Jam had changed since his last encounter with Carter.
He seemed less ... deformed.
Jam moved forward, triangular head swaying, and stopped a short distance away. He carried no weapons, only a silver box in black claws that had once been hands.
‘Hello, Carter,’ he rumbled softly.
Carter stared into those slitted copper eyes and his words caught in his throat. This was his oldest and greatest friend, and they had fucked with him, turned him into a Nex and now Carter would have to ...
‘Kill him
,’ supplied Kade.
Carter uncoiled slowly, lowered the Browning and slid his pack from his back, allowing it to drop to the stone flags. Clouds whirled across the bleak grey sky and the wind stung his face with its cold sharp needles.
‘You knew I was coming?’
Jam nodded and stooped, placing the small silver box on the ground at the base of the tower. Then he smiled, his once twisted jaws now aligned and straight, his stance more powerful, more erect. The copper eyes looked at Carter coldly: calculating and appraising.
‘Of course,’ said Jam. ‘You told me yourself that you wanted the Avelach. To save Natasha ... and here it is. The prize you seek. The gift you would wish to steal. Our power, and our source for the creation of the Nex ... it is in the silver box which protects it, encodes it, and yet haunts it.’
Carter licked his lips, glancing down at the box.
‘You have changed,’ said Carter.
‘Yes. You misunderstand the process of creating a Nex. When I was created, at first I was horribly disfigured, deformed if you will. The ScorpNex always are - it is the price of the more complex blending, the more complex and savage inhibitors used. But then the subject refines itself, heals itself, becomes more stable, more
beautiful.
To become a ScorpNex, Carter - it is a symmetry ... it is celestial. It is an act of perfection, of healing, of evolution. You would not believe the way I feel; it is sublime. You could never understand unless you yourself became Nex.’
‘And why the fuck would I want to do that?’ snarled Carter.
‘Because it is your future,’ said Jam softly. He took several steps forward, and Carter found himself backing away involuntarily. Jam’s movements were precise, controlled, and awesomely powerful. Carter felt a deep fear gnaw at him from the depths of his belly ...
‘I don’t fucking think so,’ said Carter. ‘You have betrayed your race, Jam. Betrayed mankind ... You have become something you are not - yeah, you never volunteered for it, but now you are part of Durell’s fucking insanity.’ Carter’s eyes stared fiercely into Jam’s copper slits. ‘What do you want from me?’ he said, his voice a hoarse whisper.
‘Durell wants to turn you into a Nex - like me. A ScorpNex - the ruling elite. The all-powerful. As close to God as God.’ Jam chuckled, a deep-throated rumble. ‘He says you would make the perfect ScorpNex ... and if you do this, then we will let you take the Avelach, we will let you heal Natasha. Everything you desire will be yours. Your life will be complete.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘Come on, Carter.’ Jam moved forward again, armoured claws scraping the stone as his huge muscles coiled under black chitinous armour. Jam stared at the man in front of him. ‘You can save Natasha’s life - and we can be friends again, comrades - you can join our army, you can rule the world with us, Carter, with Durell and I, you can be a part of this first great step to power and glory - when we overthrow Spiral, smash and control the world governments . .
‘You want to rule the fucking world?’ snarled Carter. ‘Have you fucking heard yourself? It’s like a dictator’s wet fucking dream ...’
‘You do not understand, truly you do not.’ Jam halted. Behind him, Carter could see the glitter of the silver box - a tease, he realised. Clouds broiled overhead, carried on the fury of the gathering storm. ‘And if you do not wish to save Natasha, if you do not want to join us, then there is only one thing I require from you.’ His head tilted. Slitted copper eyes surveyed Carter coolly.
‘My telephone number?’ Carter smiled as his whole body tensed for the battle and he slowly brought the Browning up.
‘I want your
death.’
Jam leapt forward and Carter started firing, the Browning slamming in his fist. One bullet took Jam in the leg, one grazed his armour, another passed over his shoulder, a fourth sliced a line across his throat and then—
The claw lashed out.
