Visisonor's blog
Chapter 12: A Shot in the Dark
A surge of pain overtook Linda like a wave hitting the shore once she learned of the plan to look for Leliana. She staggered and almost fell, only staying on her feet because Vera was fast enough to hold her. Memories she tried to suppress crept back, flooding her mind with agony.
Not much more than a year passed since then, but it seemed distant and vague.
It lasted a week, but felt like a lifetime.
She and her teammate Constantin became entangled in a plot involving classified information about the start of the war and higher ups from commanding structure. They were rescued from certain death by Tess and Rick, and joined Tomoko and Leliana, former agents living in syncon hideout. During that brief period Linda found the sense of belonging she never experienced before, and maybe more.
And then it all came crashing down when Constantin devised a way to get out of what he perceived as captivity and return to humans with precious intelligence. He used Leliana’s routine mission as a means of escape, exposing her location to the enemy.
Leliana was never seen again.
Constantin himself was killed during his getaway.
Tomoko died trying to stop him.
And Linda, refusing to escape with Constantin, would have taken her own life, had she not run out of ammo.
Now Linda was instantly on board with the triple raid. “Hurry up please, it’s time”, she repeated restlessly throughout preparations. The syncons warned that the raid would violate the truce established earlier this day; moreover, attacking three facilities at once posed an elevated risk of humans tracing these attacks back to the base. But they didn’t take an effort to dissuade the ex-agents from doing it, and the ex-agents wouldn’t be dissuaded even if they did. And so, as the sun moved towards western horizon, three vehicles left the base: Vera and Rick in the first, Wolf and Sarah in the second, Linda and Tess in the third.
Kate remained at the hideout this time. She insisted she needed to catch a breath after negotiations and all that happened after, but, in addition to that, she had another reason to stay.
— Ah, it’s you. Kate. My bad omen, — Chloe greeted Kate once she entered the room where Chloe was now confined. — You are good, though. To knock me out like that…
— I do want to apologize for this, but I don’t regret doing it, — replied Kate levelly. — The damage you could have done… Almost did…
— What damage? Why do you suspect me? I couldn’t get an answer from Tess! Maybe you could at least explain what’s going on?
— This is why I’m here, I suppose. But it’s a long story.
— Great, — Chloe snickered sardonically. — I have all the time in the world.
— I don’t. — Kate handed her a smartphone. — Here. Read this.
— What is it?
But Kate didn’t answer. She turned and left.
Several hours later attack teams started to reach their destinations.
Two of them found only abandoned structures.
The third…
There wasn’t even a pretense at stealth this time. Two Trashcan robots jumped out of the vehicle once it was clear the facility was guarded.
The guards stood no chance.
Then the door was broken, and Trashcans went in, followed by Tess and Linda.
They found themselves in a large hall, the most eye-catching feature of which was a translucent tube installed on a platform with adjustable hinge mechanism. It was large enough to fit a human in it. A console with screens was attached to the tube, and a bunch of cables run from it to the rack with servers and network equipment.
There was only one person inside: a man in black suit was running away from the console to the door in the other end of the room.
— Do not move! — Tess shouted in unnatural amplified voice.
It seemingly caused him to freeze in his tracks.
— This does look like Project Plato hardware, — commented Tess in normal manner. — A virtual reality setup. Projecting shadows on the cave wall.
— This is a medical research facility! — said the man, keeping his hands up. — You and your war have no business here!
— Turn around, — shouted Tess again. — What is behind that door?
He turned to face them, but didn’t immediately answer.
Linda ran out of patience and went through the door he was trying to enter. Tess followed her.
The door led to a corridor with several prison cells. They were empty — except for one. In that one cell, a girl was nestled on an iron bed, her wrists and ankles shackled. She had a worn-looking white gown on, so the only spot of color was her amber hair.
— Leliana! — cried Linda, grabbing the bars.
Tess flung her rifle to one of Trashcans and broke the cell lock.
Linda went in and touched the prisoner’s shoulder tentatively.
She groaned and sat up on her knees, turning away to the wall.
— No!.. I told… Everything I knew…
Linda couldn’t hold back tears.
— It’s me, Linda. Do you remember me?
— Just a dream… — whispered Leliana regretfully. — But it will end…
— I’m really here! It’s all right. It’s over now.
— It can’t be, — Leliana’s voice was hollow and barely audible. — Don’t… torment me…
— And though you turn from me to glance behind… — murmured Linda kneeling down on the bed.
She wrapped her arms around Leliana’s shoulders and hugged her tightly.
They stayed like that for almost a minute, Leliana seemingly descending into oblivion again, but then Tess interrupted them:
— We need to go.
The syncon broke the shackles on Leliana’s wrists and ankles, picked her up from the bed and carried her out of the cell and back into the main hall, with Linda following closely behind.
In the hall, one of the Trashcans was fiddling with the console, and the other held the man in suit at gunpoint. Before Tess could say or do anything, Linda pulled her pistol out and shot the man in the head.
They drove back in silence.
It was only broken when the blast wave from explosion, which obliterated Leliana’s prison, caught up with them.
All three teams returned home without complications. Linda’s group was the last to arrive — it was already past midnight. Leliana was now sleeping in a bed, and Linda sat beside her, holding her hand.
The room was quite crowded: the only one not present was Chloe, being technically under house arrest.
— Her physical state is acceptable. No damage, only some emaciation, — explained Tess. — Her mental state is another story. She is in deep shock.
— She will not get over it right away, — added Rick. — But we are quite sure she will recover. Leliana has always been strong.
— And this is really the first time someone considered dead has been rescued. — commented Sarah. — Great work, everyone!
Vera, who remained silent until now, let out a strained sob.
— I’m happy for you. — she embraced Linda quickly.
And sprang out of the room, muttering “sorry, I can’t” under her breath.
Kate and Wolf followeed her out.
— Are you all right? — called Kate once they were in the corridor.
Vera leaned on the wall, covering her face with hands.
— It’s selfish, I know. I should be glad for Linda, and I am. Her friend is back. But my sister won’t return.
— It’s not making you selfish, — assured her Wolf.
— I just need to pull myself together, — murmured Vera and went away.
— Vera… — called out Kate again.
— Let her be, Kate, — said Tess from behind them. — There is nothing you can do for her now. She needs some rest. And so do you, both of you.
The two of them went down the corridor: the living quarters were not too far from medical bay where Leliana was placed. Wolf stopped near his door, and Kate stopped too.
— Good night, Kate, — he broke the awkward silence.
He turned to the door, but her next question made him turn back to her:
— Do you want me to stay?
— I… do want you to stay, — he replied, caught off guard.
— Then say so! — Kate urged fiercely.
— I just did…
— That’s not what… I guess I’m too exhausted to express this clearly. You’ve been skirting around the danger zone for so long, and I didn’t see it until… I wish I’d seen sooner.
She stopped, out of breath.
— You are right, — admitted he. — There is just always something pressing.
— There is nothing more pressing now! If you keep postponing, we may never have a chance.
— It’s not enough that I feel this way. If I ask you to stay, will you?
— I wouldn’t have started this conversation otherwise, — she smiled tiredly.
— You are good at dancing around the direct answer too, you know, — he observed with a hint of tease in his voice.
— Oh, come on! I haven’t heard the direct question yet.
— All right, — he held her hands in his. — Will you stay with me, Kate?
— I will, Wolf.
They went into the room, and the door closed behind them.