None of the rebels was very happy to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning, and several continued to grumble even after learning the circumstances. Manuel Santos, one of the older men who'd fought against the previous two regimes as well, was particularly obdurate. "All I'm saying," he repeated stubbornly for the third time, "Is that we wait until nightfall, then strike. Right now, we're as much at a disadvantage as they are."
Malique glanced over toward the woman, standing beside an open window, gazing out at the softening darkness. She stood slightly hunched over, as if in pain, her arms crossed over her body, ins spite of the warm night.
"We can't wait," he answered shortly. "Once the fat pig realizes she's missing..."
"Miguel's whore," Santos interrupted, spitting to one side. The scorn in his voice was a lash and Ari flinched. "Send her back to keep him quiet and happy until we're ready to move."
At that, she turned to face the eight men, her face as oddly immobile as it had been since she'd first shown up, demanding to see Malique.
"I'm done with your little war, gentlemen," she said tonelessly. "You have what you need. How you use it, or squander it, is up to you." As though against her will, her gaze was drawn back to the barely visible scene outside.
"I don't trust you," Santos said, addressing her directly. He stood up, walking over to where she stood. "For weeks you've been Miguel's whore..."
"Don't call him that," she interrupted, almost conversationally.
The older guerrilla sneered at her.
"You don't like the truth. You have whored for him, you are Mig... URK!"
Ari had reacted without warning, driving her knee up as the man stuck his face into hers. As he collapsed, clutching himself, she looked at Malique, apparently seeing only him.
"I'm done," she said again quietly. "Good luck. And goodbye."
Before he knew what she was planning, she stepped through the window and disappeared. He blinked, then turned to face the others of his command staff, most of them UEO and CIA trained, repatriated to free their homeland. Deliberately, he ignored the groaning Santos, and after a few seconds, so did they.
"You all know what you need to do. Get yourselves into position. Jose, Christophe, securing the air and sea ports are vital. Don't slip up. As soon as Davide gets into the system..."
Hearing his name, Davide looked up from his terminal over to one side, face glowing.
"I can do it," he announced, grinning widely. "I can do this, Malique. We're in. Everything is exactly the way she said." He looked around with almost comic perplexity. "Where did she go?"
Reaching the ground, Ari didn't pause. The ocean had been visible from the window, distracting her from the discussion around the table with it's promise of relief. She found the path that led down to the sandy beach.
She could still feel him. Intimately. Sickeningly. His hands, crawling over her skin like maggots, leaving his filth behind. And no time to shower. No time to try to clean herself up. But now, she had time. All the time in the world. She could go for a swim. A long swim. Let the waters of the ocean flow over her body. Let the sea wash away the dirt.
There was no moon. A faint glow from the horizon hinted that dawn was near. If Malique didn't get his people moving soon, security would find Jameson and the changes she'd made to the Residence computers and it would be too late. But that wasn't her affair. She was finished.
Ari removed her outer clothing, folding them neatly in a pile. Weaing only her underwear, she began to wade out into the water.
It had been more than half an hour since Major Nelson Mendoz had unlocked the security room door and found Jameson lying there unconscious. His first action had been to secure the room and test the computer access. It hadn't been much of a surprise to find they'd been set to respond to the General's private codes only. It was like the supreme leader to do something like that.While waiting for his leader to appear, the major had ordered emergency care for the colonel and reinforced the guards around the Residence perimeter. But now, he was getting reports that certain positions were under attack and the troops were locked in their barracks by Jameson's ill-advised security measures. And the general had yet to appear. Impatient, he set off to find out what was keeping the man.
His bootheels clicked loudly as he strode on the polished hardwood floor, gleaming softly as the sun rose low on the horizon. It illuminated the two figures standing in front of the generals quarters, apparently carrying on a low-voiced, vehement argument. One of them, in the uniform of a house guard, drew himself up into attention as Major Mendoz approached.
"What is the meaning of this delay?" the officer demanded, ignoring the civilian, the general's valet, after a single glance of identification.
"He won't awaken the general sir."
"Then you do it," Mendoz ordered. The young soldier looked queasy and shook his head.
"He says that the general gave strict orders not to be disturbed sir. For any reason. Sir."
"Ah! Madre de Dios!" he cursed, giving them both a look of deep scorn. The valey shrugged indifferently, but the young man had the wits too look worried. Raising his hand up, Mendoz knocked hard on the door. After waiting a few seconds, he repeated the action.
