Nikki, let's get out of here. We need time to figure out what the hell has changed."

"How did you get here?" Nikki asked him, "If we've been undisturbed for 200 years we had to be well hidden."

"Chopper," Terry said, "You killed my pilot..."

"Can you find the exit?" Bolantine asked Nikki, "You recognized the place."

"Sure," Nikki nodded, "Follow the light."

"What about me?" Terry asked in fear of being left behind.

"Oh yes," Bolantine said, "Time to kill me another Strader."

Terry tried to move, but he didn't make it in time. Bolantine used the axe and killed the last of the last of the Strader line, or so he thought. He didn't know about the Remordis branch. He and Nikki stripped Mary and Alain's clothes. They got dressed and took Strader's handheld computer and made their way for the outside. It took Nikki a few minutes to figure out the controls on the helicopter, but they were out long before the American Union forces could make it.

Chapter 6 – Anoki

While Bolantine and Nikki were killing Terrence Strader and making their escape the droid's internal systems took the power influx and started reactivating. Age had tarnished some of her outer components, but the airtight seal on her wet brain kept the necessary parts of her solvent so she could be reactivated.

The droid, the last of the ATSP (Anoki Transferred Sentience Protocol) series, started up her ancient electronic synapses and went through the boot process, finding things ran a bit slowly. Her leathered skin crackled and fell off as she moved herself to a sitting position.

Her flesh voice box had long since rotted to nothing so she tried the synthesizer. It took a moment for the power to reroute to it, but it wasn't long before she could talk.

"How long have I been out?" Anoki asked herself, "Need to find information."

She looked around the room and noted how much things had deteriorated. Her internal memory core last registered a normal report at 3:47:41 PM on December 17, 2114. She was sure from the look of the place that it was long after that.

She pulled her metallic frame and looked at the maintenance equipment she was hooked to. She did a quick diagnostic and realized her power situation was critical. The micronuclear power generator that had powered her had long since burned out.

"That's why I shut down," she said, analyzing the room, "Let's survey before I run out of power."

Her internal batteries were still good and the geothermal system's overload had charged them to overflowing, so she had at least a week's worth of power to deal with. She just wondered how long she had been out.

Mary Vershaun's electrocuted body was lying sprawled out on the floor. Anoki checked her out and found her handheld computer in her pocket. It took a few minutes to adjust to the change in electronics, but she managed to upload the contents of the device into her wetbrain archive.

"136 years, 6 months, 10 days, 34 minutes, 23 seconds," Anoki said to herself, "It should be safe to check now, looks like my original order set is now defunct. Time for plan B."

Anoki disconnected from the ancient systems and tried to figure out where she could replace her power supply. She also realized from the data she downloaded from the handheld device that soldiers were well on their way. Anoki went over to the defense grid and powered it up, hoping to delay the entrance of the approaching troops.

She hit a few buttons, and soon the whole chamber was filled with a corrosive gas that would kill any human that spent more than a few seconds in it. She was glad to have it, actually, as it loosened the leathered skin on her titanium frame and made movement easier.

"That should keep them out for a while," she said as she started searching the facility.

The mad dash to remove anything of value caused Terry Strader's people to leave several pieces of equipment behind, most notably a couple of targeting computers and a loading truck that had been used to drag some larger pieces around. She checked out the power supply and was surprised at how advanced it was.

"Looks like they finally figured out how to do a proper fuel cell," Anoki said as she examined it.

She pulled out the modular power supply and held it. It wasn't far off in size from her old one. She pulled the burned out micronuclear generator and tossed it on the table. She then rubbed her leathered fingers on the ground to expose the electrical components that would allow her to test it.

Between the information contained in Mary Vershaun's handheld and the tests she ran on the fuel cell she realized that a modern fuel cell could run her indefinitely and could be charged without any harm to the environment. It took her only a few minutes to cannibalize the parts of her old generator and create a proper housing for the smaller (and more powerful) fuel cell.

She then went back to her cleaning lab. Now that her power problem was taken care of she needed to look human again. Luckily the acid bath was still working, though she had to force the cylinder to open and pull herself up to the top.

She heard the soldiers arriving up above and quickly picked off larger pieces of her long desiccated skin to allow the acid bath to return her to her former metal glory faster. She knew that Bolantine and Nikki were out and that she was likely only one of four sentient beings who knew what they were.

She climbed out and went to a workbench. One thing that she had been left with was a surplus of flesh generators. Because of the biological solution it contained they were always frozen and stored in a freezer unit at the back of the workroom. Three of them had burst over the years, but the fourth was still in working order.

The replacement pack went in easily and she went into the clean room. She heard the American Union soldiers try to come into the facility, but stopped because of the noxious gas that was billowing out of the one remaining entrance. Anoki just hoped they didn't have protective suits on their choppers.

Anoki had to delay them for at least an hour so she could use the regeneration machine to jump start her flesh. It would take weeks to come in otherwise, and that was time she couldn't afford. She latched herself into the device and prayed it still worked normally. Her consciousness started reviewing the load of information pulled from Mary Vershaun's handheld.

"That explains a bit," Anoki thought as she reviewed history, "This must be an American Union patrol."

She managed to find the frequencies used by the AU troops and decrypt the communications with the information from the handheld. The sheer power of that handheld boggled Anoki and made her a little paranoid about her ability to survive in this new world. 136 years is a long time to be out of the loop.

It took nearly 90 minutes because of the age of the equipment, but when she stepped out of the device she was wearing a full set of skin again, looking less like a monster from a horror movie from the 1930's and more like an average young woman. She walked back into the workroom and removed the clothing from the deceased woman.

"Sorry," Anoki said, testing out her new vocal cords, "I think I need this more than you do."

Mary Vershaun's clothing was slightly bigger than she was, but she could slightly adjust her dimensions to fill them out properly. She then decided to take one last look around the base to see whether she could find anything.

The one place she had avoided, because she knew she wouldn't want to see it, was the pod room. Once it had been Greg Kaczmarek's explosives playground, after his death it had been turned into secure storage for Bolantine and Nikki. The pods were exactly how she expected to see them, empty.

The bodies were not surprising. Anoki didn't expect either of the immortals to be in a particularly good mood after their 225 years or so of being frozen. She checked them for identities and found Terrence Strader's wallet. She picked it up and reviewed it, wondering what information she could pull.

"Terrence Strader IV," Anoki said, "One of Glen's descendants. Let's see if there's any information on who is left."

Terry Strader knew he was in a high risk game. He had expected to be found dead at some point and wanted to make sure what little family remained at least knew he was gone, so he had left a contact card for Baltimore Remordis. Anoki knew that Baltimore would be her next stop. She also saw the camera and took it as well, knowing that it likely had a record she'd need to convince someone who didn't know.

"Time to move," Anoki said to herself, "Let's see how much of this security system still works."

Anoki set the geothermal power system on full, causing it to destroy the equipment in the pod room. She then set the security system to destroy anything nonliving. While the American Union forces up on the surface were scrambling from the surprise fire, Anoki slipped out of the old base and disappeared into the desert landscape, leaving the American Union troops confused at what they had found.

Chapter 7 – Baltimore's Folly

Baltimore Remordis poured himself a drink and rolled back to his computer, going back into the databases. He had been a field agent, but he was also very good at the computer end. Before they had decided to give him early retirement he had spent a few months training with the computer division. Now, it was the only source of entertainment for a man who had nothing else to do with his life.

Without finding much to entertain him he rolled around his apartment a bit, doing some exercise. Finally, his doorbell rang again. He wheeled over and checked the security system, seeing Tony Holder's face again. He went to the door and let his old friend back in.

"Twice in two days," Baltimore said, "Keep this up and people will talk."

"They already are," Tony told him, "We've got a problem at Nellis."

"What did Terry dig up?" Baltimore asked him with a straight face.

"I wish I knew," Tony said, "He's not in any condition to answer any questions."

Tony handed Baltimore a folder with pictures that were freshly taken from the Nellis facility. They were hazy because of the contaminants in the air, but there was no mistaking the contorted face of Terrence Strader IV.

"Shit," Baltimore said quietly, "How many bodies?"

"Three," Tony said, "The rest of his people left before things went to shit. When our troops got in there the place was filled with noxious gas, not to mention the ancient security system was shooting at anything that moved. We were lucky that none of our men got killed."

"So he got himself killed by an old security system," Baltimore sighed, shaking his head, "That sounds like Terry IV."

"We don't think so," Tony said, handing a second folder over, "He had an axe in his chest, just like the body next to him. The security system ate itself, but someone murdered Terry and the other man we haven't identified yet."

"What about the rest of his team?" Baltimore asked, "Surely there were more than three of them."

"There were," Tony said, "We caught up with them as they tried to Central America. None of them knew anything and were expecting Terry IV to join them a bit later. They thought they were just getting out ahead of our people. Terry and the other two were left there, no one else."

"You believe them?" Baltimore said.

"There is more," Tony said and handed over a shot taken from a satellite, "There was a third helicopter. We think it was meant to be Terry's escape chopper. One of the others was a pilot, though he didn't get a chance to fly it. That chopper went west instead of south and dodged radar the whole way."

"Someone else was there," Baltimore put together, "Someone who could fly a chopper."

"Right," Tony said, "So do you have any idea what was at Nellis?"

"No," Baltimore lied again, thinking of the packet, "But I have some ideas where to start searching."

"Officially all I have is a 200 year old rogue security system gone wild," Tony said, "My bosses want to forget that Nellis ever existed, so they're willing to write it off."

"Do that," Baltimore said, "Whatever it is, you don't need to know."

"You're a freelancer," Tony said, tossing Baltimore an ID pack, "The union won't do anything officially, as they take the position that Nellis was a private facility that closed over two hundred years ago. If anything needs to be done, let us know."

"Is anyone still out there?" Baltimore asked.

"They are still trying to decontaminate it," Tony said, "If they find anything else I'll have it sent to you over the secure account. You may want to find someone you trust with legs if they need to go in."

"Right," Baltimore nodded, "Let's just hope it's something simple. Shall we?"

"I don't care," Tony grinned, "Nellis doesn't exist. Terry Strader died of his own stupidity. I'm just covering our asses."

Baltimore nodded and watched Tony as he left the apartment. Baltimore knew there was more to it than this. The American Union government was the result of a reworking of the traditional American system. They tended to avoid the secret projects that occurred in the 21st and 22nd centuries, preferring instead to have a more straightforward view of the world.

Tony Holder had dumped this on Baltimore because Baltimore was expendable. If something went wrong, his agency could claim that it knew nothing. Baltimore knew better as he went over to the safe and again pulled out the packet. He knew it would be a long night. He started reading it again.

Chapter 8 – Bolantine

Bolantine and Nikki knew they wouldn't be able to go too far in the helicopter, so they used it to get close to civilization and to get their bearings in a world that had changed significantly since Glen Strader had crashed their helicopters into a mountain 225 years before.

They walked over to a truck stop and used a technique that Bolantine had learned many years ago. He found someone near his age and size and broke the young man's neck, pushing him into his own trunk after taking his clothing and identification.

"Where the hell are we?" Bolantine wondered, "You knew this area better than I did."

"Too many years," Nikki said, looking around, "I'm not even sure how to start that damned car."

It took them a few minutes, but luckily the mechanical process of starting a vehicle had not changed all that much. Once they got the vehicle running, they got in and started driving east. Nikki poked around the car and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Looks like this is a navigation system," Nikki said, playing with it, "We definitely need to learn more about this time. This is far more advanced than anything either of us has ever seen."

"I knew we set up that foundation for a reason," Bolantine said, "Let's check and see if it still exists."

"Which foundation?" Nikki asked, "I wasn't exactly in the loop for most of that time period."

"While I was hiding under the Ed Ballantine alias I set up six independent foundations," Bolantine said, "Two in New York and four in California. I set them up with buildings and a charitable function that would keep them going for years. Even better, I made sure that they got buildings that should stick around for a while."

"Time safes," Nikki nodded, "You're hoping that at least one of them is still around."

"Yep," Bolantine nodded, "In the subbasement of each of their buildings is a box with a hundred grand in cash and a million dollars in gold bullion. The cash is likely useless after all this time, but the gold should be worth more."

"If the buildings are still there," Nikki reminded him.

"Don't be a pessimist," Bolantine chided her, "Do you have a better idea?"

"No," Nikki admitted, "We need time to get used to this world. You drive. Terrence Strader had a handheld computer. Damn thing looks to be more powerful than the supercomputers we used at Nellis 200 years ago. I'm going to play with it a little, see what I can learn about this world."

"Concentrate on California first," Bolantine suggested.

"Come look with me," Nikki said, "This vehicle has an automated navigation system that takes over. The company was starting to prototype these at Nellis back when I was there. Looks like it's considered old hat technology now."

"A lot has changed," Bolantine said, "Let's just hope we can learn it before Mason comes after us again."

"We need to work differently this time," Nikki said, "No more of this frontline stuff. I'm getting sick of spending years incapacitated when we screw up."

"This from my cowgirl?" Bolantine wondered, "I thought you liked the front line approach?"

"I'm not advocating stopping going out and working," Nikki said, "But instead of putting ourselves in the position of top dog we need to work with existing frameworks, just manipulating them to our goals."

"Will give us less to lose," Bolantine agreed, "That's pretty much how I rose in the Seattle crime game when I was young. We still have to prepare first."

"Let's read," Nikki suggested and handed over a second handheld she pulled from the car's late owner, "We've got approximately eight hours to Los Angeles. Let's find out what this world is about."

Chapter 9 – Anoki's Search

Anoki had one major benefit over Bolantine and Nikki. She could absorb all the information from Mary Vershaun's handheld into her system without having to sit and read it. As a result, she knew more about the world she was walking in to.

She also was able to figure out how to join the global communications network and get information that she wanted. The fact that she had been operational long after Bolantine and Nikki were frozen gave her an edge as well.

Her ability to crack networks came in handy, so she could trace the genealogy records for the last contact she had. She knew that Glen Strader had two children, so while she walked through the desert she traced from them down to any remaining descendants.

She found that there were three left who did not have official death certificates, but her photo search left her with two, as she recognized Terrence Strader IV as being one of the bodies on the site. She hoped that he had not been the one entrusted with Glen's packet.

That left Baltimore and Catherine Remordis as the sole heirs to the Strader-Remordis line. Anoki kept running into roadblocks when trying to track down Baltimore Remordis, so she went for the youngest member of the clan, Catherine Remordis.

Anoki also made a valid identity through the American Union computers, one that allowed her to reserve a car and have some clothing waiting for her when she walked into the nearest city, nearly nine hours after leaving Nellis.

"I hope you're ready, Catherine," Anoki said as she started driving to the east coast, "Your family history is about to bite you in the ass."

Chapter 10 – The Approach

Anoki got into the District of Columbia much more knowledgeable about the world she was thrust into. Ten hours of absorbing every television station she could reach had given her a reasonable command of the modern language and dialects. She also had a location and picture of Catherine Remordis.

She walked in to the dormitory and followed along, watching the students as they entered into the secured areas. They were using a personalized magnetic reader, one that the magnets in her fingers could mimic. She watched as a student went in and out, putting her class ring on the reader.

Anoki made sure the guard was watching her mouth instead of her hands as she let off a bright smile and a wink as she put her hand on the reader and mimicked the last student's readings. The door clicked open normally and Anoki walked inside.

She found the elevator and made her way up to the twelfth floor, which was where the upperclassmen lived in rooms that were designed to get them used to living in an apartment in post-school life. Anoki learned this from the public information site on the school, though most of it was meaningless to her. She simply needed to find Catherine Remordis.

The information the school computers had on Catherine showed she lived in 432 east, so Anoki walked through the hallway as if she lived there herself.

Anoki felt strange being among people again. She knew what it was like to be human, being the result of an illegal transference project in the early 21st century. But the years of isolation after Glen Strader had left her in the bunker with the frozen carcasses of Bolantine and Nikki had warped her slightly. She just hoped she was ready for human contact again.

Anoki found 432 east and pressed the notification button. Catherine Remordis looked at the view screen and decided to open the door to figure out who her visitor was. Catherine hadn't had any visitors in weeks because of the paper she had been struggling to finish.

"Yes?" Catherine said, opening the door, "May I help you?"

"I have news about Terry Strader," Anoki said, "I figured you should find out before someone official tells you."

"Who are you?" Catherine asked her.

"My name is Anoki," she said, "We need to talk, Catherine."

"Oh, right," Catherine said, "You work with my Uncle Baltimore, don't you? I already told Baltimore I wasn't interesting in working for the spy agency."

"I don't work for any current spy agency," Anoki said, "I work for someone else completely. Can we have this conversation inside?"

"Sure," Catherine said, grimacing, "I don't want to finish this paper anyway."

Anoki nodded and walked into the room. She surveyed the area and determined that there were four listening devices in the room. She put her finger to her lips and went over to Catherine's lamp, pulling the shade off and finding a tiny listening device inside.

"What are you doing?" Catherine demanded, "That's my lamp!"

Anoki pulled the device out and handed it to Catherine. While Catherine examined it and tried to figure out just what it was Anoki removed the remaining three devices and laid them out on Catherine's coffee table.

"Now, we can talk," Anoki said, "Someone is listening to you, Catherine."

"Who the hell are you?" Catherine asked, "How did you find those without a detector? More to the point who the hell do you work for and where is my damned uncle so I can kick his wheelchair ridden ass for pushing you on me?"

"Your uncle either doesn't know I exist or is just now finding out," Anoki said, "Depends on if he read the packet that Glen gave to his kids."

"Who is Glen?" Catherine said, "And you're avoiding the rest of my questions."

"My name is Anoki," she said patiently, "More formally Anoki 10.4.1. I am an android exoskeleton frame covered with a biogenetic flesh base."

"Right," Catherine said, "And I'm the Queen of Sheba."

"Sarcasm noted," Anoki said, "It won't help right now."

"Bullshit," Catherine exclaimed, "There isn't any such thing anymore. Bio-droids were outlawed in all civilized countries over a century ago. Try again, missy."

"Considering I was shut down 136 years ago, I date long before the ban," Anoki said, "My sentience core dates back to 2017."

"A droid from the past," Catherine said, "Right. So why are you here? What no good is Terry up to this time?"

"He's dead," Anoki told her, "He was killed by the man I was left to keep in the ground."

"Terry?" Catherine said, "Dead? I don't know as I believe you."

"Watch your screen," Anoki said, pointing at her computer, "I will send it to your screen via wireless format. You'll see the last thing that I saw at Nellis before I departed."

"Right," Catherine said, still not believing Anoki, "Go for it."

Anoki went over to her monitor and touched the monitor antenna to make sure she could keep the signal from hitting anything but Catherine's computer screen. She called up the original memory and played her video view of when she walked into the pod room. Catherine Remordis looked shocked at the view coming from her screen.

"Where is this?" Catherine said, "It looks dark."

"It's what remains of Nellis Air Force base in Groom Lake, Nevada," Anoki said, "It was my home until I was reactivated two days ago."

Catherine wanted to ask more, but then the images of Terry's body came on the screen. His eyes were wide open, but obviously he was very dead. She couldn't believe she was seeing this on her own computer screen. It was even worse than she could have imagined.

"What happened to him?" Catherine asked her, "I mean..."

"Bolantine happened," Anoki said, "Your cousin Terry woke up what I had been left to protect."

"Protect?" Catherine said, "And what the hell is a Bolantine?"

"Bolantine is an immortal," Anoki said, "He was born in 1910 in Chicago, became a crime lord in Seattle later on. He became immortal through a serum in the late 1990's. Luckily the serum was destroyed and Bolantine was stopped."

"Come on," Catherine said, "Immortals? Droids? What the hell do I have to do with this?"

"It is in your blood, Catherine," Anoki told her, "My group had a run-in with Bolantine and a corporation he controlled. The leader of that group was your ancestor, Catherine. Glen Strader and his people worked with another group of immortals to stop Bolantine's grandiose plans for world domination."

"More immortals?" Catherine laughed, "Do they grow on trees?"

"There are five," Anoki said, "Bolantine and his partner Nikki. They are pure evil. The others are Mason Stone, Karen Stone, and Jim Entragian. They were the good guys, the ones that stopped the serum from mass production. That's another story that even I don't know all of. Perhaps you can ask Mason Stone yourself one day."

"So what happened?" Catherine asked her, "I still don't believe any of this, but I'll listen."

"Glen and company stopped Bolantine," Anoki said, "Dropped the side of a mountain on him. Unfortunately, another one of your ancestors, Cliff Remordis, saw fit to turn their carcasses over to the company for testing. Glen Strader and Sam Remordis were not happy when they found this out."

"So then what happened?" Catherine asked, "They disposed of the bodies?"

"Bolantine and Nikki are immortal," Anoki reminded her, "They had been keeping them unconscious through the use of liquid nitrogen cryogenics. When the company started falling apart and Nellis began shutting down, Glen finally came up with the means of getting rid of Bolantine and Nikki, hopefully for good.

"He turned the building that had been housing the strike force into a tomb. It was all pushed underground and sand forced on top of it. Since the company was refusing to pay to repair me anymore and had issued an order for my termination Glen put me to good use."

"He locked you inside," Catherine said, looking at the screen in horror, "Is that you in that mirror?"

"Before an acid bath and a new flesh pack," Anoki nodded, pausing the video on her mummy-like visage, "My original power supply died in 2114, long after Glen and anyone else who knew about the project did. I wasn't supposed to last forever, just keep Bolantine hidden until the place was lost in the sands of time."

"So how are you here now?" Catherine asked.

"Someone hooked me up to the diagnostic equipment," Anoki said, "I'm betting Terry or one of his people. When the nitrogen tanks were smashed, it sent all the power the geothermal plant had been creating straight through the equipment and back into my own body. Gave me enough of a charge so I could figure out how to replace my old power supply. I rigged one up from a fuel cell."

"This is insane," Catherine said, "Give me one good reason why I should either believe you or care."

"You should believe me because it is true," Anoki said, "You should care because Bolantine has a nasty habit of killing anyone he deems a threat. Considering he has been screwed by three generations of Straders now and found another one when he woke up... If I can track you this easily, it's a good bet he and Nikki won't be far behind."

"Damn you all," Catherine said, "Just like my father said, always an emergency, always a battle. Why can't people get along?"

"I don't have the answer to that," Anoki said, "But Bolantine is out there. He's a threat so long as he's free."

"So what do you need me for?" Catherine asked, "I mean you're obviously capable. You found me and got in here."

"You are human," Anoki explained, "My sentience is based off a human, but I am not and cannot be human. Humans are not perfect, but in this case it takes a human to catch an immortal."

"I know nothing about this," Catherine said, "I'd never heard of any of this until today."

"I'm guessing that if Glen's information packet still exists," Anoki told her, "You don't have it."

"That would be more up my uncle's alley," Catherine said, "I don't know what to do with this. I still have a paper to finish..."

"What is it on?" Anoki asked her.

Catherine pointed her at the screen, which had gone back to normal. Anoki sat down and read through it and the subject line. She processed it a moment and ran it through using the similar phrasing. She came up with an ending in less than five minutes that was better than Catherine had hoped her paper would be.

"You have to be a droid," Catherine said, looking at it, "No human could have done this that fast and stayed awake. I still think you'd be better off with Baltimore though."

"Can you contact him?" Anoki asked her.

"Sure," Catherine said, "But he's not an idiot. He will think I'm crazy."

"Tell him about the listening devices," Anoki suggested, "He'll want to do something about it. Suggest a meet. I'll tag along."

"Maybe he'll believe you better than I did," Catherine said, "I still think it's all crazy."

"This world is crazy," Anoki reminded Catherine, "A wise man once said that the world was a joke and everything else was subdivisions of that joke."

"A philosopher?" Catherine wondered.

"Frank Zappa," Anoki smiled, "A musician who died in the 20th century."

"I think I will make a call now," Catherine said.

"Good idea," Anoki agreed.

Chapter 11 – Where Do We Go?

"They built a mini-mart over my old building," Bolantine grumbled, "I can't believe this. That's three down. Why the hell did I bother with that again?"

"It wasn't designed to last 200 years either," Nikki reminded him, "Who expects to be frozen for over two centuries?"

"If they weren't already dead I'd seriously consider hunting them down," Bolantine grunted, "But the only ones left are likely family that doesn't know jack about what happened."

"The world has definitely changed," Nikki nodded, "Looks like the political landscape changed as well."

"Three powers," Bolantine said, "American, European, and Asian. The rest of the states take their cues and align with them. It's sickening."

"There could be advantages," Nikki said, "States that large mean bureaucracies. Bureaucracies mean openings for manipulation."

"Not the Americans," Bolantine said, "I'm sure Glen Strader left hooks to watch for us. Man was too methodical not to leave something behind. He couldn't have expected us to be there forever."

"I might be able to fit in over in China," Nikki said, as she was small and had vaguely oriental features, "You would stand out like a sore thumb."

"The European Union, from all the reports, is corrupt as hell," Bolantine said, "They are still speaking a polyglot of languages and just lost a major war with the American Union two years ago. They are mostly rebuilding now."

"I'd say that's the place for us then," Nikki said, "I think we may be in luck, too. Is that the building you set up?"

"Gotta love Century City," Bolantine grinned, "Let's go see if it is occupied."

Bolantine pulled their vehicle, their second stolen one in two days, over outside. He and Nikki went cautiously to the building, looking for anyone who may have been living in there. The building had been long abandoned as the charity Bolantine had started having folded up well over a century before.

"Let's go in," Nikki suggested, "Building looks solid."

Bolantine walked into the door and found that the place had not been remodeled in the preceding years either. It looked run down, but quite close to the way he remembered it. The back door had been jammed open and it was quite apparent that it had been used by many transients over the years.

"Think it's still here?" Nikki wondered.

"Yes," Bolantine said, "I designed the hiding places myself. If we can get down there, we should be able to find it."

Nikki nodded and followed Bolantine. It took him a few minutes to remember exactly where the staircase had been. Unfortunately, time and wear had caused a collapse in the area of the staircase.

"Looks like it won't be easy," Bolantine grumbled, "Give me a hand, Nikki. We need to clear this debris."

They spent a half an hour and finally cleared the way down into the basement. Bolantine had a much harder time, as he was a full foot taller than Nikki and weighed about twice as much. Nikki who was five-foot nothing and weighed 90 pounds slid through the debris and made it to the open basement below with ease.

"Nothing here, B," Nikki said.

"Nothing is in the eye of the beholder," Bolantine told her, "See if there is a pickaxe or something in that toolbox."

Nikki went over and found a stainless steel bar, one that had been deliberately painted over with rust coloring. She handed it to Bolantine without question and wondered what he was up to. Bolantine ran his hands over the walls and found the texture change that he expected.

"It's here," Bolantine smiled, "Stand back."

Bolantine whacked at the wall for a few minutes and chipped away a hole. Finally, there was enough space for Bolantine to put his arm inside. Bolantine tensed up and groaned as a spike went through his hand, just as he had designed it. A blade then came up and sliced his arm in a manner that would have sent a normal person spilling out their blood, killing them within minutes.

"That looks painful, B," Nikki said, "Can you get out of it?"

"Yeah," Bolantine grunted, "Give it a min."

Eventually, the spike retreated and the knife went away. Bolantine's arm had already healed so he could press the button about six inches behind it and set off a small explosion on the other side of the room that dropped the rock.

"Now I see why no one found it," Nikki said, "A bit over the top don't you think?"

"No mortal was getting that," Bolantine said, "It's painful to me, but not fatal. Any normal person would be dead."

"Good design," Nikki nodded, "Let's find out what we have, shall we?"

Nikki kicked some pieces away and saw the old metal container. She pulled on it, but wasn't strong enough on her own. Bolantine came over and pulled on it as well, finally getting the old wheels on the boxes to creak and allow them to pull the heavy box out of the opening. Bolantine opened it up and revealed the still gleaming gold bullion.

"Nice," Nikki said, impressed, "That has to be worth billions by now."

"Ten million in 2020," Bolantine said, "Probably a lot more now. Looks like the other stuff survived too."

"Long term safe deposit boxes," Nikki said, "Anything in them we can use after all this time?"

"Unlikely," Bolantine said, "But some of the secret accounts may still be good. We can try at any rate."

"If nothing else this will get us out of the country," Nikki said, "When you told me we possibly had bullion I researched methods of getting rid of it. The Euros seem to have a few safe havens for illicit cash that we can use."

"Let's see if we can manage shipping," Bolantine said, "Ready for the big time again?"

"After you, B," Nikki smiled.

Chapter 12 – Listening Devices

"Tony?" Baltimore asked over the guarded line, "Who knows about what we've been doing?"

"No one," Tony Holder said, "Why?"

"I just got a phone call from Catherine," Baltimore said, "She's nervous. She just found four listening devices in her apartment."

"It wasn't us," Tony said, "Good lord, we haven't planted a listening device without a warrant in our lifetimes. Don't need them usually. We can tap the electronics."

"That leaves the Euros or the Chinese," Baltimore said, "Given the fact that Catherine doesn't know any state secrets or any commercial secrets, my guess is the Euros."

"I've heard rumors of the Euros having hit squads on our agents," Tony said, "Nothing confirmed. Most of you are too hard to find."

"Great," Baltimore grumbled, "I'm going to meet with her, check out the devices. Looks as though I can't get out of the game, even from in a goddamn wheelchair."

"I don't know what Terry opened up," Tony said, "But their people are up in arms. The Euros seem to have been keeping an eye on Nellis as well."

"Ok," Baltimore said, "What the hell could they have known about Nellis? Hell, I thought Nellis was pretty much a graveyard where a plasma weapon went wild."

"The company that owned Nellis was based in Paris," Tony said, "I have a file on them. I'll get you a copy. I pulled everything we had on Nellis."

"I have it already," Baltimore told him, "Though getting Glen Strader's personal records would help out a lot."

"That takes more pull than I have," Tony said, "I'll get this all together for you though. You'll be better able to sift through it than I am. I will talk to my boss, because this is going above my pay grade. Consider yourself working for the shop again, Baltimore."

"Probably Catherine as well when this over," Baltimore told him, "If she's already being bugged then it may be safer to train her."

"If you can get that through her skull," Tony told him, "I have work to do and so do you. I'll send the files via network connection."

"Right," Baltimore said and listened as the line clicked off.

Some things never changed. Baltimore was sure that the Euros were watching the Nellis area for suspicious activity. It had been 136 years since the mass plasma test went awry, destroying what was left of the Nellis facility and every living thing living within three hundred miles, leaving a crater that could be seen from space. It was hostile land, but everyone watched the area, wondering when someone would get the guts to go digging.

Legally the place was uninhabitable. The plasma weapon had not so much poisoned the land as it just made it a sandy crater. It had pulverized everything, much as if the whole radius of the blast had been run through a blender. The government cracked down on the testing, forcing what was left of the weapon developer to leave for the European Union.

Finally, he heard a signal at the door. He went over to the door and looked the one-way panel, seeing Catherine and a young woman he had seen somewhere before. He went back to the packet of Glen Strader's and looked at one of the pictures. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he compared it to the Anoki file photo.

"Shit," Baltimore said, "How the hell..."

"Baltimore?" Catherine yelled, "Come on, let me in ok?"

Baltimore wheeled back over to the door and opened it. Anoki and Catherine walked in to find a typical bachelor's apartment, cleaned only in the areas he needed it to be. Baltimore closed the door and just gaped at Anoki.

"I guess I don't need to ask how you found the bugs," Baltimore said, "Have a seat. I assume you're Anoki, right?"

"You have Glen's packet," Anoki said, "That's the only way someone alive now would recognize me."

"I've just started going through it," Baltimore lied, "Although I think I'm more scared of the listening devices."

"Here they are," Catherine said, "What did you get me into, Baltimore?"

"I don't know," Baltimore said, "Depends on who bugged you. Can you get the magnifying glass from the top drawer of my desk, Catherine? I may be able to tell more."

"It has a microscopic label on it," Anoki told him, "Panos Industrial, Paris France."

"Damn it," Baltimore grumbled, "The friggen Euros again. This is probably not related to the current problem. They were likely trying to find me."

"What have you been into?" Catherine asked him, "And can I go home now?"

"No," Baltimore said, "I think we've had a rat's nest dropped in our laps, as your new friend may already have told you."

"I don't know everything that is in the packet," Anoki said, "I was left in the chamber to keep out fresh diggers."

"Between you and the packet we should be able to figure out what is going on," Baltimore said, "How much have you been told, Catherine?"

"I know about Bolantine and Nikki," Catherine said, "But I don't get all the details."

"Anoki," Baltimore said and held up a 21st century video disk, "Do you know what this is?"

"It is a video disk," Anoki said, "That's Glen Strader's handwriting on it."

"There hasn't been a device made to play those in a hundred and seventy-five years," Catherine said, "That's useless."

"I can read it," Anoki told them, "I can see the details and I carry the decoding protocols. I can play them back through a monitor if you have one I can use."

"Do it," Baltimore agreed, "I think this will tell us more than anything. Hopefully, it will answer all our questions."

Chapter 13 – The Strader Video

It took a few minutes for Anoki to read the information from the disk and figure out how to decode it properly. Luckily it did use one of the standard codec playback modes she had in her memory. She did a little processing to convert the video mode to something that would play on a modern monitor.

Finally, she managed to get everything converted correctly and the video began playing. An image of an older man came on the screen, one that Baltimore recognized from the photographs in the folder. It was an older version of Colonel Glen Strader, a man who had died nearly 180 years before.

"Is this thing on?" Colonel Strader said, "I hate these video machines."

"It's on, Glen," a voice said in the background, "Hit the red button when you're done."

"Thanks Kris," Strader said, referring to his wife Kristen, "I'll take it from here."

Strader pulled up his chair and looked directly into the camera. He was obviously tired, but determined to go through with this anyway. It was to be his last testament on the Bolantine debacle, something he hoped to not have to think about ever again.

"Today is February 23, 2062," Strader told the Camera, "It's been over thirty years since the events I'm going to talk about, but I'm going to lay it all out since if you're watching this you're likely going to need to know."

Strader looked around for a moment and continued.

"I will start at the beginning and I shall ramble. I'm an old man, I'm entitled. The name of the game today is Bolantine. The most rotten son of a bitch ever to walk this earth. You name a form of depravity, and he has profited from it at some point in his unnaturally long life.

"Endicott Bolantine III was born in 1910 in Chicago. He came up during the Al Capone years and actually worked for Scarface Al at one point. When Capone's income dried up after prohibition was lifted, Bolantine went west. By the end of World War II in 1945, he was in charge of the Seattle crime syndicates.

"The status quo changed when Bolantine met Nicole DeSeve in 1967. Much younger than he was, she was the cowgirl that really lit his fire. Unfortunately, it was to be a sad love story for him. Nikki got herself shot in a robbery a year later.

"The next thirty years were spent in search of a way to keep Nikki alive. She sat as a vegetable for thirty years before some immoral doctors created a serum that provided a form of medical immortality. Don't ask me how it worked. Thankfully I was a child when it happened.

"That serum is how my family came into it, though. My grandfather was investigating the clinic where the serum was made. It turned into a cross-country chase that ended with Bolantine and Nikki becoming immortal and my grandfather, Richard Strader, dead at Bolantine's hand.

"Of course, this didn't last long. There were three other immortals involved. The two original test subjects and the doctor who was dosed accidentally when his head was blown off. Mason and Karen Stone, not their original names but the names they use now, and Jim Entragian. Luckily, none of them know how to make the serum. Mason and Karen were near death when it was used and Entragian was the recipient of a '12 Gauge Attitude Adjustment'. This adjustment being the removal of his old head and a rebuilding of his personality that made him glad he didn't know how to make it.

"To make a long story short, Bolantine's first exile began after that. Marden Mine was dropped on Bolantine and Nikki's head at the end of that one. That confinement lasted about a decade or so before they were pulled out by accident during a mining operation.

"They did some stuff in Russia I only heard about a little from Mason Stone and then showed up back here in the states. Nikki infiltrated us and Bolantine hit us from the outside. They tried to find the remains of the old Entragian clinic that my dad had hidden here. Granted, we blew that up without the company knowing, but there you go.

"At the end of the last Bolantine attack eleven thousand people were dead. Bolantine and Nikki had been disposed of in another mine, which a few well-placed missiles ensured wouldn't be excavated easily.

"You'd think this would be the end of the story. Well, Bolantine is a persistent cuss and so is the company. Cliff Remordis, Sam's pain in the ass offspring, directed the company to Bolantine's corpse. They tried to use him to ferret out what kept him alive.

"Sam and I found this out quick and managed to weasel control of the project, shutting it down as soon as we could. That left the problem of disposal again. This was when the government started cracking down on sentience and longevity projects. That left Anoki out in the cold too.

"Our old strike team headquarters was already mostly underground, so we pushed it further down and built up the sand. We left Anoki down there for short-term security, though she'll likely live long after I'm gone. For the long term we put a concrete platform thirty feet thick and two miles square out there and wrote it off to facility stability.

"Hopefully this means Bolantine won't be back, but I have too much faith in that son of a bitch's ability to work his way out of traps. Someone or something will free him someday. If he gets out, he's a danger to my descendants.

"If you're watching this and you're one of my descendants, hopefully it is because you're interested in ancient history. If that's the case, you've had your fill. Forget Bolantine exists. The world is better off without him or his little bitch.

"If he's back, don't take him on yourself. He will kill you. There are exactly three people on this planet equipped to take Bolantine and Nikki on directly. If he's alive, they're alive. Mason Stone, Karen Stone and Jim Entragian are your keys.

"I saw Mason ten years ago and he hadn't aged a hair since I'd seen him twenty years before that. Luckily he didn't know what Cliff had done. He and Karen were getting ready to set up a base in the south Pacific. He knew the likelihood was that Bolantine would come back, so he told me how to find them. I think they will take it easy and try to stay out of the limelight.

"He did give me a way to contact him. It is something I won't do now, but if it were easy someone would do it without reason. If you really need him, it's worth it. Go to the island of Mozandondo. It's an atoll in the south Pacific, so far from the normal travel lanes that it likely isn't used for anything.

"Stone is retiring there and will be keeping contacts if he leaves. The catch is that there is no flight service there. The island is only four square miles and has no airstrip. You will have to fly to Tahiti and take a ship there. I doubt this will change. There are no resources and it's too small for a resort.

"If Bolantine is back, find Mason Stone and never underestimate him. He's lived longer than any human except for Bolantine, and since Bolantine has been under for so long I think Mason, Karen, and Jim probably have the edge on him now.

"Good luck and if Bolantine is back, may God have mercy on your soul because Bolantine sure as hell won't."

Glen Strader sighed and looked at the camera for a moment before he reached over and turned off the unit. Anoki stopped the playback as the recording had gone to black.

Chapter 14 – Transit

Bolantine and Nikki drove their stolen car to the outside of a drug store in the docks area of Los Angeles. Neither one had had much time to relax, but they figured that could come when they were out of the American Union with their cash.

"Ok," Nikki said, "Police reports show that a lot of the maritime crime happens from this area. I'm betting there are a couple gangs who could tell us a lot."

"I'm more concerned about the shippers," Bolantine said, "They will be our key. Our contacts may be dead, but the business never dies."

"Ideas?" Nikki asked him.

"Find the dirtiest one we can find," Bolantine said, "Then break him to find out who the big boys are."

"Then we break the big boys," Nikki agreed.

"At least enough to get across the Pacific," Bolantine told her, "I don't want to try to build here. Mason's group likely has ties here still. By all reports, the European Union is much more amenable to people like us. And with our advantages and know how..."

"We'll be ruling the union by the end of the year," Nikki grinned, "Let's find someone."

Bolantine decided to start low. Nikki was more of a cowgirl than he was, but she would be a whole lot more noticeable in this area than someone of his size. He went into the drug store and purchased some local clothing of the type he'd seen the workers wearing.

"Anything else, sir?" the young lady said.

"A motel," Bolantine said, "A close one."

"Motel 32 right down the street," the young lady said cheerfully.

Bolantine and Nikki went there, abandoning the car across the street. It didn't take too much work to get a room in the low rent district. He paid for it with the cash stolen from the owner of the last car.

"Changing appearance?" Nikki asked as she looked at the supplies.

"I don't know who is behind us," Bolantine said, "The American Union definitely had forces out there and I don't know who got pictures. Not to mention I look meaner when I don't have hair."

"Sexy too," Nikki grinned, "I guess I'm money guard?"

"For now," Bolantine said, "I'm going hunting and you need to be able to find me if things get out of hand."

"Good luck, B," Nikki said, "I'll continue research. I still have the handheld, and the network connection is still working."

Bolantine went into the bathroom and spent a few minutes changing. When he came out he was completely bald and wearing clothing that made him look a lot different from the 21st century clothing they'd been frozen with.

"Nice," Nikki said, "Have fun and don't get those clothes too bloody."

"I'll be back in a few hours," Bolantine nodded, kissing Nikki's forehead and walking out the door.

Bolantine walked around a bit to get used to the area. It wasn't until it got dark he decided to make his first catch. He saw someone who was driving a car that was at least twice what his income bracket would afford him. The man pulled over in a dark alley, further signifying he was doing something shady.

Bolantine watched for a few moments as the man did a low tech trade with someone who walked into the alley. He knew then he had his first catch. Bolantine walked up to the car and slipped in through the passenger door, which was foolishly unlocked.

"Hello," Bolantine said and bashed the man's head against the steering wheel, "Welcome to your nightmare."

The man, long a veteran of the street, reacted quickly and pulled out a pistol, shooting Bolantine in the chest twice. This only had the effect of pissing the immortal off, however, as the high velocity slugs went right through him, the damage healing as they left.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Bolantine said as he took the gun away and smashed the man's head against the wheel again, "Who are you?"

"What are you?!" the man exclaimed and tried to get away.

"I am your worst nightmare," Bolantine said, gripping the man's shoulder and shooting him in the leg to make movement more difficult, "Now you have a choice. Answer my questions or I make you hurt a lot more. If you lie, you will hurt. Understand me? Now who are you?"

"Lynchester," the man grunted, "You shot me!"

"Yes," Bolantine agreed, shooting his leg again, "I did. Now if you want to avoid further pain start answering my questions. Who do you work for?"

"Myself," Lynchester said and groaned as Bolantine applied painful pressure to his wound, "I do freelance..."

"What did you trade?" Bolantine asked him.

"Payment to the gangs," Lynchester groaned, "To stir up trouble at the customs office."

"Smuggler?" Bolantine quizzed, "Thief? What?"

"My bosses will kill me," Lynchester said.

"They aren't here, I am," Bolantine said, "Please me first and you may live long enough to worry about them. What do you do?"

Lynchester knew he was done for, so he saw no reason to resist Bolantine. His group was a smuggling outfit, smuggling drugs and untaxed electronics in from the European Union and people from China. It was exactly the sort of thing that Bolantine was looking for.

"Who runs it?" Bolantine asked him.

"A lot of people," Lynchester grumbled, "I mean..."

"These organizations always come down to a name," Bolantine said, "Who runs it?"

"Derchenko in Moscow," Lynchester said, "Everyone knows that, but no one has seen him in twenty years."

"Who runs it locally?" Bolantine asked him.

"Olalla does," Lynchester said, "Randy Ollala."

"Where can I find Randy Ollala?" Bolantine asked.

Lynchester told him and Bolantine smiled. He now had what he wanted, a link to a syndicate in the European Union. Randy Ollala was going to get a visit from Bolantine, but not tonight. Bolantine realized that he hadn't had a really good meal in over 200 years. It was time to rectify that. He pushed open Lynchester's door and shoved the ailing man out, firing two quick shots into his brain, splattering it all over the alley.

"Good riddance, sucker," Bolantine said, closing the door and starting the car, "Time for some dinner."

Chapter 15 – Low on the Totem Pole

"So this is real?" Catherine said, "All of it?"

"Bolantine is real," Anoki said, "Glen was telling the truth. Eleven thousand people died the day we took Bolantine down. I can show you images of that if you like."

"I'll pass," Catherine said, "I think I will be sick to my stomach without that."

"I've seen a lot over the years," Baltimore said gravely as he looked at Anoki and Catherine, "But this takes the cake. I would never have expected to see a video from a long dead ancestor telling me that we need to find a group of immortals."

"I'm sure you didn't expect a sentient robot either," Anoki deadpanned, "Now what do you intend to do?"

"If Glen is right and they're still in Mozandondo that is going to be a problem," Baltimore said, pulling up Mozandondo in his world fact book, "The island, more of an atoll actually, is a dot in the water. It's about six square miles of volcanic rock surrounding a lagoon. The natives live on subsistence farming and fishing."

"In this day and age?" Catherine said, surprised, "Even Africa has started to become industrialized."

"It has a population of under two hundred," Baltimore said, still reading, "It's isolated to the extreme. Its nearest neighbors are the society islands and Pitcairn. No resources to speak of, not near enough to anything to be a useful naval station and not enough flat land for an airstrip."

"That explains why Mason chose it," Anoki nodded, "He likely wanted to make sure he wouldn't come up on the radar again. Likely he's been accepted by the locals and lives quietly."

"So how do we contact him?" Catherine asked, "There has to be a way."

"You go there," Baltimore sighed, "He didn't make it easy for a reason."

"I'm no spook," Catherine said, "I'm nothing but a college student who doesn't know what she's doing. Even Anoki would be better suited for this."

"I'm not human," Anoki said, "I can act it, but I don't have intuition. I also don't have the knowledge of this world that you do."

"I'd go," Baltimore said, "But trying to find a way to get me there is going to be more difficult."

"I can't believe this," Catherine said, "You want me to travel to a God forsaken island to find a man who may or may not still be there to stop another man who hasn't done anything but kill Terry yet?"

"Essentially, yes," Baltimore nodded, "I could recruit an agent, but an agent is going to have loyalties that are divided. You have one master. Yourself."

"How are we going to pay for this?" Catherine said, "I'm behind on my car payments. I can't afford tomorrow's lunch, let alone a trip to the south Pacific."

"That isn't a problem," Baltimore said, handing over an envelope, "In that envelope are genuine United States Government Bonds. All of them nearly 200 years old. The American Union still honors them and there are billions of dollars worth of them out there."

"There's two million dollars worth in here," Catherine said, her eyes bugging out, "My God..."

"That's in 2059 currency," Anoki said, looking at them, "According to the federal converters they are worth something along the lines of three hundred million now."

"Money isn't a problem," Baltimore agreed, "I know how to convert them into something we can use. I just have to keep feeding Tony bullshit so I can keep him as an information source."

"I don't know," Catherine said, "I have no training..."

"You don't need it," Baltimore said, "Anoki will go with you. She can't run the mission, but she can surely watch your back."

"So I'm the low woman on the totem pole," Catherine sighed, "What do I get from this?"

"A cut of the cash," Baltimore said, "If Mason Stone doesn't convince you to stick around then you're free and clear with enough money to live a life of luxury."

"Ok," Catherine sighed, "You have your goat. How long will it take you to get the money?"

"I have identification for you," Baltimore said, tossing Catherine a packet, "You can cash one of them for you two to live on until I get the rest dealt with. If anyone asks Anoki will be your rich friend who's taking you on a trip to celebrate your freedom from school."

"I like that," Anoki grinned, "I've never had money before."

"Do we get to go shopping?" Catherine asked, smiling warily.

"Sure," Baltimore chuckled, "Far be it for me to tell two women they can't shop."

"How fast do we need to do this?" Catherine asked, "I mean I should really deal with my apartment and stuff..."

"Go pack your stuff," Baltimore said, "There is secure storage in this building. You can leave everything here until we figure this out. Anoki, you're her bodyguard. I will try to track Bolantine's progress from here."

"I think we have a plan," Anoki said, "Let's go."

Catherine sighed. She knew that her life was about to change. She just hoped that she could live through it, because getting into the family business tended to be dangerous.

Chapter 16 – The Russians

Bolantine looked out the windows of the sleek airplane. He shook his head at the combination of old and new. The technology had improved somewhat, especially where the power sources had come from, but they still used tried and true aeronautic technology.

"Thinking, B?" Nikki asked him, "Or just enjoying the view."

"A little of both," Bolantine nodded, "No matter how much changes, some things stay the same."

"I take it you got the information you wanted," Nikki said, "And have a plan?"

"The political situation is amusing," Bolantine told her, "A brave new world indeed. The cold war all over again in some ways, a new set of lunatics in others. I find it coldly amusing that the Chinese have changed the least of all."

"I'm betting the Russians haven't changed much either," Nikki said, "It sounds like the criminal element is strong over there."

"Some things have never changed," Bolantine agreed, "The thugs rule as well as they ever have. The only thing that changes is the names they hide behind."

"Don't knock it," Nikki said, "That mentality allowed us to take over a base here last time. This time Mason Stone is going to have to work harder to find us, if he even knows we're alive."

"He knows we're alive," Bolantine said, "I have too much faith in his tenacity of that son of a bitch to believe that he would assume we died."

"He may be dead now," Nikki said, "Maybe the Cryogenics kept us alive."

"I doubt it," Bolantine said, looking at her, "Do you really think we could get that lucky?"

"No," Nikki sighed, "Much as I'd like to find out he's gone I hope he isn't. It means we really are immortal."

"True," Bolantine muttered, "I wouldn't mind dropping his ass down a mine shaft for a couple hundred years though. Serve the asshole right."

"The best revenge is success," Nikki reminded him, "Besides. Stone didn't do the cryogenics. I've been reading the digitized journals from Sam Remordis that the Strader kid left. That enforced time frozen was Glen Strader's idea, not Mason's. Mason would have left us underneath the mountain."

"And we would likely been out a hundred years sooner," Bolantine grunted, "That mountain was half leveled in a blast in 2114. We probably would have wormed out then."

"Too late to worry about it now," Nikki shrugged, "When you're immortal what is a few hundred years?"

"True," Bolantine nodded, "We have a country to take over and a world to rule."

"Let's hope the accents haven't changed much," Nikki said in flawless Russian, "And I hope the borscht is still as good."

"Gah," Bolantine said, "I still can't see how you can eat that stuff. I still hate beets."

"You have to think Russian to be Russian," Nikki told him, "And part of being Russian is eating borscht. Also, Vodka... I do love the Russian vodka..."

"I'll join you in that one," Bolantine said, "And drink to Glen Strader's death. I hope it was a rotten one."

"I'll drink to that," Nikki giggled.

Chapter 17 – Following

"You look glum," Anoki noticed, remembering that look from failed missions with the old strike team, "What's wrong?"

"I just don't like this," Catherine told her, "Why the hell am I traveling halfway across the world on the say so of my insane uncle and a two century old droid?"

"Look at it this way," Anoki said, "You're Arthur Dent, I'm Ford Prefect and we're short a towel."

"Funny," Catherine said, "This really is unbelievable, you know. If I hadn't seen the money..."

"Money does make a certain point," Anoki agreed, "The fact that the Euros are taking enough interest in you to bug you should be a factor as well."

"That's what scares me," Catherine sighed, "I should be looking for work, not flying to a remote tropical island. I'm not cut out to be miss super spy."

"Mason probably won't want you to do any more than this," Anoki said, "I doubt he's changed much in two hundred years. He probably won't be happy to find out we screwed up."

"You kept him under wraps for over two hundred years," Catherine said, "And is that guy in the back seat looking at us?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "He has been since we got on this plane. There's another one in the front as well."

"You knew?" Catherine asked, aghast, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I guessed," Anoki told her, "I'm still not certain. I have images of them ready to go. I'm glad you saw them. You have the look."

"The look?" Catherine wondered.

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "That's what Colonel Strader used to call it. You notice what is going on around you. It's a sense that some people have and some don't. The ones who do tend to make excellent field agents."

"And you feel that I have what it takes?" she said, "Great."

"Not my call," Anoki said, "I don't have the intuition to see for sure. I see some of the things that I used to see in the others. The one who can tell you for sure is Mason Stone."

"You make him sound like superman," Catherine said, "Immortal, dashing, knows how to do everything."

"He's not omnipotent or even omnipresent," Anoki said, "He's just got more experience because he's lived several lifetimes. I met him when he was just pushing eighty-five. He's probably even better now."

"I still want to know why there are goons following us," Catherine sighed, "I mean we haven't even done anything yet."

"I don't know," Anoki said, "Baltimore didn't seem too concerned."

"What do you make of my uncle?" Catherine asked, "I don't know him as well as I could. My father and him never got along very well. I only saw him once in a while when he made the requisite family visit."

"Your father didn't like the family business," Anoki said, "Right?"

"You got it. Dad hated the business," Catherine agreed and looked at the goons, "What do we do about them?"

"Let them watch for now," Anoki said, "They don't know what is going on yet. We'll lose them by the time we head to Mozandondo. Kinda hard to follow on a charter ship, which is likely how we will be heading to the island."

"Sounds dull," Catherine sighed, "Why did I agree to this again?"

"It will be fun," Anoki promised, "I haven't had this much fun in nearly two hundred years."

"Why are you so keen on this?" Catherine wondered, "I mean, Glen Strader left you to rot. Why do his bidding when it comes to Bolantine?"

"It was the only choice," Anoki said, "The government wanted me destroyed. I don't feel loneliness like a human does, so we figured it was better for me to be locked up than it would be to throw away my mind. Besides, I wasn't isolated. I was connected to the world via the internet. I spent my days talking online in dozens of places. I saw the world via video link."

"Sounds like a crappy existence," Catherine said, "I'd still be mad about it."

"I'm more annoyed at the weapons plant people actually," Anoki grinned, "That explosion of theirs terminated me a good thirty years sooner than I had expected. Blew my power supply clean out. It was sheer luck that Terry Strader put me in a position for the recharge."

"How good is that repair?" Catherine asked her, "You won't short out and die on me are you?"

"Not likely," Anoki said, "The voltage appears to be holding pretty well. A little spiky at times, but should be good enough for a few more weeks. I plan to have Jim Entragian look at it when we get to the island though. He's probably the only one left with the skills needed to check my systems out properly. Hopefully, this time he'll leave the virus out, though."

"Do I want to know?" Catherine asked.

"Mason's crew has their own agenda," Anoki said, "It didn't always mesh with my creator's. Turns out he was right in the long run, but that's beside the point. The Colonel was right in one thing for sure. Mason is our best hope for this. I saw enough of Bolantine to know that the world is much better off without him running around free."

"Glen Strader seemed to have a massive hatred for this man," Catherine said.

"Killed his grandfather, nearly killed his father," Anoki said, "But Bolantine wasn't even the worst for him. He hated Nikki with a passion that he held even in the last years of his life. The thought of her returning just set him on pins and needles."

