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  “But you’re wrong, General, I did expect it but you have no proof that any of what happened can be tied to this corporation.”

  “Please don’t insult my intelligence.”

  “And don’t insult mine either,” snapped Eisenhower almost snarling at Sinclair in uncharacteristic rage. “As far as I’m aware, Jonas Wilde was killed escaping from you, was he not?” he added.

  “Yes, but we have the Nemesis and we can prove she was built at one of your shipyards and then there are the clones. As we speak, an operation is under way to round up all the ‘Maguires’ that you planted in all the businesses around the galaxy. You can’t deny they’re yours; they all have your eyes. Oh, and as for Wilde, he was a clone too. Very clever of him to have us think he was dead so he could carry on with his work from behind the scenes undetected, or was that your idea?”

  “His idea? Do me a favour, he hasn’t had an original thought for a decade or more,” said a voice off to their left, a voice they both recognised.

  “Jonas, I was wondering if you’d show up here,” Sinclair said without even looking at the man who emerged from the hidden doorway that had slid silently open just after they had entered. The dark interior of the secret room had kept Wilde hidden in the shadows as he listened to their conversation.

  Hawk spun around towards the voice his Sig suddenly appearing in his hand, but Wilde was standing just behind the General with the muzzle of his own Sig pressed against Sinclair’s temple.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you, Matt,” Wilde said with a smug smile. “You know if this was a game of chess, I would have checkmate,” he added basking in his own success and imagined glory.

  “Well, this game isn’t quite over yet,” Hawk said through gritted teeth. He was determined that Wilde was going down but he couldn’t risk anything yet as long as he had a gun to the General’s head.

  “You overestimate your position, Matt, I hold all the cards.”

  “And what do you intend to do now then? You have to know that the second you move away from the General, I’ll kill you. There’s no escape Jonas, five marines are guarding the exit, which leaves just you in here, alone with me. You are going to die you know,” Hawk said calmly and coldly with a determination that chilled even Sinclair.

  Smiling, Wilde said, “I’ll just have to take the General with me then.” Backing away towards the passage he’d entered through, Wilde pulled Sinclair with him.

  “Where are you taking him?” Hawk asked, hoping to stall him while he thought of a way to stop him once and for all.

  “To the roof where I have a transport waiting. I intend to gain all the information I can from him to use against you. I tried to capture you all when I was on the Nemesis, or rather my clone did, but you insisted on being troublesome. Well, this time that won’t happen because I’ve rigged the entire top floor of this building with J10 explosives. The blast will destroy everything and everyone up here, even Max there, but he doesn’t matter, he’s a clone and I’ll have another one ready to replace him by the end of the day in time for the press release. He’ll tell the news media that you came up here and questioned him, but he was able to escape in his personal transport before the suicide bomber, who had infiltrated your group from RandCorp, blew him and the top of this building to smithereens.

  “Genius isn’t it?” Wilde said excited at his own plan and how he could kill two birds with one stone, cripple Col Sec and discredit his biggest rival RandCorp at the same time.

  “Max is a clone you say?” Hawk asked.

  “Yes, he’s been in place since just before the attack with the Nemesis.”

  “Then you won’t mind if I do this,” Hawk said, then spun around and shot Eisenhower right between the eyes. The clone was sent flying, his head shrouded in a mist of blood from the plasma bolt.

  Wilde was shocked by the sudden action, an action that seemed pointless. It had no effect on the outcome other than surprise but that surprise gave Sinclair the opportunity to ram his left elbow deep into Wilde’s solar plexus winding him. Spying his chance, Hawk fired the second his boss was clear.

  The shot missed Wilde’s head by a fraction as it came forward from the blow to the stomach.

  Feeling the shot almost graze the top of his head Wilde turned and ran down the passage closing the door behind him.

  “C’mon we’ve got to get out of here before it blows,” Hawk said grabbing the General by the shoulder and virtually dragging him to the door.

  Instructing the marines to follow they sprinted for the elevator. They knew they had some time, Wilde wouldn’t detonate the explosives until he was well clear but just how much time they had was an unknown. They would have to trust to luck on this one.

  The elevator doors opened and they piled in quickly ordering it to go the ground floor, express speed.

  WILDE CURSED HIS LUCK as he ran through the passageway and out onto the roof. Why couldn’t he have seen that play coming? He’d had them where he wanted them, it was a done deal, and then Hawk went and turned things on their head with that idiotic play of killing Eisenhower.

