Ryan stood on the street, a chill wind playing through his hair, and looked at the mansion. The Dragon Heart was near, he could sense its power calling out to him.
Nadja, I hope you 're all right.
Carla Brooks had arrived a few minutes earlier and had surrounded the perimeter of the mansion grounds with sec troops. She was around the other side now, getting an infiltration plan worked out in case Ryan was unsuccessful.
His wristphone beeped. He looked at the tiny screen to see Alice's liquid blue eyes. "This is not a good time, Alice."
Alice gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry about circumstances, Ryan," she said. "This won't take long."
"Go ahead."
"I have new information that Damien Knight never thought Dunkelzahn was responsible for the Crash. Knight did not have a long-burning hatred and probably didn't have a strong motive to kill him."
Ryan just shook his head. "Now you tell me."
"I sincerely apologize," she said.
"I'll want to discuss this further," Ryan said. "But now is not the time."
Alice nodded. "Agreed."
Then she was gone and Ryan took a moment to center himself. He remembered his interrogation with Quentin Strapp. Strapp had grilled him, had made it look like Ryan could have killed Dunkelzahn, and Ryan had done the same thing with Knight.
I guess the appearance of guilt doesn't equal culpability.
Ryan took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts from his mind. Time enough for that after Nadja was safe. He keyed in Jane's number, and her familiar icon faded onto the small screen.
"Ryan, about fragging time."
Ryan kept his voice quiet. "Give me the situation report, and this better be good."
The blonde caricature shrugged. "He's got her in the arboretum. She's tied up in the southeast corner, under the last plant table. Almost like he was trying to keep her clear of the action."
Ryan nodded. "What about Dhin and Grind?"
"With the exception of Nadja showing up, everything went just like you thought it would. Dhin is in the Secret Service van, rigging surveillance and assault drones. Grind is high up in the branches of one of the huge redwoods adjacent to the property. He hasn't had a clear shot yet."
Ryan took a deep breath. He thought about the way Nadja had looked during her call, about the hidden fear he'd seen there. He would save her, there was no other choice, but under that realization came another. He would get the Dragon Heart today or he would die trying. For the first time since losing the Heart to Burnout, Ryan had no doubts about his mission.
His indecision was gone, his uncertainty vanished.
There would be no strategic retreat this time, no fighting to a draw. He finally knew where to strike, and he was willing to sacrifice himself if necessary.
"Ryan, your gear is stored just in front of the main entrance. Get going, and we'll switch over to the Phillips tacticom on your signal."
Ryan nodded and cut the connection. He crossed the street, his every nerve on fire, his hyperaware senses going into maximum alert. He found the gear pack just to the side of the front staircase, under a rose bush.
Quickly, and with a minimum of excess movement, he laid out the gear. It consisted of light body armor, a small tacticom unit, a Vindicator minigun, and a shoulder holster with a Colt Manhunter.
Ryan suited up quickly and checked the load in his weapons. Ready and willing. He pulled the Vindicator's strap over his head, slung the ammo belt, and switched off its safety.
Then he inserted the light earpiece into his left ear and used the mimetic tape to fasten the tiny mic to his throat. "System up," he subvocalized.
"Check," said Jane in Ryan's ear.
"Check," came Grind's voice.
"Check," said Dhin, and there was an edge of humor in the big ork's voice. "Bossman, thought we'd lost you."
"Not quite. What's your position?"
"You drove past me on the way in. I'm in the black stepvan. Got a Condor II in the air to keep track of our chummer if he happens to come out, plus a Rotodrone with heavy armament package ready to rock and roll on your mark."
"Good. Grind?"
"I'm playing birdy in this fragging tree. Me and my Barret one-two-one. Can't tag him unless you move him into the middle of the room."
Ryan paused, mentally arranging his chess pieces.
"Jane?"
"Copy."
"You got control of the house systems?"
"Stupid question, Ryan, but I guess you had to ask."
"Lay it out for me."
"Quicksilver, he's smart. He's keeping to cover under the third stone tree from the rear exit. That way, he has Daviar between him and that exit, and can cover the other two at his leisure."
Grind came on. "I almost got him when he dumped Daviar under the table, but even with this high-powered scope, the infrastructure of the building is playing havoc with me. I can't get a clear shot at him as long as all those stone branches are in the way."
