The turning of the tide.

Stage 17

The turning of the tide.

After the explosion, the insertion team had to produce their identification patches to the local authorities, making their ingress much more complicated. This pushed their time line back a considerable amount, but Carmen knew that things were still working to her advantage. She hated that fact that she couldn't rely on her power of precognition. She was certain Miranda had something to do with this failure.

Either way, she had prepared her team well. But after all these years of keeping things under the radar, Zechariah was still a strategist. His use of explosives to distract or slow them seemed far too showy. Something wasn't right.

She knew that they would have to make their escape amid the chaos of emergency vehicles and fleeing civilians. It would only be a matter of time, but once she figured out the algorithm used by Miranda's power to obfuscate the truth from her, she would once again be on top of things. Her precognition would once again reveal the truth.

She, Aerlina and seven of her command were all tucked into a large mobile command center about five blocks from the burning building. There were signs that one of the fire prevention mainlines had erupted, providing some level of fire suppression, but she couldn't allow the fire service onto the 28th floor for matters of colonial security. This had caused a jurisdictional fracas, but her use of the term 'rogue governmental military unit' had quickly silenced any objections.

Once the top two levels were evacuated, she could proceed with her intended sweep of the floor. It was a dangerous step, one that she would have argued against, but she had been overridden by her superior officer.

Aerlina had a habit of chewing on her thumb when something complex confounded her otherwise brilliant mind.

"I don't understand, why just destroy his office and the main hallway?" Why not the whole floor? It would make more sense if his intention was to destroy equipment."

Carmen could relate to her frustration, even more so because she had worked with Zechariah before. He was a wily bastard, well versed in psychological warfare.

Before she could say anything, the overhead speaker system squawked.

"This is Blue Team. Top floor evacuation has been completed. The fire service and police service are now in the floor below us, awaiting further orders from their chain of command."

One of the Carmen's officers spoke up,

"Ma'am, I have a Sergeant Mathers on the liaison communication line. He wishes to speak with you."

"Put it on the overhead. And make sure you keep tabs on what Blue Team is doing."

"Yes, ma'am."

She heard a brief silence, followed by a telltale click. "This is Commander Third Class Carmen Zigfler, how can I be of assistance, Sergeant Mathers?"

"CTC Zigfler, I have Colonel Petra-Ivanhoe from the Special Teams and Counter Unit with me. She has received reports that this explosion was not from a rogue government unit, but a terror group she's been monitoring for the past several months."

This was news to Carmen. She looked over at Aerlina who had stopped chewing her thumb.

There was the sound of a grunt, then a stern voice came of the overhead speakers.

"This is Petra-Ivanhoe, I don't care what sort of governmental bullshit you've thrown at us, but you'd better move out of our way so we can clear this building. We've received confirmation that this was a domestic terror group!"

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched squeal, then static, then a mechanized voice came over the airwaves:

'This is the Crimson Knights… Our people have delivered the sword strike… be ready… the collective bring the scythe.

A bright flash of radiant energy engulfed the two top floors and a small blue vortex sucked into itself all matter that had once comprised the roof and penthouse. When the implosive energy dissipated, a large ball of super dense matter came crashing down on top of the 29th floor, destroying it, then continued to the floor where Blue Team had been deployed.

If the previous incident was like poking sticks at an ant hill, this event was like kicking the whole mound just for spite.

Carmen had not foreseen this. She turned to look at Aerlina, and saw in the woman's face what one could account for awe.

Carmen did her best to reign in her emotions as she tried to discern the babble coming from the liaison line. She gathered from the desperate calls to Blue Team and their lack of compliance that they were either dead or dying. Then there was the matter of the low yield electromagnetic pulse caused by the implosion that could knock out communications to any unshielded equipment within a ten block radius.

Everything came together for her in that moment: Zechariah had planned every event to its last detail.

"Send a regroup order, cut the liaison line. We need to move out to wave point Zulu."

Her command was received and initiated without hesitation.

Aerlina turned to look at her. "What do you mean by going to wave point Zulu, Carmen?"

"Zechariah has broken us this turn. We need to move so that we are ready for when we find him again."

Aerlina gave a concerned look, but Carmen ignored it and exited the command vehicle. She walked over to one of the armored transports.

"Is our communication network still intact, Sergeant?"

"Yes, ma'am! We've routed everything through the satellite feed antennae. You are green for the next sixty seconds."

She nodded and pulled out her communication device. She hated that she had to activate her ace in the hole, but with the current set of events, there was no other alternative.

Then again, that's why she kept a double agent in deep cover.

~*~

Aerlina had just opened the door to the command vehicle when she heard Carmen end a call with the command, "Activate."

