by Jim Roberts
Well, it was worth a try…
The Vulturnus lurched backwards, thrusting out its hind leg for another stomp. Joe was in a crowded position, with pieces of machinery and tool shelves bottling him in.
There was nowhere to roll this time.
Abruptly, the mech staggered backwards, off balance. Sledge’s voice screamed through the speaker, “Get off you bitch!”
Joe looked up and saw that Agrippina had climbed onto the back of the Vulturnus and was now clinging to the top of its body.
“Braddock, get out of there!” she shouted to him.
Joe didn’t argue. He scuttled out from beneath the towering mech and took off across the platform to where his Uber lay. But before he could get far, the Vulturnus lifted its hind leg and stomped down directly behind Joe. The impact knocked him off his feet and sent his M4A1 flying from his grip.
With Joe momentarily dazed, the Vulturnus thrashed about, trying to unseat its unwanted passenger. Agrippina held tight, not giving an inch. Seeing the autocannon begin to swivel toward Joe, she unsheathed a wakizashi blade and jammed it into the turret gyro—disabling it.
“I’ll kill you all!” Sledge’s voice blared over the loudspeaker—a madman in a tin suit. The Vulturnus reared back and forth like an angry bull. In a state of madness, the mech started firing its remaining supply of HEAT warheads in a blind fury. The entire cavern shook with explosions. Joe saw one very unlucky HEAT missile slam into the primary elevator leading back to the bay, cutting them off from their friends in the factory above.
Agrippina, still holding on to the mech for dear life, withdrew her FN SeveN handgun and fired it over and over into the canopy. Each successive shot helped weaken the plating. Out of ammo, she tossed the gun aside and drew her last wakizashi. Plunging it down, it bit clean through and into the delicate circuitry beneath it. The mech shivered for a moment, then ground to a halt.
Shaking off the cobwebs, Joe could see the Vulturnus was momentarily paralyzed. Agrippina leapt off the roof and dashed away from the mech, shouting over to him as she ran, “Braddock, I’ve disabled its drive functions but it won’t last long. If you’re going to do something, do it now!”
The break in the action was all Joe needed. He got to his feet and rush over to retrieve the Uber launcher. Powering it up, he hefted it over his shoulder.
“Fire in the hole!” he shouted.
Sledge’s voice screamed through the speaker, “NOOOO!!!!”
Joe let the Vulturnus have it. The Uber launcher belched a magnesium-tipped rocket at the mech. Soaring across the platform, it slammed into the torso of the three-legged beast. In a shower of electricity and flame, the Vulturnus’s upper body broke apart. The canopy shattered and amidst the smoke, Joe spotted a man sitting in the cockpit.
Sledge.
Bloodied from the first rocket, the man feebly held up his arms as the Vulturnus broke down around him. “I…surrender!” Sledge moaned above the noise.
Surrender this, you sonovabitch!
Leveling the Uber again, Joe fired three consecutive shots at the crippled mech. Sledge’s screams were drowned out completely as the Vulturnus mech was reduced into a fiery pile of molten refuse.
Joe lowered the Uber as a wave of satisfaction washed over him. The plan had been to capture Sledge, but God only knew what other gadgets that thing had on it. Joe wasn’t prepared to risk his or Aggy’s life on trying to take the man alive. Besides, with the factory soon to be offline, they’d accomplished what they’d set out to do.
As Joe stood watching the fiery ruin that was once Damien Sledge, Agrippina sauntered up beside him.
“Not bad, Braddock. Not bad.”
Joe grinned, “Admit it, we do make a good team sometimes.”
The raven haired killer scoffed, “Don’t let it go to your head.”
Joe looked across the cavern at the destroyed elevator. “Well, we aren’t getting out the way we came.” Turning to point at the secondary lift in the rear of the facility, Joe said, “We can leave that way. Hopefully, our people upstairs have managed to hold off the attack.”