"Why just her?" Catherine wondered.

"She hurt him more personally than Bolantine could," Anoki told her, "She infiltrated our project, spending a good ten years going through high school and college so she could be better educated and have a cover that no one could shake. She was a part of our team and the whole time feeding information to Bolantine."

"Ouch," Catherine said, "He took that personally?"

"Not that part," Anoki said, "But the fact that she seduced him and shared his bed for the better part of six months... Yeah, he took that personally."

"Brings sleeping with the enemy to a whole new level," Catherine noted, "So do you think Mason will still be there?"

"I hope so," Anoki said, "I don't know who else to go to on this."

Catherine nodded and looked out the window. She just hoped that things went right. She didn't know whether she could take it if things didn't. She did know one thing as she looked out and saw the Pacific Ocean underneath the plane. She wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Chapter 18 – The Island

"The island is beautiful," Catherine said as they walked down the road from the airport, "Can this be happening?"

"It's happening," Anoki said, "We need to ditch tweedledum and tweedledummer and find a way off this rock."

"Not just off this rock," Catherine reminded her, "But to Mozandondo. We're still some 1700 kilometers away from the island. This isn't even the closest island."

"Papeete was the closest island with an international airport," Anoki told her, "It's your choice. We can find a hotel and rest, or we can get on with it?"

"I slept on the plane," Catherine reminded her, "Let's throw off those goons and get moving. How good is the identity you put together?"

"Good enough to go through the Euro customs," Anoki shrugged, "Probably cleaner than your real one if you look at it objectively."

"You rent the car," Catherine said, "I want to do a bit of reading on how to rent space on cargo boats."

"This isn't going to be your run of the mill charter," Anoki said, "Mozandondo isn't often traveled to for anything. They don't make anything worth exporting."

"Just adds to the challenge," Catherine smiled, "There's an internet café here. I should be able to check the export logs."

"Careful," Anoki said, "An American checking Euro logs might gather suspicion."

"Computers don't know nationality so long as you speak their language," Catherine reminded her, "I'll be in the cafe. Go get a car."

Catherine spent over a half hour pouring through logs and finding nothing at all either coming in or going out to Mozandondo. It appeared that if anything at all were shipped there it did not go through official channels in Papeete. This made it likely that no one would go there cheaply.

She finally met Anoki in the rented automobile and plopped in the passenger seat, annoyed that she couldn't figure out a way to do it. Anoki drove for a bit to get out of the area and went into some structured maneuvers designed to drop the Euro tail.

"Any idea on what to do next?" Anoki asked finally, "You're the boss."

"There's a marina on the other side of Papeete," Catherine said, "Let's go see if we can find someone interested in an adventure. The Euros have idle rich as well, I'm sure."

"Or at least someone interested in making an easy ten thousand dollars," Anoki agreed.

"That too," Catherine nodded, "Let's go."

Anoki nodded and used the detailed maps she had of the island to guide herself flawlessly to the marina. Catherine looked out the window and wondered what she would find in the days to come. She felt as though her life were changing and that she didn't have a whole lot of control over the changes.

"Stop at the market," Catherine decided, "I don't want to stand out as much as we are. We need to get some local attire."

"You won't look local," Anoki said, "You have blonde hair and Asian eyes."

"Actually," Catherine said, "I've seen four girls who could be my spitting image. I don't know if theirs is real like mine is, but it isn't out of the ordinary. The only thing that is going to get us is the language."

"I can speak French," Anoki assured her, "Though from the sounds English is well used here as well."

"At least the Euros weren't dumb enough to cut off all trade," Catherine said, looking at the market where Anoki was pulling up, "These people are thriving."

"Let's go," Anoki said, "You lead and I'll follow. You're the brains on this. I am working on rules some two hundred years out of date."

The shopping trip was rather uneventful. The only thing that anyone noticed was that they were paying in American Union currency, which was a good thing in most of the natives eyes. The Euros, in losing the war against the American Union, had seen their currency plummet. In outlying areas like French Polynesia, the American Union dollar was more valuable to them because it would always be worth something.

They changed clothes in a public bathroom and came out looking much closer to native than they did before. They were still a bit out of the ordinary being two attractive women traveling alone, but they didn't scream outsider as much as they did before.

"To the Marina?" Anoki asked Catherine.

"Yep," she agreed, leaning back in the seat, "Let's go. You keep the money, Anoki. There's no way anyone is going to snake it from you."

"Ok," Anoki nodded, "Now how do we find someone to take us out?"

"Go to the office," Catherine suggested, "Or just ask around?"

"I don't know," Anoki said honestly, "I've never been to the South Pacific before."

She and Catherine drove around the Marina a bit until Catherine saw the signs that gave her an idea. She smiled and looked over at Anoki who pulled the vehicle over and wondered just what Catherine had in mind.

"What?" Anoki asked her.

"Look at the signs," Catherine said, "There are long haul charters... Let's go find one."

"Ok," Anoki said, "I'll follow your lead."

"Park over here," Catherine said, "Let's do this on foot."

"Bring the cases," Anoki suggested, "We can abandon the car."

"Let's find out how we do," Catherine nodded.

Chapter 19 – Temaru Mafileo's Boat

Catherine found what she was looking for at a marina just outside Papeete. There were bulletin boards with offers for adventure and travel, mainly from people who were looking to charter out for island runs or who were looking for crew hands.

Since Catherine and Anoki had no experience with sailing they ignored the crew hand requests and went for the charters. There were two that advertised long hauls, so they drove the rental car out to the first of the listed ones to find the slip empty. Further down the way the second one was there.

"Want to handle this alone?" Anoki asked her.

"No," Catherine told her, "He may not speak English."

"He will," Anoki said, "Most of the customers with money come from the American Union."

"True," Catherine agreed, "I also want your protection. You're better than having a gun in my pocket."

"Thanks," Anoki told her, "He doesn't look particularly trustworthy, does he?"

"We don't have a choice," Catherine shrugged, "The ship looks seaworthy and it is big enough for the voyage."

"Let's see how hungry he is," Anoki nodded.

The two women left the vehicle and approached the boat. It was not terribly large, but it was easily big enough to cover a couple thousand kilometers in the south Pacific seas. There was a mast and sail kit on board, but the reliability of modern engines had made them largely redundant. The ship he had was old, but in the age of polymer hulls was still in really good condition.

"Hello!" Catherine shouted, "Is anyone here?"

A few minutes passed before anything happened. Finally, a tall man with dark features and some ugly scarring on his cheek emerged. Catherine couldn't tell if he was tanned or naturally dark, but she couldn't bring herself to care much. She took an immediate dislike for him, but suppressed it because she knew he was likely the best bet.

"American?" he said, looking over the two women, "Where your men?"

"We're on our own," Catherine said, trying to put down the instant dislike she felt, "I take it you speak English then?"

"I speak some," the man said, jumping from the deck onto the dock, "Old Temaru speak some of that tongue. What you be looking for?"

"Charter," Catherine said, "Looking for one that's a bit out of the ordinary. It will require a boat designed for long haul."

"You not looking for some illegal are ya?" Temaru said, "Old Temaru stay on the right side of the legals, yes he does."

"Nothing illegal," Catherine said and then dropping into a line of bullshit, "One of my ancestors was shipwrecked on an island in the far south Pacific. I would like to see the island myself and see if there are any remains or descendants of him there."

"If he still be there, how you know?" Temaru asked, proving he wasn't slow by any means.

"I have letters sent after his wreck," Catherine lied smoothly, proving herself a natural despite her nerves, "He fell in love with the island he was on, decided to stay. His wife had died years earlier, so he had nothing to go back for. He sent the letters back so the kids wouldn't worry."

"The new life started over," Temaru nodded, "So you be wanting to go there? Why not take a standard trip?"

"This island isn't on the normal routes," Catherine told him, "It is a little one, not much more than an Atoll. To go any further out it would be Pitcairn or Easter Island."

"Mozandondo," Temaru said, whistling a bit, "You are talking about quite a voyage, young lady. Nobody makes regular trips there. One or two ships a year and then usually if they're going to Pitcairn as well."

"You see my dilemma," Catherine said, "Would you be willing to take a charter out that far?"

"That not be the question child," Temaru said, "I been to Mozandondo before, many years ago. Nice enough place, no reason for me to say no. The question be if you want to pay the fee to go or be gone that long."

"What are we looking at?" Catherine asked him.

"Lot of money," Temaru said, "Fuel not a big problem, but provisions for me and my crew and the time. You're looking at a good bit at sea. How long do you plan to stay?"

"Not sure," Catherine said honestly, "Probably at least long enough to check what records they are willing to give me."

"Probably not much," Temaru said, "Not many be reading or writing. They not be having hotel either."

"We'll bring enough food," Catherine said, "And we can base out of the ship if necessary."

"Not easily," Temaru told her, "There be no marina there. I will anchor offshore; you be rowing to shore."

"Fair enough," Catherine said, "We can bring a tent. We will manage."

"You be affording it?" Temaru asked, cocking a scarred eye at her.

"How much is affording it?" Catherine asked him.

Temaru quoted a price that would have sent most people into shock. Catherine bit her lip and looked over at Anoki who was actually carrying the money. Anoki didn't hesitate and nodded an affirmative over at Catherine.

"Half now," Catherine said, "Half when we get back from Mozandondo."

"I be working on a cash only basis," Temaru said, "It will take more than half that to get ready."

"Fine," Catherine said, "Two thirds. No more."

"When do you want to leave?" Temaru asked her.

"How soon can you provision?" Catherine asked him.

"An hour," Temaru said, "Two at the outside."

"Get your stuff together," Catherine told him, "We will be back with our supplies in three hours. Better to get started. That way I don't have to get a motel here."

"Don't be leaving your car here," Temaru warned, "The rental company won't like what the locals be doing to it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Catherine said coldly, "Pay the man, Anoki."

Anoki, who had been intelligent enough to keep the money in small packs, paid Temaru and the two of them left to go back to the market. Temaru went below decks and talked to his men and Timonchenko, a dark complexioned Russian man.

"It was the girl," Temaru told him, "She be blonde but Asian. The other one said nothing."

"Where are they going?" Timonchenko asked.

"Mozandondo," Temaru informed him, "Be searching for a shipwrecked ancestor."

"No one ever shipwrecked on Mozandondo," Timonchenko spat, "You know the island?"

"No one there but the natives and their God," Temaru said, "I never be seeing him, but I hear he move pretty good. What you want Temaru to do?"

"Head to Mozandondo," he said, "Get a look at her papers so we can find out what they were searching for, but be sure she gets there in one piece."

"I be having fun with this," Temaru laughed, "I take the girl money and your money."

"There will be plenty of money," The Russian promised, "If she comes back to the boat then lose her overboard on the way back."

"You want Temaru to take her out to Mozandondo?" he asked, "But not come back?"

"Yes," the man nodded, "Get there and anchor offshore. Be sure she makes it to the island. That is essential. I'll hit you on your subnet band with instructions in two weeks."

"You the boss," Temaru agreed, "So long the price stay right."

"You're getting paid," Timonchenko said, showing Temaru an envelope after taking a bit out for himself, "You get to keep the girl's cash too, so I'll take a bit to take in the scenery."

"Whatever you say man," Temaru said, "It be done."

"It had better be," the man said, "Because if it isn't you'd best stay on Mozandondo, for it won't be safe for you anywhere else."

Temaru gulped audibly, but took the money. He didn't figure that two women would be any problem for him and his three men. It would be a nice leisurely cruise to a remote island, fun in the sun, and the sharks would get a meal when it was all done.

"Get the provisions," Temaru told his men, "We'll need them, even if they do not."

Temaru's men did what they were told and started to get the craft ready. They did not want to get on their boss's bad side. People started dying at that point, usually.

Chapter 20 – Russia

The plane trip into Russia was uneventful for Bolantine and Nikki. Times had changed, but the art of getting into Russia had not. A bit of graft still goes a long way in that nation. Bolantine looked around at the Moscow landscape and smiled. Time had passed, but Moscow had not appreciably changed since the post-Soviet era in which he had lived there.

"I still love this land," Bolantine smiled as they walked out onto the Moscow streets, "It's even more of a land of opportunity than Seattle was in the 1940's. Even the European Union couldn't screw this place up."

Bolantine was right in many ways. By far the roughest economy in the European Union, Russia was still a frontier land. In an era that had seen many the world's backwaters become developed (China was over 80% urban by the 2250's) Russia still had open land and opportunities.

A low birth rate and several pandemics of a nasty Russian Flu had left them with a population only slightly higher than it had been at the end of the Soviet Era over two and a half centuries before. They had joined the European Union mainly for self defense, but had found themselves considered a backwater. The power was in Europe, mainly in France, Germany, and Poland. Russia, despite its size, was the poor stepchild of the European Union.

Bolantine and Nikki knew this as they had caught up on their history before getting on the plane and continued reading once they were on it. They did not know everything, but they had enough information to get started. They walked down the street together and marveled at how little had changed since the last time they were there.

"I like it," Bolantine pronounced in his flawless Russian, "It has a nice feel to it here."

"We need to do some local research," Nikki told him, also using her Russian, "I want to hear accents and see if we need to change anything before we try any moves."

"Let's find a place to go," Bolantine said, "I'm betting the Vodka still flows freely at the clubs even after all this time."

"If nothing else it will give us a chance to make some contacts and practice our Russian," Nikki agreed, "It's been a long time."

"For everything," Bolantine agreed as they walked.

They conducted a conversation in Russian as they walked and listened to people as they talked around them. The language had not changed much from the 21st century Russian they knew, but there were some differences. They didn't have the neutral St. Petersburg accents they once did.

The duo finally made it to a little club outside the city, the result of a lot of walking and some listening to people who were going around. They may have had age and experience, but their bodies were physically young so they craved some fun as well.

Bolantine used some of the Euro currency he pulled out of the home of the crime figure in America to pay their way into the club. They were pleasantly surprised at the music, which was something modern and foreign to them but surprisingly fun to listen and dance to.

What was more surprising to them was the level of graft going on in just a club this size. Nikki's acute hearing allowed her to pick up several dozen pieces of information that would be useful to her later. Bolantine was more focused on figuring out who was doing what and which people mattered.

By the end of the evening they had learned much of what they needed to know. They departed quietly and found a place to stay on the outskirts of Moscow. They had only been in town a few hours and they were already beginning to plot ways of taking over.

"What do you think, B?" Nikki asked him.

"I think the Russians need a new iron man," Bolantine said, "And I think we're very well qualified for the job."

Chapter 21 – A Long Boat Trip

Anoki sat watch over Catherine Remordis while the young woman finally slept. They had been on Temaru's ship for days and the atmosphere was pure poison. None of the men would talk or even look directly at the two women.

Catherine had taken a while to get used to the constant churning of the boat, a type of transport she had never used before. Temaru and his men had been polite and the boat was on course, but there was just something wrong.

Anoki kept track of their location using a global positioning signal. She knew the coordinates of Mozandondo and could tell they were making slow, but sure, progress to there. She just hoped that Temaru had no intentions of trying something.

Catherine, who had spent the better part of the last day sleeping, finally woke up and looked around the room. Her head was still swimming a little, but she had recovered sufficiently to have a bit of an appetite and to stand up on her own.

"Anything momentous happen while I was out?" Catherine asked Anoki.

"Not much," Anoki said, "Something isn't right though."

"Temaru's men are scared," Catherine said, "They also seem to have an aversion to talking to us. They claim to not understand me."

"They speak English too," Anoki told her, "Not in front of us, they use the native Polynesian language for that, but they speak it when they think I can't hear them."

"I think Temaru is planning something," Catherine said, "I hope not, because I don't know how to pilot this damn thing."

"I do," Anoki said, "I used a subnet connection to the internet to get a piloting simulator for this model craft. It may take some trial and error, but I should be able to get us to Mozandondo so long as Temaru doesn't do anything too stupid."

"There are no firearms," Anoki said, "The Euros clamp down on those and these boats get searched regularly, even out in French Polynesia. There are many knives though, not to mention that a boat is by nature full of weapons."

"What do we do if they try something stupid?" Catherine asked her.

"You stay out of the way," Anoki said seriously, "They don't possess any weapons strong enough to do any permanent damage to me. There are only five of them total, so you back off and let me take care of them."

"I know basic self defense," Catherine nodded, "I'll dodge them and claw and scratch until you save my butt."

"Right," Anoki agreed, "I may be old but I'm mostly titanium. And I'm still far faster than any human."

"No argument from me," Catherine nodded, "Let's just hope this is idle paranoia."

"Care for a walk on deck?" Anoki asked, "Some air will do you some good."

"Yeah," Catherine agreed, "Let's see if the sky is still blue."

"It usually is down here this time of year," Anoki said, "It was when I looked out earlier."

"Have you not left me since I went to sleep?" Catherine asked her.

"I don't trust them," Anoki said, "I'm not leaving you defenseless."

"Thanks," Catherine said, "I hope I'm worth it."

"Never doubt it," Anoki said and opened the door.

Temaru was relaxing on the steps cleaning his fingernails with a large knife. He looked around at the men who were on deck. He made a fateful decision, knowing that his men were already nervous. He decided to fully subdue the girl and make her his bitch for the rest of the voyage.

Anoki looked around as she had been keeping track of everyone on board since they had left port. She was also able to tap into the boat's radar to check for any nearby ships. It was not surprising to her that there was nothing within the ship's 200 mile radar range.

Temaru shouted out a quick order in a language that was unknown to Catherine but completely understandable to Anoki's subsystems. The crew came out quickly and Anoki knew then that they were officially under attack.

"Defend yourself, Catherine!" Anoki yelled, "Stay out of my way!"

"Kill the blonde!" Temaru yelled, "Keep the Asian alive!"

Catherine froze for a moment and then dropped to the ground and let up a furious kick to the closest attacker's genitals, sending the man backwards. Anoki went for other areas. Having enough piston power in her arms to shatter the engine block of a truck she simply went for the chest of the first of Temaru's crew.

Despite being a digital entity, Anoki was a bit rusty and only managed to shatter three ribs and the man's sternum. It was enough to take him out of the fight but not enough for the others to realize what she was.

Catherine was lucky in one way, as only two of the men headed for her, one of which was already wobbly from the earlier kick. She knew that her job was not to win this fight but to keep them back long enough to allow Anoki to save her. She knew just enough to do so.

Temaru knew enough that his men were losing on Anoki, so he went to help them. Anoki got her rhythm back rather quickly, killing one of Temaru's men with a swift piston punch that broke his neck to the point of nearly decapitating him. One of the men on Catherine saw this and went to help the others.

Temaru used his knife and drove it into Anoki's chest, looking for her heart. Of course, since Anoki didn't have a standard heart the knife bounced off the exoskeleton that covered her internal machinery. She broke Temaru's arm and threw him backwards. She then killed the other attacker and threw his body overboard.

The one attacker that stayed on Catherine was having a rough time of his own, Catherine had learned her lessons well and kicked and scratched at anything the man tried to use to subdue her. She screamed and did her best to keep him off balance.

Temaru's men were losing the battle with Anoki. Seeing their boss' knife sticking out of her didn't help much. They kept attacking, however, knowing that their lives were over if they didn't. Finally, Anoki stopped the last one and went over to pull the last one off Catherine. The man tried to go after Catherine's throat, however, and lost his arm in the process. Anoki tossed the body over and went over to deal with Temaru.

"Wait," Catherine rasped, "Don't kill him."

"He tried to kill us," Anoki said coldly, "If I'd been a normal human he would have."

Anoki pulled the knife out of her chest and showed it to Catherine. Catherine pulled herself up, coughing a few times, and looked at it while nodding.

"I know," Catherine said, "But if you kill him we won't know why. Let's question him first, shall we?"

"I'll defer to you on that," Anoki nodded, "But he makes one move towards you and he dies."

"Fine by me," Catherine said, "Go tie him to something and I'll talk to him when I'm ready. In the meantime, I want you to check this scow out and make sure we're alone."

Temaru fought little, knowing that Anoki was not the frail little human girl he had expected. He knew his life was over, but was not willing to give it up so easily. Anoki tied him to the mast so tightly that he thought he might die from that alone.

"We're alone," Anoki said after she did a scan, "If anyone else is alive they're wearing neoprene and will suffocate soon."

"Ok," Catherine said and looked at Temaru, "So why did you do it?"

"You be rich and not missed," Temaru said slowly, "Why be going out there when can take a simple vacation?"

"Bullshit," Catherine said, "I don't buy it. Do you, Anoki?"

"Too quick," Anoki nodded, "Too violent. If I hadn't been an android, we'd both be dead."

"You be telling where the money is," Temaru spat, "Then you be feeding sharks, not me men."

"Tell me who told you to do this," Catherine said, "And I'll consider not throwing you in the sea alive to be shark meat."

"You be lying," Temaru said, "You nothing girl."

"You're the one tied up and alone," Anoki reminded him.

"You're not this smart, Temaru," Catherine said, the realization coming in, "You stocked for a full voyage and then some. You claim you planned to off us quick. There was no reason to spend this much on food then. Start telling me the truth or I'll let Anoki hurt you. You should know by now that she won't have any compunction about doing it."

"You be devil," Temaru spat again.

"I am an android," Anoki said and applied pressure to a specific point on Temaru's body, "I know where every place to make you hurt is. I have no emotions and Catherine is unlikely to object to what I do to you so long as you can talk."

Temaru knew he wouldn't hold out long, but determined to meet enough of it to make himself go out like a man. Anoki looked over at Catherine and decided to let the human make the call on how far she needed to go.

"Go as far as you need to," Catherine told her, "But let me go throw up on the other side of the ship while you do it..."

Temaru's screams were barely audible to her as Anoki poked and prodded and questioned. She was too busy throwing up from the strain to care.

Chapter 22 – Shark Bait

"How can you do that?" Catherine asked Anoki after she tossed Temaru's body into the ocean, "Don't answer that... I keep forgetting you aren't what you look like."

"It helps to not be human in the first place," Anoki admitted, "Unfortunately he wasn't really human either. And he didn't know a whole lot."

"Enough," Catherine said, "The only people with enough juice in this part of the world are the Euros. They control the Pacific Islands."

"Either them or the Chinese," Anoki said, "I've been catching up on history. They have some pull down here too."

"Not enough," Catherine said, "Not to mention they don't have any reason to come after us."

"Why would the European Union?" Anoki asked.

"Baltimore," Catherine said, "He never said as much, but I know he suspected that the Euros were behind the car accident my parents died in."

"Temaru didn't know," Anoki said, "We probably won't until they try again."

"Let's hope your friends are still here," Catherine said, "I'd prefer not to have to go into another Euro territory to find them."

"Knowing Bolantine's history," Anoki reminded her, "That son of a bitch is likely going there. He speaks Russian fluently."

"Russia doesn't have the juice," Catherine said, "It is a backwater."

"Which makes it perfect for him," Anoki said, "He is immortal, which means he is patient."

"So how far out are we from Mozandondo?" Catherine asked her.

"Seven hours," Anoki said, "This thing has an autopilot."

"What do we do there?" Catherine said, "I don't know why the hell I'm here..."

"I wish I could answer that," Anoki shrugged, sitting down on the deck, "All I can do is parrot a quote from a great piece of literature."

"What literature?" Catherine asked quizzically.

"It must be Thursday," Anoki said in a perfect imitation of the original BBC Radio voice of Arthur Dent, "I never could get the hang of Thursdays..."

Catherine just looked at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. She wasn't expecting something that simple to make her smile, but it did.

"Thanks," Catherine grinned, "I guess I needed that. Thanks metal head."

"Don't worry too much," Anoki said, "I may not have the intuition you do, but I will protect you to the best of my ability. I need you in this world, Cat. And you're probably the only friend I have that's still alive."

"Other than the immortals," Catherine reminded her, "And hopefully we'll see them in a few hours."

"Hopefully," Anoki agreed, "You need rest. You haven't slept well since we got on this boat. The bad guys are dead now. No one can hurt you here."

"You expect me to sleep after that?" Catherine asked.

"Yes," Anoki said, "You will."

"I admire your faith," Catherine said, "I am tired though. I guess I'll try."

"I'll keep watch over you," Anoki promised, "Probably the safest you'll ever be, alone with me on a boat in the South Pacific."

"True," Catherine smiled, "Ok. Wake me up when we get to Mozandondo."

Chapter 23 – Vladivostok

Bolantine walked around the Russian city and was amazed at how much the world had changed since he and Nikki were frozen. Vladivostok had turned into a city of nearly two million people, mainly from its close proximity to Japan and the easy banking laws the Russian government had.

"Russia hasn't changed much," Nikki noted, "People still look down."

"Some things never change," Bolantine agreed, "The Iron men they had after Putin and Kabalin tried to restore the Soviet Union, but they became suborned by the European Union."

"So what do we do?" Nikki asked, looking around at the city, "We don't know anything about this world."

"It's time for us to take a crash course," Bolantine said, "Starting with how the government works."

"Government?" Nikki said, "Not going to try what we did with Mishkin's lunatics are we?"

"No," Bolantine said, "We need a power base. I want to stay behind the lines until we're too powerful for Stone to bring down."

"We tried that," Nikki said, "Ten years of building Endicott biomedical. It was brought down by Mason's friends in mere hours."

"That's why we're not going through the civilian sector," Bolantine said, "This time we will suborn a government."

"You're crazy," Nikki told him, "How?"

"I don't know yet," Bolantine said, "But we will learn a bit about how corruption works in this world."

"I think you have a plan," Nikki smiled, "What is it?"

"I'm still working on it," Bolantine said, "But we do know one thing. The biggest crook in this city..."

"Other than you," Nikki grinned.

"Right," Bolantine chuckled, "The biggest crook in the world is here, but the biggest crook in this city is the man who was destined for the goods we took over in Los Angeles."

"Apprenticeship?" Nikki asked, looking at Bolantine, "You admitting you need to learn?"

"Two hundred years on ice gives you some perspective," Bolantine said, "I don't think apprenticeship is the right word. Hostile takeover is more what I have in mind. Vladislav Panin is the crime lord of this small city. He isn't particularly well liked and is ripe for a takeover by someone amoral enough to unseat him and unconcerned enough about his personal safety to try it."

"I'm following you," Nikki said, "This should be good."

Bolantine merely smiled. He motioned for Nikki to follow him. The two of them walked through the streets of Vladivostok and found the mansion belonging to the local crime lord. It was very familiar to Bolantine, as he had a building much like it in Seattle nearly three centuries before.

He cased the place quickly and saw at least three guards that were heavily armed. He waved Nikki over to the front guards and she knew what to do. She went and smiled at the men while Bolantine slipped behind them. He wrapped his left arm around the nearest man's neck and drew the man's weapon. He then used the man as a human shield as he killed the other guard.

"Get that body inside," Bolantine said, "Now!"

Nikki, who was surprisingly strong despite her small size, pulled the body inside the gate and let it fall into a ditch inside the perimeter. Bolantine saw the ditch and nodded appropriately, ditching his body in there as well.

"Did anyone see us?" Nikki asked.

"I don't care," Bolantine said, "Keep going."

Nikki nodded and picked up the other weapon that had been dropped. She closed the gates and followed Bolantine into the house. They found surprisingly little resistance, mainly because this was a private residence and not where he conducted business.

Bolantine shot two other guards and found three relatives of the boss that they rounded up. Nikki kept watch over them while Bolantine made it the rest of the way upstairs and found the boss pulling his own weapon out of a lockbox. Bolantine ran over and twisted the man's arm to keep him away.

"I don't think so," Bolantine said to a grimacing Panin, "Now you work for me."

"I don't work for anyone," the man said in Russian, "You are making big mistake."

"I don't make mistakes," Bolantine replied in the same language, "I will kill you if you don't cooperate."

"I will burn you!" Panin yelled, "Nekulturny!"

"I'll show you culture," Bolantine promised as he subdued the former boss, "Move it."

Chapter 24 – Mozandondo

"Mozandondo is on the horizon," Anoki told Catherine as she poked her head into the cabin, "You ready?"

"No," Catherine said honestly and repeated the question on her mind again, "Why the hell am I here, Anoki?"

"Questions that humans have asked since the dawn of time," Anoki shrugged, "Come on out and see the world, Catherine."

Catherine sighed and stood up. She was still not used to the pitching of the boat. She thought that she had to be crazy for doing what she was doing. Logic told her that what she had seen should not have been anything other than senility by a man who had been dead for nearly two centuries.

"So you think this Stone still exists?" Catherine asked her.

"I think it's likely," Anoki said, "I met him in the late 2020's. He took four plasma blasts in the chest and got up without a scratch. It looks like Strader saw him after we were put underground in the 2040's. I'd say it's a good bet he's sitting on Mozandondo bored out of his skull."

"What's he like?" Catherine wondered, "Probably insane by now..."

"I don't know," Anoki admitted, "There's no precedent for what he is. He was less than one hundred when I saw him last, well into what should have been old age but far less than the longest lived human. If he still lives then he will have beat that by about two hundred years."

"Just doesn't seem possible," Catherine said, shaking her head, "But Baltimore definitely does believe. He's always been a bit weird though."

"Well, that's not surprising," Anoki said, "The business he was in could make anyone a bit loopy."

"You're familiar with the family business, eh?" Catherine wondered, "Has my family always been this crazy?

"Yep," Anoki confirmed, "Runs in your blood."

Catherine sighed and walked out onto the deck to take a look at the island. She looked around and didn't see anything but water all around her. For a girl that had been a city dweller all her life she couldn't believe she was standing on a boat hundreds of miles from the nearest city.

"Where is it?" Catherine asked, "I see nothing but water."

"That way," Anoki pointed, "See the dark rising up in the water?"

"You can see better than I can, obviously," Catherine told her, "I can't make out anything."

She strained her eyes in that direction and finally saw the atoll rising out of the water. It was not a large one by any standard. Anoki's course had the boat heading straight for it at a decent speed so it grew quickly. It surprised Catherine that there was so little to it.

"That can't be big enough to support life," Catherine said, looking, "I see some houses, but not much."

"The fertile land is good for crops," Anoki said, "They live a primitive life."

"I guess," Catherine shrugged, "How do we get there?"

"There's a rowboat on the side," Anoki said, "Help me lower it and I'll row us into shore."

Catherine nodded and started working on the ropes as Anoki brought the boat in as close to shore as she dared. Catherine, who had never been on a boat before this, was slightly befuddled by the knots that Temaru's men had used so she had just figured out how to untie it when Anoki had dropped the anchor.

"Not a sailor?" Anoki said, "I pulled some mods down off the international networks before we left. Figured they'd come in handy."

"Can't reach those networks here?" Catherine asked her, "Are we completely out of contact?"

"Of course," Anoki said, "You think Mason would have chosen this island otherwise?"

"Let's go," Catherine said, "Maybe the sooner we get this over with the sooner I move on to something else."

"We'll see," Anoki said, jumping a little as water splashed on her, "Let's just get on shore quickly."

"You ok?" Catherine asked.

"Power supply is jumping a little," Anoki said, "I need someone to look at that soon."

"Is there anyone left alive who knows how to fix you?" Catherine worried.

"Jim Entragian," Anoki said, "I would have been looking for him even if we didn't need to find Mason."

"You aren't going to explode on me are you?" Catherine hoped.

"No," Anoki said, "I'm more likely going to fall over dead if my power supply shorts out."

"Try not to fall in the water then," Catherine suggested.

They started rowing across the water. Playing on the beach were two of the island children and they had been trained from a very young age to be on the lookout for anyone approaching. They saw the rowboat and looked at each other. They ran into the village and looked for the village chief.

"Where is the chief?" the young boy asked a woman, "Boat in the water!"

"He's up at the man's house," she said, "The Jim man is at his hut on the inner shore. Go get him, he can handle it."

The children ran over to the hut where Jim Entragian was sitting talking to his current mate. He saw the children and wondered what was going on. He sat up and patted his girl on the shoulder as he got out of the bed.

"What is happening?" Jim asked them.

"Rowboat heading ashore," the boy said, "Two people."

"Which direction?" Jim asked, "And where is the chief?"

"Chief up at the house," the boy told him, "Madam said to come get you."

"Go back to shore," Jim said, "Use the spyglass, see if you can find out anything. I'll be there as soon as I get shoes on."

The kids nodded and ran out of the hut. Jim grumbled and knew the kids had done the right thing. He was far closer than Mason's house on the hill. He put on his old shoes and walked out into the bright island sunlight.

Jim Entragian hated it when people showed up from the outside. It generally didn't signal anything good as they were so far off the beaten track that few people bothered making the trip. Usually, it was a ship that was far off course or the results of a shipwreck.

He jogged down the path to the shore where the children were sitting looking through the spyglass. Jim had always liked the island children as they were more fun to sit with than most of the adults. Jim could barely see the approaching rowboat and let the kids tell him what they saw.

"Two women," the boy said, "Look more like Karen than the village girls."

"One of them has slanted eyes," the other child said, "Never really seen anything like that before..."

"Let me see the glass," Jim said, "I'll look."

Jim looked and saw the two women rowing slowly. Only one was doing the rowing and she had her back to them. The other one was very pretty and very odd. The Scandinavian style blonde hair didn't really match the Asian eyes on her face.

"Meet them," Jim said, "Neither of them seem armed and they're idiots if they're an attacking force. See what they want and bring them to the village. We'll let Mama do the initial meeting."

"Fine," the boy said, "And you?"

"I'll watch from a distance," Jim told them, "They don't need to know what I am or that I'm here."

"Keep the glass," the girl suggested, "You can watch from the trees."

"Good thinking," Jim smiled.

Jim went up to the small tree area just outside the village and watched as the women rowed up to shore. One of them looked familiar to him, but he couldn't place her. Too young for her to have been to the island before, however, as they hadn't had anything other than traders since the last shipwreck two decades before.

He wished he had sent someone up to the big house. Unfortunately, Mason was not in much of a mood to deal with visitors. They had found that being immortal made them prone to long bouts of depression. They would go for several years without being able to force themselves to talk to anyone.

Anoki and Catherine rowed to shore and looked around at the island. They weren't quite sure what to expect when they got there. Anoki, with her better eyes, saw the children first. She just hoped they spoke a language that she could understand.

"Let's make the approach," Anoki said, "You want to talk first or should I?"

"Depends on the language," Catherine said, "If it's not English it'll have to be you."

"Ok," Anoki nodded, "Let's hope it's something I have files on. I can't access the internet from here."

The two of them walked up to the children who looked at them in wonder. They had only seen one blonde woman before, and they didn't see her very often. Anoki wasn't sure what language to try in this part of the world. Luckily she had grabbed all the mod files she could find.

"Hello," Anoki said, "Do you speak English?"

"Yes," the child said, "And French and Spanish."

"Better educated than I am," Catherine said, "My name is Catherine. What is your name?"

"Alika," the girl said, "This is my brother Ariki."

"Nice to meet you," Catherine said, taking the lead since she knew they would understand, "We're looking for some trace of someone who may have been here at one point."

"Not many people come here," Arina said, "How did you find us?"

"Some old logs," Catherine said, "I guess you could say we are historians."

"Who are you looking for?" Arina asked.

"Trace of someone who was here two hundred years ago," Anoki said, "Perhaps your village has some records?"

"Only real record is the graveyard," Arina said, "You can talk to the elders if you like, though."

"Thank you," Catherine smiled, "Which way is the village?"

"Follow us," Arina said, "We will take you."

Jim Entragian watched as the two women followed the children towards the village. He knew damn well he had seen the Caucasian woman before, but he couldn't quite place her. Two hundred years of memory can make you muddled after a while.

Arina looked around and caught Jim's eyes. She couldn't see him in the bushes but knew he was there. Jim watched both the women as they walked around. Catherine was obviously the leader. Her eyes went everywhere taking in everything. The other one, the one who looked familiar, didn't look as bright.

"Looks like a simple existence," Catherine said, "Must be nice."

"Simple can be overrated," Anoki said, "We're being watched."

"What makes you think so?" Catherine asked.

"There's someone in the bushes," Anoki said, "Watching us with a spyglass."

"You don't think it's our guy do you?" Catherine asked, "Could we be that lucky?"

Anoki looked over in the bushes and scanned using every method she had. There was something odd about the figure so she compared the form to the several thousand signatures she recorded back in the 21st century.

"Come on out, Jim!" Anoki yelled, "No need to hide."

Jim Entragian looked at the glass and knew that it was coated and shouldn't have given a flash. He wasn't sure what to think about this, but decided that if they knew he was there he should go and take a look.

"You have good eyes," Jim said, walking out, "Too good."

"Harry would thank you for that," Anoki said, "But he's been dead for a lot of years."

"Anoki," Jim said, the memories coming back to him, "What the hell... Your power source should have died a hundred years ago."

"It shorted out a hundred and fifty years ago," Anoki said, "Went into blissful non-existence. Until two weeks ago."

"Come on," Jim said, "Let's go sit down and you can tell me what happened."

The three of them walked into a hut and were served some sweet liquor that had obviously been distilled on the island. Jim Entragian drank a good shot of it and looked over the two women.

"I know who Anoki is," Jim said, looking at Catherine, "Who the hell are you?"

"Catherine Remordis," she said, "So you expect me to believe that you're over two hundred years old."

"And you expect me to believe that you picked that name by accident?" Entragian asked, "Who are you really?"

"That's the name I was born with," Catherine shrugged, "I didn't come here to play games."

"Then why are you here?" Entragian asked them, "This isn't a pleasure cruise. This trip took planning and money."

"A name you won't want to hear," Anoki said, "Even less than Remordis."

"Why isn't he going to want to hear my name?" Catherine said, "There's more to this than you told me."

"What name, Anoki?" Entragian said, "Everyone is dead now anyway."

"Not this one, Jim," Anoki said, "You know better than that. Who could make me come all this way?"

"Bolantine had better still be underneath a mountain in Nevada," Jim said, "Right along with that bitch he hooked up with."

"I wish that were the case," Anoki said, "Bolantine is loose."

"Shit," Jim said and then looked at Catherine, "This your doing?"

"My idiot cousin," Catherine said, "Terry Strader."

"Be glad he's not here," Jim said, scowling, "Mason would want to kill him."

"Bolantine beat him to it," Anoki said, "Catherine didn't have anything to do with her cousin's mission."

"I think you'd best tell me the whole story," Jim said, "Start with how you're not on a scrap heap, Anoki."

Chapter 25 – Timonchenko

Arkady Timonchenko paced the deck of the European Union ship Charles De Gaulle. He knew that he would be doing some strange things in his career, but he never expected to be going to the south Pacific on a 40 year old battleship that barely survived the last war.

"Nervous, Mr. Timonchenko?" Captain Bodarain asked him, "There's nothing out here for thousands of miles."

"That's what worries me," Timonchenko said, "I am a city boy, Captain. I grew up in the streets of Moscow. Not used to this much open air."

"This is the third time I've been this far south," Bodarain said, "Cleanest air on the planet. First time I've gone to Mozandondo though."

"Not many people go to that shithole," Timonchenko said, "We would be ruling them if we cared. Nothing there worth taking."

"You don't understand the allure," Bodarain shrugged, "Life without the hassles."

"There are no hassles," Timonchenko shrugged, "Only the ones you kill. We will find what they were looking for on the island or I will kill every one of those savages."

"Great," Bodarain said, "Just what we need is another international incident."

"There will be no incident," Timonchenko promised, "Just an empty island if they don't cooperate. Trust me, Bodarain, they will cooperate."

"I hope so," Bodarain said, "It would be a shame to have to do that."

"How long until we make it there?" Timonchenko asked.

"Two days at current speeds," Bodarain said, "I have to take it slow to avoid being tracked. This ship is old; it's cloaking is ineffective above a few knots."

"Fine," Timonchenko said, "Enough time for my away team to finish training."

"The five of you?" Bodarain said, "There's likely forty people or more on the island."

"I've faced worse odds," Timonchenko shrugged, "Not bad. I was expecting more, but then I'm not really counting the kids or women."

"Try asking first," Bodarain suggested, "Might be easier."

"I intend to," Timonchenko said, "Just get this tub there. What happens on the island is my job."

"Right," Bodarain said, "I don't think I want to know.

Timonchenko watched as the captain walked away to his cabin and pulled the cigarettes out of his pocket. Illegal in half the world now, he figured he could get away with it on a ship thousands of miles from the nearest civilized land. He lit up and walked down the deck, finding one of his subordinates sitting on a decrepit plasma gun.

"Not going to bust me for catching some fresh air are you colonel?" Shastovitch asked.

"Not unless you report me to that do-gooder captain for smoking," Timonchenko smiled, "He doesn't like our mission. He'll have to get over it."

"What are we looking for?" Shastovitch asked, "You never did say."

"There are old rumors," Timonchenko said, "Of a man who couldn't die. Thing was, he disappeared two hundred years ago. Some say he actually died. Some say he just left the active world. Finding him... Could set our longevity researchers ahead centuries."

"What makes you think he's on that stupid island?" Shastovitch wondered, "Doesn't compute."

"The man supposedly had ties to the Strader and Remordis families back then," Timonchenko said, "What the Americans used to call area 51."

"I still don't see the connection," Shastovitch said.

"Terrence Strader led an expedition into what was once Area 51," Timonchenko said, "Within a few days Strader is dead and Catherine Remordis drops off the charts, only to show up on a visa list for this area. Now she charters a vessel to a shithole on the outer edge of the earth?"

"Compelling case," Shastovitch said, "Who sold it to our superiors?"

"I don't care," Timonchenko lied, "But if there's a one in a million chance of catching that guy and bringing him back to the EU... Well, can you think of a better way of making a career?"

"And if we find nothing?" Shastovitch asked.

"Then we flatten the island and move on," Timonchenko shrugged, "Arkasha still has the unit, right?"

"Right," Shastovitch agreed, "Must be nice not having anyone expect anything of you."

"Only makes it sweeter when you win," Timonchenko agreed and threw his cigarette over the side."

"True," Shastovitch said, "Take me along for the ride, sounds like it is going to be a fun one."

"Of course," Timonchenko agreed.

Chapter 26 – Disbelief

"I can't say I believe much of this," Entragian said, "Mason won't believe it either."

"Where is he?" Anoki asked, her face twitching a little, "My orders are to talk to him anyway."

"Right," Entragian said and turned to Catherine, "I get why she's here, kid. You don't make a bit of sense."

"How so?" Catherine asked.

"You're an Engineer," Entragian said, "You should be looking for a job, not running around the South Pacific."

"Family trade," Catherine said, "I long since stopped wanting to be an engineer. I can't get away from it. The Euros were bugging me anyway to try to find my uncle Baltimore."

"Baltimore?" Jim asked.

"Baltimore Remordis," Catherine said, "He was the premier spy of the last war. The Euros are still afraid of him."

"Why didn't he come himself then?" Jim asked, "And please tell me you didn't bring the government in on this."

"We both know better than that," Catherine told him, "Baltimore knows what the government is capable of. He also holds no great affinity for them. He's been in a wheelchair for several years now because of an operation gone wrong."

"So you're his legs," Jim said, nodding, "That makes some sense."

"Bolantine is back, Jim," Anoki said, "I need to talk to Mason."

"Not yet," Jim said, "What is with the twitching, Anoki?"

"Not sure," Anoki said honestly, "Probably the result of being disabled for a hundred and fifty years."

"You've been doing that since the ship," Catherine said, "What is going on?"

"I don't know," Anoki said.

Jim walked around a little and thought about his best course of action. The story sounded plausible and knowing Glen Strader as he did sounded bloody likely. He just couldn't bring himself to believe it completely, however.

Karen Stone walked into the small hut and looked at the scene in there. She let out a small whistle. Unlike Jim she recognized Anoki immediately. She looked at Jim who shrugged his shoulders. She nodded and walked over to Anoki, offering a hand.

"Hello Anoki," Karen said, "Welcome to Mozandondo."

Anoki stood up and faced Karen to shake her hand. Once she did so she exposed her midsection to Karen. Karen quickly showed something in her left hand and rammed it into Anoki's midsection. It was quicker than either Anoki or Catherine could do anything about. Anoki seized up immediately and collapsed on the floor.

"What the hell?" Catherine asked, "Who are you?"

"Karen Stone," Karen said, "Sorry about that, but we can't risk her yet."

"You don't believe us," Catherine said, "What did you do to her?"

"Shutdown key," Karen said, showing Catherine, "Any thoughts on this Jim?"

"Something was odd about her," Jim said, "Her power supply should have rotted out over a century ago."

"Ok," Karen said, "I don't know you, kid. We don't know anything about you. If you're telling the truth, you'll help us and we'll help you."

"It's not as though I have a choice," Catherine said, "I don't know how to sail the damn boat."

"Let's get her up to the house," Karen said, "You should be able to check her out in the lab."

"You going to tell Mason yet?" Jim asked, "Or is he still in big D mode?"

"Big D," Karen said, "We'll need to validate their claims before we try to roust him."

"Big D?" Catherine asked, "Ok, I'm confused."

"Jim," Karen said, "It's obvious she knows what we are. Get Anoki brought to the lab. Catherine and I will take a walk and I'll explain some of the facts of life as an immortal to her."

"Right," Jim said, "You know what Anoki's presence means?"

"Bolantine," Karen confirmed, "No one else would get Anoki so riled up. Nikki is likely the only one still alive with the requisite knowledge to mess with her."

"We'll know for sure when I crack her psyche open," Jim said, "I don't think Bolantine would go for a tactic like that, but you never know what that son of a bitch is capable of."

"I don't understand," Catherine said, "Though I doubt you're surprised by this."

"I'd be more surprised if you did," Karen smiled.

"I'll see you two in a bit," Jim said, "Alika, Ariki! Come on in here and help me with this."

"Come with me," Karen said, "Don't worry, Jim will take care of Anoki."

Catherine weighed her options and realized she had none. Karen Stone was undoubtedly faster and even if she ran she had nowhere to go. She didn't have the technical capability to pilot the boat and she'd probably never even make it to the water. She figured she'd best just follow along.

"Am I a prisoner?" Catherine asked as she and Karen walked out.

"No," Karen said, "You won't run. You came here for a reason and without Anoki you aren't going far. Let's take a walk and see if you can prove your intentions to me."

"Fair enough," Catherine said, "I don't know... I just wasn't expecting..."

"You were expecting a paid vacation to find nothing," Karen nodded, "Understandable. Most people don't believe we are what we are without prodding."

"How can I believe this?" Catherine asked, "I mean... You look..."

"Normal?" Karen laughed, "Yeah. I know."

Karen sighed and pulled out a knife. Catherine backed up a bit, but saw that Karen was not threatening. Karen sharpened the knife a little and tapped it against the rock to prove that it was not a trick knife. She then lifted it and plunged it into her arm.

"Are you crazy?" Catherine asked, recoiling in horror.

"Watch my arm," Karen grunted through gritted teeth, "I'm only doing this once."

Karen rammed the knife all the way through in a manner that could not be faked. There was no bleeding, however, as the flesh healed around the blade. Catherine watched in wonder as this happened. Karen then pulled the knife out and wiped the blood against her shirt.

"How the hell?" Catherine said, "Your arm..."

"Back to normal," Karen said, "Usually Mason does this, but he's in no condition to do so right now."

"How old are you?" Catherine marveled, "And where is he anyway?"

"A little over 300 years old," Karen said, "Give or take a few. Leads to a whole new host of problems."

"Sounds like fun," Catherine said, "Why do you look so serious?"

"Everyone I grew up with is dead," Karen said, "Their children are dead and their children are all dead too. Look at you, I considered your great-great-great-great-great grandfather one of my friends, and I didn't meet him until I was over eighty."

"I can't fathom that," Catherine said, "How do you take it?"

"You go a little crazy for a while," Karen smiled, "It wasn't as bad when we were still mixing with the rest of the world, but once we got here it started to hit us more."

"I go stir crazy when I'm snowed in for a few days," Catherine agreed, "I can't see how you've stayed here for two hundred years."

"Trouble follows us," Karen explained, "It was getting to the point where we were causing more problems than we were solving."

"So you decided to drop out," Catherine nodded, "You must have known someone would find you someday."

"I was hoping that we'd get lost in time or that the slop we were dosed with would wear off," Karen smiled, "It hasn't. Whatever changes they made to us are permanent."

"So I take it that Mason is going a bit stir crazy?" Catherine asked.

"That's like saying this island is a bit off the beaten path," Karen laughed, "It happens to both of us every few dozen years. We'll slowly lose it and have to isolate ourselves for a while. Usually, lasts a couple years and then we slowly come out of it. It's Mason's turn right now."

"Where is he?" Catherine asked.

"In the house," Karen said, "I just hope you're wrong. Do you believe what Anoki told you?"

"I don't know," Catherine said honestly, "My uncle Baltimore believed her. He had a packet from Glen Strader that confirmed most of what she said."

"That figures," Karen nodded, "I wondered how you found us. Doesn't surprise me that Glen Strader left something behind. He wanted to make sure that Bolantine didn't get out either."

"This must be some bad dude," Catherine sighed, "To cause someone to go to so much trouble to see that he never again sees the light of day."

"The worst of the worst," Karen agreed, "A severe hard case. Criminal mastermind of Seattle for nearly a half century."

"Immortal just like you," Catherine said, "I guess I shouldn't ask how it happened. I don't think we have time for that."

"You wouldn't believe me anyway," Karen said, "What you said made sense. But Anoki is a machine. Nikki Bolantine was intimately familiar with how she worked as she was a technician on the project for a while. Jim needs to check her memory to make sure that Bolantine didn't pull a fast one."

"I don't have a choice in this," Catherine told her, "But I get the feeling that you're just doing what you think is right."

"Thank you," Karen nodded, "I am a good judge of people, kid. I think you're a good person. Just work with me and we'll see what is really going on."

Chapter 27 – Panin

Bolantine moved quickly as he secured his position. It didn't take him long to get everyone under his control. He had been through this type of situation before and Vladislav Panin wasn't particularly well liked even by the people who worked for him. The change in leadership was not entirely unwelcome.

Since personal wealth was not an overwhelming factor for him, he started spreading the grease down the ladder a lot more than Panin did. This brought almost immediate acceptance from all but Panin's closest associates and death to the ones who were not so accommodating.

Nikki stayed in the background as Bolantine slipped easily into the role that he had spent decades perfecting in Chicago and Seattle over three centuries before. She set up a communication station and began watching everything including Vladislav Panin, who was kept alive and imprisoned to learn from.

"This is not a way to treat someone you want to learn from," Panin hissed from the makeshift cell, "Kill me and be done with it."

"That's not our intention," Nikki told him and smiled, "You possess knowledge that we need. You will give it to us."

Panin looked at the evil woman with a sneer on his face. He still didn't know how they had managed to take over as quickly as they did. He paced around his cell and plotted ways to get out. She just watched him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"You are thinking about how you can get out and overtake me," Nikki said as her dark eyes bored into him, "I can see it in your eyes, Panin. Do you think you're man enough to do it?"

Nikki got up and walked over to the cage where they had placed the former crime lord. She had been expecting this show of defiance and decided that it was something that was best dealt with early. Keeping him alive was useful in that he knew the local rackets better than anyone, but risky in that he would stop at nothing to destroy them.

She unlocked the cage, walked in the door, and locked it behind her. She then threw the key to one of the minions outside the cage and ordered him to leave the room. She wasn't worried about his loyalty as he was already more afraid of Bolantine than he ever had been of Panin. He was also enjoying watching his former boss squirm.

"There's not a cage in between us any longer, Panin," Nikki said with a smile, "Do you think you can kill me?"

Nikki knew that the answer was no, but it had been too many years since she had been in a good fight. She knew her skills, despite her body being frozen for two centuries, were still current in her mind.

Panin sneered and stretched a little. He was cautious because he figured that this was a trick, but he was angry enough to want a chance at Nikki in the absence of Bolantine. She kept her eyes locked on him and paced him around the cage. He finally decided to advance and let off a clumsy right hook at her head.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Nikki said, "Try again."

Nikki played with the crime boss. Panin was in reasonable shape, despite his age, but he didn't have the physical ability to keep up with Nikki's eternal youth. Nikki was content to let him have his fun and simply parry at first, letting out only a few jabs as warnings when he got too close.

Suddenly, Panin had enough of this and he charged Nikki. Nikki tried a Judo move, but her five-foot tall frame simply didn't have the leverage to handle the six-foot one inch tall Panin. He knocked her over on her back and jumped on her with all his weight.

She tried to fight free, but Panin had the upper hand and the leverage. He dodged the kicking and scratching and managed to get his arm around her neck. He considered trying to rape the woman, but decided that he wanted to kill her more. He used his considerable upper body strength to twist her neck, snapping it like a twig.

"Kooshay govno sooka!" Panin yelled as he stood up and flexed his muscles in triumph.

He let off a vicious kick into Nikki's ribs and then sat down in the chair. Panin knew that Bolantine would likely kill him, but figured that it was better to go down that way than it would be to go down without a fight. He hadn't bargained on what came next, however.

Nikki's neck took only a couple minutes to straighten out and before Panin knew what to do she was back up on her feet smiling at the terrified Russian. She cracked her neck loudly and let her eyes bore into the man again.

"Did I mention that I'm immortal?" Nikki asked him quietly, "Would you like to go for round two?"

"Otyebis ot menya!" Panin yelled as he went to the farthest corner, "How? What are you?"

"What I am is not your concern," Nikki told him coldly, "Your only chance at coming out of this whole is to work with us. We have bigger fish to fry than you. You just happen to be a convenient place in a friendly country to start. Assist us and you might live and prosper. Fight me again and you'll end up in the gutter. You will be alive, blind, and crippled, scratching to survive but unable to die because you have no arms. I have no scruples about doing this to you, Panin."

Panin looked at her and wondered what he should do. The fact that she was still standing after what should have been a completely fatal blow scared the daylights out of him. He sat down and breathed deeply as he took in the dark eyes of the small woman standing in front of him.

"So I help you and you leave?" Panin said.

"You will continue to work for us," Nikki told him, "But you can be a part of a much bigger, better, and more organized outfit. This is the start, but with people who can't die running it..."

"Cult of personality," Panin, not a stupid man by any measure, noted as he thought about the possibilities, "This nation is due for another Stalin."

"They shall have Bolantine," Nikki told him, "And it all starts here."

She held out a hand to the deposed crime lord, knowing that having him get the aggression out had been the best thing for making him cooperative. Panin didn't know where it would lead but knew that he stood a better chance with an immortal than he did against one. He took her hand and shook.

