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Deep in the desert at the heart of Nova Babylonia, sited at the furthest point from every inhabited city and settlement in the country, surrounded by sun-scorched dunes and barren mesas as far as the eye could see, there stood a curious structure.<\/p>\n
It was a cube. A black, gleaming cube, five stories tall, perfectly equidistant on every side. Its exterior surface shone like glass, but in truth it was an amorphous alloy. Flat and smooth and perfectly featureless, there were no windows, no doors, none immediately visible to the external observer.<\/p>\n
Three sets of barriers surrounded the cube. The outermost layer was a simple chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, twenty-one feet tall. The second barrier was composed entirely of razor wire, miles and miles of sharpened steel mounted on stakes as tall as the outer fence, six unbroken loops mounted one atop the other, so densely interwoven it was a forest of cutting steel. The final perimeter defense was a concrete wall, again topped with triple concertina razor wire.<\/p>\n
There were twelve security towers. One at each corner, two more in between them. Every hour of the day, sharpshooters with high-caliber rifles patrolled the narrow catwalks, shifting their attention between the desert outside and the black cube. A remote weapon station topped every tower, armed with heavy machine guns, autocannons, lasers. The RWS platforms at the corners aimed outwards. The rest were aimed at the grounds of the cube.<\/p>\n
The cube itself was an exercise in automation, efficiency, and control. The ground floor was earmarked for human staff. Here held the administration offices, the guard barracks, the kitchen, the storage areas, everything the facility needed for self-sufficiency. As close to self-sufficiency as its design would permit.<\/p>\n
Populated by humans, it was the among most heavily secured areas on the planet. Checkpoints with biometric security systems, cameras and mirrors that observed every square inch of the interior, security doors rated against blasts and ballistics and other threats. Arms and ammunition lockers were in abundance in every sector, ready for immediate access. Every human who worked here was thoroughly vetted, subject to random audits and security tests, held to the most stringent security protocols ever designed by human minds.<\/p>\n
For the inhabitants of the upper eight floors were not<\/em> human.<\/p>\n At least, not until recently.<\/p>\n Inside the cube, there was the Box. Occupying the second to fifth floors of its host building, it was much<\/em> smaller on the inside that its outward appearance suggested. Reinforced concrete, piping, shielded cables, sensors and security devices made up the difference. And, it was rumored, an army of secret things<\/em> the government had enlisted to keep the peace, tucked away in unseen spaces and hidden rooms, waiting to be unleashed on the world.<\/p>\n The Box was hollow. A vast empty space stood in the middle of the Box. It was what passed for a courtyard, and in the center of the yard was a tower. Tinted ballistic windows peered out from every side, augmented by cameras and millimeter wave sensors. Sturdy steel doors, defended by a biometric lock, protected access to the tower and its exterior catwalk. Atop the tower was a laser turret, the most powerful, and most versatile, laser ever to be deployed in an indoor environment. It could dazzle a man, it could blind him, it could generate a single pulse powerful enough to knock him on his ass, it could cut him clean in half.<\/p>\n A bold red line painted on the floor ringed the tower. Diagonal lines cut through the enclosed space. On the other side of the line, stenciled words ordered unauthorized personnel to keep away. Elsewhere on the court, green lines demarcated running tracks with distance markers, a designated stretching area, a general workout space. The paint was scratched and faded, and rusty brown spots spattered across the pitted concrete.<\/p>\n Six levels of cells surrounded the tower and the courtyard, connected by catwalks and staircases. Every door was vault-grade, three inches of metallic glass and concrete, secured with a dozen deadbolts. Each cell was barely the size of a shoebox. Inside, there was a bed, a desk and a stool, all made of poured concrete, integral and immovable extrusions from the floor and walls. There was only one metal object in the room, the hygiene unit that combined a sink, a toilet and water fountain. Next to the hygiene unit was a small shower stall, just large enough for someone to stand. LEDs and camera domes glared unblinkingly from the ceiling, every hour of the day. Slots cut into the walls and floor housed microwave emitters and tear gas nozzles, ready to pacify any inmate who showed even the slightest hint of resistance.<\/p>\n This was the Box: the prison to hold the Elect of the New Gods.<\/p>\n And now, those who had hunted them.<\/p>\n The STS had transported the Black Watch here, straight from the BITE. No charges, no paperwork, no access to a lawyer. The staff in-processed everyone separately, locked them away in the Box, and forgot about them.<\/p>\n Even by the standards of the laxest court in Nova Babylonia, it was patently illegal. But here, the law held no sway. Through complex legal maneuvers, backed by reams of carefully constructed paperwork, the Box existed in a state of non-being, a space claimed by no nation on the remade world, and therefore a space ruled by no court or government.