“Alright,” Nick said. “We’re in position.”
“What’s it look like?” Kal asked.
“Crowded,” Nick said. “Let’s sling these laser rifles and power up the stun guns.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Ty said, looking at the blocky-shaped pistol. “We don’t even know how long these things will keep them down.”
“We don’t need them to stay out long,” Nick said. “Speed is the key to victory. We’ll get in and out before they know we’re here.”
“What if the distraction doesn’t draw them out?” Kal asked.
“Then we’ll figure something else out,” Nick said. “Ember, we’re ready. Go ahead and light it up.”
“Roger that,” Ember replied. “I’m taking the shot now.”
Nick waited. Everyone fell silent. It was anticlimactic. There was no report from the laser rifle Ember used, and no explosion or frantic response from the aliens. After a few moments, Ember reported in.
“The fire’s burning,” she said. “The smoke is just beginning to waft up out of the building. I don’t think anyone has seen it yet.”
“Man, this waiting is the worst part,” Ty said. “I’d rather just get it over with.”
“Stay cool,” Nick told him. “We’ll be moving soon.”
“I think they’ve seen it!” Ember said, her voice full of excitement. “Yes, some of them are going to check it out.”
“Roger that,” Nick said.
He took another glance and saw that most of the loiterers were moving to the front of the building or going to look at the fire. There were just two left by the rear door.
“We’ve got two bad guys,” Nick said. “As soon as the alley is clear, we’ll make our move.”
“Ty and I will handle the lobster-men,” Kal said.
“Good,” Nick replied. “As soon as we get in, one of you stays to keep the exit clear. Once we find the hostages, we’ll be moving fast.”
“I’ll do it,” Ty said.
“Ember, how does it look?” Nick asked over the com-link.
“You’ve got six aliens still in front of the building. The rest have gone to investigate the fire.”
“Alright, we’re moving in,” Nick said. “Give us a heads up if the people out front do anything.”
“Roger that,” Ember said. “Be careful.”
“Always,” Nick said.
Kal and Ty had so much pent-up energy that they decided to step out and make their shots in clear view of the aliens. Nick was afraid they might miss or that the Quazak might have radio communications. The aliens didn’t need to stop Nick’s team if they could radio for help before Kal or Ty took them down—but his worry was for nothing. The two Space Marines stepped out into the alley with cool efficiency and purpose. They had their stun guns ready. The weapons fired highly charged matter with pops of compressed air. Nick heard the aliens fall to the ground almost as soon as his friends fired.
“They’re down,” Kal said.
“Let’s go,” Nick told Jules.
They rushed around the corner. Nick saw the two aliens on the ground, but he didn’t hesitate. He went straight to the door and was relieved when the handle opened it. The possibility that it would be locked had nagged at his mind, but they had made it inside.
“Captain Dex’Orr,” Nick said. “We are inside the building where the hostages are being held.”
“Very good, Dragon Team,” came the response. “I want to know the condition of those hostages the moment you have them in sight.”
“Roger that,” Nick said.
They crept through a darkened hallway, checking small storage rooms but finding no sign of the hostages or more aliens.
“What is this place?” Kal asked.
“It’s gotta be some sort of gathering place, like a community center,” Jules said.
They reached a door at the end of the hallway. Nick peeked out and saw a group of aliens looking out the large glass windows in the front of the building. He slowly opened the door a little wider, trying to see around the room.
“I don’t see the hostages,” Nick said.
“They have to be here,” Jules said. “We’re right on top of their beacon.”
“What if the fish-people removed the beacons?” Kal asked. “They might have removed the devices and moved the hostages somewhere else.”
“I think the beacons are like our data-links,” Nick said. “They’re powered by body heat. If they had been removed, they wouldn’t still give a reading.”
“But we can’t be sure of that,” Kal argued.
“They might be held upstairs,” Jules said. “Let’s find a way up before we do anything rash.”
“I agree,” Nick said. “Once the aliens know we’re here, we won’t have a choice but to fight.”
“Do they have weapons?” Kal asked. “I didn’t see any on the ones we took out back there.”
“Ty, do the aliens have weapons?” Nick asked over the com-link as they moved back down the dark hallway.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Ty replied. “I wouldn’t want them to get hold of me with those claws, but I don’t see weapons.”
“I found the stairs,” Kal said.
He had gone into a room where a stack of crates was piled near the door. Nick followed him into the room, and they climbed the stairs with Jules right behind them. The second story of the building was much like the first. They came out in a hallway that ran down one side of the structure to a large open room on the other end. When Kal peeked through the doorway, he nodded.
“Got them,” he said. “Two Proxy, four crustaceans.”
“How do they look?” Nick asked.
“Not so hot. They’re tied to chairs, and I see something on them. Could be blood.”
“Alright, we go in, take out the aliens, get the hostages,” Nick said.
“Easy as pie,” Kal said.
“I’ll hold the hallway,” Jules said.
“We get them down and out the back way, then we circle back around, pick up Ember, and get the hell out of here,” Nick said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Kal said.
