Dr. Miller began pushing herself up, helped the rest of the way by the colleague she’d come to see.
“I guess we’ll be in limbo for a little while longer,” he said as she stood and straightened her clothes.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She was still shaken from nearly being brained from whatever had shattered against the wall.
“Are you alright?” he asked with both concern and amusement.
“Does she do that often?”
“Only when she thinks someone is interfering with her research project. When she gets like that, we all hide behind something solid.” He smiled. “We call her the Lioness of Athena.”
***
Lex rubbed his ear. He didn’t think a dot phone connection could break an eardrum, but he was beginning to wonder. Dr. Gault would have put a marine drill instructor to shame with that yell. He was glad it had been a phone call and not in person. He was pretty sure he’d heard the sound of breaking glass in the background.
He finished rubbing his ear and massaged the sore muscles in his jaw. Fortunately, it hadn’t been broken, but it ached every time he opened his mouth. That had been some kick. He hadn’t seen it coming either. One minute he was reaching for the girl and the next he was pulling himself off the pavement. That wasn’t something that had happened to him for a while and he was determined to not let it happen again. Fortunately, only one of his men would be out of service while recovering from multiple fractured ribs. The others had recovered almost immediately from the stun gun hits or had mild concussions.
The search was currently in high gear and he had everyone available devoted to the task. The facial recognition software had so far failed to catch any sign of her, so the techs were going back through the video manually to track her. He had his teams spread throughout the city in hopes that when she surfaced, he’d have at least one quick reactionary force to respond. It was obvious now their target was much more than a seventeen-year-old little girl. She was too young to have the kind of speed and technical fighting skills she’d exhibited.
Lex sat back contemplating possible strategies as one of his men walked in. He looked up as the man took a seat in front of his desk.
“You get anything?” Frustrated at his failure and reaching for any possible information that would lead him to the girl, he’d ordered LCpl. Abena and Pfc. Taft to be hooked to ‘The Box.’ They hadn’t attempted to flee when the girl did, and had helped him to his feet while his men ran in pursuit, but he still had a sense they knew something. It was nothing obvious. They were the perfect examples of cooperation. Too perfect and so he’d ordered the procedure to confirm or deny his suspicions as well as mine any relevant information from their brains. He’d ordered the same test for Weber and Jackson, both to cover his bases, and show that he was leaving no stone unturned.
“We might have something.”
Lex sat forward.
“Show me.” He pulled the video pushed to him and put it on his data screen. He recognized the street view as the one where the marines had walked toward the station where he had been waiting. The image was somewhat distorted, as usual, but he could clearly see as they stopped, turned toward the city center and pointed.
“Did we catch any conversation?” ‘The Box’ couldn’t pull sound, but software could be used to read the lips of the subjects as they spoke.
“Capital City Central Plaza.”
CHAPTER 9
“I’m telling you, it hurt like hell. Look, I think it actually left burns on my back.” Taft pulled his shirt up and turned for the others to see.
“They seriously shot you?” Weber asked as he inspected the damage.
“That’s messed up, man.” Jackson added, peering over the sergeant’s shoulder.
“I know, right? Definitely the worst ten seconds of my life.” Taft was enjoying the attention he was receiving for taking a stun round to the back to allow Rayne a few precious seconds to escape.
“Sounds like a good law suit. Maybe you can get them to settle out of court, retire and buy a small moon somewhere,” said Sgt. Weber.
“Just don’t tell them you stepped in front on purpose.” Jackson smacked him on the back and Taft grimaced in pain.
“Way to take the bullet, Taft. I didn’t think you had it in ya’.” Abena didn’t tell him she could have pulled the stun round out of his back and saved him the additional five seconds of torture. She figured it evened them up for the ugly dress he’d made her wear.
“What, and miss being able to tell everyone I threw myself in harm’s way to save the day? Think of all the ladies that’ll want me now.” Taft puffed his chest out in a manly display of machismo.
“About zero more than would before,” Lena commented.
Taft deflated.
“Come on. I saved the day. That’s gotta count for something, right?”
“I promise not to call you a wimp when I beat you up next time.”
“Come on. Throw me a bone here.”
Lena walked over, kissed him full on the mouth and then slapped him hard in the face.
“Worth it?”
He smiled and rubbed his stinging cheek.
"Every bit."
“Who all got ‘The Box’?” asked the sergeant. He raised his hand along with Davis, Jackson, Taft and Abena.
Lena laughed out loud.
“Oh, damn, Taft. You got shot and got ‘The Box’, too? God must hate you.”
“Yeah, no kidding. I think that was worse than being shot. I feel like my brain has been raped.” They all nodded their agreement.
“Do you think they got anything from it?” Lena asked worried.
“Not from Jackson or I," said Weber. "We didn’t have anything to give up.”
“Same here,” added Davis.
They all turned to Taft and Abena. Abena spoke for the both of them.
“Maybe, sarge.” Her mouth turned down in a frown. “As we were walking toward the station, we told her what was up and told her to head to Capital City Central Plaza. I don’t know if they’ll pick that conversation up, but they certainly will have seen me pointing that direction.”
