The Omega Device (The Ha-Shan Chronicles Book 1) (29 page)

“
That's
it?” Maggie choked. “That's
all
this is about?” She was shocked; less at Reese's actions than her motivations. Reese propped herself against the wall. “All your bullshit's been about proving you're still a bad-ass even though you like women?” She suddenly calmed herself, too exhausted to shout. “I expected more, but I can't say I understand.”

Reese pushed herself up with a wince, “Why would you? Nobody fuckin' does.” She lit a second cigarette with a long drag. Her next words were begrudging but calm, “Let me guess, raised by mommy and daddy. Only kid in the big city. Lots of opportunities. When it got hard, you had someone to run to.”

“No. Raised by my mother. My dad died when I was young.”

“How sad,” Reese said, mocking sympathy. She puffed her cigarette with spite, “I'm the older of two kids. My parents wanted a son. When they got one, they forgot I existed until I pissed them off. Then daddy's little fuck-up had to go and fuck-up some more by liking girls. When I left I didn't even get a goodbye. I just walked out the door and never heard from them again. Then, I—”

She hesitated to avoid something deep. Maggie watched turmoil cross her face. It quickly disappeared.

Reese continued, seemingly more angry with herself, “I showed up for their funeral and no-one said a goddamned thing to me. I was all that was left of my family and no-one gave a shit.”

Maggie watched her mounting resentment, “I'm sure no-one that really knew them thought much of them.”

“Fuck them,” Reese spat. “How would they know what I went through?”

“Yeah, well, it's really worth turning against the world.”

“Like you'd know,” she snipped, wiping blood from a lip.

Maggie raised an eyebrow, “Did I stop too soon?”

She growled deep frustration, “You think I'd be talking if I wanted more?”

Maggie marveled at her idea of pillow-talk. “You really
do
get off on it.”

“Yeah, so thanks,” Reese said with a smokey plume. “As much as I fucking
hate
admitting it, you're right. Pain is all I really know. But it's too late to change that now.”

Maggie hesitated, as unstable as she seemed, Reese's perception was clear. Her damage might never be repaired, but it didn't necessarily make her a lost cause. If she could accept it would take time, she might still be saved from any horrors she'd yet to inflict.

Unfortunately, Maggie didn't have time, but she could promise to help regardless. It was an obvious out from Omega. Whatever they'd offered was hardly enough to overcome even the shred of possible hope at saving herself.

Maggie sighed, looked her over, “Look Reese, nobody gives two shits what you get off on unless you want them to get you off. Personally, I'd rather
not
be the one to do it, but if it comes down to that or letting all of Humanity die… I could do worse.”

For the first time since Maggie'd heard Reese's voice, she laughed with sincerity. There was no menace intended, no malice inflected. For one, simple moment, there was a spark of joy in her.

Reese winced from the jolting laughter on her pained body, “You know, I really don't like you, Doherty.”

“I don't like you either, but for now, we're stuck together.”

“I could always kill you.”

“Then you'd have no one to beat you to orgasm.”

Reese gave a resounding laugh, “I'm sure I could find
someone
. But you're missing the point; you think I can help you. I can't. You have no plan. No direction. What good's your little coup if we sit here with our thumbs up our asses?”

Maggie shrugged, “We either let them win or beat them.”

“You really don't realize the kind of resources Omega has,” she said, bemused. “If you fuck up, you're dead. End of story. And that's just
us. W
ho the fuck
knows
what'd happen to you.”

“Then we play them for what they have,” she said thoughtfully. “We use their resources and contacts to get to the weapon.”

“West
will
come back in force,” Reese assured, snuffing her cigarette. “When he does, if Thorne hasn't finished, he'll kill him. If that happens, you're little masquerade's pointless.”

“What'll happen if he shows up and Thorne
is
done?”

“He'll take you guys prisoner. He's a junked out asshole, but he's not
that
stupid.”

“Then why leave us alone?” Maggie asked.

“If you think we're not being watched right now, you're worse off than I thought,” Reese admitted. “He's got surveillance cameras on us now. I doubt he's got audio, but… whatever. I hate that fuck and he knows it.”

