Prime (Chess Team Adventure, #0.5)

Confident that Parker was doing everything possible to coax Sasha away from the brink of madness, King turned his attention to what seemed like a much more immediate concern. The report of gunfire drifting down into the crevasse painted an incomplete picture, but it was enough for him to realize that the effort to capture or kill Rainer had taken an unexpected, and evidently dire, turn. Somewhere up above him, his teammates were fighting for their lives.

He played his light on the walls of the crevasse. It was almost vertical, but the break was irregular, with nubs of stone sticking out everywhere. What he could not see was the top; there was no telling how high he would have to climb.

He was just getting started on the ascent when he heard a crackle of squelch in his ear, followed by Parker’s voice.

“A new Black Death? Is that what you want Sasha? You can tell me. I can understand why you might feel that’s necessary.”

What the hell?

Parker had opened the channel intentionally so that King would know what was happening. King didn’t understand half of what was said, but he could quickly discern two things: Sasha Therion was bat-shit crazy, and Parker was doing his damnedest to rein her in.

King listened intently but kept his focus on the task at hand, moving slowly, methodically, patiently up the wall. The noise of fighting grew louder, and King realized that the crevasse did not lead outside, but rather connected with another cave where the battle was taking place. The good news was that the climb would be over soon.

The bad news was that he had no idea what he was about to step in.

When he reached the top, he kept his head down for a moment, wary of not getting caught in a crossfire. Off to his left, on the far side of the fissure, the team had just opened fire on a horde of the malformed creatures that were swarming toward them. Over the cacophony, King heard something else; a voice…a familiar voice…

Rainer’s voice.

“Hold your position. Stay behind cover. Let them burn through their ammo.”

Who’s he talking to?

At that moment, Parker’s voice sounded in his ear. “Jack, are you there?”

He didn’t respond right away. If he was close enough to hear Rainer speaking, then he was close enough to be overheard. He lowered himself down below the edge of the crevasse and whispered. “I’m here, Danno.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. I should have trusted you.”

King’s mind sifted through what he had overheard. He recalled Sasha saying something about chaos and how life was a mistake, and the realization had chilled him. What had she done? “Save it for later, buddy. I heard everything. You gave it your best try.”

“She did something to the Prime, Jack. Turned it against itself. I have to get to her computer to turn it off.”

King heard Rainer’s voice again, almost simultaneous with Parker’s. “Now, advance. Stay in a single file line. Continue to use the dead for cover.”

Rainer was talking to the frankensteins through a radio headset just like the one Chess Team used. Not merely talking to them, but directing their movements, guiding them strategically, the way a chess player might maneuver pawns on the game board.

“You heard what she said,” Parker continued. “If I can’t stop this, everyone dies. Everywhere.”

King heard, and on some level he understood what his friend was telling him, but there was nothing he could do to help. “Then stop it,” he said. “Do what needs to be done, Danno.”

“Listen to me, Jack. If this thing kills me before I can get clear, someone else is going to have to finish it. Do you understand?”

Parker’s appeal stopped him cold. What was happening down there?

He shook his head. There was nobody better suited to dealing with whatever it was that was happening at the Prime than Daniel Parker. “Roger.”

He pulled himself up again, peeking over the edge quickly to locate Rainer. He found his former CO, illuminated by indirect light from some kind of electronic device—a GPS unit or a PDA. Rainer’s eyes were fixed on the scene playing out beyond the fissure, where his remaining force of four frankensteins were preparing to overrun Chess Team.

As stealthily as possible, King levered himself up onto the floor of the cave, never taking his eyes off Rainer. He brought his carbine up, but in the darkness, he couldn’t get a good shot. He abandoned the effort, and in a smooth motion, he sprang to his feet and charged.

Rainer must have heard the ground crunching underfoot or sensed movement in the air, for at the last instant he swung around to face King. There was confusion in his eyes, as if he still didn’t comprehend what was happening, but as King slammed into him, he threw up a defensive arm that somehow struck King in jaw. Then, in a tangle of limbs, both men went down.