Ryan nodded again. The arboretum was a huge structure with two gigantic sheets of macroglass for a roof to allow the sunlight in. In the name of artistic decor, the macroglass was supported by ornately carved marble trees. Eight of them, complete with stone roots and intertwining branches, stretched upward to create a canopy.
"Jane, talk to me about the arboretum. It's got auto sprinklers in case of fire, right?"
"Affirmative."
Ryan thought about it, and suddenly everything came into focus.
"Jane, what's the oxygen content in there?"
There was a pause, and Ryan could tell the question had taken her by surprise.
"Dunkelzahn converted the arboretum into a greenhouse of sorts, said he wanted to raise orchids, so the oxygen content is higher than normal. Why?"
"You control that as well?"
"Affirmative."
Ryan grinned. "I want you to slowly increase the oxygen content."
"How high?"
"Just keep it going, but try and make it subtle."
Dhin's voice sounded concerned. "Bossman, you mind filling us in on what you've got planned?"
Ryan forced his voice to remain calm. "Grind can't get a clear shot with that roof over our boy, so I'm going to blow these stone trees sky high."
"Ryan," said Jane, "I've never asked this before, and I hope I won't ever ask it again, but do you know what the frag you're doing?"
A picture of Nadja's face filled his mind. "I've never been so sure. I'll give you the signal. Just before I blow the place, I want you to selectively activate the sprinkler systems over Nadja and myself. Turn them on full blast."
Jane chuckled. "I think I'm getting the picture. What about the Heart?"
"I'm going to take it from him before the place blows."
"I'll track it and make sure the sprinklers protect as much as possible."
Ryan nodded. "All right, people, this is one for the record books. Let's keep it clean. Grind, you know what to do."
"Check."
"If things get ugly in there, I want Nadja out. She's first priority. After that comes the Dragon Heart, then me. That clear?"
There was no answer needed, and none came. Each member of the team knew just what was at stake.
"Jane, if things don't go as planned, there are coded instructions in my safe at Assets. Follow them to the letter."
Silence.
He stood and walked quickly up the steps to the front door. There was no need for stealth. Burnout knew he was coming and had the entrances covered. There was no chance for surprise.
"Now, Jane," he said.
"Increasing oxygen content. It should reach a flammable level in just under five minutes."
With that he entered the house.
Ryan walked through the quiet darkness, and even though he knew that he was never more than fifty meters from another member of his team, he felt utterly alone. As he stepped past priceless art, he found himself growing nervous. Roxborough's self-doubt creeping in.
Ryan took several deep and cleansing breaths, trying to bring calm. But by the time he reached the sealed double glass doors of the arboretum, an edge of agitation had gripped him again. And it refused to let go.
Taking a slow breath, he keyed the palmlock, and the doors slid backward.
Humid heat smothered him, and he immediately began to sweat. The rich smell of fertile soil and blooming plant life hit him, and for just a second, he was sad that Burnout had chosen this spot. In just a few minutes, nothing would be left of the beauty around him.
It had been a while since Ryan had come to the arboretum, and for just a second, he stopped and looked around, as if he were seeing it for the last time.
Sculpted marble trees strained for the ceiling, their intertwined branches making up the supports for the twin sheets of macroglass that made up the roof. Each of the stone trees were completely wreathed in ivy, giving the impression that they were alive.
"So, we're finally alone together." The chilly voice dropped out of the air, echoing in the damp stillness.
Ryan immediately put his back to the wall, pulling the Vindicator up to ready position. Something was wrong, something in the back of his mind told him he wasn't going about this in the right way.
"Not quite, Burnout," he said. "This is between you and me. Let Nadja go."
Burnout's laughter rang through the room, turning Ryan's blood cold. "Between you and me, Mercury? It hasn't been between you and me since you killed the Kodiak."
Ryan remembered the bear shaman, Miranda held high over his head. He shifted on the balls of his feet, slowly inching his way into the dark room. Burnout didn't give much of a heat signature, so Ryan was going to have to rely on other means.
"Jane," he subvocalized.
"Copy," came the woman's voice in his ear.
"Position."
"He hasn't moved."
