Anton, his eyes alight, offered, “We can do this; Peter and I both know how to fly nightfalcons.” All feelings of resentment and suspicion had retreated. Arthur was a legend. He must have planned for decades to create this opportunity. Stealing the Panopticon was more exciting than destroying it. It was a way to not only harm the cause of the Vampire Dominion, but strengthen the resistance against them. Arthur’s plan ticked all the boxes.
“And what of the fortress’ guards?” Francis asked. “I presume they will not be standing around with their thumbs up their butts watching us steal their prized AI.”
Li added. “And cameras? There must be hundreds, if not thousands in a site this large.”
Arthur’s mouth gaped open as if he was about to say something, then he closed it again. His eyes narrowed slightly and he said quietly, “The risks are managed.” He started ticking off his fingers. “Yes, there will be guards, vampires, drones, laser grids, and everything will be designed to find you and kill you, but I tell you this - you’ll never get another opportunity like this one to harm the Vampire Dominion and bring them to their knees.”
Silence fell over the table. Peter looked up from the schematics and said with a measure of hope in his voice, “All this inside knowledge changes everything. We have a real chance of pulling this off.”
“A real chance was all I needed,” Chiara added.
“I was sold at ‘I can get us in,’” Anton said. “We’ve gotta do this.”
Li shook her head. “It’s still a death trap.” She stared hard at Arthur. “All you’ve offered is a way to make my vision come true.”
Jay said firmly. “I’m with Li on this one.”
Arthur glanced at Francis. “It’s your call. I’m just tagging along for the ride.”
Francis stared at the schematics for a long moment, and then said quietly. “We keep our eyes open -”
Li’s face fell, her gaze dropping into her lap where her hands twisted around each other.
Francis studied each member of his team. “- and we watch each other’s backs. We leave our doubts here at this table and commit to the plan.” He turned and stared hard at Arthur. “You’d better be right.”
Arthur smiled quietly at Francis and then glanced knowingly at Anton.
Anton grinned back, his heart beating hard in his ears. They were going to strike back and rip the Vampire Dominion a new one. There was one remaining question he had to ask. A principle was involved, something learned from hard experience. “One escape pathway out via the helicopters, what’s our second exfil path if that’s blocked?”
Arthur smiled quietly. “Back through the caves, Anton. Back through the caves.”
“We’re on!” Anton said, slapping his fist into his palm. In that moment, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. He was exactly where he wanted to be, allied with his grandfather and fighting against the vampires.
“Okay,” Francis said, glancing back down at the map. “Let’s thrash out the details.”
Arthur nodded. “Sure, but we need to make it quick. The window of opportunity is closing.”
Francis looked at Arthur, his eyes steely. “Even so, we’re not simply walking in.”
“Of course, it’s noted,” Arthur nodded. “You’re the boss.”
Arthur flicked a knowing glance at Anton as Francis turned back to the fortress schematics.
Anton hid his response, his face impassive, revealing nothing.
A slow grin spread across Arthur’s face, then vanished as he turned to answer a question from Jay.
I have no understanding of my grandfather’s plan. Is it as simple as it appears on the surface, or is there a deeper agenda in play? He’s just given us the keys to the kingdom of the Panopticon fortress, but why did he wait for us? He could have used another team, or built his own team. What does he really want?
Anton had no answers, and he turned to the diagrams spread across the table top. He needed to pay attention and absorb everything he could. The next twenty-four hours promised to be the most important of his young life.
There would be only one opportunity to strike the Panopticon and this was it.
* * *
His grandfather’s one-ton pickup truck raced along the road into the mountain range. The road snaked back and forth through a seemingly endless sequence of curves and turns. The foothills rose up to become mountains overlooking the eastern side of the Panopticon Fortress valley.
Anton sat next to him in the cabin. The rest of the Mirovar force team following closely behind in their SUVs. Li, once again, hazing their presence from any nearby cameras. They’d sat in silence for the last fifteen minutes after leaving the roadhouse. The raw anger in the roadhouse had ebbed but questions remained. He pressed his lips together, frowned and looked at Arthur. He started to speak, then paused for a second.