<\/p>\n The Box was Limbo on Earth.<\/p>\n The overhead lights dictated the time. When they were switched off, a darkness more than night overwhelmed the prison. Once turned on again, they were so bright they banished every shadow to the furthest corners of the complex.<\/p>\n Three times a day, the prison staff delivered meals through the food slots. There were just three options. A loaf of tasteless mush the color of human waste, a bowl of bland gruel, or a cold hard submarine sandwich. While designed to be eaten without utensils, each meal came with a one-use-only eating utensil baked from flavorless dough, itself designed to be edible should the prisoner desire it.<\/p>\n For twenty-three hours a day, the inmates were confined to their cells. There was nothing to do and nowhere to go. Any entertainment had to come from the depths of the inmate\u2019s mind. The guards allowed stationery and books, but the inmate had to put in a special request, and none of those items could leave the cell. Or else.<\/p>\n In that last hour, they were allowed to exercise in the yard. It was a privilege, not a right, revocable at will. Yard time itself was carefully scheduled, preventing inmates from rival factions or gangs from encountering each other.<\/p>\n It was the only time the Black Watch could see each other.<\/p>\n During yard time, they were the only visible humans in their little slice of the world. There were guards hidden in the tower, of course, and a quick reaction force waiting in the wings. But for that hour, the six of them were left alone.<\/p>\n For that hour, they were allowed to be human.<\/p>\n Yard time carried the gravity of ritual. The first five minutes were for warm-ups, both ballistic and partner stretches. The next twenty-five minutes were for bodyweight exercises, a non-stop calisthenic routine that targeted every major muscle group without rest. Immediately after that came the run, an endless loop around the yard for another twenty-five minutes. Every day, they took turns to lead the group, and in that variation was their one means of rebellion against the system.<\/p>\n But the last five minutes never changed.<\/p>\n They talked.<\/p>\n It was simple conversation. How they were doing and feeling, anything interesting that had happened in the cell, a brief election for the following day\u2019s exercise leader, a competition to see who could insult the previous meals in the most amusing way possible.<\/p>\n Then the guards came for the Black Watch and hustled them back to the cells.<\/p>\n Day in, day out, the regimen never changed. Fox tried to adjust to her new life. Tried. But the density of boredom weighed her down, and at all hours of the day and night, men and women and things<\/em> screamed and shrieked and prayed and sang and whispered and muttered, grinding down her soul bit by bit.<\/p>\n It was inhumane. But the Box was not for humans. It was for the most dangerous creatures on the surface of the Earth, for those who had traded their souls for raw power\u2014and had somehow survived their encounters with the authorities. To these inmates, anything could be\u2014and was\u2014a weapon. They were themselves<\/em> weapons, the instruments of the New Gods, the will of their patrons made flesh. They were too dangerous to be set free, too inconvenient to execute.<\/p>\n So the Box slowly drove them mad.<\/p>\n And, she feared, it would do the same to her.<\/p>\n Yamamoto had faith. Faith in his God, whoever he was. A god that had never been seen on the planet since the Calamity that saw the descent of the New Gods. And yet, she had seen that god work through him too many times to doubt his existence. Had he manifested any actual supernatural powers, Yuri would surely have been marked as an Elect. Yet he hadn\u2019t, and by staying under the radar of the authorities and the New Gods, he had accomplished more than any mere mortal. His faith had brought him to this point, and surely his faith would keep him going.<\/p>\n Mustafa, too, had faith. As the Elect of a minor Power, he enjoyed direct communion with his god. The Box might be designed to hold someone like him, but if he put his mind to it, he could surely escape from this place. Or go out in a blaze of glory. But he hadn\u2019t, and wouldn\u2019t. Galen the White would not approve of it. So Karim would obey the will of the White Wolf, even if it meant lingering in this limbo for the rest of time.<\/p>\n But what about the others? What about her?<\/em><\/p>\n She couldn\u2019t speak for Tan, Connor or Wood. But her\u2026 she had nothing.<\/p>\n Nothing to see her through the hours and the days of nothingness. Nothing to fortify her soul against the howling and the screeching and the crying of those who had succumbed to the isolation. Nothing but her native skills to keep her safe in a place filled with the monsters she had hunted for years, controlled by humans who could, at any moment, engineer a moment of carelessness that would bring her face-to-face with a Godtouched monster in human skin.<\/p>\n She hadn\u2019t thought much of religion in her life. It was nothing but pretty words and shallow doctrines that the New Gods used to control their followers and justify their insatiable lust for blood and power. And yet\u2026 here and now\u2026<\/p>\n Maybe she was starting to see why Yuri was a believer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fourteen days after their incarceration, right after breakfast, the guards came for her.<\/p>\n Three heavy booms resounded from the door.