“Whats the bad news?”
“DCE-V has been mobilized; as of tonight you are KOS.”
“A kill on sight order?” I asked. “I’m flattered.”
“They aren’t joking,” Sabine said. “So far it’s just vampires, but there have been requests for the entire DCE to be mobilized.”
“I doubt that request will be fulfilled.”
“Because you’re going to somehow convince them otherwise?”
“Because Renault won’t live long enough to apply the necessary pressure to have it fulfilled,” I said. “Upload the schematics to my terminal. Were you able to transfer and keep the data from Solis?”
She gave me icy look.
“What do you take me for?”
“Do you really want the answer to that question?”
“I’m not an amateur,” she said, waving my words away. “The information is stored in several servers in case we need it again. Roze’s encryption method was amateur at best. I was almost offended.”
“I was merely confirming your superb computing skills,” I said. “I want you on the perimeter for this one. If the security is what you say it is, I need you watching the extraction points.”
“I’ll bring the Omega.”
“Use the LIT rounds. No sense being at a disadvantage.”
“I like how your brain works,” she said with a small smile as she handed me the e-pad. “LIT rounds are packed.”
“Excellent,” I said, looking down at the schematics of Renault’s property. “This is where he lives?”
“For now,” Sabine said. “Dark Council gave him use of the property last year. He was farther uptown before this. You know this property?”
“Yes, the James B. Duke house is a fixture in the city,” I said. “The Dark Council acquired the property from New York University through a blind trust decades ago. I thought it was still being used by the university?”
“It was, until last year when Renault moved in,” Sabine said. “Now he stays there six months out of the year.”
“With increased security.”
“Going to be an interesting night,” Sabine said as she nodded. “You sure about this?”
“Prep your gear,” I said, examining the security details. “We go in twenty.”
She handed me a small communication earpiece, which I inserted into my ear.
“I’ll be ready to go in ten,” Sabine said, pointing to the schematics. “I have some excellent firing solutions there and there. Extraction points are located at these”—she pointed to three different points on the map—“three locations. All are accessible, none are overtly easy to get to. Best I could do on short notice.”
“This will work,” I said. “Sanitize this place. We won’t be coming back.”
EIGHT
I equipped my gun with LIT rounds and waited for Sabine to check in.
The Duke property was located on the corner of 78th Street and 5th Avenue, across the street from Central Park. The two story mansion was an impressive property, dominating the corner it sat on. It was a throwback to a much earlier time in the city’s history, when mansions on ‘Millionaires Row’ were a prerequisite for the new elite class, denoting wealth and status.
Tonight, I would transform it from Renault’s residence to his mausoleum. I approached from the park, the trees providing adequate cover in the darkness.
“I’m in place,” Sabine’s voice came over the coms. “I have 5th and 78th covered. The rest of the place is yours.”
“Confirm perimeter security,” I said, peering into the darkness. “I have six outside.”
“Confirmed. Six outside,” Sabine replied. “Another ten inside. Renault stays on the top floor. Outside guards are normals, inside are DCE-V.”
“I can circumvent the outside security. Inside will be…difficult.”
I recalled the position of the new security measures, specifically the UV lamps and runic defenses.
“If the security is competent, you’ll have eight minutes before reinforcements arrive,” Sabine said. “I can get their attention for three minutes more before they overrun my location. After that, we extract or die.”
“Eleven minutes is a lifetime,” I said. “On my mark, drop the three on 5th Avenue. There’s an alley between the buildings I can use to gain access.”
“And the other three?”
“Dispatch them once I’m inside. Do not kill them.”
“Understood,” Sabine said. “What about the DCE-V?”
“I’ll deal with the ones inside. Even your Omega rifle will have difficulty shooting through that glass. I don’t expect to be in there after eight minutes, but if I am, thin the DCE ranks, then extract before the cutoff time.”
“Sounds like Meg is going to sing tonight.”
“You are to extract before the cutoff. Are we clear?”
“Can’t get any clearer,” Sabine said. “Waiting for your signal.”
To say Sabine had anger issues was a gross understatement. She harbored an irrational hatred of vampires, which was ironic, considering who saved her.
“Ten seconds,” I said, moving into position. “Once I phase shift, begin.”
“I have you in my sights. Once you go ghost, I’ll put them to sleep.”
My ability to phase shift was part of my curse. There are plenty of stories of my kind transforming into bats, and other assorted creatures. Most of them were myths. There were, however, rare vampires cursed with the Mark of Bahkri—the ability to phase shift through space.
Another reason the Dark Council feared and hated me.
Bahkri, one of the original Daystriders, had perfected this ability, managing to enter and escape enclosed areas by phase shifting, an ability similar to planewalking, but much shorter in duration.
The benefits were considerable in my line of work. No target was off limits, no one was untouchable. The danger of the mark lay in its abuse. Prolonged phase shifting could result in a permanent out-of-phase state.
I would be rendered immaterial, unable to affect reality around me—a ghost of sorts.
