14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Zoric couldn't feel another Bond for Angela but he was certain that the voice in her head wasn't her own subconscious.
What he'd seen in her memories had sent chills down his spine and the conversation with Ae-cha while she'd been asleep hadn't helped. They both had associations with the winged shadow that had brought Angela so much joy, and none of them were good.
He was also certain Ae-cha hadn't told him everything she knew.
If he was fair, he also hadn't told her everything he knew, either, but he had no idea how much of his own information was rumor, conjecture, or horror stories to keep young Chelion inline.
The Elite, his faction of Chelion, had few written records. What existed was often recorded memories, written decades after the fact, by Chelion who did not want to lose what knowledge they had to time or a loss of personnel.
As such, they had no record of the creature that could cast the shadow that Angela associated with safety and happiness. He knew that, as a child, it had been a threat. As an adult, it had been the sad delusions of a psychopath;’85, when his late and unlamented master would attempt to stretch and grow the vestigial lumps on his shoulders.
He'd always been certain that aspirations of wings were a fantasy the monster had long since talked himself into. There had always been the possibility that others of his kind had them but the closest he'd ever managed had been two very sad, very weak featherless chicken wings. A grotesque mutation which had not survived his next skin shed.
If Ae-cha and her people had records of it being possible…
What's wrong? Angela asked him.
She was leaning against his chest, her eyes closed, and he realized her exhaustion wasn't entirely an act. While she'd been woken from a sound sleep by the sudden certainty that they were under attack, she hadn't truly gotten enough sleep yet.
More questions than answers, he told her. And more mysteries than I expected.
How many mysteries did you expect?
He sent her a mental shrug. None, actually. I expected most of this to be fairly straight forward.
What changed?
Nothing, he answered . I just hadn't met you yet. When I did, I had to change my assessment of the situation.
It was an answer designed to reassure her and it had the benefit of being the truth. He hadn't had an accurate picture of what he was walking into when he volunteered to help. His decision to volunteer wouldn't have changed but he might have been better prepared.
Assuming one could be prepared for a surprise as big as his Bond with Angela.
I'd argue that I'm not a mystery, she sent. But I'm not convinced I'd be telling the truth right now.
He could hear the uncertainty in her mind and pulled her closer to his chest.
"What I'd like to know," Ae-cha said into the awkward silence that had descended on the room, "is how anybody knew that Private McBride was at that particular facility."
"What do you mean?" Zoric asked.
"I mean that was a secure, top secret facility," Ae-cha replied. "Hidden from every map I'm aware of. If we were really about to be under attack because they knew Private McBride was there, then how did they find out? And find it ?"
Dr. Phillips shot Angela a frown. "Can they track her? With whatever you're finding in her brain?"
"No," Zoric denied at the same time Ae-cha said "Maybe."
"You can't track someone without a Bond," Zoric said. "Creating a connection without a true Bond in place limits the distance and accuracy."
"But they could triangulate her position? If they were close enough when she started moving, they could move in that direction," Dr. Phillips said.
"Across the entire world?" Zoric responded shortly. He really didn't want to dwell on the possibility and tried to move it along quickly. "Possible but not feasible. Not really."
"But possible," Ae-cha said. "And we don't know who or what put the triggers in her brain. We don't know how dedicated they were to keeping her under control and what, exactly, they're trying to keep her from revealing. They may have a very real reason to keep her from being able to talk."
"If that's true, it's a serious security problem," Angela said. "Even if it's just being able to find my location."
"And if it's not just being able to find your location?" Dr. Phillips asked. "What are they able to find out from what you know? We already know you're willing to do what they tell you to do-"
"That's not fair," Ae-cha protested. "She wasn't given a choice."
"There's always a choice," Dr. Phillips spat back.
Ae-cha struck in a blur of speed, her scales rippling with barely contained rage. Her hand wrapped around the woman's neck and she propelled her bodily into the wall behind her. The doctor's eyes widened in fear and shock before her hands came up to pull at Ae-cha's wrist. The acrid scent of her fear filled the small room, making Zoric's scales bristle. Through their Bond, he felt Angela's mix of vindication and horror, her military training warring with her emotional response.
Slowly, Dr. Phillips' hands fell away and her face went slack. The artificial scent of her perfume took on a sour note that made Angela's enhanced senses recoil.
"Oh, there you are, little fishy," Ae-cha said, her voice low and satisfied. The predatory satisfaction in her tone made the hair on the back of Angela's neck stand up.
She let go and Dr. Phillips slumped forward. Ae-cha wrapped her arms around her to catch her and helped her back to the chair.
"What was that?" Zoric asked. Angela had gone still in his arms and he could feel her trying to be as small and quiet as possible.
"She was infected," Ae-cha said. "With the same snaky thoughts that were reported on the other base."
"Shit," Zoric said. "How bad were they?"
"Little ones, and they hadn't been there long," Ae-cha said. "But I'm starting to see a pattern in how they're made. And who's getting hit with them."
"How long is not long?" Zoric asked.
"Can you track them?" Dr. Torres interrupted. "Will they show up on any kind of imaging?"
He'd been so quiet, Zoric had nearly forgotten the man was in the room. His scent was so faint, it barely registered on his chemoreceptors, either.
From the startled look on Ae-cha's face, she'd forgotten the other doctor was there, as well. She shook her head at his question.
