Kelly closed her eyes for just a moment. A warm dry breeze whistled around her from her position atop the water tower. She sat with her back to the concrete bowl, legs spread out, hands interlocked on her belly, sniper rifle propped up beside her. A small pair of binoculars hung from a cord around her neck. The metal grating was hot and uncomfortable beneath her legs. She’d been on lookout for almost two hours and all she could taste was sand and heat. She took a sip from her water bottle and tried to think of something else. She took a handful of 7.62mm rounds from her ammunition pouch and stood them up in a line along the railing of the water tower. Then she fished through her pack for a chocolate bar, unwrapped it, and ate it slowly.
“Vehicle incoming,” a voice reported through Kelly’s earpiece.
She looked through her binoculars. “It’s Santiago.”
Finally some good news. Kelly ran from the Hotel to the front of the garage where a dusty SUV pulled up and five people stepped out, Santiago from the driver’s seat. His eyes were wide and his movements were quick with panic.
“Where’s Penelope?” he said to Kelly.
“She’s in the Hotel, with Dunstan.”
Santiago strode in that direction and Kelly jogged to catch up with him.
“What’s happening?” she asked. “Where’s Gustav?”
“Close. Too close. I have to get Penelope out of here. I know the cult are watching the roads but if I can get her to the river—”
“Santiago stop.” Kelly reached for his arm and stood in front of him, blocking his path. “I understand that you’re worried about her safety but the best thing we can do for non-combatants is to keep they secure in the town hall. There’s no evacuating everyone. You can’t just leave.”
Begrudgingly Santiago pushed past her and said, “I’m afraid, there are some things you don’t understand.”
“What things?” Kelly followed him into the Hotel.
He looked around for Penelope and became even more unhinged when she wasn’t there. “There’s some things you don’t know,” he said. “It’s to do with Penelope and the Cult. We cannot let her fall into their hands. I haven’t…” he paused. “I haven’t entirely been honest with you.”
“I can’t help if you don’t tell the truth,” Kelly calmly told him. “What do the Cult want with Penelope?”
“She’s a Harrell Industries asset,” he said, and he turned his eyes away.
For a moment Kelly just stared, uncomprehending. “A what?”
“She’s not…” Santiago paused and let out a sigh. “Penelope isn’t my biological daughter. Her mother died when she was very young, I’m not sure about her father. Since she was born Penelope has been a test subject for the Neural Interface.”
“Does she know?”
“Ever notice she wasn’t like other kids? She’s smart for her age, now you know why.”
“Does she know?” Kelly pressed again.
Santiago leaned his back against the bar and nodded. “She knows enough. She knows I’m not her real father, she knows about the Interface, and she has a pretty good understanding of how to use it. They performed the surgery on her when she was only an infant, so that she’d have an innate almost natural link to the device, and produce the ultimate data-processing organism.”
“Are you serious? This whole time and you never told us.”
“It wasn’t something that needed knowing. She’s just a child.”
“A very dangerous child.” Kelly pinched her brow and thought for a moment. “There was a mole. Has it occurred to you that Penelope is the reason why the cult have been leeching data from CIA files? Do you know what kind of access you’ve given them?”
“She’s still my daughter,” Santiago raised his voice.
“She’s a science experiment!”
Suddenly Santiago’s expression changed; he closed his mouth and went completely silent, and looked right past Kelly. Penelope stood in the doorway, eyes wide and gleaming with tears. He body was still, frozen, and small. There was anguish in her eyes.
“Penelope…”
Kelly’s voice was full of remorse as she reached out, but Penelope was already running. Kelly took one step forwards.
“Lieutenant!” Santiago said, but before he could go on a voice sounded through their earpieces.
“Lieutenant we need you on the east road, ASAP.”
Kelly looked at Santiago. She pushed all emotion into the back of her mind and drew her attention to the mission at hand.
“They’re here,” she said.
“Go,” Santiago replied. “I’ll find Penelope. Go.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. These people need you. Get going.”
ns 172.70.127.38da2