“Do you mind not moving around so much?” Silas grunted and adjusted his position when Luke’s elbow jabbed into his armor. It didn’t hurt, obviously, but made things more uncomfortable than ever.
“As I said, these guys are pros. They might have left their previous employment in other companies, but it’s not like those skills simply disappear,” Rok pointed out. “But as I also told Kaiden, the guys there are close to breaking in, but they are also trying to keep the prying eyes of the public from figuring out what’s going down.”
“Under the orders of the Ramses company?” Kaiden asked and the merc nodded. “You would think they would be more concerned with kicking those intruders out than with their public façade.”
“That’s a common problem with all companies. I’m sure that’s not a shocker,” Rok said dryly. “Also, you know what some of those people are like. They hear something dangerous is in progress and have the bright idea that it would make for a cool experience, only to get too close and have their head blown off. In a situation like that, the company would probably have to deal with litigation and liability and shit. No one wants that.”
Cameron chuckled. “I’m not exactly sympathetic to megacorps, but you do have to argue that ‘he was obviously an idiot’ should be an acceptable defense.”
“What can we expect once we get there?” Jaxon inquired. “It would be easier to formulate a plan if we know what the current situation is.”
Rok took a tablet from his coat, activated it, and studied the information. “Right now, they have created a barricade outside the building in the plaza area, where they are currently pinned down by two snipers and small waves of droids.”
“Snipers?” Marlo asked and glanced at Flynn. “It looks like you’ll get to measure up against some of your own.”
“I guess I will see how I stack up, but I gotta say”—he pointed to the rifle on his back—“I think I could shoot the wings off a fly with this. I haven’t seen a rifle like this even in the Animus. It has a great scope, fire rate, plus the power of the shots, and amazing impact that fires almost silently. The only downside is the capacity—four shots, and they are kinetic rounds so you gotta reload manually.”
“What rifle is that?” Kaiden asked.
Flynn drew the weapon and studied it. “Terra Sovereign model—I think Julio said it was called an Icono two?”
“Icono? As in Iconoclast?” The ace looked a little startled. “I thought that line was discontinued after the first model. There was controversy that the designer was in the pocket of a hitman and created it to his specifications.”
“Is that right? Then why does Julio have it?” Flynn asked, the mirth in his voice evidence that he hadn’t really thought about that himself. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he looked slowly at the rifle. “This probably isn’t legal to lug around, is it?”
“To be fair, none of you have licenses for your equipment so this is all basically suspect,” Kaiden admitted. “But you should all assume that a good chunk of what you are using is probably evidence of any number of things.”
“Another reason for you guys to get in there and get this done as quickly as possible,” Rok reiterated. “You’re all Ark academy students, right? You run training sims like this all the time, so it should be child’s play for you.”
“We actually ran a scrim today that was quite similar,” Jaxon concurred. “However, this is on a different scale, and we’ll face a scenario I don’t believe any of us are familiar with.”
“Not to mention this will be for keeps,” Mack added.
Indre adjusted one of her gauntlets. “This has been a rather interesting first day for me.”
“No doubt.” Cameron chuckled. “I should add, though, that even for us, this isn’t exactly normal.”
“Continuing from where we left off, is the front entrance the only way in?” the Tsuna asked.
“No. There is a back entrance they are also working on gaining access through, but that way is also locked down. They are trying to cut into it, but the entire section has almost a dozen emergency doors. If they can make it in, it’ll be slow going, even without the threat of attack,” Rok stated.
“So our primary concern is simply getting in.” Jaxon tapped his infuser, which fitted unevenly along the neck of his suit.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay with that, Jaxon?” Kaiden asked and indicated the infuser. “Without the protection a Tsuna armor set offers, that infuser is an easy target.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, but even if it is destroyed, I have a backup.” He pointed to the container on his leg. “Three vials of cooling liquid will keep me going for a couple of hours, maybe more since the sun is not in the sky.”
“Just be careful. If your infuser breaks while we are inside, it’ll be difficult to extract you and take you to a hospital.”
“I thank you for the concern, but I think that’s a warning for everyone here too,” Jaxon stated and gestured at the others.
The group looked at one another, his vague warning a clear indication that now would be the time to mention any worries or to pull out, but they maintained a stoic silence.
“To those in the back, brace for the descent,” the pilot warned over the intercom.
Rok nodded and finally sat before he dropped the safety bar. Everyone else followed his example except for the heavies, whose armor would keep them grounded. The dropship increased speed as they made their descent toward Earth. However, after a relatively smooth couple of minutes, a loud explosion jarred the vessel and the ship banked hard to the left, knocking a few of the group against one another.