"They were so new, I almost didn't see them," she said. "They wouldn't have done enough damage to show up as anything but a little bit of static. Even the ones that have been there for years don't usually show up as anything more than the results of long-term depression, if you know how to look for it."
"I don't know that that's true," Dr. Torres said. "It's certainly not the case with some of the MRI's I've seen. And the one they took of Private McBride the other day doesn't look like any human brain I've seen."
Ae-cha paused. A few days ago, her first reaction would have been to scoff at Dr. Torres' assertion but now she looked willing to listen.
He's crazy , Angela sent.
There's certainly something odd about him , Zoric returned. He didn't agree, exactly, but the lack of scent or movement was hitting the alarm bells in Zoric's senses.
"I saw the images from Private McBride's MRI. Nothing looked out of the ordinary," Ae-cha said.
"You saw the finished images from Private McBride's MRI. The real ones are fascinating."
"What do you mean 'the real ones'?" Angela asked. "I've had MRI's before and they always end up looking normal. No damage, no issues, nothing to suggest I'm anything other than a human."
"They end up that way," Dr. Torres said with a nod. "But they don't start that way. And nobody notices. Or they put it up to an anomaly in the imaging software."
"How would they not notice?" Zoric asked. "Isn't there someone watching them being taken the entire time?"
Dr. Torres nodded. "At least one imaging tech, if not a couple of nurses, as well. There were four people watching your MRI at the last base and we all saw the 'glitch' that cleared up just before the imaging was finished. None of them had seen it happen before but, since the final images looked fine, they ignored it."
"But you didn't," Angela said softly. "That's why you wanted any previous MRI's I'd had or to watch me be triggered while being more heavily monitored."
"Exactly right," the doctor said with a smile.
I guess I'm an experiment, Angela sent, her tone rueful.
Zoric remembered previous experiments and had to repress a shudder. Nothing this doctor could do would even come close to what he'd seen in the past. Not only did he not have the equipment, Zoric would eviscerate him to save Angela the pain he'd seen Dorcas go through.
Not if I can help it, he sent back.
"Do you have my previous MRI's?" Angela asked him.
The doctor's eyes shifted. "No," he lied. "I would need your permission to request them. There's paperwork involved."
"I guess that's why you wanted to check your email? To get the forms for me to sign?" she asked.
"Of course," Dr. Torres said.
Zoric couldn't say how he knew the doctor was still lying. There was no shift in his smell, no tells in his eyes or voice, but something told Zoric that Dr. Torres wasn't being honest and he'd learned to listen to that instinct.
"Well, I think that can wait for now," Zoric said.
"And it might have been what tipped whoever decided to attack the base off that Private McBride was there. Or, at least, that she hadn't died when she was supposed to," Ae-cha said.
"What do you mean?" Zoric asked.
"Some of the commands in her brain are old. Probably set in childhood, if not shortly after she was born. Others are newer, and the one I removed was attached to one of the older commands, but they were obviously done by different people. So there's at least one person who is concerned and meddling," Ae-cha noted.
"And if you wanted to keep an eye on someone, watching for requests for their medical records would be a good way to do it," Dr. Phillips added, her voice weak. "As long as you weren't concerned about any of the privacy laws, which I would assume they wouldn't be, if they're planting commands in people's brains."
"The way they did in yours." Angela didn't make it a question. She knew what had happened with Dr. Phillips and was trying to avoid being satisfied with the violence Ae-cha had visited on her earlier. The feelings came very loudly across their Bond and Zoric couldn't find it in himself to disagree with her.
"Yes," Dr. Phillips acknowledged. "The way they did in mine."
"Could you tell if they were set by the same person?" Zoric asked.
"What, do they sign them?" Angela asked.
"In a way, yes," Ae-cha answered. "Every mind is unique and you can't help but leave some of that behind when you mess with someone's mind. Especially when you leave commands behind. But figuring out what the signature is takes time and more than a couple of examples and it doesn't help me identify them unless I know them and their mind."
"Can you look for more?" Dr. Phillips asked, leaning forward. "In Private McBride's mind, I mean. I know you're trying to disconnect them anyway but if you could look for more of them, could you get a better feel? And remember the one in me?"
"I suppose," Ae-cha said slowly. "But do we have time to do that while we're here?"
"Or the energy?" Angela asked. "The interrogation sessions have been exhausting and the last one was worse than any of the others."
How bad did the last one drain you? Zoric asked. You were not in as much pain as the one I walked in on.
Pain is exhausting but the drugs knock me out for the worst of it. This one, I was trying to participate, remember things that have been buried very deep, and keep Ae-cha out of things I don't want her to see.
Like what?
Personal things, she sent, her thoughts tinged with heat and embarrassment.
If Ae-cha is going to find all the triggers, she may have to see those.
But then she'll know.
What will she know?
Angela blushed and turned to bury her face against his chest. For a brave, stoic, strong woman, the gesture was oddly sweet and endearing.
Zoric refused to pry but he suspected he knew the topic she didn't want to talk about. Now wasn't the time but he hoped they got a chance soon, to explore and answer all the questions she had. Even with their Bond, attraction wasn't guaranteed, and there were often women who could not get past their partners appearance.
And he wondered if he had the tools to make that acceptance easier.