Earth Undefeated (Forgotten Earth Book 4) Read online

  “How is he?”

  “Confused.”

  Tinker cackled lightly. “He’s lucky he isn’t dead.”

  “So are we. He’s an asset we can’t afford to lose.”

  “Bullshit. He’s an asset you don’t want to lose. I’m humoring you on this one because you’ve been a loyal soldier to me. Don’t forget that.”

  “Yes, sir,” James said.

  “Nothing from Hayden?”

  “What do you think, sir?”

  “Don’t get snarky with me, James. I know you’re pissed about the whole thing, but nobody ever said saving the world was going to be easy or smooth. Adversity keeps things interesting.”

  “Is that what you said when Peter was at the gates, trying to tear them down?”

  “Fuck Peter,” Tinker said. “My brother got what he deserved. If you mention him again, I’ll have you tossed out of this thing at ten-thousand meters.”

  James fell silent for a moment. Even if he wanted to lay his hands on Tinker, he wouldn’t be able to. He had been made to be impotent against his maker, a limitation he had hoped to use Nathan to overcome. Tinker knew he was mad about the situation, but did he have any idea why?

  “Let’s try this again,” Tinker said. “Nothing from Hayden?”

  “No, sir,” James replied. “I’ve never seen anyone take as much abuse as him. He’s got scars across his back, across his chest, across his shoulders and face.” James paused, trying to decide if he should say everything.

  “What is it?” Tinker asked. “I see on your face. There’s something more.”

  “He wanted me to deliver a message the next time I saw you.”

  Tinker smiled. “I’m not going to like it, am I?”

  “He said if you ever do figure out what John Wayne means, it’s going to be the second worst mistake you’ll ever make.”

  Tinker laughed again. “Oh? What would the first be?”

  “The first is if you lay the slightest hand on my wife or child,” James said, doing his best impersonation of the sheriff. “I swear to all that’s holy, I’ll find you, and I’ll kill you more slowly and more painfully than you’re killing me.”

  “I love Hayden,” Tinker said. “He’s so authentic. He really believes he’ll have a chance to kill me. I’ve seen all of this, James. I’ve dreamt of this moment. You and me heading to fulfill our destiny. The time of the Cleansing is almost here. We can't deny the will of the Others. Not me. Not you. And certainly not Sheriff Hayden fucking Duke.”

  “Yes, sir,” James replied. He had no choice but to agree with Tinker, even if he had never felt more uncertain.

  Was this mission going to lead to their salvation or their complete and utter destruction?

  Chapter 8

  Hayden’s body stung. From his head to his toes to every place in-between, including places he didn’t even know he had before he had fallen into the hands of the Liberators.

  He was exhausted. He wanted to sleep, but the constant throbbing from the bruises and cuts they had inflicted on him and the soreness of every muscle and every bone made that impossible.

  He shivered, cold and naked in the damp cell, his lack of hands leaving him unable to do much of anything even if he hadn’t been in too much pain to move. When his mind wandered, he considered what he would do if he had his replacements back. He alternated between thinking of ways to escape and thinking of ways to take his life and end the pain. Earlier, he had more ideas on how to escape.

  But that was earlier.

  He had been clutching onto hope like a drowning man grabbing for anything that would float, but that hope was fading fast, and he was starting to succumb to the torture.

  How long had it been? There was no way to keep track of time down here. There was no light. No windows. No sun or stars. He knew he was underground. He knew it was wet and the dampness smelled like sewage. He didn’t know how many days it had been. For him, it felt more like years.

  He blinked as a drop of water landed on his forehead, coming down from pipes he had seen running over his cell the first time they had tossed him in it. The single drop was enough to send a wave of pain through his body, and when he blinked his eyes to keep the water out of them, the motion hurt like hell too.

  He let out a soft groan. He was trying so hard to be strong because he needed to get out of here. He needed to get back to Natalia and Hallia and his people out west. He needed to stop Tinker. He would never give up the answer to Tinker’s riddle, the code name of the place the USSF had brought the alien artifact he was after. He didn’t care how much they tortured him.

