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  Stunned silence filled the room.

  Jessica, Garet and Mac exchanged glances.

  Andus looked at each of them in turn. “When I say failed, I mean that somehow the Bates girl and her team of reprobates have succeeded.”

  “The boy lives,” he continued, his speech picking up both speed and volume. “And not only that, but the whole operation of gathering organs and supplying the unofficial market has been discovered and shut down. Almost all personnel involved in that area have been killed, or worse, compromised.”

  Jessica’s mouth was open in exasperation. “How could this happen? For a start, they were supposed to be too exhausted to even function. How did they find out about the switch? That’s…that’s impossible!” Her disbelief slowly turned into anger.

  Mac was looking at something on his holo. Jessica glanced over at him in irritation, ready to chastise him for not having his attention on the issue in hand.

  Mac managed to speak first. “More bad news,” he said seriously. “Looks like our anonymous whistleblower has posted again.”

  Andus’ eyes turned cold grey. “Something needs to be done about that reporter,” he said quietly. He looked at Jessica. “See to it,” he ordered her.

  Jessica lowered her eyes. “Yes, sir,” she acknowledged.

  Ascender-Grace Hospital, Spire

  “Molly is in the Intensive Care waiting area,” Oz announced when the Pod carrying Sean and Maya dropped onto the parking lot.

  Maya had refused to put her seatbelt on, and had instead pressed up against the window trying to see everything she could as they had shot up and then dropped back down on the other side of town.

  “This is incredible!” she breathed with her nose pressed against the window.

  “Miss Maya, you’re humidifying my heads-up display,” Oz commented.

  She took her sleeve and aimlessly wiped the fogged-up spot. She turned and looked at Sean. “So, this is where the organ was going?”

  Sean nodded. “Yup. This is it.”

  The Pod opened and Sean got out, then turned to help Maya out. She took his hand and deftly dropped onto the tarmac. “Ok then,” she said. “Let’s go find Molly and your Marine twin.”

  Sean pursed his lips at the mention of Joel, but otherwise tried to ignore the comment.

  They started walking toward the main entrance as the Pod lifted, disappearing into the upper atmosphere. Sean briefed her as they walked. “So you’ll get to meet the whole team now, and then we’ll head up to the base, where the General will want to speak to you at some point.”

  Maya glanced at him, then back in the direction they were heading. She couldn’t contain her smile. Finally she was getting answers. What’s more, they were way more exciting than she could possibly have imagined. The Pod ride itself had shown her that.

  They wended their way through the corridors, finally arriving at the waiting room where the others were already assembled.

  Paige jumped up to welcome them, then stopped when she saw Maya. “Hi,” she said. Her excited smile turned to a polite one.

  Sean felt compelled to fill her in. “This is Maya. She’s the journalist who has been tracking us. General wants a word with her.”

  Paige faltered for a moment. “Oh. Well. Hi, I guess.” She walked a few steps toward them and held out her hand to the Estarian female. “I’m Paige.”

  Maya took her hand. “Maya. Pleased to be acquainted with you.” Maya was staring.

  Paige’s heart sank a little. It was a normal reaction. “Half human,” she said gesturing at her own face and waving her hand in a circular motion.

  Maya lifted her head, her eyes still not moving. “Ahhhhh…” she exclaimed slowly. “I. Sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

  Paige waved her hand. “It’s fine. Really.” Her eyes drooped a bit, betraying her slight sadness. “I’m used to it.”

  She stepped out of the way and gestured toward Molly and Joel. “This is Mom and Dad,” she said brightly.

  Molly scowled at her. “Don’t mind Paige,” she said, getting up and looking at Maya, then holding out her hand. “She’s just a brat sometimes.”

  Paige stuck her tongue out at Molly. Molly smiled a little and gave her a tiny wink. Paige relaxed, suddenly feeling that she actually felt at home with this troop of secretive vagabonds.

  Molly made the introductions, and the rest of the team got up to greet Maya.

  Molly turned to Joel. “Looks like we can make tracks now,” she told him.

