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  Sulan

  Episode 5: Escape

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  Get Hacker, the prequel to the Sulan series

  Hank is a teenage hacker. Forced to barter her computer skills for a meager wage, she knows the work she does isn’t exactly legal, but Hank needs the money to support her family. When a colleague is murdered before her eyes, she is forced to question what she does. Confronted with a chance to save a girl’s life, Hank must choose between doing what’s right or protecting those she loves. Hacker is the novella prequel to Sulan, a fast-action YA dystopian series.

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  Book Description

  Sulan’s life is in danger. She might not have pulled the trigger that killed Claudine Winn, but her association with the killer makes her guilty in the eyes of those in power. To make matters worse, Sulan has uncovered a secret that threatens to end Global Arms. Reginald Winn is intent on exacting revenge and silencing her.

  Now, Sulan, Taro, Billy, and a few others have no choice but to escape the Dome. She and her companions must carry their secret through the rough terrain of Alaska, contending with weather and bloodthirsty nomads as they attempt to evade the pursuing Global mercenaries. It soon becomes clear they will not escape without help.

  Sulan is forced to turn to Gun, a corporate spy who posed as her friend. Can he reach her before Global does? Can she trust him to help her escape Global Arms, or will he seek to use her once again for his own gains?

  Sulan

  Episode 5: Escape

  By Camille Picott

  www.camillepicott.com

  Published by Pixiu Press

  Windsor, CA

  Copyright 2018 Camille Picott

  Contents

  FREE BOOK!

  Book Description

  Sulan

  Contents

  1: Fallout

  2: Attack

  3: Goodbyes

  4: The Liberator

  5: Diversion

  6: Aircat

  7: Rendezvous

  8: Sacrifice

  9: Reunion

  10: Debrief

  11: Bombing

  12: Plan B

  13: Mayhem

  14: Sandbox

  15: Missing

  16: Waiting

  17: Deception

  18: Bugget

  19: Mission

  20: Pursuit

  21: Dragnet

  22: Cache

  23: Treehouse

  24: Broadcast

  25: Message

  26: Mission

  Acknowledgements

  FREE BOOK!

  About the Author

  Other Works by Camille Picott

  1

  Fallout

  “Claudine and Reginald aren’t with the League.” Gun stares at me, horror filling his blue eyes. “They are the League. You have to get out of the Dome. Now.”

  “Wha-what?” My mind scrambles to grasp the enormity of his words.

  How can Claudine and Mr. Winn be the League? That would mean they’re responsible for the deaths of thousands. Why would they do that? Mr. Winn is cold, manipulative, and downright brilliant, but he’s not a mass murderer. Is he?

  “Why would the Winns attack their own country?” I push Gun away, backing up to the edge of the cloud where we stand amid the star-spangled black in a Vex site. The glimmering of a cityscape is below us.

  Gun made this Vex site for me months ago. He named it First Date, intending to ask me out and bring me here. Neither thing ever happened.

  Instead, we fled here. Claudine Winn pursued us, attacked us, and then died when Gun turned her Black Tech against her.

  “How can the Winns be the League?” I ask.

  “Think about it,” Gun says. “Think of all the Winns have to gain. The more attacks there are, the more fearful people become of the League, and the higher demand for Global mercenaries.”

  “Not just Global mercs.” I shake my head. “Anderson Arms mercs, too. All mercenary corps benefit.”

  “You haven’t seen the data,” Gun replies. “The Winns have subtly used the League attacks to increase Global visibility and popularity. It’s what tipped me off to them in the first place. In the grand scope of the League attacks, they’ve received three-times more positive press than any other mercenary corps. The timing of all this coincides perfectly with the defense contract.”

  “If they are the League, that means they orchestrated our kidnapping.”

  “Doesn’t it make perfect sense? Think about it, Sulan. Who has benefited from your kidnapping? Public opinion of Global has been at an all-time high ever since they put you and your friends on the campaign trail. The public loves you.”

