K'rth has instincts and senses that are so fine-tuned that they border on the supernatural. He almost always knows where the bad guys are, how many we 're up against, and what they're doing before I even know they're there. That's one of the reasons he usually takes point on entries or patrols. The other is simply because he wants too and you can't talk a 6 and a half foot Shaktar out of anything. I've certainly tried.
He guided me through the stacks quietly, looping and weaving around crates like he knew his way. Occasionally there was a sharp scream, a roar, or a burst of gunfire off in the stacks, but we hadn't run into anything for minutes. From the muffled chatter, I could tell that the other group was running into most of the action and it was deliberate.
"HOOO-YAH! THAT'S FIVE FOR ME!" Angus yelled. "MCREADY, THE DEATH MACHINE TAKES THE LEAD! WOO-HOO!"
"Good Lord," I thought aloud to myself. The Chagrin and the Frother were competing over who got the most kills.
There was a loud, sustained roar followed by an impact that made the tall stacks to our left wobble and shift. The ruckus on the other side ended as quickly as it had started and I had no doubt that Obie had just made something small and soft bleed and die horribly. Chagrins are notoriously very sore losers and Angus was pushing his luck by gloating. That old saying about "Let the Chagrin win" is a pretty good rule to live by, but Angus couldn't care less.
"Dats Six," the Chagrin growled loud enough that I heard him without my mike.
Angus said something back, but K'rth just hissed something under his breath about focus and continued forward. Stopping at the next intersection, he held up two fingers so I crouched down behind him to wait.
Someone was definitely coming our way, panting and shuffling forward like they were somewhere that they really didn't want to be. He had a partner behind him who was quieter, but still rather uneasy. I guess the sounds of some monster chopping up their friends and yelling out a score in the darkness is enough to put anyone on edge.
K'rth held up two fingers towards himself to let me know that he was going to take the rear one, so I nodded and got ready without any fear. Interceptors aren't the stone cold killers the media says they are and the best of Dark Night is always outclassed by even an average op. These mooks never stood a chance and K'rth would have said this was P'tnsd'tlh, or a fitting outcome for them. I figured it was just the penalty of playing for the wrong side.
As the target stepped past me in the dim light, I saw that he was whimpering and chewing his lip. The second man halted and listened for a few seconds just out of my reach as his inner voice probably told him that this was a bad idea. He dismissed it and stepped past us without looking our direction, and K'rth was on him in a blur.
The Power Disc hummed then made a choking sound as it bit through the target just before I slapped my hand over the point man's mouth. Slamming my MAC into the side of his neck, I pushed in and back, then pulled him down to the floor. He went down without a sound and I cursed when I saw that this was just another scared teenager. I'm so sick of killing the children that DN turns against us and would love to have a BPN to go after their damn recruiters.
The body was wearing a hands-off mike, so I pulled it off and fell in behind K'rth as he worked his way through the maze. The earpiece was chattering with traffic, so I tucked its cable and powerpack into my pocket and held the earpiece up to listen.
"-and six report in," the voice said. It was a man's voice and I didn't recognize him. "Teams one, three, and six report in NOW."
The voice was rattled and even with the distortion, I didn't think that it belonged to Bayer. I wondered if he was even still here? That was when I heard other chatter and at least three groups reporting in, including a sniper who called himself God.
"Nix, they've got a sniper out there some-" I started, but she interrupted.
"Uh-huh. When can I zap him?"
"Whenever you want."
"Cool, God's dead."
K'rth slid back into cover and froze, prompting me to do the same. Out of reflex, I popped out my collapsible mirror and handed it to him, but he just glanced at it with that "cute toy" look on his face he sometimes gives me. Maybe he thought it was cheating? I heard another commotion somewhere else in the room and strained to get a direction when Nix cut in again.
"A good sized op squad just joined the party," she piped up, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
The sounds of heavy gunfire cut the air and I figured the new arrivals had found at least one of the War World Vets and gotten up close and personal. Something went off that shook the floor and I ducked, but K'rth didn't move. Instead he slapped me on the back of the head like I was a child and motioned me to follow. Wincing and wondering what that was for, I followed him and caught a glimpse of a small squad of guys trotting away from us. They seemed to be only watching the front arc and K'rth grinned like he'd just got a present. I wondered about his thinking- so using a mirror is cheating, but sneaking up on them isn't?