  Joel circled his finger in the air. “All right, folks, let’s move out,” he instructed.

  Paige suddenly froze, looking at Sean and Maya with horror on her face. “Hang on! I hope we’re not resorting to kidnapping?”

  Maya looked panicky for a moment, then exhaled and let out a laugh. “No, I don't think I’m being kidnapped. After all, Sean did ask nicely.” She glanced at him. “But that would make one hell of a story,” she added.

  Paige’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I was kidnapped once.”

  Maya gasped. “Really?” she asked, moving closer to her.

  Paige nodded, and they spontaneously linked arms and started chatting like they’d been best friends forever.

  Sean watched them as he followed the group out of the waiting room. “Ooooooh!” Maya was saying. “You’re the one Dewitt took!”

  He shook his head. Again. Women!

  Paige was engrossed in telling the story. “Well, technically it was Molly and me, but he tried to kill Molly first and she survived thanks to—” she stopped, suddenly catching Molly’s eye as Molly stood by the door to let the others walk through first.

  Molly nodded, rolling her eyes a little. “It’s ok,” she said to Paige. “You can tell her. It’s not like that kind of intel is going to break the news.”

  Paige continued recounting the story. “Molly was totally drunk and it turned out that was the only thing that saved her. I mean, talk about lucky!”

  The rest of the gang trooped out of the hospital in a cloud of chatter and quiet excitement over the mission, and their relative roles in it.

  When the Pods dropped back down for them, Paige and Maya got into one together, Sean completely forgotten.

  Maya exclaimed as they got in, “Oh my ancestors. This is how you didn’t need to go through the Spaceport!”

  Paige grinned. “Yeah, pretty cool, eh?”

  Joel came up behind Sean, watching the absorbed girls as they embarked.

  “If anything looks like trouble, that does,” he said quietly to Sean. He stood for a moment next to him, his arms folded across his chest.

  Sean exhaled, folding his arms too. “I think you may be right, mate,” he said, a look of mild concern crossing his normally blank face.

  The two girls had sat down in the Pod and were looking back in the direction of the two Marines. Paige put her hand over her mouth so she couldn’t be lip-read and said something. Maya giggled and said something back.

  “Oooo boy,” said Joel, exhaling. He noticed Molly getting into a Pod by herself and started to head in her direction, only to see Sean heading for Molly as well.

  Joel looked at him. “You want to ride with Molly?” he asked him.

  Sean was taken aback. “Er, sure. It would be good to brief her on the…er, Maya situation.”

  Joel didn’t buy it for a second. “Ok, cool. I’ll hop in with Pieter. See you up there.”

  Sean swiped self-consciously at his nose with his thumb and slapped Joel on the side of the arm. “Ok. Thanks, man. See you up there.”

  Joel glanced back to see Sean leaping athletically in with Molly. On the one hand, he knew her defenses were not going to give Sean another in. On the other hand, he felt he should be there to protect her from unwanted attention.

  He headed over to Pieter’s Pod.

  She’s a grown-ass woman, he told himself. She can handle an enhanced cyborg Marine with a crush.

  “Hey, man,” he called to Pieter. “How was the mission for you?” He hopped i
nto the Pod next to him, and the door closed.

  Pieter started chattering as Joel watched the Pod with Sean and Molly lift off ahead of them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Gaitune-67, Secret Basement Base, Hangar Deck

  The Pods arrived back in the hangar on Gaitune and the team piled out.

  “I’ll be up shortly,” Molly told Sean as she exited the Pod.

  “Maya?” she called. Paige was just climbing out, Maya behind her.

  “Yes, I’m here,” Maya answered.

  Molly ambled over amidst the activity of the others, who were scrambling out of their Pods and talking about dinner. “Wanna come have that chat with the General? Then we’ll get some food and find you a room.”

  Paige put her hand up. “Oh, I’ll sort her room out. There’s one next to mine. It just needs to be made up.”

  Maya grinned. “That would be fab. Thank you!”

  Molly nodded, glad to have one less trivial thing to have to deal with.

