Page 45 of The Last Aquarius
“Even if she did, the chances of it doing shit are small, seeing as how it’s locked a gazillion levels underground.” He scrubbed at his hair. “I have to go.”
“Where?”
“Mars of course.”
“To do what?”
“Finish what Ishtar started. Set off the bomb and kill it.”
Aries pinched his lips. “I guess if I order you to stay, you’ll?—”
“Tell you to fuck off? Yes.”
“You’re talking about going on a suicide mission.”
“I’m aware. Just like Ishtar was, and the worst part is, she did it to save me because of that damned prophecy.”
“I didn’t realize you’d gotten so close.”
“It happened quickly.” So quickly he still was coming to grips with his feelings. Feelings he’d not had a chance to truly explore or divulge. And now he’d never have the chance.
“I’m sorry, brother.” True chagrin filled Aries’ tone.
“So am I.” He cleared his throat. “In case I don’t survive, it’s been an honor serving with you.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
“No. The prophecy said this was a task for the water bearer. Besides, you have a daughter and wife to protect. Not to mention you’ll have to find a way to defuse the mess that fucker started.”
“Might have to put on those leather pants after all and crack a few heads.” Aries sighed.
“May the Astraeus be with us both.” Aquarius held out his hand, but Aries dragged him into a hug, his voice choked as he said, “Love you, brother.”
“Ditto.” A word he could barely squeeze out for the tightness in his throat.
Aquarius headed to his office for a last peek at the bomb and how it functioned. It seemed fairly simple. Get it within a clear view of the Kukakk, click a button in a remote, andbam. Good energy would radiate outward, smack into the evil version, and the pair would then mutually self-destruct. Easy. The hard part? Getting inside the basement chamber with the bomb. It had been keyed to open for Ishtar. While he could have fetched her body from the field where she’d been killed, he had a better idea. After all, she’d left behind a clone. A clone that gave him hope, not just because it would have the handprint signature to open the locked chamber, but maybe, just maybe, Ishtar could be resurrected. She’d never mentioned how her consciousness ended up waking the next version of herself. Did it happen upon death? Or did she have to trigger something to start the process?
Had that been part of her plan? The part she left out when relaying it to Aries?
The fist gripping his heart loosened a bit, but his urgency to get going increased. He called out to Nimrod. “Hey, I’m gonna need a new travel pack. Clothes and food only this time please.” As an afterthought, he added, “And a gun.” Because if he killed the Kukakk’s body on Mars, it might end up truly trapped, a ball of light zipping around looking for a host. Only it wouldn’t find any that would be useful. He doubted the river snakes would be able to build it a nanobot using their tails or fins and those sleeping had their genes modified so it couldn’t take hold.
A knapsack appeared, bulging and slightly heavy, along with a holster holding his favorite revolver. Nimrod also added a rifle. Smart.
He loaded himself up and hit the stairs, glancing upward, saying, “Take me to the penthouse.”
Nothing happened.
“Uh, Nimrod, I could use a lift to Ishtar’s room.”
Nada.
“Please, dude, I need to get to the Mars portal.”
But unlike the other times when Ishtar asked, the stairs remained long and winding. Perhaps Nimrod was busy. He began trudging. Step after step. Moving ever upwards. Floor after floor, most of them blocked from his view. The monotonous repetition made the trek even longer so he tried to distract himself doing math.
Each flight of about thirty or more steps took about ten to fifteen seconds to ascend, because he chose to go at a steady pace rather than gassing himself racing. He could climb eighty to a hundred and twenty steps per minute, at least four hundred and eight an hour. Tower had approximately twelve thousand steps. If he could maintain his current pace, it would take him around twenty-fours, give or take.
He began lagging within the first hour.