"You will stay in here for now," Nikki told him, "I don't trust you yet and you have no reason to be loyal yet. I'll work on that. You just rest off that exercise and unless you want your staff to think you're insane you'll keep what you just saw to yourself."

Panin nodded. He'd made his decision. If you can't beat them, join them. It was time to become a follower again. He retreated to the back corner and lay down on the cot. He closed his eyes and decided that he'd had enough for one day and forced himself to sleep."

Nikki shook her head and went back to her reading as soon as the guard came in and let her out. She knew that Panin would see the light. He was, after all, a very similar type to her own beloved Bolantine. Had he been younger and in a different era she might have even gone for him. She just hoped he remained sensible.

Chapter 28 – The House

Karen and Catherine walked up to the large house that they'd built into the one hill in Mozandondo when they got there. Surprisingly they didn't go into the ornate front door but took a staircase to a cavern that had been cut into the bedrock below the coral sand of the island.

"The house isn't the safest place on the island right now," Karen explained, "It's also very hot during this time of year and Mason won't allow the windows to be opened."

"What's wrong with him?" Catherine asked, "You mentioned the Big D?"

"Depression," Karen explained as they walked down into the cooler cavern, "Mason and I seem to go through cycles of it. Jim as well, to a smaller extent. He's always been more engaged with the local community than we have so that tends to temper his episodes."

"Sounds like a lousy way to live," Catherine sighed, "Why do you stay?"

"It's not our world any longer," Karen shrugged, "We figured this would be our retirement. Looks like we're about to have to go back to work soon if you're right."

Catherine didn't know what to say, but she didn't have to say anything as they descended into the room. Jim Entragian had Anoki's midsection open and connected to some ancient equipment. Catherine had seen pictures of equipment like this, but never seen any of it in person.

"I knew I shipped this stuff here for a reason," Jim said as he continued working on Anoki, "It's finally coming in useful."

"How bad of shape is she in?" Karen asked him.

"You can tell she did a kluge job on that power supply," Jim said, "Thing is, I've never seen one of these units. I don't know what it's capable of."

"It's a cold fusion power cell," Catherine explained, "Child's play tech, likely from a power cart of some sort. I don't know her power requirements, but it's likely more than adequate if we can vent it out properly."

"Vent it out?" Jim asked her.

Karen simply watched as the young engineer taught Jim a few new tricks. She never did understand the electronics, but smiled as she saw Jim light up with the new technology. In some ways, Catherine represented a negative omen, but her youth was a refreshing thing to someone who hadn't seen much of it in a long time.

"So that's how it functions," Jim said, letting out a whistle, "So simple it took a bloody genius to come up with it."

"I just can't figure out how to mate it to her body and vent it," Catherine said, "No one has made anything like this in centuries."

"What needs to be vented?" Jim asked her.

"It puts out a gas compound," Catherine told him, "It condenses and rots the unit if not properly vented."

"Let me read for a minute," Jim said, "I have an idea, just have to make it work in her framework."

Catherine nodded and sat back as Jim read from the handheld device that Anoki had. She looked over at Karen, who merely shrugged as she had seen Jim in this mode before. Catherine's training was more recent, but there was no one with better fundamental skills in engineering and computers than Jim Entragian.

"That's why she was glitching," Jim told them, "She didn't vent the unit properly. It was sputtering out and giving inconsistent voltage."

"How did you get around it?" Catherine asked.

"The gasses condense," Jim said, "So I routed the condenser to her waste system. Essentially she'll put it out as liquid waste, just as we do with urine."

"Good," Karen said, "Now her brain?"

"I had to stabilize the power before I dared to hook her to the diagnostic equipment," Jim said, "Now that I've got that I can delve in."

"How long?" Karen asked him.

"Two hours?" Jim said, "Probably less."

"Catherine?" Karen said, "When's the last time you had a decent meal?"

"Too long," she said, looking hopefully at the blonde woman.

"Then let me show my hospitality," Karen smiled, "We haven't had a visitor in a long, long time."

Chapter 29 – Cloaked Approach

"This is taking too long," Arkady Timonchenko said as the archaic vessel limped across the South Pacific towards Mozandondo, "Even an immortal will be bloody dead by the time we get there."

"Patience Colonel," Shastovitch told him, "We're only twelve hours away."

"I know," Timonchenko nodded, pacing on the deck, "I just don't like open ocean, you know that."

"What was that crap you gave Bodarain anyway?" Shastovitch asked him, knowing nobody else was crazy enough to be out on deck, "I doubt anyone in Paris even knows this ship exists."

"This was approved by Premier Bolantin," Timonchenko smiled, "Though I doubt he actually knows anything about it. There are others out there who would like to find this man."

"If he indeed exists," Shastovitch said, "We might just find an island with a bunch of ignorant savages leading the primitive life."

"Something is out there," Timonchenko said, "The satellites can't get a good read this far south. Something obscures it, which is odd in and of itself."

"We have no good pictures?" Shastovitch asked, "How could we let that go?"

"Look at how long it is taking us to get here," Timonchenko shrugged as he looked out into the empty ocean, "Why would they send someone down just to figure out why the satellite can't photograph it?"

"Do you have any actual info other than the crap you fed Bodarain?" Shastovitch asked him.

"Information from the old KGB files," Timonchenko told his subordinate, "Seems our immortal friend made a few enemies. Mason Stone is the name that seems to be most commonly attributed to him. He was active between roughly the years 2000 and 2050. Dropped from sight about that time."

"How do we know he's immortal?" Shastovitch asked.

"These," Timonchenko said, "Taken from an American satellite in 2014. Those three people, believed to be Mason Stone and his associates, survived in the epicenter of a nuclear blast. Everyone else on site died of radiation poisoning. It took three years before it cleared enough to go with just standard radiation protection. They flew a World War I biplane out of the base and disappeared into the world."

"My god," Shastovitch said, "And we expect to take them down?"

"Take them into custody," Timonchenko said, "Through any means necessary. If we need to destroy the island and pick their healing bodies out of the rubble, so be it."

"How will we know?" Shastovitch asked.

"Shoot them all," Timonchenko shrugged, "Anyone who dies isn't our person."

"You are one cold son of a bitch, Colonel," Shastovitch said, "That's mass murder."

"One man's murder is another man's heroism," Timonchenko shrugged, "Just don't get in my way and we'll have no trouble."

"No trouble from me, Colonel," Shastovitch smiled, "I'm just along for the ride."

Timonchenko watched the young man and nodded. He just hoped that his stomach could keep up with the job when it came time to pull the trigger on Mozandondo in another twelve hours.

Chapter 30 – Radar Love

Jim Entragian continued his feverish work on Anoki's systems, going through the basic systems piece by piece. Catherine didn't understand a bit of it, most of it either being archaic technology or technology that was outlawed centuries before she was born.

"There's no way Bolantine did this order set," Jim said finally, "Doesn't fit. There's too much of Toshi's work in here that Nikki wouldn't have left alone."

"Who is Toshi?" Catherine asked.

"Toshiko Shiniki," Karen said, "Part of the support team. Great lady, probably been dead nearly two hundred years though."

Jim nodded and poked at another device on the other side of the room as Karen reviewed some of what Jim had done with Anoki. Catherine was wondering what he was looking at, but it was finally Karen that had to ask what he kept going to look at.

"Radar screen," Jim said, "I fired it up when we came down here. I keep getting phantom blips, but nothing large enough to worry about."

"Unless it's cloaked," Catherine said, "Even the old Euro ships had basic radar cloaking, though it generally wasn't very good."

"Cloaked?" Jim asked, "They finally figured that tech out?"

"Yes," Catherine nodded, "A modern American Union ship or plane can't generally be detected until they're close enough to have already killed you."

"Then why would it be blipping?" Jim asked.

"You're on 200 year old equipment," Catherine shrugged, "I doubt they programmed info on that in the adaptive technology."

Karen and Jim looked at each other. They knew that they'd let themselves get dangerously behind the times on technology. They'd been cut off for too long and they were about to pay for it.

"I agree with your assessment," Karen sighed, "Anoki is on the level. You sure you've stabilized her?"

"As much as I can with old equipment," Jim said, "So long as nothing wears out she'll remain useful. I say let's bring her back and use her eyes to try to see what's causing those blips."

"Make it so," Karen said, referencing a long ago seen sci-fi television show with a smile.

Chapter 31 – Bolantine's History Lesson

Bolantine sat down holding a glass of pure Russian Vodka as he read through the books that Panin had provided. After his tussle with Nikki he became a much more pleasant partner for the immortals. He didn't spend his time coming up the Vladivostok underground without knowing when a fight was unwinnable.

"I want to know more about this world," Bolantine instructed him, "I know the American Version. Now give me the version you know."

"Ancient history," Panin said as he poured himself a glass, "How much do you want to know?"

"I know through the rebellions of the 21st century," Bolantine admitted, "I caused some of it to shield my operations back then. I've been out of the loop since then."

Vladislav Panin sighed as he sat down and looked at the two immortals in the room with him. Nikki looked as though she had walked out of the school down the road while Bolantine looked like a young punk, but both of them had more under the skin than their looks.

Panin knew that it was in his best interest to get them happy and move on. He might even be able to profit a bit off their presence, but he wasn't counting on it. He then decided that he'd better begin with the events of the latter twenty-first century.

"The economy melted down twice," Panin said, "The first and most important one was in the 2050's. That one shattered the world economy and started a dark age. Corporate interests were superseding the old governments and finally the old nations fell apart. America shattered into three pieces, Europe fell apart and South America became even more fractured."

"Sounds nasty," Nikki admitted, "How did the current structure come up?"

"People build," Panin shrugged, "The nations slowly started to meld and come together again. The American Union formed from the old American states and Canada in the mid 22nd century because of the Chinese annexation of Korea and Indochina. It's essentially an extension of the old American government of the last millennium, but with a more direct version of democracy."

"And the European Union?" Bolantine asked, absorbing the knowledge.

"The European nations were threatened by both the American and Chinese union. A strong man came out of Poland, Roman Sarafinski, and started pulling the nations together. A century of intermixing had eliminated many of the racial issues in Poland and Germany. France resisted a while, but finally succumbed to the new European Government once they moved the capitol to Paris. Every European nation save for Great Britain joined the new union as passports were eliminated and superficial freedoms masked the repression of Sarafinski's totalitarian regime.

"Nice," Bolantine smiled, "I think I like Sarafinski."

"So did many of his people," Panin shrugged, "He died before I was born, but still I hear about him. He ruled Europe for seventy years, living until he was over a hundred."

"So what happened after that?" Nikki asked, "Who took over?"

"Sarafinski had a succession plan," Panin told them, "His successors never lasted as long, but they followed the same plan. I don't remember the details, but that lasted until the Great Siberian War."

"That must be the big war I heard about," Bolantine said, "The American Union and European Union decided to have it out over the resources."

"Somewhat right," Panin said, "American Union companies were starting to strip Siberian minerals for use in their factories. Their democratic government worked better for that and had a less stifling regulatory structure. Popular sentiment in the European union was that the Americans were taking advantage of the Russians."

"Was that true?" Bolantine asked.

"No," Panin said, "The Chinese were playing one against the other. Nuclear weapons had been pretty well phased out for Plasma weapons, so this was a purely conventional conflict. The war was stupid on both sides."

"Who won?" Nikki asked.

"The European Union didn't have the industrial capacity to keep up," Panin said, "It was brutal warfare until Nicholas Bolantin led a coup in Paris."

"Bolantin?" Bolantine asked, "Who is he?"

"An upstart," Panin shrugged, "Threatened China with a Plasma weapon if they didn't get out of it and sued for peace with the American Union. Rightly said the war was stupid and that all people deserved better."

Bolantine nodded and walked around the room. He wondered about the name Bolantin and thought about a project he had put together in Paris during his time as Edward Ballantine. He picked up the hand held machine and accessed the news service, which had an article on Premier Bolantin.

"Does he look familiar, Nikki?" Bolantine asked her as he held up the image.

"Spitting image of you when we first met," Nikki said, "You leave some offspring I didn't know about?"

"Sort of," Bolantine said, "It might be a project I had from the biomedical days. Remember that I bought up a pile of sperm banks?"

"I never did understand that," Nikki laughed as she remembered, "Those things never made any money."

"Cover," Bolantine said, "Remember, I knew I was heading for immortality. I didn't know what this would mean, however, so I had my seed harvested."

"Sneaky," Nikki said, "Still, looks like it bred very true."

"I didn't expect that Parisian bitch to get it to work," Bolantine said, "But it looks like she might have. The idea was to meddle just enough so that my genes would breed true regardless of the mother."

"Perpetual cloning," Nikki laughed, "You think..."

"Annalisa was annoying, but as good as you," Bolantine said, "I had gotten messages from her just before we went under. Maybe she had the breakthrough."

"Worth checking out," Nikki agreed and looked at Panin, "So the world went back to status quo after Bolantin's takeover?"

"Chinese Union ceded the Mongol line," Panin said, "They've been licking their wounds down south. European Union nominally has control of the area, but Russia is pretty much a self-contained demilitarized area. Bolantin's forces moved to Western Russia and the American Union's forces mainly went home. Russia is autonomous, but Moscow is essentially a puppet for Bolantin."

"It sounds like we need to know more about Bolantin," Bolantine smiled, "Let's see if he's already done the hard work of building the cult of personality. If he has, then my plan from two centuries ago is coming to fruition."

"Rumor has it that the American Union was behind Bolantin's coup," Panin said, "Though we'll likely never be able to prove it."

"I guess we'll find out," Nikki nodded, "Let's see what we can find.

Panin hoped that they succeeded. Bolantin's coup had cost him millions and sent him from being the lord of the Russian black market to an underworld boss in Vladivostok. He just didn't want to know how Bolantine intended to do it.

"Let's work on getting our operations moving here," Bolantine said, "Bolantin will be in power a while. We can learn more as we go. I want a solid base here."

"And who will run it?" Panin asked.

"The only people who know I exist are in this building," Bolantine shrugged, "I see no reason not to leave you as the public face with us assisting and building."

"I can live with that," Panin said, "I'm sure you have more designs than just running a shithole city like this."

"Always," Bolantine grinned, "But places like this make good bases."

"Let's just hope we can keep out of Mason's sights for a while," Nikki said, involuntarily shuddering, "I'd like to avoid tangling with him until we're more solid."

"Being immortal means we can take the long view," Bolantine nodded, "You ready to become king of Vladivostok Panin?"

"Beats the alternative," Panin chuckled, "Especially since I doubt I'd survive otherwise."

"Stick with us," Bolantine told him with a smile, "You'll be bigger than you could ever imagine."

Panin didn't even want to doubt him at this point.

Chapter 32 – Baltimore's Meeting

Baltimore Remordis wheeled his chair to the edge of the alley. He felt the weapon underneath the blanket over his legs, but he was still nervous. He wasn't used to doing this anymore, the last time being several years before when he still had the use of his legs.

The New York area had seen much better days, but it was where he grew up. Baltimore knew every inch of the old Alley system in the city from a childhood misspent being a juvenile delinquent in the years before the Great War.

"Strange place you chose, Remordis," a voice chimed from the shadows, "Were you followed?"

"No," Remordis told him, "Even with a wheelchair I'm stealthier than most of you Euro bastards."

"So if you're not worried then why choose a shithole like this?" the voice said.

"Because even a loud idiot with a gun can kill you," Remordis said, "Get out here, Despréaux. I want to see your ugly face again."

"Being here could be hazardous to our health, Baltimore," Reno Despréaux said as he came out to the light, "Why did you send the girl to Papeete of all places?"

"I have my reasons, Reno," Remordis said, playing his cards close, "Did you send Timonchenko after her like I asked?"

"Arkady Timonchenko," Despréaux spat as he handed over a disk with the updated file, "He's a head case, but his record is clean. I don't know why you requested him."

"He's perfect for the job," Remordis laughed, "Head case is the truth on him, that's for sure. He'd gleefully rape his mother just for the fun of it. He also lost what few scruples he had when we were both injured on Novaya Zemlya five years ago. Being Russian doesn't hurt either, especially with Bolantin's prejudices."

"That's true," Despréaux shrugged, "Bolantin doesn't look hard enough at the Russians. He's still worried about you, even though you've supposedly retired."

"You never really retire in this business," Remordis shrugged, "How stable is Bolantin's position? I spent too damn long helping you take over to lose him now. Does he know we cleared the way for him?"

"He's consolidated his position," Despréaux shrugged, "He's a crafty bastard, I'll give him that. He can order a hundred throats cut one minute and the next he'll be out charming the press. He thinks I'm loyal to him alone, little does he realize just how much you and I had to do with his coup."

"Or that you work for me," Remordis reminded him, "If you send Timonchenko anywhere else I want to know about it before he gets there."

"Easy enough, though I don't expect him to survive if he uses that fusion weapon he has," Despréaux said, "Why did you send the girl and not a better agent?"

"She's pliable and doesn't have any conflicted loyalties," Remordis said, "I send someone who has an axe to grind and the immortals will root it out. Catherine has no game, no guile. She believes in what she's doing."

"That's the best kind," Despréaux smiled, "Do you need anything else? I have a plane to catch."

"One more thing," Remordis said and handed a similar disc with videos and a file with pictures taken from area 51, "Bolantine is in Russia. He has taken over a Russian Mobster's operation in Vladivostok. I don't expect him to become a problem immediately, but keep your people on the lookout. He will likely show up in Paris at some point. Keep your electronic ears listening for those frequencies. He's probably one of the last people on earth who would know enough to use one like that."

"Easy enough," Despréaux nodded, "He is a relic of another time."

"So am I," Remordis replied, his eyes cold, "But there is life in this old agent yet. My plans are still on track."

"That's why you are such a good agent," Despréaux told him, "You don't let anyone tell you something can't be done."

Despréaux walked out of the alley and left Baltimore Remordis alone holding the disk. He silently wheeled out of there and back to the modified vehicle he had driven, heading back to his place to review the file.

Chapter 33 – Invasion Mozandondo!

Anoki stood up and did a system check once she fully came online. She was particularly pleased to see the power systems functioning normally for the first time since returning to consciousness. She looked around and recognized Jim and Karen.

"I didn't think anyone still had those keys," Anoki said as she looked at them, "Good job finding them so quick."

"When you've spent over two centuries on a tiny island you learn where everything is," Karen shrugged, "I could find any book on this island in ten minutes and probably recite most of them without actually reading."

"Sounds familiar," Anoki nodded, "At least I had subnet access to the outside world while I was locked in. I lived in the cyber games until the plasma plant above my head created a three hundred mile crater."

"We made the decision to cut ourselves off," Karen explained, "We knew that if we kept contact with the outside world something would come up that we'd be tempted to stick our noses into."

"I'd imagine you could make a difference in a lot of things," Catherine said, "Why not take advantage of it?"

"We made things worse a lot of the time," Karen said honestly, "We meant well, but blundered into many things. Being immortal doesn't make you smarter, just older."

"With Bolantine out of the equation there was no reason for us to keep making a mess of things," Jim agreed, "We were all over a hundred years old by then. Our time had passed. Since we didn't have the ability to die, we figured that this would make a passable afterlife."

"Now it's become your prison," Catherine noted, "Right?"

"That's in the eye of the beholder," Karen shrugged philosophically, "If nothing else it has been a beautiful prison."

"One that has a warship milling around it," Anoki said as she looked out the window, "I don't recognize the design and something is interfering with the view under normal visual wavelengths, but that is definitely a reasonably large warship."

"I knew she'd be able to see it," Jim said, "Think they followed you, Catherine?"

"I don't know why," Catherine said, "This is a bit far out of the way, even for a Euro warship."

"You are Baltimore Remordis' niece," Anoki said, "I looked up a few records on him and even in a wheelchair he is one of the most feared operatives in the world. There are rumors out there that he was responsible for putting the current European Union premier in power to end the war."

"Sounds like someone Mason would get along with," Jim nodded, "A truly conspiratorial mind."

"Think we'll be able to pull him out?" Karen asked Jim, "Mason hasn't left that room for over a year now."

"We may have to do it sooner rather than later," Anoki said as she scanned the horizon, "There is a dingy with five heavily armed men speeding to the beach."

Karen and Jim looked at each other. They had known that this was always a possibility, but after two hundred years on this island they had let themselves get complacent. They hadn't thought about an invasion in many years.

Karen went over to a seemingly blank wall and let off a solid kick into the plaster. Catherine had noticed the blank wall and thought it odd that there were no decorations on it. Every other wall she'd seen had a pile of pictures on it.

"Think they'll still be functional?" Jim asked her, "We plastered that area closed nearly two hundred years ago."

"The packing was designed to last centuries," Karen said as she kicked a wider hole in the plaster, "We could have stored these at the bottom of the bay and pulled them out of these crates to use now."

"I hope you remember how to use the damn things," Jim stated simply, "I wasn't very good with them even when I was supposed to know how to use them."

Catherine walked over and looked into the newly reopened room to see a few dozen crates covered with a number of cobwebs, the result of being left unattended for nearly two centuries. She had seen pictures of crates like those, but they were ancient history to her.

"I feel very young right now," Catherine said sheepishly, "You guys have memories that go back further than I can fathom."

"Be glad," Karen said as she pried open a crate and pulled out a carbine rifle, "I've lived well past my time thanks to that son of a bitch your cousin freed in Nevada. You have a life, but you won't have to live to see everyone you ever cared about die while you go on."

"Too late," Catherine sighed, "Most of the people I cared about have already died."

Karen looked at Catherine as she tried to hand a rifle over to Jim. Jim gave her a sour face and shook his head. She then offered one to Anoki who took it and began to immediately field strip and load the old weapon. She then handed one to Catherine who took it gingerly but had no idea what to do with it.

"Come on, Karen," Jim said as he watched the girls get their rifles ready to roll, "What in the last two hundred years makes you think that I should be given a rifle?"

"Take Catherine and see if you can roust Mason," Karen suggested, "Stay away from the town. I think it's about to get nasty. You don't send an armed scout party like that unless you're about to cause some trouble."

"Euro soldiers are not known for their restraint," Catherine noted, "If there was a choice between killing and restraint, they'd kill every time. That was the way they were trained."

To echo her point, a sharp report of one of the Euro weapons rang up the hillside. Karen finished loading her weapon and set it ready. Anoki looked at the immortal for instructions, knowing that she was better informed and better at determining the situation.

"Anoki," Karen said, "Can you still hit frequencies without a radio?"

"What frequency?" Anoki asked her.

Karen tossed her a handset. Anoki ran a couple tests and then responded back over Karen's matching earpiece. Karen then showed Anoki a map and pointed out the highest point on the island.

"That peak is a hundred feet higher than the town," Karen said, "It takes me an hour to get up that high. How fast can you do it?"

"Ten minutes from here," Anoki said, surveying the route, "Maybe fifteen if I run into resistance."

"Go there and get a line of sight on the town," Karen said, "I will go the other way and tap into a loudspeaker system we set up for emergencies. Let's see if we can get those bastards out of the town peacefully first, but if they start anything I want you to take them down quickly."

"Anoki," Catherine said, "You said you could hack most networks?"

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "Why?"

"That ship is likely within your range," Catherine suggested, "If you can tap a Euro network you might find out more about who these bastards are."

"I'll do that while I'm running," Anoki nodded, "How many of these radios do you have?"

"Three," Karen said, "Since you don't need one we can give Mason's to Catherine. Her knowledge of current events is probably far better than yours and miles better than ours. I want to be able to answer questions."

"She's not immortal," Anoki said, "Better for her to keep behind the scenes."

"Broadcast over VHF Digital TV," Jim said, handing an old handheld to Catherine, "It was getting ready to be phased out when we were heading here. Probably nobody living other than us will know what it is."

"Done," Anoki said, "I'm going."

While they were going to their locations Arkady Timonchenko and his crew had rounded up most of the townspeople into the town square. The island was small and the livable area even smaller. After the first shot took down a teenager who tried to bolt the entire group submitted to Timonchenko's troops. They did not have the training or breadth of knowledge to go against him.

"Who is in charge here?" Timonchenko asked the group in English, "Speak up! Now!"

"I am," the village Elder said, "Why have you attacked our people?"

Timonchenko did not dignify the question with an answer. He drew his service pistol and shot the elder in the forehead. The old man fell backwards, dying before he hit the ground. He then looked around the group and dared anyone to challenge him.

"The answer is that I am in charge," Timonchenko said coldly, "You have a chance to get out of here alive. I am here for one thing only. I want the immortals. Turn them over and we won't kill the entire village. Fight us and we will end your pathetic excuses for lives."

Shastovitch directed the other men to go through the huts in the village while Timonchenko continued to intimidate the villagers. Karen watched with gritted teeth as she tried to get the ancient PA system fired up. She knew that as soon as they had what they wanted they would kill everyone on the island just to keep them quiet.

Anoki, while not in the prime condition her body had been two hundred years before, was still far more capable than any human, making it up to the summit of the hill in eight minutes. She surveyed the area and found the most advantageous spot to cover the village. Once there she started scanning frequencies to try to make her way into the ship's wireless system.

Jim and Catherine jogged up to the old house to find Mason Stone. Jim opened the door and looked around cautiously. When Mason went in to his depression mode he tended to get nasty to deal with. If he was not asleep he would be dangerous, especially to Catherine.

"Stay back," Jim warned her, "Mason likely isn't in his right mind. He may not entirely know what he's doing."

Catherine nodded and let Jim take the lead. It was a decent house, far better than the huts down on the rest of the island. The materials were certainly not indigenous to the area, but more akin to something found in a small American town.

"How did you get this here?" Catherine wondered.

"Money wasn't an object," Jim said, "We had time and money. We had a ship filled with as many construction materials as we could fit and brought it here ourselves. We knew this was the safest part of the world for us, so we chose an Atoll with only a small native population and ingratiated ourselves."

"Must have been easy to pass yourselves off as gods," Catherine nodded.

"We didn't shoot for that, but we did offer a better life," Jim smiled, "They were dying of diseases when we got here and likely wouldn't have lasted another generation without my medical knowledge and Karen's nurse skills."

Catherine smiled and followed Jim through the old house. It was well lived in and decently furnished, though the age was showing. Some parts of it were not well maintained, mostly due to lack of materials. Jim obviously knew the place very well even though he didn't seem to live there any longer.

"Why do you live in the village?" Catherine asked.

"I like it there," Jim shrugged, "I tend to take up with one of the local girls, generally for a few years when she's younger. When she gets older she tends to be less able to take me and I move on. I think that my interaction with them keeps me sane."

"Sanity is overrated," Catherine said dryly, "I just finished Engineering school and here I am running around on an island being attacked by Euro Soldiers."

"If that's as strange as your life gets," Jim said, "Remind me to tell you some stories about those first few decades as an immortal."

They made it to the eastern wing of the house that Mason had turned into his depressive lair. Jim motioned for Catherine to wait far back in the hall as he opened the door, letting in fresh air for the first time in over a year.

"Go away," Catherine heard a raspy voice say in the dark room.

"Mason," Jim said as he looked in, "We have visitors."

"Screw 'em," Mason's voice growled, "Go away."

"They're trying to screw us," Jim told him, "Five heavily armed troopers landed in the village fifteen minutes ago. Shots fired."

Mason let off a string of curse words and threw something at Jim that the immortal managed to dodge. Jim simply watched and waited. Mason said a few more nasty words and then sharply kicked the door closed on Jim's hand. Jim cursed loudly as he pulled his hand out and kicked at the door as he screamed.

"Open the door you son of a bitch!" Jim yelled, "They're already shooting people! Karen and Anoki are already heading out there and they could use your help!"

Mason's retort was not pretty and even managed to make Catherine cringe a little.

"That went well," Catherine noted, "What now?"

"Drugs," Jim said simply, "I've been saving this supply for a rainy day. I think the clouds have blown in. Let's go to my shop, I keep them there."

Karen found the loudspeaker system and managed to get it running. She found a spot where she could see most of the village and the raving lunatic that had started this. She cocked her weapon and readied it, but didn't want to fire a shot for fear of starting a firefight that would kill most of the village.

"I got in to the ship's computer," Anoki said over the radio, "It is definitely a European Union ship, commanded by a man named Bodarain."

"Is Boderain the idiot in the town?" Karen asked.

"No," Anoki told her, "He is a broken down sailor that has been exiled to this end of the world in an antique ship. The one in town is Arkady Timonchenko, late of the European Union intelligence commission. Bodarain doesn't know his orders, only that he's to take him to this island. Whatever happens on the island isn't his problem."

"Great," Karen sighed, "That means he's looking for something."

"You," Anoki said, "He's grilling the locals on where to find you. They are remaining mum mainly because they don't know what to tell him."

"Time for me to reveal myself," Karen said over the circuit, "If they so much as raise their weapons at another civilian shoot them."

"Head, hand or nuts?" Anoki asked her, "There is one body on the ground already."

"Head," Karen said, "No mistakes needed."

Karen sighed and clicked on the loudspeaker and let it crackle to life. She paused for a moment before deciding that her knowledge of the attacker might very well unnerve him. It seemed a dozen lifetimes since she had last used her psychological training, but it came back to her.

"Put down the weapon, Timonchenko," Karen said into the loudspeaker, "You've killed enough people today."

This took Timonchenko by surprise. He had not once said his name out loud on this island. He looked at his other men and wondered just how she had found that out. He knew better than to show his fear and stood up tall.

"If you care about these people you will come out, Karen," Timonchenko shouted as he decided to play her game, "We're here for you, not them."

"If I come out you'll kill them all," Karen said, knowing how the game was played, "If you go back to your ship you will survive the day. Hurt another person in that village and you die."

"She's bluffing," Timonchenko said arrogantly, "Kill another one, Shastovitch. She likely cares for these savages."

"If he raises that weapon he is a dead man," Karen said, suppressing a sigh as she clicked off the loudspeaker and spoke into the radio, "If his man tries to follow the order shoot him, Anoki. Make sure you don't hit anyone else."

Shastovitch didn't hesitate. His training had long since numbed him to the horrors of war. He didn't care that these people hadn't hurt anyone. He didn't care that they were innocent. He followed his orders and raised his weapon. His finger started squeezing the trigger when suddenly his head exploded as the report from Anoki's rifle reached the village.

"I warned you, Timonchenko," Karen said into the loudspeaker, "You have one more chance to leave this place. I would suggest you take it before we kill you all."

Timonchenko took cover, not knowing for sure where the bullet came from and began firing his rifle into the crowd. The villagers tried to scatter, but several of them died immediately. Anoki fired again, shooting two more of Timonchenko's men down before they could do any further damage.

Karen ran out and fired three shots, taking down the other one. Timonchenko knew he was in a bad position and managed to get behind a large tree where Shastovitch's body had fallen. Shastovitch's bag contained the radio and a large device.

"Shell the island!" Timonchenko yelled into the handset, "I want this rock flattened!"

Bodarain hesitated for a moment, but decided to use the island for target practice, hoping that he managed to hit Timonchenko. Karen shouted at the villagers to flee into the hills and tried to get to Timonchenko to kill him quickly before he could kill anyone else.

"Arina and Ariki!" Karen yelled as she saw the two youngsters hiding from the shells, "Go to Jim!"

The two youngsters nodded and ran towards the great house, dodging debris as another shell landed in the village. Karen grumbled as she did the same, firing a few shots at Timonchenko's position.

"I can't see anything down there," Anoki said, "Instructions?"

"Jim! Get the escape vessel ready," Karen shouted, dodging another shell, "Get Mason, Catherine and anyone else nearby on there. This island isn't safe anymore! Anoki, see if you can do anything about the shelling from their computers."

"I'll work on it," Anoki said, "Shout if you need me!"

Karen grunted and was thrown across the village as a large shell hit the elder's house right behind her. She cursed as she went through the wall of one of the other huts and passed out.

Timonchenko cursed in Russian as he punched buttons on the fusion weapon he had taken out of Shastovitch's bag. The device was no larger than a head of lettuce, but he knew that when it went off this island would be pushed underwater. He set the timer for an hour and dove into the water to start swimming away from the island.

The shelling also woke Mason up again. He lumbered slowly down into the kitchen and drank some mango juice, freshly squeezed from one of the trees in the garden as a shell took out the top level of the house. He growled as pieces fell down around him and poured another glass.

Catherine and Jim ran into the house just after another shell exploded outside. Jim looked at Mason who scowled at him and drank some more juice.

"We gotta get out of here," Jim told Mason, "It is a full blown invasion."

Mason grunted and turned back to his juice. He pulled out an ancient bottle of vodka, adding a healthy dose of it. Catherine smacked it out of his hand and started shouting at him.

"I came here to find you because Bolantine is alive!" she yelled at him, slapping him in the face, "Break out of your goddamn stupor and help us get out of here!"

Mason looked a bit bewildered at the girl and debated whether to hit her back or not. Jim pulled out the pistol he picked up in the shop and fired a full clip of bullets into Mason's chest before he could decide.

"What did you do that for?" Catherine exclaimed.

"He's immortal," Jim reminded her, "He'll heal. Meanwhile, I can shoot him full of Prozac and hopefully he'll regain some of his senses in the escape craft. Hope you can help me drag his heavy ass down the stairs."

"Better do it quick," Catherine said as she listened to another shell hit, "Otherwise you'll be scraping what's left of me off the walls after you regenerate again."

"Grab a leg," Jim said, "Stairs are behind the bookcase. Pull the copy of 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' and hit the button behind it. Mason's idea of a joke, I guess."

Another shell hit the house, sending some more wood shards down at them. Catherine quickly pulled the book and pressed the button, revealing a staircase going down in the stone, one that looked like it had taken a lot of time to create.

"Maybe I'll find the joke funny when the house isn't collapsing around me," Catherine grumbled, "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Anoki ran down to the village as she reconnected with the ship. She quickly stripped it of data so that she could go through it later and started trying to take over the controls of the weapons. She was surprised at how bad the security was, but two hundred years of having cybernetic artificial intelligence outlawed left her the most powerful supercomputer currently functioning.

By the time she made it down to the village she had managed to jam the works of the weapon system, stopping the shelling at least temporarily. She found Karen trying to extricate herself from the hut she'd been thrown into.

"Where's that son of a bitch Timonchenko?" Karen asked her, "Has the shelling stopped?"

"Temporarily," Anoki said, "I don't know how long it will take their computer people to figure out how to fix what I've done."

"Let's find Timonchenko and find out what he really wants," Karen said, "Jim is likely preparing our escape craft now, but I want to know what he wants and how the hell he found us. He may have followed you, but sure as hell he didn't get this operation running without some warning."

They looked around for survivors, but anyone left had hidden in the hills to avoid the shelling. Karen walked down and found the bodies of the men that she and Anoki had killed while trying to get Timonchenko. That's when they saw the fusion weapon that Timonchenko had left behind.

"That thing has a timer," Anoki noted needlessly, "It's also rife with fusion fuel. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Check against weapons records on the ship," Karen suggested, "I hope you're wrong because if it's a fusion weapon then this island is going to cease to exist in forty-three minutes."

"Euro Army fusion weapon," Anoki said, "Model A-343d. It is capable of removing ten square miles of earth down to the bedrock."

"Unless you would like to spend eternity as fallout I suggestion we make haste and get out of here," Karen said, "Jim, did you hear Anoki over the radio?"

"Roger," Jim agreed, "Fusion weapon, 41 minutes. Make a single call over the loudspeaker and run this way. I have the motors starting up now. Catherine and I have Mason loaded. Alika and Ariki are here helping me now."

Karen was about to respond when a shell hit the island some thirty yards from them. Anoki growled and decided that she would do something about that. She hacked back into the system and found that they had isolated the gun controls, but not the steering system.

"Take this!" Anoki growled as she reversed the bilge pumps and sent the warship on a direct course for the atoll, "See how you like being blown to smithereens!"

Karen followed Jim's instructions and shouted out a warning to anyone still living. The immortal and the android started running to the remains of the house, dodging shell fire and debris to get to the escape area.

"No one else is going to make it," Karen sighed, "The shelling will stop them."

"If we don't hurry we won't make it either," Anoki said, "Move it!"

The bounded down the stone stairs to the natural cave that they'd used to store the submarine escape vessel that they had brought with them, knowing that this day would come and dreading it. Jim had already gotten the old motors running and started to cast the lines.

"Anyone else coming?" Jim asked.

"Not likely," Karen said, "Shelling took out most of the path after we got in."

"No time like the present to leave then," Catherine said as the women entered the sub, "I'd rather like to not be here when that fusion weapon blows."

Karen and Jim took a final look at the island they had called home for nearly two hundred years. It was a lousy way to leave, but they couldn't honestly say they were sorry to go. There was a world that needed them again. Jim took the helm and the submarine went under the water and started to make time away from the island.

Chapter 34 – Fusion

Timonchenko swam quickly away from the island and made for Temaro Mafileo's boat. He knew that both occupants were on the island so it was a safe enough place to go. He pulled himself up and cut the anchor. He started the old engine and pushed it as hard as he could to get away from the island. He figured that he could radio the warship to pick him up once Mozandondo was a memory.

Once he had that going he took a telescope off the shelf and looked for the ship. He was horrified to see that it was heading full bore into the island. He ran over to the radio and punched in the captain's frequency so he could talk directly to Bodarain.

"What the hell are you doing?" Timonchenko yelled, "Turn that ship around, Bodarain!"

"I'm trying!" Bodarain yelled, "Something took over the computer and is shutting us out."

"You need to fix it now!" Timonchenko told him as he quickly checked his watch, "There's a fusion weapon set to go off in six minutes!"

Timonchenko heard Bodarain let off a series of curses as he barked orders. He shook his head as he pushed the throttle to make sure that Temaru's old boat got away. He knew it would be his only way home once he saw the warship run aground.

"I hope you have another way home," Bodarain growled, "For you've killed us all."

Timonchenko shut off the radio at that point. He pulled a chair on the deck and put on a pair of sunglasses. He figured he might as well watch. It wasn't every day you got to see a fusion explosion.

Anoki, being the most agile and having the best concentration, was piloting the escape sub. She deftly maneuvered the craft away from the island. She had some rudimentary knowledge of the fusion weapon so knew that she had to find a place to avoid the shockwave.

"There's a rock outcropping three miles from shore," Jim told her, "Should make a good shock shield."

"Reading my mind?" Anoki asked him.

"I remember the Chinese incident where you first met Bolantine," Jim said, "I have had two hundred years to explore this island and take every contingency into account."

Anoki nodded and guided the craft to the outcropping and lightly dropped it into the soft sand. She then shut down all electronics to prevent damage.

"Two minutes," Anoki said, "You can take some solace that the warship is going up with the island."

"Good," Ariki spat, "They deserve it."

"Mother..." Arina moaned softly.

"She's dead, Arina," Karen sighed and put her arm around the young woman, "Timonchenko killed her before he left."

"I hope he gets caught in it," Arina said, "Serves him right."

"He got away," Jim said as he shut down the sonar, "The boat that Catherine and Anoki came in is heading away from here. I doubt it is on autopilot."

"I can't believe this," Catherine said as she looked around, "I'm to blame for this... If I'd told Baltimore to go to hell..."

"I would have come anyway," Anoki said, "You can't blame yourself for this, Catherine."

"The robot is right," Karen told her, "This was bound to happen someday. You didn't tell the Euro warship to send armed men with a fusion weapon."

"I could have come under another name," Catherine said and was stopped by Jim.

"Too many ifs," Jim interrupted, "If I hadn't created that serum for Bolantine none of us would be here now. We all make mistakes, Catherine. You made yours in good faith, which is more than I can say for myself."

"You?" Catherine asked.

"I was an idiot," Jim said, "Karen helped cure me of that."

"Twelve gauge attitude adjustment," Karen smiled, "You deserved every pellet."

"That I did," Jim nodded solemnly.

"Thirty seconds," Anoki said, "Brace yourselves."

They did so and waited for the inevitable explosion. Arina and Ariki held close. Karen closed her eyes and just sat there waiting. Anoki put her arms around Catherine to act as a shock absorber for her. Jim looked out the window, ever curious to see what a fusion explosion would look like.

Timonchenko watched and waited, smiling in anticipation. When the timer finally ran out the weapon started its reaction. It took some time to build up, unlike a nuclear weapon the fusion one is slower to start, but packs more destruction in a smaller package.

After about twenty seconds, it built up and then expanded in all directions. Unlike a nuclear weapon that was simply a really large conventional explosive the fusion weapon was more akin to a black hole, eating all the matter in the area. The island and everything a mile around was quickly devoured by the weapon.

Not being a conventional explosive it didn't create the same sort of shockwave. It sucked in all the light around it before it fizzled out and started to collapse in on itself. Since it had taken all the matter (including both the land and millions of liters of water) in the fusion area it left a void in the sea. With the sudden removal of that much matter the sea collapsed in on itself, sending a minor shockwave out in all directions.

Two minutes after the weapon was exhausted there was nothing but open sea in the location where Mozandondo used to be.
Chapter 35 – International Incident

Tony Holder was livid. He knew that his old friend was up to something, the part that he couldn't fathom was what. Baltimore Remordis had always been a loyal and very good agent, but the fact that he had met with a known Euro agent the night before had him concerned. The fact that his niece was in the middle of the first fusion explosion in a century and a half was even worse.

He pounded on the door of the old apartment that Remordis had used since his return from the war. Baltimore Remordis looked at his camera and shook his head. He should have figured that Holder would figure things out sooner instead of later.

"What brings you back here?" Remordis asked him.

"You've started an international incident!" Holder shouted, "Are you trying to single handedly start the war again?"

"I think you overestimate my ability," Remordis said, "What are you talking about?"

"Are you telling me you don't know anything about the fusion explosion in the South Pacific?" Holder growled, "I find that hard to believe. You're too damn good at this to not have the bases covered."

"I heard the Euros are testing again," Remordis shrugged, "Nothing to do with Catherine."

"She's gone missing," Holder said, "Disappeared with a young blonde woman."

"Interesting," Remordis said as he wheeled to his desk, "What makes you think she has something to do with the explosion?"

"Your niece goes to Papeet and disappears with a local boat, filing a departure form for Mozandondo," Holder told him, "A Euro warship cloaks and heads to the same island, an island that has maybe two ships going to it every decade. The same Island disappears in the first fusion explosion since the beginning of the 22nd century."

"One hell of a coincidence," Remordis agreed as he punched a few buttons on his computer, "I'll grant you that."

"This all happens a day after you have a clandestine meeting with Reno Despréaux," Holder told him, "You going to claim that as a chance meeting? In an alley in the middle of the night? I could have you arrested just for consorting with a known Euro agent."

"Impressive," Remordis said, smiling a little, "I thought he was better at this than that."

"We were following you," Holder lied, "Whatever game you are playing, it is now over."

"You are overplaying your hand, Tony," Remordis informed him, "If you had told anyone about my supposed treachery you would have come with agents and had me arrested."

"I know the history with you and Despréaux," Holder scowled, "I know you and he put Bolantin at the head of the European Union, despite what everyone says publicly. You know too damn much."

"So trust me," Remordis said, "I know what I'm doing."

"That is what scares me," Holder told him, "I know you know what you're doing. I'm just not sure why you are doing it."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Remordis asked innocently, "Since you seem to think it is so nefarious."

"I think you're trying to start the war again," Holder said simply, "Somehow you brought your niece into your mad scheme, but I'm here to give you one more chance to stop it."

"If I were doing that," Remordis asked him, "Why would you assume I'd want to stop?"

"Because you've not been the same since you came back," Holder said, trying to reason with his old friend, "Let me get you the help you need, Baltimore."

"That's rich," Baltimore Remordis laughed, wheeling out into the middle of the room, "The help that I need?"

"I mean," Tony said, looking at Remordis, "We can talk to Doc Ripper together."

"I don't think so, Tony," Baltimore said as he pulled out a pistol, "You know too much."

"Come on, Baltimore," Tony said, fearing what his friend was capable of, "They know where I am."

"Only because of the locator in your phone," Baltimore said, "The one that stopped working when you walked in the door."

Holder pulled out his phone and realized that it was dead. He didn't know how Remordis managed to kill a subnet connection. The fact that Remordis knew this much scared the living daylights out of him. He realized that he had made a serious tactical error in meeting Remordis on his own turf.

"You can't expect to get away with shooting me," Holder said, "When I don't come out..."

"You will come out," Remordis smiled, "That's the beauty of locators. I can run them all over town while your body is burning in the furnace downstairs."

Holder ran to the door and tried to open it, but Remordis had been expecting that. He had closed the locks from the computer after Tony had come in. Remordis knew that Washington was in an uproar. He was counting on it. Luckily Tony Holder was the only one with enough pieces to put it together.

"You're going to kill millions!" Holder exclaimed, looking around in a panic, "If you start it this time who will stop it?"

"Not your problem," Remordis said as he coldly fired the weapon twice.

Remordis watched as Tony Holder collapsed on the ground and expired quickly. He wheeled over to the fallen man and bent over to pull the phone out of his pocket. He pocketed the device and pulled Holder's body up onto the chair with him.

"You got fat," Remordis grumbled, "Would it have hurt you to miss a couple meals, Tony?"

Tony Holder's eyes stared unseeing at the insult. Remordis wheeled the two of them down to the large furnace the building held. It was a bit difficult for the paralyzed man to shove the body inside, but he managed to do it reasonably quickly, figuring that a few days of running would destroy the evidence of Baltimore's crime.

With that done he went back to his desk and put Tony's phone in a special box. He rolled out the front door and made his way to the Bus Stop nearby just in time for one of the busses to come by. Baltimore placed the box in the wheel well, causing the locator to start moving with the bus away from his home.

Remordis wheeled back into the house and back to his desk. He watched the signal move until it got to an area far away from his house. He then pressed a button, causing the phone to self destruct and the signal to disappear along with Tony Holder. It was not the most thorough plan he could have had, but he didn't need it to last forever. Just long enough.

Chapter 36 – The Empty Sea

Jim Entragian started up the electronics again and the submarine's engines roared back to life. Anoki took the helm again and moved the old machine away from the rock outcropping and looked to the group to try to determine what to do next.

"I need to see," Arina said, "I have to see if anything is left."

"There won't be anything but open sea," Karen told her, "The island is gone forever."

"Can we please take one last look at our home?" Ariki asked, "We just have..."

"Take them up," Jim told Anoki, "We need to talk about the next steps anyway."

Anoki nodded and brought the submarine up to the surface. Jim opened the hatch and let the two youngsters look out at the open sea. It hit them when they saw the open sea just how completely their lives had changed in only a few minutes.

"What do we do now?" Arina asked, "Where can we go?"

"We're going after Bolantine," a voice came from the back of the chamber, "And dump him down the biggest hole we can find."

Everyone looked back as Mason Stone sat up and stretched out a bit. He coughed up a bullet and handed it over to Jim as a souvenir of the events that just happened. He looked at the new arrivals, seeing them clearly for the first time.

"Welcome back," Karen said, "Did getting shot bring you back?"

"Partially," Mason said, "The overdose of Prozac didn't hurt either. I know Bolantine is back, Anoki wouldn't be here otherwise. Tell me the details as we head to the mainland."

"I think we should take Arina and Ariki over to Pitcairn," Karen said, "They've never known the regular world, there's no reason to destroy their lives like that."

"No way," Arina said, "I want to help kill the bastard who killed everyone."

"Me too," Ariki said, nodding his head vigorously, "We learn. We help."

"They're kids, Mason," Karen said, "They deserve better."

"So did everyone on that island," Catherine muttered, "I say let them come along. They've earned that."

"I agree," Jim nodded, "I've lived with them in the village all their lives, Mason. They know more than any ten of your city bred idiots."

"We're coming," Arina said, speaking for herself and her brother, "End of discussion."

"I think they're coming along, Karen," Mason said with a weary smile, "Now will someone tell me the situation while this ancient machine brings us to the mainland? We will be down here for a week. I hope you brought food."

"We have some," Karen said, "Enough to keep the mortals alive. We can skip a week of meals and live with the discomfort."

"Full speed ahead," Anoki said, "At this rate we should be there in a few days."

Anoki, who had the most complete knowledge of the picture, told Mason everything that had been shared over the previous days on the island. She left out nothing, not even the video that Strader had made before he died. Mason was livid when the tale was done, but not taking it out on anyone who was in the sub.

"Cliff Remordis better be glad he's been dead for over two centuries," Mason grumbled, "I would have found him."

"So that leaves the question," Karen sighed, "Where do we start?"

"Baltimore Remordis," Catherine told them, "He may be retired, but even my father said there was nobody better in the spy game."

"Men like that don't retire," Anoki said, "I saw a lot of them during my time working with Strader's team. They find some way to stay in the game."

"I'd say it's as good a place to start as any," Karen shrugged, "Jim, think you can still work the identity system?"

"I should be able to with Anoki's help," Jim said, "Depends on how good the technology is."

"Worse than what we used," Anoki told them, "The laws really stifled innovation over the last century or so. They are only recently beginning to catch up with what was happening before the plasma explosion shut me down."

"Ok," Mason said as he digested the information, "I need to think about this a little. Anoki, you mind driving for a bit? I think everyone needs some rest."

"I don't sleep or get bored," Anoki shrugged, "I'll drive."

"Everyone get some rest," Mason said as he picked up Catherine's reading unit, "I have some catching up to do."

Chapter 37 – Feints

The international incidents started fast and furious within the hours since Mozandondo had been evaporated. The European Union was accusing the American union of using Mozandondo for testing. The American Union accused the European Union of slaughtering the indigenous population as a show of power. The Chinese were doing everything they could to blow this out of proportion.

The only nation that really won anything during the last war was the Chinese government, as they had been able to supply both sides and suck resources out of Siberia until Bolantin's coup, so they were anxious to see a renewed set of hostilities that no one could blame on them.

The lack of contact from anyone made it worse and both sides started gearing up for general land and sea operations. No one knew who would pull the trigger, but it sounded bad to both governments.

This was exactly what Baltimore Remordis had planned. His old agents were coming out of the woodwork and following orders that would have made their governments of origin cringe

It was easy for Remordis to use the system against itself. He had been using it in the name of the Union for so many years he knew it better than anyone else still living. He had been stockpiling favors and intercepting orders to make sure that when he launched his plan it would work.

The communications group in Los Angeles was waiting for Baltimore when he rolled in about three days after the destruction of Mozandondo. He saw that everyone was on high alert, which is exactly what he wanted. It also kept the information from flowing freely, which could have unraveled his plan.

"What are you seeing out of Mozandondo?" Remordis asked as he looked around the room.

"There is nothing left sir," Sergeant Cassidy told him, "Fusion weapon for sure, biggest blast seen this century."

"No survivors?" Remordis asked, "Really?"

"There's a sub leaving the area," Sergeant Cassidy told him, "It's been heading slowly towards land. They will likely arrive in Lima, Peru in another three days."

"They got out," Remordis muttered, "Is the containment team ready?"

"On your order," Cassidy said.

"I need to be there," Remordis ordered, "Have them pick me up before they go. I need to see who managed to survive this mess."

"Traitors, I'm sure," Cassidy shrugged.

"You have no idea," Remordis said, hiding his cards, "What are those Euro bastards up to?"

"Bluster," Cassidy told him, "They don't have the wherewithal to fight a full scale war right now."

"Don't underestimate them," Remordis ordered, "Something is happening soon."

"We'll be ready for them," Cassidy promised.

Baltimore Remordis was sure of that.

Chapter 38 – Bolantine's Descendants

"Are you sure we can trust Panin?" Nikki asked Bolantine as they walked through the streets of Paris for the first time in centuries.

"Of course not," Bolantine chuckled, "But he knows which side his bread is buttered on now. Your little routine scared the life out of him. The fact that we eliminated three of his main competitors didn't hurt either."

Nikki nodded as they walked through the unfamiliar streets. They were really out of their time now. She remembered walking through the streets of Seattle with Bolantine many years before, before they had been immortal at all. It was a feeling of youth that made her feel invulnerable back then.

"Any idea where to start looking for this place?" Nikki asked him, "How do you track a project over two hundred years old?"

"We have two choices. We can start with Bolantin and track back," Bolantine said as he looked at Nikki, "Or we can track Annalisa's program."

"Annalisa's program would be safer to start with," Nikki suggested, "If Bolantin has even half of your sense he whitewashed his background as soon as he attained power. To know him is to control him, men like you don't seem to like that very much."

"True," Bolantine nodded, "Not many would put much stock in 200 year old records, so that's our starting point. Once we find that we may be able to move down the line easier and see if there's anything we can sink our hooks into."

"He will be surprised to see you, that's for sure," Nikki grinned, "I'm glad something came out of that period worth a damn."

"It's a process," Bolantine smiled as they walked along, "We learned a lot during that time period and had quite a bit of fun."

"That we did," Nikki nodded, "And yet we still lost."

"That's the fun of being immortal," Bolantine reminded her, "Everyone who remembered us is dead."

"Except for the damned test subject," Nikki grumbled, "You know damn well Mason is still out there somewhere."

"Probably," Bolantine admitted, "But two hundred years does a lot to make you complacent. They likely don't know we're out yet."

"Let's avoid telling them, shall we?" Nikki suggested, "So where the heck are we going?"

"Paris is a city with a rich and lively history," Bolantine mused as they walked along, "One that never really dies."

Nikki looked at him but followed along. They walked a while until Bolantine found the old entrance that he was looking for. He ensured that they weren't being watched as he kicked open the latch on a door that looked as though it hadn't been opened since the time of Napoleon.

"You're kidding, right?" Nikki asked as she looked down, "That's a cemetery?"

"The famous catacombs of Paris," Bolantine said, "The answers to what we seek are likely right down here."

Nikki was dubious about this claim, but she followed him down into the old tunnel. Bolantine pulled the flashlight he had purchased out of his jacket pocket and flashed it down the centuries old tunnel.

"A lot of dead people here, B," Nikki said, "What is down here?"

"Quite a bit if Annalisa followed my instructions two centuries ago," Bolantine said as they walked, "She had a family tomb down here that we used as a backup location."

Nikki wondered just how close Bolantine had been to this Annalisa, but figured that it wasn't a subject worth getting into at this point. She had not been chaste in the years before they went under, most famously co-opting the head of the foundation strike team with sex.

"This way," Bolantine said, "I spent weeks memorizing this back in 2021 after Annalisa showed me some results that I thought I might want back."

Nikki nodded and followed him, completely lost in this underground maze. She had never learned any French so was completely lost in this country, even more so with the ancient French found in the signs in the catacombs.

"Here," Bolantine said as he shined the light on a sign that she could not read at all, "This is Annalisa's Family tomb. Let's see if time forgot it as it forgot us."