  “Good,” she said to Paige. “This way, then,” she said to Maya, and strode off, Maya trotting in her wake somewhat like Paige often did with Molly.

  The others had gathered their gear and were moving through the array of ships to the metal staircase that lead to the safe house upstairs. Molly and Maya made their way to another corridor and took an elevator straight to the ops room. Maya kept looking around, taking it all in. The technology, the ambiance, the sheer energy of the place! It was beyond alien to her. She shuddered, though she was thrilled to be there.

  They stepped out of the elevator and into the ops room. Molly glanced at her as she waved Maya onto the main floor. “You may want to close your mouth.” She touched her own chin. “It’s a little dusty in here.” She winked again to let Maya know she was being friendly.

  Maya realized her mouth had been hanging open, and came back to an awareness of herself.

  Molly strode over to a console with a platform and hopped up. She jerked her head, encouraging Maya to join her. Hitting the red button, she slumped down and relaxed in what Maya could only assume was an invisible chair.

  Molly cocked her head, inviting Maya to do the same. “Yep. Invisible chair,” she said, as if reading Maya’s thoughts.

  As Maya sat down, she noticed that the “chair” wasn’t simply something that was tangible but invisible. It was more like thick air that molded to your body to support you however you wanted it to. “Incredible!” she exclaimed in delight.

  Molly grinned, still exhausted from the day but feeling a little more human than when Crash had hauled her out of the cafeteria earlier.

  Just then a voice asked, “You rang?” in a low, drawn-out pitch.

  Molly exhaled through her nose, finding it humorous. “Hi, ADAM. I hear from Oz that the General wanted a word with one Maya Johnstone.”

  The voice responded, sounding human, but strangely not. “That is correct,” ADAM told her.

  Molly waved her hand. She was pretty sure that ADAM couldn’t see, but did it for effect anyway. “May I present to you, Maya Johnstone. In the flesh.”

  Maya raised her hand to wave slightly in the direction of the console. “Hi,” she said, a little nervously.

  ADAM responded politely. “Greetings of the day to you, Maya. I’m ADAM. I’m what you would term an AI.”

  He paused, letting her absorb that piece of information.

  Maya’s whipped her head around to look at Molly. “No shit?” she whispered, her voice three octaves higher than usual, both her eyes and mouth wide. “Whaaaat?” she mouthed, not wanting ADAM to hear quite how surprised she was.

  Molly just smiled and nodded, sitting back with her arms slung over the back of an invisible couch.

  “Shit,” confirmed ADAM.

  Molly grinned and pointed her chin at the console. “He has a sense of humor too,” she added.

  ADAM continued, “Anyway, that’s beside the point. The General wanted to chat with you at some point, but he’s booked solid for the next few days. Maya Johnstone, would you mind being our guest on Gaitune for a few days until he’s available? I’m sure Molly and her crew will be excellent hosts, and I believe your stay will be interesting and pleasant.”

  Maya couldn’t believe her ears. “Oh, my. Yes, I’d love to… I…” She seemed to run out of words.

  “Very good then,” ADAM confirmed. “And you, Molly. Did you want to report in while I’m here?” he asked.

  Molly was still slouched back on the invisible sofa. “Yes indeedy. We’ve just returned from our latest mission. I believe that we have completed the General’s test. The funds will hit our account in the next few days.”

  There was a pause before ADAM responded. “Ok. Very good. The General would like to debrief you. May I suggest we also find a time in a few days when we make an appointment time for Maya Johnstone?”

  Molly nodded. “Sure. We’re not going anywhere,” she joked.

  “Very good,” said ADAM again. “I’ll let the General know. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”

  Molly smiled and started thinking about getting up. “Great. Thanks, ADAM. We’ll let you get back to running the Empire then.”

  “Thank you,” he acknowledged. “And—very well done, Molly Bates. I’ll be in touch.”

  With that, the audio clicked out.

  Maya looked at Molly, her mouth open again.