“Are you alright?” Maggie asked with genuine concern.

Reese shrugged, “I don't like the fucking gorilla, and you've seen what he can do.”

“I meant about—”

“I know what you meant. It's that or he kills me. I could kill him, but then Black would kill me.”

“Not much of a choice if you ask me.”

“Yeah, well, at least with Kurst and Hoff around he was more tame.”

“Well, then I
am
sorry,” Maggie admitted.

“Doesn't matter. They're dead, I'm not. If we didn't expect to die we wouldn't be doing what we're doing. I guess the only choice is which side I'd rather have do me in.”

“So, you'll help?” She asked with renewed hope.

Reese rubbed her forehead, “I don't fucking know why, but—”

The door opened. Russell stepped out, shocked at the scene. His eyes darted over them. Blood leaked from a gash on the right side of Reese's bruised face. Maggie's lower-lip was fat and purple from where her ring had hit and torn the skin.

Russell pulled his pistol, trained it on Reese, “The hell
happened?”

Maggie waved him off, “Put the gun down, Russell, I'm fine.”

He looked to Maggie with skepticism, pointed his narrowed eyes on Reese, “What'd you do?”

“She did it all,
boss man
,” she grunted, rising.

He was dumbstruck by his apparent ignorance, but lowered his pistol to help Maggie up. She thanked him, “We're
fine,
Russell. Trust me.”

He caught her meaning, “If you say so.”

“I do. Got something for us?”

He holstered his pistol, “Thorne's decrypting the first book.”

Maggie nodded, “We'll be right behind you.”

He gave a final look for confirmation. Maggie nodded him onward. The door shut again, left the two women alone.

Maggie examined Reese, “I need your help with Thorne.”

“What?”

“Convince him to help us. We can't do this without him. We know Omega's black-mailing you, and Thorne's only holding on by a thread.”

“What am I supposed to do? Beat him senseless?”

“Offer him protection. Something. I know you can figure it out.”

“Sounds like you're using me in the meantime,” Reese admitted caustically.

Maggie grew more serious, “Reese, I am
asking
for your help to make things easier. We need him, and we need to get the hell out of here. I don't want to have to kidnap him.”

Reese sighed, “I don't know if I have that in me.”

“Did I
really
hit you that hard?”

She shrugged, “Maybe. Maybe it was just that good of a kiss.”

Maggie rolled her eyes, “It wasn't
that
good.”

“Says you,” she quipped with a raised brow. She relented, “I'll do what I can.”

In that moment, Maggie saw a spark within Reese she hadn't before, and she suspected, neither had anyone else. Even through the blood, sweat, and hardened exterior, Reese clung to her shredded Humanity. There was an odd sense of accomplishment at it, but a worrisome caution underlined it.

A startling possibility emerged; Reese's connection to Omega might rebound on them. Her loyalty had been shaky, it's dramatic reversal with a clear measure of desperation, but Omega's blackmail was now more important than ever.

Reese was still unstable, even if calm for a moment, and there was no telling what would happen if or when Omega came down on her. A part of Maggie wished she'd let Reese be—at least then she'd have known which way the proverbial cannon would be pointed.

25.

Translation

October 7
th
 

4:00 AM

Lhasa Warehouse

Maggie tossed and turned on a cot across from Russell. He staved-off sleep to watch Thorne and Reese and scan the volumes. His head snapped toward Maggie's every movement before returning to the work at-hand.

Endless questions swam through him, infected his body with irreconcilable tension; Had Reese truly turned? Why? What kept her involved with Omega but was so easily defied? And what of Thorne? Would he follow, agree to help? If not, than what hope did they have to decipher the texts or find the device? Regardless, what about West's return?

One question led to another, then again until Russell verged on panic. He calmed himself with deep breaths that supplanted all but the most immediate, important thoughts. Two, specifically, arose: how to escape before West returned, and Omega's black-mail on Reese. What was strong enough to fear, but weak enough for Maggie to combat?

Reese's decision to help came too easily for his liking, but if genuine, would be crucial to their survival. Maggie and She-La believed her only loyal to herself. If so, what did
she
gain by helping them? What had she gained from Omega that they negated? If face-to-face with West, would they still be enough?

