“T-Tanis?” Nolan managed to stammer out. “What is this?”
She didn’t reply, simply pushed him past the work table toward another heavy steel door at the rear of the workshop. Beyond that door, a darkened tunnel cut through the interior of the building.
Nolan’s jaw dropped as Tanis wheeled him through the tunnel. He’d heard of these old smuggling tunnels that cut through every Shimmertown building but never seen one until now. He’d been so surprised—by the tunnel’s presence connected to Tanis’ apartment and the fact that the Silverguard knew her way around so well—that he hadn’t managed to speak until they reached a steel doorway that opened onto the level rooftop of the building next to the Spacer’s Paradise.
Before he could get his bearings, Nolan caught sight of the black speeder craft that hovered a few feet above the rooftop. Tanis marched ahead of him, straight toward the craft. She paused to glance back at him, as if offering him one last chance to change his mind, then climbed into the open side door of the craft.
Nolan hesitated only a heartbeat before following. More out of burning curiosity than anything, he wheeled his chair toward the craft. There, a man in midnight black armor and visored helmet stood waiting to help hoist him into the vehicle. His wheelchair followed suit, and the skimmer craft took off from the rooftop so smoothly that he barely felt a thing as if lifted into the dark night air above Shimmertown.
Now, as the lights of New Avalon flashed beneath him, Nolan found himself at a loss for words. A thick cloud layer obscured the first glow of ascending Lunarus, the early morning moon, but the dazzling neon lights of the city far below painted a gleaming picture. To his left, the high-rises of Silver Towers jutted more than a hundred stories into the night sky, and beyond the vast, monolithic expanse of the Imperial Palace jutting up amidst the vast mansion fortresses of the Upper Heights. Far to his left, Easterlyn marked the eastern edge of New Avalon, with the endless stretch of darkness beyond broken only by the lights of the eastern superhighway and the angry red glow rising from Firedeep Canyon.
Nolan had never had such a clear view of the city before, and it took his breath away. He shot a questioning look at Tanis, but only got a shake of her head in response. He took that to mean his questions would be answered when they got wherever they were going.
The black speeder craft cut a direct path to the northeast, skimming through the air high above New Avalon’s residential eastern quarters in a beeline toward the Iceglades on the city’s northeastern corner. Beyond, the vast expanse of blue-white ice fields known as the Frostbarren shimmered and glowed, reflecting the light of millions of stars like dazzling diamonds. The first hints of a frost cyclone began stirring over the glacial terrain as the craft dropped from the sky into a quiet section of the Iceglades—just at the Frostbarren’s edge.
Nolan’s brow furrowed as the speeder craft descended smoothly toward a permacrete runway behind a five-story building within what appeared to be a heavily-fortified compound. The building itself appeared nondescript—little more than steel and reflective, metal-coated glass—but the thick security fence and the men stationed by the front gate spoke of something far less innocuous. At the rear of the compound, two similar black speeder crafts and a small fleet of armored wheeled vehicles—both APCs and one infantry fighting vehicle—stood parked in neat rows.
Curiosity gave way to a sudden spike of Nolan’s pulse. What the fuck is all this? His gaze went to Tanis. What is she mixed up with? This looked like a small, private army operating within the boundaries of New Avalon. Such a thing shouldn’t exist under Imperial law, and yet, here they were.
Tanis said nothing as the speeder craft landed, nor did she speak as she climbed out and helped Nolan into his wheelchair. Nolan was too busy trying not to shiver at the bitingly cold wind whipping off the Frostbarren to ask questions as Tanis wheeled him toward the building’s rear entrance.
The double doors slid open with a quiet hiss at their approach, and nothing about the building’s exterior could have prepared Nolan for what he found inside. While the compound appeared utterly quiet and empty of people, the building’s inside was a beehive of activity. Men and women dressed in suits, ordinary clothing, and heavy armor moved through the tiled hallways and corridors with purposeful strides.
The building opened onto a vast atrium that rose five stories toward a permaglass dome at the pinnacle. More people moved along the railed corridors on every floor—Nolan counted nearly two hundred people in the time it took him and Tanis to reach the elevator on the western wall of the atrium—all carrying datapads or holo-tablets of some form of another, many locked in conversations with each other or speaking into comm devices. Large screens around the atrium’s lower floor displayed images, footage, documents, and data collected from not only around New Avalon, but every city on Exodus VI.
A sign in big, bold letters on one wall of the atrium declared “Sentry Division”, complete with the logo of a lidless, unblinking eye.
Sentry Division? Nolan’s brow furrowed. He caught sight of more armed and armored figures visible down every corridor, intermingling among the civvies-clad men and women. What the hell is this place?
Before he could ask Tanis, the doors to the elevator slid open and a tall, imposing man with jet-black hair stepped out. He seemed surprised to see them, but a smile broadened his handsome, square-jawed face as he caught sight of Tanis. “Well, hot damn, if it ain’t Cruella De Vil herself!” His gaze darted to Nolan briefly, but disregarded him without a second glance. “What brings you to HQ?”
“The Ingram op.” Tanis gestured to Nolan. “I got a real shooter to do the job.”
The man’s face contorted into a grimace and he gave a little mock-stumble, clutching his chest. “You wound me, Tanis.” He spoke with a twanging drawl. “And here I thought we was friends.”
“I’m just calling a shit-stained spade what it is, Linc, and you know it.” Despite her mocking tone, a broad smile creased Tanis’ face, and she stepped forward to give the man a hearty hug. “Besides, you’ve got your hands full with the Nakamitchu assignment.”
The man pulled free of the embrace and shook his head. “Nah, that one’s all tied up. Boss has me riding the desk until he’s got something new for me. Something worthy of someone as skilled as I am.”
Tanis snorted. “I’m sure there’s a toilet somewhere that needs scrubbing.”
Linc only smiled broader. “Well, get on it, then.” This time, when he turned to Nolan, he fixed him with a hard stare, studying him.
“Lincoln, meet Garrett,” Tanis said. “Garrett, Lincoln.”
Nolan met the man’s gaze without hesitation and held out a hand. “Charmed.”
After a moment, Lincoln’s hard expression cracked and he returned Nolan’s grip. “Likewise.” A smile wreathed his handsome face. “If Tanis is choosing you over me for this op, means you must be a hell of a shot. Watch her back, but keep your eyes off her backside if you’re fond of your teeth.”
“That a hint of jealousy, Linc?” Tanis interjected before Nolan responded. “It’s an ugly color on you.”
“No it’s not.” Lincoln turned back to Tanis with a grin. “Ain’t nothing ugly on me, and you know it.”