Needless to say, I used my ability sparingly, opting for speed, misdirection, and illusion to simulate it. In a case such as this, I would have to actually shift to get inside.
I focused and slipped.
It was the best way to describe my ability. The mark allowed me to slip through time and matter for short bursts without being detected. To the untrained eye, it would look like teleportation, but I wasn’t leaving my plane of existence, merely altering my frequency to allow for unseen traversal—hence the title.
As I shifted, my perception of time slowed. I knew this was misleading. I hadn’t slowed time, just stepped out of sync with the flow. Time was still progressing at its normal rate; I was the one who was moving faster than normal.
I saw the first security guard go down as I crossed the street. The remaining two collapsed in quick succession as I reached the alley between the Duke house and the French Embassy next door.
“You will lose me in three seconds,” I said, moving down into the alley. “Deal with the remaining three then.”
“Copy that,” Sabine said in my ear. “I’m reading some odd energy signatures. Looks like the interior runic defenses are active. Watch yourself in there.”
“Understood; eight minutes. Start the clock.”
“Starting now,” Sabine said. “Don’t waste time and don’t get dead.”
“Be right out.”
NINE
I shifted through a wall on the ground floor. The room I found myself in was a large ballroom-style space furnished with antique desks, ornate lamps, several chaises, and large comfortable chairs. I stood beside two large desks, positioned face-to-face. Directly in front of me, between the desks, stood a group of Enforcers, who, judging from their expressions, apparently were waiting for me.
The group of Enforcers moved as one, drawing their guns and opening fire. I managed to dive behind one of the desks as bullets ripped t
hrough the wood. The Light Irradiated Tungsten rounds left blue trails of light as they chewed through the desk.
So much for the element of surprise.
“Guess he’s not as unseen as the stories say he is,” one of the Enforcers mocked. “Come on out, Iker the semi-seen. Let me see how bulletproof you are.”
The other Enforcers laughed as they spread out to flank my position.
“Merde,” Sabine hissed over the coms. “What was that?”
“It appears I’ve been compromised,” I said. “They were expecting me.”
“You just got in there,” Sabine said. “Did you trip some perimeter defense when you ghosted in?”
“Unknown. Right now I’m focused on not being reduced to dust by LIT rounds,” I said. “We’ll have to go tactical.”
“The Dark Council is going to shit a horse if we blow this place up,” Sabine said. “Low-key this is not. That place is a landmark.”
“We can always say it was the detective agency. They’re notorious for these kinds of renovations.”
“I only have two baby MOPs. I was saving them for an emergency.”
“I’d say this qualifies,” I replied, as more gunfire blew apart what remained of the large desk. “I’m on the north side of the building, do not blow me up.”
MOPs—massive ordnance penetrators, or bunker busters—are designed to penetrate hardened targets buried deep underground. The smaller RPG versions Sabine carried, courtesy of the Moving Market, would make short work of the walls of the Duke house.
“You need to clear the area,” Sabine replied. “Piggyback sequence in five-ten.”
The stairs were twenty feet to my left. A piggyback sequence meant Sabine would use the first MOP to obliterate the wall. Ten seconds later, the second MOP would obliterate everything and everyone on the ground floor.
Including me.
I preferred subtlety and silence to destructive demolition, but this situation had escalated beyond the silent subtle phase. I returned fire, dropping one of the Enforcers and converting him to a pile of dust. The other four remained behind cover as I shifted to the stairs. A second later, the first explosion rocked the building.
“What the hell was that?” One of the Enforcers called out. “We need backup!”
“I’m on it!” Another Enforcer yelled. “Stay down!”
“We lost Philipps with the wall!” An Enforcer called out. “Get that bastard! He’s heading upstairs!”
It was the last thing I heard, right before the second explosion obliterated the ground floor.
I stopped on the stairs and listened for any signs of life below.
Silence.
“You have movement on the second floor and reinforcements in five minutes,” Sabine said in my ear. “We’ve been set up.”
“Five minutes is plenty of time,” I said, racing up the stairs. “Get ready to extract.”
Three Enforcers waited at the top of the stairs.
They never stood a chance.
I moved just short of a shift, drawing Slake as I moved past them. They collapsed as I sliced through their bodies, becoming dust as I drew my gun. I fired at the remaining two Enforcers across the floor, introducing them to LIT rounds before they, too, collapsed into dust.
I heard the sound of clapping off to the side as a figure stepped into the large room. This space was mostly empty of furniture, acting as an enormous reception hall with a spacious balcony overlooking the floor below. Around the hall, on the walls, I noticed the new high powered UV lamps, situated every few feet, all pointing to the center.
Where I currently stood.
“Impressive,” Renault said, as he strode confidently into the hall. “Those were some of my best men.”
He was close to my size. Slightly taller, and I could tell he invested plenty of time in the gym. He moved with a self-assured poise, reminding me of a dancer taking center stage. He held a black blade in his hand; a Soulsplitter. Like my own blade, Slake a Soulsplitter was the weapon normally carried by Nightwalkers.