  As he climbed on board the transport, started the engines and lifted off the roof climbing into the clear sky above the city, he warmed himself with the knowledge that they wouldn’t survive the blast as he pushed the button on the remote detonator.

  The blast was enormous, spreading outwards blasting all the windows out around the building and actually lifting the roof off and throwing it into the air, only to rain down in fragments onto the unsuspecting bystanders below.

  THE ELEVATOR WAS ALMOST to the floor when the blast destroyed the top of the building. The seven occupants were hurled around the interior of the small box as it danced on the cables, smashing up against the sides of the shaft before dropping like a stone for several feet as the cables snapped. Safety measures kicked in the second the cables snapped and clamps came out from the sides of the shaft to act as external brakes stopping it before it could impact against the floor below.

  Sinclair and the rest breathed a huge sigh of relief when they realised they were still alive. Not out of the woods yet though, as they opened the doors manually and sprinted down the last few flights of stairs to the foyer where panic reigned. The last few employees who had remained in the building to give it the air of a normal working day were all rushing for the exits.

  “Let’s get out of here before people start asking too many questions. We can release an official report when we get to safety,” Hawk said as he ushered Sinclair out of the building.

  The Grand Voyager was where they’d left it, now covered in ash from the debris but luckily it had sustained no damage. They were soon on board and heading back to the spaceport and the Cessna.

  The rest of the journey was uneventful and they had time to reflect on what had happened by filling in De Boer and the marines on the action inside the office that they had not been privy to.

  They reached the Cessna and were soon back on board the Legend where they went to the bridge to find Townsend waiting for them.

  “Eventful trip I take it, sir? It’s all over the news channels on the GalaxyWeb,” he said.

  “Very eventful and we need to get the truth out there before Wilde has the chance to put his spin on it. Contact the local Constabulary and all the news channels. Inform them I’ll have an eyewitness report for them in five minutes. I’ll use your ready room if I may?”

  “Help yourself, sir. I’ll contact you when they’re ready.”

  “Thank you.”

  As he headed for the ready room he turned to Hawk and said, “We’ve a chance to land a vital blow to Wilde and OMEGA here. We can deprive MaxCorp of their CEO and therefore cut off Wilde’s source of revenue. I want you to stay out of the statement though, so you’ll still be able to work from the shadows. That would be nigh on impossible if your face was plastered all over the media. I’m already the face of Col Sec so I’ll take it from here.”

  In the ready room, alone, Sinclair had time to marshal
his thoughts and organise what he needed to say; what must be said and what must not. He knew that this would be rushed although it mustn’t appear to be for the sake of his credibility, but he had to get the truth out before Wilde had the chance to muddy the waters. He understood that what he was about to do would affect the lives of those honest, hardworking employees of MaxCorp who had no knowledge of, nor took any part in OMEGA, but this was for the greater good and he could not allow himself to be swayed by his sympathy towards them.

  When he was informed the news channels were ready for him he began by introducing himself and saying that what he was about to tell them was his eyewitness report of an incident that happened earlier and he would not be taking questions. They would get their chance to ask whatever questions they wished at the official press conference at a later date.

  He kept the details concise telling them how the explosion today was a direct result of the investigation into the attack on Confederation Headquarters on Earth over three weeks ago. He told how the attack was perpetrated by a criminal organisation called OMEGA, which was run by Jonas Wilde one of the chief officers of MaxCorp. He then went on to say that Wilde had sequestered funds from MaxCorp to finance his schemes and when they went to question him about it he killed Maxwell Eisenhower and somehow set off a previously primed explosive charge, unfortunately dying in the blast too. He told them the Constabulary would carry out a full investigation assisted by Col Sec.

  Finally he told them of the sorrow he felt for the families of those who had died, adding that the memorial service for those lost during the attack on Confederation Headquarters would take place at the site of the attack at ten am two weeks from Sunday next. Thanking everyone for their time he ended the call.

  That statement would air live on the GalaxyWeb and he hoped finally that they had dealt a lethal blow to OMEGA. Sitting down in Townsend’s chair he contemplated what he’d done. With the news of Eisenhower’s death Wilde couldn’t replace him with a clone, robbing him of the greatest resource he had, the bottomless pit of finance he’d enjoyed from his involvement with MaxCorp. Also, his announcement that Wilde was dead too meant he couldn’t appear in public anywhere.

  In one swift, bold move Sinclair had deprived Wilde of his funding and severely limited his ability to travel. All in all, considering their previous losses, he could rate this one a massive win.