"Si. Harold? What is it? I told you not to disturb me."
"It's Major Mendoz, sir. There's been a security breach. We need your codes."
"Use Jameson's," was the dismissive reply.
"We can't. They don't work. And Jameson's been attacked. Inside the security room."
There was a period of silence, then the door opened the general still tying his robe closed.
"Very well. Harold, I want a bath when I get back." Expecting the others to follow, he set off toward the control room. The valet went in to begin preparing the rooms for his master's eventual return.
Malique was passing out rifles when the sirens began to wail. Immediately realizing what it meant, he pointed to the man who'd just taken a gun from him."Take over!" he ordered. Stepping to one side, he called Davide.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"We didn't have as much time as we expected," the young computer hacker answered. "I've been shut out on remote."
"Can they open the barracks?"
"I don't think... I don't know."
"Where's Adler?" On learning that Davide didn't know the answer to that one either, Malique faced the unsavory knowledge that it was all a set up. Coldly, he gave the order to all his lieutenants to shoot the UEO woman on sight, and went on distributing arms to his loyal troops. They might fail, but they'd take out enough of them that the next revolt from the favelas would succeed.
Several hours later, it was clear that the country was lost. Mendoz had gotten hold of the computer engineers who'd designed Jameson's security measures, but Miguel's head of security had been too good at his job, and too paranoid. He'd used each one to block the others' backdoors in and without the command codes, the program was useless to them. At least they'd managed to shut out the remote log-in who did have them.That perplexed General Miguel. How could the rebels have gotten in to change the passwords? Only he knew all of them. Unless Jameson did. That made sense. The turncoat UEO officer was greedy, ambitious and cynical. He could be bought. He must have been bought. And the unknown intruder had tried to kill him in lieu of payment. The schemer brought low by his own schemes. Too bad his assailant had failed in the attempt. Last word that Carlos Miguel had from the hospital before communications ceased a few hours back was that he was hanging on and the cdoctors were beginning neuron stimulation treatments.
But that didn't matter now. It was all over. The Residence gates had been breeched and they were fighting hand to hand in the darkening gardens. General Miguel had heard gunfire in the gardens as he entered the entrance to the hidden dock that not even Jameson had known about.
The recessed lighting brightened in response to his passage, dimming behind him and then he was there, looking at the most perfect get-away vehicle. The Irene Adler. Small, fast and beautiful, just like the woman it had been named for. And all his.
Built around a subfighter engine, she could do 300 knots easily, both underwater and above. Her upper hull was recessible, so she could appear to be an innocuous speedboat. But when the panels were in place, she was a formidable presence. There was a sound from the water, and he spun around, looking for the source, pistol at ready, but when it repeated, he relaxed. Just waves slapping the dock.
With a deep sense of relief, he boarded his boat and began to ease her out into the open sea.
Ten minutes later, he relaxed still further, enough to put her on automatic pilot and go in search of something caffienated to drink. He had a long journey ahead of him, but he knew where he was going. Coming back into command, a noise alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone.
Carlos' heart filled his throat, making it impossible to swallow. Pulling out his weapon, he waited, trying to locate the intruder by ear. Whoever it was was hiding in a storage bin. Quick as a cobra striking, he had the door open and was pulling her out.
At the sight of his prize, a delight smile spread over his face.
"Ree! You're safe!" He wondered if she'd been abused. She was wearing nothing except her bra and underpants. He hoped not, but he knew that even if she had been, it didn't matter,. He loved her and she was back with him.
Thrilled with this evidence that fortune still smiled on him, he started to embrace the girl, but she stepped quickly out of the way, averting her face from him.
"Oh, you aren't still angry with me, are you? I'm sorry about what happened." Silence answered him. He grimaced, sighing and shrugged, going back to the controls as she collapsed into a tight ball, her back to him. Over his shoulder he tried to explain.
"You have to understand, Ree. A man has needs. And you are so very beautiful that, I just couldn't control myself. I love you so much and I wanted you, and ... I ... things just got out of hand."
Her continued silence unnerved him. He checked the settings and turned to face her.
"I promise you, next time will be different. Next time, I'll show you how much you can enjoy it too. All you have to do is relax. Don't fight me. You shouldn't fight me, Ree. That's what made it so bad this time. You fighting me about it."
She stood slowly, straightening up and turning to face him in eerie slow motion.
"Classic."
The voice even more than the word shocked him. His Ree had never spoken in that tone of voice. Hard, cold, condemning.
