The Gender Plan Read online

  Morgan hesitated, and then nodded, pulling off her coat and dropping it to the ground. “I’ve got your back,” she said as she quickly stripped off her street clothes. I envied her. The suit regulated her body temperature, keeping the nippy air at bay. She ran her hand through her short black hair, tamping it down again. “Let’s get this over with.”

  I took a deep breath, pressing my fingers together once more. “Everyone,” I told the group via the radio, “we’ve located Desmond’s car near the UV treatment ponds outside the plant buildings. And we have a plan to take her down.”

  35

  Viggo

  The concrete wall that separated this room from the next was ten feet tall, and the tunnel at the top of the ladder was small and cramped, barely wide enough for my shoulders to fit. But I managed, keeping my head low to avoid hitting it on the ceiling above. The sound of rushing water assailed my ears, drowning out any other discernable noises save those coming from our earbuds.

  “We’re breaching the final door. About to make our assault on the control room,” announced Ms. Dale softly into her microphone. “Everyone make sure to keep the shutdown codes handy. First one there starts the process.”

  “We’re moving into position,” I told her as I approached the end of the tunnel, taking a step on the catwalk that hung suspended from the ceiling. The thing creaked ominously, but held. I slowly stepped out onto it, fully trusting it with my weight, and it continued to hold firm.

  “Viggo.” This time, Ms. Dale’s voice came on my team’s channel, strangely enough. “I need you to do me a favor.”

  I knelt down on the catwalk, surveying the factory floor below. “What?” I asked guardedly.

  “I’m missing Jay. He heard Violet’s announcement about Desmond and took off into the plant. I think he’s got some foolish scheme going on—I couldn’t stop him. There’s nothing we can do about it now, but could you please watch out for him in the area you’re covering?”

  I could hear the concern in the woman’s voice even through her professional attitude, and my stomach sank. Jay was running around the plant by himself? He and Tim had done this running-off thing before, but now of all times…

  “I’ll keep an eye out for him,” I promised Ms. Dale, aware that that was probably the most I would be able to do under the circumstances. She answered in the affirmative and signed off, sounding resigned. As much as that worry churned my insides, I couldn’t afford to think too hard about Jay now. I refocused on my surroundings.

  The catwalk was suspended over a massive vat of water, the drop to the surface a healthy thirty feet. Below, the water churned, a long blade cutting across the surface, displacing the water and making it look as if some large aquatic beast were swimming just below the surface.

  Six guards patrolled the ground around the vat, guns in their hands, and their body language and demeanor were extremely confident. It didn’t look like they’d drunk any of the water yet. I heard my comm link beep on the team channel, and switched over. “Where exactly is the objective?” asked Mags.

  I pointed to the small door posted opposite us on the floor below, a concrete block with stairs on either side elevating the room to a position at the same level as the water tank. My guess was that it had been designed that way in case something in the system malfunctioned and began flooding the room, so the higher position would keep whatever electrical systems were inside safe. Initially.

  “Croft, those women on the floor—we should shoot them, no? We have the advantage of elevated positioning.”

  I frowned, considering Cruz’s question, and looked up at the bolts securing the catwalk to the ceiling. “It’s not a good idea,” I finally said. “The catwalk isn’t that secure, and the ricochet alone could tear us to pieces.”

  I continued to study the room. The catwalk ran across its length, probably less than a hundred feet across, culminating in another rung ladder of the same design as the one before it, cleverly hidden behind rows of pipes. The ladder ended forty to fifty feet away from the door. The lid of the vat was higher up, but it was hard to gauge how much higher up from the angle I sat at.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” I announced softly into the microphone, looking back down at my team. “The control box is our goal, so make sure you have the copy of the code Thomas gave us ready to use. First one there inputs the code, the rest of us cover them. Ms. Dale’s team will be coming through the door on the other side, but don’t expect her to be the only one to come through that door—it needs to be covered as well.” I swallowed. “There’s no way to know we will make it out of this, but I will try my hardest to make sure that we all get back to safety and our loved ones. You have all fought more bravely than I could ever hope, and I am honored that you let me lead you this far. Now trust me for just a little longer.”