Nikki looked at him in surprise as he let off a solid forward kick into one of the graves, shattering the brittle stone front and revealing a computer from two centuries in the past. Bolantine smiled as he pulled the weatherized machine out and put it into the bag he'd brought.

"Let's go," Bolantine said, "Let's see what we have."

They quickly left the area and went back to the room they were sharing in a hotel known for privacy and discretion. Nikki locked the door as Bolantine pulled the ancient machine out and worked on the cabling to hook it to the much more modern machine.

"You think that hunk of junk has anything still?" Nikki asked him.

"I was thinking long term with this," Bolantine said as he powered it on, "It was something I came up with in the years after our Russian fiasco. It had a wireless network connection that should have kept a perfect backup of everything in Annalisa's lab until it shut down."

"If it hasn't deteriorated," Nikki said, "Or if she didn't just fuck off and do something else after we disappeared."

"She was devoted to the project," Bolantine said, "She was doing it before I found her, but gave her enough money to keep it going for long after we were gone."

"So how long before we know?" Nikki asked.

"Probably a day or two," Bolantine said, "It's going to take some time to pass all the data through that old connection to the newer machine."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Nikki wondered.

"Explore Paris," Bolantine grinned, "Let's go for a sightseeing tour."

"Tourist eh?" Nikki laughed, "I never thought I'd see that part of you."

"Live and learn," Bolantine grinned, "Come on..."

Chapter 39 – Landing in Peru

Mason Stone looked at the ancient sonar readout and cursed in four different languages as he realized the predicament his plan had put them into. They were going into a world they no longer knew with enemies that he didn't know where they were.

"What do we know about Peru today?" Mason asked, "I've been down for a while, either of you catch the news?"

"Not since telsat went down about a century ago," Jim chuckled, "Figured we'd left that part of our lives behind us."

"Seems that we made a slight miscalculation," Karen admitted as she looked over at the young ones sleeping, "Let's hope they don't have to pay for it."

"Peru doesn't exist as a single entity any longer," Anoki said after going through some files, "It's a client state of the American Union. The pollution damage destroyed most of the South American rainforests about 150 years ago. They vote in AU elections and take their orders from Washington."

"Safe enough landing zone?" Mason asked her.

"As safe as anywhere is for you," Anoki shrugged, "I don't know the landscape much better than you do. I just have a better memory."

"I suggest that Karen and I go out first," Mason said, "We may be rusty but we have forgotten more about special forces work and cover rules than anyone alive."

"I'm not arguing with that," Jim shrugged, "How about you, Anoki?"

"I'm going too," Anoki told them, "I have better senses than either of you."

"You know how to run the sub," Mason said, "If this goes bad you need to take them further up the coast."

"Nowhere to go," Karen told him, "They're almost out of food."

"We have AU funds," Anoki said, "They should be good down here."

"No need to wait then," Jim said, "Let's get out of this tin can. Besides, the AU is supposed to be the good guys."

"Just like the American government was when we were created?" Karen asked him.

Mason just shook his head. He knew that he was not in a good place but figured the best chance they all had was to get off this tub. The machine was older than Anoki was and wouldn't likely survive another landing.

"Anoki," Mason said after a moment, "Run this damn thing aground while it's still dark. Do it so that we're a few feet underwater. I know the kids can swim, can Catherine?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "I asked her that before we got on the boat in Papeete."

"Get everyone ready," Mason said as he stretched a little, "It's time to rejoin civilization."

Karen woke Catherine, Alika and Ariki to prepare them for landing. None of them knew what to expect on land, Catherine was the only one who had lived in the modern world and she had never been south of Florida before going to Tahiti with Anoki.

"Listen up," Mason said as Anoki slid the sub into its final resting spot, "We're about a quarter mile from the shore. We will get out and swim to the shore. We're pairing up for safety. Karen will take Alika, Jim will take Ariki and Anoki will take Catherine."

"What are you doing?" Catherine asked.

"Checking the area," Mason said, "I'm also a lousy swimmer."

"Glad to hear that you aren't perfect at everything," Catherine said as she got herself ready to swim.

"You've never seen him with a guitar," Jim grinned, "Everyone ready to get wet?"

"Yes you letch," Karen laughed, "Consider it lucky it's dark girls, otherwise Jim would be drooling."

"Let him," Catherine smiled, "He wouldn't be the first."

Mason shook his head and cracked open the seal on the hatch.

While Mason and Company were exiting the submarine Baltimore Remordis was sitting back in his wheelchair on the dock. One of the few good things about the paralysis was that he always had a good seat for whatever show he chose to watch. Tonight, he had a frontline view of the first immortal capture in over two centuries.

"Are you sure they're out there?" Captain Adolpho Amaru asked as his men spread across the area, "How good is this information?"

"We've been tracking the sub for three thousand miles," Remordis said with a smile, "Remember, heart shots are the only ones that count here. Those are the only ones that will slow them down long enough to get them frozen."

"What about your niece?" Captain Amaru asked, "She is still with them, I assume."

"She's working for the enemy," Remordis said coldly, "If she resists, shoot her. Otherwise, let her go into the prison in Montevideo."

"You're a cold man, Remordis," Amaru told his boss, "I wouldn't let my worst enemy rot there."

"She won't live long enough," Remordis assured him, "If they've gotten their hooks into her she will likely fight."

The men watched through night vision goggles as Mason's team swam slowly ashore. It wasn't even a contest as Baltimore's men were the best-equipped recovery team that the American Union could field. Even someone as good as Mason could not have avoided this trap.

"Get them ready," Remordis said, "Hit them with the lights as soon as they're all on the wharf."

Mason crawled up first and started helping the others up. It was, of course, the android who saw the men first. She looked around and sounded the alarm.

"Men with guns!" Anoki shouted and put herself between Catherine and the soldiers.

"Turn on the lights!" shouted Amaru, "Do not fire unless Remordis gives the word."

"Remordis?" Catherine said, "Baltimore? Are you out there?"

"Stay quiet, Catherine," Baltimore said as he rolled out, "What are you doing with these terrorists?"

"Terrorists?" Catherine asked, "You sent me..."

"I sent you out to find them," Baltimore said, managing to keep a straight place, "Not to blow up an island."

"Thank your European Union friends for that," Mason said, "I take it you're Baltimore Remordis. Stand down before someone gets hurt."

"We've been looking for you for a long time, Mr. Stone," Baltimore smiled, "You're the key to this plan."

"Not if we fight," Mason said, "I'll be sure to kill you first."

"You won't get the chance," Baltimore said, "Capture the immortals and deliver them to ADX Florence."

"Baltimore!" Catherine exclaimed, "You can't!"

"Shoot them all," Baltimore said coldly, "Drop the building on the robot. We'll take the immortals out of the wreckage."

Mason pulled his weapon and shot out the lights. Arina and Ariki pulled their weapons and started firing in anger at Baltimore Remordis. Catherine Remordis looked at her uncle in shock. Anoki took mere moments to survey the situation. She knew that they were going to lose this round and that she had to salvage something to get a chance.

Jim and Karen took cover and started firing as Anoki ran to Catherine, shielding her from the bullets. Remordis fell back and fired pot shots at the robot, trying to get a shot in at Catherine. Anoki didn't waste her ammunition, but tackled Catherine and brought her down to the ground beneath a large concrete structure.

"Play dead," Anoki ordered her, "It's your only way out."

Captain Amaru hit the old storage structure with a RPG and collapsed the huge pile of cement on top of Anoki and Catherine. Catherine screamed as the concrete came down around her and pinned her underneath Anoki. Anoki used her titanium body to shield her and headbutted her to knock her out.

"I don't care about the rest," Jim yelled, "Kill the asshole in the wheelchair!"

Amaru's men coldly cut down Arina, Ariki, and the immortals. It wasn't hard for them to figure out which was which as Mason, Karen, and Jim were already regenerating when the soldiers got to them.

"Get them on ice," Baltimore said, "We need to get them in cryofreeze before they wake up."

"What about your niece?" Amaru said, "Think it's worth digging her up?"

"No," Baltimore said, his eyes not even going over to the pile, "If she's alive she won't be for long. No one will miss her."

He watched quietly as the three cryogenic chambers were loaded on to the aircraft. He followed them and left Amaru's people wondering just what they had been witness to.

Chapter 40 - Betrayed

Anoki kept her titanium body held rigid in position over Catherine for nearly 24 hours until she was sure that there was no one left in the area. When her passive scans registered no signs of life other than Catherine within a mile of the site she risked some active scans to confirm it.

The hard part came next as her titanium body was the only thing that kept two tons of shattered concrete from crushing the life out of Catherine Remordis. Anoki knew that Baltimore had betrayed them, but knew from the reaction from Catherine that she'd been used just as much. Anoki was determined to keep Catherine alive so she'd have a shot at her uncle.

Anoki used her right arm to hold the pile steady as she used the left arm to try to push some of the rubble aside. It took her a while to do it, but she managed to get a respectable hole out. She just hoped that Catherine would be able to wake up enough to crawl through it.

"Catherine!" Anoki said forcefully and slapped the unconscious girl's head lightly, "Wake up!"

It took nearly an hour of prodding, but Catherine finally started coming around. Anoki kept pushing until Catherine managed to open her eyes and look up at the robot.

"How am I not dead?" Catherine asked, "I should be..."

"No time for that now," Anoki admonished the girl, "I can't hold this damn thing up forever. I need you to crawl out that hole so I can extricate myself from this thing."

"But Baltimore..." Catherine said lightly, her brain trying to reconcile what happened.

"He screwed us, Cat," Anoki said, "But he doesn't win unless you die. Crawl out the hole. Now!"

Catherine wasn't at the point of conscious thought yet so she followed instructions. She crawled out of the pile and flopped down onto the ground. Anoki made sure that Catherine was clear and then let the pile drop down as she pulled her titanium chassis out of the pile that she'd created.

Catherine looked up at Anoki and still couldn't come to grips with the complete and utter betrayal by Baltimore. Anoki sat down next to her and put a badly battered arm around her shoulder. Anoki wasn't human, but she retained memories from a slain police officer that let her know a bit about what Catherine was going through.

"I thought I knew him," Catherine said, still not quite able to handle it, "He's my blood..."

"He thought that taking in Mason, Karen, and Jim was worth more than blood," Anoki said, "There's nothing you can do about that now. What you can do is help me find out what he's done and why."

"This doesn't make any sense," Catherine sighed, "Why would he do that? Especially after seeing what Bolantine did to Terry?"

"Think about it, Cat," Anoki said, analyzing her memories, "He thought nothing about leaving you behind. What do you want to bet that he was the one who sent Terry Strader there in the first place?"

"No bet," Catherine said glumly, "I've been played for the fool."

"We both were," Anoki shrugged, "Now we just need to figure out what the hell he's trying to accomplish."

"Getting his legs back?" Catherine said, "Maybe he thinks Mason's immortality is the key to that."

"I don't think so," Anoki said, "He said that Mason was the key to the plan. What plan?"

"I don't know," Catherine cried, "I don't understand him."

"We need information," Anoki said, "We're not going to get it here. We can surmise that Baltimore has been planning this whole thing from the beginning. So we need to figure out what his end game is."

"And how do we do that?" Catherine wondered, "We're alone and you barely look human."

"I will regen by the time we get back to the states," Anoki said, "I have some tricks up my sleeve still. He's played fast and loose with the computer systems, but he can't compete with a wetbrain neural net for processing power. I can check more in the hours it takes us to drive the Central American Expressway than he can hide."

"So you check out Terry's group," Catherine said as she picked herself up, "What good does that do?"

"That's just confirmation," Anoki said as she walked up onto the wharf and surveyed the destruction, "There is one person other than Baltimore Remordis who knows what the EU ship was ordered to do."

"Timonchenko," Catherine said, her eyes going hard, "The son of a bitch that got away on Temaru's boat."

"Exactly," Anoki smiled, glad to see the change, "Let's get out of here."

"We need to do something first," Catherine said, looking at the broken bodies of Arina and Ariki, "Help me bury them properly."

Anoki was taken aback for a second, but chose not to dispute it. She did most of the digging of the two graves for the fallen children. Catherine laid them carefully together to spend the rest of eternity together, the last survivors of a people who survived no longer.

"Let's go," Catherine said finally, "There's no more we can do here."

"You drive first shift," Anoki said as they walked up to a vehicle and used the magnets in her fingers to release the lock, "I need to hack the satellite networks and legalize this vehicle in our fictitious names. Normally, I could do that and drive, but I need to spend some conscious time rebuilding cellular particles. Used to be I'd just take an acid bath and regrow the skin, but that isn't an option now."

"It will give me something to do," Catherine agreed as she got into the car and put on her seatbelt, "Other than dream of shoving Baltimore's wheelchair up his ass the hard way."

"Is there an easy way for that?" Anoki asked her.

Catherine just shook her head and started driving north.

Chapter 41 – Missed Time

"Anything out of that old piece of junk yet?" Nikki asked Bolantine as she flipped through the channels on the television in the room, "It has to be more interesting than the television channels that I cannot understand. Did I mention how much I hate Paris, B?"

"It's working," Bolantine grumbled as he finally got it tied to an output, "It took some doing, but I've finally got some video."

"Anything good?" Nikki asked, moving over to look.

Bolantine wasn't sure yet. He did some more tuning of the equipment, but he was never all that good with computers. He smacked the machine a few times and let it boot up again and again. Finally, he got the login he remembered from Annalisa so many years before.

He typed in the username and password for the ancient machine and was greeted by the inane wallpaper that Annalisa had favored on her personal machine. He let off a smile as he remembered the crazy intelligent woman who had worked on the cloning program so many years before.

Nikki watched as Bolantine looked around at the desktop of the old computer. She was the first one to notice that there was a note to him left in an icon in the middle of the screen.

"Looks like your old girlfriend left you a love note," Nikki grinned, "Open it and see what she had to say."

Bolantine chuckled and double clicked on the icon to see the video open up. It took a moment for the old machine to figure out how to display it, but finally it started and showed an older woman, one that had to have been very pretty in her prime, but that prime had been long past when the film was taken.

"Is that her?" Nikki asked.

"Annalisa," Bolantine said, looking closely, "This had to be years after we went under. She was barely thirty when I last saw her."

"Bolantine," Annalisa said to the camera in French accented English, "If anyone is watching this it has to be you. You're the only one left alive who knows where this backup unit is hidden. As of this recording you've been missing for twenty-seven years, since the collapse of Endicott Biomedical.

"We've had several breakthroughs, but the Gendarmerie is starting to prosecute anyone working on cloning so we're starting to break down the operation. I figure that wherever you've run to you will make your way back here someday.

"Ten children were born from your genes, Bolantine. Three were failures, two didn't make it to maturity and four others were clinically insane. The last one, Alphonse, is a marvel. He favors you completely and the techniques finally worked. He fathered a child with one of my girls last year and his genes completely subsumed the mother's. Your genes will breed true in his line from now on.

"My data is all here, as you asked and as you paid for. I still hoped to see you again, but I can rest easy knowing that your genes will forever breed true. I have to shut down this station now, the Gendarmerie is at the door and I have no intention of giving my hard won knowledge to those fools. Good luck, Bolantine and may Alphonse and his children serve you well."

Nikki was impressed at the calm demeanor the woman had as she pulled out a French Modèle 1935S pistol. She clicked the slide and put the gun on the table. She then pulled out a dead man's switch and put it into a lump of composition four explosive that was laying on the table. She clicked the switch and held it in her left hand.

Showing about as much emotion as someone would in making a ham sandwich she picked up the pistol with her right hand and put it in her mouth, pulling the trigger. Seconds after she fell backwards the switch fell out of her hand and they saw the beginning of an explosion before the video cut out.

"Impressive," Nikki said, "Devoted to you too."

"She was a useful tool," Bolantine agreed, "But she was positively crazy."

"Alphonse," Nikki said, letting the name roll over her tongue, "Think we'll get much more out of this?"

"There are files on Alphonse and his son," Bolantine said as he looked through the hard drive, "Enough to go on, that's for sure."

"Have you transferred it to the modern machine yet?" Nikki asked.

"I've made a virtual clone of this machine," Bolantine said, "Copies are on several servers now, we won't lose this machine again."

"Good," Nikki said, "Bring up the biological experiments. I want to see what this fruitcake came up with..."

While Bolantine and Nikki were going through the files a team of men led by Rene Despréaux were approaching the building. The Frenchman sent several of his men to cover the exits. They were all carrying low velocity weapons designed to cause damage. They knew that this was the only way to guarantee the immortals would stay damaged long enough to freeze them.

"Are we sure about this?" one of Despréaux's men asked him, "He did take down Panin's group single handedly."

"Panin wasn't ready for him," Despréaux told him, "We are. I have the data from the testing on them two hundred years ago. The cryogenic trucks are outside. This should be quick."

"How did we find him?" another asked.

"No one living would be using a piece of equipment with that radio signal," Despréaux said, "Checking the registry of this hotel confirmed it. No more questions, let's go wrap this guy up."

Despréaux followed his men as they took quickly took over the entrances on the floor. Four men went down the hall in formation, which turned out to be an error. Both Bolantine and Nikki knew what a team jogging in formation sounded like so they pulled their weapons out and got ready for the door to be opened.

One of his men kicked open the door and let off a flash grenade into the room. Bolantine and Nikki expected this tactic and had closed their eyes as the grenade went off. They fired shots blindly and managed to kill the first of the men.

"Come quietly, Bolantine," Despréaux shouted in English, "It will be easier on you."

"Not a chance," Bolantine replied, "Leave now and I won't kill all your men."

The men fired off a few shots, but Bolantine was prepared for that. He looked at Nikki who pulled a grenade out of her case and pulled the pin. She waited for it to prime and threw it out into the hallway before anyone could get out of the way.

Despréaux cursed as he lost two more men to the grenade. He fell back some and called in reinforcements. He was going to get these two if he had to bring down the entire hotel to do it. He didn't even notice that some of the civilians had already gotten caught in the crossfire.

"Aim for their heads!" Despréaux shouted, "The bastard is immortal; anything else will barely slow them down."

Bolantine paused for a second, wondering how the hell the leader knew that. The only people who knew they were immortal were either missing or in Vladivostok. He shook it off as a nine millimeter bullet struck him in the lower torso and made a mental note to find out later.

"Who the hell are they?" Nikki asked Bolantine, "And how did they find us?"

"We need to get out first," Bolantine said, "Those uniforms are gendarmerie. They haven't changed in centuries. We can investigate after we kill that loudmouth."

Nikki nodded and they started firing again as a better armored group came to the door. Two grenades were thrown in to the room in hopes of slowing them down, but Nikki scooped them up and threw them back out the door. Bolantine took one of the dead gendarmerie's automatic weapons and emptied the clip into the floor.

"What are you doing?" Nikki asked as she fired out the door for cover.

"Making another exit," Bolantine shrugged as he put a grenade down the hole.

Nikki nodded and threw another one of the grenades out into the hallway. Despréaux growled as he saw this going badly and tried to figure out where the other explosions went. Bolantine's grenade blew open a hole just large enough for them to go through.

"One exit, no waiting," Bolantine said as he fired, "You first, Nikki."

Nikki didn't have to be told twice. She jumped down the hole and cursed as her left leg broke. Bolantine strung up a quick trap and jumped down himself. Despréaux sent in another wave, only to have most of them blown to pieces from Bolantine's trip wire.

Bolantine didn't waste any time, he shot the occupants of the room and walked out the door. Nikki followed along behind him, limping as her leg reset itself. They listened for Despréaux's goons as they made their way to the elevator shaft.

Bolantine started opening the door while Nikki shot anyone within range to make it more difficult for the gendarmerie to track them easily. Once the door was open he held it for Nikki, who jumped in and slid down the elevator wire, ignoring the searing pain as it tore the flesh from her fingers.

Bolantine followed suit and let the doors close behind him. They got down to the elevator and climbed around it, sliding down to the basement level in the hopes that Despréaux and his men wouldn't think of checking that level.

"This is the laundry," Bolantine said, "Change clothes and bag the remaining guns."

"Don't forget to hit the destruct button," Nikki smiled as she changed and tossed Bolantine clothes that were close to his size, "We don't want our hard won data going into their hands."

Bolantine was a step ahead of her as he pulled out a remote control and showed it to Nikki. They dressed quickly and walked out of the hotel's service entrance acting as though they belonged there. They walked across the street and took seats in a booth at the café. Bolantine cradled the remote in his hand until he saw what he was waiting for.

"There is the leader," Bolantine said, "Take some pictures, we need to catch up with that son of a bitch."

Nikki did so as Bolantine pressed the button, causing the explosives packed into the bag he'd carried into the hotel triggered, causing most of the eight floor to disintegrate, taking the rest of Despréaux's team along with it.

"Payback is a bitch," Nikki smiled.

"We still have work to do," Bolantine said, "They knew what we were. I want to know how."

"Panin?" Nikki asked.

"He didn't know we were going to Paris," Bolantine answered, "Something else is going on. Let's go find the secondary lodging and get set up defensively for tonight."

"Do I get a hot shower?" Nikki asked hopefully.

Bolantine nodded.

"If you are nice I may even scrub your back," Bolantine said, cracking a smile for the first time since the attack.

"More fun if you wash the front," Nikki grinned impishly as they left the area.

Chapter 42 – A Central American Highway

Catherine drove north on the great Central American highway for hours after they left northern Peru. Anoki took the time to legalize the car through the computer networks and then retreated into the back seat to regenerate out of public view.

Catherine thought intently on what to do next as well. She didn't have the massive wetbrain neural net power that Anoki did, but she knew the world they were in a lot better. She had recognized that look on Baltimore's face as he ordered her shot, it was one of contempt.

"He doesn't think I'm capable of stopping him," Catherine said to herself as she stared at the road in front of her, "He just used me as a way to start the war again."

She stewed on those thoughts over the hours of driving. She drove straight through for nearly eighteen hours until she was nearly falling asleep at the wheel. The car was a manual model, the kind that still was popular among the South American satellite states of the American Union.

"Anoki," Catherine said after a few hours, "You still with me back there?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "We've crossed into Panama?"

"Yes," Catherine nodded, "I'm falling over. We need to either stop and sleep or you need to drive."

Anoki popped her head up and looked at Catherine, her ghastly appearance causing Catherine to yelp really quick. Anoki looked in the rearview mirror and grumbled. The flesh was regenerating badly, meaning that there was more damage than she thought.

"We need to stop," Anoki said thoughtfully, "I will need some surgery to regenerate properly."

"Entragian is captured, remember?" Catherine reminded Anoki, "Kind of hard to get him to do it."

"That's why you're going to do it," Anoki said, "We have reservations at a decent motel outside Panama City, back unit away from the road and other visitors. We can do it there."

"I'm an engineer," Catherine protested, "Not a doctor."

"I'm an android," Anoki grinned, "I need an engineer and not a doctor. You can't hurt me, so don't worry about that. I just need someone who can reach angles that I cannot."

Catherine shuddered but knew that she'd need Anoki whole to foil whatever insane plan her uncle was cooking up. Catherine did the check in and played the part perfectly, using an identity that Anoki had cooked up through the computer networks.

"Very good job," Anoki said when they entered the room, "Too bad we'll have to burn the ID after we leave here."

"How are you creating these so easily?" Catherine asked, "I'd think they'd have better security than this."

"Their security is predicated on access and the fact that no current machine can crunch numbers the way that I can," Anoki told her, "They outlawed wetbrain machines along the line of what I have centuries ago. In some ways, it makes sense, especially if you're afraid of a Terminator scenario."

"Terminator scenario?" Catherine asked her as she began to assess the injuries to the droid flesh, "What's that?"

"A series of movies that were made around the time Stacy Anoki was born," she told her friend, "They were about a cyborg that goes back in time to kill the mother of a resistance fighter that beat a machine led army in the future."

"Ouch," Catherine said, "I may have to watch those."

"Once you sleep I'll play the first two in the car," Anoki promised as she worked on the flesh areas for parts of her body that her hands could reach easily, "The main problems will be where the concrete was ground into my chassis by the pressure. Cut the bad flesh out and use the screwdriver to remove those chunks. That will free the flesh generator to put out clean flesh."

They worked quietly for a couple hours until Anoki's chassis was clean enough for her to begin regenerating properly. She still looked as though she'd been attacked by a hatchet, but she was looking less and less like a ghoul.

"I need sleep," Catherine said, "You good on your own for a while?"

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "I'm still watching news. Looks like your uncle's plan is working; there is talk of war again."

"That damn fool," Catherine growled, gritting her teeth, "What is he trying to prove?"

"Let's not think about that right now," Anoki said, "I'll monitor, you sleep."

Catherine nodded. She didn't want to sleep, but her body was tired enough that she had to. It took only about ten minutes for her to wind down enough to do so.

Chapter 43 – Secure Prison

Baltimore Remordis rolled up with his entourage into the outer parking lot for the old ADX Florence Lockdown Prison. He'd chosen this facility because nobody asked any question so long as the authority came from high enough. His authority, as far as they knew, came directly from the president of the American Union.

"Did our guests show up without problems?" Remordis asked as he pulled his chair down out of the van, "What condition are they currently in?"

"They're all in cryo-stasis right now," Dr. Malden Starkweather said as the two of them headed to the building, "I don't know how well I'll be able to bring them back, though. This equipment has been failing for years."

"Just keep them bottled up and mostly frozen," The only part of their body that needs to be unfrozen is their head."

"They're your people," Starkweather shrugged, "If they survive the pain will be excruciating."

"They're immortal," Remordis said, "No one goes in there but you and me. This is code word material. If anyone asks, they are cryostasis inmates being kept until the feds have time to deal with them."

"Immortal?" Starkweather said in surprise, "How the hell... No, I don't want to know do I?"

"You don't know," Remordis reminded him, "Now defrost the tall one enough for me to talk to."

They both entered the room and Mason's tank was brought down so that Remordis could look him in the face. He didn't expect much information out of them to start with, but he wanted to see just how belligerent the immortal would be.

"It will be a few minutes before he wakes up," Dr. Starkweather told him, "I have nerve blocking turned on, but if they're truly medically immortal I don't know how well that will hold."

"The liquid nitrogen will do it," Baltimore said and then dismissed the doctor. Remordis locked the door behind the departing doctor and improvised another block on the door before he wheeled himself over to the tank containing Mason Stone. He put up a filtered recorder that would ensure that every word said would be recorded and unable to be monitored more than ten feet away.

Remordis looked through the clear crystalline material that they'd used for the cryonic chamber Mason's inert form was in. Remordis was truly amazed at the condition the immortal was in. Despite being riddled with bullets only a day before he had regenerated to the same state his body had held for over two hundred years that of a well-developed man in the prime of life.

"Time to see what he has to teach me," Remordis said as he tapped a few buttons, "Time to wake up, Stone."

The lid opened and Baltimore Remordis felt a heavy chill as he waited for the immortal to regain some form of consciousness. He sat back in his wheelchair and admired Karen Stone's form in the neighboring tank.

"If I don't get out of here soon," Mason grumbled, "Someone is going to die a miserable death."

"You aren't getting out," Remordis said as he looked at the man, "Welcome to your new home Mason."

"My friends call me Mason," he said, "You are not one of them, Mr. Remordis."

"I didn't get into this business to have friends," Baltimore shrugged and smiled, "But you and I are going to get to know each other very well over the next few weeks."

"If you're trying to get the formula that got us this way save your breath," Mason chuckled, "We killed the one dumbass that knew it almost two hundred and fifty years ago."

"I don't need that," Baltimore said as he looked at the immobilized immortal, "I need to know the weapon coding that you and James Entragian created and implemented in 2045."

"That coding is still in use?" Mason asked in awe, "How the hell..."

"Only thing that could break it was a massive wetbrain neural net, but those haven't been built in centuries," Remordis said, "So the system has been used and adapted over the years. Variants of the system control the American Union arsenal. I want access to those codes."

"Weird way to ask for help," Mason growled, "I'd sooner stay in here until you're dead."

"You won't have a choice," Remordis smiled as he pushed a button to dispense a substance through a needle, "Medical science has come up with some amazing things, among them a lovely variant of Sodium Pentothal that makes it physically impossible to tell lies."

"You really think it will work on me?" Mason chucked, "This should be good."

"We'll find out," Remordis shrugged, "It had promising results until it killed the test subjects. Since I don't have to worry about that with you I figure I'll keep pumping you with it until you tell me what I need to know."

"You won't get away with this," Mason scowled as the drugs went into his body, "I will kill you."

"By the time you get out of there it will be a moot point," Remordis said. He monitored the dosages and set them for about a hundred times what they did in the normal human tests. Five minutes later he began asking questions.

"Let's start with your full original name," Remordis said tonelessly.

"Mason," the heavily drugged immortal said, "Tripton Davis Mason."

"Very good," Remordis smiled, "Now it is time to go back to the 2040's and remember the coding system you and Mr. Entragian designed..."

Chapter 44 – Parisian Detective Game

Bolantine colored his blonde hair to a jet black and had Nikki cut it so he looked like a businessman now that it was mostly grown back in. This also had the benefit of making sure that any descriptions floating around for him would not be accurate. Nikki went the other way, bleaching her black hair blonde and wore six-inch platform heels, making her look a lot taller than her normal five-foot nothing.

"Better," Bolantine grunted as he finished shaving off the remains of his beard. He looked at Nikki and then finished field stripping the old pistol he was carrying.

"How do you plan to get that monster through the detectors?" Nikki asked him, "They seem to have weapon detectors all over the place."

"As far as they're concerned this is an antique," Bolantine said, "20th century porcelain Glock pistol. Doesn't show up on metal detectors. The only metal is the lead in the bullets, which don't show up on most passive detectors."

"Very nice," Nikki grinned, "I doubt that bastard will expect that."

"Should be a moot point anyway since I don't plan on hitting them on their own turf," Bolantine shrugged, "The son of a bitch has to go home sometime."

"We need to identify him first," Nikki reminded him, "That won't take long, I hope."

"I'm guessing about ten minutes," Bolantine said as he fired up the computer he stole in the parking lot, "Image search should give me a match if he's ever been photographed publicly."

Bolantine prepped the photograph he had taken in the aftermath of the hotel attack. It took him a few minutes to enhance and isolate the face of the man that had attacked them. He submitted it to the search engines and gave it a few minutes to make some matches. He wasn't horribly surprised at what he found.

"At least fifty different names," Bolantine said, "Guy is a spook. Has to be."

"Who for?" Nikki wondered, "That's the real question."

"He was commanding Gendarmerie," Bolantine reminded her, "Means that he's likely a Euro government man. So using that information..."

Bolantine eliminated some of the American Union people and cross referenced by known dates of birth on the identities. The identities melted away, leaving four entries, a much more manageable search."

"Only one has more than three pictures," Nikki said, "Let's look closer at that one."

Bolantine flipped through the pictures until he found the one he was looking for. He smiled as he pulled it up on the screen to show Nikki. It was a newspaper photo from four years earlier, taken during the final days of the fall of the last European Union regime.

"There's our son of a bitch," Bolantine smiled, "Rene Despréaux, late of the new Stasi. Looks like he was a serious player in the war."

"So why do they want us?" Nikki asked, "More importantly, how did they find us?"

"Good question," Bolantine agreed, "One that Mr. Despréaux is going to answer for us.

"What now?" Nikki asked.

"We get out of this hole," Bolantine said, "Unless I miss my guess someone will be pulling up outside soon."

They left the motel quietly, leaving the laptop connected and walked across the street to a cheap sidewalk café. They watched for a bit and were gratified when they saw the Gendarmerie swarm the motel. They walked away quietly knowing that they had the right man.

Chapter 45 – Homecoming

Over twenty-four hours in the car left Catherine Remordis in a foul mood as Anoki stopped the car at a rest stop outside Washington DC. Anoki had driven the rest of the time, leaving Catherine time to stew about her uncle's betrayal.

Anoki had tracked Baltimore Remordis to a major federal prison in Colorado, but Catherine had insisted in going back to DC instead. Anoki knew better than to question Catherine's intuition now, especially since she didn't know what to do either.

"You're the one who sent us here," Anoki told her as she pulled the car to a stop, "Why are we here instead of chasing your uncle to ADX Florence?"

"If he's at ADX Florence then he's untouchable there," Catherine explained, "My bet is that he has brought the immortals there to use the cryogenic interrogation facilities on them."

"That can't be good," Anoki said, "What now?"

"This has been his home base for years," Catherine said, "This is too well organized for him to make it up on the fly. My bet is that we'll learn more about his motives and organization here."

"Let's go in," Anoki said as she vacated the front seat, "I'm all for information."

"We can't go rushing in," Catherine said, "He'll have the place wired."

"Time for some fun then," Anoki said, "I doubt he has any security that I haven't seen before."

"That's what I'm counting on," Catherine said as she took the driver's seat, "I'm one of the few living people who knows about his true home, possibly the only living person with the disappearance of Tony Holder."

"You can get us there," Anoki said, "I'll take care of the security."

Catherine nodded and drove purposefully to the center of the city. Baltimore's house was a bit of a surprise to most the first time they saw it, a non-descript set of brownstones that were mostly unoccupied. Remordis had set up a few tenants in the area to make the area look better and had a property management company maintaining the area to keep up appearances.

"Where to?" Anoki asked her.

"We need to find his inner sanctum," Catherine said, "That apartment where he saw us is not it."

"But it's a good place to start," Anoki said, "Right?"

"Exactly," Catherine said, "You go first, Anoki. See what you can find for security systems"

The android nodded and bounded up the ramp to the public apartment where they had seen Baltimore Remordis a couple weeks earlier. She saw the cameras, but knew that they were not a major factor with Baltimore in Colorado, especially since they were not powered on. She scanned the door and looked for any active security, surprisingly not finding any.

"No security?" Anoki said, surprised, "that doesn't figure with Baltimore's paranoia."

"This isn't the main part of the house," Catherine said, "Excessive security makes him look bad so this part of the house is nothing but a large foyer. The real sanctum is buried in here somewhere."

"It has to be wheelchair friendly unless he's faking that," Anoki said as she looked around, "This whole place is set up for wheelchairs to go everywhere."

"He's crazy," Catherine said, "But not stupid. He spent a year in the hospital after he got back from the war. Dad said he was extremely bitter, but one day went back to his normal byzantine self."

"That's not normal," Anoki said, "Unless he found a reason to get better."

"Crazy is not normal," Catherine agreed as she looked around, "He's got to have a better-protected area than this."

"Maybe it is somewhere else?" Anoki wondered.

"Can't be," Catherine said, "He wouldn't want it too far from him. He'd need this place to be available. It has to be here."

They spent a bit of time looking through everything. The only truth that they found in this part of the building was that it was a front. Everything was too well placed and it didn't look lived in. Catherine had never noticed that, but she had only been there twice before. She kicked at the couch in her frustration.

Anoki looked at the imprint on the floor where Catherine's foot was. She smiled and got down onto her hands and knees. Catherine looked at the android and wondered what she was up to. Anoki used several light filters before she found what she was looking for.

"Bingo," Anoki said as she looked at the carpet, "I know how to find it."

"You're one up on me," Catherine said, "But I'll take what I can get."

"He's in a wheelchair," Anoki said, "And he's military, which means he's methodical and uses the same routes over and over again."

"And this means?" Catherine asked.

"It means his chair left grooves in the carpet cushions," Anoki said, "Invisible to human vision, but plain as day under the right light filter."

"Score one for the robot," Catherine grinned, "Lead on, metal head."

Anoki scanned around the room quickly, looking for any tracks that seemed off kilter or out of place. It didn't take her long to see that there were a lot of tracks heading to a back closet. They went over there and found a simple closet, or so it looked from the outside.

"It is an elevator," Anoki told her, "There is an oversized basement below us. Care to bet that's where his true living quarters are?"

"Now to figure out how to get in," Catherine said, nodding at Anoki, "Without tripping off the alarms I'm sure he has."

Anoki did a scan in the area for wireless signals. She found a number of them, but most were from home networks and only lightly encrypted. The one that piqued her interest was a highly encoded one that matched many of the government ones she'd been into recently.

"Give me a minute," Anoki said, "I think I can get this open."

Anoki hacked in while Catherine watched her. It took her slightly less than two minutes to break the code for Baltimore's wireless network and another two minutes to get around his safeguards. The closet floor opened and a functional elevator rose to greet them.

Anoki was about to step on when Catherine stopped her and dropped to the floor. She saw a familiar item on the elevator pad and looked closer, finding a weight sensor on the floor of the elevator. She pulled out a probe from the kit she'd picked up in St. Louis on the way in to find out exactly what the purpose of it was.

"He has the system programmed for the weight of him and his chair," Catherine said, "Thing would have dropped us like a stone had we tried it."

"Can you bypass it?" Anoki asked.

"Sure," Catherine said, "But we will have to keep our eyes open. You can bet that he wouldn't have counted on that trick alone."

Anoki nodded and watched as Catherine disabled the weight sensor and its backup. She did it in a way that it kept on reporting that there was Baltimore's weight on the panel regardless of what happened to it. She then probed the electronics and disabled a further sensor in the system.

"Paranoid much?" Catherine asked rhetorically, "Anoki, use your filters to check for laser trip beams and the like."

"Already did," Anoki said, "Shaft is clear, can't tell about anything below yet."

Catherine nodded and gingerly stepped onto the elevator. Anoki joined her and took a position by the edge so she could try to do something if there were another trap. Luckily, they had gotten all the traps on the elevator and it was a smooth ride down to what had once been a nuclear fallout shelter.

"Ingenious," Catherine said, whistling as she saw it, "I can't wait to see what's inside."

"You'll have to," Anoki said, "This place is crawling with laser trip beams."

"Great," Catherine growled, "Can you tell where they connect to?"

"Independent generator on the other side of the room," Anoki said, "One way circuit going out. It can send an alert out, but it can't take orders from outside. That one isn't going to be disabled without someone being over there."

"Can you disable it?" Catherine asked her.

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "I can bypass the board on it, but I have to be next to it to do it."

Catherine took out a pack of cigarettes from the kit she'd put together and lit one up. She didn't inhale it, but took enough of a pull to create a bit of smoke before she coughed. She blew the smoke out into the corridor to see the beams for herself.

"It would take a champion gymnast to get through that without the proper reflectors," Catherine said, "He probably has them keyed to his chair."

"Give me a moment," Anoki said, scanning the room using every method she had, "Let me compute this."

Catherine nodded and tried another taste of the cigarette, blowing the smoke out again before she gagged. Anoki did tests of her internal gyroscopes and made physics calculations. It was a good five minutes before she said anything again.

"I can get through it," Anoki said, "Stand back and get ready to run if I miss."

Catherine knew better than to doubt the android. She did what she was told, keeping her kit ready in case she was needed. She tried not to let the butterflies in her stomach get the best of her.

Anoki did a final scan and ensured that the beams were not moving. Once she was sure they were not she began her acrobatic exhibition. All Catherine could do was watch as Anoki began her routine. Her robotic body gave her the strength and grace that no human could ever match. She jumped, slid, and even did a wall walk that would have made a martial arts movie proud, landing right in front of the security unit.

"Nice moves," Catherine said, "Remind me again not to piss you off."

"All in the reflexes," Anoki said, imitating a centuries old television show, "The beams are off and the floor is clean. Help me scan the rest of the room will you?"

"Don't mind if I do," Catherine said as they began searching for the rest of Baltimore's traps, "I'm guessing we're staying the night?"

"Baltimore is still in Colorado," Anoki said, "The least he can do after trying to kill us is give us a place to stay for a bit."

Catherine nodded and hunkered down to work. She knew that they were going to be there for a bit.

Chapter 46 – Siberian Armistice Line

Arkady Timonchenko wore a colonel's uniform, mildly amused at playing a rank far above where he'd been when he'd been seconded over to the intelligence services. He was still tanned from the long sea trip back from the South Pacific, but he still knew how to act the part of a Russian EU soldier. He got out of his car and walked up to the commanding officer's tent.

"What brings you to the armistice line Comrade?" Colonel Anstropski asked him, "This is not a safe place to be right now."

"Nothing is safe, Colonel," Timonchenko said as he looked around, "Unfortunately even with war approaching the brass in Paris still have a voracious appetite for paperwork."

"Nothing new there," Anstropski agreed, "What are you here to inspect, comrade?"

"Battle readiness, what else?" Timonchenko laughed and handed over his forged orders, "I'll go around, fill out my various checklists. You know the score, Anstropski."

"Bah," Anstropski said, "That bonehead in Paris doesn't have the brains to keep us out of another stupid war. What in the hell are we going to gain by fighting the American Union here again? Another hundred thousand corpses?"

"We have the fusion on our side this time," Timonchenko said, "I don't think we're going to have the same problems as before."

"Do your checks and hope cooler heads prevail," Anstropski growled, "You won't want to be here if the bullets start flying."

"I'm going to go start inspecting the line stations," Timonchenko said, "Do I need a guide?"

"Just follow the paths and go towards the buildings with the guns on them," Anstropski said, "If you walk ten minutes without seeing a building then you've gone the wrong way."

"Fair enough," Timonchenko smiled, surprised that they were making it this easy, "I'll pass by on my way out."

The older colonel nodded and went back to his reports. Timonchenko walked out and pulled out a case that he'd brought with him from the vehicle. The case was heavy, but in it were all the tools he'd need to accomplish his mission.

He walked purposefully along the path, knowing that the key to getting around without being challenged was to look as though he belonged there. His years in the EU military were coming in handy as he saluted several people that he passed on the path, not one of who questioned the strange Colonel with the large case.

It took only a few minutes to get to the first defense station and it was as big as he'd been led to believe. The guard briefly questioned him, but was silenced by the phony orders. Timonchenko walked into the door and looked around at the installation.

"Stand down," Timonchenko barked as he walked in, "Inspection!"

Timonchenko played the part and got the tour that he needed as part of the inspection guise that Baltimore Remordis had issued him. He learned about the readiness and the operation of the large weapon he was standing in. He listened patiently, but grew bored as they reached the computer room at the top of the building.

"Is this station the closest to the armistice line?" Timonchenko asked the soldiers, wanting to make sure he was right.

"Yes Colonel!" they barked with pride.

"Good," Timonchenko said as he pulled out a silenced pistol and shot both of them in the head, "Your services will no longer be needed."

Timonchenko left the bodies bleeding on the floor as he dragged his case over to the computer terminals. He pulled it open and attached a large machine with similar connections to the terminals in place of their keyboards. Timonchenko was completely inept with computers, but even he could put the plugs in the right place.

The machine took a few minutes to start up and crack the passwords of the network terminals. While this was going on Timonchenko pulled out a large rifle and a package of twenty mini-grenades. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, smoking as he readied the rifle for the task he had in mind.

Soon afterwards he heard the beep he was expecting and went over to the machine. He fired up the subnet connection that brought the control over the mechanized defense system over to Baltimore Remordis, who was sitting in an unused office at the ADX Florence prison.

"Is the tension level right?" Remordis asked his prodigy over the secure line to the machine Timonchenko had hooked up.

"These people are scared out of their minds," Timonchenko said, "I figure I pop a few rounds into some guards in public across the line and people will start firing at me. This, combined with a few strategically thrown grenades and your random starts of the defense system will start things popping."

"Good," Baltimore said as he checked the systems, "Do your thing and get your ass to Paris. We lost enough time with your slow return from Mozandondo."

"Should have warned me about the android," Timonchenko said as he blew out a cloud of smoke, "Someone took over the computers on the battleship."

"The android is no longer a factor," Baltimore told him, "It is lying under fifty tons of concrete in Peru along with that idiot my brother sired."

"Your familial concern is touching, Baltimore," Timonchenko chuckled, "What am I looking for in Paris?"

"Damage control," Baltimore said, "Despréaux screwed up and let Bolantine escape. We need that son of a bitch contained until it's too late for him to do anything."

"Why would he want to?" Timonchenko asked, "He'd probably agree with starting the war for profit."

"Not without himself being at the top," Remordis reminded the younger man, "We've invested too much in making Nicholas Bolantin a proper puppet that we can't afford to let Bolantine make a play yet. Just back up Despréaux and make sure that Bolantine remains a non-factor."

"Right," Timonchenko nodded, "Twilight is falling, that means it's time for me to go to work."

"You have ten minutes," Remordis said, "Then I start rocking and rolling."

Timonchenko grunted and stopped the audio connection. He finished his cigarette and went to the window, using his rifle scope to watch the American compound a half mile away. It didn't take him long to see promising targets walk out. He readied his body and took the wind into calculation as he put his targets in view.

"Dasvidania motherfucker," Timonchenko mumbled as he pulled the trigger, firing the first shot of what he hoped would turn into another world war.

His shots rang true and three high ranking American soldiers hit the ground, fatally wounded. The alarms started ringing across the compound, followed quickly by shots aimed clumsily at his tower. He took out two more people and heard shouts on both sides. Then, he took some of the grenades and threw them out windows in places that he knew no one on this side could see them.

The tensions were so high on both sides that it didn't take long for the fighting to start in earnest. Timonchenko slipped out of the building as the defense towers began to add to the chatter, causing both sides to go into full assault against each other. He went back to the commander's tent to find the commander alone yelling into a communication device.

"Someone started shooting!" Anstropski yelled, "We're in a full scale war here and we need to stop it now!"

Timonchenko didn't want to hear the end of this conversation so he pulled out his pistol and fired a single shot into the commander's head, knowing that nobody would be able to tell what happened in the confusion. He went over to the communicator and picked it up.

"Who am I speaking with?" Timonchenko asked, "This is Colonel Timonchenko. Anstropski is dead! Those American bastards started shooting at us and are attacking, now what are you going to let us do about it?"

Chapter 47 – Of Missiles and Men

Catherine and Anoki spent over an hour going through the room and disabling every trap that Baltimore Remordis had put into the room. They had started on the desk and main computer when Anoki stopped what she was doing and went blank for a few moments.

"What is it?" Catherine asked.

"The war has started," Anoki said, "Both sides are blaming the other, but the Euros are about to pass a declaration. The American Union is expected to follow soon."

"That son of a bitch," Catherine growled, "This is what he wanted, isn't it?"

"We won't know that until we access his system," Anoki said, "I think I have this area clear, how is your area?"

"It's not going to blow up," Catherine said, "You can block anything going out now, right?"

"I'm filtering the network," Anoki nodded, "I've also created a virtual machine of his original computer. If he comes in from outside it will hit that and hide us."

"Works for me," Catherine said, sitting down, "You want to drive?"

"You know this interface better," Anoki said, "You also have human intuition that I do not."

"Get the heat then," Catherine said as she began, "This room is a goddamn icebox."

"Now that's one old furnace," Anoki said, "Heat will be on soon..."

Catherine nodded and pulled up a box to sit on. The room was utterly without chairs since Baltimore carried his own and no one else was usually allowed into the room. She moved some things around on the screen and got herself acclimated with her uncle's filing strategy.

"Touch interface," Anoki said, nodding, "Takes on the user's personality after a while."

"Mine is much the same way," Catherine said, "Or at least it used to be."

Catherine frowned as she let herself think about what she'd lost, but stopped quickly and started looking at the dates. This machine carried files dating from when Baltimore Remordis began working for the intelligence services some twenty-five years before.

"We hit his main machine," Catherine noted as she flipped through the files, "Looks like the story we want started about five years ago, during the war. Baltimore led an operation whose goal was to destroy the European Union government."

"Nicholas Bolantin was his choice," Anoki noted, "And look there, Bolantin is the result of a genetic experiment started in my time. He's genetically related to Bolantine."

"I'll give Baltimore credit, he's a thorough son of a bitch," Catherine agreed, "He planned it down to the letter, right down to the operation that put the bastard in power."

"It didn't go all the way to plan," Anoki noted, "I doubt he planned on having his back broken by an interrogator. Looks like Bolantin backfired somewhat on him, bringing an end to the war but without anything being settled."

"I'm sure that stuck at his craw," Catherine said, "But enough to start the war again?"

"Let's keep reading," Anoki said, "Maybe we'll learn something else."

They went through piles of material collected by Baltimore Remordis and people working for him over the years. He'd made it a habit to learn anything and everything about his family and the secrets they'd carried for two centuries.

"He planned all this," Catherine said as she read, "He opened the packet soon after he got home and picked through all the old information on both Bolantine and the Immortals."

"He's also the one who released the journals to your cousin," Anoki said, "Made sure that it went through sources that Terry couldn't track back to him."

"Terry had been obsessed with Groom Lake for years," Catherine said, "He made the perfect patsy for Baltimore. Looks like he even set up the contacts with the European company that financed the expedition."

"It looks as if he's been plotting to get the war started again since he got home," Anoki agreed, "The only thing I don't get was why he used Bolantine to do it. There had to be easier ways to start the fighting again without risking everything on someone as unpredictable as Bolantine."

"Not to mention bringing Mason, Karen, and Jim in," Catherine grumped, "They wouldn't have been a factor, probably wouldn't even have known. That part doesn't sound like Baltimore. He doesn't like things he can't control."

"Timonchenko is his man as well," Anoki told her, "He was behind us the whole time, going to Mozandondo on Baltimore's orders, not the Euro government's."

Catherine thought about that for a bit. Mozandondo was a lot out of the way and couldn't have been guaranteed to do anything other than ruffle feathers. Why would he waste the effort to send her down there when he could just have easily sent the Euro ship to one of the uninhabited atolls nearby and had the same effect without killing a few hundred people.

"He wanted the immortals," Catherine said, looking at Anoki, "But why?"

Anoki didn't answer as she sorted through data. She was on something, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Finally, she pushed some data on to the screen for Catherine to take a look at.

"What is the Mallorca System?" Anoki asked, "Do you know?"

"Sure," Catherine said, "It's a nuclear and fusion weapon control system. Neigh unbreakable they say, designed by a team of brilliant scientists originally in the 2040's. All the AU plasma weapons are controlled by it."

"I think I know why he wanted the immortals," Anoki said, pushing another file on the screen, "He spent months digging into that system. Look at the names on that page, especially the one with the star."

Catherine looked through the names and several of the last batch caused her to blink and look up at Anoki. The Mallorca system had been mostly created by James Entragian, Mason Stone and Karen Stone. They were also the only people left on the planet who had the key knowledge on how it worked and how to open it up.

"He wants control of the nuclear/fusion system," Catherine said as the realization dawned on her, "He needed to force them out of hiding so he could take them and get the information he wanted."

"Looks like it," Anoki said, "Also explains the war push as well. He can't do anything without a general DefCon three or higher."

"Now the question is," Catherine said, shaking a little as she thought about it, "Why does he want the weapons systems in his hands? Does he want to make sure nobody uses it or does he want to use it himself?"

"Using even one of those things would have disastrous effects on the environment," Anoki said, "Using all of them would all but destroy the planet."

"It would destroy the planet," Catherine said, her face going white, "The fusion reactions would eat through the earth's crust, destabilizing all land masses. Enough of them could cause the planet to collapse in on itself. Throw in the European Union response and the entire planet would be blown to smithereens."

They sat there and looked at each other for a few minutes, realizing with terror just what they'd been involved in. They'd both been pawns in what had just become the largest life or death game that the world had ever seen.

"What should we do?" Anoki asked, "You know this world better than I do."

"He wrote us off in Peru," Catherine smiled, "Time to show him how much he underestimated us."

"It's you and me against the entire resources of the American Union," Anoki said, "You're officially dead and believed to have been a traitor working with the European Union. I don't exist. I doubt we could walk up there with this computer and have them take it seriously."

"I love a challenge," Catherine said sarcastically, "There's another wild card in the game that I think Baltimore underestimated. His European storm troopers missed Bolantine in Paris. Evidently Baltimore has been watching Bolantine's quick rise to take over the Vladivostok mob. Now he's decided to subdue him since they got Mason's crew."

"You aren't thinking..." Anoki said.

"When you're playing with stakes this high the only way to win is to cheat," Catherine said, "He may be a bastard, but he's immortal and has access to a large criminal network. That means resources."

"Bolantine is a sociopath," Anoki warned her, "And he hates Mason more than anyone who has ever lived."

"Bolantine likes living," Catherine reminded Anoki, "If Baltimore's plan succeeds he's either going to be dead like the rest of us or an immortal wandering the splintered remains of a dead planet."

"It's crazy," Anoki said, "Risky too."

"A lot less so than attacking ADX Florence directly," Catherine countered, "The hard part is going to be getting to the European Union with the war starting."

"Ever flown in a fighter jet?" Anoki asked Catherine.

"No," Catherine asked suspiciously, "Why?"

"I know how to get us there," Anoki smiled, "But it will not be a fun ride for you."

"Driving an American fighter to Paris?" Catherine asked as it dawned on her, "That's a sure way to get us killed."

"I can fly faster than any living pilot," Anoki said, "You can survive the G forces those planes can produce at top speed, but no mortal human can continue piloting the plane like that. I can."

"So we go in and steal a plane and fly like the wind east?" Anoki asked.

"North," Anoki said, "Shorter route and not as well guarded. I can keep us low over the ice floes and the EU radar will have a hard time seeing us at all. We could be in Paris by dinnertime."

"Assuming we can get a plane," Catherine chuckled, "I'm sure they watch them like hawks."

"We will have one waiting for us at Reagan Airport," Anoki grinned, "There is a squadron gearing up, we should be able to slip in and take one. I really like the access codes your uncle collected. They'll make our lives easier."

"Let's do it," Catherine said, "Before I eat anything... If I don't eat I can't throw it up over my flight suit, granted the smell in here is terrible too."

Anoki hadn't noticed it as one of the failings of her android body was that smell was generally not something she used often. She used the sense now and was surprised by what she smelled in the air.

"That is burned flesh," Anoki said, surprised, "I should have noticed that sooner."

"The furnace," Catherine said, "You didn't vent it properly!"

Anoki went over to shut down and vent the furnace. She used a fire extinguisher to cool it off before shining a light inside so that Catherine could see inside as well as Anoki.

"There's a body," Anoki said unnecessarily, "Another couple hours of running would have finished cremating it. Luckily he had to take off to go catch us in Peru."

"Enough to pull out?" Catherine asked, "I wonder who it is?"

Anoki pulled the body out and laid what was left of it on the floor, searching it for any clues as to identity. She scanned the body and found some undamaged ID tags in the tattered remains of a fire resistant pouch in his belt.

"Anthony Holder," Anoki said, "NSA."

"He was an old friend of Baltimore's," Catherine sighed, "That son of a bitch has really learned how to kill friends and enrage enemies."