  He would die before he would tell them anything about the Pilgrim.

  He was trying to be strong, but he was beginning to fail.

  At this point, he would welcome death.

  He breathed through the pain, even the slight rise and fall of his chest sending a burning sensation across his flesh. He couldn’t remember half of what the Iron General had done to put him in this state, and he was sure he didn’t want to remember. He could only imagine what his swollen face looked like. He doubted he even looked human anymore.

  Three days. That’s what Bennett had promised him. That’s what he had told Natalia. Catch a fugitive and go home.

  A tear trickled from his left eye. The right was too damaged to cry. He could have almost laughed when he remembered what he had told James Stacker to tell Tinker the next time he saw him. Not only because it seemed like such useless bravado, but also because he hadn’t completely let go of his chances of making good on the threat.

  Of course, he couldn’t laugh. He might die from the pain alone. He held it in, the tears rolling down his cheek to the floor. Where the hell had James gone, anyway? It had been a long time since the Iron General had brought him out of the cell to beat.

  Had they forgotten about him? Given up on him?

  Were the Liberators on their way out west?

  The consideration made him angry. He tried to sit up, every inch of his body throbbing with the lightest of efforts. He laid back again. He wanted to scream.

  A light went on in the distance with a soft thunk. Another came on a little closer, and then a third and a fourth, creating a trail from the end of the long corridor to Hayden's cell at the back. There were more cells on either side of him, but they were all empty. He didn’t think they had been used for a long time.

  He would have stood to greet James if he could have, but his body refused in spite of his efforts. He managed to get to his knees, his left leg coming down in what must have been his own offal. His pounding head and the release of the smell nearly made him vomit, which would have brought fresh waves of pain.

  His vision was blurry as he tried to watch the people approach. His pupils struggled to adjust to the light, giving him only the sense of a large man flanked by a second, smaller man. General Stacker, but who was with him?

  “What the hell? What did you do to him?”

  It was a strange thing for the Iron General to say, but Hayden wasn’t lucid enough to think too much about it.

  “Open the door, and then get Doc. I didn’t sign up for this.”

  Hayden heard his door’s lock clank open, and then the metal bars sliding aside. The big form approached him, lowering itself in front of him.

  “Hayden? Is that you? It’s Nathan. Hayden?”

  “Nathan?” Hayden said. He wasn’t sure who Nathan was. He tried to think of the name. It took him nearly a minute to remember. “Nathan Stacker. The fugitive. You didn’t kill your wife.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Nathan said. “James told me he was torturing you, but this is…I don’t have words. Shit, Sheriff.”

  “Natalia,” Hayden said. “Hallia.”

  “Hold on, Hayden,” Nathan said. “We’ll talk, but you need medical attention first.”

  Hayden blinked his eyes, trying to clear them. His left eye began to focus a little better. His right was dark. Too dark. Had they blinded him?

  He started to collapse forw
ard, his legs unable to hold him. Nathan caught him, turning him over and lowering him slowly to the ground, leaving Hayden looking up at the ceiling. Now that the lights were on, he could see the pipes again. He counted them. One. Two. He lost track. One. Two.

  A minute passed. Or maybe it was an hour. The smaller man returned with a woman. Hayden recognized her right away. She flinched when she saw him.

  “I knew it was bad, but…” She trailed off, rushing to his side with a syringe. “This will help.”

  He couldn’t have fought it off if he wanted to. Doc sank it into his neck. Within seconds, the pain started to fade.

  “Water?” he asked.

  She looked back at the other man, who produced a bottle and handed it to her. She opened it and poured the water gently into his mouth. He swallowed it quickly before choking on some of it and spitting it out.

  “We’re all human,” he said to them. “We should be on the same side.”