Nick checked his stun gun. It was charged and ready. He nodded to Kal, and together they pushed open the door. The fight began.
Chapter 40
Nick was no stranger to a fight, though he had never relished fighting. In the streets of Seattle or sometimes in the halls of their school, Nick had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his friends against bullies and gang members, and even rogue teachers who thought they could take their frustrations out on their students. But the fight on the second floor of this alien building was completely different.
Unlike the aliens they had encountered before, the four guarding the Proxy hostages were armed. Nick saw the aliens holding what looked like spear guns a split second before he fired the first round from his stun gun. The blocky pistol bucked slightly in his hand as compressed air fired a minuscule bit of highly charged matter at the closest alien. The lobster-faced Quazak stiffened, then toppled like a tree being chopped down.
Two of the aliens fell almost before the others could react. Nick was targeting a third alien when it fired a spear straight at Kal. The projectile was half a meter long with a barbed tip. It would have impaled Kal had it hit him, and supposing his armor didn’t stop the deadly bolt. But Kal was perhaps the fastest member of the team, and he slid to the side while returning fire, but missed. The fourth alien recognized the inevitable and turned his weapon on the hostages. Nick’s second shot took the third alien to the ground, but it was Jules firing from the open doorway that saved the hostages.
The battle, if it could truly be called that, was over in just a few seconds. When Nick looked around and saw that they were safe from immediate danger, his entire body began to shake.
“Damn,” Kal said, looking at the spear that had lodged in the wall behind him. “That was too close.”
“Tell me about it,” Nick said. “Good shot, Jules.”
“Who says girls can’t shoot?” she said with obvious pride.
Nick hurried over to the hostages. They were both conscious and visibly terrified.
“We’re here to help,” Nick said, but without translators the Proxy didn’t understand him. “Captain Dex’Orr, we have the hostages.”
“You have them?” the Proxy’s voice crackled in Nick’s com-link.
“That’s affirmative. They are both alive, but frightened. They don’t have translators.”
“Your helmet can translate,” the captain told him.
Nick did a quick search of his helmet’s programs and found a universal translator. He enabled it and set the translation for Peregrinantes.
“We’re here to help,” he said. The helmet repeated the phrase in a humming, sing-song language that Nick knew his own vocal cords could never replicate.
“Who are you?” one of the hostages asked.
“PMC,” Nick said, as Kal cut the hostages loose from the bonds holding them to their chair. “We’re going to get you out of here.”
“Nick,” Ty said, keeping his voice low despite the fact that he couldn’t be heard outside his helmet. “There’s movement down here.”
“Stay out of sight,” Nick said. “We’re coming down.”
The hostages had been mistreated. Just getting to their feet was difficult for the tall, lanky aliens. Kal had one that leaned against him as it walked. Nick helped the other.
“I’m thinking the Quazak aren’t so innocent,” Jules said, leading the way out of the big room.
“They sure had a go at these two,” Kal said. “Probably had them tied to those chairs for days.”
“What are you getting at?” Nick asked.
“I don’t want to rock the boat, but I don’t think we should risk our lives just to use non-lethal weapons on these creatures,” Jules said. “I’d feel better using our pistols.”
“I second that,” Kal said. “I want to know I’m putting the bastards down when I fire.”
Nick felt a stab of guilt at the thought of killing the Quazak, but then the Proxy he was helping groaned. One of its long-fingered hands was clutching its side. When Nick looked up at the alien, he saw swelling around the alien’s large eyes and dried blood around the nostril slits and thin lips.
“Okay,” Nick said. “Do what you have to do. Em, we’re on the move.”
“Make it quick,” she replied from her perch on the rooftop near the docking arm. “Someone just came out of the building and called the others inside.”
“Damn,” Kal said. “We’ve got to move.”
Nick agreed, but the Proxy were injured. Nick didn’t know much about their anatomy, but he was pretty sure the one leaning against him had broken ribs.
“Ty, can you see what’s happening?” Nick asked.
“Negative—I’m outside of the rear entrance,” Ty replied. “The guards are stirring.”
“Take them out, dude,” Kal said. “They tried to kill me.”
Jules had just reached the stairwell and pulled the door open when she was immediately hit by bolt from a spear gun. The metal bolt struck her shoulder and spun her back. Fear hit Nick like a bolt of icy lightning. They weren’t just kids goofing around and causing trouble at school anymore. They were in a fight for their lives, and at any second they could be maimed or killed.
Kal pushed the Proxy against the wall. The stairwell door was closing, but he stuck his pistol inside and started firing. Unlike the stun gun, which used compressed air, or the laser rifle, which made no sound, the pistol had traditional ammunition with explosive gel that propelled soft slugs of metal. The sound was loud, echoing inside the utilitarian stairwell as the bullets ricocheted off the metal stairs and metal prefab walls. He added to the noise with a primal scream of rage.
Nick rushed over to where Jules lay on the ground. The spear bolt had hit her and bounced away, so he knew it hadn’t penetrated her armor—but he feared the impact may have broken bones or dislocated her shoulder.
