Sunset: Pact Arcanum: Book One (6 page)

“Agreed.”

A few minutes later, Ana’s voice came again. “We’re inside. It will take us a few minutes to reach the main theater.”

They watched tensely as the minutes ticked by and Medusa presented her terms to the FBI agent. Layla’s eyes narrowed as she listened. “She is just playing games. She never intended to negotiate and will detonate the device no matter what.”

“We have coordinates,” subvocalized Scott. “Nick is clear to jump whenever he wants.”

“Go now, if you must,” Layla told Nick. “There is no more time.”

With a deep breath, Nick jumped to the coordinates Scott had supplied him with over the link. He immediately appeared on the stage in a flash of light.

Rory’s eyes lost focus as he fed all of his perceptions into the probability matrix in his head and broadcast his findings telepathically to the other two members of the Triumvirate. “Baseline probability of success at forty-five percent.”

“Better than I expected,” Take commented, paying close attention as Nick introduced himself and explained that he wasn’t human. Take nodded as Medusa ordered her men to throw Nick out. Then Nick grabbed one of the terrorists around the neck and lifted him off the floor.

“No!” Takeshi said angrily. “She has to start the fight! What is he trying to do?”

“He is establishing himself as a threat in her mind, rather than a curiosity. Well-played, Nicholas.” Layla smiled slightly. “That was more subtle than I expected of you.”

Rory agreed. “Probability of success now fifty-five percent and increasing.”

Takeshi looked back at the screen. “I stand corrected.” He frowned as Medusa backed down and allowed Nick to examine the bomb. “Damn. What is she afraid of?”

“Pure narcissism,” Layla said contemptuously. “She wishes to die with her people singing her praises. Nicholas is tarnishing her perfection in their eyes, so she wishes to be rid of him quietly, rather than in open challenge where her position could be questioned.” She considered for a second or two. “Scott, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Use your link to tell Nicholas he must make himself the terrorists’ champion if he is to provoke her into rash action.”

“I’ll tell him.” Scott paused for a moment. “I’m detecting a number of minds with hostile intent closing on the building from multiple directions. I think the Americans are finally making their move.”

“Keep them out,” instructed Takeshi. “Use passive shields across the entryways and external walls. We can claim we were protecting Nick’s negotiations. The last thing we need is for soldiers to start shooting up the place while we’re trying to save them.”

Rory watched the screen as Rapier reported his analysis of the weapon’s destructive potential. “Probability of success now sixty percent and holding.”

Considering the information Nick’s AI had offered, Take then addressed the security monitors. “Command Access.”

“Online,” said a voice from above them.

“Initiate a new tactical update to be broadcast system-wide over the planetary communication grid. A level five emergency is now declared in the city of Los Angeles, California, subspecification: nuclear attack. Teleport evacuation of all Armistice personnel from the Greater Los Angeles area is to commence ten seconds after broadcast. Authorization code Nakamura four-three-five-seven, authentication keyword ‘honorbound’.”

“Champion clearance confirmed. Message processed and ready for transmission.”

“Execute.”

“Transmission complete.”

Takeshi focused on Nick’s conversation again. “Initiate teleport evacuation of all Armistice personnel from the greater Los Angeles area, with the exception of Nicholas Magister Luscian, Anaba Nizhoni, and Scott Phillips.”

“Teleport sequence ready.”

“Execute.”

“Confirmed. Evacuation protocol in progress.”

On the screen, Nick smiled at Medusa and asked, “Just out of curiosity, what’s your real angle?”

Layla nodded in approval. “Good. Questioning her motives will help drive her to rage.”

“Nick performed a deep read on her,” Scott said through his com implants. “This is all some kind of personal vendetta against the city. Everything she’s told them about her motives is bullshit. He’s trying to think of some credible way to unmask her.”

Layla shook her head. “No, that will not work. He has no standing among her men to make such an accusation. Unless he is perceived to be drawing them to his side, she will not attack. Tell him to find another way.”