  I flash back to the night my friends and I were secured to beds with electromagnetic handcuffs. I still remember the pain from the jolts of electricity Imugi sent through us. The idea that Mr. Winn could have been behind that fills me with a suffocating emotion I can’t name.

  “Global never came for us,” I whisper. “The League put us up for auction.”

  “I can’t pretend to know why they put the four of you up for auction.” Gun raises his hands in earnest. “It seems likely they had a rescue planned and intended to use you for Global PR all along. The fact that you broke yourselves out and killed Imugi just sweetened the deal. They couldn’t have asked for anything grander than what the four of you accomplished. They’ve spoken openly about a supposed League mole who released your whereabouts to the League, but no one has ever been named. Isn’t it just as likely they arranged to have you kidnapped?”

  The disjointed events of the past few months click together, forming an unexpected picture. A pit of dread widens in my stomach.

  “Maxwell,” I say, thinking aloud. “Claudine’s go-to for all her important missions. He was one of the Leaguers who kidnapped me. That much I know. I assumed he was the mole who sold us out, but . . . but maybe I’ve been looking at everything backward.”

  “Wrong end of the binoculars.” Gun starts to take a step in my direction, but I give him a look. He halts, though I don’t miss the hurt that flashes across his face. “You assumed Maxwell was a League traitor, but he was following Claudine’s orders all along.”

  “What about Project Renascentia?” I ask, referring to recent pneumonic plague attacked carried out by the League.

  “The Winns are developing a plague virus and experimenting with a vaccine. That much I know for certain. What they plan to do with it . . .” He trails off, shaking his head. “That sort of technology will give them an ungodly amount of power. You’re a smart girl, Sulan. Think of all the things they could do. Of the things they’ve already done.”

  I swallow, not liking the direction of this conversation. I don’t like how true it feels.

  “Can’t you expose them?” I ask. “If the media got a hold of what you know—”

  “The only proof I have will also indicate Anderson Arms in less-than-desirable circumstances.”

  I snort. “And you won’t risk putting your company on the line for the well-being of the country?” The argument isn’t fair, but I can’t help lashing out at him.

  Gun doesn’t rise to my barb. “Dismantling Anderson Arms won’t help. We’re best equipped to stand against Global if it comes to that. What we need is hard evidence we can submit to Congress.”

  I want to argue with him, but I know he’s right. “Maxwell’s tablet.” Taro, Billy, and I stole a tablet from Maxwell with pictures of the pneumonic plague experiments on isolated refugee camps. It also contained a map plotting all the attack sites. “If you had that . . .”

  “If we had that, we’d have something real to connect Global w
ith the League.” Gun gives me a pained look. “I’ve sent dozens of drones over Alaska. Not one of them has found any trace of the Dome. The Winns have done a meticulous job of concealing it. If I knew where you were, I’d be there. Even if you didn’t have the tablet, I’d be there for you. I hope you know that.”

  I search Gun’s face. Can I even trust him? After all the things he’s lied about, why should I believe this? Why should I believe anything the son of William Anderson says?

  “Sulan.” Gun takes me by the shoulders. “I know I messed up. I know you have no reason to trust me. If you never believe another word I say, believe this: Your life is in danger. Forget about the tablet. Reginald will want retribution for what happened to Claudine. You have to get out of there.”

  The knowledge that Claudine is gone—killed by her own Black Tech—leaves me numb. I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s a relief never to have to face her again. If what Gun says is true—if she and Mr. Winn are, in fact, the League—it’s better for everyone that she’s gone. Then again, celebrating her death isn’t something I can do. Even when I helped kill Imugi, seeing him dead hadn’t left me pleased or triumphant. The idea of Mr. Winn confronting me about his dead niece terrifies me.

  “You have to escape,” Gun says. “Find a way to contact me, to get me your location. I’ll come for you. I’ll get you out of there. I—”

  A rush of static forks across my vision. Gun’s face blots out as I’m sucked into a swirl of blue.