“What was that? Did something on the ship blow up?” Raul gasped.
Rok looked at a monitor on his left. “No, the readout says it's fine. That came from something else.”
“The other dropship was blasted out of the sky,” the pilot informed them “I’m avoiding the debris at the moment.”
“What?” Rok demanded. “What fired at it?” He shouted into the speaker, clearly agitated.
“We’re under attack by another ship,” the pilot responded. “It’s another transport, but its weapons are fighter-class.”
“Dammit, that might be the ship the EX-10 used to get here,” Rok muttered. At another loud rumbling, everyone braced.
“Drop us,” Kaiden bellowed. “This is a Comet model dropship, right? They can drop the cabin.”
“We’re too high,” Rok countered. “And what’s to stop the other ship from simply obliterating us?”
The ace grunted and forced the safety bars from his shoulders. He strode to the entrance and held the railing as the ship bobbed and jerked. “When this ship gets low enough, tell the pilot to jettison the cabin. I’ll go out and deal with the enemy ship.”
“Are you insane? How will you land?” Cameron protested.
“I’ll use the ship,” he responded.
“That’s not a good plan, dumbass,” the bounty hunter retorted.
Kaiden ignored him and looked at Rok. “You said all ten of those mercs are in the building, right? So either the ship is automated or it’s controlled remotely. Either way, it won’t be able to react as quickly as if it were piloted. I’ll take care of it.”
“Kaiden this is—” Jaxon began before Kaiden interjected.
“I brought you guys here, to begin with. What good is it if we are all taken out before we even begin?” He caught Izzy’s gaze. “Hit the button to close the door when I’m out, all right?”
She nodded. He drew Sire and thumped a fist against the switch. The cabin door slid open and sucked him out. He turned as the air around him rushed by and confirmed the location of the enemy ship. The pilot of their aircraft had gained some distance, but the other vessel was still in pursuit. He’d timed his exit well and would intercept his target which powered toward him without slowing.
“Chief, prepare battle suite,” he ordered.
“You’re taking a risk doing something like this while I’m not quite t
ogether yet,” the EI warned.
“You know what you signed up for. Come on now.” He chuckled as he took aim and prepared a shot.
“I’d prefer to discuss options when we’re not about to die,” Chief complained. “Battle suite initiated.”
Time seemed to virtually come to a standstill as Kaiden flipped and took aim at the ship’s cockpit. His rifle had almost fully charged, but with his other hand, he extracted a thermal from the grenade container and activated it before he lobbed it at the ship. It exploded directly beneath the left side of the hull and the ship tilted in an effort to avoid more damage. This exposed a coupling on top of the ship. He fired and his shot destroyed the connection. The ace holstered his rifle as the craft began to drift downward. He floated directly above it and clawed at a crevasse in the hull to hold onto. His gloved hand couldn’t find purchase, so he drew his blade and pounded it several times into the vessel until it sank deep enough for him to hold onto it.
“Deactivate suite,” Kaiden ordered. “Chief, can you take the systems over?”
“You destroyed the stabilizer,” the EI pointed out.
“Yeah, but it’s still good enough that we can use the ship to ride close enough to the ocean and bail to safety,” he explained.
“You plan to bodyboard the ship?” Chief fretted, although he didn’t seem as incredulous as Kaiden would have expected. No doubt he was now accustomed to his crazy shenanigans. “Screw it. If the ship is automated by its own systems rather than an EI, I should have no problems.”
“Get to it with as much speed as you can,” he instructed and the round avatar disappeared. He hunkered down as much as he could when the ship began to pick up speed as gravity took control.
“I’m in. Now, what am I doing exactly?” Chief asked.
“Shut the jets off, open the drifting gear to slow it down a little, and coast it as much as you can toward the ocean. Get as close as you can to the coast without hitting shallow water,” Kaiden explained.
“It looks like the others had the same idea. Their cabin crashed into the ocean outside La Jolla Cove.”
“Well, don’t crash into them obviously.”
“It would have been funny, though.” The EI chortled with dark humor. “Opening drift gear. Hold on, partner, we’re going in.”
The ace tightened his grip as the commandeered ship continued to drop toward the water at marginally less speed than before. Chief banked it as much as he could while he activated the front jets in incremental bursts to right the vessel. The ocean approached quickly, and at the last possible moment, the ace yanked his blade out and released the hull to fall away as it splashed into the water. He pulled his legs and arms to his chest as he plunged in immediately after.