“Damn,” Lena said softly.
“I had to tell her something. She was on the verge of panicking. I'm actually surprised she didn't, but she's changed quite a bit in the last two weeks."
"What do you mean?" Lena asked with concern.
"Calmer. Definitely calmer,” Abena replied thoughtfully. “She's still as alert and jumpy as ever, but the rage monster inside seems to have taken a vacation or something."
"I'm telling you, it was the old man and whatever he had her doing with him," said Taft.
"What old man?" Weber and Lena both said together.
"At the place where we stayed, there was this old Japanese guy. He didn't speak a lick of English, but he and Rayne seemed to hit it off. They'd sit together for hours doing some kind of meditation stuff. It was weird."
Abena nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah, after only a couple of days you could tell a difference. Definitely calmer. When we first hit planet-side I didn't think she was going to make it, but now I think she could pass for normal if someone doesn't push her buttons."
"That's a big ‘if’ with those Navy contractors looking to haul her in for the captain's ex."
"Speaking of, has anyone gotten to meet her? I've heard she's a real piece of work," Taft asked as everyone came to their feet. He cursed and stood with the rest as he turned around. The captain smirked, which was as close to a smile as they'd ever seen him come.
"You have no idea, private," he responded, and the tension in the room left. He walked to the head of the only table in the room and directed the marines to sit. "I want to commend you on a job well done. I asked a favor and you came through, which has given me the time I need to set some things into motion."
"Can you tell us what, captain?" Weber asked.
> "I think it’s still better if you don't know. For now, I want to hear the details of the last two weeks."
Weber filled him in on how they had split up and put Rayne with the least likely of them. He went through how Jackson and he had lead their trackers through the wilderness area, the team’s injury and their subsequent assistance in getting them out, followed by the interrogation via ‘The Box.’
The captain was not happy with the use of the device on his marines, knowing its use could only be authorized by a search warrant issued by a civilian or military court. Its use, however, played to his advantage, and he planned on using it as ammunition later. For now, he let the other team members continue with the de-brief. He was impressed once again with Lcpl. Ramirez. The girl was sharp and inventive, and would undoubtedly make an outstanding sergeant and squad leader one day. The captain was particularly interested in Rayne's progress. Abena's account of their time together gave him hope that she was on her way to achieving something close to normal. Whether that would ever be possible or not, he didn't know, but at least there was hope.
When Abena had finally finished the last of the de-brief, the captain sat back and thought for several minutes while the marines waited patiently. He mentally moved several pieces on the chess board in his head, then sat forward to make sure he had everyone's attention.
"It is important that Rayne not be taken. If they get their hands on her, they'll drag out any legal proceedings until they have everything they want anyway. I need you to prevent that and get her to the JAG offices at 1400 hours, two days from now. Like before, I can't have any of you taking direct action, but do anything you can to collect her first or disrupt those contractors from doing so." He looked around the room to make sure there were no questions. The captain stood and the marines stood with him. "If we do this right, Rayne will be in the clear and we can all go back to our regular lives."
***
Rayne walked through the crowds of what seemed like millions of people who occupied the Capital City Central Plaza. The festival was in full swing now and there were people from all different ethnic groups in costume and religious garb moving, dancing, singing and shouting to the beat of drums and music. The display of color was impressive, as if a magnificent rainbow had lent its colors out to the people of the city for the day. The sounds and sights were distracting though, and made it difficult to sort through potential threats until they were right on top of her. She looked for someplace less crowded but was having difficulty because of her short stature. She just couldn’t see far enough ahead to get her bearings. Rayne made her way to one side and climbed the steps leading to one of the plaza’s tall buildings. The plaza opened up before her and she looked over the sea of humanity moving like a colored kaleidoscope far off into the distance, until it reached the tree line of the adjoining park where the crowd began to thin. She took a moment to plan her route, then disappeared back into the sea of color, sound and people.
As she went, she turned down the volume and switched to a visual filter that muted the colors and brought out any metal objects that could signal a weapon. Tracking this many people was impossible, so her brain set itself to identify patterns in the movement that would signal she was being tracked. She kept to the perimeter of the crowd, where there were the fewest people and after a half hour walk, finally reached the tree line on the far end of the plaza. Rayne checked her scans, but so far nothing appeared to be following her. She moved into the trees and toward what looked like a small lake in the distance. It was late afternoon and there were many people sitting with their families having picnics and enjoying the shade. Children ran back and forth playing games, while their parents looked on happily. Rayne felt a sense of loneliness and loss as she watched them, remembering that she had no one to look after her anymore. She grew angry at the thought, put her head down and stalked toward the distant shoreline.
When she reached her destination, she was practically boiling. She pulled off her pack and threw it to the ground while she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Life wasn’t fair, she reminded herself. And there wasn’t anyone who could make it that way. She was alone and that was all there was to it. Rayne dropped to the ground and stared out over the water onto what she realized was not a small lake, but a large, slow moving river that appeared to spill into the distant ocean. She sat on a very small stretch of sandy river bank that was partially obscured by the bushes intermittently lining the shore. The water was a dark, murky green that moved lazily past and she could smell a touch of salt in the air from the nearby ocean. Rayne crossed her legs and closed her eyes and began to meditate, contemplating specifically the movement of the water in her mind, matching breath and thought as it moved calmly past. After several minutes, her anger passed and she opened her eyes.
