The Mission

Part 7

In that moment, I knew what people staring down a wild predator felt. I knew she had to be faking sleep, leading me over here. There was no other way. And I still couldn't be sure she was the only one.

I was afraid to let my gaze linger on her, sensing she would know if I did and her eyes would burst open. I was too close. The Durga wore a purple outfit but a simple one. Still military style but glossy. I was sure she had pale blue hair to match those looming eyes but I didn't rest my gaze on any of her features. She felt young. Younger than the unranked girls. More like a child. Had to be an illusion or something.

All I focused on was the tension in my legs and if anything changed about her. I could focus an optic on her and get to work but no. No no. I didn't want to stare at a screen in my final moments. I wanted eyes on the Durga. The optic would be on the server.

Horrible arrangement, but I didn't care. Not taking my eyes off the Durga, no matter how terrifying it was to look on her. Her breathing was too slow and easy. Had to be faking.

My focus darted between the optic and watching the sleeping Durga. It took a long time, and I passed it by several times before realizing I had the right place. I eventually found the servers responsible for the cameras.

Opening them by touch was a painstaking process. I paused when the Durga shifted slightly. At least the doors weren't locked but the server section I wanted appeared to be. I willed the rack door not to squeak as I moved it. Soon, I had enough space to use my lockpick. That work was at least covered up by the hum of the server. Finally, the lock turned, and I had access to the central data lines.

I had to keep my focus off of the Durga for several moments as I examined the video of the lines. Again, it took longer than I wanted to find the right line. The patch was as simple as the other one, even though it was different and slightly larger It was, of course, tamper-proof. Removing it was very hard once placed and, even if you succeeded, it would ignite and take down the entire server.

I tried to make it look like I wasn't placing anything at all, just fiddling with the cords. My sleight of hand has never been that great, but I did my best. Then I set it to my GPS like the other one, sealed the lock, and eased the rack door shut.

That terror was still, seemingly, sleeping. I caught a faint snore. I didn't trust it.

The job done, I backed away carefully…and nearly banged right into the empty chair. Once I'd forced my heart rate back to normal, I crept the rest of the way around the servers. After I surveyed the next row and this end of the wall, I could begin thinking about using my device to link the two and begin deleting and amending my appearances.

"What game is this?" Soft voice at my side like a blind stab above the roaring fans. I never thought it would end this way. I had the extra switch. But not yet…

I turned with as much calm as I could manage and looked at a young teen girl with icy blue hair past her shoulders and massive, matching eyes. She was clad in the Durga color and stood a head shorter than me.

No illusion fooled a Durga, a fact I knew well. Yet her gaze was soft and uncritical. Even more so than the sister at the former chapel. She rubbed at the side of her vast eye and cracked her neck.

She was close to me. Close enough she could grab me if she suddenly leaned forward, so close the illusion should've been immediately apparent to someone like her. But she didn't point or scream or pull a weapon on me. She yawned and gave a look. Not the look I was expecting, more like she was grumpy I'd ignored her question.

A game. Yeah…a game. I bowed slightly and tried to remember my matching, knowing it would be horrible, despite my best efforts, "Just hide and seek, blessed Durga."

A frown lingered on her face. I wanted to crawl out of my skin.

After what felt like the longest pause, she said calmly, "…Heh...I'm not a Durga. I'm just Reena. I think you want Mori, she's a Durga."

I held my hands up and resisted the urge to wave them plaintively. The blurring would've been too obvious. Desperately, I told her, "That's fine, Reena. I'm sorry. It's just your clothing…it's very important looking." I could've said something different, but I had to be vague. If the Durga of this base didn't wear purple then that would be something a Valkyrie would surely know.

Reena bowed her head and gave a faint blush. She held her hands behind her and said, "Thank you. I like it a lot. But Mori's is much prettier. She told me to watch her seat, but I got soooo sleepy. Why were you playing in here?"

I noticed she didn't seem to regard my status as a Valkyrie. Perhaps too young to be aware of certain formalities…or something else?

I admitted with a bow, "Actually, I wasn't playing hide and seek, sorry. I would much prefer to be, but I am so busy right now. I had to reboot a server and now I have to go up and check on a report upstairs…." I added a dramatic sigh. Reena gave a little frown. I returned a careful smile. She folded her arms.

The tranquillizer might be useful in this situation, but I had to think of other options. There was one.

I turned a bit so she wouldn't see and reached deep into one of my pockets. I pulled out a knit doll with gray, yarn hair and a blue dress. The eyes were black stitching, and the mouth was a thin, red line. The material was worn and the stitching was beginning to come undone along the shoulder. Reena's eyes locked on the doll.

I crouched and offered her it, saying, "This is Lara. She once belonged to a friend of mine. Would you like to take care of her for me?" If I had candy, that probably would've been something better to offer, but this would have to do. After all, it had been a long time…

She reached for it carefully and took it into her hands. Thankfully, she didn't look at my hands too closely. She cared for the doll and brushed its hair before holding it close. She gave a calm nod and said, "I promise…but it's still bad to lie, especially about games."

I bowed my head and offered a further apology, though her attention was on the doll. She rocked it back and forth. Oh, memories…

I promised I would get her some candy too, as soon as possible, and I would share it with her friend. I had to promise to bring some for Lara as well. I nodded but slowly. I turned to leave, reminding her of the duties I'd claimed and wary the Durga wasn't long from returning, but she wrapped her arms around me in a sudden hug. I didn't breathe much, but I tried to relax. Her body surrounded me in an embrace as she said, "Love you, sweet Sister."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

She let me go to play with Lara. I gave a look back, glad that nothing had aroused her suspicions. A touch by an unknown sister would cause plenty of worry back at home base but none of my nano-detectors were going off.

