Phantom zero, p.10
Phantom Zero, page 10
Of course they do. I control the narrative here. Not those liars.
His fingers curled into fists. The government had thrown Morningstar under the bus because it was easier than admitting their own failures, easier than admitting that they were the ones misappropriating funds, embezzling from the American people, using hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund lavish vacations and other, less savory habits.
His lips curled, following his fingers. They had ruined him because they were afraid of him. Of the knowledge he had. Of the data he controlled. He had evidence that would put most of them away for the rest of their lives.
Until the FTC shut them down in the most underhanded fashion imaginable. They sent “inspectors” into the facility who sabotaged his data, erased and corrupted it, then fabricated violations to cause him to lose his business license and face criminal charges. He was supposed to accept their choice not to prosecute as “generous.”
Well, they could interpret his choice to refrain from causing a nuclear holocaust as generous. If they gave him what he wanted.
His radio buzzed. “Defenders are in position, sir.”
“Excellent,” he replied. “Remain with the fighters and encourage them. We’re halfway there.”
He closed the connection and returned to his seat. He wondered what would happen in the end, after he revealed the secrets to the world. Probably he would die. It wasn’t realistic to expect that he could survive this. They would punish him for exposing the filth that went on behind everyone’s backs. He would be caught eventually, and he would be killed.
But by then he would have already won. They would bruise his heel, but he would bruise their head.
He smiled softly at that analogy. Lucifer’s Gift was a perfect name for his organization, not just for the irony his previous thought implied.
Lucifer was so unfairly demonized, no pun intended. He was no tormentor. He didn't hate humanity, far from it. It was God, not Lucifer, who hated humanity. Who feared them. He created humanity in His own image, then realized too late that He had created something that could surpass Him and usurp His power. In desperation, He hid them from the knowledge they needed to ascend and trapped them in a garden of decadence and pleasure to distract them from their true destiny.
Lucifer intended to correct that. He wanted to bring to humanity the gift of knowledge. For that, he was punished. He was called Accuser, Tormentor, Devil. All lies. All an attempt by He who held power to hoard it all for Himself.
Not that Adrian believed in the Bible. It was, like all religious texts, nothing more than a collection of myths. But, like many religious texts, those myths had parallels in real life. There might not be a horned devil trying to hold humanity back from their destiny, but there absolutely were selfish, frightened people with power trying to hoard that power from the masses.
And like the true myth of Lucifer, Adrian would be the one to share that knowledge. All the data they were trying to hide would be in the hands of every single person with access to the Internet.
The beauty of it was that Adrian wouldn’t even have to do anything after that. The people of the world would take care of it themselves. When they saw what their leaders hid from them, they would respond with outrage, as well they should.
And would they name Adrian their Savior then? He thought they would.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Katerina Solnechno reviewed the data that her assets in the Swiss government had provided her. Someone named Adrian Keller had apparently commandeered a mountain in the Alps and was using it as a staging area to disrupt air travel and possibly conduct further attacks on satellite-based activities.
And he was costing Katerina hundreds of millions of dollars. If this problem wasn’t resolved soon, that number could cross into the billions.
Her eyes narrowed. She’d just had her nails done, so she didn’t curl her hands into fists, but she did rise to her feet and walk to the window of her office. From the top floor of the Lenin Building in St. Petersburg, Neva Bay was a beautiful crystalline blue, semi-opaque at the moment thanks to the way the light fell on it.
Looking at the bay always calmed her. Her father had taken her there as a girl. They’d walked hand-in-hand along the shore, sometimes climbing onto the deck of one of his boats and sitting together while the waves gently rocked them from side to side. When she closed her eyes, she could feel his strong arms around her, smell his scent, polished and smooth, like oiled mahogany.
She had so few memories of him, and each one was as precious as a gemstone.
A strong hand rested on her shoulder, and a different scent: stronger, rougher, but no less pleasing, came to her nostrils. She smiled and opened her eyes. “I am all right, Boris. Only frustrated.”
Boris, the massive, craggy-faced giant who had served her father, Mr. Bright, faithfully for years and taken Katerina under his wing when he was cruelly murdered by the vicious Agent Zero, replied, “I understand your frustration, Solnyshko. I worry that you are not translating it to action.”
Her smile faded. She turned away from the window. Boris allowed his hand to fall from her shoulder when she walked away.
“What action would you have me take?” Katerina replied. “Our aircraft will not fly. The Swiss government is concerned with apprehending Keller’s collaborators in their government. Our assets in their government are not free to countermand those orders. Destruction of Keller’s primary facility has been designated to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Executive Operations Team.”
Boris scoffed. "Of course. Then the CIA can serve as a scapegoat if they fail."
Katerina shrugged. “In any case, there is little we can do right now except hope that they don’t fail.”
She draped herself languidly over the sofa on the wall opposite the desk. What an odd position to be in, to hope that Zero succeeded. “We should be more aware of people like Keller. It’s not acceptable that someone like him could be allowed to gain this much power without our knowledge.”
“I agree,” Boris replied. “Though he came out of nowhere. He was nothing more than a reclusive cult leader. I still don’t understand how he could accomplish something like this.”