This was a common security command, but Aerlina was puzzled that Carmen didn't use any kind of designation after the word. This meant it was specific to the section she had just called. Over the years, she heard or read bits and pieces of a deep cover operative that Carmen had planted, but she never caught wind of where this operative was working or for what reason. The situation, her previous comment about making ready to find Zechariah again. The pieces started to fall into place. This wasn't going to end well for Miranda.

She had heard of Zechariah Fairchild, the only member of the elite group known only as "the ghost ops unit" who had survived to adulthood. And she had read the official briefing complied by Broken Laurel. But recently, she had taken a much keener interest in the man, himself.

His past was open to anyone in the covert and security apparatus with a Level 5 - Top Secret classified rating. A dossier with full brief regarding his childhood, his birth parents, his upbringing and what happened during the purge that marked a dark day in the history of the Old Imperial Republic. His file, compared to most in the covert and security apparatus, was relatively thin because he had officially "died" during the event that had taken his parents. Unofficially, he was number one on the high value target list. To find anything pertaining to him after his "death" she had to delve into the deep dark of the CSIB records vault. Most of those files were so redacted that she couldn't make heads or tails of what the man had done during his career.

The running rumor that he was in charge of Branch Cell and had in his employ one of the brightest doctors the Colonial government had ever produced. A decorated shadow in the minds of some, but to the up and coming new bloods, he was a security threat of the highest order.

Only those with access to Level 20 - For H.E.R. Eyes Only - could grasp the depth of what Zechariah had accomplished. Since most of his training and operational experience had come prior to the covert and security apparatuses formation. The group of corporations that had once created, educated and trained him were no more. Absorb into the government that he had once help to create.

He had been trained by a remnant network of burned spies and operatives, relics of the Old Imperial Republic's security service.

During Aerlina's original investigation of Miranda, she had found out about an unconfirmed source with ties to her former mentor Richard De'Raegon. When she dug a little deeper, she found a contact who had once been the original facilitator for Paradoxical Training Corps. She had conducted her due diligence when she reached out to this unknown operative and made initial contact.

It was this asset that had offered her some vital information regarding Miranda and later on, Zechariah.

As the teams began their tactical withdrawal, she sent an encrypted message to her asset, being mindful not to look at her phone as she composed the message.

'Tailor, seems ned mendin tree desgn stil availab?'

She had barely had a chance to get into her vehicle when she felt her phone buzz once. She ignored it until she had climbed into the back of the vehicle and sat down. She had official reasons to be reading off her device, so the action wouldn't draw any undue suspicion from the driver or communication officer riding shotgun.

"Let Carmen know, the liaison link has been disconnected, the command vehicle will be mobile in thirty seconds."

'Rainbow tree design limited some wait time required.'

She sent her reply.

'Tailor, tree design cloth ripped let manuf know asap.'

"Communication officer, we are a go. Let Carmen know the EMP had an effective range of ten kilometers."

She checked her phone one last time,

'Rainbow contact only, ten pen and twenty for manuf, will trash design run and related accessories.'

Aerlina looked up and noticed that the communication officer was watching her.

She spoke. "We have authorization to use wave points alpha through charlie, global directive Oscar."

He acknowledged her and proceeded with relaying the stated intel to the whole team.

With a deft patterned swipe motion on her phone, she initiated a macro that destroyed all the compartmental data and logs relating to the program used to contact Tailor.

Even if Carmen had her phone checked by the forensics group, they would never be able to confirm if such a program had ever existed on her device. The level of sophistication that the application possessed had her marvel, as it rivaled some of the software used by her own team.

She could only hope now that the information would get to Branch Cell's commanding officer in time.

~*~

The Branch Cell mobile team had successfully reached its destination, well within schedule, though not without some measured maneuvering.

The building they occupied had been selected precisely because the subbasement featured an access hatch that connected to the storm drain system that made up the city's sewers. It had taken Zechariah and Team Three a few years of work and planning to rig a lift system that would gently lower the vehicles some fifty meters down into the primary drain. This point of evacuation held its own set of risks, but fortune had been on their side as there was a minimal amount of water to contend with.

It had taken them close to three hours of driving to reach their second wave point. Just as Zechariah had instructed, their exit point would be found at the end of a 25-degree upward slope, directly under an archway opening. From there, they would have to use their off-road capabilities to reach a small gravel service road. Within ten minutes all three teams were on the service road and moving to their third wave point.

Their exodus was a tense endeavor; even Lian wasn't immune to the urge to look over her shoulder. The self-imposed communications blackout only added to the anxiety. Which didn't help to assuage her worry about Zechariah.