With Sledge taken care of, Joe allowed himself a cleansing breath of air. He’d held up his end of the bargain with Lennox. Right now, Joe’s concerns shifted toward what was transpiring at the Cottage. He hoped, no, prayed that Jade was able to get the Code to safety before any attack would occur. He couldn’t wait to get back to the Harbinger. There was still much to be done.
“Alright, Aggy, let’s g—”
His last word stuck in his throat as something struck him at the base of his neck. Immediately his body went rigid, as all feeling swept out of his muscles. His knees wobbled and he collapsed in a heap.
The last thing he saw as his vision faded to black was Agrippina standing over him.
“Sorry, Joe,” she said, a baleful look in her unnatural eyes, “but your friends were right—you shouldn’t have trusted me.”
The world faded away and Joe slipped into unconsciousness.
* * *
ABOVE SLEDGE’S secret factory, the battle between Lennox’s Vagabonds and the security reinforcements was not going well.
Krieger and his companions were buckled down tight within the factory’s ground floor, unable to move. Outside, two Fenrir aircraft had bit the dust as the bipedal drones in the surrounding jungle targeted them with ground-to-air missiles.
As Krieger slapped his last magazine into his AA-12 auto shotgun, he looked across at his mates. Walker was down to his final clip, as was Caedra. The remaining Vagabond troops didn’t look good for ammo either.
In a few minutes, they would be overrun.
Well, Joe, I hope this was all worth it, Krieger thought as he moved out of cover to sight the nearest Sledge security trooper.
Before he could shoot, a hail of autocannon fire shredded through Sledge’s reinforcements. The men shrieked as they tried to make it to cover, but the onslaught was so fierce, most were killed immediately. Any survivors turned and fled.
Krieger hollered over to Caedra, “What is going on?”
The tall Vagabond soldier shook her head, “No clue!”
The radio in Krieger’s ear beeped and Leo Lennox’s voice came over the line. “Krieger, Caedra, come on out of there. The fight’s over. Our new friends have arrived!”
Krieger shared a curious glance with the Vagabond soldier. They, along with Curtis Walker, led the surviving Vagabonds out from the factory bay and into the early rays of sunrise.
Immediately, Krieger saw what Lennox was talking about.
At least eight of the new Blitzer aircraft were zipping across the sky, firing upon various enemy targets in the jungle beyond.
The Peacemakers were here.
The last of the Sledge reinforcements had either been killed or escaped into the surrounding jungle. Krieger let out a sigh of relief.
Better late than never.
* * *
THE FIGHT above the Puerto Cabello factory had been swift and brutal. The high-tech Peacemaker Blitzers quickly neutralized the drones in the surrounding jungle with fast-striking air-to-ground missiles. The general area was now secured of hostiles.
With the heat of battle waning, the Blitzers set down on the cement pad of the work yard. At the same time, Specialist Gator and his small team of infiltrators left their hiding position in the jungle to join their teammates in front of the battered factory. They were joined soon after by Leo Lennox and his small retinue of guards, leaving the safety of his Black Hawk a few hundred feet away. The Vagabond CO moved as quick as his prosthetic leg would allow, an eager expression on his wizened face.
“So, Mister Krieger—” Lennox said, gesturing toward the landed Blitzers, “—it looks like your Lieutenant Reynolds arrived just in time. Where’s Joe?”
Krieger shook his head, “Don’t know. The elevator was damaged. We haven’t heard anything from Joe or your pet assassin since then.”
Lennox looked troubled by the news.
“Look!” Cu
rtis Walker pointed into the distance beyond.
In the early rays of morning, they could see a Sikorsky Sea Hawk coming in low over the horizon. It set down amidst the landed Blitzers, kicking up a flurry of dust.
A man stepped off the helicopter, decked out in the officer garb of the Peacemakers.
Brick Reynolds.
The newly appointed CO marched toward Krieger and his companions, flanked on both sides by Peacemaker security troopers.
Krieger tensed himself. The Russian had no idea what a meeting between Lennox—a leader of an avowed mercenary company—and the staunch Brit would bring.
Brick stopped in front of the small group of fighters, gazing at the destruction that was Sledge’s factory work yard. Gator and his crew saluted their Lieutenant.