“Renault, you know why I’m here.”
“The question is: do you?”
Shooting him was out of the question. He was too fast. Even if I tried doing it while shifting, there was a large probability I would miss. He would exploit that opportunity to bury his sword in my chest or remove my head.
Neither option worked for me.
I tightened my grip around Slake as Renault closed the distance.
“You, and the Triumvirate, are looking to retire me,” I said. “I’m here to violently express my disagreement with your course of action.”
“Duly noted,” he said, with a slight nod as he stepped into a defensive stance. “The only reason you’re still alive”—he gestured to the UV lamps all around us—“is because I wanted to see if the rumors were true. Show me.”
TEN
Against normal enemies, I barely notice my wound. My skill level surpasses them to such a degree it makes the difference insurmountable for them.
Renault was another matter entirely.
He was an accomplished swordsman, and launched his attack on my weak side with a swipe at my leg. I pivoted away from the slash, parrying with Slake and stepping back.
“You should have let the Enforcers end you,” Renault said. “It would have been neater. Now, I’m going to cut you, and your legend, down to size. I will make sure to ship your remains to Solis.”
He must have caught the look of surprise that flitted across my face. He stepped back and laughed.
“You didn’t know? He sent you here to your death. Didn’t you hear? You’ve grown too efficient, too dangerous. It was decided something needed to be done about Iker the Unseen. The clan heads agreed—all of us. You needed to be removed, permanently.”
“He said the same thing about you.”
“There is no love lost between Solis and me,” Renault said, circling. “He wants me dead, but can’t move against me directly.”
“Too much fallout?”
“The Triumvirate is a check to his ambitions.”
“Unless he removes you.”
“Exactly.”
“But he can’t do it himself, so he sends me.”
“He stands to lose too much if he tries and fails,” Renault said. “It’s why he chose to use you as his weapon.”
“Plausible deniability.”
Renault nodded.
“With the added benefit of your sanctioned death. Everyone either hates or fears you. Most both. To him, you’re expendable. I doubt he expected you to succeed here. This is more likely a test of my defenses.”
“Solis informed you, then set the window of opportunity,” I said, connecting the pieces. “Then all he needed to do was wait.”
“He’s been moving you around like a pawn,” Renault said. “Tonight, I remove you from the board. It’s not personal. We have been playing this game far longer than you have roamed the earth.”
I slid in with a short lunge. Renault turned his body and parried, falling for the feint and moved to the left. I reversed direction, slashing horizontally, aiming for his neck and missing, cutting his shoulder.
Renault backed up and circled.
“Touché,” Renault said, glancing at the cut. “Well done.”
He stepped forward with another lunge. I barely managed to parry the attack as he unleashed a devastating kick to my knee. I stepped back, causing him to miss by fractions of an inch.
I needed to end this.
He pressed another attack, and I did the last thing he expected. I let him run me through with his blade. The pain was agonizing as an expression of shock covered his face. I grabbed his wrist with one hand, and drew my gun with the other.
“You’re insane,” He said, as I pulled him in close. “This blade will kill you.”
“You’re misinformed,” I said, firing several rounds into his chest. “There’s a reason Nightwalkers were trained to remove the heads of their targets.”
He staggered
back, dropping his blade as the LIT rounds exploded in his body. The light momentarily blinded me as he disintegrated into a pile of dust. The pain subsided as I looked around at the damage. Sabine was right, the Dark Council would be extremely upset.
“You should have used the lamps,” I said to what was left of Renault. “It would have been neater.”
“Two minutes before that place becomes extremely popular,” Sabine said. “Extract now. DCE-V incoming.”
“Where are the controls for the UV lamps?”
“Are you insane? They will fry you.”
“That’s exactly what I need them to think,” I said. “Can you access the lamp controls from your location?”
“Yes, but you don’t want to be in there when they go off.”
“I won’t be,” I said. “How long until the Enforcers arrive?”
“Forty five seconds.”
“In thirty seconds you turn on every UV lamp in here at full strength.”
“That will kill you, even with your sun proof clothing.”
“I know. Thirty seconds.”
Some more french curses came across the coms as I picked up Renault’s clothing, switching it with mine. I left everything except Slake and my gun in the large pile of dust that was once Renault, even my hat.
For a brief second, I almost reached out and picked it up. Those who knew me, knew I would never discard my hat. Which is why I left it.
Renault’s clothing was a loose fit, but adequate. I moved around, adjusting the jacket as I holstered my gun and sheathed Slake.
“Ten seconds until those lamps blast you into dust. Get out of there.”
“Leaving now.”
I jumped over the edge of the second floor balcony into the crater below. Once I hit the ground, I shifted outside into the cool night. Behind me, Renault’s residence became lethal as every UV lamp on the property switched on, bathing the mansion in a deadly purple light.
Iker the Unseen (Iker the Cleaner Book 1) Page 3
