Firestorm Read online

  Firestorm

  The Phoenix Enigma, Volume 3

  Jay Aspen

  Published by Sandfire Publishing Ltd, 2022.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Firestorm (The Phoenix Enigma, #3)

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  Maps

  The Warren

  The City

  About the Author

  .

  .

  Resistance Archives 3

  .

  .

  Finding allies within the ranks of the enemy was the key to success for the Resistance. What they could not know was how long and difficult this path would prove.

  .

  Archives 3; 4

  Map of Future Britain

  .

  .

  The only predictable thing about complex systems is that they are unpredictable.

  Resistance Archives 1

  The City

  .

  .

  1

  The hulk of the old warehouse complex loomed out of the dusk, a grey shadow against a backdrop of waste ground and scrub. The rain had soaked through Jac’s clothes and brought a chill to her body in spite of several hours of walking across country to reach the city perimeter. Detours to avoid military patrols had delayed the four of them at each road crossing but they had finally arrived at the fence without being stopped. Now all they had to do was find a safe route through the wire under cover of darkness.

  Every muscle in Jac’s body ached with exhaustion. Long days on foot and on horseback had been part of forest living before she joined the Resistance, but this life or death flight from a heavily-armed military had been a first for her. Even though she was small and slender, she knew she was physically strong enough to deal with this. It was the fear and tension that had been as tiring as the riding and walking. There had been no time to rest after leaving their horses at the Outlander farm and continuing the journey on foot.

  She wondered how long it would take to get used to this level of threat––although she knew in reality it had been there all along, an uneasy sense of danger on the periphery of what had passed for ordinary life back on her grandfather’s farm. The best she could hope for now would be a few hours respite once they reached the safe house in the city.

  As they drew closer she could see that the warehouse was derelict, surrounded by a sagging wire fence breached in several places. Windows and doors had long since been smashed, while in the surrounding compound weeds and scrub sprouted between broken lumps of scorched, blackened concrete and shards of broken glass.

  Jac stared at the ruined building, suddenly understanding what it was. She backed away in horror.

  “Kit! This isn’t a warehouse––it’s an old animal factory! We can’t go in there. Tell the others to stop!”

  Kit heard the sharp edge in her warning and turned back, his eyes restless as he checked the area for approaching armed vehicles or a waiting ambush.

  “Hey, Jac. If we don’t maintain silent communication here we’ll be dead. We have no idea how close we might be to a military patrol. The place is empty and wrecked now. Does it matter what it used to be?”

  But Jac was finding it difficult to move on, her early conditioning too deeply ingrained to toss aside on demand.

  “Gramps told me about it, how everyone died when the resource wars destroyed everything and the whole country started turning into chaos.”

  “That was mostly crop failures and famines.”

  “Not so much here. Our military was one of the most efficient at taking food from people in other countries.”

  Kit took two long strides to reach her side and grip her arm. “How would you know?”

  She searched her memory for the best way to explain something she had always taken for granted without question.

  “I needed to learn about farming when I went to live on my grandfather’s Outland holding in the forest. He taught me everything he knew, right from when I was just a little kid. We all had to learn, no matter how trivial our tasks were, or we risked running out of food. Gramps told me what he saw, before it was all hushed up. An epidemic of variant e. coli transferred into humans and killed off more people than the actual fighting. They killed and burned the animals and the factories, but it was too late. The bug was resistant from antibiotic in the feed. Once it got into humans there was no stopping it.”

  Kit tightened his grip, glancing anxiously behind them.

  “I did hear something vague about that a while back, but it was all in the past so I didn’t take too much notice. Why meat is lab-grown now except for chickens. But that shed is the arranged meeting place so we have to go in.”

  Jac could sense the effort he was making to hold back from just picking her up and carrying her inside. With his powerful build she knew he could easily force her to comply by simply throwing her over his shoulder. She respected his forbearance, reminding herself that her lack of fight-training was already putting the whole team in enough danger. There was no need to add to that simply because of an ingrained fear of residual infection.

  After all, the animal hosts of the disease are long gone.

  “Fine. I’ll go in.” She didn’t resist when he steered her firmly in the direction of the blackened and gutted building.

  There were few places inside with enough roof to leave a dry area for them to wait in. Kit backed against the concrete wall.

  “We wait here, work out every exit route, stay alert.”

  Luc was rubbing tired eyes in an effort to stop them closing of their own accord, his mischievous, mercurial energy finally flagging with exhaustion.

  “How long is this wait likely to be? I don’t think I can stay awake for more than a minute. If that.”

  Kit frowned. “Maybe you should just go with it then. Sounds like some kind of reaction to all the weird stuff that’s been going on for you. I’ll kick you if anything happens.”