"What should we do about this place?" Anoki asked.

"Destroy it," Catherine said, "Losing this place will put him off balance and make him wonder who is coming after him. They'll find Tony here in the rubble and it may make for some friction between him and the feds."

"Let's go," Anoki agreed, "Should be easy enough to use his own traps against it."

"Not to mention the pile of C4 in the closet," Catherine said, "Wire that up and this place goes up in a blaze of glory."

Anoki smiled and pulled out some tricks she had learned from Greg Kaczmarek two centuries before. It took only five minutes to wire and they left the building, leaving behind the last remnants of Catherine's old life as they walked out. Anoki handed Catherine the remote to set off the explosives.

"Ready to cut the ties?" Anoki asked her.

"Yes," Catherine said and pushed the button, "Fuck you, Baltimore."

The two of them drove away as the building rained down debris around them.

Chapter 48 – A Nighttime Visit

Bolantine looked at the country house twenty miles from Paris with a critical eye. He knew from earlier reconnaissance that Reno Despréaux lived alone with only two guards to keep himself safe. He thought he was safe in Paris, a city controlled by a regime he had put into power with the ascent of Nicholas Bolantin.

Nikki jogged up and took a crouching position next to Bolantine and looked out over the building along with him. They were both wearing black and with the new moon blended into the ground completely. She waited until he looked up to tell him.

"Neighbors are mostly gone," Nikki said, "I fried the standard switch station in the area. It'll take them until morning for enough people to notice and report. We'll be long gone when the utility workers show up."

"The house was a resistance headquarters during the war," Bolantine said, "The plans say there's no basement, but you can see the rise on the ground where the earth has settled around the building. I'm betting that is his control room."

"Do I pull the plug on his communications as well?" Nikki asked him.

"I took care of that an hour ago," Bolantine said, "His communications go through the internet connection hub in the house. I had one of Panin's boys crack it and filter it. Anything normal goes out, anything resembling a phone call or a security system will die. Once we go in they'll ratchet up the filtering and make it look like their network link has gone slowly and tapered off."

"Sounds like we have our bases covered then," Nikki said, "I hid the motorbike a quarter mile to the north. It's barely 11pm, we should have nearly six hours before anyone realizes there's something wrong."

"Let's go have some fun," Bolantine said, "It's been too long since I've forced someone to talk."

They strapped on the night vision goggles and dodged several security systems that were well placed, but obvious. Nikki darted around several areas and made it to the house without setting off any alarms. Her small and slight stature made it easy to evade things like that. She got to the internal panel and took less than a minute to completely disable the external security system.

Bolantine followed quickly once Nikki gave him the signal. With the external security disabled he could walk up to the door and hit the hinges with a bottle of super lubricant that allowed him to open it with next to no noise. Nikki followed closely and got her silenced pistol ready. Bolantine drew his as well and silently motioned for Nikki to head inside.

Nikki did and surveyed the area, seeing where the two security guards were located. She pointed out the area to Bolantine and then began the internal connections to allow Panin's hackers to take over the rest of the security.

Bolantine waited a few seconds for moment and then noticed that the security guards were talking to each other instead of paying attention to the area around them. Bolantine shook his head and stepped into the room they were in. Before either guard took notice of his black clad presence they received a single silenced shot to the eye, killing them instantly.

Nikki popped in and shook her head gesturing to him asking why he didn't wait. Bolantine shrugged and waved her back to her work. He then moved the bodies silently into a nearby closet so they would not be seen from outside. Bolantine had just finished hiding the bodies when Nikki came in.

She was about to talk when Bolantine silenced her and pointed upstairs. She realized that he'd heard movement up there and would take care of it. He pointed down, instructing her to get the basement ready so that Bolantine had a place to take Reno Despréaux as soon as he had the man under control.

Despréaux was a man of habit and one of those habits was ignoring the two security people. He finished with the file on Bolantine that he was reading and put it down to go fix himself a drink. He poured the Pastis and water into a glass and took a sip, closing his eyes as he let the traditional French liquor dance on his tongue.

He opened his eyes to see a Silenced Pistol aimed right between his eyes from about six inches away. He let out a short breath and drank the rest of his drink quietly knowing that the man who held the pistol could have already finished him off if that was what he wanted.

"I take it you are not here to kill me," Reno Despréaux said as he looked at Bolantine, "Otherwise you would have already done so."

"The night is still young," Bolantine said as he looked at the agent, "Hands out front and go where I tell you. After what you pulled in Paris I wouldn't be too upset if I had to shoot you."

Despréaux knew that his best hope was to wait for his security systems to catch up and for his guards to come in, a hope that was dashed as Nikki came into the room.

"Security system is down," Nikki said, "You were right, there's a control room down in the basement."

"Good," Bolantine said without wavering, "If you want any chance of surviving this then you'll follow Nikki and not make any sudden moves."

Despréaux cursed silently and knew that he had been targeted by someone very good. He just wished he could recognize the man behind the dark greasepaint. He considered trying to make a move, but knew that he would be dead before he could move enough to get the knife he carried in his arm holster at all times.

"Good boy," Nikki said and turned her back to him.

Despréaux readied the knife, sliding it down from his sleeve into his hand. He waited for the right opportunity to get out of this, thinking he got it when Bolantine tripped on a bad step and lost his balance, momentarily losing his balance on the basement steps.

Despréaux brought the knife down and picked up Nikki, holding the knife to her throat as he made sure to use her as a shield. Bolantine recovered quickly as Despréaux made his way down the steps. Bolantine aimed the gun at him again.

"Quick move," Bolantine grunted, "Now put the knife down before I have to shoot you. I'd rather get the information I need without having to get Nikki's clothes all bloody."

"Now, we wait for my security," Despréaux said as he pulled the phone out with one hand, "Or you can run now and hope you can free your bitch later."

Bolantine merely shook his head and chuckled as a rather shaky Despréaux opened the phone and punched in the emergency numbers. It took him a moment to realize that he had no signal at all.

"What's the point of cutting communication if you leave wireless available?" Bolantine asked, his aim not moving, "Drop the knife and you have a chance of walking out of here. Piss me off and I'll carve you up piece by piece until you tell me everything I want to know. Then, I'll cut your balls off and leave them dangling in front of you waiting to see if the blood loss or the paramedics get you first."

"Big talk," Despréaux spat, "I'm still holding the knife to your girl's throat."

"Sorry Nikki," Bolantine said, "But it's time to make a sacrifice to the cause."

"Cut if you must, Despréaux," Nikki growled, "Just make it clean and prepare for a hard death if you do it."

Despréaux was surprised at this, knowing that he didn't have any other leverage. He pushed back against the door to his safe room and then slit Nikki's throat with the knife before he threw the girl back at Bolantine.

Bolantine fired two shots, the first going through Nikki's torso and hitting Despréaux in the buttocks, the second more controlled and going through the fleeing agent's knee. He let Nikki fall to the ground and kicked open the door to go get the agent off the floor.

Despréaux screamed and turned over and used all the strength he had remaining to jam the knife into Bolantine's stomach. Despréaux was not a weak man and the stabbing would have disemboweled a mortal man. It was fortunate, for Bolantine at least, that he was no mortal man.

Bolantine grunted and punched the arrogant agent in the nose, breaking it soundly and got ready to beat the man into submission. It was Nikki coming into the room that stopped him. Despréaux screamed as he saw the girl that he thought died walk in under her own power with little more than a rapidly disappearing red line on her neck to show for the injury.

"We need him alive long enough to give us information," Nikki reminded him, "I'm supposed to be the cowgirl, B."

"You're lucky she's here to keep me thinking straight," Bolantine growled as he pulled Despréaux's knife out of his own stomach, "Tie the dumb son of a bitch to a chair so he doesn't inconvenience me again."

"Bolantine," Despréaux said as the recognition came in, "The entire nation is looking for you."

"You've found me," Bolantine said, "Now how did you know I was in Paris?"

"A little birdy told me," Despréaux spat.

"Wrong answer," Bolantine said as he pulled his leg up and applied some pressure to Despréaux's wounded knee, "I'd been in Paris less than two days. Who told you? Which one of Panin's lackeys do I need to kill?"

"Blow me," Despréaux said.

Bolantine applied some more pain in creative ways. He was not particularly thrilled with having to do it this way, but he needed the information. He wanted to make sure that it was just a simple act of betrayal and not Mason Stone coming up on his tail already.

"Who told you!" Bolantine shouted and beat on Despréaux a bit more. Bolantine had finally found Despréaux's limit.

"Baltimore Remordis," Despréaux finally said, "He's an American Union agent. His information package is on my desk."

"How the hell did he know?" Bolantine asked Nikki, "Another Remordis?"

"That can't be a coincidence," Nikki said as she found the package, "They have surveillance pictures of us, B. All the way from Area 51 to last week in Vladivostok. They knew and let us go through anyway."

"That doesn't make any sense," Bolantine said as he looked at Despréaux, "Why in the hell would a retired agent watch us and not do anything?"

"You weakened the Russian sector by taking over as you did," Despréaux said, "Remordis said your involvement was necessary for other parts of the plan, but he didn't want you messing around in Paris."

Bolantine shook his head. He was not thrilled with this development. He didn't know why he'd been used this way, but it made him mad. He didn't like being used like that. He was the one who was supposed to be doing the using.

"His story checks," Nikki said, "They must have been using us as a decoy for starting the war again. The shooting began in Russia a few hours ago."

"Great," Bolantine growled, "Anything else we can learn from this prick?"

"His passwords," Nikki said, "It will make raping his computers easier."

"Would you like to go for round two?" Bolantine asked, which was enough to get Despréaux talking for his life. Within minutes, Nikki had what she needed.

"I think we have what we need," Nikki said as she finished pulling every bit of information out of the machine, "Go ahead and shoot him."

"But you said!" Despréaux yelled.

"I lied," Bolantine said as he put two bullets into Reno Despréaux's skull, "Let's get out of here."

"Don't have to ask me twice," Nikki grinned as the two of them silently made their way out of the house and hiked to Nikki's motorbike, leaving the scene quietly.

Chapter 49 – Uncomfortable Questions

Baltimore Remordis was fuming. First, the immortals turned out to be much harder to coax information out of than he expected and then someone goes and blows up his house. He rolled out into the hall and tried hard to keep his cool.

Agent Richard Pierce walked into the hallway as well. A young agent who was hired during the last year of the war, he only knew Baltimore Remordis by reputation. He was slightly intimidated to have to ask questions of the man, but someone had to do it and he was the closest agent to do so.

"Good afternoon, Agent Remordis," Pierce said as he approached the older man, "Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions?"

Baltimore looked at the younger man and growled a little. He was not in the mood for bureaucratic bullshit, but knew that with the high profile explosion he had no choice but to play along. He sat up and looked the young agent in the eyes.

"I guess I have plenty of time since I have no more reason to go home," Remordis grumbled, "I'm guessing that is why you are here?"

"Yes sir," Pierce said, "There were some things found in the wreckage that are most puzzling sir and Washington asked me to get your reasoning for them."

"That place has been my home for over twenty years," Remordis said, shaking his head, "I ran a good bit of intelligence work from the bunker down there. It was wired for that purpose."

"Most of your traps were intact," Pierce said, "That wasn't the puzzling part, we expected to find traps. That was the initial thought in the bureau, that someone tried to get in and tripped something they didn't expect."

"Initial thought?" Remordis asked, honestly puzzled, "How else would my place have blown up?"

"We found the trap switches," Pierce told him, "They were bypassed. They didn't cause the explosion. Someone lined the place with C4 and intentionally blew it out from the ground."

"That's odd," Remordis agreed, "But not surprising. Those Euro bastards probably wanted to take me out of the game early and the easiest way to accomplish that is to take away my home base. They sent you here because someone intentionally blew up my house?"

"No sir," Pierce said, "They sent me here to ask why Tony Holder's corpse was in your basement."

"I have no idea," Baltimore lied, "Maybe he was the one who set off the traps?"

"He'd been dead for days, sir," Pierce told him, "It looks like his body had been somewhat burned in the furnace."

"Tony," Baltimore said, feigning sentiment for his old friend, "I don't know how this could have happened, Agent Pierce. I've not been home for any length of time for over a week. Does anyone know what he was doing there?"

"No sir," Pierce said, "He visited your place about a week ago, left and then got on an uptown bus. He disappeared shortly after that."

"I remember talking to him," Remordis said, "He came by to give me some intel on what my niece was up to. Good man, Tony Holder. He gave me the chance to help stop her before she could do more damage."

"How was he when you saw him?" Pierce asked, "We're looking for leads now. He must have died soon after seeing you."

"He was alive," Baltimore said, "You guys don't think I had anything to do with it, do you?"

"They make us ask, sir," Pierce said honestly, "I don't know what to think about it, to be honest."

"I know," Baltimore smiled, "Just doing your job, young man. I don't know where Tony went after seeing me. I left not long after that myself. I was in Peru for several days before coming back up here."

"What are you working on, sir?" Pierce asked, wondering what the old man would say.

"Assisting in interrogation," Baltimore shrugged, "I've got more practice than nearly anyone alive."

"I'll let you get back to it," Pierce said and handed him a card, "Let me know if you hear anything or think of anything that can help us figure out what happened."

"I will do so," Baltimore said, putting the card in a pocket on his chair, "Keep me informed with what your group finds. I'd love to give whoever did this a swift knife to the balls."

"Yes sir," Pierce grinned, "We'll let you know what we find."

"Thank you," Baltimore said as he wheeled away from the younger agent.

Richard Pierce nodded and walked away, leaving the hallways of ADX Florence and making his way to his car. He sat in the front seat and pulled out his secure phone, dialing his boss in Washington.

"Remordis is up to something," Pierce said, "His story was factually true, but something didn't ring right..."

Chapter 50 – An Insane Flight

"This ridiculous thing is two sizes too small," Catherine said as she put on the flight suit that Anoki handed her, "We don't look anything like pilots and I have no clue how to fly a plane."

"We don't need to right now," Anoki said, "We need to look like we're air force technicians. The rest will come in as we get into the base."

"Fine," Catherine sighed and zipped up, "I feel like a goddamn pinup in this getup."

"That's the idea," Anoki said, "Part of staying alive is using your assets properly. Looking young and female is a highly useful asset. I can't tell you how many times I saved the strike team's asses by going in the line of fire looking like I stepped out of Playboy."

"Doesn't make me feel any less cheap," Catherine complained, "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Anoki smiled and took the wheel. She was better able to do a poker face so they'd decided to let her take the lead on this one. Catherine's job was to smile and look pretty as Anoki faked the paperwork. They climbed into the corvette that Anoki had procured through creative rental agreements.

"I never thought I'd be playing a stripper," Catherine said glumly, "That's why I stayed in school, to avoid this crap."

"Cheer up," Anoki said as she drove purposefully for Reagan Airbase, "You'll only be young and pretty once. Enjoy it while you can."

"Thanks," Catherine said, shaking her head, "You look as though you enjoy this."

"Greg Kaczmarek said it best over two centuries ago," Anoki said and then did a perfect imitation of him, "How can an android so expensive look so wonderfully cheap?"

Catherine broke out in laughter at that one as they pulled up to the base. Anoki pulled out the paperwork that she'd forged and handed it over to the guard at the gate along with their forged ID cards. The guard looked carefully, but knew that he had no choice with the paperwork.

"Make sure Colonel Fraker doesn't see you," the guard said, "He's been on a rules tear since the shooting started. He may not take too kindly for women of your ilk."

"Thank you for the warning," Anoki said, gripping Catherine's leg before she could start saying anything, "We'll be careful to avoid officer country."

Catherine seethed inside but kept on the smile. She'd been called a whore a few times and it burned her like nothing else. Being a very good looking girl whose looks were exotic at best made getting taken seriously a lot more difficult.

"Don't take it personally," Anoki said as they cleared, "The goal is to stop Baltimore's insane plan. If a gate guard thinks we're hookers it means that he's underestimating us."

"I know," Catherine said, "It's just something I've fought against for years."

"I can understand that," Anoki said, "I carry similar memories from Stacy Anoki."

"Aren't you Stacy Anoki?" Catherine wondered.

"I am an artificial sentient being shaped by her," Anoki said, "I carry her memories, but the real Stacy Anoki died in the explosion that set me loose. Once they removed the protocol set that her time in the Mellisa model wetbrain shaped I lost any resemblance to Stacy Anoki."

Catherine nodded and went silent. They were in the danger zone now, pulling the car to a stop outside the barracks where people were running around. Anoki who had already broken the base computer system to get maps, led them into the barracks.

"What's the plan?" Catherine asked.

"Find the pilot and copilot of a Lockheed X201 dual seat reconnaissance plane," Anoki said, "It is capable of Mach 5 supersonic and is as maneuverable as a fighter."

"That could get us to Paris in an hour," Catherine said, "Assuming you can fly it."

"I can fly it," Anoki agreed, "I'm most worried about you surviving the G-forces."

"Why do I not like this?" Catherine said.

"Because you're smart," Anoki said, "Assuming I can break free of air control I can get us there. I'm just worried about you passing out on me."

"So long as I'm not flying that's not an issue," Catherine told her, "Just get me out of the plane and away from it when you land."

Anoki nodded and did a search for the pilot team for each of the four aircraft that were possible. The best match she found was a team that was still on the ground, Rudolph Marx and Horace Quinn. Anoki projected an image on the wall of their targets.

"They're close to us in size and due for a flight in an hour," Anoki said, "We jump them and take their clothing."

"That's dangerous," Catherine said, "If they put up a fuss and call attention on us I'm a goner."

"Got a better idea?" Anoki asked.

"You said it earlier," Catherine said and unzipped her top a bit, "Let's use our assets and lure them to where they're alone. Then, we can zap them and take their clothes and ID information."

"Now you're thinking," Anoki smiled and followed suit, "According to their locators they're in the next building."

"After you, metal head," Catherine said.

They walked over and waited until the two men were alone. They slipped in and walked over to the taller of the two men. He stood up in surprise as they slid in on either side of him, playing up to the tall pilot.

"I hear it's someone's birthday today," Catherine cooed, "They thought you might need a present before your flight."

"It's not my..." Rudolph Marx started, before he caught sight of his partner, who was glaring at him, "Right... It is... My friend has his birthday too, right Horace?"

"Birthdays are fun," Horace agreed, unable to take his eyes of Catherine's chest, "I can definitely think of worse ways to relax before a long and tedious flight."

Anoki motioned Catherine over to the smaller man as she did a scan of the area. Catherine went over and wondered why Anoki had not made a move yet, but had enough confidence in her to trust what she was doing.

"So what does the birthday boy like?" Anoki asked him, years of bad television shows guiding her voice, "Is he naughty or nice?"

"It depends on what the situation is?" he said, moving closer to Anoki.

Catherine made some small talk herself as Anoki talked dirty with the pilot. She was nervous because she had no intention of sleeping with the little creeper before this flight. The situation moved dangerously close with Anoki shedding her top and Catherine being forced to start doing the same.

"And what do we do next?" Rudolph asked with a goofy smile.

"Sleep," Anoki said and hit him with a taser shot, "Go Catherine!'

Catherine didn't need to be told twice and followed suit, Horace going down even easier than his partner. She stood up and growled at the android as she zipped up her jump suit.

"What the hell was that?" Catherine asked, "You didn't say anything about nearly fucking him!"

"I needed his voice," Anoki said in a dead on imitation of Rudolph's voice, "Now we can get into their suits and start on their mission without being chased by military police."

"Too close," Catherine said, "What do we do with them?"

"Strap them together cuddling," Anoki said evilly, "When they wake up they'll not want to admit that they woke up naked in the shower holding each other."

Catherine couldn't help but laugh as Anoki did exactly that. She didn't think they'd wake up until they were well on their way to Paris, but it was a rather amusing sight. While Anoki handled that Catherine got dressed into the oversized flight suit, doing her best to make her figure more androgynous. Luckily the suit was designed to make a pressure suit and not to be form fitting.

"How do I look?" Catherine asked as she put the helmet on.

"Still look better than him," Anoki said as she did the same, "Make sure your seals are good. You'll need them to survive the g-forces up there."

Catherine nodded and rechecked the seals. Anoki did another look from all the other angles and then slightly modified her body so she would fill Rudolph's suit better, stretching her height another three inches on top of the extra socks she put into his boots. She, unlike Catherine, was also able to reduce her bust to nearly unrecognizable in the outfit.

"How long do we have?" Catherine asked.

"We have to be on the tarmac in fifteen minutes," Anoki said, still using Rudolph's voice, "Play hoarse and grunt if anyone asks anything of you. Use a thumbs up or something like that."

Catherine grunted an assent and gave thumbs up. Anoki nodded and got into character. With only five minutes to spare they walked out onto the tarmac to the mechanics that were giving the recon plane a few last adjustments.

"You ready to roll Rudy?" the mechanic said.

"Yep," Anoki said, "Going to be a mercifully silent flight with Horace's throat all gunked up."

"You shouldn't go up if you're sick, Horace," the mechanic said, "What if you pass out?"

"Just a scratchy throat," Catherine pushed out as deep as her voice would allow, "I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself hoss," the mechanic said, "You know the drill."

Anoki nodded and climbed up into the cockpit. Catherine did the same, though she was nowhere near as coordinated in the flight suit as Anoki. She laid back and looked at the mechanic through the helmet, praying he couldn't see her terrified face inside.

"Sit back, hoss," the mechanic said, "You know the drill, Horace. Let me get you hooked in."

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief at that and lay back, letting the mechanic hook up the hoses. Anoki did the same and then looked at the mechanic.

"How long until we go?" Anoki asked.

"You're next, hoss," the mechanic said, "Nice and easy today, bring this thing back in one piece."

"I'll try," Anoki said and gave him a thumbs up as the canopy closed.

"You ok?" Anoki asked Catherine through the subsystem.

"Just get this over with," Catherine hissed.

"See you in ninety minutes," Anoki smiled as maneuvered the aircraft onto the tarmac.

"Delta two five niner you are clear for takeoff and ascension to sixty thousand feet," the tower voice said, "Stay clear of supersonic until you are outside of the DC area."

"Roger," Anoki said as she pushed the handle and took off.

Catherine just closed her eyes and waited for it all to end, preferably without her and Anoki becoming skid marks across the Arctic Tundra.

Chapter 51 – Spy Games

Arkady Timonchenko had a much easier flight into Paris than Catherine did, but it didn't make him any happier to get there. His orders from Remordis came at an obscenely early hour of the morning sending him to the home of one of the men he hated most in the European Union.

He lit a cigarette as he exited the taxi that brought him to Reno Despréaux's simple house outside Paris. He'd only been there once before, and it was to take a massive chewing out after a mission that had been bungled five years before, the same mission that had seen him become Baltimore Remordis' best agent in fact.

"You'd better be drunk and in bed with a slut," Timonchenko grumbled as he walked up to the house, "That way I'll be justified in shooting you this time."

He stood looking and listening for a moment as he finished his cigarette. He then put it out with the tips of his fingers and put the cigarette butt in his pocket to ensure he didn't leave a trail. Once that was done he walked up to the front door.

The house was quiet, which was odd given that even when he wasn't there Despréaux usually had someone living in the house to ensure that his war room remained secure. As Timonchenko got closer to the door he saw that it was actually slightly ajar.

Timonchenko grumbled and put on a pair of gloves to make sure he didn't leave any fingerprints. The door pushed easily and made no noise as he walked in. The security systems, had they been active, would have made a noise that could have been heard all the way to the Bastille. Timonchenko checked the security systems and found them all dead.

"I hate it when Remordis is right," Timonchenko growled as he walked further into the house.

The Russian didn't even try to pretend that he wasn't in danger any longer. His gun came out of his coat and he went into a fight stance to ensure he was ready for anything. He then began a systematic walkthrough of the house, quickly finding the security men that Bolantine had killed.

He said nothing as he observed the bodies and took some pictures with his phone since he knew that Remordis would want them. After going through the entire house and not finding Reno Despréaux he knew that he would have to check the war room downstairs.

Timonchenko sighed and went to a plant in the window, breaking it open and revealing a set of codes that would have meant nothing to someone who wasn't intimately familiar with Remordis code work. With the likely death of Reno Despréaux that club had been whittled down to Baltimore Remordis and himself.

The Russian walked down to the basement and tried to use the electronic door for Despréaux's war room but found it uncooperative. He then took a crowbar from the workbench on the other end of the basement and cracked the door open, remembering where it was hidden from the last time he'd been there.

The door creaked open and a familiar smell hit Timonchenko, a smell that would cause most sane men to turn away and likely lose their lunch. Timonchenko hardly paused as he flashed his light into the ten by twelve war room that had lain under Despréaux's lawn for nearly two decades.

"Dumb," Timonchenko said as he saw Despréaux tied to a chair and slumped dead against the ropes, "Very dumb."

He looked around and found the place had been ransacked as he had expected, but not in an organized manner. Most of the European Union people were far more organized when it came to searching a room, not to mention they wouldn't have left bodies behind. The computers were gone and with them any of the information Remordis would have wanted. He pulled out a large phone and dialed a number from memory.

"It's Timonchenko," he said, "Despréaux is dead, his war room has been compromised. What do you want me to do?"

"Anything to connect us?" Remordis asked, "Any clues on who did it? Are the secret police on to you?"

"It's too crude for secret police," Timonchenko said, "Place was ransacked and Despréaux's corpse is in the war room. If the secret police had been on to us then Despréaux would have disappeared and they would have left the computers online to find us. This reeks of old time organized crime."

"Bolantine," Remordis said, "I guess Reno failed to corral the old crook. How long has he been dead?"

"No more than a day," Timonchenko said, "Pictures of the scene should be hitting your phone any time now."

Baltimore took a few moments to look at them and then went back to the phone, not particularly bothered by what he saw.

"Is the shooting war holding" Baltimore asked, "That's more important than Despréaux right now."

"Better than I'd hoped," Timonchenko said, "What do you need me to do?"

"You're going to have to stay in Paris," Remordis told him, "You should be able to take over most of what Despréaux was doing. You need to keep that bastard Bolantine occupied."

"What harm could he cause?" Timonchenko asked, "Why did you let him out in the first place?"

"Without him being out I couldn't have gotten the other immortals," Remordis told him, "Now he's a liability and a potentially lethal one."

"Do you expect me to take him down?" Timonchenko asked, worried about that, "I'm good, but I don't have the team here in Paris that Despréaux did."

"No," Remordis said, "Just keep him busy and keep him the hell away from Nicholas Bolantin. The last thing we need is someone unpredictable getting control from our puppet."

"Got it," Timonchenko agreed, "I'll attack his supply lines. He still working with Panin out of Vladivostok?"

"Yes," Remordis said, "Shutting down Panin's group would hurt Bolantine and may give us some information on who hit me in DC. My war room is shut down too."

"Was it compromised first?" Timonchenko worried, "There's a lot of data there that could get us put in prison for a long time."

"Not unless they have a spare supercomputer," Remordis told him, "Sanitize Despréaux's work room and get out of there. Report to me when you know more about Bolantine's whereabouts."

"Yes sir," Timonchenko agreed as he rang off the line.

He then put Despréaux's body with his security men and armed the thermite charges that Despréaux had worked into the design of his work room. He walked out the back and went away as the war room burned deeply, turning any traces of what had been there into worthless soot.

He failed to notice the new camera that Bolantine had put up to see who came to admire his handiwork.

Chapter 52 – A Deserted House in France

Catherine Remordis woke up in a strange bed for the first time in her life. Unfortunately, she was alone and still fully dressed. She rubbed her head a little and looked at the pitch black outside the window. The last thing she remembered was screaming in terror as Anoki pushed the throttle up to bring the aircraft to Mach 6.

"Anoki?" Catherine asked.

"Good," Anoki said as she sat up, "I was starting to worry about you. You passed out during the initial thrust."

"Sounds like I missed the good part," Catherine said dryly, "Where are we?"

"A country house about forty miles north of Paris," Anoki said, "Probably best that you missed that landing. It was not a fun one."

"I thought you said we'd be here by dinnertime," Catherine asked as she walked around.

"I did," Anoki grinned sheepishly, "We left Washington four hours ago. I just forgot about the time zone changes. It's nearly midnight here. Too late to really do much, so I found us a safe place to stay about five miles from the crash site."

"Who owns this place?" Catherine asked.

"Some minor Eurotrash celebrity," Anoki shrugged, "They're down in Marseilles this time of year and the house is essentially mothballed."

"Good find," Catherine said, "I take it we're staying the night?"

"I don't have a good fix on Bolantine yet," Anoki said, "I have some information from Baltimore's machine, but that's now out of date."

"So we're staying the night," Catherine said as she walked around, "Have we got any food?"

"There's some in the kitchen," Anoki said, "I'm still working on breaking the European Union network encryption."

Catherine nodded and went to the kitchen and pulled a French soda from the bag. She pulled it open and drank a good bit of it down, despite it being a bit on the warm side. She looked up as Anoki sat down in front of her.

"Thanks Anoki," Catherine said, looking at the android, "You didn't have to do all this, Metal head."

"You're the only friend I have left," Anoki said honestly, "I may not feel it as a human does but I rather like having someone to talk to again."

"I feel the same way," Catherine smiled, "I haven't had many friends for a while."

"I can't imagine that," Anoki said, "You're a bright and pretty girl. I'd think that guys would have been falling all over you."

"Nothing of the sort," Catherine sighed, "I haven't been able to hold a relationship since I told Bobby to go to hell my freshman year."

"Not even tried?" Anoki wondered, "You seem too outgoing for that."

"I tried," Catherine told her, "Every time I started to get close to someone he'd either end up transferring or something would happen to get between us. I've not had good luck in that department, especially not since Maia died."

"Who was Maia?" Anoki wondered, "Girlfriend?"

"My best friend and not in the way you're intimating, metal head," Catherine chuckled at Anoki, "We shared everything, even went to school together. We were inseparable from the time we were six until she was killed."

"What happened to her?" Anoki asked.

"She was raped and murdered," Catherine said, her eyes misting over a bit in remembering her friend, "I found her in her room... They had violated her in so many ways..."

"Did they ever catch the bastard?" Anoki asked.

"No," Catherine said sadly, "I suspected some of the fraternity assholes but the DNA tests exonerated them."

"Maybe when we stop your uncle we'll search for them," Anoki said and then thought, "Wait a minute... What was Maia's last name?"

"Takashi," Catherine said, "Why?"

Anoki went blank for a few moments as Catherine stared at her. Catherine had not talked about Maia in over a year, but it felt good to remember her. She needed something to hold on to other than the anger and betrayal she'd felt for the past few days.

"She was killed in her room at Bachman Terrace on July 15, 2249," Anoki said, "Unidentified perpetrator seen only on a grainy video taken at the entrance to the building. She was gagged and raped repeatedly by a man who didn't bother to cover up his DNA. He left a cryptic message similar to one a local serial killer had used during the time frame, but the DNA didn't match once the serial killer was found last year."

"How the hell do you know that?" Catherine said, "I know you couldn't have had anything to do with it, so where did you get that info?"

"Your relationships," Anoki said, "They started disintegrating around this time frame. People left, got disinterested or got good jobs or scholarships elsewhere."

"Yes," Catherine said, "I've often wondered if there was a celestial conspiracy against me being happy. I just wrote it off to being paranoid. What do you know, Anoki?"

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you," Anoki said gravely, "Baltimore always planned on using you for this mission. I just forced his hand a few days early."

"Baltimore was still in the hospital then," Catherine said, "I remember talking to Dad about that."

"Our old friend Timonchenko did the dirty work," Anoki said, "Maia was the one friend he couldn't crack. Baltimore spread a lot of money and phony scholarships around to create that wall around you and bring you to the sense of hopelessness that caused you to take the trip to Mozandondo when it came up."

The color drained out of Catherine's face as she remembered all the supposed friends who had dropped out of her life for little or no reason. She thought again of Maia, a gentle soul who had little ambition but a fierce devotion to her friends.

"I got Maia killed," Catherine said as memories flooded back, "I convinced her not to take the scholarship to a school across the country."

"You had no way of knowing," Anoki said and moved closer to her, "You are not responsible for your uncle being a sociopathic lunatic."

"So he always planned on this?" Catherine said, "From the beginning?"

"Looks like the campaign started in the hospital a few months before Maia's death," Anoki said as she went through the records, "Spent a couple million dollars in getting you into the position you were in."

"My parents?" Catherine asked, her eyes flashing wide, "He didn't..."

"Timonchenko again," Anoki confirmed, "I'm so sorry to have to tell you this..."

"No," Catherine said, gripping Anoki's shoulder, "Thank you, Anoki. I'd rather know. I was angry and hurt before. Now I'm pissed. That son of a bitch stole everything from me."

"What is your niece's happiness worth when you're trying to destroy everything?" Anoki wondered, "I thought people like your uncle only existed in bad movies. Who the hell wants to destroy everything?"

"Someone who is suicidal," Catherine sighed, "He didn't get better in the hospital. He decided to get even."

"He hasn't won yet," Anoki said, "He underestimated you."

"I'd be dead without you," Catherine smiled, "Who would have ever guessed my best friend would be a chunk of metal, eh metal head?"

"I don't know if I've ever been someone's best friend before," Anoki pondered, "Greg was close, but he was more a fuck buddy than anything else."

"A robot with a sex drive," Catherine said, "Oh the humanity..."

"Get some more sleep," Anoki suggested, "I hope to have a line in to Bolantine by morning. It is going to be a busy day tomorrow."

Catherine nodded. She was angry but relieved in a way. She'd been doubting herself for a long time, wondering if it was something she was doing. Now, she knew that it had been intentional. She was just glad that Bolantine had accidentally activated Anoki or she might never have known.

Chapter 53 – Somebody is Waiting for Me

"Wake up," Anoki said as she shook Catherine's shoulder, "I've got a line on Bolantine."

"How?" Catherine wondered.

"Communication with the underworld boss in Vladivostok," Anoki told her, "He's at a cheap motel about ten miles from here."

"Let's go catch him," Catherine agreed, "You drive, I can't read French."

Anoki nodded and they went out to the car, making tracks for the motel that Bolantine's call originated from. Bolantine sat on the bed cursing a bit at the inanity that he was dealing with.

"We should have stayed in Vladivostok," Bolantine growled, "Those idiots have started the war and Vladivostok is on the other side of the lines from us."

"Any ideas, B?" Nikki asked.

"We can't stay here long," Bolantine said, "We may have killed that agent, but his friends aren't going to let sleeping dogs lie."

"Think they have Panin's phone tapped?" Nikki asked.

"They'd have to know about the new line," Bolantine said, "But after the last place I think we'd best get moving. We can think while we drive. Moving around is safer than staying in one place."

"I don't like having to react like this, B," Nikki grumbled, "We're out of our depth."

"Did you get the data from that agent's computer?" Bolantine asked, "Who the hell was his handler?"

"I haven't had a chance to go through it all," Nikki told him, "Let's drive. I can use that handheld unit I took off that French bitch at Groom Lake."

"I'll drive," Bolantine said, "You did better with computers than I did."

"Considering electricity had only just been invented when you were born that's not a huge surprise," Nikki teased.

"Funny," Bolantine chuckled, "Move it, short stuff."

They checked out and loaded up into their car, leaving the parking lot a mere three minutes before Anoki and Catherine pulled up. Catherine waited in the car until Anoki came out and shook her head. Catherine growled and slammed the dashboard.

"They're probably heading south," Catherine said, "If they nearly got clobbered in Paris then they'll probably want to go somewhere safer. Bolantine will prefer population centers as well."

"Why?" Anoki asked, pulling out of the parking lot, "I'll follow your intuition, but I'm curious."

"There's nothing north that's worth it for them," Catherine explained, "They'd have to cross a border to get to Brussels. South will get them to Marseille or Lyon. No border, better chance to get bearings or get to Vladivostok."

"That's why you're with me," Anoki said, "I don't have the intuition you do."

"Doesn't help us find them," Catherine said, "Just sends us in the right direction."

They drove for a bit and Catherine thought about ways to try to get a hold of Bolantine. She couldn't believe she was putting this much effort into trying, but Bolantine was probably the only person left that could help crack ADX Florence.

"Anoki," Catherine said, thinking, "Can you show me the camera feed from Area 51 again?"

"Showing on dashboard monitor now," Anoki said, "Why?"

"They've shown a lot of knowledge about the world," Catherine said, "I want to know what they did. I watched last time, but not the way I will now."

"Experience is a bitchy teacher," Anoki nodded.

Catherine watched as Terry and his crew went through the old cave. The equipment was old but still functional despite the plasma blast above many years before. The audio units were nonfunctional but it didn't take much to see what Bolantine was going through. She flinched when she watched Bolantine murder Terry, but smiled when she saw the part she needed.

"They took Terry's handheld," Catherine said, smiling, "That machine was expensive and they're controlled. They have one that's unlocked. Any bet that they kept it?"

"Can I track it?" Anoki asked.

"It should be communicating to the subnet," Catherine told her, "The address was terrance.strader.iv@subnet.amino.stridentnet.sub. I'm sure you can trace that."

Anoki went blank for a moment, her processing power diverted to that task. Catherine watched the rest of the video, but got nothing else useful. She hoped that the handheld would be the key.

"It's on and connected, triangulation is about five miles south of here," Anoki said, "How do you want to handle this?"

"Time to ring up Bolantine," Catherine said and pulled out her own unit, "Think you can launder a connection to this machine? Mine is a Subnet CMDA format, which only works in the American Union."

"Done," Anoki said, "I can control the caller ID as well."

"Good," Catherine said, "Let's hope that they don't spook easily."

Nikki had just finished going through the first batch of documents from Reno Despréaux' machine, but without the cryptographic processing power available to Anoki she was not getting much. The only thing that she got was repeated references to an American Union agent named Baltimore Remordis.

"This Remordis character might be related to Sam and Cliff," Nikki said after reading, "Terrence Strader knew him as well, he's in the contact list."

"Sounds like we may need to talk to him," Bolantine agreed, "Once we figure out where to go next. Our next task will be to get back to Vladivostok."

"That's not going to be easy with the front lines opening up across the entire West Siberian Plain," Nikki sighed, "We might have to try going through the independent nations in the Middle East."

Bolantine was about to make a smart retort when the chat ringer started going off on Terry Strader's handheld unit. Nikki looked at Bolantine and held up where it was showing the ID of Catherine Remordis.

"Trying to catch her cousin?" Bolantine wondered.

"She has to know he's dead by now," Nikki said.

Catherine knew they wouldn't pick up immediately so she had Anoki change the caller ID to read "Pick up the Phone Bolantine". Nikki nearly jumped out of her skin when she read that.

"Pick up," Bolantine said as he gunned the engine, "Let's see if they're just trying to taunt us or if they're actively tracking."

"Hello," Nikki said as she pushed the chat button.

"You must be Nikki Deseve," Catherine said, deliberately using the oldest name she had in the files for her, "My name is Catherine Remordis and we need to talk."

"Remordis," Nikki said, "Joining the family business of trying to screw over our plans?"

"Not directly," Catherine said, "But the operation my uncle has been running will have that effect."

"How did you find us?" Nikki asked, looking at Bolantine, "And why are you giving us warning?"

"I was to blame for that," Anoki said, "I'm sure you recognize my voice by now."

"Anoki," Nikki said, remembering the droid vividly, "What the hell..."

"We need to talk in person," Catherine said, "We're about four miles behind you right now. There's a rest stop five miles from your location. We can meet there in public."

"Why should we trust you?" Bolantine asked, "This sounds like a trap."

"If it was a trap I'd have put units ahead of you and just tracked you silently," Catherine told them, "There's more to this whole thing than what you've read and inferred. You may have parts of it, but you're lacking the most important pieces."

"What's in it for you?" Nikki asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"I want Baltimore's head on a stick," Catherine said honestly, "Why will become evident once we talk."

Bolantine thought about the situation. Catherine did have logic on her side. There was no earthly reason for her to call and tip them off if she wanted to attack. They had a choice, they could find out what the girl was doing or they could ditch the handheld and leave the highway. Bolantine looked at Nikki.

"This isn't good," Nikki said, "I don't trust them."

"I don't trust you either," Catherine said, "You want to rule the world, but if you don't talk to me you'll never reach your goal."

"You offering me the world?" Bolantine laughed, "Nice try, little girl."

"I'm not offering you the world," Catherine said gravely, "But if we don't stop Baltimore Remordis there may not be a world left for you to rule."

"No cops?" Bolantine asked, "If he's doing stuff that bad why are you talking to me and not them."

"I'm as much an outlaw as you at this point," Catherine said, "I've been publicly identified as a conspirator working with the European Union government for the Mozandondo Fusion Incident."

Nikki looked it up and saw that she was right. Catherine Remordis was listed as a lead suspect, presumed deceased. She looked at Bolantine and shrugged. There were reasons to hear her out and few reasons not to. Bolantine nodded and looked for the rest stop.

"Ok," Bolantine said, "I'll be at the rest stop in five minutes."

"We won't be much longer," Catherine said, "Just wait outside and we'll meet there. I'm about five foot seven with blonde hair and Asian facial features."

Bolantine pulled into the rest stop and quickly readied his weapons. He didn't survive to be nearly 90 years old as a mortal crime lord by taking things at face value. He wasn't going to submit for capture without a serious fight. Nikki did the same, getting ready for a massive battle that she hoped she wouldn't need to start.

Catherine and Anoki looked at each other and drove into the rest stop, looking for Bolantine and Nikki, finding them at a remote end of the lots. Catherine was nervous at the sheer firepower that Bolantine was wearing, but knew that he'd be a fool if he wasn't armed.

"You sure about this?" Anoki asked.

"Think we have a chance in hell of breaking the others out of ADX Florence without them?" Catherine asked her.

"No," Anoki said, computing chance, "The odds only go up slightly with them."

"I'll take what I can get," Catherine said, "Park the car and get ready to make with the data when I ask for it."

"I'll let you do the lion's share of the talking," Anoki agreed, "Just remember that Bolantine and Nikki are predators. You could be playing with fire."

"So long as I can bring that fire to rain on Baltimore and not me I'll be happy," Catherine said as she stepped out of the car, holding her hands up in the air where they could see her.

"You alone?" Bolantine asked her.

"Just me," Anoki said as she stepped out of the vehicle, "Been a long time, Nikki."

"Of all the things I never thought I'd see again," Nikki said, "An Anoki 9 unit was high on that list."

"I'm an Anoki 10 unit actually. a relic of the past just like you are," Anoki said, "Catherine is calling the shots right now."

"So who the hell are you?" Bolantine asked, "And why did you bother to find me?"

"My name is Catherine Remordis," she told them, "And my Uncle is the reason you're out and wandering around again."

"Sounds like I should thank him then," Bolantine said, "Are you working for him?"

"Not anymore," Catherine said, "Not since he used me to flush out Mason Stone and company. Bringing a building down on my head to kill me sort of outweighed the familial bond."

"Heh," Bolantine said, "Good, sounds like Stone finally got caught in a trap. About fucking time the test subject got his just desserts."

"Aren't you wondering why you're out?" Catherine asked, "Only one man on earth knew where you were after all these years."

"Your cousin went looking family history," Bolantine said, "He found it the hard way."

"Terry was a pawn just like me," Catherine told him, "Baltimore used you just as much as he did me."

"I've never heard of Baltimore Remordis until yesterday," Bolantine said, "How could he have used me?"

"You are the lone remaining sore spot for Mason Stone," Catherine informed him, "He used you as an excuse to get Mason Stone and his people to come back to the mainland. They'd been holed up on the south pacific island of Mozandondo for the past two hundred years."

"And he used you as the unknowing shill," Nikki said, understanding quickly, "Stone may be a pain in our ass, but he isn't stupid. Why did you go?"

"I felt I had nothing better to do," Catherine admitted, "Though I found out afterwards he'd been positioning me to be in that state for over two years. He's either bought off or killed off my friends to leave me alone."

"A lot of work to flush out the test subject," Bolantine said, "Especially when we were sitting there immersed in liquid nitrogen ready for the taking. That means Remordis didn't go after them to get the secret of our immortality."

"Missile systems," Catherine said, "The fusion weapon system used in the American Union was created by a team of scientists in 2045. It was designed to be unbreakable and unendingly secure. It became more so as all of the designers died off and the research notes were destroyed. The system requires a full defcon one and three high ranking codes to fire."

"What does that have to do with Stone?" Bolantine growled, "Start making sense."

"Not Stone. Jim Entragian was probably on the research team," Nikki said, "He was their technical genius. I saw foundation intelligence on Mason's team for two years. He was also the only outsider that ever managed to hack Anoki."

"I still shudder when I think about that," Anoki said, "Though it gave Harry enough data to figure out how to make me near unbreakable."

"Entragian is why we're still alive," Bolantine admitted, "He was insufferable, but brilliant."

"The credited team included James Entragian," Catherine said, "He is the only survivor of the team and likely the only person on the planet who could crack that system."

"So what does any of this have to do with us?" Bolantine still wanted to know, "Sounds like he's pulling an American Union power play. More power to him, I'm planning on doing the same thing over here since Nicholas Bolantin is my direct descendant and matches my genetic code."

"He has no hope of political gain," Catherine said and sat down on the bumper of the car, "He's not a politician and the army would take him down if he tried to pull that crap."

"Start making sense, kid," Bolantine told her, "What does he want to do?"

"He was badly injured in the war," Catherine said, "He changed when he got back, started this campaign to get me alone and start the war again."

"Here's a psychological report taken from his files," Anoki said, transmitting the file to Nikki's handheld, "See what you think."

Nikki took a few minutes to read and her dark features paled a bit as she read it. Baltimore had kept it as an amusement, but if anyone higher had seen it he would have been institutionalized as a danger to everyone. She passed it to Bolantine who read without comment and then closed his eyes.

"Are you telling me he intends to use the missiles?" Bolantine said, "That is completely insane."

"So is Baltimore," Catherine said, "I am one person with a highly capable robot. You've already taken over a syndicate operation. Together we have a chance to stop him."

"And you expect me to do this out of the kindness of my heart," Bolantine grunted.

"No," Catherine said, staring the old gangster down, "I expect you to help to save your own skin. If Baltimore succeeds then you won't have a world to try to rule. The best you could hope for would be a barren ruin to walk around immortal on for the rest of time. The worst... Well, I don't think you'd particularly enjoy floating in space amid the ruins of a disintegrated planet much, do you?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Bolantine said, kicking the car, "I go through two hundred years of being on ice and now I have to rescue the man who put me there?"

"Mason didn't put you there," Anoki said, "Cliff Remordis did. Mason had intended to leave you under the mountain, which means you would have been freed in 2104 when that mountain was disintegrated by a plasma factory explosion."

"Not much better," Bolantine scowled, "Anoki, can you break the encryption on the machine I have in the trunk."

"Probably," Anoki agreed, "I can do that while I drive."

"Let's go to Marseille," Bolantine said, "How was your car obtained?"

"Fraudulent rental," Catherine said, "It should be clean for a few more days."

"Let's take yours," Bolantine said, "We stole this one after Reno Despréaux's men blew up our hotel a couple days ago."

The four of them climbed in the car and started a long drive to Marseille as they started going through data.

Chapter 54 – Interrogation

Baltimore Remordis wheeled around the room as he looked at James Entragian's head sticking up out of the cryogenic unit. Entragian was not being particularly helpful, even with the unhealthy doses of truth drugs he was being fed. Remordis threw a can at the wall since he was running far behind his schedule.

"Sorry I'm not telling you what you want to know," Entragian said, his words slurring drunkenly, "But I don't get what you're looking for."

"I want to know how to break into the system you simpleton!" Remordis shouted at him, "I need access to that nuclear control system."

"Ohhhh," Entragian said, "What system was that again?"

"The Mallorca control system," Remordis said calmly, willing himself to restrain his anger, "You designed it in 2043. We have a crisis and need to know how to get in from the outside."

"Nope," Entragian said, his head swaying with his words, "I don't know how to break it. I designed it, but I never tried to break it. That's what we had QA for."

"I don't buy that," Remordis said as he looked through files, "Mason Stone wouldn't have let you get away without putting some sort of back door into the system. Especially since he was on the team as well."

"Maybe he did it?" Entragian asked, "I don't remember. It was too long ago."

Remordis spent some time reading and smiled as he came across a tidbit that he thought would be useful. He made a few calls and popped open another can of soda. He also added a line of pure alcohol to the IV feeding Entragian in cryostasis.

After about a half hour he wheeled out into the hallway as one of the guards came up with a puzzled look on his face. Remordis chuckled as he wondered how the guard would handle this situation.

"There are a group of... em... ladies outside asking for you?" the guard asked, "Said you'd made a special order?"

"Interrogation technique," Remordis said, grinning a bit, "You tempt an addict with their addiction of choice. That's what I'm doing now."

"I don't want to know sir," the guard said and shook his head, "Just get them out before General Harvey shows up tomorrow."

"Hopefully will have them out of here in a few hours," Remordis said as he led the ladies inside, "Jim, I have a deal for you..."

Chapter 55 – Return to Vladivostok

Catherine Remordis stretched out as she walked down the stairs from the plane Bolantine had chartered from Jakarta. It had been a long two days since they left France. Between Anoki's network hacking skills, Bolantine's Russian connections and Catherine's flirting skills they managed to get through six nations worth of flights.

"What now?" Catherine asked, "We're in Vladivostok."

"Now we plan," Bolantine said, "Time to go see Panin again and figure out what we have for resources."

Bolantine opened a door to a limousine and offered the ladies first entrance. Nikki bounded in followed cautiously by Catherine and Anoki. Catherine was simply glad to be on the ground again. Four years of college had done nothing to prepare her for circumnavigating the globe in an attempt to stop her insane uncle.

"So Despréaux was Remordis' inside man," Nikki said, "We took him out of the picture, so where does that leave us?"

"We have three pieces left," Catherine said, "Baltimore, Timonchenko and Stone."

"He must have more organization than that," Nikki said, "You don't get as far as he did without that."

"He's been using the government against itself," Catherine said, "It's practically the family business at this point. He's pushed the situation to something he can control. He has controls on both sides of the ocean. He can manipulate intelligence and change orders. All from the comfort of his wheelchair."

"So he has only the two agents?" Bolantine said, "Despréaux looked like a government man through and through."

"He is," Anoki said and transmitted Baltimore's file, "He honestly thought the world was better off at war. My guess is that he didn't know about the missile system."

"Timonchenko is a psychopath," Catherine said, "He calmly went on to Mozandondo and indiscriminately murdered women and children before setting off a fusion weapon to push the island back under the sea."

"He would shoot his own mother and rape her corpse just for the fun of it," Nikki said as she read the file on Timonchenko, "Hates everyone, lives for causing chaos. Perfect foil for Remordis."

"Perfect hatchet man," Catherine scowled, "That man has some serious karma waiting for him."

"I can see the point in blowing up Mozandondo to cover his tracks," Bolantine said, "I might have done the same, but what purpose did it serve other than pissing off Mason."

"Baltimore expected Mason to have an escape plan," Anoki said as she displayed the file, "So he hedged his bets. He sent Timonchenko out to piss him off and Catherine out there to talk him into coming out and hunting for you."

"He also got the added benefit of a world crisis," Catherine piped in, "And a handy scapegoat for it. Me."

"Now, we need to get both sides to stand down," Nikki said, "And figure out how to take control of that missile system."

"Standing down will take political willpower," Bolantine told her, "From the files I'm reading on Nicholas Bolantin he sure as hell doesn't have it and Baltimore Remordis is in a position to ensure the AU president doesn't know he needs it. Almost makes me wish I hadn't wasted that DNA on Bolantin, boy is a disappointment."

"He's a result of one of your cloning projects?" Anoki asked, surprised, "I thought all those got shut down when we cleaned out your company?"

"Not all," Bolantine said, grunting, "I kept six identifications alive during that time. You just got one of them. The others fell apart after we disappeared."

"Great," Anoki said, "I don't think I want to know this."

"Let's go see Panin," Nikki suggested, "Guy knows not to cross us at this point and if we show him this stuff he'll be motivated as hell to help us stop it."

"First priority needs to be ADX Florence," Catherine said gravely, "Even if he's forced the information out of Entragian it will take him time to use it. If we get them out then we can use Entragian's skills to try to disarm it before Baltimore starts the end game."

"Much as I hate to admit it," Nikki sighed, "The kid is right."

"Sounds like we have to make a truce," Bolantine said, "Let's hope for your sake Stone decides to honor it."

"I've already bet my life on that," Catherine said, "You can't kill me twice."

"He can make you wish he did," Nikki said coldly, "Watch yourself."

"No need for threats," Anoki said, "For now we're on the same side. Let's go talk to your friend and figure out what to do next."

Silence descended on the limousine as they sped to Panin's mansion.

Chapter 56 – An Underworld Army

Vladislav Panin read the documents that Anoki produced and went white with terror. He had been in the syndicate for many years and even he had not been able to contemplate destruction on such a mass scale. He looked at the four people in the room with him and wondered if someone was playing a very unfunny joke on him.

"There's no profit in this," Panin said gravely in Russian, "What in the hell does he have to gain?"

"He is insane," Catherine explained in English, being translated quickly and accurately by Anoki, "He is calm, calculating and ready to bring the whole world down because he doesn't feel it's worth saving."

"You believe this?" Panin asked Bolantine in Russian, "You think that someone could be this mad?"

"The pieces fit," Bolantine said slowly, "If this madman succeeds then anyone not wearing SPF two million sunblock is going to have a pretty bad day when he pushes that button."

"I thought I was the one who made out of date pop culture references?" Anoki asked Catherine.

"You don't have to worry about the sunblock," Catherine said, "Most of the WMD arsenal nowadays is Plasma. More stable than nuclear, easier to maintain and guaranteed to leave a glass bowl where it hits instead of messy radiation."

Panin shook his head after listening to Anoki's translation. He didn't know what the hell to do so he sat down and looked at the immortals who were now in effect his masters.

"What do you want to do?" Panin asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"How many contacts do you have in the AU?" Bolantine asked him, "I'm not much for charity or doing the right thing, but in this case it is in our interest to make sure this lunatic doesn't succeed in his mad quest to destroy the world."

"I have some," Panin said, "But not enough to start a war."

"He already started the war," Nikki reminded Panin, "We don't want to get involved with that. A shooting war is not a long term problem. It's annoying, people die and regimes will change, but it won't destroy the world forever."

"Cynical but accurate," Anoki said after she translated, "War has been around forever."

"We need to get into ADX Florence," Catherine said, "James Entragian is the key to this now."