  “We can be,” Nathan said. “Hayden, James is gone. He’s headed west with a platoon of soldiers. He’s going to find the artifact, or he’s going to find your people. Maybe your wife. I spoke to him. I can help you. I can get you out of here. I can get you cleaned up. I can get him to bring your wife and child back to Edenrise. Back where they’ll be safe. All you have to do is tell me what John Wayne means.”

  Hayden closed his eyes. It didn’t hurt to do it now. This was the reason Nathan was here? Not to help him, but to play fucking good cop bad cop with James?

  “You don’t get it, do you Stacker?” Hayden said.

  “Get what?”

  “The world’s going to end, and you’re helping it happen when you could be helping me instead.”

  “It isn’t going to end. It’ll be a fresh start for everyone.”

  “You mean for Edenrise. Everyone else will be dead.”

  “Not Natalia. Not Hallia. All you have to do is tell me what Tinker wants to know and I can get them brought back here, back to you. You’ll get your own apartment just like I have.”

  “It won’t fucking help.”

  “Why not?”

  “They’ll die protecting it. Or they’ll kill him. Either way, they won’t give it up without a fight.”

  “Give what up?”

  “John Wayne,” Hayden said. “Yippee-kai-eh.”

  “Damn it, Hayden,” Nathan hissed. “I’m supposed to get you to talk, or they’re going to torture you again. I know you can’t see yourself, but you’re damn near unrecognizable as a human. It has to hurt.”

  “Like I’m in hell.”

  “They’re going to find it anyway. Save yourself the trouble. Tell me what we need.” Nathan stood up, shaking his head. “You told me to trust you once, Sheriff. What if I ask you to trust me?”

  “Can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I earned your trust, Stacker. Do you want mine? Earn it.” Hayden struggled to his feet, a little unsteady but able to manage with the drugs easing the pain. He turned around, facing away from Nathan. “Otherwise, go fuck yourself.”

  “I tried, Hayden,” Nathan said. “I’ll try again in a few hours. I think maybe you need a more recent reminder of what I’m offering an escape from.”

  Hayden heard Nathan retreat from the room with the doctor. He sensed the smaller man coming up behind him. The man reached up and put a shock collar around his neck, activating it immediately. The painkillers dulled the effects somewhat, but not enough. He clenched his teeth in pain.

  “Come with me, Sheriff,” the man said.

  Chapter 9

  Nathan left the dungeon, leaning against the stone wall of the tunnel beyond it for balance as he fought against waves of dizziness and nausea. He had expected to find Hayden in lousy shape, but what he had found when he entered the prison went way beyond beaten and toward the realm of irreparably mangled.

  He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. He could hardly believe James was capable of such violence. He was sick with himself for not only accepting it but going along with it, abandoning Hayden to be further punished for his refusal to comply.

  He had decided to let James lead, to relieve himself of the burden of making tough decisions. Each passing minute left him more uncertain about that choice.

  “That went well,” Doc said, following Nathan out of the area. “You had me give him painkillers for what, exactly?”

  Nathan pulled himself up, whipping around to face her. “What the fuck was that, Doc? James beat the living shit out of him. He barely looks human.”

  “How do you think you break someone’s spirit, Colonel? Not by being gentle.”

  “Did his spirit look broken to you? If anything, treating him like that is making him more resolved.”

  “If that’s how he’s going to be, then that’s how he’s going to be,” Doc said. “He’ll die sooner or later, and the whole thing will be out of your hands.”

  “His blood will be on my hands. I came here thinking I could reason with him. I came here thinking I could negotiate. There’s no negotiation here. Not after what James did to him.”

  “I don’t get why you care so much? He let you go when he could have killed you. So what? You did the same thing for him in Crosston. You didn’t know about the virus then, so that makes you even. Give him another chance, and he’ll kill you without a second thought.”

  Nathan didn’t doubt that. He hadn’t seen fear or pain in Hayden’s eyes. Not when the sheriff had been pushed. All he saw was fury.