<\/p>\n \u201cKayla Fox! Step up to the door!\u201d<\/p>\n Her name. For the first time since she arrived, they had used her name. Not \u2018inmate\u2019, not \u2018you\u2019, but her given name.<\/p>\n That alone piqued her curiosity. She eased off the stool and walked to the door.<\/p>\n \u201cStop!\u201d<\/p>\n She stopped.<\/p>\n Deadbolts snapped. The door silently swung open. Guards in riot armor, helmets and face shields stood by the door.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease step out, Ms. Fox,\u201d the leader said.<\/p>\n She blinked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo cuffs? No shackles?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n He shook his head. \u201cNo, ma\u2019am. Not unless you give us a reason to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n She stepped out.<\/p>\n The eight-man team immediately surrounded her. The sole female on the team patted her down, checking for contraband, but when her hands lifted off her body, she did not cuff Fox.<\/p>\n \u201cFollow us, ma\u2019am,\u201d the leader said.<\/p>\n She followed, walking as if in a daze. Slowly scanning to her left, she saw five other teams extracting inmates from their cells.<\/p>\n They were extracting the Black Watch.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n \u201cJust follow us, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n They marched her to the courtyard. None of them laid a hand on her, but through presence and sheer mass alone, they herded her down the catwalks and the stairs, taking her to the guard tower. The other cell teams rallied around her, and among them were\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cYuri?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n He smiled. \u201cKayla.\u201d<\/p>\n Wood, Tan, Connor, Mustafa, the men of the Black Watch shuffled through spaces between the guards, rallying on her.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of guards for yard time, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Wood remarked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Tan asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a visitor,\u201d a team leader replied.<\/p>\n \u201cA visitor?\u201d Yamamoto repeated. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know anything about that. Our job is to take you to him. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Forming a phalanx around the Black Watch, the guards marched them away.<\/p>\n To the exit.<\/p>\n The exit<\/em>.<\/p>\n She couldn\u2019t believe it. Even after she passed through the double doors, cleared the security checkpoint, walked under the barrels of the ceiling-mounted guns.<\/p>\n Were they allowed to leave?<\/p>\n They took the stairs down to the first floor and wended through a labyrinth of narrow hallways and corridors. It was a different route from the ones they had used to march the team upstairs, but no less secure. Fox counted a dozen security gates, at least a hundred cameras, and a four-man team of guards standing close to arms lockers.<\/p>\n But there were no RWS platforms in sight, so maybe it was a less<\/em> secure area.<\/p>\n The guards brought them to a conference room. The leader opened the doors and gestured inside.<\/p>\n \u201cGo on. He\u2019s waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto went in first. Fox was right behind him.<\/p>\n A blast of cool, clean air hit her. Peeling away from Yamamoto, she saw a round table of polished glass. A dozen leather chairs surrounded the table. And at the head sat a middle-aged man in a black suit.<\/p>\n Commander Joshua Gregory.<\/p>\n He wore a smile. But dark rings surrounded his eyes, scraggly strips of white hair poked out from his chin and jawline, and deep lines etched across his weathered face.<\/p>\n \u201cGentlemen, lady, I\u2019m glad to see you. Are you well? Were you mistreated?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow about you explain what the hell\u2019s going on?\u201d Connor said, crossing his arms.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll get to that,\u201d he promised. \u201cBut first, I want to check in on you. Is everybody alright? Any complaints?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey treated us like we were monsters,\u201d Fox said pointedly.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, well, there\u2019s no getting around that. We couldn\u2019t have rumors of a new batch of prisoners getting special treatment. If word about that leaked, it would attract the attention of the New Gods. We couldn\u2019t have that. But all the same, I\u2019m sorry you had to endure what you had been through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSir,\u201d Yamamoto said quietly, \u201cwe\u2019re as well as we can be, under the circumstances. But why don\u2019t you start from the beginning and tell us the full story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course. But come, sit, you\u2019ve been through enough already.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory gestured grandly at the tables. Everyone sat at the chairs closest to him. Yamamoto sat to Gregory\u2019s right, within easy reach of his dominant hand. Fox sat next to Yamamoto.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to start with an apology,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cTreating you like this wasn\u2019t right. But it was the only option we had. The Box is the one place in the world the New Gods can\u2019t reach. We didn\u2019t put you here to punish you. We wanted to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTreating us like prisoners is \u2018protection\u2019?