  By the time the Legend had made the jump back to Earth the news of the event and its massive ramifications were common knowledge throughout the known galaxy, not only throughout the Confederation but also the Alliance and the few non-aligned worlds. Wherever the GalaxyWeb reached, so did Sinclair’s statement.

  For the first time since learning of OMEGA he felt they had them on the run.

  President Takagi was pleased with the outcome and the steps Sinclair had taken to help rebuild Col Sec. The addition of RandCorp was a pleasing and welcome bonus and the assets they could provide were both plentiful and gratefully received. The President told Sinclair to take some time off as he’d earned it, to which he replied that he would organise leave for all those involved once the memorial service was over. The service would give them what they all needed, time to grieve, and would also provide something else that would help them draw a line under the entire event, and that was closure.

  EPILOGUE

  The day of the memorial service arrived, along with a low-pressure weather front that pushed along layer upon layer of moisture-laden dark clouds that added to the sombre mood.

  A huge, three metre fence had been erected around the site where only a few short weeks ago had stood a proud building, a symbol of everything the Confederation stood for, which was cut down in that savage attack by OMEGA.

  OMEGA, a name everyone had grown to know and despise since Sinclair outed them on the GalaxyWeb, could no longer hide in the shadows as they had been thrust headlong into the public awareness.

  This day was not about them though, not about the cowards who attacked innocents but rather the victims of that attack and remembering them from better days.

  A podium had been set up in front of the fence close to where the entrance to the huge building once had been and it would be from there that the various speakers would deliver their eulogies.

  Thousands of mourners flocked to the site and by nine thirty am the entire area was just one massive, heaving crowd from all walks of life, come together with one purpose, to say farewell and give respect to their loved ones.

  General Sinclair, Matt Hawk and Colonel De Boer all arrived in full dress uniform. President Takagi, resplendent in a black suit took to the podium to deliver a short speech. The weather, which had taken a turn for the worst with slanting rain drenching the crowds, wasn’t even a consideration; they would have attended no matter what.

  He spoke of that day being one of remembrance for those lost and a day that would live in infamy, as one such day over five centuries ago was remembered when the people came together to unite against a common enemy.

  With no more political posturing he surrendered the podium to a succession of religious leaders who in turn would lead services for members of their denomination.

  The services would go on for almost half the day as everyone’s beliefs were catered for. As it was drawing to a close Sinclair looked at Hawk who had been silent throughout the entire proceedings, a dark expression firmly in place.

  “Are you okay, Matt?” he asked as the three of them sheltered beneath a huge umbrella from the pouring rain.

  Matt glanced at the General and said, “I just can’t get it out of my mind, sir, how Tanya was killed.”

  “Then I would say that the message was not only delivered but understood,” Sinclair replied.

  “How so, sir?”

  “Well, you said it was a message for both of you; to Tanya that she couldn’t go against her father and to you, how did you put it, ‘look at the lengths I will go to deliver this message’? How are you supposed to fight someone with these sort of resources and this kind of resolve and the moment you made that connection, the message truly had been delivered?”

  Understanding came into Hawk’s eyes then as he said, “The purpose of terrorism is to terrorise.”

  “That’s right and as soon as that thought, that doubt takes root in your mind, they’ve scored their first victory. You change the way you approach the fight, you change things you normally wouldn’t change, you’re put off your stride, another small victory and so it goes on.”

  “Yes, I see, sir,” Hawk said his face relaxing a little as some of the tension left him.

  “What we have to do is continue as normally as we can, take the fight to them. You thought about their resources, well I’ve stripped them of those. We have them on the defensive for the first time since this conflict began and we’ll continue to do so until we win.”

  “Look at that, it’s stopped raining,” De Boer said as he tilted the umbrella back so they could see.

  The service was over and the crowds had begun to disperse. In the distance Matt thought he saw a face he recognised, a face from not so long ago, someone he had helped and called friend. The hair was a little longer, a goatee added, but as it was only a fleeting glimpse he couldn’t be sure and he soon forgot about it.

  His thoughts returned to the present and what Sinclair had just said. Sinclair was right, now was the time to rebuild.

  The fight would go on.

  FIN.

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  Also by Jan Domagala

  Captain Savage Thrillers

  Savage by Nature

  Col Sec

  Ronin

  OMEGA

  The Blackstar Gambit

  War Dogs

  Armageddon

 
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