As they started to cross an intersection of crates, there was a yelp and someone fired off a burst that went high and wide into the crates. With a hum-snick of a blade, Angus jumped into the midst of them swinging and took one off his feet with an uppercut chop. One of the Interceptors with a cooler head stepped back to shoot, but a bright flash lit him up and he tumbled backwards into a smoking heap. If it hadn't been for Gael, that guy might have gotten Mac and the Frother was still completely oblivious.
The other three guys broke and tried to retreat towards us, but Angus wasn't going to let them get away easily. With his best yell, he charged after them but wasn't quick enough to get to beat the Chagrin. Somehow the Stormer had circled behind the group to appear in front of us, and blocked their way. When he roared, the three DN froze. Angus was startled also and lost his footing, flopping down with a stupid look on his face.
Obie hit the first one with a haymaker that came from somewhere above his head. It hammered down on the man's upper torso, nearly tearing him in half and spraying gore across the plastic and concrete. The body folded over into a crumpled heap only to be stepped on as the 714 advanced on the others. The second man huddled, cowering in place and Obie snatched him off his feet with one hand. He slammed him into the crates and tore into him with claws and tusks, even though the man was probably dead with the first strike. Ok, I needed to find out what had gotten into the big guy and fix it, but right now wasn't the best moment.
The last man bolted past the Chagrin towards us with the Frother scrambling after him like a mad dog. K'rth calmly clotheslined him as he tried to pass, flipping him backwards onto concrete, and then stomped his head. I managed to get around them in time to block Angus from skewering the prisoner and he nearly got me instead.
"HE'S MINE!" he yelled, but I ignored him and pushed him back. His eyes refocused and he realized who I was just in time to have company. The Chagrin also hopped forward to get past me, but at least he didn't toss me aside like he had earlier. For the moment, they both held their ground and Gael appeared behind them. They were both certainly taking their competition seriously.
K'rth had disarmed and spun the man onto his stomach where he had him cuffed in seconds. I remembered to pull his mike clear and jerked him into an upright position as K'rth searched him, tossing backup weapons and contraband into a pile.
"P-please d-don't h-hurt me!" he cried. He was another young recruit and his face was strained with fear. "P-please don't!"
"Where's Bayer? And where's Mary?" I asked. So far, we still had no clue as to who this Mary was, but we were getting closer. He didn't seem to understand so I shook him and he remembered how to speak.
"L-Launch p-pad F-F-Four. H-He's there."
"What about Mary?" When he didn't respond, I shook him. "WHO IS MARY?"
"I-I don't know any Mary!"
"Liar," I said and slashed his DN armor vest off with my MAC. Fear forced his voice up an octave and he nearly passed out.
"I swear to God! I DON'T KNOW ANY MARY!"
My gut told me he wasn't lying, and I wondered if anyone of the grunts had any idea what they were really here for. And as for Bayer, A launch pad? What the hell were they doing on a launch pad? We cuffed the prisoner's ankles and wrists then left him for the Shiver cleanup crew to pick up later. Meanwhile, Gael had stepped in to corral the boys long enough to keep them from dismembering the bodies.
The sounds of fighting were still going on in the distance and I couldn't help but worry that Casper and McNeil were in over their heads and too stupid to call for help. Granted, they deserved to get their asses kicked, but I didn't want them dead for it. Minor injuries and humiliation were perfectly ok though.
"Nix, what's going on?" I asked. There was a crackle as I straightened my earpiece and she came through clearly.
"-bout six or so. One suit is down, but the rest seem to be retreating down the causeway. The other squad is advancing on them like pros, but they've taken a few casualties. Oh shit."
There was a muffled rumble that reverberated through the floors and crates followed by screams and sporadic gunfire. It only lasted long enough to get my ears ringing, but then it and the screams were gone. I wiped the sweat off my brow and felt tightness in my throat as I started to ask what happened. She beat me to it with the answer.
"The other squad is gone," her voice said matter-of-factly. It was frosty and devoid of emotion.
"What happened?" Gael asked but didn't get a response. "Nix, What happened to the other squad?"
The wraith half snorted and half growled her answer.
"They were stupid."
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