At that moment, the entire plan went to hell. One of the terrorists pulled off his mask and started screaming at his leader. Layla was the first to recover from her surprise. “Scott, tell Nicholas to silence this man! His rebellion will draw her anger like a lightning rod. Nicholas must be the target of her attack, not one of her own!”

Rory gulped as he ran the latest projection. “Thirty percent and degrading.”

Take opened his mouth to say something as Medusa pointed her shotgun at Jeremy but choked as Nick stepped in front of the blast and fell in a bloody heap.

“God damn it! It doesn’t work if he gets shot while interfering in a human conflict. The treaty doesn’t cover protecting humans from other humans! We can’t use—”

Nick stood again, the entire front of his shirt bright red and dripping as he threw a burst of power at the bomb, which erupted in smoke as its electronics fried.

“Fuck,” Takeshi said quietly.

“Probability of success: one hundred percent,” Rory said into the silence. “New projection: probability of class-one Armistice breach now eighty percent and increasing.”

On the screen, Nick leapt into the air, hovering above the stage as he began casting a spell.

“Ninety percent and increasing,” said Rory. He shook himself free of his Gift. “Scott, Ana, you have to stop him. Using combat magic on humans is a death sentence!”

“It’s too late,” answered Ana. “The casting has already gone past failsafe. If we interrupt it now, the collapsing waveform will kill everyone in the room.”

Rory stared at the cocoon of power surrounding Nick. “Ana, please! You have to do something—”

Nick’s spell exploded in a sphere of brilliant white light, and the armed men collapsed in its wake. Rory slumped in despair, dropping into his chair. “Oh, God.”

“Anaba,” Layla said with cold fury. “Take Nicholas into custody or contain him as best you can until we can send you reinforcements.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Scott said, out loud.

“That’s not necessary,” said Ana. “Let me—son of a bitch!”

“Ana, what’s wrong?” asked Takeshi.

“Scott cast a composite ward over the center of the theater, including the stage. It’s keyed to his link, so only members of his dyad can cross it.”

“Are you certain?” asked Layla. “Surely you can overpower a shield cast by a Sentinel other than Fire.”

“Normally, yes, but this casting is designed to channel the strength of his Gift to best effect. I should know: I helped him create the spellform. It will take me at least ten minutes to cut through, if Scott doesn’t dismiss it first.”

Layla threw up her hands in disgust. “Then Scott will simply allow Nicholas to escape!”

“No, he won’t,” said Take.

Layla frowned. “Meaning what?”

“Scott Phillips believes in the rule of law,” Rory said woodenly. “He will do everything he can to give Nick an out, but in the end, he will do exactly what he thinks is just.”

Layla took a step toward the screen and watched intently as Scott appeared on the stage. “Are you saying he would actually place his dyad brother on trial for a capital crime?”

Takeshi took his seat at the table again, pouring himself a cup of jasmine tea. “Sentinels have honor, too, Layla,” he said. “It’s out of our hands now.”

“Good luck, Nicholas,” Rory said, wearily tracing with his fingers the table’s inlaid seal of the Triumvirate. “You’re going to need it.”

Two hours after public exposure

A soft chime interrupted Layla’s private thoughts, signaling the completion of their latest AI simulation.

Rory dropped into his seat next to Takeshi, and they looked up to the virtual screen that floated above the conference table. “Play final conclusions,” said Take.

The voice of the master AI spoke from above them as the data played out on the screen. “Probability of war with the human race reaches thirty percent within twelve months after public exposure. Probability of war increases exponentially thereafter to approach unity within less than twenty-four months of initial exposure. Probability of short-term conventional victory, based on available data, is seventy-five percent. Probability of formation of a secondary front involving the Court of Shadows approaches ninety percent. Probability of offensive deployment of non-conventional weapons of mass destruction approaches unity within six months of start of hostilities. Probability of long-term victory is ten percent under most favorable conditions. Probability of long-term stalemate with global escalation is seventy percent.”

“Define the most favorable conditions for victory,” Layla said, not turning around.

“Successful withdrawal of all surviving segments of the Armistice population to off-world locations, followed by orbital bombardment of the planetary surface by high-energy kinetic projectiles and accompanying gravity pulse deployment against strategic military command centers.”

