Ryan settled in his seat as the suborbital descended into SeaTac. He'd been contemplating what had happened in Washington. He'd nearly killed Nadja, had come to the edge of destroying the one person he still had feelings for. And for what?
He didn't really know. And that scared the drek out of him.
A shiver shook him. He had some serious problems to work through. Bits and fragments of his Roxborough past were coming back to him at unexpected times; they made him act erratically. That last one had nearly cost him Nadja's life. I'll have to be very careful, he thought. And strong, so that I can see right from wrong.
Ryan was anxious for action. It had been only three days since he'd been rescued, and he was already getting jittery from lack of motion. That had been one of the major reasons he'd decided to go ahead with the Dragon Heart mission, at least for now. To combat the boredom. And to move, to act. He was a physical adept; his life was defined by action and physical activity. Excessive stasis gave him too much time to think.
Too much time to relive Roxborough's memories.
The shuttle plunged out of the stratosphere like an aerodynamic rock, the slope of its descent frighteningly steep, though the ride was very smooth. Soon Ryan was on the ground and being greeted by Axler at the terminal.
She gave him a cold smile, the doe-brown color of her eyes matching her tasseled suede jacket. She looked good in street attire, though her posture was aggressive, almost hostile. Par for the course. She was hard and wasn't about to show any hint of weakness.
She pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "Dhin is waiting," she said.
"Great to see you too," Ryan said. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Almost brought a smirk to her face. Then she stifled it and turned to face him. "Look, Ryan, I'm not one for small talk and chitchat. You want that, get yourself a biff."
"Whoa, it was just a fragging joke, omae"
"And I'm not your omae, chummer."
"Got it," Ryan said.
Then she laughed, and it was a genuine, friendly sound. Ryan found it refreshing, but then he saw the opportunity to take control of the conversation. Part of Roxborough's training flooded him, wouldn't allow the chance to slide by. He cut off her laughter. "You've got everything ready?"
Her laugh broke off abruptly, and she glared at him. "We're still getting data from Jane."
"Fill me in on what you've got."
"Not here," she said, and he noticed her guard was back up, her body language all biz. She had jacked up reflexes, possibly a move-by-wire system to get such smooth motion, such control. He also suspected that her muscles had been replaced with synthetic fiber. She didn't look that strong, but she carried herself as though she could humble a troll in hand to hand.
Ryan didn't doubt that she could. He remembered how she'd carried him out of the delta clinic with null strain.
Strictly speaking, however, all her cyber was hidden. Her eyes looked natural; her skull showed no obvious signs of surgery; even her flesh-toned datajack was discreetly hidden under her hair. It was all part of her plan to lull opponents into thinking she was a biff. Just before she wasted their hoops.
They passed through a security check and out into the private aircraft area. Seattle had been hit pretty hard by the same rioting that had spread all across UCAS after Dunkelzahn's death. Air traffic was down to minimal, but Jane must have been working hard because their credsticks got them through with ease.
Dhin was sleeping in the cockpit of the modified Hughes
Airstar helicopter when they approached. "Hoi!" Axler said, slamming the door after she and Ryan had climbed aboard.
Dhin jerked awake, nearly banging his big, warty head against the rigger console. "Frag, Axler," he said, wiping some gray drool from his chin. "Don' do that."
Axler gave a short laugh. "Just get us moving," she said.
"Hells Canyon tour?"
"Yes, Assets compound."
As Ryan strapped himself into a torn vinyl chair next to Axler, Dhin powered up the rotors. And a few minutes later, the blades thrumming rhythmically above them, Dhin lifted the helo, taking them up steeply. He angled up and out, then kicked in the jets, and they blasted into Salish-Shidhe territory.
The Cascades shone in the afternoon sun, white snow caps above forested slopes. Several of the highest peaks were rounded since the massive eruptions that occurred in conjunction with the Great Ghost Dance forty years ago. Ryan had been only five years old when that had happened-four peaks erupting simultaneously in the most massive display of ritual magic ever. The Native Americans had gotten fed up with the oppression against them and had called on their shamans to stop the government troops threatening to destroy them. Many, many shamans sacrificed themselves to power the ritual, or so the rumor went, and all that magical power was channeled into the volcanic Cascades.
Nothing since could compare.
Once the Hughes Airstar had cleared the peaks, and they were flying safely along the far northern edge of the Columbia River Gorge, Axler contacted Jane. The water shone a pristine blue on their right, and across its wide flow were the hills of the elven nation of Tir Tairngire. The elves had a reputation for paranoid border patrol, which was why Dhin kept the helo well inside the Salish Shidhe edge.
We'll be going there soon enough, thought Ryan, and a thrill of excitement channeled through him. Their run tomorrow would take them deep within the borders of the elven nation. It would be a dangerous run, and they would need all their cunning and stealth to pull it off. It was just what Ryan needed.
"Jane," Axler said to the telecom screen. "Ryan's here.
We're enroute to the Assets compound to rendezvous with the others and plan the run."
"I've got some details on the Atlantean Foundation's building security," Jane said, her voice flat and without emotion on the helo's speaker.
Ryan activated the telecom screen next to his seat, and saw Jane's ridiculous blonde bimbo persona looking out at him. All red lipstick and sparkling eyes, huge bosom and hourglass hips under pinstripe business suit. He almost laughed, but instead he said, "Ready for download."
A series of graphics flooded into the telecom's memory. There were maps of Eugene and surrounding area, enlargements of the research park area along the Willamette River, with one of the buildings bolded. There were photos of the outside from almost every angle, plus Jane had reconstructed a three-dimensional model based on the photos.
Ryan was impressed. "Excellent work," he said. "Very thorough."
"There's more," Jane said. "I couldn't get a floor plan, but I did manage to snag the original blueprints from a very old databank-in the city's archives, of all fragging places."
The blueprints appeared on Ryan's screen. "How old?"
"The building is forty-two years old, but the Atlanteans have only had it for seventeen. I would say the blueprints are unreliable at best. A lot of interior modifications could have been made. I couldn't get current floor plan schematics without risking tipping their security. I can try if we deem it's crucial."
"Hopefully we won't need you on site, virtually speaking, until the actual run," Ryan said. "Lethe might be able to help us determine what remodeling they've done. He's been inside, remember."
"I know, but…" There was hesitation in Jane's voice. "I don't completely trust that spirit. What do we know about it?"
"Good point. We don't know drek."
Axler joined in. "I don't want it along," she said. "It could get us all killed."
Ryan turned to her. "I don't think we have a choice. The thing is way too powerful to stop. If it wants to come along, there's nothing we can do."
"McFaren might be able to trap it, or bind it or something," Axler said. Ryan just laughed. "What?"
"Maybe," he said finally. "But I seriously doubt it. Lethe is the most powerful spirit I've ever encountered."
"We just need to be aware that its intentions may not jive with ours," Jane said.
"Agreed."
"Where is it anyway?" asked Axler.
"I don't know," said Ryan. "Last I saw it was early this morning in FDC."
"I'm right here," came a voice that nearly sent Ryan jumping out of his seat. He looked into the astral plane to see the blinding glow of Lethe. Only a tiny part of the spirit fit inside the helicopter, but even that small fraction was enough to chill Ryan. Like ice water in the very marrow of his bones.