  “Maybe it’s easy for you to turn your back on someone who’s shown you kindness and understanding, or who believed in you when no one else in the universe did. It isn’t so easy for me.”

  “Oh please, Nathan. Spare me the drama. Kindness and understanding are in limited supply around here, and right now that loyalty is in direct competition with your other obligations.”

  “I know,” Nathan said. “But what I saw in there? I don’t know how James ever thought I would stand a chance of getting anything out of him.”

  “Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he just wanted you to see what happens to the people who cross him and Tinker.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “James is as conflicted as you are, as if that wasn’t obvious. He has to be loyal to Tinker. He doesn’t have a choice in that. But he went out on a limb to bring you back here. Just because he’s the big bad General Stacker doesn’t mean he isn’t alone. His position leaves him more alone.”

  “He has you.”

  She laughed. “He only wants one thing from me. I can never understand what it’s like to be a replica, and to carry the kind of expectations Tinker’s placed on him.”

  “Like I can?”

  “Better than I can. Better than anyone else here can. I’ll let you in on a secret, Nathan. After the incident in the hospital, Tinker was this close to having you put down permanently.” She held her thumb and forefinger tight together. “James talked him out of it. He cares about you. Maybe too much. He’s putting more trust in you than you probably deserve. If you betray that trust? You’ll end up like the sheriff.”

  “And that’s what sending me down here is about? Making sure I know it?”

  “In part. There was the small chance you might be able to convince Hayden to talk, and there was no harm in trying.”

  “He isn’t going to talk.” He didn’t say it out loud, but there was harm in trying. He couldn’t unsee what he had seen, and it was eating at his mind like an open wound.

  “No, I don’t think he will. He can probably survive another day or two with his current injuries and without any treatment. Then he’ll die, just like everyone else who tries to stop Tinker. Just like everyone else who doesn’t believe in Edenrise or the will of the Others. He’ll die, and then his people will die, and in a hundred years nobody will remember any of them ever existed. But they’ll remember you, Nathan. They’ll remember James and Tinker. They might even remember me. We’re the heralds of a new world.”

  “Kindness
and understanding are in limited supply, but dreams of grandeur aren’t, apparently. Is it a legacy you’re after? For your name to live on? Nothing lasts forever.”

  “I believe in Tinker and James. I believe in the Cleansing and the will of the Others. That’s why I’m here.”

  Nathan started walking, back out to the station. The pod was waiting to return him and Doc to the city.

  “What about you, Colonel?” Doc asked as they approached the vehicle. “No new hallucinations?”

  Nathan looked down at his wrist, to the black band wrapped around it. He hadn’t experienced any hallucinations since Doc had given it to him. In one sense, it was good that he seemed to be cured of whatever was afflicting him. In another, it was the worst possible outcome.

  It was the reason he was here instead of out west with Tinker and James. He was a soldier. Not a doctor, not a babysitter, and certainly not an interrogator. If things had gone differently, he would be on the dropship with them, not in this place of despair. He would be ready and able to help James stop Tinker from making a huge mistake.

  He would be happy if he never had to see Hayden again. It was better than seeing him like that.

  “Not unless all of this is part of a hallucination,” he answered. “Which I’m kind of hoping it is.”

  “Sorry, Colonel.”

  They boarded the pod, making the ride back to the city in silence. Doc departed with a stiff goodbye at the hospital’s station, while Nathan continued to a second stop closer to his apartment. He did his best to keep his mind off what he had done in letting Lieutenant Shun continue Hayden’s torture.

  He ascended into the local law enforcement office, drawing looks from the officers. He hadn’t made any friends by killing one of them, accident or not. But after everything he had been through back on Proxima, after the court-martial, after the asteroid mines, after the guilt, he was able to take it in stride.

  He made his way past them, ignoring their glares and the whispered comments. They didn’t dare touch him, not when they would have to answer to James. It didn’t keep them from burning into him with their angry looks.