Blink: Phantom (Book 3)

25

Darien ducked back as a burst of rifle fire crackled against the door frame. Opposite him Niamh leaned out; fired. One guard fell screaming with a divot in his thigh. The others recoiled, dragging their injured comrade back into cover as more cannon rounds thumped down the passage.

The only saving grace they had was the bottleneck of the entrance tunnel. As long as their ammo held out the four of them could defend the aft section for a long time. Shortly after their companions had Blinked out to the medical lab the ominous echo of running feet reached the remaining operatives. Minutes later the guards had finally arrived in force, igniting a chaotic fire-fight for control of the ship's secret weapon.

"Loading!" Darien declared, stepping back from the door and letting Idas take his place. The sporadic crackle and thump of gunfire reverberated around the rear chamber as he clipped a fresh magazine of shells into his Compac. He glanced furtively back at the cage. The operatives had no idea how much punishment the thick glass could take, but he didn't want to risk a stray bullet smashing it and killing the girl inside.

He saw Niamh switch places with Uther, reloading her own cannon as the lanky operative took up a firing position.

"Where the hell are they?" she hissed, looking around for any sign of their missing companions.

He didn't answer but he'd been wondering the same thing. It shouldn't have take this long for Amber and Hekket to return.

The tinkle of bullets against glass made him turn his head sharply to see a row of white scars pockmarking the reinforced exterior of the holding cage. The heavily built structure had withstood it this time, but he doubted it had been designed to withstand direct gunfire. Gritting his teeth he moved up behind Idas, counting the shots as his friend fired.

Seconds crawled by.

"Darien!"

He whirled at the sound of a familiar voice to see Amber and Hekket standing near the centre of the room, the air around them still shimmering from the Blink.

"Seal the door!" he roared, turning back and snapping off another shot with his cannon. Uther leapt over to the airlock and rattled off a sequence into its keypad. The first door began to roll with a groan, just as three armed guards hove into view at the far end of the passage. With a dull thunk of metal on metal the airlock sealed, shutting them inside. The older operative's fingers danced over the controls as he entered a locking command, blocking their enemies from reopening.

The clatter of booted feet and muted voices sounded dimly from the corridor beyond. For a long moment they all stood staring. Their secret was well and truly out now.

"Idas, Uther, keep your eyes on that door," Darien ordered. Then he turned to face their returned companions, locking eyes with Hekket. "This would the time to give us some good news."

When Amber and Hekket exchanged an uneasy glance he felt a leaden weight settle in his stomach.

"What is it?"

"We spoke to the scientist," Hekket explained. "We can't disconnect her from here. If we do the neural feedback will kill her."

"We need to take the bridge," Amber continued. "There's a link to the ship's navigation console wired to her brain. It has to be severed from that end."

"Take the bridge?"

"If that's the only way we can disconnect her safely then we don't have much choice."

Darien closed his eyes, fighting down his frustration. Just once couldn't they get a simple, straight pitch down the middle? A multitude of obstacles and unknowns stood in their way. Although they could Blink past the guards currently assaulting the aft section, they didn't have a full floor plan. He didn't know where the bridge was. Logic dictated that it would be in the forward section at the apex of the long thin hull segment, but this rest of the ship's design wasn't particularly logical.