Through the Ghost
Chapter 31

Selkie’s Cove was a bustle of energy. Machines rang in excitement, a group of people cheered as a holographic warrior downed his opponent, and several inebriated upstarts had been thrown out the back door. Thumping music vibrated out of the VIP lounge where Ontarin dancers flaunted their feathered limbs while performing acrobatic feats of wonder.

Tal sat at a card table with two other patrons waiting for the dealer to finish. As soon as the cards had been handing out the patron on his left groaned and placed his head on the table. The gambler to Tal’s right tried his best to maintain a stoic expression. On a normal human, it might have worked. On an operative that’d been trained in detecting facial cues in various aliens and humans it was a sad attempt. Tal raised his finger to the dealer. The stoic gambler’s façade faded.

Tal took a sip of his drink, another patron joined them at the table. The new arrival’s hair was slicked back then tied into a miniature ponytail. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a burgundy vest. On his left forearm was a fiery image of a phoenix.

The dealer reset the cards. The clear rectangles in Tal’s hand changed to a new set of cards.

The unlucky gambler cursed his luck, threw the cards on the table and stormed off. The stoic gambler shook his head defeatedly and set his cards down. That left both Tal and the newcomer.

“I’ve never seen one of you in person,” he stated, taking the vacated seat of the stoic gambler.

“Well, I’m happy to be your first,” Tal stated sarcastically.

“Wow, a real life Orothros operative. I just can’t believe my luck.”

Tal raised a finger at the dealer. The newcomer raised two. The dealer pressed a button and the cards changed again. Tal took another sip of his drink. It was then that Tal noticed that everything had gotten quieter.

“So, what brings you here? Hunting some dangerous alien?”

“I can’t just be on vacation?”

“I suppose that’s a possibility.”

Tal looked around and noticed that a majority of the patrons had cleared out of the room.

“Or, maybe you’re looking to finish a job,” the newcomer stated venomously.

Tal turned to face Daneel Swann. “I didn’t kill your father.”

“No, I know the one that did that, but she’s not here.”

I have three armed figures approaching your position.

“You can call your men off, I’m not here to hurt you.”

“That’s a relief, because I can think of nothing better to do with you.”

Four more are guarding the exits. Civilians have been cleared of the immediate area.

“Then I guess we do this the hard way.”

Tal whipped his sidearm from beneath his coat and pointed it at Daneel Swann.

Now is a good time to remind you we need him alive, Allie mentioned.

He doesn’t know that, Tal replied.

Daneel laughed. “My brothers and sisters of The Sons will gladly make me a martyr for the cause.”

“Good to know,” Tal stated with a smirk. He smacked the young radical across the temple, Swann fell to the floor. Tal then turned his gun on the converging Sons. He downed one with three shots to the chest, and forced the second to hide behind a card table. Cries of panic erupted at the sound of gunfire. Patrons and employees of Selkie’s Cove scrambled over each other for safety.

He spun to target the third Son, only to have the burly fanatic crumple to the floor. Jaya came rushing up to him.

“You could have tried a little harder to convince him, where’s Swann?”

Tal looked at the ground only to see Swann was no longer there. He looked up just in time to see his quarry forcing his way into the crowd of fleeing people.

Tal cursed and chased after him. Panicked patrons shoved him around as he fought to keep track of his quarry. A hand grabbed him by the shoulder, he had no idea if he was part of the casino staff, part of the Rising Sons, or both. He flipped the burly man over his shoulder then delivered a swift punch to his previously messed up nose. Tal quickly sprung up from his attack position to see Jaya in pursuit of their target. He raced after her, hurdling over card tables and dodging the remaining stragglers that got in his way.

Swann hastily boarded an elevator whose doors had begun to close. Jaya reached in to grab him, but quickly retracted her hand before the doors could shut.

I am intercepting a radio signal. Swann is calling for evac to retrieve him on the roof, Allie informed him. At the end of the hall, to your left, is the manual access.

Tal and Jaya sprinted for the stairs. Taking several steps at a time on their way towards the roof. With luck, they hoped to get there before Swann or his ride arrived. A storm of footsteps alerted them to incoming Sons. The fanatics raised their weapons, but it was too late. Tal was already on them the moment they rounded the corner.

Tal snatched the lead Son’s gun from the man’s fingers, unloaded the clip, pulled the second man by the arm and dropped him over the ledge. A shot rang out, the heat of a plasma round brushed his ear. Two more shots echo through the stairwell, followed by the thud of bodies tumbling down the steps. The two operatives continue in their race to catch up to Swann.

When they finally reached the top, they burst through the door side-arms at the ready. They could hear the El Dorado security vehicles approaching the building. There was no sign of Swann though. It was unclear whether they were too late, or whether they had arrived before their target.

Suddenly, a feral cry of rage alerted them just as a hail of bullets rained down upon them. One caught Tal in the arm, a flesh wound. A second however embedded itself in his knee dropping him to the concrete and steel rooftop. Tal watched Swann approach him. The confident young fanatic jumped in excitement as he neared the wounded operative. Tal reached for his gun, but realized it’d skidded away when he’d fallen. He slowly pulled himself towards his discarded weapon, but Swann rushed forward and kicked it away. Tal grabbed his opponent by the ankle, tripping him up and wiping the smug expression from his face. Tal quickly pounced on top of the young man intent on pummeling the nuisance into unconsciousness. His fists struck with as much force as he could muster, then he felt the familiar touch of heated metal being jammed into his rib cage. Tal paused his assault, and Swann scooted away from him.

