Page 94 of Gates of Tartarus

A tiny smile cracks his glacial features. “Possibly. But, to be fair, it’s not like nothing has been done. SPD secured the area, which was abandoned by the time the tip had been called in. There’s a burned-out factory that’s completely empty, nothing else. Our only job at the moment is a site surveillance. See if there’s anything that was missed, or left over, that SPD didn’t find. They’re running the names and credit information on the people who were listed on the utilities... There was brief movement at the site,priorto our being brought into the loop – and with the surveillance since then... We weren’t even sure our task force would be called in on this. For the first 24 hours it was assumed that whatever was discovered by the SPD would be enough. But they’ve been hitting some dead ends, so we’re going to go ahead and move tonight. We’d rather not hit it during the day in case anyone else is openly watching. The plan is to go in this evening. SPD has units there; we’ll just blend in, do a quick site survey, see what we can find, and leave. What I’d really like to focus on is that call, and we can’t access that until tomorrow anyway. We can run diagnostics on it – have it traced, then work the security cameras to see what we can find. I also want us to reach out to our friends, see if they have any information – Reed, maybe hit up Chantalle and her crew? We’ll push out to the utility companies, run any known aliases… tonight is just routine. But maybe, if we’re careful and keep our eyes open, we’ll find something. We’ll meet at the station at 6:00 and go from there. Everyone good on that?”

We all nod seriously, faces set in grim determination, and exchange silent looks laden with meaning. If, and it’s a bigif, anything was left at the site, if any mistake was made, however small, when the factory was abandoned, we have a chance here. A miniscule chance, by the sounds of it, but anything is better than nothing. Waving briefly at our waitress as we leave, I make a mental note to talk to Lachy later and see what he thinks about an apprentice. Once we’re outside, Smith passes each of us a small briefing packet about the factory, the phoned-in tip, and what has been done since Friday night, and we separate to prepare for the evening.

The Factory

Sunday, 25 November – Kailani

The air tonight is heavy. None of us has spoken since we left the precinct, silently checking our gear, and running through the plan over and over again in our heads. The mission is meant to be a simple one, but the night is ominous, cold flashes of lightning burning the sky, the ice of winter biting any exposed skin with the sharp teeth of freezing wind. The ferry that night had been delayed due to unusually rough waves in the Sound, and by the time I arrived at the station, Smith, Walker, and Deo were already in a dark SUV, waiting for me. Jonah was nowhere to be seen – he’d been in meetings the entire afternoon with Gomez and her people, and I haven’t heard from him since then. I think she’s using the opportunity alone with him to give him the full-court press to join CDS. The trip to the factory is short – maybe half an hour at most, and we’re waved past the police tape and barricades without having to open our windows. There is a perimeter of quiet police activity, just a few squad cars and several officers talking softly, but no one is making much noise, and even screaming would be hard to hear over the train-tunnel noise of the wind. Parking on the outside-most ring of police presence, we gear up, strapping on heavy Kevlar over our clothes, weapons and flashlights checked and double checked before moving forward as a unit.

We approach the burned-out factory slowly. The guys all have their weapons pulled and are scanning the area, moving quietly but confidently forward. Hideo walks close to me, glancing at me occasionally from the corner of his eye. Ahead, Walker and Maddox speak softly to each other, barely louder than a breath. The wind is whipping around us, pulling my hair from my braid and sending it into a frenzy around my head, wreathing me in wild blackness, like some ancient goddess. Static laces the air, the promise of a storm rolling in overhead, and the dark night grows darker with the black clouds drifting over the pale moon. I shiver suddenly, a cold chill running up my back. Hideo looks at me sharply, and I whisper, “Someone walked over my grave.” He raises an eyebrow, confused, and I mutter quietly, “Something my mom used to say.” Nodding, he returns to looking around him. The building has gaping windows and hollow doors and looks like the sight of a zombie apocalypse, an empty skull of a structure. Smith straightens up, listening intently to the intel being fed to him through his ear piece, then rolls his neck and sighs.

“Okay team,” he says in a normal tone of voice, pushing back against the feral silence around us. “They confirmed that this area was abandoned almost 48 hours ago. A series of unmarked trucks left over the course of seven hours, all different models, makes, and colors. All went in different directions, none with plates. We assume that plates were put on in other locations so the vehicles would not be able to be tracked. Since that time, this area has been under constant surveillance by Operations. No one has gone in; no one has come out. Electricity, water, and gas were cut just before the last truck pulled out. There have been absolutely no signs of life since then. This is a fact-finding mission as of now. Just look around and see if they left anything useful behind.”