"The look on Stone's face when he sees me should be priceless," Bolantine said, shaking his head, "It's almost worth doing just to see that smug bastard's expression when he has to thank me."

"What if Baltimore Remordis already cracked him?" Nikki asked, "Entragian isn't the toughest member of the group by any stretch. He's a good technician, probably the best in the world, but if they parade enough naked women in front of him he's going to crack."

"Especially when drugged," Anoki said, projecting files on Hypnothal on a wall, "This stuff is potent enough to kill a normal human, but Stone stopped being normal sometime around the end of the twentieth century."

"Will it work on him?" Catherine asked, "It might not even affect him."

"It'll work," Bolantine said, "If they're using cryostasis it will keep him immobilized enough for the drug to work. They'll have to keep it on an IV and keep it flowing, but with enough time it will work."

"Will it leave lasting damage?" Panin asked.

"No," Nikki said, "They might go down for a few days and their brains might have to rebuild, but they should have enough genetic memory built up that they should be able to regain their sense of self."

"Genetic memory?" Panin asked, "What is that?"

"Your body pushes your long term memory into your genes," Nikki said, having the best knowledge of biomedical physics, "Mortals don't generally see it too much, by the time it comes into play they're too old for it to make too much of a difference."

"That's why Alzheimer's patients often can recall what they had for dinner forty years ago but can't remember where they are," Anoki put in, "Alzheimer's only hits the brain, not the genetic memory."

"If I blew Mason's head off," Bolantine said, looking excited about the prospect, "It wouldn't cause him to forget who he was. He'd likely lose a number of years of memory, but he'd know he was Mason Stone when he woke up."

"So that leaves us with the problem on what to do," Panin said, "If Remordis gets the keys to the system it is game over."

"Not immediately," Anoki said, "I remember reading about this system when it came out. It takes five separate key holders to launch a warhead in peacetime. It goes down for every defense condition after that. Even if he can get Entragian's key he'd only be able to launch at defcon one, which only happens when launches are suspected."

"The war started three days ago," Catherine reminded them.

"This hasn't escalated to global conflict yet," Panin said, "It's still considered a regional conflict. Neither side has declared war yet, though that declaration is likely to come within the week from the EU side."

"AU system is reporting a defense condition three," Anoki told them, "Though if the EU forces spread their offensive it will be up to defense condition four."

"It would take a launch or a confirmed EU attack on AU soil to push it up to one," Catherine said, "Something that should be easy enough to conjure up."

"You must have come here for a reason," Panin said, "How can I help?"

"We need to use your contacts to get weapons and people into the American Union," Bolantine said, "Our next step will be ADX Florence. Once we have Entragian in our hands we can figure out how to neutralize that system."

"And to make it even more difficult the people cannot be tied to the European Union," Catherine added, "If we use EU people and equipment to take down the nastiest federal prison in America then we do Baltimore's job for him."

"I have been supplying a group of anti-government freaks for years," Panin said, "They're crazy, but they'd love a chance to take on the government for getting them into another war."

"Good cannon fodder if nothing else," Bolantine said, "Will they take a suicide mission like this for the money?"

"They have many people in ADX Florence," Anoki said after checking records, "Put it that way and finance it for them."

"Financing we can handle," Bolantine agreed, "I still have a box of gold bullion hidden in Vancouver. Should easily be enough to convince them to play ball."

"A frontal attack is nuts," Catherine said, "We'd be cut down quick."

"That's why we let the nutballs take the front," Nikki shrugged, "While the guards are busy fighting them off we'll go in the quiet way."

"Bloody," Catherine shuddered, "But probably effective."

"They'd be dead anyway if the bombs went off," Bolantine shrugged, "Better to die quick than be burned to death."

"I don't like it," Catherine admitted, "But I didn't expect a boy scout when I came to you. How do we keep them at bay once we're inside?"

"I have Baltimore's files on the prison," Anoki said, "I can also hack and play havoc on their systems. Catherine's engineering skills will be invaluable inside, since none of us have worked on equipment that modern."

"I guess that leaves us to be the muscle," Bolantine grunted, "Ready for another Cowgirl run, Nikki?"

"Yippe kai yay," Nikki smiled, "Can you get us AU weapons, Panin?"

"I already have some," Panin said, "They sell better than the EU crap that's been available since the war. I'll donate them to the cause."

"How do we get through customs?" Catherine asked.

"I can handle that," Anoki said, "Give me the time with their computers and I'll make them think the air freight flight is filled with military electronics. It will get waived through customs."

"I think we have a plan," Bolantine said, "How long to get a plane?"

"What type of plane?" Panin asked.

"Catherine?" Bolantine asked.

"A-174 Boeing AU stratocarrier," she said, "Should be plentiful in this region and non-descript enough to pass without much thought."

"I can get one," Panin said after Anoki translated, "Will take some currency."

"Bankrupt a business if you have to," Bolantine said, "If we don't succeed then it won't do any good."

"Da," Panin said, "I should have this together by morning. May take a little longer to get the AU crazies together."

"Work on that while we're in the air," Bolantine suggested, "We'll route into Denver and load our stuff into tractor trailers to get close to ADX. If the crazy people don't show up we can always set them to automatically detonate outside the prison walls and go in during the chaos."

"I think we have a plan," Catherine agreed after listening to Anoki's translation, "What can I do?"

"Sleep," Anoki suggested, "You are the vanilla mortal among us, kid. You won't be at your best unless you get enough rest."

"Panin," Nikki said, "Get the girl some decent sleep drugs, she'll need them to go down after what she's been through."

"Umm," Catherine said, not really happy about the thought of trusting her body to this bunch of crooks, "Anoki, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"I'll watch you," Anoki said quietly to her, "I can do what I need to do while sitting next to your bed."

"Looks like we're in business," Bolantine said as Panin handed her some pills, "Nothing like planning a major caper to make you feel alive again!"

Catherine sighed and took the pills, knowing that arguing wouldn't do any good now. Anoki smiled at her and took up a guard position next to her as she went to sleep, a state that she would stay in for the next twelve hours.

Chapter 57 – Archangel

Arkady Timonchenko walked into a building that he thought he'd finished with years before. He'd been a member of the Archangel special operations group during the Great War before becoming Baltimore Remordis' hatchet man. It wasn't a place he particularly enjoyed being in the first place, but the death of Reno Despréaux meant that he'd have to take over this part of the mission.

"Timonchenko," station boss Romanowski said as he held out his hand, "You haven't been here in years. I thought you'd gone rogue."

"Nyet," Timonchenko lied, "I've been working for Reno Despréaux underground. He told me that if anything ever happened to him during a time of war that I was to come here and bring this packet."

Timonchenko handed over a battered packet that looked as though it had been run under a few trucks and then dragged through a mud puddle, which was exactly what he'd done to it over the past day and a half to make it look more important. Romanowski read through the falsified files and let out a whistle.

"Remordis is still pulling the strings over there, eh?" Romanowski said, nodding, "I'd heard someone blew up his house."

"He wasn't in it," Timonchenko said, "Bastard may be in a wheelchair, but he won't go down that easily."

"Agreed," Romanowski nodded, "So what do we do with this information?"

"Despréaux was on Remordis' trail," Timonchenko lied again before switching to the truth, "He thought that Remordis had his hooks in Nicholas Bolantin. We can't afford to have a hostile foreign power giving orders to our president."

"Going on this course could be treason," Romanowski warned, "Bolantin won't like this sort of talk."

"Which is why we don't talk like that," Timonchenko smiled, "Despréaux didn't want us to fight Bolantin. He wanted us to take on Baltimore Remordis on his home turf."

"From treason to suicide," Romanowski chuckled, "How do we do it?"

"Remordis is already suspected of treason on his side," Timonchenko said, again going close to the truth, "If we finish discrediting him in the eyes of the AU then we can break his control if there still is any."

"And just how the hell do you expect to do that?" Romanowski said, standing up and pacing a little around the small room, "Short of a full scale act of war that may push us back into a state of general warfare?"

"The war has already started Pasha," Timonchenko said, remembering the Russian diminutive for his old commander's name, "They have Remordis leading an investigative group in the capitol. He's based out of the Washington Monument since it has the best communications reach in the capitol. We take them down there and even if he gets out his credibility is shot."

"Dangerous," Romanowski thought, "This could backfire badly."

"The bastards tortured Reno," Timonchenko said, twisting the death of the agent to his own needs, "I will lead the team myself and drive my foot up Baltimore Remordis' ass personally."

"Who do you want?" Romanowski asked him.

"Bad company," Timonchenko said, "They're not as disciplined, but they're tough and will follow even the bloodiest orders."

"You want to unleash that band of psychopaths on Washington DC?" Romanowski asked almost in horror, "Are you mad?"

"I'm angry," Timonchenko lied, "You don't like letting them loose on our lines. Let me take them where there will be no EU damage involved."

"You're off the lists," Romanowski said, "Perfect person to run this operation. They're already deniable, take them and run."

"Da," Timonchenko said, smiling a bit after realizing that his con would work, "I will start them off and take them through the African corridor. Easy enough to get through that way."

"I don't want to know," Romanowski told him, "I never saw you, Arkasha. Just put your foot far enough up Remordis' ass that he starts pissing through his nose."

"Will do," Timonchenko lied as he departed with Romanowski's hastily written orders.

Chapter 58 – Conscience and Consequence

Baltimore Remordis leaned back in his chair as he waited. He hated this part of the game, he liked to be the one in control but he couldn't manage that right now because he didn't have the computer expertise to turn what Entragian had given him into working code.

He knew that the odds were still against him, but he had put himself all in. When he set Timonchenko loose he knew he'd have only a short time to put the rest of his plan in action. He wheeled over to his portable machine, a duplicate of the machine that had been destroyed when his house went up, and checked the federal system's files on him.

"Time is running short," Baltimore said to himself as he perused the file, "They know something is up, but can't decide what side I'm on yet."

Baltimore was curious who had actually blown up his house, which was a worrisome issue in and of itself. Not many people had known about his place and the fact that the only body found was Tony Holder's was even odder. The only way those explosive should have gone off was if someone had tripped one of the traps.

He decided to spend some time on that issue while he was waiting. It took a few minutes of working around the missing system to find the access to the cameras across the street. He found the one he was looking for and started scanning for the period just before his main system went offline.

He looked and waited for the large group he expected, but the only thing he saw was a single car pulling up and two small people getting out. He massaged the video as much as he could and finally got a good image. He thought he'd had his timing wrong until they got out and walked to the house.

"Come on," Baltimore mumbled, "Turn around."

Finally, one of them did and Baltimore got surprised for the first time that day. He saw the face of his niece, who was supposedly killed a week before in Peru. Baltimore took a look at the picture and wondered how she survived.

"Anoki," Baltimore growled as he saw the robot.

He didn't have any remorse over Catherine, he'd been planning on the deception for years, but the fact that she had survived meant that there was another loose end. He started some tracking and was surprised to find that she hadn't touched anything from her old life. Her trail had officially ended in Peru just as he'd planned it.

Baltimore thought about that fact and in some ways was proud of her. She had turned out to be better at this than even he could have predicted. Letting her take the Robot had been his biggest mistake, as he was beginning to see. He considered putting another APB out on her, but realized that it would legitimize her again.

Catherine Remordis was a nonentity now, someone that no one in the government would take seriously. The only real concern was the information Anoki may have taken from his computer, but even that was mitigated by the fact that she had no way of getting it to the government in a way that would make her credible.

He had to live with the consequences of the manner he used to lure Mason Stone out of hiding. He went in and made sure that Catherine's name was still on the terrorist register and then wheeled out into another room when his technical man finally came out.

"Did you figure it out?" Baltimore asked.

"So simple it took a genius," Dr. Starkweather said as he handed over the box, "Entragian's backdoor looks like standard code, but it bypasses all the known keys and does what the holder wants to do. There are some limitations, however."

"What are they?" Baltimore wondered, not believing he finally had the power he wanted.

"The backdoor was designed as a failsafe to prevent a launch," Starkweather said, handing over the newly coded key, "This key will only work at defcon one. Their goal wasn't to play a political game with the system, only to be able to stop the launch if it got that far."

"Can it create a launch condition?" Baltimore asked worriedly, "Without that I cannot use it to pressure leadership."

"They didn't take the time to make it only work one way," Starkweather told him, "But again, unless the war goes all the way hot you have nothing."

"You can't use this to engineer a way in?" Baltimore asked, disappointed.

"No sir," Starkweather said, "Not without tipping off central command."

"Very well," Baltimore said, nodding, "Anything else I need to know about it?"

"I don't believe so," Starkweather said, "How are you planning on using it?"

"It's a backup," Baltimore lied, "I don't trust central command any longer, and we need to have a method of overriding them."

"Fair enough sir," Starkweather said and turned towards the door.

Baltimore wheeled quietly up behind him and pulled a small needle out of his wheelchair. He bumped up against Starkweather as if on accident and stabbed it quickly into his backside, causing the younger man to yelp and stumble.

"Sorry about that, Starkweather," Baltimore said, smiling, "I sometimes don't watch where I'm going like I should."

Starkweather mumbled an acceptance of the apology and walked off to his office. Baltimore disposed of the needle and wheeled his way to the good Doctor's office to clean out his files as Starkweather fell over by the front desk, suffering what appeared to be a massive myocardial infarction.

"Sometimes it pays to be the best," Baltimore whistled as he wiped the good doctor's computer.

Chapter 59 – Ethical Questions and Recon

Catherine Remordis sat in the back of a rough jeep as they drove through the wild lands south of Florence Colorado. The mountainous region had proved too difficult to develop over the years and was left to the wilds. The mountains were steep, but the wind and rain kept them reasonably clear, making an escape problematic. ADX Florence had a line of sight of several miles in any direction.

Anoki, the most nimble member of the team who wasn't likely to be distracted drove the machine expertly over the uneven terrain. Bolantine and Nikki sat quietly in the back as they got to a place where they could reconnoiter the prison properly.

"How sure are you of Panin's connection?" Catherine asked him, "A lot of this rides on that band of lunatics."

"I don't expect them to be effective," Bolantine told her, "In fact, this might be easier if they aren't."

"Care to explain that, B?" Nikki asked him, "You're usually annoyed by incompetence."

"This is a similar technique to the one we used here in Colorado back in 2014," Bolantine explained, "The front assault force is nothing but window dressing. The further they get in the more people it takes, but if they get too far they risk compromising us."

"Do I want to know what type of operation?" Catherine asked suspiciously.

"Bolantine had an army of Zombies attack to try to kill the Presidents of both the US and Russia," Anoki said, recalling the old files given to her by Mason Stone, "Came close, but Stone's group stopped them before they could pull the final trigger."

"Give me some credit," Bolantine grinned, "You have to admit the reanimation idea was a pretty good one."

"How many people died?" Catherine wondered.

"Body count was close to four hundred," Anoki said, "Though most of those were dead beforehand. They used a similar methodology in Groom Lake a dozen years later."

"That was the job," Bolantine shrugged, "Padded the accounts well enough to start the Ballantine alias and get Nikki into the foundation."

"Now's not the time for this," Nikki told them, "We may not agree on methodology but we need to work together right now."

"I'll be happy enough to put a bullet in Baltimore's balls," Catherine grumbled, "Is he still there, Anoki?"

"Not for long," Anoki told her, "He has flight plans for Dulles tomorrow. Don't know what that means."

"Time to strike is tonight," Bolantine said, "Dusk is in an hour. I'll make the calls to start the assault."

"Can you scramble their systems?" Nikki asked Anoki, "You've done well everywhere else."

"Physical firewall," Anoki said, "There's no connection to the outside world for their internal servers. Even updates are brought inside on disk. Once I can get in and connect physically to the servers I can take over the system and use it against them."

Catherine stepped out of the jeep and used her spyglass to look out at the supermax prison. It was highly armored and had been used to hold the hardcases for over two hundred and fifty years. Luckily, it had been designed to keep everyone inside silent, not to withstand a major assault from the outside.

Anoki sat down next to her and surveyed it as well. She looked at Catherine and wondered what the young woman was thinking. She was about to ask when they heard a siren coming up behind them. Catherine turned to look and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a military police car driving down the same path they had used.

"Crap," Catherine said, "How the hell did they find us?"

"Standard patrol, no more than two and they aren't hiding their presence," Bolantine said as he diagnosed the situation, "Anoki, can you still do the voice imitations."

"Yes I can," she said in a dead on imitation of Bolantine's voice, "Why?"

"Get this cop's voice as soon as you can," Bolantine said, "Nikki, you're the teenager. Play the part as you used to."

"What's our story?" Catherine asked.

"We're here to see the supermax," Bolantine said, "Nikki is obsessed with the prison system and wanted to see one while we were in the area."

"You think we can talk him off with that bullshit?" Nikki asked as the cop approached.

"No," Bolantine said, "The trick is to keep him talking."

They all went quiet and waved to the approaching officer. Catherine tensed up a little, but realized that her credentials were solid with what Anoki had done to get them into the country. Bolantine, the best con man of the bunch, walked forward and greeted the officer with a smile.

"Howdy officer," he said, pouring on the charismatic charm that he did so well, "What brings you up to this remote region of Colorado tonight?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, son," the officer said as he approached, "This here is restricted area. Feds own it with the Supermax down the way."

"I didn't realize they owned this far out," Bolantine said, "My cousin here has been working on a degree in criminal justice and has made a hobby of the prisons in this country, figured we'd bring the old Jeep out here while we were on our way to Pueblo."

"Where from?" the officer asked.

"Monticello, Nevada," Bolantine lied smoothly, "We're on our way to an auto auction."

"This is federal property," the officer said, "I've been ordered to take you into custody until we can sort this out."

"What?" Bolantine asked, "You can't be serious?"

"I am serious," the officer said, "You've broken about a dozen federal laws in coming here. If you come in quietly you'll likely get a fine and let out tomorrow."

"Do you have enough, Anoki?" Bolantine asked her, dispensing with the pretense, "And can you block his radio?"

"Yes and I did that as soon as he pulled up," Anoki said, "His is one of the stations I've been monitoring since I got in the area. I just linked up the voice to be sure."

"Good," Bolantine said and pulled out a gun, "This is not your lucky day, officer."

The officer went for his gun, but years of experience gave Bolantine the edge he needed to put a bullet right between the officer's eyes. Catherine yelped and jumped straight up. She looked at Bolantine in horror, never having seen anyone just shoot a person in cold blood before.

"What the hell, Bolantine?" Catherine asked.

"He's no longer a problem," Bolantine said, his face not showing any remorse, "By the time they find out where he actually is we'll be leaving Colorado."

"You could have disabled him!" Catherine said, "That was a waste. The man probably had a family."

"Everyone has a family, kid," Bolantine said, "Some just don't give much of a shit about them. Look at you for instance, just ten minutes ago you were waxing about how you want to put a bullet into your uncle's crotch."

"Well that's..." Catherine started and looked at him, "But that's different. Baltimore is evil, trying to destroy the world and has destroyed my life."

"How's that different from the families he had destroyed by putting their breadwinner in jail?" Bolantine shrugged, "Don't kid yourself Remordis. There are no saints. I'm not here because I believe in a cause. I'm here because it is in my best interest to stop your lunatic uncle."

"Do you think this is going to be a clean operation?" Nikki asked her, "Are you going to freeze when a guard tries to shoot you? This operation is going to be dirty. If we're caught we'll be branded terrorists. Make no mistake, kid. A lot of people are going to die tonight. You could be one of them."

"You think I'm afraid to die?" Catherine asked her, "After what I've endured to get to this point?"

"I don't know if you're smart enough to be afraid or not," Nikki shrugged, "I'm immortal, I won't give a shit. The worst that can really happen to me is that I get locked away for a few hundred years. You are a novice going against one of the best-trained guard forces in the region. You try to hit them toe to toe and you're going to lose."

"Anoki," Bolantine said, letting Nikki keep up the lecture, "Put the officer's body in the jeep and drive it five miles up the mountain road. Push it over a ledge where it won't be found quickly. Keep making his normal reports for the next couple hours. I'm assuming you can do this without thinking much?"

"Yep," Anoki nodded, "You going to be ok, Catherine?"

"No," Catherine growled, "But I haven't been ok since I left Mozandondo."

"Cheer up," Nikki said, smiling, "You're living an adventure many people would pay to go on. I always loved the hairy ones."

"That's why I call her a cowgirl," Bolantine agreed, "This is your last chance, Remordis. You can stay or go."

"I'll go," Catherine said, "I assume that you won't shoot me?"

"Not unless you cross me or get in my way," Bolantine said, "As far as I'm concerned we're allies until Baltimore Remordis is dead. After that we'll worry about the future when it comes."

Catherine nodded and looked back towards the prison. She'd made a few bad choices and now she was going to pay for them. Bolantine was not a nice man, but he had experience that she would need if they were going to stop Baltimore before he could pull the trigger that ends the earth.

"Hey B," Nikki said as she also looked over at the prison, "If he's broken Entragian what's going to stop him from firing? If he does that, game over right?"

"Stone wouldn't have let Entragian make it that easy," Bolantine said, "The test subject has a moral streak that would make Mother Theresa proud."

"Who?" Catherine asked.

"Doesn't matter," Bolantine said, muttering about children under his breath before continuing, "My guess is that Entragian threw code in to make sure that he could stop the launch if it came down to it. That means it will require certain outside parameters to be met before the thing actually works."

"Despite the fighting in Siberia we're only at defcon three," Catherine said, "There hasn't been a threat of fusion launch yet, so we might still have time."

"You can be sure that he's working on that," Bolantine said, "His attack dog is still out there somewhere."

"Why are you so sure?" Catherine asked.

"I would," Bolantine said, "If I were going for the effect he is I'd plan on making some more waves to ensure that the war went into full swing."

"You have," Anoki said as she walked back into camp, "I remember a nuclear weapon you tried to set off in California back in the 2020's."

"That was economic terrorism," Bolantine shrugged, "It would have shut down the Southern California water system, but it wouldn't have done much long term."

"Not the time for this," Catherine said, "Bolantine, I don't particularly like you but I didn't expect to. Nothing good comes out of us arguing now. We need to extricate Mason Stone and company to have a chance in hell in stopping Baltimore."

"Well said," Bolantine grunted, "The feeling is mutual anyway."

"Let's just hope Panin's contacts are as good as he thinks they are," Nikki said, "Otherwise we will have more problems than just a dead cop."

Chapter 60 – Assault on Florence

Baltimore Remordis wheeled out of the office he was working in to find some guards running to the front of the building. He was gearing up to leave the facility when the alarms started going off. He growled and wheeled up to the security office.

"What the hell is going on here?" Remordis asked the panicked security guard, "A prison riot, here?"

"Attack on the front of the prison," the guard told him, "Well organized and has heavy weapons. Probably an attempt to get some inmates out of here."

"Right," Baltimore said, pulling a weapon and shooting the one remaining guard in the room, "I'll believe that when I see it."

Baltimore knew it wasn't a coincidence. He now had to assume that Anoki had cracked the computer and knew he was here. He wasn't sure how Catherine had organized this sort of operation so quickly, but he wasn't about to take chances at this point in the game. He had gotten what he needed from Florence. It was time to shut down the operation.

After shutting down the internal video systems, Baltimore went into the cryo-interrogation room and calmly shot the two attendants who had been working with them. They were nothing but a liability now. He then put the cryogenic systems on a hard freeze, knowing that it would take hours to get Stone and his people out of there.

While Baltimore Remordis was getting ready to clear out Catherine Remordis was riding in the back of the jeep, holding on to her weapon and trying to mentally psych herself up for the mission they were now on.

"You ready for this?" Nikki asked her, "If not, we can drop you and pick you up on the way out?"

"I'm safer with you guys at this point," Catherine said, taking a deep breath, "Let's get Mason's people out and then we can figure out how to stop my insane uncle."

Nikki nodded. She didn't feel the same way as Catherine did but knew that the girl was handling things pretty well for someone who a month earlier was sitting in class and getting ready to graduate from college. They both held on as Anoki pushed the jeep as hard as she could.

"They used wireless on the outside cameras," Anoki's disembodied voice came over the headsets they were all wearing, "I was able to scramble their signals. Most of their attention is on the north side where the rebel attacks are happening so they likely won't notice us for a bit."

"Good," Bolantine said, "Let's hit that fence and work on getting through the wall."

"I can plant the explosives," Catherine said, "I can see the stress points already."

Bolantine nodded. He'd never been the best explosives man and an engineer was bound to be better at it than either him or Nikki. He readied his rifle and made sure he had ammunition available should he need it.

"Try not to use that thing," Catherine suggested to Bolantine, "We start shooting back here and they'll know something is up."

"Explosives will do the same," Nikki said loudly.

"Not like bullets," Catherine countered, "An explosion could be a misfired mortar. There were a pile of mortars in the munitions we left them in Denver and I've heard them hitting inside the prison."

"She's right," Anoki said, "I've pinpointed at least a dozen mortar explosions since we've approached. We might be able to get in reasonably easy."

"You work on access," Nikki told the android as they approached, "We need control of their system as soon as possible."

"As soon as I can touch a terminal," Anoki promised, "Catherine, we'll be there in sixty seconds, get ready to wire the explosives!"

Catherine nodded and pulled the helmet down over her head. They had all changed into gear that pretty closely matched the prison guard uniforms that were used inside the prison. The idea was that on a quick look they wouldn't stand out as much.

"Go!" Nikki yelled as they went through the first wire fence and brought the jeep to a stop.

Catherine jumped out and found the stress points on the wall. She used as little explosive as she could get away with and hoped it was enough. She didn't want to do this a second time. It took her about five minutes to rig the explosives.

"Anoki," Catherine said, "You're jamming the frequency for the detonators too."

"I can't let it go," Anoki said, "Get back behind the jeep, I'll trigger it as soon as you're all out of the way."

Catherine did as she was told and covered up with the blanket since she was the one who could get hurt the worst. Bolantine and Nikki simply stepped back and let the robot do her trick with the detonator. Without even moving Anoki sent a quick signal and broke her tracking for a millisecond to detonate the explosives.

"Good blow," Nikki said as the dust settled, "Let's move."

Catherine nodded and followed, carrying the rifle that she'd been taught how to shoot in Vladivostok only a day before. She hoped that they'd keep the shooting to a minimum and that she was just a failsafe.

"Which building?" Bolantine asked, "Do we have files on that?"

"The cryogenic facility is in building C," Anoki said, "Watch out for the razor wire on the ground."

Catherine grumbled and did a long jump over the first batch of wire. Bolantine and Nikki did the same, with Nikki narrowly missing and getting her left leg mangled a bit, though it healed quick enough that it barely slowed the immortal down. They jogged like military professionals, Bolantine having practiced with Russian military years before and Anoki having been schooled on it. Catherine and Nikki followed suit and managed to look reasonably decent at it.

"Where are you going?" a high ranking officer yelled, "You need to get back to your post!"

Bolantine looked around and made sure nobody else was watching before pulling a silenced pistol and shooting the officer with a quick double tap to the head.

"Nice shot, B," Nikki said as they kept moving towards building C, "That the right building?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "I have control of one of the security systems, but not the main one yet. Likely will have to get one of the terminals when we get into building C."

Catherine kept her mind off the carnage going on around her and kept jogging to the building. She couldn't believe that she'd helped cause this but knew that it would turn out to be the only thing she could have done.

Anoki bypassed the lock on Building C as they went inside and started to look for a security console. Catherine followed the wires and pointed Anoki to a semi-hidden room.

"You two figure out security," Bolantine said, "We don't know enough about modern technology. Hurry up and find Stone so we can get the hell out of here."

Catherine opened the door and jumped as she saw the body that Baltimore Remordis had left behind as he left the area. Bolantine and Nikki looked in, noting the clean double tap that been used to kill the young guard.

"Baltimore was here," Catherine said, "He's covering his tracks."

"Keep an eye out for traps," Anoki suggested.

Anoki quickly hacked into the security system as Catherine went into the computer record system that the late guard had left unlocked for her. She went through the files and looked for recent inductees into the program, not surprisingly finding no one that matched Stone. She dug into deliveries and found that a package from Peru had been delivered eight days earlier, along with the supplies that could only be used for a heavy-duty cryogenic interrogation.

"They're not registered," Catherine told them, "Baltimore must have used a few chits on this."

"Mason doesn't exist," Anoki said, "No one is going to complain about him."

"If only," Bolantine grunted from outside, "If I'd been in control none of this shit would have happened."

"I don't want to think about that right now," Catherine said, "There are only two rooms that are suitable for cryogenic interrogation. Baltimore wouldn't have wanted to risk moving them so he likely kept them in the cryogenic room."

"Good," Bolantine said, "Serves the bastard right."

"He didn't freeze you," Anoki reminded him, "Cliff Remordis did that."

"Not the time," Nikki said, looking outside, "There are some guards coming towards the building."

"Lock the doors and make yourself invisible," Anoki suggested, "They're doing building checks as the main guard force fights out front."

Catherine found the rooms in question and remotely unlocked the doors while Nikki ensured the locks were done up tightly. Bolantine looked at them as they exited the room.

"Either 401b or 401d," Catherine said, "Or both."

"Not much time," Nikki said over their radio, "Hurry it up. I'll watch this corridor. You can come back for me once you get the test subject out."

Bolantine nodded and went with Anoki to follow Catherine, who was already jogging to the large rooms down to the end of the hall as the power suddenly went out with a shriek that blew out several lights. Emergency lighting turned on a few seconds later.

"Score one for the nutballs," Bolantine grunted, "Move it!"

Catherine pulled open the first door and was greeted with the eerie sight of the two sightless bodies looking in horror at the door where Baltimore Remordis had ended their lives a few minutes before. She shuddered and walked past them, pushing one out of the way of the terminal.

"Goddamn it," Catherine shouted as she looked at the gauges, "That motherfucker hard froze them. It will take hours to thaw them out of that mess."

"Liquid nitrogen, right?" Bolantine asked.

"About a metric fuckton of it," Catherine growled, "If we try to open those things we'll all get covered with it."

"Get out of here," Bolantine said, "Liquid nitrogen can only slow me down. It will quickly dissipate when it hits the air, so we should have them out in a few minutes."

Catherine looked at Bolantine and knew that he was too far in to do something stupid now. He didn't want Mason back any more than Catherine wanted to deal with him, but he knew that Mason and company had the information they needed to stop Baltimore. She nodded and went out into the hall with Anoki.

Bolantine picked up an axe and took a few deep breaths. He cursed silently as he used the axe to break the lid open, much like Terry Strader had done to his cryogenic unit a few weeks earlier. Unlike his unit, however, this one was heavily pressurized and exploded with liquid nitrogen, bathing the immortal in the supremely cold liquid.

Bolantine growled and managed to take a second whack at the unit to force it the rest of the way over, causing the liquid nitrogen to escape the case and dump its human contents onto the floor. Bolantine managed not to scream as he felt the pain of freezing, but it didn't last long as the nitrogen began to dissipate.

Mason Stone coughed and looked up at his half-frozen savior, not believing his eyes as he saw Bolantine standing there with shattered clothing and the remains of an axe. He managed to push himself up and look at his long time nemesis.

"What the hell?" Mason asked, "Have I died and gone to hell?"

"Heh," Bolantine said, "Think about how it feels from this side. You think I like getting your sorry ass out of here, test subject? You'd better be glad that Catherine Remordis is a persistent and persuasive little cookie."

"Let's get Karen and Jim out," Mason said, knowing that something big was afoot if Catherine had gone to Bolantine, "I take it the fact that you're releasing us means you want a truce?"

"Much as I hate your guts, test subject," Bolantine said, "Stopping Baltimore Remordis ranks higher on my list than getting even with you right now."

"You can't rule the world if he destroys it first," Mason said, realizing Bolantine's simple pragmatism, "Fair enough. I don't like you either, but since you were nice enough to let me out the least I can do is hear you and Catherine out."

"Hurry it up!" Catherine yelled, "There are some guard units massing on us. The fighting out front seems to be dying down."

"I get Karen and you get Jim?" Bolantine asked.

"Karen is mine," Mason said, picking up a large pipe to use as a bludgeon, "Let's get him and get out of this joint."

"Music to my ears," Bolantine chuckled and began working on releasing the other immortals from their frozen prison.

Chapter 61 – Escape from Florence

"Are we in hell?" Karen asked as she regained her senses and saw Mason standing next to Bolantine, "Or did it freeze over?"

"No time," Mason said, "Looks like we might be on the same side for once."

"I suggest we discuss our mutual dislike for each other after we get the hell away from Florence Colorado," Bolantine said, "Our window for escape is closing."

Anoki walked in and tossed fresh guard uniforms to the immortals. Catherine and Nikki had already dressed up and were looking at the others as they got dressed.

"They realize something is wrong here," Anoki said, "We need to get out now."

"We go out the way we came in and we look like escaping prisoners," Catherine told her, "The guard units massed around this building and the military troopers are building a perimeter."

"Out of the frying pan," Mason muttered, "I hope you guys have a plan."

"I'm fresh out," Nikki said, "How about you, B?"

"I wasn't expecting military reinforcements this quick," Bolantine said, "But I guess we weren't expecting to have to spend a half hour breaking you out of an overloaded cryogenic machine."

"Anoki," Catherine said, her mind going into overtime, "We're inside, do you have access to the internal system?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "I can tap in to it and take over pieces if need be. I have been watching their communications."

"Are they running a standard employee RFID program?" Catherine asked her, "Allowing the computers to keep track of who is allowed where?"

"That appears to be the case," Anoki agreed, "Without the RFID tags it is pointless, however."

"There are several corpses in here," Bolantine said, "The guard, the doctor and the technicians."

"I can mimic one for myself," Anoki agreed, "See if we can find six of them and I can reprogram them."

They spread out and quickly found four bodies and two heavily injured people. They brought the badges to Anoki who reworked the signals and created profiles under a set of assumed names. They all looked ragged, but they could all now pass for guards until someone checks with the outside world.

"So the idea is that we walk out of here?" Bolantine said, "And you think my plans are crazy."

"They'll ID us as guards and either let us through or order us to the guard line," Catherine said, "Either one would be acceptable now since we could simply slip out of the hole and disappear."

"Let's get this over with," Mason said, "Then we can find someplace to rest and get us up to speed on why the hell you brought the last person on earth I ever wanted to see again to break me out."

"I'm glad to see you too, Test Subject," Bolantine said sarcastically, "Let's get this over with."

They slipped out the back of the building through a window and started jogging for the administration building, the place that was the usual entrance into and out of the prison. Anoki had managed to scramble systems badly enough that there was chaos everywhere, which made it easier to get out of the prison.

They were going through a checkpoint when a large man wearing an officer's uniform ran up to them. Bolantine nearly pulled his gun, but stopped when he saw Catherine stand up and walk over to the man.

"Where are you going?" the officer bellowed, "We need people inside the building!"

"Superintendent Baines ordered us to go get some vehicles to make a blockade of the wall that is down in the back," Catherine lied with ease, "There's a riot in building D and liquid nitrogen all over the place in the cryogenic center. He wants to make damn sure that nobody gets out in the chaos."

"Damn that pencil neck civilian," the officer growled, "I need people in those buildings to keep the riot down."

"You can talk to him sir," Catherine said, "We're just following orders. You know how he is about that."

"Get moving," the officer said through clenched teeth, "Send anyone else you find in the front back my way."

"Yes sir!" Catherine said and saluted the man before going to the checkpoint and letting out a breath of relief.

"Not bad, kid," Entragian said, "How did you know?"

"I found some info on the guy while hunting for you," Catherine told them, "Figured that it was worth a shot and that if I failed Bolantine would shoot him anyway."

"Better to avoid the commotion," Mason agreed, "Let's get the hell out of here."

The seven of them walked out of the building and saw the remains of the battle. Most of the rebel group had either died or fled, but there were still occasional shots going off. Anoki scanned the area and started to look for good cars when Bolantine spotted a contingent of military heading their way, looking extremely pissed off.

"Shit," Mason grumbled, "We don't need this sort of fight right now."

"Shouldn't have to fight," Karen said, "Let's dodge them."

Anoki let off a pulse that disabled their night vision goggles as the group jogged out of the path. They weren't looking for anyone in particular and their guard uniforms barely rated a second look. Mason and Bolantine walked over to Catherine after the initial group passed.

"Ok," Bolantine said, "We need to figure out where we're going."

"Away from here," Mason put in, "Then I need some answers."

"We can steal a car," Catherine said, "Some of them look big enough."

"Why steal a car when we can steal a helicopter," Nikki said as she pointed down the way, "They are taking medical equipment off that chopper."

"Can you fly it, Anoki?" Mason asked her.

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "I have modules for that model."

"Wait," Karen said, "It's a medical heli!"

"Even better," Bolantine said, "They won't shoot at wounded. Let's go."

Before Karen could object further Bolantine and Nikki ran towards the helicopter. Bolantine jumped into the back and fired two shots, killing the pilot instantly. He threw the body out as the others arrived.

"Was that necessary?" Karen asked Bolantine.

"Yes," Bolantine said, "Now get us the hell out of here, Robot."

Anoki jumped into the seat and started turning switches. The rest of them got in and strapped in as Anoki pulled it off the ground. She hovered for a few seconds and then flew towards the nearest hospital in hopes that they'd assume they were bringing patients into Pueblo.

"How long can this thing fly?" Bolantine asked Anoki through the internal communicator.

"Fuel cell powered," Anoki said, "Probably would take us halfway around the planet."

"Then head to Washington," Catherine suggested, "Baltimore wasn't there, which means he's probably on his way to use the key."

"Is there a full scale war?" Entragian asked.

"Defcon 2 last I checked," Anoki said, "Full shooting war in Siberia again, a lot of blustering between the two sides."

"Sounds like we missed some stuff," Mason said looking at Catherine, "Namely what the hell is that lunatic uncle of yours after and why are you consorting with evil incarnate, Catherine?"

"Baltimore is the one behind it all," Catherine said, "He played all of us like a fine violin."

"I figured that when he tried to kill you in Peru," Mason said, "Why?"

"The Mallorca system," Jim told him, "He wanted the key to the WMD system we worked on two hundred years ago. Evidently it is still in use."

"You didn't give him the back door did you?" Karen asked, appalled at the thought.

"I didn't get a choice," Jim told her, "You try resisting interrogation when doped to the gills with an experimental drug that makes you physically incapable of lying."

"The girls didn't hurt either," Bolantine said, "I saw the pictures that the doctor took."

"Figures," Karen said, "Why in the hell does he want it? Is he trying to take power?"

"He's trying to destroy the powers," Catherine told them, "And everything in between."

"You think he's trying to commit global suicide?" Mason asked incredulously, "There's got to be..."

Catherine shook her head and looked sadly at Mason Stone. Karen and Jim sighed and looked at each other. Catherine relayed over the next few minutes what she and Anoki had found in Washington, laying it out piece by piece as she had for Bolantine a couple days before.

"He's insane," Mason said, "He has to be."

"Why is anyone following him?" Karen asked, "You'd think someone would have picked up on this before now?"

"Baltimore Remordis is a legend in the intelligence community," Catherine said, "Everyone thinks he's a bit off. They don't know exactly what his game is, but they're sure he's on their side as he always was before."

"The injury," Karen said, nodding, "He doesn't want to live this way and doesn't think anyone else should get to live either."

"That's the best guess," Bolantine said, "That's why I'm here. I don't care a whit about most people, but if that lunatic destroys the world then there's nothing worth ruling."

"After we left Peru we were totally on our own," Catherine explained to Mason, "We knew that the first step was getting you out. Sounds like we did that a bit late, but at least we have you guys now so you can help us figure out how to stop Baltimore from using the key."

"The key is useless unless there is an imminent attack with WMD from outside," Jim put in, "I put in the backdoor with a limited set of circumstances where it could be used. Unless there is a genuine risk of launch from a belligerent nation then this key is useless."

"Please tell me you set it up as a disable only," Mason said, "Like I asked you to."

"I tried," Jim said, "But the best I could do without getting caught was put in the complex restriction."

"Too late to worry about that now," Catherine said, "We need to stop Baltimore before he can escalate this mess any further."

"I need information," Mason said, "Anoki, can you keep us below radar?"

"Yes," Anoki said, "This thing is fast and I can run without lights. I should be able to cover ground until morning."

"Good," Mason said, letting out a deep breath and looked at Catherine, "Thanks for getting us out of there."

"What about me?" Bolantine asked, smiling evilly.

"Yes," Mason nodded, "I probably should thank you too, but if you hadn't done this to us in the first place we wouldn't be here to deal with it."

"Three hundred years old and still holding a grudge," Nikki said, shrugging, "If it weren't for us you would be dead now."

"And so would you," Karen said, "We all should be long dead now."

"Not the time for this, guys," Catherine said, "I'm young and I don't particularly want to die. In order to avoid dying I need your help to stop my madman uncle from destroying the goddamn world. Ok?"

"Girl has a point," Bolantine said, "We don't like each other and would normally try very hard to incapacitate one another. I want your word that you will not try to bury me again once we stop this bastard."

"One time deal," Mason said, looking at Bolantine, "We part ways after Baltimore is dead, hopefully never to see each other again."

"I doubt that," Bolantine chuckled, "But I'll settle for not seeing you again for a few hundred years."

"Deal," Mason agreed and reluctantly held his hand out.

Bolantine looked at him and shook his hand. Bolantine was amoral and reckless, but he did have a warped sense of honor. They weren't going to turn their backs at each other, but they knew they had to work together.

"Now that that is done," Mason said, "Catherine, you know the situation best. Give me a full briefing on what we missed."

"It all started in the EU a number of years ago," Catherine started, "When Baltimore Remordis led a team in to decapitate the leadership of the European Union..."

Chapter 62 – A Hurried Meet

Baltimore Remordis growled as wheeled his chair across the terminal at Dulles international airport. He knew he was close, but the last pieces still had to fall in place. He wheeled out into the pickup area and saw the van he was looking for.

Arkady Timonchenko had borrowed Remordis' van when he had gotten into town a few hours earlier. Baltimore figured that he might as well use the time to get the meet in to find out the status of the plans. He wheeled into the elevator and pulled up behind the younger agent.

"Drive," Baltimore said, "Traffic is probably the safest place to talk right now. Did you sweep the vehicle?"

"Yes," Timonchenko said, "I saw the remains of your house, Baltimore. You're lucky you didn't end up like Reno."

"We have more than one group against us now, Arkasha," Baltimore told him, "My niece has proved a lot more capable than I expected."

"She survived Peru?" Timonchenko asked, surprised by this, "I thought you dropped a building on her."

"I did," Baltimore said, "The robot must have saved her. I haven't been able to track her, but I know where she was a few hours ago."

"Where?" Timonchenko said, "It will be a couple days before I can get the attack ready..."

"They broke the immortals out of ADX Florence," Remordis informed him, "A known internal terrorist group attacked the front of the prison while a small group infiltrated and took the immortals."

"That took planning," Timonchenko said, "And connections, neither of which Catherine had."

"She also knows the truth about what we're doing," Remordis told him, "I think it is likely she hooked up with the only other person crazy enough to believe her and work with her."

"Bolantine," Timonchenko surmised, "I lost track of him after Paris. I suspect he's the one who killed Reno as well."

"Reno was about to outlive his usefulness anyway," Baltimore told him, "He thought we were trying to start the war for profit."

"Furthest thing from my mind," Timonchenko said brusquely, "They all deserve to burn for what they did to us."

"The world will burn in a sea of plasma," Baltimore promised, "We're almost there, Arkasha. Just need to get this war pushed up to the boiling point so I can trigger Armageddon."

"I conned Romanowski into giving us their unit of fuckups," Timonchenko told him, "They're coming in through the Arctic Circle route, should be here tomorrow."

"Don't wait," Baltimore told him, "Make your attack. Good planning won't help you on this one, in fact, the more time they have to think the worse they will do."

"How much does your niece know?" Timonchenko asked, "Are the immortals going to be a problem?"

"They probably either know or have guessed most everything," Baltimore said, "But they don't know specifics at this point. Your job is to make their efforts for naught. If you can kill Catherine then it is a bonus and will make the rest of this project easier."

"If she comes anywhere near my operation it will be done," Timonchenko nodded, "Where are you heading?"

"London," Baltimore said, "That way I'm where I can tap into the system and be close enough to manipulate that idiot Bolantin."

"Did you get me a weapon?" Timonchenko asked, "If we can set off some sort of fusion weapon in the monument then people will escalate. Even if it's an AU weapon they'll assume that Archangel stole it."

"Access to the depository in Maryland," Baltimore told him as he passed over a set of ID, "You're a scientist going in to check leak levels and pick up a crate of bomb parts for destruction. Security is lax at that facility, put one of the older fusion units in the box. It won't be as easy as the one you used in Mozandondo, but it will be more effective as an air burst."

"I'm sure one of the Archangel people will be able to get it working," Timonchenko nodded, "Worst case I have someone shoot the damn thing to get it to go off."

"Yep," Baltimore said, "Even if it doesn't go off, the fact that it is there with a group of EU troopers will give us the effect we need. You have the EU weapons for them?"

"Da," Timonchenko said, "Smuggled conspicuously in."

"I think you're ready," Baltimore smiled, "It will be over soon, Arkasha."

"With luck this is the last meeting," Timonchenko told him, "Get the job done, Baltimore."

"Absolutely," Baltimore said, "Let me off at the corner and get out of here. Page me from a disposable cell if you need to talk to me."

"Da," Timonchenko said as he watched Baltimore Remordis go down the street towards the headquarters building.

Chapter 63 – Domestic Terrorism

The infamous seven sat in a motel room that was hurriedly obtained using one of Anoki's identities just outside St. Louis, which was as far as she could get before the chopper became a liability. They were trying to figure out where to go next.

"The bastard is off the grid again," Anoki said as she continued going through American Union networks, "He checked in at his office yesterday and left again that afternoon before the feds could catch up with him."

"Charmed life that son of a bitch leads," Bolantine said, "I wish I'd had sources that good."

"Me too," Mason grunted as he tried to eat a freeze dried hamburger, "Where did you get this food?"

"MRE rations supplied by Panin's people," Catherine said and then went back on subject, "We may be going after the wrong lunatic right now. Baltimore is a threat, but unless the world goes to Defcon one he can't actually do anything physically. The feds seem to be on to him, even if they don't believe the nature of the threat."

"Can we get this information to them?" Karen asked, "Someone must give a damn that their best agent is trying to destroy the world."

"I'm a terrorist," Catherine said, "Baltimore saw to that. I'm on every terrorist watch list known to man. If I tried to go into a federal building legally right now I'd be arrested and would probably disappear without a trace."

"The rest of us aren't much better," Nikki said, "Killing Reno Despréaux in Paris got us listed, even though they don't have a good identification on us."

Catherine thought about that for a minute and went over to the computer terminal. She used Anoki's login to the intelligence systems and pulled up a file on Arkady Timonchenko. She realized the piece that they'd been missing.

"I think you put a rock in his plans," Catherine said, "He had planned on using Despréaux to escalate tensions, but his death changed that plan. He's had to move to his backup."

"And who would that be?" Mason asked, curious where she was going.

"Timonchenko," Catherine said, projecting the image on the wall, "He's been Baltimore's hatchet man in this thing since the beginning. He's the one who did the legwork in pushing my friends away, the one who murdered my best friend."

"You sure he survived Mozandondo?" Karen asked, "He got that boat, but that's a long way for a single man to sail a boat without help."

"It was automated," Anoki said, "He could have gone to Russia without an issue in that thing. It had enough food too."

"He did," Anoki said, "He used one of the identities that Baltimore had on file for him in Vladivostok, the closest safe EU port for him."

"He's the one that cleaned up after Despréaux," Bolantine said, "We planted a camera and microphone at Despréaux's war room. He called Baltimore from there, I just didn't know all the details that I do now."

"Did you record it?" Anoki asked.

"Yeah," Bolantine nodded, "You have it on your handheld, right Nikki?"

She nodded and played it back for them. It gave them confirmation but very little else. Bolantine had, completely by accident, made Baltimore's task more difficult but they knew it wasn't enough.

"Timonchenko is the key right now," Catherine said, "We can track Baltimore, but we can't do anything about him. He's in no shape to cause an incident bad enough to cause the president to go to Defcon one."

"Can you track Timonchenko through the system, Anoki?" Entragian asked her, "You found his trail in Vladivostok. If he's taken over for Despréaux he has to do something traceable to the EU forces here in the American Union."

"Something big," Mason said, "A bit of simple harassment won't do it. They'd have to resort to a blatant act of terrorism that could be easily traced to the European Union."

"Timonchenko is definitely amoral enough to do it," Karen said, remembering what he had done on Mozandondo, "I still don't get this, what is his connection to Baltimore?"

"Good question," Mason asked, "What do we know about Timonchenko?"

"Arkady Vladimirovich Timonchenko," Catherine said, dialing up the file on her handheld, "Born September 21st 2211 in Moscow to two EU party apparatchiks and raised to be a state worker. He proved to be a problem child and spent a bit of time in state lockup, a disappointment to his parents."

"Aren't we all?" Bolantine said.

"Yeah," Nikki said, "I'm sure that drunken bastard I had for a father was really broken up when I was shot."

"Beside the point," Mason said, "Please continue Catherine."

"He was diagnosed as a classic sociopath," Catherine said, "Which got him onto the radar for Project Archangel in the mid 2230's. He was part of what was called the bad company, a group of homicidal misfits that was used for wet work that normal soldiers would blanch at doing."

"Lunatics like that have uses," Bolantine said, "I've used my fair share of that type through the years."

"Reminds me of Elise Steele," Karen noted, "That psychotic bitch would kill anyone at the drop of a hat and quite often did."

"Ancient history," Entragian reminded her, "Elise is dead and lying unlamented in a grave that's probably been paved over by a parking lot by now."

"He was in Archangel all the way up to an ill-fated mission in Novaya Zemlya in 2246," Catherine continued, "He was written off as dead during that mission, abandoned by the EU as a team run by Baltimore Remordis destroyed a fusion weapons facility. The EU had him declared dead and most thought he actually was."

"He didn't die there," Nikki noted, "He was recruited by Remordis."

"Baltimore's personnel file on Timonchenko indicates that they were both injured together," Catherine told them, "I remember this period as Dad got a visit from the state department informing them that Baltimore had died."

"Interesting," Mason said thoughtfully, "So that's where the connection was born."

"Our side picked them all out and Baltimore whitewashed who he was," Catherine said, "Baltimore had him quietly put into a private hospital and then through another round of training. Timonchenko became his personal troubleshooter, someone the government didn't know about."

"He became Baltimore's hatchet man," Bolantine said, thoughtfully, "Sounds like the perfect man to agree with Baltimore's insane scheme. He likely hates everyone and everything."

"He's in Washington," Anoki said after scouring networks, "He entered the American Union through Argentina, routing through a couple of neutral territories. He switched identities for each flight, but he was easy enough to track down."

"Easy huh?" Entragian said, "I've been looking for a hint of him for two hours."

"I have a wetbrain neural net," Anoki reminded him, "I can sift through data faster."

"He has a European team," Catherine said as she was looking at a terminal from the NSA, "I've been looking for anomalies in entrance records, but found a report of phantom flight detections in the Arctic. I think someone took a page from our book and sent small planes over the poles to drop a team in Canada."

"Which means we have nothing to track," Mason said, nodding, "Except a vague report on Timonchenko."

"I bet he used his old group," Karen said, "Easy, well trained and identifiably European."

"Let's get files on Archangel," Bolantine said, "Either way I think we need to get to DC. That's where he will hit. What better place to cause an incident?"

"I agree," Mason nodded, "We should at least base out of there while we try to figure it out."

"It's three in the afternoon," Catherine said, "We can rent a van and get there by morning."

"You guys can sleep while I drive," Anoki offered, "You're all going to need rest if we need to take on Timonchenko's crew."

"Let's get transportation then," Mason agreed, "Anoki, since you're driving and probably have the best identification you get the van. We're going to strip the helicopter of all weapons while we wait for you."

"Catherine," Anoki said, "I want you with me since you know protocol better."

Catherine nodded and went along with Anoki, leaving the five immortals in the same room for the first time in years. They looked at each other and the tension was palpable.

"Let's move, Test Subject," Bolantine said to Mason, "Like me or hate me, we're stuck together for now."

"Let's get this over with," Mason said, "Just remember, Bolantine... You fuck us and we'll bury you again."

"I'm hurt that you think so little of me," Bolantine chuckled as he walked out the door, "Come on, Nikki. We've got a battle to get ready for."

Mason shook his head and followed, knowing it would be a long couple of days.

Chapter 64 – Dandy in the Underworld

Arkady Timonchenko lit a cigarette as he walked into the cheap motel where his team had been instructed to meet. The little strip motel outside Washington DC had been through literally dozens of owners over the preceding century and had devolved into a pay by the hour place where cheap hookers plied their trade and participants in the drug scene sold their poison.

Timonchenko had another trade in mind as knocked on the door of room 4C. He heard a voice using a southern accent speak a cheap riddle that wouldn't have fooled even the worst of the American Union agents. Timonchenko shook his head and replied in kind.

"Arkasha," Oscar Belasco said as he opened the door and saw his old comrade, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Inside," Timonchenko said as he pushed his way in, "Are the others here?"

"Various rooms," Belasco told him, "Just me and Robert here. Most of the others are partaking in the decadent women who frequent the place. Considering what we do for a living those human Petri dishes are probably the safest thing they'll do this year."

"True," Timonchenko said, "How many made it?"

"Twelve including us," Belasco noted, "Thirteen if you are coming along."

"I wouldn't miss it," Timonchenko smiled, "Been a long time Belasco. I'm surprised you're still with Archangel."

"Where else can I get paid to be a psychopath?" Belasco shrugged, "So we're here to put a beating on Baltimore Remordis, eh?"

"That's the official line," Timonchenko agreed and smiled, "The real story is buried in the bullshit."

"So what are we doing?" Belasco wondered, "And does it involve senseless slaughter?"

Timonchenko chuckled at this, but was glad that his old friend had not changed. Oscar Belasco was one of the least political people on the planet. He was a killer, no more and no less. He was the type that would normally be sought after by police and booked with several dozen homicides to his name.

Timonchenko had seen this early and had the young Belasco assigned to Archangel's "Bad" company. His sociopathic nature was a natural fit for the European Union's band of merciless killers. He knew Belasco was still with the company because he'd be lost without it.

"Terrorism," Timonchenko told him, passing off a series of photographs to the young psychopath, "I'm guessing that if you're heading bad company still you're up for that."