“Jules!” Nick said loudly. “Are you alright?”
“It knocked the breath out of me,” she wheezed.
“Can you move?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said.
“Nick, what’s going on?” Ember said.
“We’ve got hostiles,” Nick replied. “They’re armed with spear guns. Jules was hit, but the spear didn’t penetrate.”
“I’m coming to help,” Ember said.
“No, stay where you are. Take out any of the enemy you can from your position.”
The sound of more gunshots exploded from below. Nick knew that Ty was coming to their aid. He went to the door that led to the stairwell. Kal was right beside it, reloading his pistol.
“Forty rounds,” Kal said. “You think they could have survived that?”
“I think we better count on it,” Nick said. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Kal shoved a fresh magazine into his pistol and pulled back the slide. It popped back into place, loading the first round into the chamber.
“I’m ready,” he said angrily. “Let me at ’em.”
Nick pulled open the door, careful to stay out of the way in case another Quazak fired at them from the stairs—but nothing happened. Kal glanced inside quickly, then pulled back.
“I don’t see anything,” Kal said.
“Nick,” Ty said. “It’s clear. Get down here.”
Kal and Nick grabbed the Proxy hostages and went quickly into the stairwell. There were blood and streaks on the walls from the ricocheting bullets. Jules was right behind them. She was moving well enough, but favoring the shoulder that got hit. Nick worried that she wasn’t being as honest about her condition as she should be, but he couldn’t argue with her. There was no time for complaints. They were in trouble, and unless they were lucky, they might not make it back alive.
Chapter 41
There was no time for the shock to set in, but as soon as Nick saw the bodies of the dead Quazakians, the image was burned instantly into his memory. Despite the fact that they were different—completely alien—the sight of their bloodied and lifeless bodies drove a wedge of fear into Nick’s heart. Yet there just wasn’t time to let it paralyze him the way it should have. Instead, he rushed over the bodies, some shot from Kal’s barrage above, others from Ty’s below.
The group threaded their way through the bodies, careful not to slip on the bloody stairs. At the bottom, Ty was waiting.
“There’s a few more,” he said. “They’re hiding in the big room at the end of the hall,” he said.
“No, they’re not,” Ember said. “I saw three of them race out and head around to the back of the building. And more are returning from the fire. It didn’t burn long.”
“The building probably had fire suppressors,” Kal ventured.
“Doesn’t matter,” Nick said. “We have to move.”
They left the stairwell and moved back down the dark corridor that linked the rear exit to the large front room. Ty threw the lock on the back door before hurrying to help Jules, who was struggling to keep up.
They burst into the large room. Nick and Kal searched the space for any movement, but the room was empty. Once the hostages had been helped inside, Ty and Kal pushed a heavy table against the doors.
“That might slow them down, but it won’t stop them,” Kal said.
“Can we make a break for it?” Jules asked. “The docking arm is half a klick straight down the thoroughfare.”
“I don’t think so,” Nick said.
He was standing next to the front entrance, which was made of glass. It didn’t offer much protection, but the Quazak weren’t attacking outright. They were taking cover behind buildings and in alcoves and nooks. Ember had sniped several with her laser rifle; their bodies lay in the street with smoking holes in the carapaces.
“Well,” Kal said. “We can’t stay here.”
“The longer we wait, the better off they’ll be,” Ty said. “Now that they kn
ow we’re here, they’ll call in everyone to stop us.”
Nick wasn’t sure what to do. He knew they needed to get out, but he had no idea how to do that without getting shot to pieces in the process.
“Try the maintenance tunnels,” one of the Proxy said.
“What?” Nick asked.
The alien pointed down. “There are maintenance tunnels under all these buildings.”
“Won’t the Quazak be waiting for us down there?” Kal asked.
“They aren’t allowed in the maintenance areas,” the alien said.
“I don’t think they’re letting the rules stop them these days,” Nick said.
“It’s worth a try,” Ty said. “How do we get down there?”
“Every building has a maintenance entrance,” the Proxy explained. “Look for a room with pipes and conduits rising up out of the floor. There will be a hatch you can access.”
“That means going back,” Kal said.
“Ty locked the back door,” Nick said hopefully.
“Yeah, and how much do you want to bet the lobster people have the keys?” Kal said, his cynical nature rising to the surface.
“We don’t have a choice,” Nick said. “Ember, we’re going to try to find the maintenance access from our building. You should do the same. Stay in contact if you can.”
“Roger that, Nick. I’ll keep them busy up here for a few more minutes, then I’ll go down.”
“Do you know what to look for?”
“No,” she said.
He explained the maintenance hatches. “It will be on the lowest floor of the building.”
“Got it,” she said.
“Alright, Ty, lead the way.”
He and Kal moved the table and then slowly opened the doors. The hallway was dark and appeared empty. Still, there was no way to know for sure if the Quazak had gotten into the building. They could be hiding in any one of the side rooms, just waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Dragon Team Seven Page 24