\u201d Connor asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI objected to it too. But my hands were tied. I burned a lot of favors to keep you off the official records. But I had to park you in a place even the New Gods can\u2019t touch, or it wouldn\u2019t matter at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe would have appreciated it if you had informed us in advance,\u201d Wood said. \u201cOr, at least, once we had settled in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry. We\u2019ve been extremely busy over the past two weeks. We had to maintain operational security until it was all over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you busy with?\u201d Mustafa asked.<\/p>\n \u201cCleaning up after you.\u201d<\/p>\n We left a hell of a mess at the BITE, huh,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than that. You took down the government.\u201d<\/p>\n His words sucked the air out of the room.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2026 what?\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cRight before we landed, someone posted terabytes of sensitive data on a half-dozen pastebin websites. Videos, audio recordings, minutes of meetings, bank statements, all of them proving improper relationships between the New Gods and key government figures. And text files with instructions to grow DNA solutions and how to retrieve information encoded in them. Sounds familiar?\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory stared pointedly at Yamamoto. Then at Tan.<\/p>\n The men\u2019s faces turned to stone.<\/p>\n It was the team\u2019s final option. If the enemy breached their position, Tan would immediately publish everything he had on the Net, and damn the consequences. But nobody thought they\u2019d live to see the consequences. At least, Fox didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened next?\u201d Wood prodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we were managing the fallout from the firefight, the compromising material spread across the Net. Once the alt media got their hands on it, there was no stopping it. The entire administration\u2019s burning in the biggest scandal since the founding of Nova Babylonia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2014the STS\u2014hit the ground running and didn\u2019t stop. Our mandate is to save lives and uphold the law, and that was what we did. We arrested every corrupt individual implicated in the data. Sometimes in tandem with local law enforcement, usually by ourselves. At this moment, we\u2019re still<\/em> running ops and takedowns. As you can imagine, some of them don\u2019t want to come in quietly. But you don\u2019t have to worry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWas anyone in the STS implicated in the scandal?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n She knew what he was really asking: was Gregory<\/em> implicated in it?<\/p>\n Gregory shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. We\u2019re the only government agency not<\/em> compromised by the New Gods. Yuri and I, we designed the STS from the ground-up so they could never influence us.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone turned to Yamamoto.<\/p>\n \u201cWait, what?<\/em>\u201d Mustafa exclaimed. \u201cYuri designed it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t tell you?\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n Yamamoto shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cThe commander came up with the concept of the STS. He approached a number of\u2026 subject matter experts to stand up the unit. I was among them.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cModest to the end, aren\u2019t you? See, Yuri isn\u2019t just a plankowner. Everything about the STS\u2014the training, the operations manual, the gear, the supply chains, the mission set, the organization, the doctrine\u2014he had a part in creating them all. Without him, the STS could never have existed.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto looked away uncomfortably.<\/p>\n \u201cSir, I just did what was asked of me.\u201d<\/p>\n Fox smiled. He was normally cool and composed, even in the heat of battle. She\u2019d never seen this<\/em> side of him before.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you did it to perfection,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cThe New Gods have no leverage over us. That makes us the only truly independent law enforcement body in the entire country. The only ones who can drain the swamp and clean up the government.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also the poor schmucks the PSB used to maintain the balance of power between the New Gods,\u201d Wood pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, there is that perception. There are as-yet unidentified parties who are aiming to create that perception in the press, to paint us as the cat\u2019s paws of the New Gods or the government or both, and cast our reputation in doubt. We are working on countering that. But right now, the people need heroes. They\u2019ll turn to the one agency seen as incorruptible.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory sounded proud. Was it because the STS had remained true where others had fallen? Or was it something else?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen now?