Giving a careful, easy wave, I made my way back to the front of the room. I camped in the most secure location I could find and swiftly went about altering all signs of my entry. The shaft transmitted no data, but the first few corridors had coverage I'd missed. An easy deletion. The few interaction moments were altered to correlate properly. I didn't want to stay long, but I wanted to make sure I was thorough.

I altered my interactions with Reena and prepared to set the device. I tensed my neck. The explosive elements in the tap would fry this server once I was out of range, just like the other one. I thought about Reena's wide-eyed features. She should be able to get far enough away before the whole thing started burning. But then she also knew I'd been here. A sensible operative would've found a way to get rid of her, close that loose end. I just put my video device away and crept towards the door.

I watched as many corners as I could and kept an eye on movement. When I was at the last row, the front door suddenly opened.

I darted back. Bootsteps over the din of the coolers. Could be Mori returning… The steps were getting closer to my position. I edged over and around the server.

Slow, steady steps towards me. Not a good sign. I looked down the row. I'd have to go a ways if she was headed towards me. I tried to match her steps as much as possible and walk lightly the rest of the way. She was just on the other side of the server bank, no more than a few feet from me.

She slowed, and I halted as quickly as I could. If she was creeping then she could easily sneak up on me. I might not hear her over the sounds of the cooling units, but I feared she might be sharp enough to hear me.

I crouched. Beside my foot was an aesthetic piece of the server. Just there to cover up the screws. It was small, not much bigger than a pea. Too small for a Durga to spot? I rose slowly and aimed for a spot by the nearest AC along the wall. Before I could wonder if this was wise, I hurled the small object. I hoped it would bounce and give no clue as to where it came from.

All sounds on the other side stopped, and I crept away. Suddenly, slicing through my soul, I heard the clear and harsh words, "Who's there?...Reena?!" Not said the way I'd heard anyone in this place speak.

Her words moved through me like a command. Like, for the briefest of seconds, I had the desire to give myself up and just tell her where I was. While the first part was harsh, the rest was unsettling in another way. Brutal concern, like a wild animal for her young.

I didn't need to hear more. She kept moving in the direction I wanted until I was too far away to hear her clearly. I eased my way softly around the bank. I thought I heard her call again for Reena. I waited and checked. The way to the door was clear. Of course, it was. The perfect trap.

I would be wide open for the rest of the way. No way to hide. She could watch me and strike with whatever weapons she wished. Too late, I checked back on the other side of the bank. She wasn't down that row, but she could still be hiding. She could still rush me. Any movement to the door would be a huge risk. Shit…

I really didn't want to verify the position of Mori. I really didn't want to go back all this way after all the time it had taken. I would have to just go for it. A terrible choice, but the only one I had.

Hugging the servers as I turned the corner, I tried to keep as out of sight as possible. The noise of the ACs made sure there were plenty of sounds I thought could be movement but nothing I could be certain about. Walk faster…

I eased each step so it made as little sound against the floor as possible. I kept my eyes on the edge in front of me but also checked every line of sight, not putting it past a Durga to creep around behind me.

Each time I moved and checked, there was some deep signal in my brain which kept screaming she was right behind me. And each glint of light on the glossy parts of the servers was another fearful twitch that I was about to be caught.

But I didn't see anything. I was just a few paces from the door when I finally heard decisive boot steps again. I didn't hesitate. As swiftly as my quiet footfalls could take me, I seized the door and pressed it open.

The noise of it opening felt like a scream across the entire room. I slipped through and pressed it shut behind me. Then, I ran.

I bolted from the door to the nearest corridor, checking behind me with the optic as covertly as possible. The door jiggled in the view but remained shut. I vanished around the wall and clung to the side. Looking to my left, I saw a door slowly open. A woman much like the bookish blond exited the door and fussed with a handful of keycards before cracking her neck with a sigh. She looked over at me and massaged her temple.

I gave a quick, apologetic nod. She barely seemed to notice, shrugged to herself, and started walking away from me. Finally, as I peeled myself from the wall, I allowed myself to take a normal breath.

Through all I'd done, I had only managed to get to the area I needed to be. But with the data systems tap, I could move covertly and try to translate the coded doors. Finally, I'd be able to find some answers for what the Embracing Sisterhood was really doing down here.  

I worked on code translation and was lucky to come up with a few locations which would be good for recording. Not all of them showed up in the black sector. The nearest was "Info Control", still in the blue section.

The "Info Control" door code was written in a bolder script than most I'd seen (provisional decoding revealed many as support systems, offices, storage, and even a few break rooms like those two sisters had been looking for). It didn't just have a key card. It was biometric, set to physical sex. Female, obviously.

Not unexpected. A nano-reactive beam which responded to female DNA, sometimes from a catalog of approved genetic signatures. Tricking the catalog would be simple with one of the last really clever devices left in my arsenal, a nano-switch. It would send a signal to the computer inside to repeat its last instructions. Unless I was horribly unlucky, then that would be a successful read of an approved person.

If only that was all it took… A real, living human hand had to go inside the device, no matter if it was hacked. Other operatives had ways (with varying effectiveness) of getting around this system. For me, I just stuck my hand inside. I knew it would read me as a normal woman, because....that's what I am.