At their destination, which was a small privately owned dock and launch site located on the shores of one of the largest man-made lakes on planet, Lian instructed Team Two to transfer their gear to the Mermaid class hovercraft they would use to EXFIL Zechariah and Miranda. Teams One and Three were instructed by their respective leadership to prep the Schooner class ship and create a perimeter. Night was falling and they had a limited amount of time before their scheduled departure.

Teresa and Brucey made their way over to Team Two's location.

"Rissa wanted us to come over and see if ya'll needed a hand."

A young petite woman glanced up at Brucey with a raised eyebrow.

"Rissa? Did she go and take one of your candies, Brucey? Don't you two have your own push and shove to do with all that gosh darn gear?"

"Naw, she and ol' Rascal are doin' the pre-flight checks and Russ and Neelima are tie'n everythin' down. Guess she thought ya'll needed more hands."

"I need to speak with Lian, anyway," said Teresa. "I'm not entirely sure what our next course of action is, Rythne."

Rythne gave the pair a look, then glanced over her shoulder,

"Go ahead and pick up that crate, then. By the love of stars and moonbeams Brucey, don't stand there and make me tell you everything."

"Yeah, yeah."

Brucey started moving, and before Rythne could respond to Teresa, Lian walked up.

"Why is Brucey here, Rythne?"

"Ten pen and sour milk, Doc."

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Then we are both in the same leaky skiff."

Lian turned her attention to Teresa.

"This there something you wish to speak with me about?"

Teresa shot a glance at the oblivious Rythne, who was rummaging around one of her packs.

"Rissa asked me to confirm our coordinates. Brucey just tagged along. I guess he wanted a scenery change."

"Hells bells, and livery," said Rythne. "I never can I get those jar brained baa-ffoons to pack anything right."

Teresa sighed. "Has anyone ever told you the sentences that come out of your mouth are nonsensical?"

"Meh."

Rythne picked up two packs and headed for one of the vehicles.

Lian had been queuing up something on a portable holographic device.

"Tell Rissa that we'll be using void coordinates Juliet. She'll know what to do."

In the distance, Brucey could be heard talking about his favorite pastime, sports.

Teresa rolled her eyes. "I wish he would keep it down. He's been talking about that idiotic game for hours."

"You know Brucey. He's like clockwork. You wouldn't think it considering that horrendous dialect of his."

Teresa glanced over in Brucey's direction once more, then back to Lian.

"Have you heard anything from Zechariah?"

Lian shook her head. "No, which means everything is going according to plan."

Teresa turned to look at Brucey again. He was waving at her dramatically. She waved back.

Then, with one fluid motion, Teresa drew a pistol and pointed it at Lian. Much to Teresa's surprise, Lian had come up with the same idea.

A sudden flash of burning light erupted from the hovercraft. The large white plume burned through the hull of the craft in seconds, rendering it unusable. Brucey was engaged in a firefight and quickly dropped two of Lian's team members. The lack of that telltale gun pop made it clear to her that he had silenced his weapon. Brucey then swept the area, and headed for the parked vehicles, in search of Rythne no doubt.

Lian locked eyes on Teresa who seemed nervous, skittish.

"So what gave it away?"

Even in this tense standoff, Lian spoke calmly.

"Brucey kept his habit up to the end, you kept your rather demure posture, same as always. Team Two and Three showed signs of anxiety, even Rissa couldn't help but play with that damn pen of hers. Tell me did you kill her, or was that someone Brucey?"

Teresa gave her a hint of a smile.

"Oh, come now. Don't play coy with me. Someone tipped you off to us, didn't they?"

Lian's eyes shot over to the right, then back to Teresa.

"Only Zechariah's insistence that there was a double agent among us."

Teresa eyes narrowed in disgust, then pushed the barrel of her caseless pistol closer. "Don't lie to me, Lian. Now tell me, how did you know?"

"You and Brucey played your roles far too well. You were too concerned with the role and forgot what it meant to be yourselves under pressure."

Rythne had somehow materialized behind Teresa holding her own pistol. Teresa froze when she heard that 'click and whine' of a caseless round being chambered, Lian lowered her side arm and glanced at Rythne.

"Any survivors?"

"Team Three made it, they've secured an exit. That Schooner is crisper than my morning toast, though. We lost the rooks, Simmons, Rissa and Haslaq. Brucey and the other turncoats tucked tail and ran for the tree line when I made it clear wasn't in the mood. Shit fire, they'll answer for the rook's deaths at a later time. Team One is fully compromised with Rissa dead. And there's no telling how long we have before this place is crawling with Broken Laurel pig lickers."

Lian nodded and glanced at Teresa.

"Give your Mistress a message for me."

And without fanfare, Rythne cracked Teresa on the back of the head with the butt of her pistol.