Krieger nodded at Brick, “About time you showed up, da?”
“Thank the Harbinger mechanics,” Brick replied, “Wasn’t for them, we’d still be sittin’ out in the middle of the sea with our thumbs in our ass, know what I mean?”
Brick’s eyes moved toward Lennox. The other Vagabond soldiers had clustered around their leader, not fully trusting the new arrivals. “You’re Commander Lennox, I presume?”
Lennox nodded, his manner respectful. “That I am.”
“General Walsh spoke highly of you and your unorthodox unit. My name is Lieutenant Alistair Reynolds, Provisional Commander of the Peacemakers. It’s an honor to meet you finally, sir.”
Brick held out a hand.
Lennox took it. “The honor is mine, Lieutenant.”
Brick said to Krieger, “Looks like our mister Sledge has a lot to answer for.” Brick looked over the group. Frowning, he asked, “Where’s Joe?”
Krieger was about to repeat what he’d told Lennox earlier when a loud rumble shook the ground. Across from them, the entire structure of Sledge’s drone factory buckled and quaked. The rumbling grew louder until all at once, a massive blast tore through the roof.
The team, standing a good hundred feet from the factory, were safe as they watched the entire building collapse in on itself. A cloud of billowing smoke and dust rose from the ruin into the heavens.
Everyone watched with incredulous looks on their faces as the factory vanished beneath the earth, its hollowed interior no longer able to support the weight on top.
Lennox immediately keyed the mic on his collar, “Braddock, Agrippina, come in, over?”
No answer.
He tried again.
Dead silence.
A sense of shock washed over Krieger.
Joe.
Brick lowered his arm, held over his face to ward off the smoke. “Please don’t tell me he was in that.”
In the darkness of the long night, the teams of Peacemaker and Vagabond looked out over the destruction, their faces filled with confusion and worry.
Krieger dropped his shotgun to the ground.
My friend…
* * *
AGRIPPINA SET down the small remote detonation transceiver and gripped the controls of the Hyperion aircraft. Using a tiny camera she’d placed on the top floor of the factory before their descent into the basement, the assassin had made sure all Vagabond and Peacemaker forces were out of the bay before she blew it all to hell. The Hyperion, which she’d so stealthily purloined from Sledge’s airstrip, a hundred yards south of the drone factory, had gone untouched during the turmoil of the last hour. She’d killed the two Olympus Centurions guarding it easy enough.
However, it hadn’t been easy hauling the out-cold body of Joe Braddock on her back.
She looked behind her, where she’d laid out the Peacemaker’s unconscious body in the passenger area. The sedative she’d given him would wear off soon, so she’d secured his feet and hands well. He would be just fine for the brief flight from Puerto Cabello to Caracas.
Agrippina kept the stealth Hyperion low over the jungle, so as not to attract attention from Lennox’s crew. She knew what she was doing would forever tarnish her standing with the Vagabonds. Lennox would probably never forgive her.
It doesn’t matter now.
She had a plan and what would happen going forward hinged on the soldier laying in the back seat. He was her only bargaining chip now.
Agrippina smiled in the glow of the Hyperion instrument panel. After a year of selling herself abroad, she would finally return home to her true family.
And her true vengeance against those who betrayed her would begin.
Chapter 28
Dark Hearts
The Cottage, October 7th
IT WAS still dark when the four unmarked black Ford SUVs rolled across the parade ground of the Cottage, stopping in front of the Peacemaker R&D lab. The vehicles were heavily kitted out with armored panels, bulletproof opaque windows, and deflate-proof tires. Inside each vehicle would be an assortment of Peacemakers and CIA operators, all well equipped with SCAR assault rifles and body armor.
No chances were being taken.
Inside the lab, Jade Masters witnessed the transfer of the Code of War disc from Cairncross’s elaborate mainframe setup to a simple armored attaché briefcase. Once it was removed, Walsh’s orders were to transport the Code disc to the secure Black Site; a secluded compound a few miles west of the CIA George Bush Center for Intelligence. Disguised to look like a common farm, the location was actually a bunker designed to house high-value objects for the US government. None outside of the CIA knew of its location. The Code would be safe there, at least until such a time Olympus was defeated or hell froze over—Jade Masters didn’t care which.