  The last thing I hear him say is, “Be strong, Short Stuff. Be—” His voice cuts off as the glaring light of Daruuk’s bedroom floods my vision.

  I blink against the sudden brightness, lifting one hand to shield my eyes.

  “Sulan?” Taro crouches in front of me, grasping my shoulder in one hand and the Vex set in the other. Riska flies in an agitated circle over my head, hissing and growling. “Sulan?”

  “What happened?” Hank stands over us, wringing her hands. “Sulan, are you okay? Why is Riska so upset?” Her gaze ping-pongs between me and Billy, who is still in Vex. “Is Billy okay?”

  My mouth is dry and cottony, my breathing harsh and raspy. I stare at Taro and Hank, not sure where to begin. My legs and arms are heavy, as though tied down with weights—a result of the light Dream Dust sprinkling I received, courtesy of Claudine before she died.

  Claudine. Mr. Winn will know by now.

  If Mr. Winn knows about Claudine and what happened, he’ll be coming for me. For me, and likely anyone who’s with me. Gun isn’t wrong about that.

  My gaze takes in Daruuk and Alexi, who both sit on the bed. Alexi traces Riska’s frantic circle with his eyes. Daruuk focuses on the homemade Vex modem in his hands, twirling a screwdriver between his fingers. His little sister, who sits on the floor, peers at me with narrowed eyes. Uncle Zed stands in the farthest corner of the room, his back to us as he mutters at the wall.

  They’re all in danger. Every single one of them. I have to get out of here, away from them.

  “I need to go.” I stand, legs wobbly and leaden from the Dream Dust. They almost give out altogether, but I catch myself against the wall with one hand and lock my knees.

  Taro puts a hand on my waist to steady me. “What happened in there?”

  “Yeah, what happened?” Hank says. “Everything was fine, and then all of a sudden, Riska lost it—”

  There’s a sudden, sharp intake of breath from Billy. He yanks off his Vex set.

  Our eyes meet. I see my terror reflected back at me.

  He knows. He knows about Project Renascentia. About the Winns and the League. He pulled all the pieces together in Collusion Underground.

  “We have to go,” he says.

  At the sound of Billy’s voice, Uncle Zed snaps around. He and Billy gaze at each other for a split second.

  Zed’s nostrils flare. “Commies,” he growls, then throws back the heavy curtain and leaps out of Daruuk’s bedroom window. Billy heads after him; Daruuk’s parents could hear us if we go into the main part of the house, leaving the bedroom window our only way in and out.

  “Billy, wait.” Hank hurries to him. “What—”

  “Don’t follow me.” Billy turns to face her. “It’s not safe. You shouldn’t be with me.”

  Hank puts her hands on her hips. “I deserve an explanation.”

  Billy hesitates, then nods. “Come on. We’ll talk outside.” He holds out a hand. She slips her hands into his, the two of them climbing out the window.

  I turn to Taro, lips parting, but he silences me with a fierce look. It’s the first time he’s ever glared at me.

  “Don’t even think about asking me to stay behind or leave you,” he says. “You can barely stand.”

  “I can stand.” I push off the wall. My legs wobble but don’t betray me.

  His mouth tightens. Anger and fear flicker in his eyes. Even though it would be better for him if I left him behind, he also deserves an explanation.

  “Are you sure?” I whisper. “It’s not safe to be with me.”

  In answer, he scoops me up in his arms and heads for the window. I yelp in surprise, bringing up both hands to loop around his neck.

  “Isn’t anyone going to tell us what’s going on?” Daruuk demands.

  “It’s better if you don’t know,” I reply. “I’m sorry, Daruuk, but you should hide your modem and Vex sets.”

  “You kavikan traitors!” he cries, invoking some unknown curse from his Vex role-playing world. “After all I sacrificed for you!”

  Riska growls at him before darting around the curtains and disappearing into the night. Taro and I are right behind him.

  We need to get out of the Dome. The thought blazes in my mind like a beacon. We need to get out of the Dome.