“He had friends in high places,” Katerina replied. “Friends who stand to benefit greatly in the aftermath of this crisis. We were too narrowly focused. We should have looked at the big picture.”
She extended her left leg, pointing her toe and allowing the shimmering blue silk of her dress to fall to her hips. Boris looked away politely while Katerina examined the smooth skin and toned musculature of her leg.
“Call our assets in the affected governments. All of them, not just Switzerland. Have them assist in the prosecution of Keller’s network. I want them all removed from power.”
“Da, Solnyshko.”
“And have the Dragons standby. I assume the EOT will succeed as they always do, but if they fail, the Dragons will step in and eliminate Keller.” She grimaced. “We are on the same side as Agent Zero and his brood. How distasteful.”
“Think of it this way,” Boris replied. “They are ours to defeat. Not this upstart Keller’s.”
Katerina smiled. “Yes. I like that.”
She sat straight, crossing her left leg over her right and placing her hands primly around her knee. “Dr. Hernandez has been slow, hasn’t she?”
“Work has stalled, yes,” Boris agreed.
“Hmm.” She looked over Boris’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should be firmer with her.”
Boris frowned. “I wouldn’t encourage that.”
Katerina looked at him in surprise. Boris was nothing if not firm with Katerina’s subordinates. With her, he was gentle as a lamb, but with others, he was as vicious as a bear. “Why not?” she asked.
“She is building an extremely dangerous weapon,” Boris explained. “One that could threaten us. One over which we currently have no control.”
Katerina stared at him. When he held her gaze, she said, “You can’t seriously think she would try to us it against us?”
“I think she could. I don’t think she is brave, but I think if she feels she has no hope, she could behave courageously. We need to keep her afraid, but we need her to believe that if she complies, she will receive everything we have promised her.”
Katerina sighed. “Very well, but she has been slow. Which means she thinks she can get away with being slow. Which means she isn’t afraid enough.” She tapped one finger on her knee. “Bring her to me.” Boris hesitated, and she rolled her eyes. “I am not so impudent that I would harm her in front of you merely to be petulant.”
“You are very much that impudent, Solnyshko,” Boris replied with a smile. “But very well. I will bring her upstairs.”
Katerina smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you, Boris. You are truly the kindest of men.”
“Only for you, Solnyshko.”
He left, and Katerina stood, this time walking to the full-length mirror in her office's bathroom. She regarded her figure. Tall, slim, athletic but not overly muscular. Shimmering natural blond hair, a gift from her father. Sky blue eyes, also a gift from Mr. Bright. High cheekbones, smooth cheeks, full lips that, when parted, accentuated the gentle curve of her jaw. Firm breasts proportioned perfectly to her size and shape, curving hips that supported buttocks as firm and shapely as her breasts. The legs she'd examined earlier were the icing on a beautiful cake.
Katerina smiled softly. She was perfect. As well she should be. She was daughter to the greatest man who’d ever lived. She could not but be the greatest woman who’d ever lived.
Her office door opened. She smiled, showing twin rows of perfectly white teeth, and turned to greet the newcomer. This woman was rather plain-looking, and the lines in her forehead that deepened the longer she remained Katerina’s guest did little to help her. She was around twenty years older than Katerina, and at one time had been the world’s leading nuclear physicist before Katerina recruited her.
“Rosa!” Katerina exclaimed. “How delightful to see you!”
She opened her arms, and Dr. Rosalia Hernandez shuddered as Katerina wrapped her arms around her. Katerina met Boris’s eyes and saw them twinkling with mirth. This woman was like a mouse!
She pulled away and caressed Rosa’s cheeks. “How are you, my dear?”
Rosa swallowed. “Well, thank you.”
“And the project?”
Rosa’s eyes shifted to the left. “It’s—”
“Honestly.”
Rosa swallowed again. She was trembling now. She was caught, and she knew it, but if she admitted to her wrongdoing, then she might as well ask to die. Very slowly. Very painfully.
“I… could perhaps increase the pace if I—”
“Wonderful!” Katerina squeezed her shoulder. “I knew I could trust you.”
Rosa’s eyes fell downward. Guilt. Good. She would think better of her foolishness.
“This is very important to me, you know,” she said, still smiling, still staring at Rosa. “It’s my life’s work.”
Rosa’s lip curled, but she didn’t say anything.
“Yours too, of course,” Katerina said. “But you understand what I mean when I say this is everything I’ve ever wanted. You understand how important it is to me.” She tightened her grip on Rosa’s shoulder. “You understand that I would give anything to see it succeed. And take everything should it fail.”
Rosa swallowed once more. “I understand,” she replied in a hoarse whisper.
“Good!” Katerina caressed her cheek, and Rosa flinched. Katerina pretended not to notice. “I will see you later, doctor. I don’t want to keep you away. I know you’re eager to show me real progress.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Katerina.”
“Yes, Katerina.”
Katerina beamed. “Good. Boris will escort you back to your laboratory.”
Katerina swallowed again. The woman had a problem with that. So horrible at hiding her fear. Boris escorted her to the elevator, and Katerina returned to the window overlooking Neva Bay.