"I'm always up for widespread slaughter," Belasco grinned, "I take it that you're not just going after Remordis?"

"Not in the slightest," Timonchenko said, "I want to stage a demonstration that the American Union will fear for decades. Three snipers, a team of machine gunners and a fusion weapon in the heart of the Washington Monument."

"I like it," Belasco chuckled, "Bolantin would go nuts, though."

"Fuck him," Timonchenko shrugged, "Will your guys balk?"

"Most of these guys would rape their own mother if we asked them to," Belasco shrugged, "Why are you doing this if not for the suits?"

"Because I want this goddamn planet to burn," Timonchenko said, being honest for the first time in ages, "And this will help do it."

"Roger will love it," Belasco said, "I'm all for it. I've never started a nuclear war before."

"That's why I chose you," Timonchenko said, smiling again, "We go tomorrow into history."

"You already have a fusion weapon?" Belasco said in wonder, "How the hell did you get that here?"

"I have my sources. It's not as nice as the one I used in Mozandondo, but it will do the job," Timonchenko said, "Don't worry about it, I've got that covered. Your job is to provide chaos and cover while your bomb tech gets the weapon ready to detonate."

"The boys will love it," Belasco grinned, "When?"

"Tomorrow," Timonchenko said, "Get some sleep. I'll have the weapon van here at 9am."

"Hopefully we can keep Cam from jizzing all over the bomb," Belasco said, "That guy is seriously fire crazy."

"Then, he can be the bomb tech," Timonchenko said, "So long as the climax is explosive, that's all that matters."

"Some things never change, Arkasha," Belasco said, "So where have you been hiding for the past five years?"

"Here and there," Timonchenko said, "You don't want to know the details, trust me."

"Sounds like fun," Belasco said, "Be sure to put in a word for me when this job is done."

"I will," Timonchenko lied, "I'm sure there will be positions open."

With that Timonchenko walked out the door and decided to get ready for their job in the morning. He had a number of things left to do.

Chapter 65 – A Monumental Mistake

Arkady Timonchenko smoked a cigarette as he drove the delivery van in to Washington DC. He knew that the plan was dangerous, but it was necessary to get Baltimore the opening he needed to use the key and turn the European Union into a sea of plasma.

He had spent nearly a year in the hospital from the torture his own people had applied to him in Novaya Zemlya. He owed his very existence to Baltimore Remordis and had happily joined his quest for world destruction.

"So what is the plan?" Belasco asked, "I know the rough plan, but not the whole thing."

"There is a festival going on right now at the Monument and on the national mall," Timonchenko said as he drove, "We're going to crash the party."

"Sounds like fun," Belasco agreed, "So we're just going to waste a lot of people?"

"No," Timonchenko said, "Four of your team will be doing that, shooting at anyone that moves and making a ruckus down on the national mall. The rest of us will be moving in to the Washington Monument."

"I'd rather hit the capitol," Belasco grumped, "Why the monument?"

"Because it gives us the best vantage point for the weapon," Timonchenko said as he pointed to the back, "Put it high enough in the air and it will push through both the White House and the Capitol."

"Very well," Belasco nodded, "Drive on, Arkasha."

While Timonchenko was driving towards the capitol mall Anoki pushed through traffic to get into Washington. Everyone was awake and ready to go, just looking for anything they could find on Timonchenko.

"He can't be that good," Mason said, "No goddamn sign of them?"

"Baltimore is heading to the UK," Anoki said from the front, "His plane left an hour ago."

"He can't use the key if it doesn't go to Defcon one," Catherine said, "And yes, Mason, he is that good. He planned this down to the letter."

"First thing is to find Timonchenko," Bolantine said, "We can't stop him if we can't find him."

"Anoki," Entragian said, "Timonchenko used a Fusion weapon in Mozandondo. Where could he have gotten that?"

"Most of those were retired for plasma," Catherine said, cutting in, "The government said that most of them were destroyed."

"The government lied," Bolantine told her, "They usually are good at that."

"The one in Mozandondo had Russian markings," Karen put in, "Could he have shipped one here?"

"Not the same type," Anoki said, "No way he could have shipped one here that quickly."

"They've been working on this for years," Mason reminded her.

"Not this part of the plan," Anoki said, "Bolantine threw them a curveball by killing Reno Despréaux. Timonchenko was originally supposed to be staging additional incidents in the war zone to make sure that kept going."

"So he would have had to get it quickly," Karen said, "Which means he got a weapon from somewhere in the AU."

"Which means it will be a clunky piece of junk," Catherine put in, "We weaponized fusion weapons, but didn't make suitcase ones like the EU did. No point."

"Remordis got access to a place called 'The Pen'," Anoki told them, "He hid it well, but I have his methods on file. A technician went in to check radiation counts, left with a box of parts."

"Annapolis storage center," Catherine said, remembering her history, "Weapons were researched there. Good place to get one locally."

"So we know he has a bomb," Mason said, "Not good."

"A weapon like that detonated in DC would cause mass chaos," Bolantine agreed, "That's the route I would have taken for a task like this."

"Why deal with Archangel if he has a bomb?" Nikki asked, "Companies like that are unstable and unreliable."

"Connection to the EU," Mason said, "He's not shooting for destroying Washington, though putting a hurt on it would speed things along. He's trying to get the EU blamed for a terrorist act that will precipitate a defcon one status."

"Where could you detonate a fusion weapon where it would piss people off but not destroy your people to the point they couldn't be identified?" Entragian asked, "I don't know enough about the physics of those weapons."

"Any ground detonation would act like Mozandondo," Catherine told him, "It would take an air detonation to cause injuries without completely shutting everything down. An air detonation would blow out any electronics or windows for miles around, but dissipate the force so it would leave survivors."

"Plane would be shot down," Anoki said, "Those weapons can't air drop well without a plane designed for it. The plans I found for them state that the electronics won't handle an air drop."

"Air detonation," Karen said and then it hit her, "The Washington Monument!"

"People to see him," Mason said, "Plenty of targets. A weapon like that would scare the piss out of everyone."

"There is a festival in the national mall today," Anoki said, "Thousands of people are there. The slaughter will be massive."

"Lock and load," Bolantine said, "Let's see if we can stop ourselves a lunatic."

Anoki drove quickly towards the mall as the rest of the group began getting weapons ready. Catherine quickly studied information on the weapon since she knew she was the most likely person to have to disarm it. Mason, Karen, Nikki, and Bolantine readied their weapons while Entragian readied his tracking gear.

"Squad one," Belasco ordered as they came out of the truck, "Go kill as many motherfuckers as you can, draw the cops away from the monument."

There was no hesitation from the Archangel terrorists. They jumped out the side door of the truck and jogged over to the first group of tourists at the festival and started opening fire. Chaos erupted as the efficient EU killers started coldly gunning down anyone they could. They wore heavy armor so the few pistols that were shot at them bounced off without even slowing down.

"The rest of you," Timonchenko said as he kicked open the back door, "Snipers to the monument, kill any guards that get in the way. Once you're there, start sighting uniforms and kill anyone with a uniform or gun."

"Bomb tech and two others take the weapon and get it up the monument," Belasco told them, "Arkasha and I will cover you. Do not drop the weapon. I don't think you'd like the result. Cam, go up the elevator with the weapon. The rest of us will defend the base of the monument."

The group jumped out and dragged the large box out of the vehicle. Timonchenko fired a couple shots at guards as they made their way to the Washington Monument. He then blew open the door with a small charge and shot the two guards that were knocked back by the blast.

"On the elevator now!" Timonchenko yelled, "Belasco, you stay here and make sure no one fucks with that elevator!"

"Where are you going?" Belasco asked him.

"To clear the stairs," Timonchenko grunted as he started the climb, "Stay alive, Oscar."

"Delivery truck!" Catherine shouted as the van careened down Constitution Avenue, "That company has been out of business for three years."

"Shots fired in the mall," Anoki said, "Lots of them. People are running everywhere."

"Decoy team," Bolantine said, "The real action is at the monument."

"Why do you think decoy?" Mason asked him.

"Because that's how I would do it," Bolantine said, "Make enough noise and the guards go running."

"I'd go with his gut," Karen suggested, "He ran terrorism for hire for two years from Russia."

"Jim," Mason said, taking lead, "Hack into the security grids and start tracking."

"Working on it," Jim nodded.

"Anoki," Catherine said, "Cover me and we'll go try to disable that damned weapon."

"Karen," Mason said, "Go with them."

"Let's go," Karen nodded, "I'll take lead, Catherine, you stay behind Anoki."

"What about us?" Nikki asked, "You're not leaving us out of it now."

"Nikki," Karen said, "You know electronics almost as well as I do. Come on with us."

"That leaves us to deal with the lunatics," Bolantine said, "This is a new experience, not trying to kill you in a situation like this."

"For me too," Mason agreed, "Let's go!"

Karen and Nikki went first to the memorial. They saw the bodies quickly and knew that Timonchenko had already made entrance. Anoki jogged slowly, careful to keep herself between Catherine and the memorial.

Rifle shots cracked from the observation deck, cops went down over the mall. One of the snipers caught sight of the group heading to the memorial and took aim at Karen, who chose that moment to drop low and start zigzagging. Nikki, who didn't have the sniper experience Karen did, took a shot straight to the chest, throwing her small body backwards over ten feet.

"Snipers!" Karen yelled, "Anoki, get Catherine to the monument now!"

Mason and Bolantine split up to flank the group that had been trying to murder civilians, creating a split set of targets for the bad guys. They saw the organized men but couldn't get good shots at them. Bolantine made some noise and Mason took one out with a carefully aimed head shot while Bolantine dodged the rounds fired at him.

This sent the others into survival mode as they dived behind a set of concrete benches and began firing towards both Mason and Bolantine.

"Bolantine," Mason said into his radio, "Keep their attention on us so we can give the rest of the civilians a chance to depart."

"Not our problem," Bolantine replied, "We need to kill them and make sure they can't be identified as EU. If they are identifiable then Timonchenko succeeds."

Mason growled, but didn't expect much different from Bolantine. The fact that Bolantine was right grated on him worse. The casualties from the terrorist attack were nothing compared to what would happen if Timonchenko's attack succeeded in blaming the EU for what happened.

"Ideas?" Mason asked the other immortal, "Even if we kill them they're identifiable."

"Thermite," Bolantine replied, "Kill them and burn them out of existence."

"We have thermite in the truck, Jim?" Mason asked.

"We have phosphorus grenades, will those work?" Jim asked.

"Hot enough but not concentrated," Bolantine said, "Need something that will destroy the bodies beyond recognition."

"Let me work on that," Jim said, "You work on killing them."

Timonchenko made it up to the top of the tower and saw his plan beginning to take shape. The snipers had used small C4 charges to blast out the Plexiglas windows were firing almost nonstop, enjoying their free fire orders to the fullest. Cam was working on getting the bomb out of the box and running the wires.

"How long until it's ready?" Timonchenko asked.

"This is an ancient weapon," Cam said as he fiddled with it, "Nothing like the fusion weapon you used in Mozandondo."

"This has triple the power of the one in Mozandondo," Timonchenko told him, "Get that timer set up so we can get out of here before it goes off."

"Ten minutes," Cam said, "Keep them off my ass for 10 minutes."

"Do it," Timonchenko said, "And make it five."

Karen, Anoki and Catherine managed to dodge the rest of the sniper fire to make it to the bottom of the monument. This put them out of range of the snipers, but Karen took two shots to the chest as she tried to look into the monument's door.

"Dammit!" Karen yelled as Anoki pulled her back, "That still fucking hurts."

"Any ideas?" Anoki asked, "I go in there my flesh is going to get torn up."

"This," Catherine said as she pulled out one of the grenades she had picked up at Florence, "Cover me, Anoki."

Belasco fired shots outside the door at Anoki as she dived past and fired back. Catherine pulled the pin and let the grenade cook for two seconds before throwing it into the doorway. Belasco saw it and tried to dive out of the way but Catherine's timing had been right on the money. The grenade exploding in the enclosed space cut the Archangel leader in half along with one of his two helpers.

"Anoki," Karen said, "Clear the place while I get my breath back."

"I thought you guys couldn't die?" Catherine asked, "What happened to Nikki?"

"She'll regenerate," Karen said between coughs, "The snipers hit her good, will take some time for her system to start running properly again. The hits on me were through and throughs. Dumbass was using a nine millimeter submachine gun. Hurts like a bitch but I'm functional."

"Clear!" Anoki said as she took out the remaining bad guy in the base of the tower, "Only the upstairs left."

"You first," Karen told the robot, "You can take the stairs faster than we can."

While Anoki started Climbing stairs Mason and Bolantine were fighting against the remains of Timonchenko's diversionary force. They knew time was against them with the police and military likely on their way quickly.

"We're running out of time," Mason said, "We need to end this now."

"Two left," Bolantine replied into the radio, "They can't kill us. Let's rush the bastards and finish them off."

"Jim," Mason said into the radio, "Run the van towards their location and keep yourself low. Buy us time to rush them."

"On my way," Jim said as he moved to the driver's seat, "Hold on."

The two remaining terrorists started firing at the van as Mason and Bolantine both rushed them. Mason fired two quick shots to the head of the one on his side while Bolantine emptied his machine pistol into the torso of the one on his side.

"Let's get the bodies," Mason said as Jim pulled the van next to the spot, "We can get them to the Monument and deal with them all together."

"I've diverted some of the responders," Jim said as they loaded, "The cops been ordered to fall back and let the military handle it. The military has been told it is a civilian situation. It'll take them an hour to figure it out. Only ones coming through are medical."

"We may not have that long if Timonchenko fires off that weapon," Bolantine said, "I remember what one of those things did to a Chinese island I was on back in the 2020's."

"How does setting that off work?" Jim asked, "I mean won't it be obvious that it isn't a missile strike?"

"The bad guys are carrying EU weapons," Bolantine said, "That would likely be enough to set them off given the tensions going on right now."

"Let's hope Karen and company are having better luck," Mason said as he took the driver's seat.

"Luck doesn't have much to do with it here," Bolantine grunted.

Anoki took the stairs two at a time as she went up the 897 steps to the top. Karen and Catherine were both in decent shape, but they couldn't even come close to the speed Anoki was capable of. She made it to the exhibit room below the Observation deck in record time.

"No one in the exhibit room," Anoki said over the radio, "Timonchenko must be upstairs."

"Mason and Bolantine killed off the outside group," Karen told the robot, "Six corpses have been collected and they're on their way there. Can you assault on your own?"

"Would be better to have two," Anoki said, "I'm scanning for bodies. I see six up there."

"Four of them are snipers," Catherine said, "There are shots going in all directions."

"One is Timonchenko and the other is probably the bomb tech," Anoki said, recognizing Timonchenko's signature from Mozandondo, "I'd say we're running out of time."

"Three minutes," Karen said as they continued climbing, "Recon what you can until we make it there."

"On it," Anoki said.

Timonchenko readied his weapons as well. He knew that Belasco's team had been overwhelmed from the simple fact that he was no longer responding. That meant an assault would come soon.

"Running out of time, Cam," Timonchenko told the mad bomber, "How long?"

"Nearly there," Cam said as he furiously worked with the wires, "We should have taken some time with the bomb first. Damned thing is older than dirt."

"Whole operation was put together quickly," Timonchenko said, "Can you do it?"

"Yes," Cam said, "Cover my ass and get my chute ready."

"Sniper team!" Timonchenko yelled as he readied his EU standard issue assault Rifle, "The lion is in the den! Defensive positions and put on your BASE chutes!"

"Catherine," Karen said as they joined Anoki on the observation deck, "You stay down here until the shooting is over. We'll likely need you to deal with the bomb."

"If it goes bad do the same trick with the grenade," Anoki said, "In an area that small the concussion will slow them down long enough for us to finish them off."

"No way," Catherine said, "That would set off the weapon. Watch where you shoot. One shot in that box could cook us all hotter than the sun."

"Got it," Karen nodded, "Anoki, you take point?"

"Best way to go at this point," Anoki agreed, "Let's go and get this done."

Anoki, being the faster of the two, took point and jumped up the stairs, firing two quick shots and taking down two of the snipers. Karen barreled up behind her and took down the other two before looking for Timonchenko.

"Nice job," Timonchenko said as he fired two large caliber shots at Karen, taking her chest apart, "I see we meet again."

Anoki raised her weapon to fire, but saw that she couldn't do so without risking hitting the bomb. Timonchenko smiled evilly at the android.

"Nice try," Timonchenko said as He stood behind the weapon, "Fire at me here and I let my final shots go into the weapon and take us all out."

"Drop it, Timonchenko," Anoki said as she aimed at his head, "It's over."

"Not yet," Timonchenko said, "Is the weapon ready, Cam?"

"Yes," Cam nodded, looking at the weapon and smiling, "Let's go."

Timonchenko smiled and calmly shot Cam in the head with the weapon in his left hand. He kept the other weapon aimed squarely at the bomb as he stared off Anoki.

"Think you can kill me without hitting the bomb?" Timonchenko asked, "You're good, Robot, but not that good."

Anoki hesitated, her internal wetbrain trying to calculate the ricochet percentages when Timonchenko fired two shots from his left hand weapon and hit Anoki in the face, blinding her just long enough for him to jump out one of the observation windows as Catherine ran up into the room.

"Anoki," Catherine said, "Where is he?"

"Out the window," Anoki said, "Get the bomb."

"BASE jump," Catherine growled as she watched him float to the ground, "He's not getting away that easily."

"The bomb, Catherine," Anoki said as she pulled the bad skin around her eyes.

"I can't do anything about it," she said as she looked at it, "I'm an engineer, not an explosives expert."

"Where's Timonchenko?" Karen rasped as her body stitched itself together, "He might have a trigger."

Catherine spotted the chute pack on the bomb tech's back and made her decision quickly. She pulled it off him and strapped it to herself, tightening it as best she could. Before Anoki could stop her she launched herself out the same window that Timonchenko had used.

"Is she insane?" Karen asked as she tried to pull herself to the window.

"He raped and murdered her best friend," Anoki said, "She won't let him go again."

"Jim," Karen said into the radio, "Get up here and help us figure out how to shut down this goddamn bomb."

Chapter 66 – Payback for Maia

Catherine Remordis knew she was out of her mind, but knowing what she did about Timonchenko made her determined to catch him and make sure that he couldn't hurt anyone ever again. She took a breath and pulled the rip cord, letting the parachute fly open and slow her descent.

Timonchenko sailed his chute towards the trees lining Madison Drive. Catherine watched this and swooped to Madison Drive directly, knowing that if she hit the ground running she could possibly catch the son of a bitch. She relied on the knowledge she'd gained skydiving with Maia when they were still in high school.

Timonchenko flared a bit, trying to avoid the trees. He had never been good with BASE jumps and this showed as his chute caught in the trees. He grunted as his body jerked against the straps of his chute and he fumbled his weapon.

Catherine fared much better, coming in for a hard, but smooth landing on the pavement. She ran towards Timonchenko and psyched herself up to take him on in hand to hand combat.

Timonchenko grunted and pulled himself out of the chute, landing hard on the ground. He growled and looked around as he got himself up on his knees only to see Catherine's foot heading straight for his face.

"You like to beat up on girls, do you?" Catherine asked him as she rammed her knee into his nose, "Let's see how you do with one who can fight back!"

Timonchenko pushed back and rolled away from her next hit, lashing out at her leg with a kick of his own. He spat out a bit of blood as he rolled and got himself up in a fighting stance. Catherine did the same and faced off with the older man, not letting her fear get to her at all.

"I promised your uncle I'd deal with you," Timonchenko said, "Nice shot to start. Now let's see if you can put up a better fight than your little friend did two years ago."

"I will kill you, Timonchenko," Catherine promised, "And I will make it hurt."

They circled each other for a few moments until Timonchenko tried to lash out at her, figuring a power strike would knock the girl back and break her confidence. Catherine was prepared for it, using a Jiu-Jitsu move on him to flip him backwards, using his own weight against him.

"I'm not as defenseless as Maia was," Catherine told him, "I guess I have you to thank for the hours I spent in the gym learning how to defend myself."

"That confidence will kill you," Timonchenko growled as he rolled up, "I only wish I had the time to rape your corpse."

"Big talk," Catherine said as she let off a solid roundhouse kick to his face, "Come on asshole, let's finish this."

Timonchenko kicked at her quickly and she quickly dodged, but she couldn't manage to avoid the punch that followed. He followed that with a few blows to her midsection, but she managed to ride the blows backwards and lash a kick at the larger man's knee that caused a large crack.

"You little bitch!" Timonchenko yelled as his knee screamed in pain, "You are so dead!"

"Promises," Catherine rasped as she tried to regain her breath, "You first, dickhead!"

She lashed out with three quick kicks to the same knee, causing Timonchenko to fall over. He managed to get up and shift his weight while Catherine readied herself for the next round. He looked at her and tried to psych her out, but she was ready for him.

He had experience on her, but she had recent training. Not to mention that he was almost two decades older than she was. She was able to recover faster than he was and went for a tactic that he didn't expect. She lashed out and kicked him square in the balls.

He screamed and reached for her neck, a grip that she was able to break with a standard Karate move. She then used a flat hand piston punch to knock the breath out of him before letting out a lash of punches into his midsection.

Realizing he was losing Timonchenko pushed her away and tried to get back. She pressed the fight, but the unexpected push caused her to lose her balance. Timonchenko ran to the area where he had landed, looking for his dropped weapon.

Catherine ran and drop kicked the man in the back, knocking Timonchenko into a forward roll that caused him to take an uncontrolled hit against a tree. He recovered slightly, but not before she lashed out again and used her speed to get a few kicks into his stomach and another one to his groin.

Timonchenko finally saw what he was looking for and managed to push her away, socking her in the jaw like a prizefighter. She was knocked backward and it took a couple seconds for her to see Timonchenko coming up with his submachine gun.

"Die bitch!" Timonchenko yelled as he pulled the trigger.

Catherine dived behind a tree, missing being hit by the stream of bullets by mere inches. She then dived behind another tree and repeated the process twice more. Finally, Timonchenko ran out of bullets and Catherine went in for the kill.

Timonchenko was reloading when she rushed him, using every bit of the little weight her body carried to push him backwards and knock the barrel of the gun away from her body. He pulled the trigger, but was not fast enough. The weapon fired wide as Catherine grabbed the stock and took it away from him.

He tried to go back but she recovered and hit him in the head with the stock of the weapon. He tried to ignore it, but the beating he'd taken caused him to lose track for a moment. She hit him with the stock twice more before taking the time to turn the weapon around and aim it at him as he fell back against the tree that carried the remains of his parachute.

"You little whore," Timonchenko spat as he slid down the tree, "You don't have the guts to shoot me."

"I've been waiting for this for two years," Catherine said coldly as she aimed the weapon at Timonchenko's groin, "Maia sends her regards."

She pulled the trigger and let off a poorly aimed three shot grouping that managed to destroy Timonchenko's testicles. He screamed in pain, but was no longer able to move. His body was giving out and he knew it. He reached for a detonator from his pocket and smiled.

"Joke is on you, whore," Timonchenko said, smiling through bloodstained and broken teeth, "When this whole city goes up you won't have time to gloat. Are you ready to die bitch?"

"You first," Catherine said and put a bullet in his brain.

Timonchenko tried to pull the trigger as he died, but Catherine had broken the fingers on that hand. His arm dropped and the detonator rolled harmlessly away. His body stopped moving and she just looked at what she had done, unable to make herself feel bad about having just killed someone.

"Rot in hell, Timonchenko," Catherine said quietly as she left and turned her radio on.

"Catherine!" Anoki said through the mike once she recognized the new signal, "You ok?"

"Timonchenko is dead," Catherine said, "And I'm more OK than I have been in years."

"Jim is on his way to you now," Anoki said, "Get any EU equipment and help him load it into the van along with the creep's body."

"Roger," Catherine said and silently began her gruesome task, feeling vindication at the death of Maia's killer, "Rest in Peace, Maia."

Chapter 67 – A Hot Time at the Monument

"You are seriously insane," Karen said as Catherine climbed out of the van, "You know that?"

"I couldn't let him go," Catherine explained, "You would have done the same in my place."

"She's got you there," Mason chuckled, "So what's the plan? The cops will be here soon."

"Get the bodies up to the apex," Jim said, "Let's do a burnoff on that fusion bomb. It'll torch the bodies beyond recognition along with the equipment."

"Can you engineer it?" Karen asked him.

"I can," Bolantine told them, "With Catherine's help."

"Anything to avoid the lifting crew," Catherine said, "I hurt all over."

"You ok, Catherine?" Anoki asked her, concerned for her friend, "You look like you took a beating."

"I hurt," Catherine said, "But I feel better in ways that I never thought I ever would."

"Move it," Jim shouted, "They've tumbled to the tampering. Feds are on their way."

"I'll handle the feds," Mason said, "The rest of you, get these bodies taken care of. Don't stick around, set the fire and get out of here on foot in teams of two. We'll meet in a couple hours at the Jefferson memorial."

Catherine and Bolantine ran up the stairs to handle the bomb while Anoki, Karen, Nikki, and Jim started loading the bodies onto the elevator. Mason did something he hadn't done in years, pulled a cigarette from a pack dropped by one of the dying bad guys and lit it up.

He walked towards the carnage area and cleared his head as he waited for the car that he expected to come. He smoked the cigarette, coughing a little and remembering the years he did this same action forty times a day.

Richard Pierce was sure that the ruckus at the Mall had something to do with the breakout in Florence the night before. His investigation of Baltimore Remordis had left him with some nasty questions and as soon as the tampering with the responses became known he was one of the first to head that way.

He pulled over to see the emergency workers trying to deal with the scores of dying and dead that arose from the Archangel Team's attack on the fair. He tried not to look too hard at the men, women and children who would never see another sunrise just because they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mason Stone walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. The younger agent looked at him and realized he'd seen the face before. Mason caught his eyes, knowing that he'd found the right person.

"We need to talk," Mason told him, "You're the one who was investigating Baltimore Remordis at Florence."

"You're an escaped prisoner," Pierce said, recognizing Mason from the image on the monitor.

"A victim like you are," Mason said quietly, "If you want to nail Remordis you'll come talk to me."

After all Pierce had seen about Remordis during the past few weeks he was not surprised at all by this and figured he had little to lose by talking to the man. They went over to Pierce's car and sat down inside. Pierce said nothing but let Mason continue at his own pace.

"I'm sure you've pegged Baltimore Remordis as the villain of the piece," Mason said, "But there's more to it than just a rogue agent."

"Who the hell are you?" Pierce asked, "That would be a start."

"The common name I'm used to is Mason Stone," he said, "My identity should be lost to history, but Baltimore Remordis pulled me out just like he did the others I'm working with."

"I can't figure out what he wants," Pierce said, "He's involved with a lot of crap and I'm dead sure he killed at least four people at Florence, but I can't figure out why."

"You're looking for a rational reason," Mason told him, "Rationality doesn't work here. Baltimore Remordis is, in classical terms, insane. The life he led and his injuries led him to the point where all he can do is hate. He hates everyone. He hates everything. He sees people as the disease of which there is only one cure."

"He's pushing us to the brink of a Plasma war," Pierce said, his face going white, "This was his work?"

"It was led by Arkady Timonchenko," Mason said, "A former Archangel operative that Remordis co-opted during the war. I don't know the details, but the long and short of it is he came here with an EU unit armed to the teeth with the intention of igniting an air burst of a Fusion Weapon at the top of the Washington Monument."

"Cutting off communication in DC," Pierce whistled, "I take it he failed?"

"Timonchenko and his team are dead," Mason said, "The rest of my team is taking care of it."

"Where the hell did you come from?" Pierce asked, "Why should I believe this?"

"I was living in Mozandondo," Mason said, "I'd been there since 2056 and had no intention of coming back until Arkady Timonchenko blew up my island with a fusion bomb."

"You expect me to believe that?" Pierce said, "That would make you over 200 years old."

"Three hundred and eleven this past April," Mason said, "Long story that is irrelevant to you at this point."

"Even assuming I believe that," Pierce said, showing that he didn't, "Why would Remordis take the time to flush you out so you could interfere with his plans?"

"James Entragian," Mason said, "He's been with me since the beginning of this long nightmare. He was the programming lead on the Mallorca system that still controls the American Union plasma weaponry deployment architecture. He's the only person left living that could have reverse engineered a non-presidential key."

"He has a key to fire the weapons?" Pierce asked in horror.

"A limited one," Mason nodded, "Jim put in a backdoor so we could override a launch if necessary. But it is only useful if the system sees a full defcon one status. Something that the regional conflict in Siberia hasn't done yet."

"The Euros don't have the weaponry to cross the ocean in numbers," Pierce said, pieces clicking into place, "A European Union terrorist attack would make the brass take it more serious and push up the level to defcon one."

"That's why it is imperative that this does not get blamed on the EU," Mason told him, "That's why I'm here."

"I can't stop the full investigation," Pierce said, "I can barely get permission to dig on Remordis now."

"Impede it," Mason told him, "The evidence should be going up in smoke in a few minutes."

Pierce was about to ask what he meant by that when a blinding white light came out of the top of the Washington Monument. Mason lit another cigarette and looked as it died down and fizzled out. Pierce looked at him with shock on his face.

"The fusion weapon they used ate itself," Mason told him, "Taking the bodies and their equipment with it."

"Unless we find a patsy they're going to assume EU," Pierce said as he looked at the immortal, "But I'm guessing that you already have one."

"Identities and flight information for a group of domestic terrorists," Mason said as he handed over a packet that Jim had finalized a few minutes before, "Same group that broke a pair of prisoners out of the ADX Florence facility two days ago."

"This won't hold," Pierce said as he took the packet, "You know that, right?"

"It doesn't have to hold forever," Mason said grimly, "Just long enough to stop a defcon one status and let us stop Remordis."

"You think he will pull the trigger?" Pierce asked him.

"You don't need me to answer that," Mason said as he opened the door to the car, "Don't try to find me again, kid."

"What can I do?" Pierce called after him.

"Push on Remordis," Mason said as he tossed a key drive to Pierce, "That is a clone of Remordis' personal computer that has had the passwords cracked open. If you can get him cut off from legal channels it becomes more difficult for him to move. His strength comes from knowing how the labyrinthine channels of government move and how to manipulate them. Take that away and the world still has a shot."

"Where are you going?" Pierce asked him.

"To stop a madman," Mason said as he walked away and muttered under his breath, "Again."

Chapter 68 – London Calling

Baltimore Remordis cursed as he watched the news reports coming out of Washington. Timonchenko had gone silent and the attack was being blamed on the same hapless terrorist group that Catherine's group had used as a decoy at ADX Florence.

He sat in a room where he had direct access to the central computer system. His key was in place, all he needed was defcon one in order to use it. He was so close that he could feel the power in his fingers as he touched the key device.

In frustration, he wheeled around the room and looked at the screens. He knew he had to come up with a last plan since it was a good bet that Timonchenko's failure meant that questions would be coming his way soon.

He was running out of options. He knew that his niece and her friends were going to come after him so he figured he had to turn up the heat. He pulled a phone out of a pocket on the wheelchair and plugged it into a port on the computer. It took a bit of work, but he got the connection he wanted.

"Bolantin," a voice said, "This had better be good."

"It is," Remordis said, "It's time to call in a favor."

"Remordis," Nicholas Bolantin said through the line, "I'm a bit busy here now. A war going on and all that. A war that your people started."

"Your war will go worse for you if I release what I have," Remordis said solemnly, "I'd suggest listening to me if you want to get through this."

"What do you want?" Bolantin asked him, "I have little time for this."

"Nice to know my contributions were valued as much as my life was," Remordis growled, "If you want this war to end properly you'll listen to me. I'm close to pulling the ultimate coup, but I need some assistance on your end."

"You?" Bolantin asked incredulously, "You're trying to take over?"

"I have my puppet ready," Remordis lied, "I'll be the power behind the system. That can only be a good thing for you, Nicholas."

"What do you need?" Bolantin asked, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of it cheap.

"I need a defcon one condition," Remordis told him, "In order for my plan to work I need them scared enough for them to release the system. Once they do that I can go in and I'll have the government agencies in my control."

"I am in control of the other side," Bolantin reminded him, "I cannot control what your government does."

"That is where you are wrong Nicholas," Remordis said, a thin smile coming across his face, "Mobilize conventional bombers. Call it a payback strike for the renewed hostilities or just say it is a strategic strike. I don't care what you call it as long as your bombers head over the Atlantic and start hitting targets along the east coast."

"Are you mad?" Bolantin asked him, "That could get my ass fried with Plasma!"

"Not with me in control it won't," Remordis lied again, "You've got a choice, a friendlier superpower or a war that in the long run you will lose again, probably along with the entire Siberian plain this time."

"Bah," Bolantin grouched over the phone, "I have some hawk generals that have been pushing for just that sort of attack."

"I would have been surprised had you not," Remordis said, "Let go of their leash. Let's escalate this and get it over with. Better a quick and decisive war now than the lengthy bloodbath we had five years ago."

"The orders are on their way now," Bolantin promised, "It will take about a day to get it moving. I suggest you use the time to consolidate your position."

"I intend to," Remordis said as he rang off the line, "I certainly intend to."

Chapter 69 – Empty in Between

Catherine, Anoki and the immortals had picked up a cheap motel room in a dive just outside DC, coincidentally a few blocks away from the one where the Archangel team spent its last night. Catherine was sprawled out on the bed with Karen and Jim administering first aid to her battered body.

Bolantine was on the phone trying to get information from Panin in Vladivostok while Nikki and Mason paced around the room halfway watching the television that was running at the edge of the room. Anoki was tapping into government networks trying to figure out what the official response from the President would be to this disaster.

"The press is buying the story released by the government," Karen noted, "Hopefully that will buy us a bit of time."

"Pierce and his group are pushing against Baltimore," Mason told them, "He's about to find that the world is becoming a lonely place for a lunatic like him."

"Underestimating Baltimore Remordis is a good way to die," Catherine reminded them, "He's made a career of pulling off the impossible. We've made it more difficult for him, but he's not dead yet."

"You're right about that," Bolantine said as he put down the phone, "Something has gotten our boy Nicholas to start jumping through hoops in Paris. Panin's people are catching preparations for a larger offensive, possibly even strikes against American Union soil."

"Why the hell would Bolantin want to prolong this?" Nikki asked, "He's carved from your DNA, B. This smacks of a bad business move and that's something that you would never have done."

"What do you mean that he's carved from your DNA?" Mason asked, perking up at that bit of information, "You sure as hell can't reproduce."

"I had the luxury of knowing I was going to be immortal," Bolantine said as he shrugged his shoulders, "I had sperm frozen and used it in a replication program in the early 21st century."

"So Bolantin is a descendant of yours?" Jim asked, "What does that mean for this."

"He is me," Bolantine said, "The point of the program was to ensure that I had genetic duplicates. Their sperm breeds only copies of my genetic code. It discards the woman's DNA and breeds true."

"That's insane," Karen said, shuddering, "Even for you, Bolantine."

"I think Baltimore has his hooks into Bolantin," Catherine said as she lifted her head and looked at the group through a swollen eye, "He was behind the group that put Bolantin in power over there during the war."

"If he has his hooks into Bolantin then why not use Bolantin to launch?" Anoki asked, "Why go through this elaborate plan?"

"Bolantin is likely beholden to Baltimore," Catherine said as she grunted in pain from some of the iodine Karen was using on a cut, "I highly doubt he is suicidal."

"Sending a bombing run would be suicidal," Nikki put in, "It would get him deeper into a war he has to know he can't win."

"Unless he thinks he has an ace in the hole," Mason said, looking at Bolantine, "Think about it, did you ever make a move like this without inside information?"

"Of course not," Bolantine said, nodding, "He has to know something we don't."

"Or he thinks he knows something we don't," Mason corrected, "If Baltimore Remordis put him into power, which means Remordis has a hook into the man."

"Not enough of one for suicide," Bolantine said, "I'm not that stupid and I have confidence my clone wouldn't be either."

"Baltimore wouldn't have told him the truth," Catherine told them, "He'd bend it to make it look palatable."

"How do you make a plasma war look palatable?" Nikki wondered.

"Nobody outside of us truly believes that he's planning global suicide," Catherine told them, "Why should Bolantin? Especially when what Baltimore is doing looks like a man making a desperate power grab to someone on the outside?"

"You think he sold Bolantin on a game of brinksmanship?" Mason asked her, "That almost makes sense, actually."

"So Bolantin thinks he's getting an ally while breaking the government that nearly broke his country?" Bolantine nodded, "That's something that I would probably have gone for given the same information."

"I don't think like you and I probably would have too," Mason admitted, "Question is, what the hell can we do about it?"

"Stop Baltimore," Catherine said, "The plot folds if we get him and the key."

"Panin thinks the bombers could leave by morning," Bolantine told them, "If that happens and the President calls for defcon one then it's game over."

"We know he's in London," Anoki said, "Let's get him."

"There's two sides to this," Jim said, looking around the room, "One side firing missiles won't destroy the world. It will put a hurting on it, but the world will survive it. It will take the firing of both sides of missiles to do the job the way he wants it."

"Plus the Chinese," Catherine said, "If he wants to be really complete about it."

"He's counting on the retaliation," Mason said, nodding, "What's your point, Jim?"

"I don't think we should put all our eggs in one basket," Jim told them, "Much as I hate to say it, what happens if we fail to stop Baltimore before he pushes the trigger?"

"Do you have an idea?" Bolantine asked, "I'm fresh out."

"You gave it to me actually," Jim told him, "Stopping at least one side's missiles gives us a chance to survive. You're a genetic duplicate of the EU president, which means you don't need a key to the system. You already are a key."

"Which means we can shut down the launchers," Nikki said, catching on, "So we go in two directions?"

"Three," Mason said, thinking about it, "Someone has to prepare for the worst. Karen, you're the best at that. Think that cold war era complex in the UK is still active?"

"The one in Corsham in Wiltshire?" Karen asked, "It was so big that I'd bet that it's still around. They built that thing to take the biggest bombs the Soviets had to offer so I doubt even a plasma burst would take it out."

"Your job will be to check it out and get it ready," Mason said, "If we fuck up we'll be heading your way, probably with every living person we can cram into the complex."

"Big job," Karen said, "Hopefully will be unnecessary."

"I don't know about you," Catherine said honestly, "But I know I'll be a bit less nervous if everything isn't riding on me."

"You'll be a big part of it," Mason promised, "You know your uncle better than anyone now. I'll need your help to stop him."

"I'm in for the long haul," Catherine promised, "I've given too much to this to stop now."

"I'll be with you until the end," Anoki promised, "I'm going with Catherine."

"Nikki and I can handle Bolantin ourselves," Bolantine said, "But this is a moot point if we can't get there before the bombers go."

"I'm arranging the flights now," Anoki said, "Who among you can fly a jet?"

"I can," Karen said, "I'm assuming controls haven't changed much since 2047."

"I know how to fly planes," Nikki said, "I learned while working with the strike team in case they needed a backup pilot."

"Let's not talk about the strike team," Anoki suggested, "I'm still trying to forget what you did to us there."

"Now's not the time for this," Catherine said, "Anoki and I can go like we did to Paris."

"The planes will be available in an hour," Anoki said, "Given the state of alert it's not as hard to get them as it was when we went over the first time."

"I think we have a plan," Mason said, "Don't bother to take anything, guys. We'll end up leaving it behind anyway. Side arms only for this flight."

Catherine got up and took another look around the room. She wondered if any of them would still exist this time tomorrow.

Chapter 70 – Bureaucracy

Richard Pierce spent most of the afternoon and evening going through the data that Mason Stone had passed him and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was the answer to all the questions he'd been asking and getting stonewalled on.

"What happened out there Richard?" Alan Stonewall, his boss at the bureau, asked him as he walked into the room, "Do you know anything."

"Remordis," Richard said without looking up, "He's behind it all."

"I know you think that," Stonewall said, "Do you have proof?"

"Not for the monument," Richard told him, "But I do have the proof on Mozandondo and for dozens of other federal crimes. This data is the motherlode Alan."

"Where did it come from?" Alan asked as he looked through some of the files pointed out, "This looks like Baltimore Remordis' personal computer."

"It's a clone of it," Richard said, "I got it from the guy that stopped the terrorists at the monument."

"You know who he is?" Alan asked, dumbfounded, "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I met a man who said he's trying to stop Remordis," Richard told him, "The blast happened when he was talking to me, so I know he didn't do that, at least directly."

"This your guy?" Alan asked him, handing the younger agent a picture.

"That's him," Richard agreed, "Claimed his name was Mason Stone."

"I don't have any records on him," Alan said, "But the surveillance video proved he was the one who stopped the terrorists. We don't have identification yet, but we're thinking it is the same group that hit Florence."

"Sounds about right," Richard agreed, deciding to let Mason's story ride, "So what do we do about Baltimore Remordis?"

"Package this up," Alan said, "We'll talk to the director tomorrow."

"Mason thinks Remordis is trying to start a plasma war," Richard said, "Should this wait?"

"It's going to be hard enough to convince the director Remordis has gone bad as it is," Alan Stonewall reiterated, making a fateful decision, "He'll be more receptive if we don't wake him up."

"Let's just hope Remordis doesn't manage to pull the trigger by then," Richard Pierce told him, "This guy is seriously crazy."

"Aren't we all?" Alan laughed as he walked away, "Seriously, he can't be that crazy. He's gone a bit off the edge, but no one will start a plasma war. That's a war that nobody will win."

Pierce knew that was true, he just wish he could be as sure about Remordis as Alan was.

Chapter 71 – Landing in London

Catherine Remordis managed to stay conscious through the flight this time, only throwing up twice as Anoki maneuvered the jet into UK airspace. Anoki had managed a better cover and the fact that they were staying within AU allied airspace made it a much easier trip.

Karen Stone readily reacquainted with the mechanics of flying a jet, easily piloting the three of them to the airbase outside London in the guise of weapon transport. Jim, the worst of the bunch when it came to planes, managed to only pass out twice during the ride.

It was nearly midnight local time when the five of them met outside the airport. Catherine looked around at the architecture and wished she'd been able to get to London under better circumstances. Mason looked at the four of them and couldn't believe that it was up to such a small group to prevent Armageddon.

"Do you have any idea where Baltimore is?" Mason asked Catherine.

"Someplace wheelchair friendly with good communications," Catherine said, "He has to know Timonchenko failed, so I'm betting he's avoiding official locations now."

"Any suggestions on where to start with Corsham?" Karen asked her.

"Local survivalist groups would likely be a good start," Catherine said, "Find the least crazy of them and convince them it is in their interest to get the bunker stocked for a really long winter."

"I know where to go," Karen said after thinking about it, "Find that bastard please. I want the motherfucker dead before he can screw us all."

"We will," Mason assured her and gave her a kiss, "Hopefully by this time tomorrow we can relax together and forget Baltimore ever existed."

"I'm all for that," Karen smiled and walked away, leaving Mason, Jim, Catherine, and Anoki left to try to find and stop Baltimore Remordis.

The four of them walked down the road until they found a car that Anoki could crack the computer on. They drove to London as Anoki scanned networks looking for Baltimore's signatures. Mason circled around London for nearly an hour as Anoki searched.

"He's nowhere," Anoki said, "I can't find a trace of him now."

"He's pulled in the covers over himself," Mason grumbled, "Any ideas, Jim?"

"He's a spy and a good one," Jim said, "This is London. Where would any self respecting spy go when he's trying to get the world to forget he exists?"

"Straight to hell?" Catherine asked hopefully.

"SIS building," Mason chuckled, "They aren't using it any longer?"

"According to the articles, their spy services were absorbed by Langley in the AU over a hundred years ago," Jim said, showing Mason the article on the handheld, "The place is a museum now, but it still has communication hubs that tie into the AU systems. They kept them up as a backup in case something happened in DC."

"Sounds like something Baltimore would do," Catherine agreed, "How can we tell?"

"Traffic," Anoki said, tapping into the networks, "Someone has been accessing the AU networks from there, places that most people don't know exist."

"Why didn't you see it as Baltimore?" Jim asked.

"He's using the ID of Tony Holder," Anoki said, "I wasn't looking for him."

"Who's Tony Holder?" Mason asked, "And how is Baltimore getting away with that?"

"Holder is dead," Catherine said, "Baltimore killed him a couple weeks ago. Tony probably figured out what Baltimore was up to."

"Let's get over there," Mason said, "We're running out of time."

Chapter 72 – Parisian Hospitality

Nikki had a rough time with the jet, especially when she was met by a group of EU fighters intent on knocking her and Bolantine out of the sky. She finally had to skim the waves to make them think she'd crashed. Bolantine, who had never particularly liked flying in the first place (Airplanes were not common for civilians until he was in his forties) so he had to hold on for dear life.

Once she got into France, she skipped around in a number of zigzags and pushed it up to maximum speed until they were over Paris. Unconcerned about civilians at this point Nikki didn't even try to land the plane, instead pushing the eject button causing the module to fly out of the plane, sending it flailing flightless towards the Eiffel Tower.

"Did you have to nuke the tower?" Bolantine asked her as they floated down to the ground.

"Hopefully it will keep them occupied while we figure out what to do next," Nikki shrugged, "Have to admit it made a pretty fireball though."

Bolantine could only shake his head as they floated down and landed just outside Paris. They left the site quickly and hiked into the city. Bolantine, never the most ethical of men at the best of times, quickly took a car, shooting its hapless owner and throwing the body in the trunk.

"We're running out of time," Nikki said as she listened to the radio, "According to the news they're getting ready to extend the war."

"Ok," Bolantine said as he pulled outside a drug store, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Go in and buy some cosmetics, hair dye and some magazines that have pictures of Nicholas Bolantin."

"This isn't time for a makeover, B," Nikki complained.

"No," Bolantine said, "But stopping this will be simpler if we go in and take over for my idiot descendant."

"And you call me a cowgirl," Nikki chuckled, "I see your point though."

"Move it," Bolantine said to her as he dialed up a presidential address, "I need to listen to this drivel and learn how to speak like him."

Nikki nodded as she darted into the store. She used the money from their victim in the trunk to buy what she needed to turn Bolantine into a virtual duplicate of President Nicholas Bolantin.

Bolantine hadn't done this before, but he knew that Bolantin should have been genetically identical to the way he was before the immortality serum so he didn't think it would take much to get him sounding like a dead ringer for the man on top of the second most powerful nation in the world.

Nikki came out a while later with everything they needed. She drove the car to an out of the way spot while Bolantine continued to practice. When she found a place that was as isolated as she wanted he'd gotten to the point where he was nearly indistinguishable from the original.

"Let's get the makeup done," Nikki said, "Have you put any thought into what we're going to do once we have you ready?"

"We're going to Versailles," Bolantine said as he leaned the chair back, "Bolantin conspicuously moved the EU government there when he took over. His communications are based out of there, so we'll bluff our way in."

"Sounds like fun," Nikki said as she cut his hair to match the style the president used, "I haven't done this to you in many years."

"Let's just hope we'll have the ability to do this again," Bolantine said, closing his eyes as she put some color in his hair to mimic Nicholas Bolantin's fifty-four years, "I don't particularly look forward to walking across a barren planet for eternity."

"Amen to that," Nikki agreed and finished up with some aging makeup tricks, "You're probably as close as I can get you to looking like Nicholas Bolantin with cosmetics."

Bolantine was about to make a smart remark when the announcement came over the news about the bombers being seen on their way to the American Union. People were advised to start making preparations for a long war and for possible retaliatory strikes.

"Out of time," Bolantine said as he looked at Nikki.

"Not yet," she told him, "Even if Remordis launches we can stop the response."

"Then let's make haste to the Palace of Versailles," Bolantine said, taking a deep breath, "We've got a war to stop."

"You know," Nikki said, smiling a little, "Those are the last words I ever thought I'd hear you say."

"Right up there with let's work with the test subject, I'm sure," Bolantine smiled and imitated his progeny, "You drive. I need to work on this voice a bit more."

"I'm on my way," Nikki said as she shook her head and drove the car.

Chapter 73 – Corsham on Wiltshire

Karen Stone drove her stolen vehicle to Corsham on Wiltshire, breaking more than her fair share of traffic laws along the way. She heard the news about the bombers on her way there as well, so she knew that she likely had little time to organize a monumental undertaking.

A little research showed her the right people she needed to talk to. There was a fringe survivalist group located just outside Corsham, led by a reclusive man by the name of Jason Mullinix. She knew that if the group were reasonable then they'd likely be the best prepared for an undertaking like this one.

She put her pistol in easy reach as she drove up to the compound, knowing it was prudent to be ready in case they were a group of lunatics. As she expected there was a guard station outside featuring a couple of young men carrying older rifles. She pulled up slowly and made sure she kept her hands on the top of the wheel where the guards could see them.

"This is private property, Ma'am," one of them said politely, "There's no through traffic and nowhere to go here."

"I'm looking for Jason Mullinix," Karen said, smiling at the man, "I'm hoping I'm in the right place."

"We're not looking for publicity and Jason isn't looking for new friends," the young man said, "No reporters either. Please go back to London, Ma'am. There's nothing for you here."

"I'm not a reporter," She said, glad that they were polite and not reactionary lunatics, "My name is Karen Stone and I've got information that may assist you in surviving the coming war."

"The only way we'll survive the war is to stay out of it," the young man said, "Please go back to London."

"The plasma will kill all of you too if you don't hear me out," Karen said, standing her ground, "I am not a reporter. I am not a threat to your security. I'll be glad to talk to him anywhere he wants, but it is urgent that he speaks with me quickly for all our sakes."

The two men looked at each other. Karen didn't sound like a reporter. She kept looking them square in the eyes and made sure they realized how serious she was.

"Who are you?" the young man asked.

"I am an immortal," Karen said, waiting for the laughter that didn't come, "I'm here to set up a preparation for survival if the rest of my team fails to stop the coming plasma war."

"No reporter would come up with a story that bad," the older one said, "Jason may want to talk to her."

"Pull your car over to the wall," the younger one said, "Step out of the car and leave any weapons you have inside. Pull anything out against Jason or us and you won't survive long enough to use it."

He pointed at the two sniper towers, both of which had weapons aimed at her. She nodded and did as she was told. The snipers didn't bother her much, but getting shot in the head would put her way behind. She expected them to be careful anyway and was glad they were being as reasonable as they were.

She stood out in the warm sun, glad for the temperate British climate after years of sitting out in the tropical sun of Mozandondo. She stretched out a little bit, glad to be standing up outside the car for a few minutes.

She wasn't sure what to expect, but the young man who walked out into the yard flanked by big beefy guards certainly wasn't it. He was a bit on the slight side and definitely no older than twenty-five. His sandy blonde hair was cut in a standard businessman's fashion. His eyes were bright and intelligent, taking in the area around him. Karen knew instantly that she'd hit the jackpot.

"Miss Stone?" he asked respectfully, "I am Jason Mullinix. You asked to see me?"

"Thank you for talking to me, Mr. Mullinix," Karen said, nodding respectfully to the young man, "Time is short."

"I had to come out and see who the lovely woman was with the insane claim of being an immortal," Jason smiled, "Immortals are beings of legend."

"These are legendary times," Karen told him, "And if we're not careful it will be the end of times."

"I've been watching the news reports carefully," Jason nodded, "I've been trying to keep my people out of this mess. I certainly hope you are not here to try to pull them in."

"Nope," Karen said, "I'm here to try to save them."

"You don't even know us," Jason said, "So you must admit this is rather odd. You claim to be immortal and want to help us. I'm not sure if you're crazy or just trying to get us to fall into a trap."

"Let's start with the immortality claim," Karen said, knowing she was going to have to make him a believer, "I'm sure at least one of you is carrying a large sharp knife, correct?"

"We all learn to hunt here," Jason admitted, "Why?"

"Let me borrow one and your questions will be answered," Karen told him, "Keep your weapons on me if you like, but you need to believe me."

"Give her a knife, Ed," Jason Mullinix told the younger man, "I'm curious how far the young lady is going to take this."

Ed shook his head and uneasily handed the knife over to Karen in the proper manner, handle first. She took the blade and tapped it properly. She knew the normal test wouldn't cut it right now. She flipped it across her fingers a few moments and then turned it towards her chest.

"Attacking me would be suicidal," Jason told her, "So do whatever parlor trick you have in mind."

Karen smiled and saw that both men were aiming the rifles towards her midsection. She decided to do it the fun way and throw the knife at a board over Jason Mullinix's head. Both men saw this and fired repeatedly, hitting Karen Stone in the stomach in chest and throwing her backwards as the knife stuck into the board.

"What the hell was that?" Ed exclaimed, still shaking from having shot someone, "Jason?"

"I don't know," Jason said, also a bit shaken, "She must have been crazy."

"Not quite," Karen grumbled as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, "I figured I'd give you a demonstration you couldn't ignore."

Both guards jumped at the sound of her voice and were about to fire again when Jason Mullinix stepped up and stopped them. He had listened to the stories passed down from his great grandfather and knew that things had just gotten very interesting. He looked as Karen Stone's injuries disappeared as she stood up and spit up some blood into the bushes.

"How the hell did you survive that?" Ed exclaimed, "You ain't human!"

"She is what she said she is," Jason told them, "I thought my grandfather's stories were just that. Looks like he was telling a bit of the truth."

"Oh?" Karen asked, "Your grandfather?"

"Well, my great-grandfather actually," Jason chuckled, "He got them from his own grandfather and they'd been passed down. All the stories of Dennis Mullins that have been passed down. They said them with a glint of tradition and tall tales, but they said the same thing that their fathers had told them. If you ever see an immortal it generally means that something bad is about to happen.

"Dennis Mullins," Karen smiled, "Now that's a name I haven't thought of in nearly two hundred years. He was a rascal, that one. Helped us put down a nasty problem in Northern Ireland before we retired. I always wondered what happened to him."

"He changed to the more traditional Mullinix and founded this compound," Jason said, "Leadership has passed down through the generations since. The child with the best managerial skills takes over when he's old enough."

"You are either older than you look or you got a head start," Karen told him, "Do you believe me now?"

"I believe I'd better hear you out," Jason agreed, "Ed, hide that car of hers. It looks like it was stolen and we don't need that kind of scrutiny with a major war starting."

"Yes sir!" Ed exclaimed and went over to the vehicle, "How deep do you want it?"

"The quarry five miles north," Jason told him, "Should be far enough and a good hike for you through mostly our land."

"I'm overdue for one," Ed smiled, "See you guys in a couple hours."