Arthur glanced over at him and stated firmly, “Spit it out, boy!”
Taking a deep breath, Anton asked, “Where were you on April the twenty eighth?”
Arthur looked at him for a long moment, casually steering the truck around a curve at speed. “I was deep in the Amazonas region of Brazil. I was working solo on disrupting one of Crane’s weapons programs.”
“Armitage showed me photos of you at a carnival in Rio.”
“I got made that night. That was in February, a couple of months before … well, you know.”
Anton nodded, his lips pressed together in a thin line.
“There was a praetorian and a pair of Shadowstone agents. I accounted for all of them. Obviously, the photos were uploaded as they were taken. I left the remains of the praetorian in a dumpster and the agents were pushed into a sewer.”
“When did you leave?” Anton asked.
“I left the States in December last year. The last person I spoke too was Gang. At that time, the protection around my family was working perfectly.” He paused for a long moment and his face hardened. “It all fell apart while I was in Brazil.”
“Why weren’t you there? Armitage respects you. She said you’re in the top two or three swordsmen in the world. You could have made all the difference. Mom and Dad would still be with us.”
Arthur shook his head slowly from side to side. “Nineteen plus years of effective protection. The Panopticon itself was used to hide you. The only thing I can think of is that someone recognized William or Anna for who they really were and word got through to Crane. He would’ve sent Armitage and Drake looking for the Papyrus of Hakron the Scribe, and you know the rest.”
“But, what were you doing in Brazil? What was so important?”
Arthur sniffed, a sardonic grin curling the edges of his mouth. “Crane’s Day Guard program relies on a serum derived from the Ophiocordyceps Diabolicus fungus. The fungus infects ants, sends them completely insane. They attack each other and the whole nest gets destroyed. The fungus then grows a giant spore stalk in the nest fertilized by the remains of the ants. The tip of the stalk is harvested for spores which are rich in an active ingredient that switches on some of the epigenetic factors associated with the Ramp.”
“Charming,” Anton remarked quietly.
“You’ve seen day guards in action at the conclave?”
Anton murmured, “Yes.”
“Now imagine if Crane had thousands of them.”
Anton rubbed the short growth of beard on his chin. “Shit.”
“You see the problem.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I took out his research center in the Amazon. It took me half a year to find and infiltrate it. I was out of all contact from February through to July. Finally took it down on July the fourth. Had our own little fireworks show.” He shook his head ruefully. “They had prototypes of everything they were working on, day guards, smart rifles, the whole kit and caboodle. Near the end, one of the guards got lucky. I barely made it out of there alive. I spent the next month recovering with a local tribe of Indians.”
Arthur lifted his checkered flannel shirt
revealing a pair of fading bullet scars beneath his ribcage.
“I arrived back in the States in early August. I stayed with Jon Thunder-Axe and began making final preparations for this mission. He told me about Kain dying on the twenty-third of August. He’d heard about it from Justin Blake. That was a pivotal shift for the Order, with the Kain cabal suddenly leaderless and scrambling to consolidate their power. Little did they know they were fighting to be captain of the Titanic. Then the Order got smashed yesterday morning and now we’re here.” Arthur sniffed. “So, how did Kain die?”
“He’d been made into a vampire by Armitage and Jay took his head off.”
“Hmmm. Poetic justice. Kain killed Jay’s mother. Did you know?”
“There’s been speculation. Jay spent his life believing you’d done it.”
“No wonder he’s pissed at me. Old grudges are the hardest to break.”
Anton looked at Arthur. He’d been holding a grudge against him since his mother’s death. Was it warranted? Did it even make sense? He was no longer sure Arthur had any responsibility for what had happened to his parents. Anton had lost his mother and father, and his grandfather had lost his son and daughter-in-law. It had been said that the greatest tragedy for anyone was to lose a child.