Abena had told her to go to the square and wait for one of the squad to contact her. She hoped it would be Lena, but whoever found her, she didn’t want them to find her during the daylight hours. She wanted to do it at night, when the advantage would be hers. Rayne looked at the sky and the sun’s position. It looked like there were still several hours before dark. She reached into her pack for some food and found the package Mr. Yoshimura had given her.
She opened it and found a small, delicately-made paper lantern. It was marked in back with several Japanese characters she didn’t recognize. It was small, maybe only twenty centimeters, and round. It was made from wood and weighed almost nothing in her hand. On the bottom was a small framework that reminded her of a small boat. She assumed, then, it was meant to be put in the water. There was a small note attached, which she opened carefully.
Ms. Rayne,
When you came to us, I saw that your heart was troubled. Mr. Taft would tell me very little of your past and would only say that you had recently lost both your parents. The present that I give to you is called a Chōchin and is used to celebrate Obon. It is meant to send the spirit of your ancestors to the other world. I will soon be taking that journey myself, but until then, please accept this gift and find peace in sending your parents on their own journey.
Sincerely,
Mr. Yoshimura
Rayne quietly thanked the old man for the gift. She set it on the ground before her and stared out over the water as the sun slowly sank toward the horizon. She spent the time thinking of her mother and father. She thought of the good times, not their tragic endings. Rayne thought of her mother’s smile and laughter, her soft kind face and encouraging words. She thought of her father and his serious, often worried face and the smile that would eventually break through at her mother’s urging. She thought of the love and affection they showed for each other and for her, and held the memories close until the sun began to dip below the horizon, and darkness began to take over.
Rayne activated the small light inside the lantern, set it gently in the water and pushed it into the slow-moving current. She gave a silent prayer for her parents and said goodbye as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. She looked out across the water in awe as thousands of similarly constructed lanterns joined hers and floated slowly toward the ocean. She sat quietly for an hour as the darkness deepened and the last of the lanterns floated past. Without a sound, she picked up her pack and slipped quietly back into the trees.
***
Lex scanned the crowd from his rooftop position. The digital interface linked to the company’s main computer scanned for the girl’s face as he looked from face to face. He pulled the spotting glass down, grimacing in frustration. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There were at least a million people in the square and even with spotters on each building surrounding the perimeter and his software techs working the camera feeds, there was no guarantee they’d be able to single the girl out.
The lead from the marines had been solid. That, coupled with the additional intelligence of her exit from the train at the City Center Plaza Station added to its veracity. He’d committed a
ll his people to this one small area and he was determined to finish it here. He was tired of Dr. Gault screaming in his ear and had promised himself never to take a contract where she was involved again.
“Hey, Lex.” The comms were all active and linked, so they could send and share information in real time. He’d listened for the last hour as his teams had spread themselves around the perimeter of the crowd, waiting to move as soon as the spotters directed their movements. The voice on the other end of the comm was one of the techs monitoring the video feeds.
“You got something?” The sun was beginning to set and he squinted against the glare as its last rays lit the crowds below him. The plaza would be lit after dark and he could see some of the lights beginning to flicker on now. But when full darkness came, the spotters would be hampered by the contrasting bright lights and deep shadows that would make it easier for the girl to slip past them unnoticed.
“The scanning software picked her up on a feed a few hours ago. She’s definitely here and we’re trying to track her route now.”
“Where was she?”
“North side of the plaza on the steps of the New Meca Business Building. We think she was moving west.”
“Was she still wearing the same clothes?”
“Yes. No change there.”
“Push the latest photo from the train station to all the teams. I know they already have it, but I want it fresh in their heads if she pops out somewhere.”
“Done. Should take us only a few minutes to give you a trail.”
Lex pulled the spotting glass back to his eye and scanned the front steps of where she’d last been seen. He didn’t expect to see her there, but was tired of looking where she wasn’t and wanted to at least see some place where she had been. Five minutes later the tech came back with the news he’d been hoping for.
“She went west, Lex. Into the tree line and toward the river, and she hasn’t come back out. There is no exit that direction, boss. Not unless you plan on swimming.”
Lex kept a tight lid on his excitement. He wasn’t going to celebrate until he had the girl locked tightly in a cage and money in his account.
“Spotters. Start scanning the tree line. You heard the intel. There’s no exit that direction, so she’s either still there or coming back out.” He began scanning the tree line as he continued to issue orders to the ground teams. “All teams except Bravo, I want you to move up and form a lose skirmish line.” Lex was a little worried about the presence of the crowd and the problems that could present should any injuries occur in the take down. The fact that the girl was in the trees, where the crowds were thinner, was a good thing and made chasing her less difficult than if they were forced to go through the center of the plaza. He waited patiently as one by one each team called their position and readiness. For now, they’d wait and see if she’d come to them.