  The faces that had been so filled with nervous energy at the beginning of the night were grim. Soot made an appearance on every person, and everyone had their fair share of injuries, from bumps, bruises, and scrapes, to Cruz’s bandaged shoulder, the white gauze already stained with blood.

  I didn’t need to see the expressions on their faces to understand how they felt, because I felt it. I had been through it all with them. They were tired and already on the verge of breaking, in spite of the battles we had won. Still, it didn’t hide the determination in their eyes, and I felt proud to have them standing beside me in this fight.

  “Let’s go,” I said, and I turned and began creeping across the catwalk. The suctioning sound of the water as it was moved by the massive blade covered up any telltale echoes caused by our boots, but I still took care to move as quietly as possible.

  I was halfway across when the catwalk shuddered violently, and I froze. Everyone who had followed me did too. I looked down to see if our presence had been noticed by the wardens down below, expelling a slow breath when I saw that it had not.

  “There’s too much weight,” Mags whispered through the link. “We need to spread out.”

  I nodded and moved to one side of the path, waving Tim through. Behind him were Alejandro and Janice, followed by Gregory, then April. I waved them past slowly, wanting to build up a bit of distance. I could see Cruz waving people back into the tunnel, trying to relieve some of the weight from that direction.

  Harry slipped past me, and I looked over to see Tim arriving at the other side. I raised a hand for him to hold up, and then followed Harry, not wanting the young man to be the first to put boots to the ground. The first one into a room filled with hostile enemies was more likely to get shot, and even with Tim’s advanced reflexes, it was my job to lead.

  Mags materialized next to me. “I got this,” she whispered, indicating my post midway through the catwalk, and I nodded, moving toward Tim.

  I was a good twenty-five feet away from him when I heard a surprised shout go up over the rush of the water, and I ducked down as bullets began to ping off the metallic grated flooring of the catwalk. “Return fire,” I shouted, pulling my rifle around and shooting down through the railings at the floor below.

  A Matrian woman standing by the lip of the pool ducked down behind it as I fired on her, disappearing from sight. I climbed back to my feet, intent on making my way to the other side, when I heard a primitive scream go up. I looked back to where the woman I had been firing at disappeared, and saw her olive-clad form emerge at a dead run, heading toward a wall. I hip-fired at her, but she was unfazed, running headlong through the sparks flying around her.

  She leapt into the air, almost eight feet up, and then slammed her fists into the wall. I gaped as she began to leap up it, her hands and feet moving in a blur as she used her newly gained strength to crawl up one of the huge pipes lining the wall, holding on to the sides, and then began to cross toward us on a series of horizontal pipes, moving in huge, impossible leaps. She moved in at an angle, drawing closer and closer to the catwalk, and then leapt out, practically flying through the air and landing hard on the railing near Mags.
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  The entire catwalk shuddered, Mags’ side dropping down a few inches, the men and women on it giving startled screams or shouts and reaching for the handrail. “Back up!” I shouted, turning back, but it was too late. The bolts groaned as they were yanked out of the wall.

  “Magdelena!” Alejandro shouted in alarm, and I held up my arm to stop the older man as he leapt forward, uncertain whether our side would continue to hold up.

  Mags was already racing, leaping over the gap and grabbing on to the stable edge that my side provided, her fingers slipping through the holes in the grates as she landed. There was another metallic snap behind her, and I lifted my eyes to see the section of catwalk we’d come from tear free, leaving a ten-foot gap in between, most of my team on the other side.

  I watched as the ten-foot chunk of metal plummeted, carrying the warden down with it, splashing into the water. The section of catwalk sank into the dark depths, but the warden surfaced and began swimming toward the side of the pool. She was halfway there when the blade came up in front of her, and within seconds she had been swept under, sucked into whatever undercurrent the blade was creating.