Carter’s Browning skidded across the stone and he stumbled back.
Kade rattled against the bars of his mind but Carter ignored him. He would not allow him life.
Jam lashed out again. Carter ducked, smashed a right hook against Jam’s triangular head and heard one of his own knuckles crack under the impact. Jam’s armoured elbow crashed into Carter’s sternum, slamming him back, and Jam’s leg powered out, armoured foot catching Carter under the jaw and lifting the Spiral agent from his feet. He flailed backwards to roll against the battlements.
Carter slumped against the stone.
Stars danced in his head and he breathed in deeply. Rolling swiftly to his feet, he spat out blood and worked his jaw - but felt no pain.
Fuck pain, he thought.
I am beyond pain.
‘Is that all you have to offer? Your future fucking wife could do better.’
Jam’s copper-eyed stare fixed on Carter, who charged - and Jam leapt to meet him. Carter spun and whirled, dancing under Jam’s heavy blows and then jumped, boots striking Jam’s chest. Jam took a step back. Carter delivered a kick to Jam’s throat, then another to his groin. Leaping up, Carter came down with his elbow smashing into Jam’s broad head. Carter dodged a swipe from the glistening black claw and another kick to Jam’s throat sent the huge ScorpNex stumbling towards the battlement wall above the cold square expanse of black cobbled courtyard below ...
Snow started to fall, gentle swirls of flakes that danced on flurries of cold bitter wind from the mountains and landed, making the battlements slick and slippery.
Deadly.
‘Go on, one more
,’ hissed Kade.
Carter braced himself. He had hurt Jam, amazingly; could see it in the ScorpNex’s face - in his eyes. His blows, although devastating to his own frame, had smashed through Jam’s armour—
Carter sprinted and leapt, his boots aiming for Jam’s head and a deep long tumbling fall for the ScorpNex into oblivion ... and beyond.
Jam twisted with a blur of speed, caught Carter and smashed a heavy punch to the Spiral agent’s forehead. Then another to Carter’s nose, then a third to his jaw. He dropped Carter on the flags with a dull slapping sound and as Carter looked up Jam kicked him savagely in the face, snarling with contempt.
Jam paced around Carter in a wide circle.
He seemed agitated.
Filled with unease.
Carter rolled in a world of agony, his nose broken, pain screaming through his face. Through scattered flickerings of bright light he gazed up through the soft falling snow. It settled gently over him, a veil of pity.
Distantly, he heard the smash and crump of tank shells. Screams of metal filtered through the swirling snow to his ears. And with a deep dark thankfulness he realised that a battle -
the
battle? - had at last begun ...
‘Come back to us, Jam,’ said Carter hoarsely, forcing himself into a sitting position and trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. ‘Come back to the real fucking world.’
‘I
am
in the real fucking world,’ hissed Jam. ‘To be Nex, it is awesome, it is perfect, it is immortality.’
‘You are living a lie,’ croaked Carter. ‘What about your friends back at Spiral? What about your comrades, men you fought with, men who fucking died for you? What about Nicky? Remember her, fucker? You would deny yourself this? You would cast your life away? Piss away your fucking
humanity
?’
‘Fuck them all,’ growled Jam. ‘I do not need them. I am whole like this; I am perfect; I am
evolved.’
‘You are a fucking genetic mess.’ Carter laughed weakly, through strings of blood and saliva. He dragged himself to his feet and despite the powerful drugs pain was screaming through him. ‘Well then, fucker, come on, come and finish it. You’re such a supreme fucking being, you think you are so fucking hard ...’
‘Let me
,’ whispered Kade.
The sounds, of the tank battle were coming closer. Below in the courtyard Carter heard the bustle of activity: the stomp of boots, the rattle of weapons.
Here comes the war, he thought, and watched idly as Jam leapt towards him, as if in slow motion, claws held wide and face an insanity of anger. Jam was finally ready, accepting the inevitability of Carter’s death.
Casting off his inhibitions.
