Free Nexus: Ziva Payvan Book 2 by EJ Fisch

suit was dark gray in color and had a fiber reinforcement chest plate of a slightly lighter shade. It was moderately comfortable, and the matching helmet, gloves, and Ziva’s own rugged boots made up the rest of the ensemble.
    As for the unconscious agent who had accompanied her on part of her journey, nobody would be hearing from him for a while. After leaving the camp site, they had ridden deeper into the forest to the north, successfully escaping HSP’s perimeter before it had risen to full strength. Ziva had stopped briefly to disable her stolen communicator’s locator chip and the bike’s nav computer, and at that point had to hit the helpless officer over the head to keep him from waking up. They’d continued on for another fifty kilometers or so until they reached yet another old forest road, which were prevalent in the area. Here, Ziva had relieved the agent of his suit, weapons, and supply belt before leaving him lying in the bushes a good distance from the road. She’d taken off to the west from there, carefully working her way back toward Haphor until she’d discovered the relay station.
    Ziva walked the bike up to the side of the little building and left it there, taking the time to cover it partially with large fronds from a nearby bush. She stood at the front door for a moment, studying it, tunneling into it with her mind. The lock was strong, though not nearly as sophisticated as some she had seen recently. She closed her eyes and reached into the lock with her thoughts just as she might with any tangible tool she normally used. The headache set in almost immediately and she winced, struggling to focus. The locking mechanism rattled inside the door for a moment before the bolt fell back into position.
    She sighed and massaged her temples. With as little as she exercised her Nostia, it was easy to forget how badly it was failing. Under any other circumstances, she’d be content to rely solely on her physical skills and let her special abilities remain dormant. But right now, she needed any edge she could get, and it was disheartening to realize she couldn’t count on the one thing that had always given her that edge. She needed to rest, to focus. Focus and concentration seemed to be the key to eking out what little Nostia she had left.
    Frustrated, Ziva drew her pistol and shielded her face, then threw the butt of the weapon against the nearest window. The impact sent a fresh bout of pain shooting up into her shoulder, and she took a moment to test its mobility before clearing away some of the broken glass and crawling inside.
    Lighting panels activated via a motion detector when Ziva entered the shack, but they were old and flickering, leaving the light dim at best. Judging by the lack of severe dust build-up inside, it hadn’t been long since someone had been there. Nearly everything had been cleared out, with the exception of the original control panels. There were three workstations to her left with terminals that had been shut down indefinitely. Thick cables ran from the dead computers up the wall and through the ceiling, presumably connecting somehow to the large tower outside.
    The area to her right was even more vacant. The floor was wide open as if a sofa or some other large piece of furniture had once been positioned there. An empty gun rack hung on the wall beside a metal cabinet whose doors stood open to reveal unoccupied shelves. Aside from those two items, the only thing that remained was an old fashioned sink, which – she wandered over and twisted the handle – yes, still worked. Ziva let the cold water trickle over her fingers then splashed a little over her face.
    She wiped away the excess water with a sleeve and surveyed her surroundings again. First things first – the automatic lights would be a problem once it got dark. She went to the control panel and used the utility knife from the stolen supply belt to pry the cover off. She took a moment to examine the mass of wires within