Freedom TM

His walk. We will find him, Doctor. But if you help me, I’ll see that you’re treated with
leniency
.”
    She knew he was mocking her now. “I want nothing to do with you. We have laws in this country, and I intend to make sure The Major faces justice and that you face justice.”
    “Justice? That’ll be difficult when
you
might be facing disciplinary charges yourself.”
    Philips felt the rage building again. She didn’t know whether he was guessing or actually knew. The disaster at Building Twenty-Nine had indeed been laid at her feet. The Major wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the after-action reports. It was as if he never existed.
    Loki turned back toward the funeral service. “If you find The Major, let me know, and the swarm will take care of him.”
    “You know I won’t do that.”
    “You might be surprised what you’ll do. Especially when you discover what they’ve done with your laws.” Loki narrowed his eyes at something in the distance.
    Philips followed his gaze toward the edge of the funeral crowd.A scuffle of some sort had broken out there. She could see at least one person being grabbed by plainclothes officers about half a football field away.
    Loki watched with his shimmering eyes. “They never disappoint, do they? Leave while you can, Doctor.”
    “Loki, don’t. There are hundreds of innocent people here.”
    He ignored her, already manipulating unseen darknet objects with his gloved hands. “They just couldn’t resist.…”
    She stood between Loki and the distant scuffle. “This will be a bloodbath. Please, Loki. Don’t do this!”
    He spoke while looking through her; his hands moved frantically. “Did you know your friend, Jon Ross, joined the Daemon’s darknet recently, Doctor? I thought you might want to know.”
    She stopped—unsure whether to believe him. The news hit her hard. She backed away from Loki and tried to contain her emotions. First she lost Merritt, now Ross, and now she felt she could trust no one. She felt the tears coming again.
Not Jon.
    Loki spoke to some unseen person. “Fuck waiting. I’ve dropped Angel Teeth. Everyone clear the area.” A pause. “I don’t give a shit.”
    Philips turned away from Loki and ran toward the disturbance. He didn’t try to stop her. Fifty yards away, among cemetery head-stones, she could see men in suits trying to overpower several people she assumed must be Daemon operatives. One of the agents held aloft a pair of sports glasses as more agents converged on the site. They were already securing a perimeter.
    The mourners Philips passed by had begun to turn toward the scuffle. She noticed small children with many of them and shouted, “Evacuate the area!”
    Several responded by saying, “I’m a police officer,” and followed her.
    In half a minute Philips had pushed her way up to a dark-suited man with a radio earpiece. He was part of the security cordon around the still-struggling knot of two dozen men.
    Philips displayed her NSA credentials and spoke calmly but firmly. “I’m a federal officer. You must evacuate this cemetery as soon as possible. These mourners are in great danger.”
    The thick-necked agent didn’t bother to examine Philips’s credentials. He just looked at her. “Stand clear, ma’am.”
    “Damnit, let me speak with the agent in charge! I have firsthand knowledge of an impending attack!”
    He smiled humorlessly and spoke with an indistinct accent. “We’ve got it under control. Thanks.”
    Suddenly gunshots crackled in the cold air. People in the crowd screamed and ducked. The mourners began to flee like a spooked herd—except for the dozens of police that remained behind, drawing weapons and heading toward the shots. Philips knew they’d be agents from the FBI, DSS, DEA, ATF, and a host of state and local police. Scores of them advanced using the tombstones for cover.
    Philips faced the approaching agents and police and held up her credentials. “Stay back! Stay back! You’re in danger!”
    The first wave of officers had already reached her, their various weapons pointed upward but ready. A distinguished-looking man in his fifties, a take-charge type without a weapon, came right up to Philips. “What the hell is going on?”
    Before Philips could answer, everyone turned to see another black-suited, clean-cut man approaching from within the dense knot of operators who’d started the disturbance. The man held up credentials with a familiar logo on them—Korr Security