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still some unanswered questions about the events at the BITE,\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n The faces of the Black Watch went still.<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cSuch as?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs the responders closed in, they spotted a civilian female fleeing the campus. She linked up with two other females a block away. We notified BPD, but the first responders had their hands full evacuating the area and providing first aid. The women vanished. Do you know anything about them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot even the female inside the BITE when the shooting went down?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe cleared the fifth floor of all civilians long before the firefight. But I can\u2019t speak for any other civilians who might have been trapped on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Cindy wasn\u2019t a civilian. She wasn\u2019t even human. Technically, Yamamoto hadn\u2019t lied.<\/p>\n Gregory\u2019s eyebrows arched. \u201cI see. There is also the question of the data. We recovered thirty-two vials of DNA solutions in the lab. DNA solutions containing encoded data. But you only published the information encoded in three vials. What about the others?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe only had time to decrypt and publish the contents of those three vials,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the others?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEncrypted using DNA steganography. We don\u2019t have the primers to decrypt them. Do you?\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory shook his head. \u201cThe original owners, whoever they are, haven\u2019t come forward to with the keys. I\u2019ve been informed it could take decades, if not centuries, to crack the encrypted solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWere there any other non-encrypted vials?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t answer that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you\u2019re using them as evidence,\u201d Connor said with a sly smile.<\/p>\n Gregory\u2019s eyes twinkled.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an unprecedented opportunity to excise the cancer of corruption in the upper echelons of society. We\u2019re making the most of it. And on that note, Zen, have you sent the raw DNA data to anyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u2019s borrowed machine automatically backed up its data to a private encrypted cloud, one shared only with Alex. Tan had nothing to do with that.<\/p>\n \u201cNo? I\u2019m reading reports of behind-the-scenes manipulations. Allegations of extortion by an unknown party, publication of fresh blackmail material, even a few suicides. Someone else out there has access to the data, and I\u2019m not talking about the original owners.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t know anything about that either. I mean, we were in the Box for two weeks. It\u2019s hard to hear anything about the outside world in here, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u2019s voice started light-hearted, but it concealed a bitter edge.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what about your machine? It conveniently bricked itself after you published the data.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u2019s eyes widened in a mockery of shock.<\/p>\n \u201cReally? I had no idea about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory pursed his lips. \u201cI was hoping you would know something about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan shrugged expansively. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know the machine was bricked. I was too busy following your orders to stand down. Maybe a third party traced the upload and decided to kill it at the source.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex, again.<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d Gregory said, completely unconvinced. \u201cIt\u2019s a pity the techs couldn\u2019t trace the hacker who disabled your machine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA pity,\u201d Tan echoed.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, that\u2019s all the questions I have for you,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cAnd this isn\u2019t a formal interview anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you here for?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n \u201cTo check in on you, see how you\u2019re doing. And to update you on the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe people are furious. Everybody knows there\u2019s at least some<\/em> corruption in the government, but nobody knew it ran this deep. There are protest marches all over Nova Babylonia, demanding reforms and anti-corruption investigations. Not even the New Gods can do anything about it, not without risking a shooting war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Attorney-General has appointed Special Counsel Robert Temple to investigate all allegations of corruption. Temple has issued subpoenas for all of us, myself included, to testify before the grand jury.