Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 81

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She motioned silently to follow, and they passed behind a tangle of thick cables. From there, she dropped to her belly and crawled. She didn't feel the need to rush—any mistake would almost certainly lead to their deaths now that they were surrounded by dozens of enemy soldiers and Rayker.

Weslan managed to follow her movements exactly, staying quiet and knowing when to stop dead. With the bulk of the commandos chasing after the fleeing Ranger squad, the pair were able to sneak towards the control booth without any trouble. Once inside, Weslan grabbed a keyboard, keeping his head away from the main window while he accessed the computer.

Kayla took up a position to observe as Rayker directed the remaining Helvets. They had abandoned their planned transformation—though the prisoner was already sealed into one of the chambers—and were instead focused on coordinating the chase.

As men yelled into radio sets, Kayla watched her enemy, standing calmly in the middle of the chaos. She obviously felt herself to be in control of events, though she was tapping her foot and glaring impatiently at the men around her. Her arrogance stirred Kayla's fury almost as much as her competence.

Kayla turned to look at the prisoner, huddled against the glass wall of the chamber, eyes staring listlessly at nothing. He had obviously not been fed well, and the filthy clothes he wore bespoke the uncomfortable nature of his captivity on the base. The man appeared to have lost the will to live; lost in who knew what kind of internal nightmare.

"Did you hack the computer?" she asked quietly, since Weslan seemed to be working confidently.

"I, uh... what?" He looked up, confused.

"How's it going?"

"Oh... pretty well. It's actually quite intuitive. The system gives me a full anatomical map of the target organism, and the layout of the modifications I want to make. All I have to do is figure out how to insert my new control structure."

"Cool." Kayla peered at the screen. "You can read that language?"

"No, but the interface is so well done that I almost don't need to. I say almost, but I'm still doing some trial-and-error guesswork."

He paused what he was doing, peeking out through the observation booth's window at the miserable-looking prisoner.

"I'm afraid we'll have to sacrifice that poor man's life," he said.

Kayla turned back to the group on the platform. The tall man named Reed, who she had seen earlier, strode between the others, barking orders, and occasionally stopping to confer with Rayker. He was obviously her second in command.

She glanced at the two empty chambers and set her jaw. "We'll see about that."

Weslan shook his head. "You can't. I saw her... operate that machine."

Kayla looked around and saw the pain flash through his eyes at the memory.

"The transformation is triggered from the platform—there's a separate control pad up there. I can't do anything from here."

Kayla nodded. "I'll take care of it."

Weslan looked at her, shocked. "You can't possibly want to go up there."

"Can't I?"

"It's suicide!" he hissed.

Kayla ignored him, watching Rayker as she rested her hands on what looked like a control pad, her fingers idly stroking the switches.