  “Thanks. Just don’t kick too hard.” Their newly-recruited double agent curled up on the grubby floor and was unconscious in seconds.

  “Was a time agreed to meet this guide?” Jac was still unfamiliar with their system. It seemed very vague.

  “From yesterday afternoon onward. It was hard to be exact. But the longer the time window, the more chance it’s been compromised. Stay focused.” Kit relapsed into silence.

  They stood quietly by the blackened wall, listening for warning sounds through the whispering of light rain on the last shreds of tin roof.

  Karim was muttering about missing his creature comforts again and went outside to fetch an old crate to sit on. In spite of the rain and the grimy place they were in, he managed to flash one of his chirpy grins in Jac’s direction as he offered to share his perch with her. She knew he was trying to cheer her up but it was hard to push her feelings beyond the gloom and wet.

  Kit made no move, opting to remain standing by the scarred wall, his eyes restlessly scanning the desolate surroundings.

  Jac willed herself into lieth-focus, hoping her hunting skills would enable her to hear anyone approaching even if she had no ability to fight them if they proved unfriendly. She glanced at Luc. Still asleep. Even though none of them felt they could trust the erstwhile spy just yet, she felt sure that he would give everything to defend them if they were attacked. Even if his motivation was nothing more than his own survival.

  But unlike me, he’s reputed to be a fearsome fighter.

  He was almost a year younger and not much taller than she was––but she had already noticed the wiry strength evident in the way he moved and held himself. Even asleep, there was a tension in him that spoke of a readiness to snap awake and strike at anyone moving in for the kill.

  Two people out of four designated to act as bodyguards for the two who could not defend themselves. It was not a good recipe for survival. She wondered how Karim managed to function in the team without feeling a useless liability as she did. Pressed against his back on the small crate, she could feel him breathing, aware of him holding focus just as she was, listening intently.

  Her mind snapped alert. It had always been like this when she heard the voices of her grandfather’s imaginary elf-guides in the night forest, mental images that had helped her learn the preparation and use of medicinal herbs. Not words, but a sense of understanding and purpose. She could feel Karim keeping a part of himself closed off, protected, the genius technician with the potential to defeat Avarit’s encryptions and firewalls. The other part, the unfit, unskilled teenage liability side of him was poised, ready to hide behind the others, letting them defend his genius aspect with their lives.

  Is that how I have to do it? Except, I have no genius to offer. There must be experienced medics in the city who don’t demand this kind of sacrifice from their friends. Or do they?

  However strange life at the Warren had seemed during her brief stay there, she had used her habitual assumptions in her efforts to
understand it. Now those assumptions were being swept away, leaving her desperate to know how it all worked.

  How does Kit deal with all this?

  The thought drew her awareness to him and her mindstream connected with his. The steely determination holding his focus on potential threats hit her almost like a physical blow. She refused to let go, letting her mind follow his, exploring every sound, every possible approach route he had noticed on the way in, his heightened senses alert for the first warning of intruders.

  And there was something else, something she could only call courage, a total concentration on the need to protect those under his command, and she knew there was no question that he would die for it if necessary. It filled her consciousness, bringing with it a wave of confidence, a hope that she would eventually learn to extend her courage into combat situations the way he did.

  At the same time it terrified her.

  How can someone pledge their life like that...

  She felt him become aware of her. She looked up and their eyes met. She suddenly felt embarrassed, as if she had been spying on something intensely private. Then she caught the tiny shake of his head and the faint smile as he picked up her reaction. His response came back to her.

  This is how it’s meant to be.

  The shock of it made her lose connection. He sensed it immediately, leaned down and whispered close to her ear.

  “Very few people can do that, even with intensive training. Try to hold it and stay alert for danger at the same time.”

  She tried, but kept picking up on his surprise that she had done it without training and it made her want to laugh. She decided to keep things simple while the situation was so precarious.

  Best to focus on listening for approaching footsteps.

  A few minutes later Kit gripped her arm and spoke quietly.

  “Someone’s out there.”

  He pushed her behind him and gave Luc a forceful prod in the ribs with his toe. Luc was on his feet in an instant, moving protectively in front of Karim, knife drawn.

  Two dark shapes emerged silently from the shadows, also armed with knives. They approached slowly, warily, and even in the dusk and drizzle Jac could see they were both tall and muscular, moving with the balanced grace of young athletes.

  “You seem to be on our territory.” The lead stranger’s voice was deep and soft but at the same time it was a threat, a challenge. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and there was something about his size and the fluid way he moved...

  Jac had only caught a brief glimpse of his profile at the time but fear had etched it deep into her memory.

  “You’re Lizzie’s friend aren’t you?” She stepped out from behind Kit’s broad back. “Big protective guy who stands in front of security cameras in the city market?”