  Molly smiled. “Yeah, I know. You’ll get used to it.” She heaved herself up and dropped down off the platform.

  “Tell me, how do you feel about vegetarian pizza?” she asked, leading the way through the ops center to take Maya up to the safe house.

  Gaitune-67, Safe House, Molly’s Conference Room

  Molly had turned down the lights in her conference room. The glow from her holos was muted to a pink hue, too. She sat with one leg folded under her as she forgot about her body and processed the information she had gathered over the last several weeks.

  Looks like the name “Framan” actually means “front”, Oz.

  That’s interesting. Estarian?

  Yes. Well, it had Earth origins from the settlers, but yes, Estarian now.

  Wanna know what else?

  Sure.

  Looks like we’re the only ones invoicing them.

  What does that mean?

  Molly looked up from her holo, considering the explanation.

  I suspect these missions have all been an elaborate hoax, or a setup. If we’re actually the only ones working for this company, then it would appear that these jobs were specifically designed for us. Orchestrated.

  ---

  Molly had slept only a couple of hours, but ended up getting up when she woke and couldn’t drop off again. She had Oz busy running all kinds of searches, feeding her patterns and data she was trying to see connections between.

  “Why would someone go to all that trouble, though?” she thought out loud to Oz.

  Setting up missions, with real life and death situations for patients, hostages and so on? And then trying to sabotage us to keep us from saving lives? It doesn’t make sense.

  Oz didn’t respond, intuiting that she was just churning.

  She flicked through her notes, and the labels she’d given to each of the missions of late.

  Ok, let’s try this hypothesis. What if the Framan people are the ones setting up the problems in the first place? The paid hostage-takers, for no apparent reason other to kill a number of hostages?

  The organ swap to sell onto the black market. How did the dealers even know about that transplant, though? Clarence told Sean he was paid by a corporation. Not dealers. Unless…could the corporation be a front for the dealers? Smacks of a third-party transaction, though.

  She made a note to check into that idea.

  “Then there is the toxin thing. What was the motivation there?” she mused out loud to herself.

  Maya knocked on the open door. Molly jumped at the sound, her folded leg straightening in case she needed to stand. When she saw who it was, she re
laxed a little. “You startled me,” she confessed.

  Maya was wearing the set of military sweats Molly had lent her. Her skin was dull, its effulgence muted from being awake at the late hour. But her eyes were bright with determination. The kind of determination Molly resonated with.

  “I might be able to help with that one,” Maya said.

  She entered the room and sat down at the conference table a couple of seats away from Molly. She brought one knee up to her chest, probably to hug it for comfort. The building wasn’t exactly warm at night.

  “I did some digging,” she told Molly. “Turns out that Jessica Newld stood to gain a great deal from making the city afraid of the toxin. So much, in fact, that she was able to turn her dead-end research project into a profitable one simply by getting the emergency funding she had already applied for.”

  Molly considered what she was hearing. “You mean she poisoned all those people to put pressure on the decision makers to give her money for research she had already done?”

  Maya shook her head. Her dark hair was a mess from lying in bed. “No. I think it was more that she could then use the research to create an antidote. She was being paid to produce the antidote.”

  “Ahhh.” Molly nodded slowly, picking up the bottle of beer from the table next to her. She was about to sip, then thought to offer Maya some. Maya smiled and reached over to take it. She took a swig and passed it back.

  Molly held the bottle for a moment, letting it rest on the table. “So how does that tie in with us?” she asked, taking a sip of the beer herself.

  Maya pressed her lips together, reluctant to share this piece of news. She took a breath and exhaled slowly. “She also wanted to frame you. She tried to have my boss at Newstainment publicly make the connection between you and the Dewitt killing, and then you and the toxin. It was your research project after all…” her voice trailed off. “Uniquely qualified,” she added.

  Molly suddenly understood what Maya was trying to tell her. “They wanted to pin the toxin on me?”

  Maya nodded solemnly.

  Molly was outraged. “But… It wasn’t me. There was nothing to suggest it could possibly have been me.” She gesticulated with her hands.