  Mags grunted as her biceps flexed, pulling her body higher up onto the groaning, tilted surface of the remaining catwalk. I got as close to the edge as I dared and reached out my hand to her. She tightened her arms more, raising herself up a bit higher, and then let go of the grate and grabbed on to my wrist in a talon-like grip. “I can’t swim,” she reminded me desperately, and I wrapped my hand around her wrist and began to pull, helping her get her hips and legs back onto the catwalk.

  The gunfire continued around us as I pushed her past me, and I kept low, trying not to think about all the ways a ricochet could go terribly wrong. “Cruz!” I transmitted, hoping the man had not fulfilled my previous wishes for his demise by falling into the vat below.

  “Yeah, I’m here. We are stuck on this side—what should we do?”

  “Stay up there and provide us with covering fire,” I replied. “Hit the doors especially, but keep them off of us.” Another feminine roar filled the air, lashing with a seething violence. “And stay alive!”

  “We’ll cover you—just get to that room and complete the mission.”

  I gave a thumbs-up over my head as I continued to push Mags forward. The catwalk swayed from side to side, groaning as we moved quickly across it, trying to duck under the spray of bullets being shot at us. I was certain the catwalk would give at any moment.

  I saw Alejandro fire into the room, covering us as we moved up, and seconds later Tim followed suit. He, Alejandro, April, Harry, and Gregory staggered their fire, using short, controlled bursts to conserve ammunition. I made it to the ladder, climbing onto the pipe and then lowering myself down behind it, planting my foot on the fourth rung from the top.

  “Follow me,” I shouted, and began to climb now. Bullets zinged past me every so often, and a few times I shielded my eyes, more out of instinct than any notion that it would stop a bullet. I felt vulnerable on the ladder, even with the pipes working to disguise our movements. I hated presenting my back to a battlefield. It made me feel like I had “target” written all over me in bright neon colors.

  I made it down the ladder, and took a moment to check on Tim’s progress. Then I made a quick scan of the ground I could see and stepped out from under the pipes, coming out in a crouch and moving forward without waiting to see what was looking at me. Electrical boxes rose from the concrete around the pool every fifteen feet or so—probably a different aspect of the moving blade—and I flung myself toward the nearest one. Overhead, I could see the flashes of the muzzle fire from our partially stranded group ahead, and I tracked their trajectory to find out where the trouble was.

  I made it to the box and knelt behind it, studying the curve of the tank and where the concrete disappeared. I heard a gun go off behind me and turned to see Tim standing there looking in the other direction, a woman on the ground and bleeding, but not dead. He readjusted his arm and shot her again, delivering the killing blow, and then loped over to me.

  I turned my head back down the hall as he moved over. “As soon as Alejandro’s here, we run for it.”

  “Viggo, more are coming in from the next room!” announced Cruz in my ear, and I grimaced.

  “Scratch that, we need to move now!” I said, standing up to shoot a woman who had appeared around the bend. She dropped, and so did I, ejecting the spent magazine and slapping in a new one. “Are Alejandro and Harry down yet?”

  “Yes!” projected Mags over the sound of her gunshots. “Let’s go!”

  I stood up and began to run for the stairs leading to the door. A woman dropped to her feet in front of me, and it was clear from the deranged look in her eyes that she too had drunk the water, or taken the pill.

  April and I fired a long burst into her and then plowed over her as she fell, the door to the control room looming closer. I raced up the stairs and pulled open the door, my body struggling with the weight of the thing, while Tim stepped through, still firing his weapon. Mags got past me next, and I plunged in after them, ready for anything.

  At the moment, there was nobody living standing there. Tim holstered his weapon and moved over to the console, studying it, while Mags nudged a woman lying on her back on the floor. I turned and waved on the stragglers from our group. April brought up the rear, her gun firing more and more rapidly as more targets came circling around the vat. I fired over her head at a target. “April, move!” I shouted.

