Mark Tiedemann - Mirage

"You thought what? That confession brings instant forgiveness? I understand what you did, Kedder, but people died."

"I didn't know! They told me no one would get hurt!"

"And the money was good, so you believed them."

Derec was not sure what reaction he expected, but Kedder suddenly launched himself off the floor. He slammed into Derec and both of them plus the gurney went over. Derec hit the floor solidly across the shoulders, his arms complaining sharply. Kedder tried to get to his knees but he could not stop himself from punching ineffectually at Derec, hitting the floor more than his face.

Running feet filled the stall, then grunting, and suddenly the weight was off him. Three men held Kedder while a fourth shifted an impatient gaze between him and Derec.

"Get him out of here," he said, and Derec recognized Bok's voice. "Put him next to his friend."

Derec rolled slowly off his bruised wrists. Bok grabbed his shirt and hauled him to his feet with astonishing strength. He held Derec with one hand and righted the gurney with his other, then sat Derec down on the edge.

"Welcome back to the world of the waking," Bok Golner said. "What did you do to piss him off?"

"Told him he was a killer."

Bok Golner stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. "No. He's just a scared fool. I, on the other hand, am a killer, Mr. Avery. I'm very good at it. Now, you be good. I won't be far away."

As Bok Golner walked away, Derec let out his breath, not realizing till then that he had been holding it. He shuddered once, rolled his shoulders to ease the pain, then turned to examine the contents of the stall. Now that he was alone, he might be able to find a way out. tactical parameters, multilevel facility, modifications from standard include unidentified internal security array, status standby; three additional access conduits, two in sublevels, one on topmost level; coded access monitor security level eight, recent manufacture, inconsistent with age of structure or registered usage; present status of structure occupied, census required, stealth mode active, surveillance initiated, defense mode on, census acquisition minimal First Law Violation, nominal Second Law Violation within acceptable parameters, negative Third Law Violation, proceeding maximum covert imperatives sublevels, main level, second level, third level unoccupied, all stored equipment connected to maintenance systems on standby, four individuals on fourth level, armed, decommissioned military style stunners, model APS-4 7, comlink active and open, fifth level unoccupied, eight individuals on sixth level, one decedent, armed, APS-47 stunners, two nine-millimeter projectile rifles type unknown, identical to type previously noted, two military style blasters, model SIB-90, current standard issue, two operational transports, two individuals under restraint, one unidentified, one identified Derec Avery

First Law protocols assigned to primary, Derec Avery, initiating analysis for optimal retrieval Besides a few odd bits of machinery, Derec saw nothing that could be easily used to cut his bonds. He curled his fingers palmward as much as he could and managed to brush against the cord around his wrists. Thin, probably a carbon-fiber analog, likely as not a molecular seal. Even if he had a knife it would be useless.

"Why did you bring him here?" demanded a brusque voice outside the stall.

Derec sat still and listened to the new voice.

"We were told to obtain and hold him," Golner answered. "Where else would you suggest?"

"Try Manassas."

"We weren't told to move them that far."

Derec recognized the newcomer-Cupra. The puzzle was assembling itself. Too bad he might not survive its completion.

"All right, let me talk to-"

"We were told to wait for instructions. We didn't hear anything about circumventing the chain of command."

"Be current, will you? We'll be lucky if this doesn't-"

"Doesn't what? Cause an incident?"

The other Managins laughed.

"You could as easily," Cupra went on, speaking a little louder, "have kept him at Kedder's apartment. Why move him?"

"We brought Kedder, too."

"You brought-you ass. We need Kedder."

"I don't see why," Golner said.

"He's our roboticist."

"So?"

"So we have a robot. We retrieved the bodyguard."

"What? How?"

"It was called in, wandering in the sublevels. Badly damaged."

"It shouldn't even exist anymore. That was a bubble nuke you used. Everything should have been-"

"It survived. Now we need Kedder to do a full vetting."

"No one leaves till we hear word."

"I'm going to get you word, Golner. Where's Avery and Kedder?"

"Over there."

"Captain," another voice cut in. "There's a problem. Point isn't responding to check."

"Perimeter?" Golner demanded.

"No breaks. Comlink is down. We-"

Derec heard a soft impact, like someone flopping to the floor for a nap. Then running.

"Hey-"

"Left! Left!"

The clatter of boots diminished, one pair at a time.

Derec tried to stand.

"No, no," Golner whispered from behind him, his arm suddenly around Derec's neck. The barrel of a pistol pressed against his right temple.

"I can't run with my feet hobbled," Derec said as calmly as he could.

The barrel shifted to the small of his back and the arm retracted. A second later the bindings around his ankles fell away. He put one foot forward and slammed the other back. It impacted with concrete, though, and Golner jerked him back and forth twice before wrapping his arm around Derec's neck again.

"Very good, you have nerve. You'll never be fast enough." The barrel returned to Derec's temple. "What's out there? Nothing human could get past our perimeter surveillance. Is that your toy?"

"I have no idea. You heard what Cupra said."

"Cupra's an idiot. You built that machine out of amalloy. I watched what it did at Union Station. Imitating damage wouldn't be much trouble for it, would it?"

"How'd you have time to notice? You were so busy slaughtering people."

"That wasn't slaughter, Mr. Avery. That was surgery. Like any competent medic, I pay attention when I operate."

"I don't know where Bogard is," Derec insisted.

Golner was silent for a time. The garage was still now. Derec heard nothing but a distant ventilator.

"It's definitely not human," Golner said. "We're getting out now, Mr. Avery. You move when I move, stop when I stop. You mean nothing to me but a shield. Clear?"

Derec nodded.

"Good."

"But you won't make it. You aren't fast enough."

"You hope."

Golner urged Derec forward, out of the stall. Derec tried to turn his head left to see down the aisle, but Golner jerked him to the light and frogmarched him toward the far wall.

"I'll kill him!" Golner shouted. "You can't stop me!"

"No?" a woman answered, off to the right.

Golner reacted. The barrel left Derec's head to aim toward the voice. Derec bent forward against Golner's arm and tried kicking him again. He missed again, but suddenly Golner released him, and Derec sprawled face down on the cold concrete.

He rolled left, quickly, until he came up against a wall.

When he managed to sit up, he saw Mia Daventri across from him, leaning on the divider between two stalls. Between them lay Golner-unconscious, limbs sprawled. Standing over him was Bogard, almost invisible in the dim light, the trace of its optical array slicing across its head, brilliant and white.

Bogard laid the unconscious Managins in a row, moving in a blur. When it finished, Mia walked along them, slowly, still favoring her sore leg, and collected their weapons. Bogard paced her, a portion of its torso shaped to receive each one as she finished inspecting it. Derec sat on the opposite side of the aisle, massaging his wrists and shaking every so often, face pale.