Russell reeled at the thoughts. He focused back on the book, ran the small device over a few pages before Thorne's exhausted movements redirected him. He wiped fatigue from his eyes as Reese's hands slid mechanically over the last, Chinese text. Russell was barely a quarter of the way through his book.

He heaved a breath, stood to stretch, and approached Thorne, “How long 'til West's back?”

Thorne's bloodshot eyes shifted sideways, “Could be days, could be minutes. Depends how hard it is to find the shit 'n how far he wants to take it.”

Russell glanced between them, “When was the last time you slept?”

Thorne contemplated the question with a breath between puckered lips, “40 hours. Maybe.”

“Sleep.”

“Doesn't work like that, buddy. If gorilla-man comes back—”

“He can deal with me. You're no use to me tired. Sleep.”

Thorne looked back at Reese. She closed her book, relaxed in her chair. “If you say so, boss. But if he comes back you'll probably have to kill him or he'll kill one of us.”

“Duly noted. Take a couple hours then get back to work.”

Thorne slid away from the desk, tossed his headphones aside to fall into the nearest cot. Russell's eyes darted to Maggie as she stirred. She wasn't sleeping, and he couldn't had he tried. If West returned, drugged and angry, Thorne's assessment would be brutally accurate. He couldn't risk letting his guard down. He stepped to Maggie's cot, sat carefully beside her.

“You awake?” She nodded weakly. “Wanna' step outside?”

She managed a shrug and rose to follow him outside.

“Where are we?” He asked in the cold air.

Maggie's brow furrowed with a yawn before she understood, “Reese said she'd help, but she's an unknown now. I almost wish I hadn't gotten to her. Whenever Omega's black-mail hits…  We'll just see how she reacts. Thorne'll probably listen. He's just scared and without options. West…” She trailed off.

“Are you worried?”

“I'd be lying if I said no. I'm more concerned with where he is.”

“You think he'll renege on the deal?”

She nodded gravely, “The only question's whether he'll rely on Reese and who she'll help.”

“So, he
will
come back in force?” He asked, scanning the warehouses.

“Reese thinks so. Even that he's watching now, but what can we do?”

He tilted his head to one side, “I don't know, but we need the info in those journals. Thorne's the only one that can translate them. We can't leave until we know what's there.”

A silent devastation flickered between them; they'd gambled everything on the notion that the journals contained clues to the weapon's location. If they provided nothing, they were back at square one and uncomfortably close to the enemy.

“We need to talk about this.” She eyed him. “I'm worried this was a mistake.”

Maggie thought it over. Her decision to bring Reese and Thorne with was extreme even to her. To an onlooker, it was downright dangerous, stupid. The minor gleam buried beneath Reese's hatred had been enough to convince Maggie of her shifting loyalty, but Russell hadn't seen it. She doubted there was a way to explain it properly. In light of his ignorance, his concern was understandable.

“Russell, you've had my trust. Now I need yours. I
know
Reese isn't as irrational as she wants us to believe. And Thorne's said outright it's just business.”

“Maggie—”

“
Please
tell me
what other options we have.” He looked away. She spoke desperately, “The Protectorate couldn't help if they were willing. At least this way there's a chance. Frankly, I'm not willing to abandon either of them if there's even the slightest hope they'll help. Sure, they've been trying to kill us, but isn't that just their job? Isn't that what a soldier does? Takes orders to kill, protect, regardless of feelings?”

He winced, “This is a little more complicated.”

Maggie hung her head back, righted it with a breath, “Look, we need to ensure West doesn't come back and kill us. They're the biggest asset towards that. We both know Reese wouldn't have taken that beating if she weren't forced to, and Thorne's
visibly
terrified of him. All I'm doing's giving them an out.”

“They really have
no idea
what's going on?” He asked in disbelief.

“Reese didn't, so I doubt Thorne does.”

“How can they
not know
what Omega was after?”

“They knew they were after a weapon, but were you always told the extent of your missions? Didn't you ever find yourself doing something just because it was ordered?”