Rory slumped in his chair. “Jesus.
That
is the best plan you can come up with?”

“No other options allow for greater than fifty percent long-term survival of the Armistice population once hostilities begin.”

Takeshi folded his arms and stared grimly at the others. “Then we’re stuck with the original projection. We have to derail the movement toward war until the humans realize they can’t win either.”

Layla sighed as she spun away from the window and sat in her chair. “The original projection was based on an aggressive information campaign to diffuse racial tension and xenophobia by educating humanity about the society of the Free People,” she said, clasping her hands together on the table. “Nicholas has laid a good foundation today, but the rest will require a great deal of planning and luck. We can only do so much in preparation. The final effort cannot be done by committee. The humans will need a recognizable leader, a focal point to coax them into cooperating.

“Now that we are exposed, we must act quickly to put a sympathetic face to our people. As much as I hate to say it, by flouting our laws and saving the city, Nicholas may have cast himself as a hero to the humans. We should capitalize on that first impression while there is still time. If the worst befalls us and war becomes inevitable, we must have a single voice to lead us into battle or to offer our surrender. He is the only viable candidate for this role.”

“Nick’s not up to that,” Rory said despondently. “He’ll break under the pressure. Hell, he’s been sober for fewer than six months.”

“We can’t coddle him, Rory,” said Takeshi. “He’s already put himself in the line of fire. We have to keep him alive on the front lines for as long as it takes for him to become strong enough to handle what’s coming.” He turned to Layla. “We should start drafting a succession plan, in case we’re not around to pass over power when the shooting starts.”

“It will have to give him sweeping authority if he is to act in a crisis and we are eliminated,” said Layla.

Rory sighed. “The Armageddon Protocols were designed to allow any one of us to take full executive authority if the other two were killed or incapacitated in battle. I say we just modify them to allow a designate to take command if we’re destroyed or under direct threat of being killed during wartime, and we give him the authorization code.”

“That works,” Take said. He looked across the conference table. “Layla?”

“Nicholas Magister Luscian as our last hope?” She rolled her eyes and indulged in a rare moment of vulgarity. “We are so screwed.” She snorted. “Very well, I agree. However, I would strongly recommend against revealing our intent to Nicholas before the time comes, or he will become too timid to be of use.”

“I can’t argue with that,” said Takeshi. “You said it yourself, Rory. He won’t be able to handle it if we tell him. Maybe you’re right and he’ll turn his life around after today. But for now, we need to keep him in the dark.”

Rory seemed about to disagree but finally shook his head. “I know you’re right,” he said, “both of you. It will hurt to have to lie to him.”

“This is necessary for our survival,” Layla insisted. “You must isolate yourself from your feelings for him.”

“I can’t argue with that, either,” said Takeshi. “On that note, I suggest we adjourn. It’s going to be a long night.”

P
ART
II
: 
T
RUTH

C
HAPTER 6

Marina District, San Francisco, California; Five hours after public exposure

Tobias Jameson fumbled for the remote and turned off the video feed, silencing the news anchor’s confused commentary. His thoughts were a maelstrom of questions and fears.
What the hell just happened?
Nothing made sense. The world was tilting off its axis.
It had to be some kind of stunt, didn’t it? It couldn’t have been real.
He’d watched the events play out on the award show just as everyone else had, tuning in after the news brief about the terrorist threat had broken on every channel, and he’d stayed glued to the set until the broadcast had finally been cut off while the Special Forces soldiers were carting the unconscious bodies off the stage.

Afterward, he’d made the rounds of the news programs for a couple of hours. They were pretty much still chasing their tails. No one understood what had happened or what to make of it. The only thing Toby knew for sure was that his brother had been on tour with his band, the Journeymen, in Australia as late as that morning. Nick had called from Melbourne just after their concert, and Toby had heard the screams of the crowd in the background. There was no way Nick could have been in Los Angeles not even six hours later.
Teleportation doesn’t exist. It can’t exist.