At last the ScorpNex was ready to murder those he had loved.
Simmo stared around at the tanks surrounding him on the Austrian valley floor. The last few to be airlifted were being freed of their chains, and the Chinooks were taking off, veering away to the south.
‘Things are getting mad,’ observed Rogowski.
‘They always do,’ growled Simmo.
Readying their vehicles, engines revving and tracks straining against the crushed-stone trails, Simmo was just about to close the HTank’s hold when the scream of engines swept down to him from the mountains.
Five or six tanks swivelled their turrets, guns elevating towards this new threat, but Simmo shouted for the TankSquads to hold their fire. A battered Comanche leapt into view, slewing sideways and touching down on bobbing suspension beside Simmo’s HTank.
The rotors were still whirling as Mongrel jumped free and moved towards the huge sergeant. Their gazes met, and over the noise of the machines Mongrel shouted, ‘Carter’s up there.’
Simmo shrugged. ‘Do you know what’s happening? With the LVA?’
‘Have you been briefed?’
‘We only know that Durell is commanding the earthquakes. What you tell us.’
‘Yeah.’ Mongrel nodded. ‘He’s doing it through the LVA. The Nex drop shafts to mine LVA, and while they are down there they plant Foundation Stones - control devices. Under the ground there is a whole massive worldwide fucking network of LVA running in underground streams, rivers, lakes ... the fucking shite is a conductor of some kind - I know this sound crazy but it true - and through this natural grid network of LVA Durell control the quakes. He using a machine called a QuakeHub. If we can destroy it and Durell, we can stop the Earth being torn apart...’
‘Let’s just shell the fucking place,’ growled Simmo. Mongrel shook his head. ‘Not so simple, Sarge. This LVA grid, this liquid network under the earth - Durell is playing game with what he shouldn’t. If he fuck with it too bad, too
wrong,
then whole fucking world go up! God only know what will happen ... maybe quakes across the whole globe. Maybe this underground sea of fuel ignite. Spiral not know and this simple squaddie not know, but Spiral say we not just blow everything up, we need to take control...’
Simmo rubbed at his chin.
‘Easier said than done, Sarge thinking.’
‘Sarge, they’ve spotted us.’
‘Shit.’
Up the valley, the gates to the castle had opened. Dark grey Nex tanks poured out, tracks grinding, dust pluming behind them.
‘At least in this battle we keep the shells away from castle,’ said Mongrel, a weak smile crossing his grey drained features. ‘Now you understand me, don’t you, Sarge? No fucking bombing the castle ... Spiral say we not risk it yet, they don’t know what happen ... we got a whole shitload of back-up on its way ...’
‘Yes, yes, I understand. You going to give us some air support?’
Mongrel glanced back at the Comanche, which he had nearly crashed three times on his journey to this rendezvous. He shuddered. ‘I do my best. I hope they not got helicopters ...’
Simmo pointed to where a swarm of ten machines had taken to the air from further down the valley. Mongrel cursed again, and Simmo laughed, slapping him on the back. The Sergeant’s eyes were wild, and the stump of a cigar squatted between his teeth.
‘You not worry, Mongrel, you give us support from air, and
we
give you support from ground.’
‘
Cheers
,’ snapped Mongrel as the heavy steel hatch of Simmo’s HTank slammed shut and Mongrel ran back towards the Comanche. He could hear the roar of tank engines now, and the thumping of distant rotors slamming down the valley.
Above, heavy clouds rolled, and darkness and gloom tumbled across the land.
It’s going to snow, he thought as he climbed into the Comanche and stared in horror at the controls. Tentatively, Mongrel squeezed the HIDSS back onto his head.
- Battle data in initiated
,
came a soft smooth female voice in his skull.
- All weapon systems primed.
- Targeting sequences aligned.
- Your Comanche is ready for battle-Please insert the correct Battle Disk labelled BattleDisk 2.
Disk? What fucking disk?
Mongrel cast about frantically as a tiny drawer in the console slid out, awaiting its battle data.