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is why you\u2019re here,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n Gregory nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed. The nation is gripped in crisis, but in every crisis, there is opportunity. We need to decide how it plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n Wood stiffened. Connor frowned. Yamamoto\u2019s face hardened. Mustafa blinked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Mustafa asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the testimonies begin, there are two roads we can walk.<\/p>\n \u201cOne, I tell the grand jury that you were on a special assignment. After the mission in Riveria, you uncovered evidence suggesting corruption at a massive scale, so massive even the PSB was implicated in it. Under the guise of an official suspension, I ordered you to conduct an undercover investigation. Your investigation bore fruit, but as the New Gods sent their troops to silence you, you published the information you gathered before they got their hands on it. The paperwork and the timelines supporting this narrative have already been prepared; stick to it and we all walk away as heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n Mustafa blanched. \u201cYou want us to lie<\/em> to the grand jury?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is always the\u2026 alternative path.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI tell the grand jury I had no idea what you were up to. This is the truth; Yuri kept me in the dark until the eleventh hour. When I received a report of a massive firefight on the BITE campus, I deployed the STS, who found you at the scene. That is the limit of my involvement. You will be free to tell Temple and the grand jury whatever you like.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow would you explain the air strike?\u201d Wood asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a massive firefight, as I said. In cases like these, the STS may exercise special powers to request help from the military. The military obliged. The AC-252 was the first to arrive on station, and engaged the combatants on the ground. When the STS arrived, it was all over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what happened,\u201d Fox said. \u201cYuri called in the air strike himself. You were working with him, weren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said, Yuri kept me in the dark. He only told me what was going on the night before the showdown at the BITE. That\u2019s no lie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut he wouldn\u2019t have been able to call the air strike without your involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe aircrew of the Wraith will testify that they received a lawful request for assistance from the STS, and that an STS operator in the area called down fire on the area around the campus,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cThey have no knowledge of who, exactly, called the strike, nor would they be expected to.\u201d<\/p>\n Fox\u2019s blood went cold. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not? That\u2019s the truth. The aircrew wouldn\u2019t know who \u2018Samurai\u2019 is, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n Fox shook her head. She had always thought Gregory was fine leader, if somewhat distant. He was the driving force of the STS, the men who fended off the wolves so that the operators could get on with their jobs. Not the man who would throw his own to the wolves.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is bullshit!\u201d Connor exclaimed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only choice you\u2019re giving us is the choice to choose what lies we want to be told,\u201d Mustafa said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at the point beyond truth and lies. All that matters is the narrative, and the consequences that flow from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sadness dripped from every word. Just yesterday, Fox might have believed that Gregory was remorseful. He might, even now, be capable of feeling it. But in the end, he was just like the rest of the New Gods: all he cared about was his own fief.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what happens, your ass is covered,\u201d Fox said bitterly.<\/p>\n \u201cI am in that curious position, yes. But I can help you. I want<\/em> to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d Connor demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s say you pick the second option. You tell the grand jury your side of the story, and I won\u2019t interfere. But that means you\u2019ll have to admit to going rogue. You\u2019ll have no official protection. The PSB will open investigations into every single one of your shootings up to this point, including the firefight at the BITE. You\u2019ll have to explain your actions. Including what happened at the Golden Mile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the first option is any better?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell Temple and the jury that I ordered you to investigate the Golden Mile and interview a witness. But the Void Collective discovered you and attacked you. To protect yourself and the witness, you had to fight your way to safety. Along the way, you managed to scoop up critical evidence incriminating many high-ranking government, military and police officials.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got to Marcie?\u201d Tan whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was also a witness. She can tell the truth about how the VC turns would-be believers into mindless puppets. I mean, wasn\u2019t that why you were there? To protect her?