Jason led Karen into the complex and into a communal house that was at least a century old. It had been added on to and repaired in many ways over the years. There was little in the way of religious iconography in the building, just various murals and posters preaching self reliance.

"We pride ourselves on being self-reliant," Jason told her as they walked down the hall, "We don't want any problems with outsiders and do our best to be good neighbors. We are considered a self-governed agricultural settlement."

"Seems like a good life," Karen agreed, "Looks like I chose well."

"Depends on why you're here," Jason said, "The one thing that the stories agreed upon were that when you guys showed up nothing good ever happened."

"We do have that knack for being in the wrong place," Karen said, "But we do the best we can not to make it worse."

"Sometimes that's the best we can do," Jason agreed as they got to a small apartment in the back, "Welcome to my home, Miss Stone. Have a seat and tell me why you staged this demonstration?"

"The world may very possibly be about to end," Karen said simply, "I'm here to try to make sure that it doesn't end completely."

"Why us?" Jason asked her, "And what makes you think it is about to end?"

Karen spent the next hour detailing what Baltimore Remordis had done and what was happening in London and Paris now. Jason listened and was nearly sick to his stomach as she detailed the mad plan that had been hatched and executed by the man who had been considered one of the heroes of the war.

"Those bombers could mean..." Jason said finally, his face two shades whiter than they had been minutes before, "You're thinking of Burlington."

"Yes I am," Karen nodded, "And your group is the closest and best-prepared people to get it ready so we have an option if Mason can't stop Baltimore Remordis."

"I know the commander over the site," Jason said, "He's a good guy. We've been trading with his group for years. They were put in place to make sure the complex didn't go dormant. He has a crew of maybe two-dozen people."

"Let's get your people preparing everything they can," Karen nodded, "You and I can go talk to commander Gorse."

Jason nodded and walked over to an older man who was sitting by a radio monitoring the military channels. He listened to what Jason told him and the man quickly began moving to a closet and pulling out some lists.

"You've thought about this before," Karen noted.

"Dad did when the last war broke out," Jason nodded, "I remember sitting with him as a teenager helping him map out what we'd do if the worst happened. He was preparing me even then for this day."

"Where is he now?" Karen wondered.

"Died in a logging accident last year," Jason told her, "My older brothers all decided to leave the compound and seek life in London. I loved it here, figured that I'd be better off staying put. I'm the youngest leader in generations."

"Your father chose well," Karen nodded, "Go make your speech to your people."

Jason nodded and walked out into the compound. Everyone knew something was going on, but they respectfully watched as he went up to the highest platform in the common area. Jason Mullinix had not made an unplanned speech of this nature before, so they all knew they'd better watch.

"There's trouble on the horizon," Jason said over the loudspeaker, "I don't have time to relay everything that Miss Stone told me, but believe me it turned my face pale more than once. Some lunatic is trying to destroy the world and there is a decent chance he may succeed.

"We're not going to let him destroy humanity. We will not go down quietly. Now there's nothing we can do to directly help the people who are trying to stop this lunatic, but we can give them the peace of mind in knowing that humanity will survive and they'll have a place to go.

"Karen and I are going to see Commander Gorse at Burlington," Jason told them, "Your job is to follow the plans my father drew up. Let's get ready to survive underground. Hopefully, this will be an exercise in futility, but if it isn't... Well, I don't have to tell you the consequences of failure at this point."

"What about the locals?" a voice yelled from the crowd.

"If you think you can find some who will help, by all means bring them," Jason replied, "Burlington can hold over four thousand people. The few hundred in this area shouldn't be a problem."

There were a few more questions that were shouted out and Jason answered them patiently. These people all knew and trusted him, that's why even at this young age he had become the leader of the group.

"No more time for questions!" Jason yelled, "I trust you all. Use your best judgment. I'll be back as soon as I can to help."

Karen watched as everyone scurried around to do their jobs. Jason pointed Karen to a jeep that was parked over next to the entrance. She jumped in with him and they sped off to talk to another man about preventing the end of the world.

Chapter 74 – Distractions

Baltimore Remordis sat in his chair and smoked cigarettes for the first time in several decades. He figured he had to do something with his time and that cancer was the least of his worries now. Information was crossing several screens at once as he looked for the defcon one status he needed.

He knew that time was short. He'd read the reports and knew that Timonchenko had failed miserably in Washington. There was only one person who could have figured it out at this point, and he knew it had to have been Catherine and the immortals. In a way he was proud of her, she was more like him than anyone else in his family had been.

Unfortunately, this meant that she was still a danger. He knew she'd end up here. He hadn't bothered to cover his tracks, a mistake that he figured he would probably end up regretting now. Baltimore Remordis knew that his revenge upon the world was almost complete and he was determined to see it out until the fiery end.

He was about to recheck his traps and the security systems for the building when a notice came across the board. Warrants had been issued for his arrest. This proved that someone had gotten to the feds. Some of the things listed in the warrants were only available on the computer that had been destroyed in his safe room.

"I don't know how you did it Catherine," Baltimore said, shaking his head, "But it won't be enough."

He knew that he had to do something to cause confusion. He figured that someone would see through the fact that he was connected with Tony Holder's identifications and come for him. He just had to hold out here until the end came.

Baltimore thought about this for a moment and then sent a set of impersonated orders from the president to Scotland Yard. He wrote a highly fictitious account of his location here and sent them off to arrest him. He then did the same to the remains of MI6, sending them to the same place. Both sides were given shoot on sight orders, meaning there was about to be a hot war in the old MI6 building.

"Try to get through that, Catherine," Baltimore laughed as he tracked the progress of the bombers, "Another couple hours and you fools will all die in a white hot tide of plasma."

Chapter 75 – Take Me Anywhere

Catherine Remordis looked at the people around her and couldn't believe it had come to this. She had been a simple college student regretting her choice of major only a few weeks before. Now, she was armed and about to join two immortals and a robot in a quest to stop her insane uncle from destroying the world.

"What's that?" she asked as she saw a chopper overhead, "They're heading for the MI6 building too."

"They're MI6," Jim said as he studied the markings, "Maybe someone in Washington got their head out of their ass?"

"I doubt it," Anoki said, "There's another unrelated group heading in from the other side."

"How do you know they're unrelated?" Catherine asked her.

"Different radio frequencies," Anoki said, "Both encrypted, but different bands. Neither group knows the other is there."

"Baltimore," Catherine said, "That proves he's there."

"How?" Mason asked her.

"He's using two official groups against each other," Catherine told him, "They would never have found Baltimore this quick on their own. They don't have anything as good as Anoki is at traffic monitoring. Baltimore sent them both in to distract each other and more importantly to distract us."

"She's got a point, Mason," Jim agreed, "It's going to be a lot harder to get in there and stop him if we have two sides of officials shooting at anything that moves."

"Ideas?" Mason asked them, "I say keep going, but it's going to be dangerous for you, Catherine."

"A lot less so than letting him succeed," Catherine told him, "I'd rather die trying to stop him than simply burn up in a pool of plasma without having tried."

"Well said," Jim nodded, "She's in, Mason. We're all in now."

"Let's just hope he doesn't have an ace up his sleeve," Mason grumbled, "Hold on tight, I'm going to bring this around the side where there are the fewest authorities. We will have to try to go around them and use the chaos to our advantage. Anoki, do you have a fix on his location in the building?"

"No," Anoki said, "I can try to get one once I can read their network directly."

"Just as bad as Florence," Catherine said, shaking her head, "Just get me in there alive, metal head."

"We arrive in ten minutes," Anoki said, "Hold on. This ride won't be pretty."

Chapter 76 – The Gorse and the Grey

Jason Mullinix drove the jeep wildly to the base and talked his way into a quick meeting with Commander Robert Gorse. They walked quickly and were soon sitting in the commander's tea room refusing an offer of Earl Grey tea. The kindly old man smiled at the two of them, though he was concerned about the look on Jason's face.

"Don't tell me you've finally decided to take a bride young man," Commander Gorse said, smiling, "Jenkins tells me that you were most insistent on seeing me quickly. Whatever is the hurry my boy?"

"What is the condition of Burlington?" Jason asked him, "Is it inhabitable?"

"Certainly is," Commander Gorse said, "Why would you be here asking about an old hole in the ground though? Want to use it as a wedding chamber?"

"There won't be a wedding," Karen said, "There may not be one ever again if we don't get that hole in the ground ready for human habitation."

"What's the deal on the girl, Jason?" Commander Gorse asked him, "She off her chump?"

"She's sane," Jason told him, "Karen, you're going to have to give him the whole story."

She nodded and spent the next half hour going over the story and giving him the lesson in believing she was an immortal. She was getting awfully sick of being shot, but it was better than the alternative at this point. Commander Gorse was a bit disturbed by the information, but being a military man who had been watching the increasingly more disturbing language trading between governments knew that it was more than just a little likely.

"What on earth do you want from me, my boy?" Commander Gorse said, "I only have a couple dozen people here, half of them on their way out to pasture."

"Open up the base to us," Jason said, "You can send your people off for their families. Hopefully, this will blow over and it will be much ado about nothing."

"You think this will happen?" Gorse asked Karen.

"I think Mason is going to try his damndest to stop it," Karen said, "But if he can't get to Remordis in time there will be some bombs flying around. I'd sort of like to preserve the human race if possible. I like having you guys around."

"If it turns out to be nothing then you'll have our help in cleaning out the base for free," Jason told him, "If the worst does happen..."

"Then orders won't matter anyway," Gorse nodded and shouted out the door, "Jason's group will be here soon, let them in and help them get the base habitable. We have only a few hours!"

Karen breathed a sigh of relief. She'd succeeded in her mission. She only hoped that she would not be the only success story of the night.

Chapter 77 – Vauxhall Dissolution

Catherine noted the gunfire that was going around the building from various quarters. She strapped on the vest that Anoki had insisted she take along and put on the helmet that carried the logo of the British Secret Service. She finished checking her weapon as Anoki had drilled her on doing on the way over to the Florence operation.

"There's a boat down here," Anoki said, "The safest way in at this point will be through the back wall."

"There's no door back there," Jim pointed out unnecessarily.

"There will be in about five minutes," Anoki promised, "Now let's go!"

"Well said, metal head," Catherine grinned, "Mason?"

"Try not to die," Mason said as he jumped into the boat.

Catherine held on to the side and knew a little bit of the misery that George Washington's people must have felt crossing the Delaware in 1776. She was cold already as she wrapped her coat a little tighter against her body.

Anoki was as good as her word and had a hole blasted in the wall about five minutes after they had left the shore. She had spent years living with Greg Kaczmarek, a genius with explosives who could craft an explosive out of nearly anything.

"Good work, Anoki," Mason said as he stepped into the building, "Let's find this son of a bitch."

Catherine put on the night vision goggles so she could see where she was going. Mason and Jim did the same and they walked softly ahead. Mason had been in this building before, but it had been a couple centuries since then and it had changed markedly since then.

"Network hub ahead," Jim said, following the lines, "Can you follow the power flow, Anoki?"

"Yes," Anoki nodded, "There's a hatch on the other side."

"How do you know?" Catherine asked.

"The concentration indicating a switchboard is on the other side," Anoki told her.

Mason looked and listened for the other groups. He knew that the biggest threat to them right now wasn't Baltimore directly, but the two groups of agents that were groping around this building in the dark with shoot to kill orders.

Anoki kicked through a wall instead of waste time trying to find a working doorway nearby. She pulled the hatch off the wall and tapped into the network to figure out where everything was coming from. Catherine was scared senseless, but still determined to follow along and help where she could.

"Jim," Mason said quietly, "Listen in on the military frequencies. If that defcon one status comes through we need to abort and head for Corsham."

"We still need to try to get to him," Jim told him, "I may be able to override the missiles."

"That could kill us all," Mason said.

"If we stop one of those missiles we save millions of people," Jim said, pushing back, "If we die to do that then fuck it. Besides, I've been alive too long to fear death now."

"I'm more afraid of continuing to live in a molten hell," Mason said honestly, "But you're right."

"I owe him for Maia anyway," Catherine said coldly, "If I die for that, well... I can at least look her in the eye and tell her that I did my best for her and for the world."

"Just find the son of a bitch," Mason said, looking around, "I'd prefer to not meet the creator yet."

"An odd place to find faith in God, Mason," Catherine said as Anoki hooked into the network, "You don't strike me as the type."

"Only an intelligent being could have created something this inherently screwed up," Mason told her, "And I already know he's an asshole, otherwise I'd have died over two centuries ago."

"He's on the top floor," Anoki said, "And he controls the elevators."

"Can you break control?" Mason asked her.

"I can break it," Anoki said, "But we lose the elevator if I do."

"Break it," Jim told her, "I can handle the elevator."

Anoki nodded and started working on it. While she was manipulating the network the MI6 group had detected their presence and sent a squad down to exterminate what they thought were a group of enemy agents.

"Tangos down hallway 186," a voice said into the radio, "Take them out."

Catherine heard the doorway crack under a kick from one of the larger men in the unit dove for cover. Jim hit the floor and pulled out his weapon, ready to spray in whatever direction he had to. Mason pulled his weapon and took cover behind a file cabinet, taking a bullet in his shoulder as he got there.

"Finish up!" Mason yelled at Anoki as he and Catherine started returning fire, "Cut him off!"

"I don't have access to his connection," Anoki said, "He's only using this for outside communication monitoring."

"Always the hard way," Mason muttered, "Catherine! Covering fire!"

Catherine replied with controlled bursts from her weapon, giving Mason a chance to zero in on the agents that were currently trying to kill them. He recklessly threw his body out into the hallway and fired four dead on shots, killing three of them instantly and blinding the fourth one. The remaining one shot Mason four times in the body, leaving himself open enough for Catherine to put two shots into his throat.

"We need to scoot," Jim said, "Those guys have a lot of friends, a goodly number of whom are heading to us."

"Anoki?" Mason asked through gritted teeth as his body healed, "Please tell me you've managed to isolate the bastard."

"He's blind," Anoki said, "But I can't stop his satellite connection. He likely has a dish up on the roof."

"Quickest way up there?" Mason asked.

"Elevator," Anoki said simply, "But those were killed from above."

"I can bypass the elevator controls," Jim said, "Where is it?"

"Four hundred feet that way," Anoki said as she pointed towards the shaft, "Car is on the fourteenth floor."

"Just get me to the shaft," Jim said, "The rest is my problem."

"Catherine," Mason said, "You holding up ok?"

"Just peachy," She said as she pushed her hair back out of her face, "You take point since you can take a bullet better than I can."

Mason smiled for the first time since they'd entered the building. The girl was a lot stronger than he'd ever given her credit for. They still had a chance to stop Remordis. Mason just hoped that they could get up there in time.

The four of them ran down the hallway as led by Anoki until they got to the outside of where the elevator shaft should have been. Unbeknownst to them they had entered in one of the secure floors where the elevator system had not been allowed to stop.

"Where's the fucking door?" Jim asked her.

"Stand back," Anoki said, looking at wall, "One door, no waiting."

She let off a few vicious sidekicks that more resembled a jackhammer than they did a human kick. Within two minutes, she had a hole in the wall big enough for Mason, the largest of the group, to walk through easily.

Jim was the first one through and he climbed across the shaft to a junction box that looked as though it dated from the original construction of the building back when he and Mason had both been mortal. He pushed it open and worked the wires and pushed a few buttons. Within a few moments, they heard movement and Jim jumped out across the shaft, the rapidly descending car catching his left foot and taking it off at the ankle.

"Close one, Jim," Mason said, pulling him up, "You ok?"

"It'll heal," Jim growled, "Elevator is here."

"Yeah," Catherine said, peering down the shaft, "Two floors down."

"Time to climb," Mason said, "Anoki, you first. If you don't see human accessible footholds make some."

Anoki nodded and climbed down the shaft freehand, kicking a foothold in the concrete every two feet until she reached the bottom. Catherine followed next as Mason and Jim held the hallway until she joined Anoki. Jim went down next with Mason following last. Jim was about to climb into the car when Anoki stopped him.

"Security system," Anoki said, "Damn thing is wired to explosives on the brakes."

"Baltimore may still have control of that system," Catherine said, "You think he'd keep only one connection?"

"Stay low," Jim suggested as he reached in, "I'm going to hotwire this thing. I won't have much control at the top."

Before anyone could say anything else a grenade flew down the shaft, being caught quickly by Anoki who threw it back outside the hole where it had come from. Mason fired a few shots while Catherine hit the floor to be covered by Anoki's titanium frame. Jim finished his wiring and the elevator started moving up the shaft, gaining speed that it wasn't designed to take.

"Hold on!" Jim yelled as the grenade exploded above him, "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Mason held on to the top and watched as they went up. He fired at several people who had stuck their heads into the shaft as the elevator gained speed, pulling the four of them dangerously fast up the shaft. Jim did the best he could to slow it down to a more human-friendly speed, but the old equipment wasn't having any of that.

"Anoki!" Jim yelled, "Play pylon!"

Anoki didn't respond as she stood up and put herself in the most solid position as she could. Catherine curled up into the most neutral position she could manage to avoid being crushed if she was thrown up at the top of the shaft.

Anoki's arms hit the steel girders at the top of the shaft and acted like a crumple zone in a car, slowing the impact and allowing her titanium body to take the brunt of the pressure from the rapidly accelerating elevator. This slowed the acceleration before it would have crushed Catherine, Jim, and Mason, instead throwing them all upwards.

Catherine, who was by far the most practiced in acrobatics from her years in dance classes managed to arc her body and miss the girder. She grabbed a nearby bar and managed to push her body so it didn't smash against the top but merely hit the wall on the other side. Painful, but no real damage.

Jim and Mason were nowhere near as lucky. Jim was thrown straight towards the top of the concrete shaft and having the coordination of a dead dog managed to hit it in the most painful way possible, knocking him out and leaving him strewn across the girders.

Mason only grazed the girder, but missed on his attempt to grab the bar and his backbone was broken, causing him to lose the dexterity he needed to keep himself from falling again. He fell backwards towards the shaft and only barely kept himself from falling all the way into the elevator car.

Unfortunately his luck stopped there as he was just tall enough for his foot to pass one of the laser security triggers and cause the explosives to blow out the bottom of the car, taking his legs along with it. He screamed as his lower half fell with the elevator, but managed to keep hold of the top of the elevator.

"Pull him up!" Catherine yelled as she saw what happened.

Anoki, the flesh and joints shredded on her arms, legs, and head, reached down and pulled the remains of Mason Stone up on top of the elevator. Catherine, sore but mobile, climbed across the shaft and opened up a maintenance entrance onto the roof of the south tower. Anoki brought Jim and Mason out onto the roof and laid them down as their bodies began to regenerate.

"You ok, Catherine?" Anoki asked her.

"Better than you, metal head," Catherine said wearily, "I really wish I could thank my mother for the years of acrobatics she forced me to take."

"My hands were pretty well destroyed," Anoki said, "I'm functional but I can't hold a gun or work a computer."

"That didn't go so well," Mason grunted as he looked at his mangled torso, "Jim? Anoki?"

"He's out," Anoki said, "His head took the brunt of the hit. He'll be out for thirty minutes at least. My hands were turned into ground metal by that stop."

"Running out of time," Mason grunted, "It'll take me the better part of an hour to get my legs back."

"We don't have an hour," Catherine told him, "The bombers will hit the east coast in less than twenty minutes."

"It's up to you, Catherine," Mason grunted, "Anoki, can you get her to her uncle?"

"Absolutely," Anoki nodded, "The last fix I had was on the other tower."

"Crap," Catherine said, "I hope there's a good way across."

"There's a set of wires we can use as a zip line," Anoki said, "I can't grasp anything, but I can use the remains of my arms to zip across. You can hold on to me as we go."

"Let's do this before I think about it any further," Catherine said, shuddering at the thought, "What about you two?"

"Stop your uncle," Mason said, "I'll regenerate soon and help you deal with the aftermath."

"Let's go," Anoki said, "The wires are a hundred feet ahead."

Catherine nodded and followed her robotic friend to her destiny.

Chapter 78 – The Bombers Succeed

Karen Stone and Jason Mullinix were working hard alongside Mullinix's crew, the soldiers and a couple hundred villagers when the news of the successful bombing runs came across the radio. Commander Gorse closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for the world, knowing this was not going to end well for anyone.

"We're out of time," Karen said to Jason, "We need to start getting people in Burlington."

"Commander," Jason said, deferring to the man whose base it actually was, "This is your base, meaning it is your call."

"Let's get underground," Commander Gorse agreed, "Better to get almost everyone there now than having a riot if bombs are falling."

"I'll lead a team up here to assist with crowd control," Jason told him, "If some of your soldiers will stay with me to help operate the doors."

"I'm sure you'll have volunteers," Commander Gorse agreed and referred to Karen, "And you, my lady?"

"I'm staying up here until I know where Mason and Jim are," Karen said, "So I'll join Jason's team to make myself useful."

"Good luck and God speed," Commander Gorse said and gave the orders over the loudspeaker, "Everyone, it is time to head underground and prepare the facility down there. Please keep order and make your way down into the facility. My men will direct you to your temporary quarters."

Bolantine and Nikki heard the same radio reports as they pulled off the road near the palace of Versailles. They looked at each other and knew that time was short. It would not take long for the American Union to declare a full defcon one status now.

"We're running out of time," Bolantine told her, "We need to get into that palace."

"How do you want to handle this?" Nikki asked him.

"Only way we can now," Bolantine shrugged, "We go in and wing it."

"I'm with you," Nikki said, "Let's go."

The two of them jogged to the Palace to begin the most brazen infiltration of a capitol ever attempted.

Chapter 79 – Defcon One

Anoki and Catherine dropped onto the roof of the other tower as the news of the bombers came across. Anoki scanned and found the only signs of life on that tower to be in a large security building on the other end. Anoki relayed the information to Catherine, who was rather surprised by the fact that Baltimore had no one left with him.

"He's alone?" Catherine asked in shock.

"Would you want people with you to talk you out of it?" Anoki asked her.

"Time to go stop him," Catherine said, "Go around the front of the building and make some noise. You're no good at sneaking now, the metal clacking of your feet and hands will alert him from miles around."

"There's a door on the back," Anoki said, using an infrared light visible to Catherine's goggles to point it out, "You have a silenced pistol, shoot the damn lock if you have to at this point."

"Right," Catherine nodded, "See you on the flip side, Metal head."

"Absolutely," Anoki grinned through her nearly zombified features, "Go!"

Catherine jogged to the door as Anoki went to perform her role as designated distraction. She climbed up a trellis on the side of the outbuilding to get to the door that Anoki had pointed out. She was gratified to find it unlocked, which when she opened it and looked inside didn't surprise her too much. There's no way that Baltimore could have reached it in his wheelchair.

"Welcome Catherine!" Baltimore shouted from his position at a security console, "Thank you for coming to see the end of the world!"

He fired a few quick shots at her as she dropped into the large room. She ducked behind some crates and fired shots at her uncle, who couldn't move as quickly as she was.

"It's over!" Catherine shouted, "You can't win now!"

"I have won!" Baltimore shouted back, "You and that damned robot of yours can't prevent Defcon One from happening now!"

"Why?" Catherine asked him, knowing she needed to know, "You had everything... Yet you used me, you used Tony, you used everyone... To do what? Destroy the world? What could you possibly gain from this?"

"Because the world doesn't deserve to exist," Baltimore said evenly, firing a few potshots at Catherine's position, "Fighting, betrayal, treachery, and murder! Everyone has an agenda and it is a never ending cycle! I am now going to end the cycle."

"What gives you that right?" Catherine asked, waiting for him to empty his weapon, "Why should you decide?"

"They decided!" Baltimore yelled, his voice getting a bit more crazed, "When Bolantin decided to conveniently forget who put him in power and let his interrogators torture me! When my own government didn't put in the resources to get me out in time to save my spine, letting me rot for months after the war ended. No one deserves to live, Catherine. Not even you."

Baltimore fired his last shot and Catherine took the chance to make a run to Baltimore's position. She then rolled underneath the platform that Baltimore was on. Baltimore tried to follow her, but he was too slow and could not see where she had run to.

She saw a ladder on the back of the platform and jumped up, pulling herself up and quickly moving behind him. She pulled her gun up and was a second away from having it aimed at Baltimore when he fired two shots in her chest, knocking her backwards onto the floor.

As Catherine was falling backwards, she saw the dreaded words on the screen. A siren sound came from the computer that Baltimore had hooked into the satellite connection as the words Defcon One flashed in alternating red and green letters. Baltimore turned his back on his niece and headed over to the computer.

Catherine, feeling as though a jackhammer had just hit her chest, started to pull herself up and tried to rush over to him before he could hit the button displayed prominently from the briefcase key system that had been created from Jim Entragian's specifications.

Baltimore Remordis looked at the screen and smiled with triumph as he began to reach for the button. Catherine pushed her weary body and jumped towards her uncle. He fought back, punching her in the stomach as he fought to the button.

Catherine pulled him back, but not quite far enough. He made one last push and slammed his hand on the red button just before Catherine managed to pull him away and throw him out of his wheelchair onto the floor. She looked in horror as the messages on the screen showed the sickening words 'Launch Initiated'.

"This is the way the world ends," Baltimore cackled from the floor as Catherine kicked the pistol away from him, "This is the way the world ends! This is the way the world ends! Not with a whisper but a bang!"

Chapter 80 – Launch Detected

"You lunatic!" Catherine screamed, "Anoki! He hit the button!"

Anoki pulled herself clumsily up the ladder and looked at the computer. She analyzed the connection while Catherine held the pistol aimed straight at her uncle's head. Baltimore didn't even try to fight any longer, smiling contentedly as he watched the launch screen.

"Can you stop it?" Catherine asked her.

"No," Anoki said, "It's a one way switch, designed initially to shut it down and disable the system. He used it to go the other way."

"Over two hundred thousand missiles are launching from all corners of the globe to targets in the EU, China and even Africa and Australia!" Baltimore taunted, "You can't stop it now, Catherine!"

"I can kill you!" Catherine growled, "Why'd you have to kill Maia, Baltimore? Timonchenko was a psychopath. He didn't know any better, but you did."

"Because I needed you depressed enough to take the mission," Baltimore told her, "Same reason I had Arkasha sabotage the automatic braking system in your father's sedan and why I either bought off or killed off every friend you had. You're a tool, Catherine. And you failed."

"You still die first," Catherine growled as her finger started to tighten on the trigger.

Anoki dragged herself over to Catherine and put the remains of her hand on her friend's pistol. Catherine looked at Anoki and wondered why she was trying to stop her from shooting him.

"Look at him, Catherine," Anoki said, "It's what he wants. He wants to die. This whole thing was nothing but a grandiose method of committing suicide and taking the world along with him."

"Shoot me or not," Baltimore shrugged, "We'll all be dead when the EU counterstrike hits."

Catherine looked at him and tried to make herself shoot him. She looked at the hate in his eyes and thought of every rotten thing he had done. She also remembered Anoki's words about how it was what Baltimore wanted. He glared at her, daring her to pull the trigger. She sighed and said a silent apology to Maia as she pulled the trigger, aiming single shots into each one of Baltimore's arms instead of his skull.

"Cauterize him," Catherine said, "Let's get Mason and head to Corsham. Hopefully, Karen has had better luck than we have at this point."

"What are we going to do with him?" Anoki asked.

"Take him with us," Catherine smiled, "If we have to live in a plasma destroyed world I damn well want him to have to as well."

Anoki smiled and nodded. She went and cauterized the wounds, managing to sever the nerves controlling his arms in the process, leaving Baltimore Remordis completely helpless, as he always feared he would become.

"You bitch!" Baltimore yelled in pain, "Shoot me! You know you want to!"

"I am more than what you made me," Catherine said sadly, "Too bad you couldn't get your head out of your ass long enough to see it. Let's find Mason and Jim so we can get off this damn building."

Chapter 81 – The Versailles Dilemma

Bolantine and Nikki walked quickly up to the door and were gratified to see that it was a combination voice and DNA examination lock. He went up to the door and put his hand on the detection device, waiting for the DNA to match his sample.

"Voice verification please," the electronic voice asked him.

"President Nicholas Bolantin," Bolantine said, approximating his progeny's voice as much as he could.

The door opened and they walked into the building uncontested. Luckily nobody had ever counted on a genetic duplicate of the president entering the palace so nobody ever thought to have it check for the president being in two locations at once.

They were looking for someone to take and interrogate when sirens started going off in the building. Bolantine and Nikki looked at each other as a couple of staffers ran in and stopped quickly, running over to Bolantine thinking that he was President Bolantin.

"Those crazy AU bastards launched a Plasma Strike!" one of them exclaimed, "You really should be in the launch room!"

"Lead the way!" Bolantine said, "You know I get lost in this place!"

The two staffers nodded and the four of them ran through the palace towards one of the Louis XIV bedrooms. Bolantine followed them and watched as they opened a hidden door for him. They went into an elevator and Bolantine repeated his parlor trick of impersonating the president.

The ride was a long downward trek, indicating that they'd put a nuclear safe bunker deep below the Palace of Versailles. Bolantine and Nikki looked at each other and knew that their luck had to run out sooner or later.

They walked out into the lobby of the bunker and the staffer's opened the door and looked in shock as President Nicholas Bolantin was in the middle of starting the nuclear launch sequence as his double walked into the room.

"Stop it, Nicholas," Bolantine said, "It's not worth it."

"Who the hell are you?" Bolantin asked, "How the hell did you get here?"

"I'm you," Bolantine told him, "Disarm the launch."

"Their bombs will hit us in ten minutes!" Bolantin exclaimed, "I'm going to nuke them into the Stone Age!"

"If you do that then the entire world is dead," Bolantine told him, "Think about it, you idiot! Half the planet will be eaten away because of a madman who subverted the AU system. Are you going to give him what he wants and destroy the world?"

"Why should they get to live?" Bolantin snarled, "Launch confirmed. Nuke the bastards!"

Bolantine sighed and did it the hard way, pulling out his pistol and shooting the president in the head and pushing towards the terminal where the late Nicholas Bolantin had just given the order to launch their plasma weapons.

Nikki shot the two bodyguards as Bolantine went over to the device and pressed the button. He looked at the instructions and quickly went through the password authentication again to make sure the system recognized him properly.

"This is President Bolantin," he said into the device, "Who am I speaking to?"

"Launch technician Bain," the voice said, "Did I hear you confirm launch sir? I need to make sure before I do this..."

"No," Bolantine said into the microphone, "I do not confirm the launch. No other order is valid at this point. In fact, if there is a self destruct I order you to use it now."

"Thank you sir," Bain said, a sigh of relief in his voice, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to disobey that order."

"Thank you for being willing to do so," Bolantine said as he watched the launch status screens all turn yellow as the system essentially self destructed.

"What now?" Nikki asked him, "Sounds as though Mason didn't make it in time."

"We stay here," Bolantine said and looked at the survivors, "The world is going to change massively in ten minutes. I suggest you find a place to sit and bring everyone you can get down here before the bombs hit."

"Who are you?" one of the staffers stammered.

"The man responsible for the creation of this sack of shit," Bolantine said as he kicked his progeny's corpse, "That was a waste of a billion dollars, wasn't it?"

"Let's hope this bunker isn't," Nikki said as the air raid sirens started, "You ready for eternity, B?"

"As long as I spend it with you," Bolantine said, smiling at her, "You game for that?"

"Always," she smiled back and kissed him, "Let's see what type of luxury that pompous asshole managed to shove down here in his bunker."

The two of them managed to get their minds off the mess as the first of the bombs exploded in Paris, making the world move in more ways than one.

Chapter 82 – Escape to Corsham

Catherine Remordis roughly threw Baltimore out of the building, deliberately leaving his wheelchair behind. Anoki dragged herself out of the building to find Mason and Jim coming across the same wire that they had used. Catherine looked at them sadly and before they could say anything they saw the first explosions coming from the direction of France.

"I'm amazed you didn't kill him," Mason said, "Not sure I would have had such self control."

"It's what he wants," Catherine said, "Anoki couldn't stop it. Think you can?"

"Not now," Jim said, "We just need to hope that Bolantine manages to stop the EU weapons."

"We need to get to Corsham," Mason said, "Even if Bolantine stops the EU weapons the Chinese may still fire theirs."

"Any ideas?" Catherine asked, "I'm fresh out."

"Forty minutes by helicopter," Jim said, "Even the old missiles will take less than that."

"Train," Anoki said, "There's a maglev line that runs three miles north of here."

"Does it go to Corsham?" Mason asked.

"Yes," Catherine said, remembering the line from a study in school, "It follows the old M4 highway. Corsham is right off that highway."

"Let's go hijack a train," Jim said, "Think you can drive one?"

"I can," Anoki said, "But we need to get off this building first."

"I have that covered," Jim said, rubbing the sore spots on his head, "The chopper should be here in a few minutes."

"How did you manage that?" Catherine asked as she heard the thumping of the blades, "And what about the people shooting at us downstairs?"

"A few grenades tossed down the shaft slowed them down," Mason chuckled, "I think most of them have heard about the nukes by now. Most of them went running out of the building after that."

"As for the chopper," Jim grinned, "There's never a shortage of idiots who are willing to risk their lives for a sum that's bigger than the GNP of most small countries."

The chopper landed on the top of the building. Catherine and Mason threw Baltimore roughly into the chopper as Jim helped Anoki pull her shattered body into the machine. The pilot looked at them and wondered just what he'd gotten himself in to.

"Find the M4 maglev," Mason instructed him, "If you want to survive the coming launches you'll make it quick."

The pilot nodded and went northwest. Anoki made her way into the government network and pinpointed the location of the train. Baltimore looked up in contempt at Catherine and Mason, who were sitting on the bench in the chopper.

"You think you can outrun a plasma missile?" Baltimore sneered, "I look forward to eternity. Have you made your peace yet, Catherine?"

"We're not dead yet," Catherine said, "Anoki, have you found the train?"

"Ten minutes north of here," Anoki said, "No sign of missiles heading our way yet. We may make it to Corsham."

"We'll make it," Jim said, "May want to let Karen know we're coming."

"Already did," Anoki said, "Let her know to get everyone underground since the EU is already drowning under a sea of plasma weapons."

They found the train at a dead standstill, still hovering over the track where it stopped and let everyone run to shelters. The pilot landed next to it and decided to follow along with the group he picked up, knowing that staying in the air during a WMD attack was tantamount to suicide.

Jim helped Anoki into the seat and roughly plugged a control cable into her torso so she could manipulate the controls directly. The rest of them finished detaching the engine from the rest of the train before strapping themselves into the seats around the cabin.

Anoki pushed the machine as hard as she could do without throwing themselves off the track. Jim used the computer connection in the train to track what was going on around the world and he was more than a bit concerned that Europe was completely off the grid everywhere.

"Mason," Jim said as he tracked, "Could the plasma have destroyed everything?"

"Yes," Catherine said, her eyes tearing a little at the thought, "Modern plasma weapons are capable of completely burning miles of territory right down to the bedrock and even turning the bedrock into a molten mess."

"The world is going to fall apart at the seams," Baltimore said, "You think you can hide from that?"

"There's no launches from the EU," Jim told them, "Bolantine might have had some luck there."

"The EU will fire," Baltimore said confidently, "Nicholas Bolantin is too weak to let an insult like this go."

"Only if Bolantine didn't kill him first," Mason said, "You can't underestimate that bastard."

"Even if he doesn't," Baltimore grinned, "China will. I ensured that their automated system would fire when the first weapon hits."

"That's enough out of you," Catherine said and kicked him in the head, knocking it back against the wall and silencing him for a while.

"He's right," Mason told her, "China will likely launch soon."

"They have," Jim said, "West coast US is down, launch detectors show some heading for us."

"How far out from Corsham?" Catherine asked Anoki.

"Five minutes," Anoki said, "We will be playing it close."

"Missiles are ten minutes away," Jim said nervously, "That's more than a little close."

"Stopping the train," Anoki yelled, "We will have to get to Corsham some other way."

"Catherine," Mason said, "You and Jim find a car. We'll take the baggage."

Anoki brought the train to a stop, but Catherine and Jim didn't wait for it to stop all the way, jumping out and running over to a nearby neighborhood looking for someone with a large and fast car. They found a family rushing to get everyone loaded. Catherine ran over to them and found the father who was in the driver's seat.

"There are missiles coming!" the man yelled.

"Let us drive and we'll get you to a safe place," Catherine told them, "There's a bunker down in Corsham."

"I heard!" the man said, "Everyone is heading there!"

"I know the way," Catherine lied, "Come on, move over."

"Let the American drive!" the mother agreed, "Let's go!"

Catherine jumped in and pushed the vehicle into gear. She ignored the roads and went up to the train track where Mason and Anoki were dragging the unconscious Baltimore along with the scared pilot following them.

"Get in!" Catherine yelled, "Anoki, I need directions!"

"What the hell is that?" the father asked when he saw Anoki.

"I'm the map," Anoki said, pulling herself into the car next to Catherine, "Punch it south. The GPS satellites are already screwed. I'm working on getting map data, but the networks are already collapsing."

Catherine pushed the gas down and pushed the vehicle as hard as she could. Everyone held on and gasped as they saw a bright flash over the horizon as the first missile hit the United Kingdom. The young family screamed but Catherine kept pushing the vehicle to Burlington.

"Turn left at that road up there and run straight through the fence," Anoki said calmly, "It's all flatland between there and the base."

"Can you still reach Karen?" Jim asked the android.

"Networks went down when that first weapon hit," Anoki said, "Let's just hope they haven't shut the final door yet."

"Karen won't let them close it without us," Mason told them, "Punch it, Catherine!"

"I'm trying!" She yelled and cursed at the underpowered engine.

She went through two metal fences at full speed and barely managed to avoid rolling the unwieldy vehicle. Anoki pointed her to the base door and Catherine rammed the power to the engine to get them there.

"There's Karen!" Jim yelled, "We're here!"

"Everyone out!" Anoki yelled, "That missile is three minutes away!"

The only ones left on the surface were Karen and Jason Mullinix. Mason and Jim got out of the vehicle and dragged Baltimore Remordis along. The family got first priority, Jason opened the door and pushed them through. The pilot followed after as the rest of them limped their way over to the entrance to the bunker.

"You sure know how to make an entrance," Jason said as he helped Catherine through the door, "Catherine Remordis I presume?"

"Yes," she nodded and smiled at the young man, "You?"

"Meet later," Karen said, pulling them both, "We need to get this thing shut."

Mason and Jim started pulling on the lines while Anoki worked the computer controls to hurry along the machinery. The door was closing slowly, too slow for comfort.

"Jason," Karen instructed, "Take Catherine and the others to the main chamber. We can take the leaking plasma. You'll burn up solid."

Jason didn't have to be told twice. He and Catherine dragged the unconscious mass murderer down to the main cavern of the Burlington complex where several hundred other fortunate souls had taken refuge from the incoming plasma apocalypse.

Mason, Karen, Jim, and Anoki pushed the door as hard as they could and saw the initial missile hit on Corsham, the plasma blast pushing the door the rest of the way closed and tossing the immortals down the shaft to the others.

Mason and Jim were up first and helped pull Anoki's broken body down into the main chamber where everyone else was huddling down and trying to make sense of what was happening to them. The temperature in the chamber had gone up thirty degrees in less than five minutes as the plasma burned the outside world.

"Baltimore was right," Catherine sighed as she sat there next to Jason Mullinix, "You know that?"

"How so?" Jason asked.

"This is the way the world ends," Anoki relayed, closing her electronic eyes for the last time, "Not with a whisper, but a bang."

There was silence in the room as they thought about this with the world destroying itself outside.

Chapter 83 – The End of the World

The European Union's weapons were the only ones that didn't launch that fateful day, the end of the world as they knew it. Europe was hit the hardest by the American Union weapons launched directly by Baltimore Remordis, but even he couldn't have predicted that a third of the weapons were defective because of poor maintenance.

There were still enough weapons going off to decimate the population of the continent, but in most areas it ate down to the bedrock and didn't go down further, avoiding having the mantle of the earth lose stability on that part of the earth.

China's automated system went off as Baltimore Remordis had anticipated and this was the worst part of the global catastrophe. The Chinese were the last to join the Plasma arms race and had made much stronger weapons than anything in the American or European arsenals.

In the hour after they landed these weapons burned through the American continents as if they had been kindling in a fireplace. The bedrock in most places was vaporized as if it had never existed, causing the molten rock underneath the crust to flow up on the surface and change the entire center of gravity for the planet.

The UK and Eastern Europe were the least affected by this in the next hour as the weapons that hit them were the oldest and the Chinese had directed most of their weapons to the mainland of the American Union. There were only five direct hits in the United Kingdom, though the coming events would be more than enough to destroy the nation.

The biggest problems came in the third hour when the western hemisphere where the plasma carved regions collapsed in on themselves, causing the planet to contract and eject millions of tons of molten rock into space, creating a second moon for the planet earth and reducing from a hundred kilometers more than Venus to having a diameter nearly two thousand kilometers smaller.

This caused the molten iron in the core to move closer to the surface during the fourth hour and exponentially increase the magnetic field of the planet, sending a wave of magnetism stronger than anyone had ever managed to create manually.

The last major change to happen, only five hours after the last bombs fell, was for the Eurasian plate to break in three pieces and invert the easternmost piece completely. This inversion killed ninety percent of the people who survived the initial plasma waves and killed a sizable percentage of people who had managed to get far enough underground.

More than a few people were impaled by Stalactites, which because of the inversion technically became stalagmites. A world that had been extremely technically advanced had, because of the actions of a single man, become thrust into a Stone Age the likes of which predated modern history.

Chapter 84 – Aftermath

Catherine Remordis woke up in an odd position with her head lying on what looked to her like a ceiling lamp. There was some chemical lighting that allowed her to see that other people were moving as well.

"Well that was certainly an interesting ride," Jason Mullinix said as he pulled himself up, "Are you all right young lady?"

"Catherine," She replied, finding herself smiling at him, "Why the hell are we on the ceiling?"

"I'm not sure I want to know," Jason said honestly, "I'm Jason Mullinix, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Catherine said, "Anoki! Where are you? Are you still here?"

"She's down the hallway," Mason said as he pulled himself over, "She's non-responsive, just like every other piece of electronics in this place."

"Everything?" Catherine asked, "Please tell me we've got a way to keep the air clean."

"Jim is working with one of the Army pukes on getting the scrubber fixed," Mason told them, "There are still some aftershocks going on, but I think the worst of it is finally over."

"Anything we can do?" Jason asked, trying to work his joints and figure out where he was hurt.

"Rest," Mason told them honestly, "There's enough people up and around. You two were bounced around like basketballs during the quakes. Stay out of things until you're sure of your head. We've already had a dozen people go down from concussions and lingering injuries from the quakes. Catherine, you're one of the few surviving engineers so we need you in good shape."

"I'll take care of her," Jason promised, "Unless any of my people need me."

"The way you two reacted when you saw each other," Mason chuckled, "Just get to know each other. You're going to need to start breeding soon anyway."

"Shouldn't that be we, chief?" Jason asked.

"We're sterile," Mason admitted, "We'll be useful in other ways but breeding is something that has to be left to you mortals."

"It's a bit early to think of that," Catherine said, "Jason, I want to see Anoki. Mind coming with me?"

"Not at all," he agreed, "Mason, let us know if we're needed."

"I've got to go help with the medical crew," Mason said, "Unless you are a nurse or doctor you won't be much help right now."

Catherine managed to get to her feet and helped Jason up as well. Other than several contusions, many of which dated back from the Washington Monument fight, she managed to get through the apocalypse in decent shape.

Jason's left arm was hanging at a funny angle so she took a minute to put together a field dressing so he wouldn't be hurting as they walked down the hallway. They went past several groups of hurting families, trying to make sense of what had just happened to them, making them think about all that had been lost.

Catherine saw Anoki lying crumpled in an undignified pile about a hundred feet from where the door had been before the quake had made that area a pile of rubble. She rushed over to the android and pulled her out straight, probing her for any sign of life at all.

"She looks like she's seen better days," Jason said, standing beside Catherine, "Anything I can do?"

"Find me a screwdriver," Catherine said, "She can't be dead. I can't let her go like this."

Jason knew better, but found a screwdriver in an old toolkit scattered about ten yards away. He handed it to her silently as he let Catherine work through what she needed to work through. She pulled open the chamber on the front where she and Entragian had worked on her power supply back on Mozandondo.

Catherine pulled out the remains of the power supply and she knew that Anoki would never be coming back to her again. The magnetic pulse that had happened completely destroyed every piece of electronics in Anoki's body. No amount of shielding would have protected her, even as strong as her electronics had been designed to be.

Catherine dropped the screwdriver and as much as she didn't want to she began crying. Jason sat down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She lost it completely and just bawled. Jason pulled her over and let her cry it out. He knew only a little of what she'd been through, but obviously she'd lost as much, if not more than anyone else there.

"She was my last friend," Catherine said as the emotions continued to overtake her, "I know she was an android, but she was the only person in my life since Maia died that told me the truth and always stood by me."

"I understand," Jason nodded, "I've felt the same way since my father died. I spent all my time with him when I wasn't at school. He left me too soon as well."

"I'm sorry," Catherine said, trying to dry her eyes a bit, "I'm just... I don't know."

"You've been through a lot today," Jason chuckled, "But then, haven't we all."

"Yeah," she nodded, "It's not every day you watch your uncle destroy the world."

"If it weren't for your effort we'd all be dead now," Jason reminded her, "The best thing we can do to foil that bastard is survive."

Catherine smiled and kissed him. He was a bit surprised by this, but didn't shy back from the gesture. He'd avoided taking a girl from the camp for a long time because he didn't want to get into a pickle that would erode his authority, but Catherine was different from anyone he'd ever known.

"What was that for?" Jason asked her when they were done.

"Because we're alive," Catherine smiled, "And that is a part of living."

Catherine held his good hand for a minute until she heard some coughing coming from down the hallway. She and Jason looked at each other for a moment before getting up and looking for the source. They found Baltimore Remordis lying in his own piss on the floor.

"You failed, Baltimore," Catherine told him, "We're all still alive."

"Not for long," Baltimore Remordis rasped as he focused in on his niece, "Only until the air and food run out. You think you've won? You've just prolonged the inevitable. We'll all die soon enough."

"And I will make damn sure you're the last to die," Catherine promised, "You'll get to live your days watching the world around you being fed through a tube if it comes down to it."

They heard some cheering coming down the hallway from where they were at. Catherine and Jason roughly threw Baltimore into a cart that had been overturned nearby and pushed him to the area where the cheering came from.

Jim Entragian and one of the young women from Jason's compound were dancing in front of a large machine that was rattling loudly and spewing out fresh air, lowering the carbon dioxide content in the ambient air and paving the way for long term survival in the cavern.

"You forgot something, Baltimore," Catherine said as she watched the spectacle of people dancing, "People have lived this long for a reason. We're resilient. And we breed like rabbits when we have to. You hurt the human race, but we'll survive this. We will walk in the sun again, Baltimore. And you'll see that your plan was for naught."

"Well said, Catherine," Mason said as he walked over arm in arm with Karen, "People can do a lot of miserable things, but I can tell you from experience that they can do a lot of good things too."

"What happens now?" Karen asked them, "Any ideas?"

"We work on survival," Jason said simply, "And try to figure out how massive a project it will be to get back to the surface."

"Hopefully there will be a surface to get back to," Mason said as he looked at the hundreds of people dancing in the fresh air of the chamber, "I'm certainly looking forward to trying."

"I can think of something else we need to try first," Catherine said and pulled Jason Mullinix by his good hand over to her, "It's time to see if we can make the next generation."

"There's a room over around the bend," Karen said, "It's all yours."

Jason didn't argue one iota as Catherine led him away for a private celebration of life all their own.

Chapter 85 – Seaside

"We're out, B!" Nikki Bolantine exclaimed as she ran out into the sand of the beach, "Freedom! Four years of hell are over!"

"Beats being underground for sure," Bolantine agreed, walking out with her and putting his hand into the water, "Looks like there is a world left to rule after all."

"Think the test subject survived?" Nikki asked him.

"I'm sure he did," Bolantine said, "Our luck isn't that good."

"What now?" Nikki asked him, "Where do we go?"

"I think we curl up on the beach and enjoy the sun for the first time in years," Bolantine said as he looked at her in the sunlight again, "Then we find a civilization to take over. It should be easier now."

"I like the way you think," Nikki giggled, "There is one more thing we need to do first though."

"What's that?" Bolantine asked her.

"Catch some fish," Nikki said, "I'm hungry enough to eat the damn things raw if I have to."

"Sushi it is," Bolantine laughed, "Let's see if an old city boy can figure out how to fish again."

"And I'll figure out the fire so we don't have to go for sushi," Nikki added quickly.

An hour later the two of them were sitting on the beach watching their first sunset together in years. They sat next to each other eating badly cooked fish in front of the fire and watching the two moons pass each other in the sky.

"Any regrets?" Nikki asked him.

"Not at this point," Bolantine said, "We're out again and the world is still livable."

"Working with the test subject didn't rub off, did it?" she asked him, "You're not thinking of becoming an honest man?"

"Hell no," Bolantine said, looking at her, "Why on earth would you think that?"

"I had to make sure," Nikki smiled, "I think we've got a new world to play with and I'd hate to have to find a new partner to do it with."

"No chance," Bolantine said with a wicked grin, "None at all."

Chapter 86 – Daylight

It had been nearly five years since the day that Baltimore Remordis had destroyed the world as they knew it. They had been fighting to survive underneath the earth since then, but perhaps unsurprisingly, they were still around and had actually managed to build their numbers up by nearly a hundred during that time period.

Catherine Mullinix worked on a failing digging machine when Jim Entragian came running into the room, nearly tripping over the toolkit that she'd left on the floor next to her.

"What's the hurry, Jim?" Catherine asked him, "Something wrong with the kids?"

"Marcus and Maia are fine," Jim told her, "Jason sent me over to get you. They think they might have hit daylight."

Catherine looked at him and smiled brightly. She pulled her blonde hair up and went to the small apartment she had been sharing with Jason Mullinix since the cataclysm. She bundled up her four-year old, Marcus and his two-year old sister Maia and made her way for the shaft where they had been steadily carving their way up for nearly half a decade.

"Please tell me this isn't a false alarm," Catherine said as she saw her husband, "Could we really see sunlight again?"

"We're not sure yet," Jason said, "If it's another cavern it's a big bitch. Mason and Karen are up there working on the hole by hand in case there's anything nasty up on the surface that we aren't ready for down here."

"Airlock set up?" Catherine asked him.

"Yep," Marcus nodded, "Though the radios aren't working up there anymore. Jim thinks that means we're close to the top. The magnetic field has been getting stronger the further up we tunnel."

"Who is watching Baltimore today?" she asked him, "I want that son of a bitch to see that we've survived and will continue to do so despite him."

"Commander Gorse has had him for the past week," Jim put in, "Despite the things he did I think the old man has a soft spot for Baltimore. Baltimore is one of the few people here old enough to have anything in common at all with him."

"Good," Catherine said, time having softened her stance on her uncle some, "Hopefully Gorse can teach him some humanity."

"They've got breakthrough!" a voice yelled down the shaft, "There's sunlight coming through the hole!"

Catherine and Jason brought their children up to the edge of the airlock. They held their kids up to the window so they could see sunlight for the first time in their lives. She just hoped that Mason and Karen could clear the area soon. She desperately wanted to get out of this cavern and breathe air that hadn't gone through an old air scrubber.

Mason Stone dropped down back into the cavern from the hole and gave thumbs up. He unlocked the airlock that had been set up as a protective measure and let the fresh air flow down into the chamber. Jason and Catherine were the first ones through as they jogged up the sharp ramp that the workers had carved.

They walked out and saw something that they were unprepared for. They'd all expected a dead world, beaten and broken by the damage caused by the cataclysm. Instead, they saw a fresh land, covered in various types of vegetation and populated with a large number of small land animals.

"It's beautiful, mommy!" Marcus exclaimed, "What is the green stuff?"

"Grass," Catherine said, her eyes looking out and not believing what she saw, "Welcome to the real world, Marcus."

She smiled at Jason and at her son. Her daughter clutched on to her father's neck as she looked out at the world of things that they'd never seen in their few years on earth. Jason pulled Catherine close and they, like the dozens of people who had already filed out of the cavern, watched the sun move across the sky.

Commander Gorse walked over to them as two younger soldiers pushed the cart that Baltimore Remordis had called home for the preceding five years. He'd spent most of that time on an IV diet, but they stubbornly had kept him alive just for this day.

"You lose, Baltimore," Catherine said as she looked at her uncle, "Mother nature is too stubborn a bitch to die."

"She's also good at putting us in our place," Jim said as Baltimore looked in horror at his surroundings, "We had a hard enough time with electrical devices down in the cavern. Every electrical device we've brought up here has shorted out within seconds. I don't think anyone is ever going to be creating weapons like the ones that brought out the cataclysm again."

"You hurt us short term," Catherine told Baltimore, "But in the long term you will have changed nothing. People will live, fall in love and grow. And you will just lay there unable to change anything ever again."

Baltimore Remordis didn't even try to reply at this point. He was resigned to his fate and watched as the young people continued to come out of the cavern and frolic in the sunshine. His plan had really and truly failed.

Most of the men began to build a defensive perimeter and some primitive shelters, but by and large everyone had gotten such a boost from being in fresh air again that the work was considered pure joy. After a few hours people began to settle down and choose their spots.

Catherine and Jason sat there with their kids and watched the sun go down for the first time in their years together. She smiled and did a small salute to the friends that were not still with her to see that day, but knew that they would always live inside of her.

"Mommy," Marcus Mullinix said, "What is that in the sky?"

"The moon," Catherine told him, "And... Wow, what is that, Jason?"

"I'd say it is another moon," Jason said, as he looked at it, "My guess is that it broke off the earth during the cataclysm."

"Is this home, Mommy?" he asked as he looked around.

"Anywhere I have you, Jason and Maia is home, honey," Catherine said as she leaned against Jason, "And yes, we're home."

***The End***

##

## Other Titles by Rodney Mountain

Immortal Universe Novels

The Healy Murders

The Accidental Immortal

Undercover

The Killer Strikes

Anoki's Revenge

The Immortal Progression

Corporate Immortality

The Mullinix: Ascension

The Mullinix: Redemption

The Mullinix: Resolution

Other Works

Durell's Insurrection

Night Strike (Short Story Anthology)

The Black Fossil