Ryan took a quick, silent step, and put one of the marble trees between him-and Burnout's location. "Jane, what's the count?"
"Another four minutes, but Ryan, when you blow it, you're going to have to be near the corner of the room where I can cover you with the sprinklers. Otherwise, you're going to take as much damage as he does, and I don't think I have to remind you that you are flesh and blood."
Ryan smiled in the darkness. "Don't worry about me. Just keep that oxygen rising."
There was a pause. "Ryan, you do realize that if shots are fired after the oxygen level gets high enough, the room will go ahead of schedule."
"I've already got it figured, Jane. Just be ready."
Burnout's modulated voice dropped into the room. "Mercury? Where are your friends? Don't tell me you actually did what I wanted. I would be so disappointed if you came to the party by yourself."
Ryan stepped out into the open. "I guess I'm just going to have to disappoint you, Burnout. It's just me."
There was another long laugh.
"Quicksilver! He's on the move. He's got you targeted, and he's making his way toward you, just on your two o'clock."
"Yes, Burnout. I'm here all alone, just like that night in Aztlan. It's just you and me. You think you're chill enough to take me?"
"My, my. What's that I see? Looks like a Vindicator minigun. That's some pretty heavy rock and roll, Mercury. And what a pity, I'm totally unarmed."
Ryan turned to his two o'clock, and Burnout's metal form drifted out of the shadows and into a patch of sunlight.
Grind sounded frustrated. "Frag those branches! I can't get a clean shot. Just another two meters, and he's mine."
Ryan looked at Burnout's ravaged frame, and whistled low. "You look pretty bad, Burnout."
Burnout smiled, and in the filtered light, it was the metal smile of some chromed grim reaper. "Yeah, I ain't so pretty as I was, Mercury. I guess I owe my new look to you."
Something clicked in Ryan's mind, and he knew what had been nagging. He was alone in the arboretum, but he wasn't using the Silent Way. He had been ignoring Dunkelzahn's teachings since losing the Heart, and he knew he wouldn't survive this unless he focused on his training. On who he was.
Ryan slowly knelt down on the floor, and laid the Vindicator on the warm marble. "Burnout, it doesn't have to come to this. You know I have you outgunned, and you know from our past encounters that even in a straight fight, I can give you a run for your nuyen. But this is foolishness. We don't have to fight."
Burnout smiled. "I know we don't have to, Mercury, but I want to. I want to feel your skull crack and collapse under my fingers. I've come a long way to watch you die."
Ryan held up his hands. "Listen. You stole something that doesn't belong to you, something you can't even understand. There's an easy way out of this where both of us leave this place alive. All you have to do is put the Dragon Heart on the ground and walk away."
Burnout cocked his head, as if he was listening to something inside his own skull. Then the smile returned. "Look at me, Mercury. You've left me with nothing. And for what? The Heart. You think I'm going to give up the only thing that makes all this worthwhile? Still, there is a way to end this easily."
"I'm listening."
"Why don't you lie down on the floor and let me kill you quickly. That way you won't have the shame of being beaten before you die. It would save you a lot of emotional distress." Then that scary laugh again.
Ryan shook his head. "So that's it, then. Neither one of us is going to give in."
Burnout went into a fighter's crouch. "That's it, Mercury. Let's dance, shall we?"
His movement was a blur, the fastest thing Ryan had ever seen. Burnout crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, and Ryan had just enough time to throw himself to the side as Burnout came rumbling at him like a tractor train out of control.
Except Burnout was in complete control. As Ryan leapt to the left, Burnout's right hand swung, open-handed, and caught Ryan across the chest.
The impact hit Ryan like a sledgehammer, and his body was lifted high into the air. Instinct made him roll with the fall.
Ryan came to his feet, a full three meters from where he'd been standing. His chest was on fire, and he magically channeled the pain away. When he could breathe again, he felt his ribcage, and realized that his body armor had been sliced to within a millimeter of the skin. Burnout was nowhere in sight.
"What the frag just happened?" Grind sounded completely confused. "One second he was in my sights, the next second he was gone. That fragger can move!"
"Position?" Ryan subvocalized.
"Wait a minute. Wait, I got him! Ryan, he's-"
"You still think you're a match for me, Mercury?"
