One Breath, One Bullet (The Borders War #1)

What It Cost: An Armise Point of View Short Story

11 May 2546, 0829 hours

Armise Darcan's 26th year

The Dark Continental Republic

I pulled the tattered rag tighter over my face, attempting to seal out the onslaught of sand whipping in through the rusted-out walls of this rickety shed. At least I had some sort of cover from the brutality of the desert, even if it was only temporary. My beard fucking itched. And I was sweating from every pore on my body, even the ones I hadn't known existed until today. It didn't matter that my core temperature had fluctuated to acclimate me to the sweltering surroundings, the heat here was at almost unbearable levels.

If the premiere had any idea how easy it was to get to the leader of the Revolution then he could have gotten to this whole world domination scheme a hell of a lot faster. But as it stood, no one from Singapore or the Opposition seemed to have any clue. Except for maybe Ahriman Blanc, but I still wasn't buying that he had loyalty to anyone besides himself.

I was waiting, impatiently, for an aircomm from Wensen Kersch, president of the Continental States and the reported leader of the Revolution. For any of his soldiers it would have been considered an honor to be meeting him face to face—albeit through a screen—but for me it was merely a formality. I had already sold my soul, even though the man who owned it had no idea it was his to command. And if Kersch had his way, Merq wouldn't know for many years yet to come.

It was one of the many stipulations that came with my decision to turn my back on the government that had created me. I'd never had much respect for any form of government—formal or ad hoc—and all of my dealings so far with the States weren't helping that opinion.

It was poor form to torture willing informants. Not like that mattered to them since they had only recently stopped the practice of torturing their own soldiers and masking it as training.

As much as they wanted to question me, interrogate me or throw PsychHAg bullshit at me to try to glean my motivations and the ease of my betrayal to Singapore, I didn't have to feed one lie to them when it came to Merq. I was defecting because of him. It was that simple. But as only governments could do, they wanted to weave my intentions into something that was hidden behind layers of surreptitious espionage. I knew better than most how useful paranoia could be, but the Revolution seemed to take that emotion to the extreme.

The blank screen in front of me flickered and static came through the tinny speakers.

I had foregone a biocomp and them patching into my comm chip in favor of a disposable device that couldn't be tracked, but that meant the quality of this aircomm was going to be shit.

Kersch's face appeared then fuzzed out again, a metallic ting emitting from the speakers. I sat back and waited for the connection to clear. I removed the rag from around my mouth and scratched at my beard. The picture stretched and flattened, distorting his features, but the scowl on his face was unmistakable. I recognized that frown—everyone who had access to the media would by now. I couldn't recall one time I had seen footage of him smiling.

Kersch looked to his right and spoke to someone I couldn't see. "I've got him."

There was an audible click of a door shutting, then Kersch faced the camera. "Good morning, Armise."

Apparently we were doing the propriety thing. I grunted in reply.

"I've been briefed on your intentions—"

I interrupted him. "It is already done."

Kersch leaned forward, his jowls dominating the screen. "And that means?"

"You are not getting rid of me anytime soon," I said. I forced myself to stop scratching my blunt nails through my beard lest the man eyeing me from the screen think that was a sign of any discomfort. I was definitely uncomfortable, but he had nothing to do with that.

Kersch furrowed his eyebrows. "You know that's not what I'm asking you."

"I am aware. I have been through your violent vetting process. You have seen the videos and read my statements. I have nothing to add to what I have already said."

"Anything more on the location of the encryption key?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I will keep working on it."

Kersch drew his lips into a thin line. I waited him out.

"You know, he won't be aware of the sacrifice you've made."

I snorted. What the hell was I really giving up that was of any meaning? "Sacrifice. Right."

"Do you love him?"

If he was attempting to unnerve me, that tactic wasn't going to work. "That is not the type of question a president asks."

"Merq is more than a soldier to me."

I read only sincerity in his face. I couldn't begin to imagine that the man who was portrayed as a dictatorial monster cared about anyone but himself, but there was a softness to his reply that made me rethink that.

"To me as well," I admitted. But that was the furthest I would go with him.

Kersch studied me, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening with the intensity of his stare. But I wasn't threatened by him. I glared back and remained silent.

"You don't say a whole lot," he quipped.

I didn't bother to answer him with more than an annoyed twitch of my lip.

Kersch shook his head, with only a hint of a smile. "You're just like him."

I crossed my arms, immediately defensive. "I choose to take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one," he responded without hesitation. He looked off camera again and dismissed someone with a wave of his hand before turning back to me. "You have the infochip?"

I lifted the chip and waved it in front of the camera.

Kersch sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together, his eyes tracking the movement of the chip. "If Merq makes it home alive with that chip then I'll have no doubt as to your...allegiance."

I smirked. I heard the double meaning of his use of the word allegiance. I wasn't joining the Revolution, I was aligning myself with Merq Grayson. And from what I could interpret from Kersch's phrasing he understood that.

"Nice doing business with you." Then I clicked off the aircomm feed without another word.

With that formality completed I slung my rifle over my shoulder, activated a timed reverb and walked out of the shed. The implosion came seconds later, destroying the shed and everything else in it. But there was no one around to witness the destruction. The outskirts of Kara were long abandoned, the desert overtaking what had once been human territory.

Kersch may not have believed me, but Merq would make it out of the DCR with the infochip.

Where he and I went after that point had been ripped from my control. For now.

The only piece left for me to protect was Merq's life.

No matter the cost.