Inside the lab, Jade watched Doctor Cairncross and his crew deactivate the servers and separate the Code disc from its socket. As she waited, her mind strayed to the radio call she’d received an hour ago from Headcase about General Walsh. Her heart was still heavy with the news of his death, but couldn’t let it affect her now. Her own discipline forced her to concentrate on the task at hand and to tend to emotions later. If the Cottage’s location had indeed been compromised, she knew they had to get the Code out immediately. And she would see the task through, just as Walsh wanted.
The good Doctor had managed to complete his tests on the disc a few hours early, telling Jade simply that the Code would forever remain an enigma now. The encryption technology was far too advanced, even for him. Perhaps a few years from now, the science would catch up and the secrets of the disc could finally be exploited.
Jade checked her watch. “Alright Doc, we need to get the Code moving, now.”
Carefully placing the Code disc into the padded interior of the attaché case, Cairncross gave the object the slightest of caresses. “So much possibility, so little time.” He shook his head as he closed it up. The case was locked with a digital combination, requiring the correct input code out of sixteen million possibilities at twenty-four-hour intervals.
He passed the Zero Halliburton case to Jade.
“Are you sure about this, Masters?” the Doctor said, anxiously, “The General had said you were to stay on base at all times and the CIA are perfectly able to handle—”
Jade cut Cairncross off. “I know what Walsh said. Brick wanted the security increased for the mission. We’re bringing an additional squad of Peacemakers to guard the disc.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to go as well.”
Jade eyes flashed with anger, “I’m perfectly capable of doing my job, Doctor.” She could tell Cairncross was simply looking out for her. It was a nice sentiment, but she wasn’t in the mood to be coddled. “I’ve been tasked with keeping this damn disc safe, so that’s what I’m going to do. Now is there anything else, Doc?”
Cairncross opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again. “I…no. Good luck, Masters.”
Jade clutched the Zero Halliburton in one hand, her assault rifle in the other. She gave the Doctor a final look before turning back toward the lab exit.
“Specialist!” the Doctor called after her.
“What?”
“Stay safe, right?
”
Jade managed a quick nod before leaving the lab.
It was still dark—the sun barely beginning to edge its way over the horizon. The CIA men piled into the SUVs. Placing the Zero Halliburton on the floor of the front passenger seat of the SUV, Jade got in. Once everything was ready, she coordinated with the security team in the Cottage hub to let them through the front gate. Together, the SUVs trundled along the dirt road toward the wooded area that secluded the Cottage from the rest of the world. Once past that, they would take the Capital Beltway east across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, then swing northbound toward Langley. Before they reached the bridge, half of the convoy would split off and head north as a diversion to anyone pursuing them.
Depending on the early morning traffic, the whole trip would hopefully take no more than an hour.
As she sat in the front passenger seat of the lead SUV, Jade took a deep breath and calmed herself. It was a decent plan, overall. They were keeping a low profile and it was a quick drive. If everything went well, she’d be back at the HQ before breakfast.
* * *
HALF AN hour after leaving the Cottage, Jade’s convoy reached the Potomac River. Early morning traffic was light today, giving plenty of breathing space on the Beltway. Another half hour or so and they would reach the Black Site.
The diversionary SUVs split from the convoy, heading northbound. The remaining Fords continued on, barreling across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, making good time.
Still keeping her eyes focused on the road, Jade allowed herself a moment to think about the future. She loved working for the Peacemakers, but knew the young life within her would complicate things far too much. She didn’t for a minute believe Joe would leave the Unit he’d helped found, especially not with the death of General Walsh. He would give every ounce of his being to the task of finding his lost brother and bringing down Olympus.
She made up her mind that she would support her man however she could. When Joe returned, she would finally bite the bullet and tell him the news…that he was going to be a father.