"You sorry excuse for a man," she went on. Carlos recognized her then, his eyes widening. Instinctively, he backed away, looking from side to side.
"I think you gave every classic excuse of a habitual abuser except for the one 'it'll never happen again.' That's sad, too. That's the one that is entirely true and I promise you, it will never happen again. You will never touch me again, you bastard."
She'd pushed him too hard. Recovering, he glared suspiciously back at her.
"It was you, wasn't it?" he demanded. "Jameson was right all along. It was a trick. Ree ... Ree wasn't real. It was all a trick!"
She gave a brief snort of unamused laughter.
"Would it comfort you to go to your death believing that?" she asked mockingly. "I do believe it would. Then I am very glad I don't have to lie and say no. Jameson was wrong. I wasn't faking it. Ree ... You know, it's funny. If you had taken your time, seduced her... me, I would have been a prisoner in my own mind. But you couldn't control yourself." Her voice was breaking, the cold, shiny hardness showing cracks as emotion came through.
"You scared that poor, stupid child..."
"Ree isn't stupid," Carlos countered, automatically defending her. He blinked at the incongruousness of the statement, and his hand closed on a large wrench. He hid it behind him, thinking quickly.
"You really loved her, in some warped, perverted way. I'm amazed. And, oddly, pleased." The sudden introduction of venom in her voice warned him what she would say next. "Because you killed her. She couldn't deal with your betrayal and she died and I came back and you killed her."
"Noooo!" He lunged forward, trying to bring the heavy tool down on her head. Ari dove past him, reaching for the control panel and then rolling away as he followed, hitting the console with a hard blow. The engines stopped, the boat began to surface, and Ari began to laugh, sounding almost hysterical.
"What were you thinking?" she asked, taunting him. "Knock me out and maybe your lady love would resurface? She's dead, Sr. Miguel. Dead as a doornail. And soon you will be too."
He ignored her, trying to regain control of his vessel. She stifled her sobs, quiet while he worked. He tried to start the engines, heard them turn over and die again. The covering hull was partially telescoped back, letting the ocean breeze cool the sweat that had sprung up on his face.
"You have a choice, Carlos Miguel. You can wait here for Malique and his people to find you, and they will, I promise. Or, you can take your chances and swim to land. We aren't too far away from shore here. I programmed in the navigational instructions very carefully before I sabotaged it."
He turned, goaded beyond belief.
"I'm going to kill you," he promised, forcing the words out between gritted teeth. Remembering his sidearm, he went to pull it out, only to find that the holster was empty.
"I'm already dead," she answered. Noticing his expression of dismay and the empty hand, she laughed,. She reached down and picked something up.
"Looking for this? Go get it." She tossed over his head and out opening, and he heard the weapon slide along the curve of the hull and splash in the water. While he was distracted, she jumped up and balanced there as well. Looking back, her face grew very serious.
"I told them that I was done with their war, but I was wrong. I am responsible for all the evil you have done in the past ten years, because I asked that you live when you should have died. I rescind my boon and leave you to your fate."
With those enigmatic words, she dove out of sight and into the ocean. Carlos climbed up and looked for her, but she didn't resurface. Looking around, he could see the dark strip indicating land tantalizingly close. That had to be where she was heading, and he was stronger than she was. He could get there first.
Grunting and struggling, he worked his way up and jumped overboard.
Ari wasn't heading toward land, her course lay out away from shore. She paused at the loud splash and looked back. She felt no pity for him, but the truth of her words weighed her down. She was responsible for what he'd done. Something swam past her and for a moment, she was startled, then she realized that it was a dolphin. Another and another came past, each one lightly touching her on the way.
"They give you honor," Caesar remarked, handing over a rebreather.
"They shouldn't. I have no honor," she answered bitterly, putting the device on. "There is nothing left of me."
"There is this." He held something out to her, dangling it for her to get her hand underneath.
It was a small medallion, silver from the blackened state of it, depending from a delicate chain. Ari stared at it blankly. She flipped it over, exploring it with her fingers, unable to believe that it could be what it felt like. A very small religious medal. Just like the one she'd give Miguel. She looked up at Caesar, seeking an explanation.
"That came from a pod of dolphins located near Australia. They found a man inside a sacred cavern, and have been helping him."
She stared back down at the small necklace in her hand, unable to breathe, to see, her hand closing on it tightly.
"So you do have something left," Caesar concluded.
Return to the 3rd season timeline
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