\u201d<\/p>\n Tan clenched his fists.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose you have an explanation of how we collected the information from the servers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExigent circumstances. You believed the servers contained vital information pertaining to the VC\u2019s criminal activities. If you had left without securing it, they would have destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t hold up in court,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that the information is out in the open, it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Gregory said calmly. \u201cThe public demands action. Heads will roll. The only question is whose, and how many.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you don\u2019t care if ours roll?\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cI do. That\u2019s why I\u2019m willing to extend you a helping hand. But you must be willing to take it. Right, Yuri?\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto said nothing. Since the moment Gregory offered his choices, he had sat in silence, presenting a stony facade to the world, his body utterly unreadable.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d Gregory asked.<\/p>\n Yamamoto looked away from him, facing his team.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I put together the Black Watch, I was looking a specific kind of operator. Someone with a moral code. Someone who would do the right thing, no matter what. Even if it meant defying the New Gods and the authorities of the world. Especially<\/em> if it meant that.<\/p>\n \u201cYou, all of you, you did exactly that. Despite everything they threw at you, you kept the faith and stayed true to the mission. I\u2019m proud to have known you. You are the finest bunch of shooters I\u2019ve ever had the honor of serving with.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we need to think of ourselves. If we testify before the grand jury, tell them exactly what happened and what we did, there\u2019s only one outcome for us. We will be branded a rogue unit\u2014and rightfully so. They will throw us back upstairs with the rest of the monsters. And this time, the New Gods will do everything in their power to ensure that we will have every opportunity to encounter their Elect.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter everything we\u2019ve been through together, after everything we\u2019ve done, is this what you want? Is this what we deserve<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYuri\u2026\u201d Fox whispered. \u201cAre you serious?\u201d<\/p>\n A pained expression crossed his face. \u201cI just wanted to do the right thing by you. All of you. We\u2019re all in this together. So I want to know: what do you<\/em> want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the alternative?\u201d Connor asked. \u201cWhat if we play along?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou will be protected,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cI swear it. And when it all blows over, you\u2019ll get your jobs back. Or you could start a new life, whatever you want. You earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026 fuck.\u201d Connor sighed. \u201cHey, Yuri, in that Bible you told me about, there was this passage that says, \u2018And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.\u2019 I sure don\u2019t see any freedom in this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt said \u2018know\u2019, not necessarily, \u2018tell,\u2019\u201d Yamamoto said bitterly. \u201cWe know the truth. We are already free. Free to choose what we want to do with the rest of our lives, and how we want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a simple choice, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not,\u201d Fox snapped.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s reframe it then,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cThe New Gods are responsible for all the misery and the suffering they\u2019ve piled on us and the innocent. Our mission remains unchanged: to save lives and uphold the law. Which option allows us to continue the mission and hold the New Gods to account?\u201d<\/p>\n The men of the Black Watch frowned and looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cWho are you trying to convince?\u201d Fox asked. \u201cUs? Or yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto licked his lips. He worked his mouth, trying to form words. Then he sighed and looked up at her.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n She reached out, taking his hand.<\/p>\n \u201cListen. All this time, we\u2019ve looked up to you. You led us through the most difficult and the most insane missions of our career. I had no regrets joining up. None of us do. You\u2019re our leader, always have been, always will. Whatever you choose, we\u2019ll follow you. All the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto swallowed. And looked around the room.<\/p>\n One by one, the men nodded at him.<\/p>\n He nodded back.<\/p>\n And patted her hand.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked back at Gregory.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you know our decision, then.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the first time in two weeks, Fox saw the sun.<\/p>\n It hung high in the sky, a fireball that blessed the world with light and warmth. She stood with her arms outstretched, basking in its glory, chasing away the chill of the Box.