Anton sighed. He’d been selfish and stupid to blame Arthur for the loss of his family. Now he regretted blaming him. His previous actions were foolish and juvenile, and he was ashamed of them. He vowed silently to not make the same mistake again. His grandfather was blameless, Armitage, Crane, Drake, and Kain were the true culprits for what had happened to his parents. He grinned mercilessly, Kain and Drake had already paid the ultimate price. Only Armitage and Crane were left with open accounts that needed to be closed.
A contemplative look passed over Arthur’s face. He glanced across at Anton and asked, “I wonder why Armitage left you alive? It would have been so much neater for her to kill you.”
Anton looked down at his boots. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I think we can rule out mercy,” Arthur’s eyes gleamed and he asked, “What did Armitage say at the end?”
Anton blushed and looked out the side window. He muttered, “Something about how it was my fault.”
“You’re joking?”
Anton jerked around and stared at his grandfather, his heart twisting in his chest. “No, I’m not.”
Arthur’s eyes flashed and he ordered, “I want you to try and remember exactly what she said. Could you please repeat it word for word.”
Anton’s heart sunk. Armitage’s words and the events of that night were etched in blood on his soul. He spoke in quiet tones, as if confessing a long-held secret. “She said, ‘You are the one that invited us in. You, in your ignorance and helplessness, became the bait that made your parents vulnerable. It is entirely your fault that they are dead or imprisoned forever.’” He swallowed once, his throat threatening to seize up. “Then she said, ‘On the bright side - you get to live.’ Then she leaned in close and looked into my eyes and said, ‘Your parents have told you that they loved you and wanted to keep you safe, but I ask you this - who spent years lying to you and who told you the truth?’ Then she cut me free and vanished.”
Arthur stared at Anton for a long moment. His hands directing the truck around a hairpin bend from muscle memory alone. “That old myth about vampires having a mesmerizing power is not entirely bullshit. She was laying one on you. She was fucking with your mind.” He stared through the windscreen for a brief moment. “Fuck me dead. You were the target!”
Anton shivered.
“That was why she left you alive at the end. That’s why she did what she did, and said what she said. It was all a fucking show to get inside your head.” Arthur stared at Anton, lifting his hands briefly off the steering wheel to gesture helplessly, “But, what the hell for?”
Anton shrugged his shoulders. How could he know what Armitage was really planning?
“No. Don’t try and answer that. You’ll tie yourself in knots,” he reached across the cabin and tapped Anton’s chest. “She wants you for something special. Don’t worry, we can work it out. But, you can be sure, she has an agenda where you’ll play some pivotal role.” Arthur stroked his chin, his eyes flashing. “How dare that bitch use my grandson.”
He slammed on the brakes, the pickup truck sliding over gravel to a sudden halt. He stared hard at Anton, his eyes lit from within. “We’ll get her. We’ll get her together. Mark my words, her days are numbered.” He paused for a moment, then smiled. “You can get out now, we’ve arrived.”
Anton looked around. They were in a small clearing next to a cliff face, he reached for the door.
Arthur’s hand appeared on his left arm, pulling him back. “Oh, by the way, don’t call me Pappy, or Granddad, or some shit like that. Just call me Arthur.”
Anton opened the cabin door, and said over his shoulder, “No problem, Arthur.” He stepped from the cabin to the ground, and surveyed the mountain side. A single cave mouth a dozen feet across stood opposite the small clearing. The interior of the cave dove into the rock, disappearing into a well of darkness.
The two following SUVs pulled to a stop and the team disembarked with their weapons and equipment. Arthur called to Anton from the other side of the pickup truck. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”
Anton shook his head and said under his breath, “Not that I know of.”
He turned and stared into the cave mouth. He took a deep breath and let it out. He felt lighter. He wasn’t to blame for what had happened to his parents. Armitage was trying to manipulate him and he’d been carrying her poison for the last four months. Well, enough was enough. The true culprit was Armitage; the will to revenge surged through his soul. He vowed her manipulation of him would end immediately.