Ryan spun to face the voice behind him, and just barely managed to deflect the high kick aimed for his head. The kick landed hard against his arm.
Ryan's left forearm went numb, and he rolled again, using the momentum of the kick to push himself out of harm's way. He staggered to his feet and forced himself to center.
Burnout was casually leaning against the trunk of the tree across the large center walkway.
Ryan stepped backward until his back was against a tree trunk. He could feel the cool ivy leaves rustling against his neck.
"You like how that feels, Mercury? To have your back against the proverbial wall?"
Ryan flexed his left arm, feeling the life come back in painful prickles. He smiled. "Not so much. The big difference is that I didn't put your back up against any wall, you did. You messed in business that didn't concern you and you thought you could get away with it."
"Just get him to move another half a meter, Quicksilver, and I've got the shot." Grind's voice was soft, full of concentration.
Jane broke in. "You got another minute and a half until lift off. Make whatever you're going to do count, 'cause if you're still standing at your present position when that room goes, I don't think even you could live through it."
The feeling in Ryan's arm was back to normal, and he smiled at Burnout. "I came in here to try and settle things without anyone getting hurt, especially the innocent woman you've got tied up. But I guess that time is through." Ryan forced his will to be calm, and felt the power channel down his arms to his hands.
"All right, Burnout. You want to dance, I'll dance with you." With that, Ryan threw out his hands, sending a battering ram of force straight at the cyberzombie.
Burnout tried to move, but even with his speed, he was way too late. The magical wall smashed into him, catching him in the chest and sending him flying. The marble tree he'd been leaning against cracked with a sound like thunder and tilted slightly to the side.
The cyberzombie rolled with the impact, turning his air time into a series of backward somersaults.
While Burnout was still in the air, Ryan moved. He leapt the first table of flowers in a graceful kicking motion. As Burnout hit the ground, catlike, with his feet under him, Ryan's foot smashed into the side of Burnout's head.
Ryan used the impact to drop himself back into a fighting stance, and Burnout fell with the sound of rending metal.
Ryan pulled his Manhunter and was about to pull the trigger when he heard Jane's voice in his ear. "Ryan, no! If you spark it now, I won't even be able to save Nadja. You're too close to her."
Burnout looked up and suddenly was scrambling toward him.
Ryan threw his body backward, catching the edge of the table directly behind him with his left hand.
He pulled his legs in tightly, and pushed off with his hand, causing him to flip over back into the center walkway.
Ryan stood for a second in the silence. Once again, Burnout had disappeared on him.
"Position?"
"He's standing right next to Daviar. He knows you won't pull the trigger if there's a chance you might hit her."
"Burnout!" Ryan called. "You talk big, but when push comes to shove, your cowardice shows through. Taking refuge behind a hostage, that takes guts. Yes, sir."
Out the corner of his eye, Ryan saw the form hurtling through the air, and he turned, the Manhunter ready to fire, but he never got the chance.
With a scream of rage, Burnout slammed into him. One metal hand grabbed the pistol's barrel, another caught Ryan's throat.
As they fell, Ryan slammed his free hand into Burnout's chest, packing a magical, as well as physical punch, and Burnout's body twisted in mid-air. The cyber-zombie's momentum carried him over Ryan's head, but the metal man kept his grip on Ryan's neck, and Ryan felt himself start to black out as his body was wrenched backward and down.
Ryan's grip on the Manhunter loosened for just a moment, and it was gone from his grasp.
Damn, he's strong.
Choking, he let his legs go over his head, and he found himself on top of Burnout's prone form, straddling the man's huge artificial torso.
Holding Ryan at arm's length above him, Burnout tightened his grasp, and a sparkling blackness began to close at the edges of Ryan's vision. Ryan struggled, his hands battering at Burnout's chrome body, bashing deep dents into the scarred metal. His legs thrashing, searching for purchase.
Then, just as his strength started to fail him, his flailing hands felt the Dragon Heart, tied to Burnout's waist.
Ryan touched it with his mind, and he felt its power surge through him.
"So we meet again, Ryan Mercury."
The voice dropped into Ryan's mind like an old lover, so familiar, yet so hostile.
I thought I might find you here, Lethe.