The two of them glared at each other. Swann’s already swollen eyes and lips sneered at the Orothros seated across from him.

“Drop it!” Jaya called out stepping from behind cover with her weapon raised.

Daneel Swann spat a glob of blood onto the ground then slowly stood on his feet, making sure to keep his gun trained on Tal.

Just a little longer, Allie informed him. Tal grimaced in pain as the nanites stitched his wounded body back together with the care of a backwater physician.

Swann smiled gleefully. “I hope that hurts.”

“Drop the gun, and come with us,” Jaya demanded.

“I don’t think so. How about, you drop your gun, and I get to walk away.”

“That’s not happening,” Jaya replied.

“Very well,” Swann stated with a shrug.

Now! Allie alerted him.

Tal sprang from the floor to tackle Swann. The Son’s finger flexed on the trigger. Tal’s breath caught as the bullet went through him, but his momentum allowed him to tackle his target. Swann’s gun skidded and together the two men rolled over the edge of the building. Tal’s fingers just barely grasped the ledge. A weight on his leg indicated Swann was holding on for dear life. The terrorist howled with maniacal laughter. Tal looked down, a wave of vertigo threatened to overwhelm him as blood seeped out of the bullet hole in his left side. Daneel Swann’s eyes had gone mad with hate. His grip tightened around Tal’s ankle. Tal felt his muscles growing weaker. There was no way for Allie to heal the bullet wound, and give him the strength to hold them both up. As he started to slip, a hand reached out over the edge, grasping his forearm tightly.

Jaya struggled to pull both of them up. Each shift of her weight made Tal’s blood run cold. It was clear to him that if she continued her rescue attempt she would join them over the edge. Tal closed his eyes. He knew what he’d have to do, but he didn’t want to do it. It was a choice that pained him tremendously. Emerald eyes glistened in his mind. Not Anna’s though, it was Chara’s wide eyed innocence that came to him in his final moments. It was her that urged him to fight on, which only broke his heart as he remembered the situation he was in.

Tal looked at Jaya apologetically, hoping she’d understand given time. Her face twisted in anguish as she valiantly tried to pull her brother back up to safety. Then, just as he was about to relinquish his hold he heard a slick POP! and a great weight was lifted from his calf.

A glance downward revealed the hate-contorted, face of Daneel Swann falling from the El Dorado skyline towards the concrete ground below. It was then that Tal noticed a glaring, bloody, hole visible right between the fanatic’s eyes. Freed of the excess load, he was able to pull himself back up from the ledge with his sister’s help. The two operatives panted in relieved exhaustion on the rooftop.

Their moment was interrupted as the buzz of a shuttle invaded their space. A dark shadow was cast over them as it landed. Both operatives stood to their feet, willing though not entirely capable to fight off the Rising Son reinforcements. Seven armed terrorists rushed out of the shuttle with rifles at the ready. Tal could only stand there with Jaya’s arm propping him against her side, and his weapon was discarded somewhere on the roof with Jaya’s free hand pointing her side-arm at the group threatening to execute them.

Then a fast series of pops and whistles as each Rising Son member dropped to the ground.

“Go! ED Security will be there any moment!” Anna’s voice called out to him over their radio channel.

The two operatives rushed aboard the ajar vessel, Jaya set Tal on the nearest seat before throwing the unfortunate pilot out the back of the shuttle. Tal rested his head against the wall behind him, then slowly pulled the harness over his chest. Blood coated his shirt and hands.

“Hey, you still there?” he asked Anna through the radio.

Footsteps, labored breathing, and gunfire was his only response.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Anna finally replied.

“You know, I’ve been wanting to see that new comedy vid.”

“The one with Cat Daniels?” she inquired.

“Yeah, you see it?”

An affirmative grunt answered his question. “It’s not that great.”

Tal sighs. “That’s too bad. I liked her in-“

Suddenly Tal was thrown forward, before being pulled back by his harness. As a result, he smashed the back of his head into the wall. The lights went dark, Tal felt like the room was spinning. Jaya called out to him, but the ringing in his ears made it difficult to decipher.

We’ve _en _it. EM_, Allie tried to inform him of the situation, but her voice was garbled and static filled.

His shirt clung to his skin. Warm blood filtered out through his wounds. Something had disrupted Allie’s ability to heal him. He wanted to figure it out but the spinning intensified, a high-pitched whine began to drown out the world.

When he woke, the world had stopped spinning, the red emergency lights had finally turned on. He unclasped his harness and immediately dropped to the floor. He tried to call for Jaya, but his voice was hoarse and weak.

Allie? He scanned his thoughts for the artificial companion, but found no response there either.

Then he heard a screech of metal as the rear-entry door was pried open. Lights flicked inside. A voice called out, but Tal’s ears still rung too much to decipher. Then the lights went away and he was trapped in the dark once more.

Suddenly, there was a crashing boom as the door was ripped away. Tal could just make out a few shadows of varying sizes. The largest had familiar green lines around the neck, eyes, and arms. Immediately, hope surged through him. Then, just as quickly, it was doused.

“Operative Revin, you had one job to do,” Agent Tomas Devlin chastised him as the shadows surrounded him.

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