  Something growled overhead, and I looked up in time to see a woman leap off the wall twenty feet up, heading for April. I swung my gun up, compressing the trigger and trying to hit her, but it clicked dry. I hurriedly ejected the magazine and loaded the next one, but it was too late—she landed next to the Liberator woman, grabbing her by the arms and tossing her into the pool like a ragdoll, before she had a chance to scream. She turned toward us, and I didn’t hesitate to see if April was okay. I finished slapping in the magazine and began to push the door closed. Mags and Alejandro quickly moved in to help me—this door was heavier and had a hand wheel, just like the ones at the facility.

  I managed to thrust it closed and stepped back to begin spinning the wheel. Before I could even begin, the door slammed open again, pinning Mags between the wall and the door, as the same warden who’d attacked April stepped through, her face menacing.

  I pulled up my gun, but she smacked me across the face, sending me flying. My back hit the floor as the entire side of my face erupted in pain, and I blinked to clear the spots from my eyes. I dragged in a shuddering breath, afraid I had forgotten how to breathe, and then sat up.

  Alejandro was swinging at the enhanced woman, Mags’ name on his lips as he fought. Harry stood just behind Alejandro, shouting for him to get out of the way so he could shoot, but Alejandro wasn’t listening.

  I saw her catch his hand with her own, smaller one, and squeeze. Alejandro screamed and fell to his knees as the woman’s grip did not let up, and I could hear the sound of the bones in his hand breaking. Harry shot her, but even as she slumped over, she maintained her grip on Alejandro’s hand, dragging him with her a few feet.

  I could barely rip my eyes from the sight, and I hated having to ignore Alejandro, but the door still stood wide open. I shot at the next woman moving through, and the one right after her. Someone began firing into the room, and I dove to one side as a spray of bullets cut across the space. Scrambling on my hands and feet, I made it over to the door and slammed it shut, this time managing to twist the wheel tight to seal it.

  “I need something to jam the wheel,” I yelled as I held the wheel fast, knowing it wasn’t secured yet. I heard some shuffling behind me, and then Harry leaned over and slid a long-handled wrench through the wheel spokes, bracing it against the long locking mechanism on the back of the door.

  I let go of the wheel and turned to Mags, kneeling down next to her and checking her pulse. I heard something slam into the door I had just closed, but I ign
ored it as I searched for any sign of life.

  “How is she?” Alejandro croaked from the floor.

  “Alive,” I said after a moment. “For now, anyway.”

  “Just like us,” Alejandro whispered, his voice wobbly, clearly in agony. I looked at where he was cradling his hand against his chest and felt the pit of my stomach drop out, leaving me with a slightly nauseated feeling as I saw the… unnatural way his fingers sat.

  I looked around the room, considering what he’d said, assessing the situation, looking for options. Tim, thank God, was still at the control board, his fingers flying as he began entering the long series of complex codes and instructions. It was going to take several minutes for Tim to input that code, which meant we had to hold this position for that time. With the enemy on both sides of the room, and no way of knowing how many more were out there, things weren’t looking so great. And that wasn’t even factoring in an escape plan. I was beginning to wonder if there would be anything left of us to need one.

  “Exactly like us,” I agreed as I checked Mags’ pupils.

  Outside, the thudding against the door began in earnest.

  36

  Violet

  The yard the collection pools sat in was quiet and still. I could hear the faded pops of gunfire behind me, but here, nothing seemed to move. A break in the clouds let in some of the light from the moon, but a haze of smoke seemed to cling to everything—especially over the surface of the ponds, giving the impression that they were steaming. It was eerie for everything to be this still in the middle of a battle. My heartbeat sounded too loud in my own ears.

  I tapped my fingers together. “Thomas?” I whispered into the command channel, surprised at how quiet it was. The groups must have all been on their team channels as they moved deeper into the plant… I pushed away all the horrible ideas of other reasons for their absence, focusing on the task at hand. “Do we have a visual of where Desmond went at the water treatment plant?”