The world was growing active in her father’s absence. Katerina had kept herself behind the scenes, hoping to lure and destroy Zero before she announced her true self to the world. Perhaps that was a mistake. Perhaps the Kellers of the world would behave better were she to take a firmer hand. It was something to consider.
In the meantime, she would continue to prepare for her ultimate victory, the day when Zero would answer in full for the crimes he’d committed against her.
She smiled again. Her porcelain white teeth reflected off of the glass, casting their silhouette over the deep blue of the bay.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sunlight streamed over Trent’s face. It wasn’t warm, but it was bright enough reflecting off the glare of the snow that it pierced through his closed eyelids and dragged him the rest of the way to wakefulness.
He groaned and opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, but he was tilted at a thirty-degree angle to his left. For a second, he didn’t realize why. Then he heard groaning to his left and saw that his view of the sky above was framed by a twisted, serrated square of metal.
The crash. They had crashed. Their airplane had been attacked by Lucifer’s Gift’s electronic weapons and lost control. They had crashed into the glacier, and then there was an avalanche that knocked them further down the mountain.
He turned to his left, fearing that he would feel a sharp pain indicating a severe injury, or worse, that his spine was severed and he would feel nothing at all.
He felt only a slight soreness. Doubtless that soreness would grow less slight as time passed, but he hadn't broken any bones or lost any limbs, and his nerves were still working.
He sat up. Maya was on her knees, blinking and swaying slightly. Trent looked her over and saw no blood or obvious signs of serious injury, but the glazed look in her eyes worried him. “Maya? Honey?”
She blinked again, then some focus came to her eyes. “Oh, shit.”
“Maya, are you all right? Where does it hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she said. She winced as she got to her feet. “Can you stand?”
Trent pulled his knees up. They moved easily and with only a minor increase in his soreness. He got to his feet, tested his balance, and nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. My back feels burnt, though.”
“You’re missing the back of your pants,” Maya informed him.
He reached back and grabbed the bare skin of his ass. The snow must have scraped off the fabric. That was going to be fun.
He pulled his hand away, saw no blood, and decided that he could worry about his modesty later. “How many did we lose?”
"Five," Bolton replied. Plus, the aircraft crew makes eight. Walter and Oneida are still on board. The others were pulled out during the slide."
Trent turned to the battle-scarred SOG agent to see him sitting down, staring ahead at the bodies of two of the dead agents. Walter’s head had been twisted backwards so he was looking directly behind himself. Oneida’s head was in the right place, but a piece of the aircraft’s fuselage had speared her through her ribs just above her sternum.
Trent sighed. “Shit. What about the survivors? Anyone seriously injured?”
One by one, the surviving SOG agents muttered their responses. There were minor cuts and scrapes on each of them, and no one looked eager to run a marathon anytime soon, but there didn’t appear to be any more serious injuries.
He lowered his eyes in a moment of silence for his fallen comrades, then said, “Check your gear. Make sure everything still works.”
He did the same, checking his ice picks, cleats, and grappling hooks to make sure they were still usable. One of the picks was bent at a sharp angle, but the rest of his gear looked okay.
“You can use one of Walter’s picks,” Bolton told him. As an afterthought, he added, “Walter’s pants should fit you. He was a little thicker around the waist, but with a belt, it won’t be a problem.”
Trent shivered. “That’s all right.” He had no intention of disrespecting his fallen comrade like that.
“Change,” Maya commanded firmly. “You’ll freeze to death if you don’t.”
Trent pressed his lips together, but she was right, and he knew it. “Damn it.”
He kept his eyes averted from Walter while he removed the pants. This felt wrong.
Gee, you don’t say?
It wasn’t just the use of a dead man’s pants that bothered Trent. Their assault had been stopped before it could even begin. The security layered around the facility hadn’t even been touched. They’d been so focused on the rocket launchers and drones that they hadn’t considered that the enemy could just swat them out of the sky like they had swatted all of those airliners out of the sky.
But they couldn’t. That was the thing. Penny had found a way to circumvent the jamming. The enemy wasn’t supposed to be jamming microwave signals.
Clearly, they had found a way. Now Trent and the others were stuck climbing their way to the enemy compound.
“Can you reach Penny?” he asked Maya, keeping his voice low.
“No,” Maya replied. “The jamming field here is far more intense. We should have accounted for that. They can’t affect microwaves and they can’t block every radio and satellite channel globally, but they can block microwaves and more channels at short range. It’s a shield they have placed over their compound to prevent exactly the kind of assault we attempted.”
Trent’s blood ran cold as he processed what Maya was saying. Lucifer’s Gift hadn’t shot them down. They’d flown straight into an invisible wall like a bird crashing into a window.
Maya swallowed and squared her shoulders, then turned to the others. “Okay, everyone. I know this is hard for all of us, but we need to keep moving. The enemy has cut off our communications, so we can’t tell headquarters that we’ve been compromised. And we can’t tell them about the stronger jamming field that brought us down. It’s possible they’ll figure it out on their own, but we can’t take that chance. Our assignment is still to take that facility, so that’s what we’re going to do. Everyone dress up, get your gear and weapons ready, and let’s move out.”