Walker grunts. “Still doesn’t feel right. Stay cautious and watch where you step. Make sure you don’t trigger any possible traps. And be aware of surveillance.”

Nodding in agreement, Smith turns to me. “May as well double check. Reed, drop your walls and do a sweep, please,” he commands, though politely.

I roll my shoulders, goosebumps still lining my arms, the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Looking to Hideo, I address only him. “D, I’m... Things just feel off, even with my shields in place. I really have a bad feeling about this.”

“Eyes here!” barks Smith sharply, the night clearly riding him and making him uneasy, though he’s trying not to show it. “Reed, I know you’re newer to the team and that you have a certain level of comfort with your handler, but let me remind you that, for the current time, I’m running the show. I realize this isn’t your usual M.O., and I’m appreciative of the fact, but when we’re in the field I need you to respond to me accordingly. Now, drop your walls.”

I grit my teeth but take a deep breath and let go of my shields.

The moment they fall, Hell itself rushes in.

???

I’m not sure how long I lose consciousness, but the next time I open my eyes all three men are hovering over me, their movements tight with fear and anxiety. Hideo is at my head, face close to mine checking for breath. Smith is pacing, talking to someone in his ear about a medical emergency, and Walker kneels by my side, holding my wrist and counting quietly. “Pulse is too low,” he snaps, looking at Smith. “What’s the ETA?”

Fear courses through me as another wave of bone-deep misery suffocates me. My eyes flare open, and pain sinks into my bones as intense, soul-crushing chaos storms through me. All I can hear, even over the roaring wind, is coarse, anguished screaming, torn from a bloody throat, and I meet Hideo’s panicked eyes briefly before reality mercifully fades away again.

Drifting in and out with spikes of pain, the night blazes into color briefly each time I wake from the overwhelming terror that coats me, and then my conscious mind dissolves again under the weight of the combined emotions I’m pulling in. I catch snippets of conversation, trying desperately to speak before I’m consumed again.

“God damn! How much fucking longer ‘til backup is here?”

“What the fuck is wrong with her? Tanaka! What do we do?”

“FUCK! She’s seizing! Turn her on her side!”

“She’s not breathing! I can’t find a pulse! Start compressions!”

“They’re still ten, fifteen minutes out. We can’t wait that long. She won’t make it.”

“It’s nothelping! Try something else! Christ, get herbreathing!”

“Call Doll. Get her here NOW. I don’t care if she finds out!”

“She’s bleeding from her fuckingeyes! Jesus! Get someone the fuckhere!”

Every time I’m out it’s just long enough to lose connection with the maelstrom of feeling flooding out from the warehouse, and then I wake, frantically trying to get my shields up long enough to speak, but am washed away by pain before I can. I know, without a doubt, that by the time help comes and I am transported away from here, it will be too late. Each time I open my eyes it’s harder, like swimming through tar, and I’m losing myself, the pieces thatmakeme ripping to shreds and floating away. I realize, through a haze, that I am losing my sanity, and once the tiny core of what is left dissolves, I will be gone forever. Moaning quietly, barely making a sound,I surface for what will be the last time. Focusing completely on Hideo, I feel my mind opening, raw and bleeding, and force my mouth to work. If I’m going to die, I’ll fucking do it for a reason.

“Not. Empty,” is all I can breathe out before the edges of my mind start to burn, like paper held to a flame, and I let go of my last hold on reality.

???

I always imagined Death would be cold, but soft, where I could finally,finally, stop feeling and just float, empty. Instead, liquid sunshine is pouring through me, swallowing the blackness of insanity and pushing heat and fire through my veins. I am covered, completely, in a blazing shield made of desperate love. I can see my mind pulling its pieces back together, stitching the broken shreds in jagged and uneven lines, gaping and imperfect, butthere. And as my conscious mind rushes back in, flooding my body, I become aware of Hideo. Hideo, who is holding me tightly, face pressed against mine, tears streaming down his face unchecked. And all of that sunshine, all of the pure, unconstrained love covering me, filling me,savingme, is coming off Hideo in unceasing waves.

“Hideo…?” I question, unable to comprehend what is happening.

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