  He stared at her sharply for an instant, then broke into a wide grin. “And you are the sweet sister from the checkout queue who got her shoppin’ in such a mess.”

  “That’s me. You the guide?”

  “We both are. Razz at your service. This is my brother Beau. Raine gave us four names, but we didn’t connect Jac with you. I guess we’re still used to the other Jac. I mean Arianne wearing your fake-prints. You didn’t show yesterday and we thought maybe staz grabbed you and set a trap for us.”

  Everyone was relaxing now, sheathing weapons, shaking hands, picking up their gear.

  Beau pointed to the open doorway. “We need to go now. Staz sent patrols swarming like ants hunting you. You can tell us all the good stories, why they are so excited about you, when we get there.”

  He led them through the derelict scrubland of cracked concrete and stunted weeds beyond the buildings. The others followed him along the line of a shallow irrigation canal until the way was blocked by a high fence surrounding a small complex of sheds and polytunnels.

  Razz slipped into the water up to his waist and removed the underwater grate.

  “Our apologies. You are going to get rather more than wet feet on this journey.” He ducked under the wire and held out a hand to help Jac through the gap. She scrambled out of the ditch on the far side and turned to watch Luc come through, aware of how painful he was finding his role in making things visible that should be kept hidden.

  Luc made an effort to look Razz in the eye, still hesitant about mentioning his situation.

  “You do know you won’t be able use this route again?”

  “Raine has warned us, yes. I guess it must be you who has this thing? Some kind of weird embedded nano-tech tracker we haven’t seen before?” He read Luc’s self-conscious nod of acknowledgement. “And there’s no way you can take it out and get rid of it?”

  Luc scrambled out of the ditch. “Sorry, no. In any case, right now we’re using it as a deliberate decoy to draw staz away from the rangers who are relocating in the opposite direction.”

  “Hm. I had a feeling that was the deal. So we fixed up a place for a couple of days that won’t compromise anyone. It’s far enough underground to block any signal until you want to start transmitting again. Then we’ll need a re-think.” Razz took the lead, heading for the city-side exit. He seemed to know how to get through the maze of paths in the dusk without setting off alarms.

  Jac found her eyes stinging. Her throat felt dry and sore.

  “What is this place, Razz?”

  “Food unit supplying the fancy market the Avarit people use. Too expensive for the likes of us.”

  Jac stifled a coughing fit. “Have I triggered some kind of defense system?”

  “Only defense for bugs. It’s just the pesticides. They run through those pipes along the top of the polytunnels. It leaks out through the vents. You get used to it. Some people get sick.”

  “I think I’d prefer to avoid either choice.”

  “Ah, you nature-lovin’ Outlanders! I forgot you all live in another century.”

  Jac said nothing, trying to breathe without coughing.

  The front gate of the complex was set into the city perimeter fence itself. It was wide enough for delivery trucks to pass through easily, with a narrow pedestrian gate at the side. Beau took out a small electronic key, opened the gate and let them through.

  Karim looked somewhat underwhelmed by the lack of efficiency.

  “So much for Avarit security.”

  Beau slipped the key back in his pocket as they moved out into the almost deserted city streets. They were in the empty space between the midday and midnight shift-changeover and the new capital lay quiet within its razor-wire fence.

  Beau waited for the others to catch up.

  “Crossing the wire is an ongoing story these days. Tighten up here, it gets sloppy someplace else. Supply and demand. More people needing to run from debt-slavery––or maybe making a choice they think might be more exciting than playing vid games.”

  Karim suddenly came alive with enthusiasm.

  “Gaming? Great! I wrote a few of those myself, when it was all still illegal––before my other project ate up all my time.”

  Razz laughed, revealing himself as a fellow VR enthusiast.

  “First series commercially released since all the tech research got mandated into food preserving after the famines. The Avarit entertainment franchise has the monopoly of course––no little people are allowed to produce any of it. Now Lizzie is getting all exercised about how the games are designed to lure people into a fake reality, stay a nice compliant workforce while they forget how limited their lives really are.”

  Jac grinned, remembering Lizzie’s acid opinions.

  “Do VR games really have that effect?”

  Karim sounded surprised by the idea. “I was more interested in working on the code underneath.”

  Razz shrugged. “They might have been designed for dumbing down, but it sure as hell hasn’t happened yet. Most of us wouldn’t mind escaping the life Avarit inflicts, but workshift-drudges are either too exhausted to play games or they’re going under the wire in search of the real thing.”

  Karim looked puzzled. “Meaning?”

  “Hadn’t you noticed all the extra refugees turning up in your forest these days? They hear some of the stories circulated out of the Warren before they get wiped from the system, then they go under the wire looking for your people. Usually with a few armed enforcers on their tail. They just want to be part of something that’s outside of this whole greed-and-exploitation thing––”