  Zed is waiting for us outside. “Get Dr. Hom,” he says. A strange clarity fills his eyes, something I’ve never seen before. “Rendezvous at my house.” He stands there, looking us up and down, as though waiting for us to confirm his order.

  “We’ll get Dr. Hom and rendezvous at your house,” I tell Zed, if only to calm him. I wish I could get my father, but I won’t risk putting him in danger.

  Zed’s eyes fasten on me. “Morning Star.” He scuttles into the night, cutting across the grass between a row of houses.

  Hank gives Billy a tight look, but doesn’t object when he starts walking. He heads in the direction of his house, which is only a few streets over from mine.

  “I want to know what’s going on,” she says.

  Billy and I look at one another. Taro pulls me closer against his chest, face hardening. He looks truly angry now. He strides alongside Billy, cradling me in his arms. Riska flaps through the air right above us.

  “We . . . discovered something,” I say.

  Billy nods. “The Winns will kill us to keep us quiet.”

  I suppress a hysterical laugh. Billy doesn’t even know about Claudine. Mr. Winn might kill us in a fit a vengeful anger.

  “We can’t tell either of you what we know,” Billy continues. “It will put you in too much danger. Sulan and I have to leave.”

  “Leave?” Hank repeats incredulously. “Leave where?”

  “The Dome,” Billy says.

  “Leave the Dome?” Hank looks at us as if we’ve lost it. “You can’t leave the Dome. We’re in the middle of Alaska. There’s no place to go.”

  Neither Billy nor I say anything. Taro looks at me, eyes blazing. The lines of tension around his mouth and eyes deepen.

  “There’s something else.” I need to be honest with my friends. Hopefully it will convince them both to stay as far away from us as possible. “Gun killed Claudine in Vex.”

  Our party grinds to a halt in the middle of a dark street. Hank’s mouth falls open. Taro and Billy gasp.

  “She attacked us. Him. All Gun did was turn her own Black Tech back on her, but it killed her.”

  Hank takes several steps back from me. “Sulan, how could you?” she whispers.

  I swallow. It hurts to
see her step away from me, but I know it’s for the best. I shift my attention to Taro, hoping for a similar reaction, but his jaw is set and he doesn’t budge.

  Billy grips Hank’s hand. “Sulan and I need to go now,” he says in a low voice. “You can’t follow us. Promise you won’t follow.”

  “Billy!” Hank’s voice cracks. “Billy, you can’t—”

  “I’m going.” Billy’s voice is thick. He swallows. “You can’t come with me.” He gently extracts his hand from hers. “Come on, Sulan.”

  I nod, pushing myself free of Taro’s arms. He sets me down. My legs have regained enough of their strength that I no longer wobble.

  “Taro—” I begin.

  “Save it, Sulan. Where you go, I go.” His voice is low and fierce, his expression immoveable. The only time I’ve ever seen him look this angry is after a press conference or a prep session with Global’s director of public relations.

  “He will kill you for this,” Hank whispers, eyes wide with horror. She doesn’t have to say who he is.

  No one argues with her. None of us is stupid enough to think Mr. Winn will give us a pass.

  “You have to go,” Billy tells her. “Please. Think of your family.”

  She nods, tears spilling over her eyes. She hesitates, then rushes to Billy and kisses him on the lips. She clings to him, hands knotting in the shoulders of his shirt. He kisses her back, resting a hand on her cheek.

  Hank pushes away, choking on a sob. “I love you,” she says, voice breaking. Turning her back on us, she runs, boots crunching on the gravel.

  “I love you, too.” Billy’s voice is faint, lost to Hank as she disappears around a street corner.

  The scene makes my gut clench. I turn to Taro.

  “Please,” I beg.

  Before he can reply, Riska’s ears prick up, and then swivel to the right. He lets out a low growl, ears pressed flat against his head. I squeeze his back to silence him.

  I have to try one more time. I have to try to talk Taro out of this. I can’t stand the thought of him getting hurt—or worse, killed—on my behalf. “Taro, you don’t—”