Hatred for Armitage and Crane swelled in his heart. With Arthur’s help, he’d take them both down. Killing them would deliver a measure of justice for their many crimes. With an ounce of luck, he’d kill Crane before her eyes. Let her see what was about to happen to her. Let her be filled with fear and helplessness for a change.
Anton retrieved the Blue Dragon from the rear shelf of the cabin, grinning mercilessly, his mind filled with visions of bloody slaughter.
* * *
Bright sunlight filled the clearing.
Arthur surveyed the assembled team. They faced him in a semi-circle; he could draw a mental line straight down the middle of the group. To his left there was Anton flanked by Chiara and Peter, and to his right there was Francis flanked by Li and Jay. Three who were fully committed to the mission and three who ranged from hostile to doubtful.
It was time to set all fears and doubts aside. He spread his hands wide and stated, “Firstly, I want to acknowledge you all for accepting this mission. This is unlike anything you’ve done before. This is entering the very heart of Dominion territory and taking their most strategically useful asset. The courage and determination in your choice to be here is without peer.”
His gaze flicked over the team like a whip. “I won’t sugar coat it,” he lifted his left hand up high. “This is the level of danger we will face.” He lifted his right hand up to match his left. “And this is the value of what we can achieve.” He paused for a moment, dropping his hands. “This is a high risk, high value mission and once it is done, we will have crippled the operational capability of the Vampire Dominion and gained a resource that can be used to bring the Order back to its full strength.”
Francis gave a short nod at the mention of restoring the Order.
“I’ve been preparing this mission for longer than some of you have been alive. The infiltration will be straightforward. I have prepared way stations along the path to supply us with everything we will need to execute the mission. My inside knowledge of the fortress will give us the edge we need to secure victory against an otherwise invincible foe. I won’t lie to you. Once we start the process of stealing the Panopticon, they will hit us with everything they’ve got. Then
it will be down to our skills, courage, and teamwork as to whether we succeed or fail, and live or die.”
His gaze flicked over Li, Francis, and Jay. “Now, I know we’re not all on the same page here, and I’m not going to insult you with some, ‘Once more into the breach,’ crap. The honest truth is that we are on our asses with our backs against the wall. Despite Li and Wichowski, the Order loremaster capability is almost gone. Without that strategic cover we will be hunted down and killed within weeks. If we don’t succeed today, we’ll all be dead soon, the Order will be destroyed, and every sacrifice we’ve made,” he looked hard at Francis and Jay, “will have been for nothing.”
He stared hard at everyone in the group. “I can’t promise you survival, but I can promise you an honest chance to survive off your own merits. This mission is the best chance you have to make a difference against the Dominion, and your best chance to seize the initiative against the vampires.”
He slammed his fist into his palm, and swept the group with his finger. “Your efforts in the next twelve hours will make more of a difference in this world than anyone’s efforts in the last twenty years … or the next twenty. The Vampire Dominion has held sway for nearly two centuries. Today is the first day where we’ll begin to take back our future from them. Today we’ll break the back of their systems of control. Today, we stand together against the vampires, and together we’ll break their rule.”
Arthur swept the group with his gaze and asked, “Are you in or out?”
“I’m in,” Peter and Anton said together, followed a moment later by Chiara.
Francis nodded.
Jay snorted, then said, “Sure.”
Li stared back at Arthur, and stated firmly. “Of course, I’m in.”
Arthur glanced at her, a sardonic smile graced his lips for a moment. He turned away toward the cave and said, “Follow me.”
Moments later, the team swapped the bright sunlight for the darkness of the cave.
Arthur lead the team into the deepening gloom. He flicked on the LED on his Order nightglasses. They always operated better when there was some ambient light. The cave had already been cleared. There was no risk of being discovered at this point in the mission. The LEDs would reduce the risk of accidents. The rest of the team followed suit.
The Crane War Page 9