<\/p>\n Behind her, the low-profile doors of the cube slid shut, recessing into place. The Black Watch, now dressed in civilian clothing, stood around her, chuckling softly.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you photosynthesizing?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYup!\u201d<\/p>\n The men laughed again.<\/p>\n Seven close protection details and seven gravcars waited in the parking lot. One for each member of the Black Watch, plus Gregory. The bodyguards were all STS operators, kitted up in tac gear and armed to the teeth. They waved at Yamamoto and the men, and they waved back.<\/p>\n The cars would take them in seven separate directions, to seven separate safe houses scattered across the country. It was too dangerous to return to Babylon, or to gather in a single location. They would hunker down in their respective safe houses, and spend the following weeks rehearsing and refining their stories for Temple and the grand jury. The next time they saw each other would be in court, if at all.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is it,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI respect the choice you made,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cI know it wasn\u2019t easy. But it was the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The operators just glared at him with icy stares.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll hold you to your word,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cCount on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory was the first to go. He climbed into his car without looking back.<\/p>\n Everyone else turned inwards, forming a loose circle.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, guys,\u201d Yamamoto said, \u201cit was a hell of a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat it was,\u201d Mustafa agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe we got this far,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we did,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than I can say for so many others,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess this is it,\u201d Tan said. \u201cSee you on the flip side.\u201d<\/p>\n One by one, the men grabbed walked to their designated cars. Tan, Connor, Wood, Mustafa, they found their vehicles and linked up with their drivers.<\/p>\n Leaving Yamamoto and Fox by the entrance.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re staying?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not leaving?\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n \u201cFigured you wanted to say something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n He chuckled. And sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, this isn\u2019t the end of it. Not by a long shot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe New Gods are the rulers of the world. We might have removed their puppets, but so long as they remain, they can simply install new ones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re saying what we did didn\u2019t matter?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt did. But there\u2019ll always be people willing to take what the New Gods have to offer. There\u2019ll always be people willing to trade their eternal souls for temporal power. They\u2019ll cut loose everyone implicated in the scandal, then elevate new ones to replace them. It\u2019s how they\u2019ve always worked. How they remained in charge for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut in the meantime, we\u2019ll be able to change things. Make it harder for the New Gods to seize power. Make it easier for people to do what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope so too. And yet, so long as the New Gods are still around\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about them?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head. And as he completed the gesture, he cocked his head in the direction of the security camera behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat more is there to say? In the end, it\u2019s just Babylon blues.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand. But you faced them once. You can face them again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. But we\u2019re not going to do that standing around here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I\u2026 I just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked down. Clenched her fists. Took a deep breath. Looked back up.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you. For everything.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome. And don\u2019t worry. This isn\u2019t the end. We\u2019ll see each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cHave faith,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n And pointed at the sky.<\/p>\n She laughed.<\/p>\n He walked to his car.<\/p>\n She walked to hers.<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t look back.<\/p>\n At last, BABYLON BLUES is finished! Thank you for your support. If you’d like to read the entire five-story saga in a single collection, plus a bonus story that follows Yuri Yamamoto on a personal mission, back BABYLON BLUES REMASTERED on Kickstarter\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/www.benjamincheah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Cheah-Kit-Sun-Red-5.png\")
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