Blink: Interdiction (Book 4)

33

As soon as she saw the broadcast, Amber knew that the bastard had played them all.

She and Hekket had been trying to distract themselves from the actions she knew were being undertaken by her squad-mates, but the military base at Karpa Luna wasn't exactly a shore leave hub. After spending some respective time brooding in their quarters they'd carved themselves out a quiet corner of a secondary mess hall on the far side of the base – well away from the other operatives and colonial troops that they'd spent time with. They tried to pass the time playing games on their data slates and reading, but the dark cloud hanging over the pair had refused to abate.

So far their reckoning with Colonel Merlynn hadn't arrived, but both of them knew they wouldn't be walking away from such a direct confrontation with a superior unscathed, no matter the reasons. Amber couldn't guess how it would all shake out. One one hand she'd disobeyed Darien but on the other, Smith had been clear when they departed for Ravine what felt like a lifetime ago.

There are limitations on what they should expect from you.

She had to believe that included assassination.

But when that broadcast played, any worries Amber might have had over her own punishment quickly evaporated.

The camera must have been hidden, tucked away in some wall recess out of sight. Darien would never have acted if he knew his actions were being recorded in such away. From their little, metal-walled mess hall on the military base, to the screens of the capital, from the government chambers to the tiniest, life-scratching towns, the whole bloody scene played out before them.

Amber could only watch with a sense of sickening dread as the screen jerked and fuzzed, cutting off a local news broadcast before blaring back to life. This time there was no introduction; no stirring preamble calling the rebel sympathisers to arms. The events on this screen spoke for themselves.

She saw an armoured room – what had to be the command module of the installation Darien's team had been sent to attack – and it was littered with bodies. The image was a little fuzzy and janked with blips of static as the broadcast fought its way through Ravine's highly charged atmosphere, but it was clear enough for her. She could clearly recognise Darien and the others as they encircled the last rebel in the room.

From the angle Amber only got a sideways look at Kyros, but she was shocked by how young the man actually was. All this death and mayhem had been wrought by an individual who could barely be more than twenty five.

"So this is how you want it to be?"

The rebel leader's voice came out over the video link. Devoid of the disguising software that earlier broadcasts used, this laid bare the gravelly choke of his voice for the world. A voice burned by the very air he breathed. Amber watched with growing anxiety as Kyros lit a cigarette as though he stood among friends, unperturbed by the guns trained on him. They continued to speak.

"Oh... no, no, no, no," Hekket murmured, leaning forward involuntarily to look even closer. He clasped his hands together tight, his knuckles white. Amber reached across, clamping her hand over his, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the screen either.

Darien's words came out over the broadcast, crackly and distorted from the concealed camera's rudimentary microphone, but agonizingly audible nonetheless.

"As long as you're alive this war won't end."

"He's goading him in," Hekket managed through gritted teeth, shaking his head in despair. "He doesn't care that he's going to die."

"Just another recruiting tool," Amber whispered, unable to look away even through she knew what was coming. The exchange was not a long one and she felt her muscles coiling as Darien pressed the stock to his shoulder, raising the carbine. It was coming and she was powerless to stop it. A sudden surge of uncertainty filled her. Should she have gone along with the mission, if only so she could have been there now to stop this madness? Was stepping aside and washing her hands of it really the brave thing to do? The right thing to do?