Chapter Seventeen
“Any progress, General Pocock?” Juro asked as he entered the main chamber once again. He could almost answer the question himself, considering how taut the general’s jaw was and how tightly his fists were balled on his sides.
“There is not much to report at this moment, Juro. One section of the team is reinforcing the building, while another is dealing with the outside threats,” he explained. His gaze darted between the screen and the councilman as if a sudden moment of progress would miraculously happen as they spoke.
He nodded and took a moment to study the screen himself. The team was apparently still pinned down. When he held a hand up, the system scanned him and he motioned to the corner to change the camera view to one in the main lab. “Are they still working on extracting the device?” he questioned when he identified two members working on a console.
“They have made progress—much quicker than before, considering they no longer have to worry about trying not to be detected,” Nolan explained.
Juro looked coldly at him. “We’ll discuss their actions once they return. As of right now, I’m simply concerned with their progress.” He noticed that the general had yet to relax. “Are you concerned that they will not complete the mission?”
“They will. I’m merely concerned with the damage,” Nolan explained. “Once it gets out who they are, perhaps the blame will simply shift to them. They are known for robberies like this, after all. But the issue is that they are also known as…well, as mercenaries. People will look into who they did this for.”
“We will have preparations in place to avoid investigation.” He attempted to calm the general, although the man’s nervous attitude concerned him. “But that is a simple issue you know we can handle. You seem to be worried about something more than that.”
“Perhaps he’s anxious about the verbal thrashing he’ll get from Xiulan.” Jensen chuckled and turned in his chair. “I wouldn’t worry about that, General. She spits venom, but she doesn’t inject it. She works in medicine, after all.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe that would actually fit with her motif, though.”
“No, it’s…the leader is here,” Nolan stated. The statement made both men stiffen immediately, and Juro finally noticed the lackeys around the room who scrambled to get everything into place or to find their positions.
“When did he arrive? Why wasn’t I informed?” he snapped and caught one of the grunts by the neck of his shirt.
“He only arrived about seven minutes ago, sir,” the man stammered. “It was unannounced. We didn’t expect him to come until next month. We would have told you otherwise, I promise.”
He hissed through his teeth and thrust the idiot away from him. “When will he arrive? I’m sure he’ll want a full report on our activities if he hasn’t been keeping track himself. I need to—” The door to the elevator opened and cut his statement off.
Juro, Nolan, and Jensen tensed as Dario stepped out, smiling as always. A figure behind him leaned against the railing of the elevator but pushed off slowly and followed, each step measured and every movement calm and collected, a grim counterpoint to Dario’s more jovial presence.
“Good day, ladies and gents,” Dario greeted as his alert gaze swept the room and settled on the screen. “It’s a little somber in here, isn’t it? How’s the mission progressing?”
Juro and Nolan looked at each other and the councilman nodded. This was the general’s department. The man stepped up and coughed, then cleared his throat. “It’s proceeding. We were able to launch the mission in advance of schedule. However, there have been some complications.”
The leader stepped passed Dario and focused intently on the screen as he spoke. “Will it affect the retrieval of the emitter?” he asked, his tone low and a rumble in his voice. It was neither stern nor angry, but there was an edge of command to it, almost threatening despite the simple question.
“It shouldn’t, Mr. Rayne,” Nolan assured him. “These are professionals, despite their background. I have heard nothing but positive reports from their former employers, even if they all stated they were somewhat more…boisterous than they had hoped.”
The leader nodded and finally glanced at the general. This was only the second time Nolan had seen him in person. Narrow, piercing grey eyes were accentuated by tanned skin and a scar traced along the corner of his forehead and down to below his left eye. His dark hair was slicked back and allowed to brush at the bottom of his neck. The thin lips were set in a contemplative line as if he were measuring his thoughts.
“I’ll leave it to you, General. Keep me updated on the progress,” he stated and turned to leave. After only a few steps, he twisted his head slightly. “Is it only the three of you here tonight?”
Juro stepped forward. “Xiulan Liu has stayed here as well, working on other projects. The rest of the council will reconvene at the end of the week. If you wish, I can summon them here. I’m sure all of them would like to see you after so long.”
“It is fine,” he demurred and held a hand up. “There have been some developments on my end—plans have changed, but I need to get things in order. For now, there is no need to call an emergency meeting. But by the next official one, I will prepare an explanation. Please excuse
me, Sasaki-san.” With that, he proceeded to the elevator on the opposite side of the room and disappeared within.
His departure was followed by an audible exhale from the three members, which drew a quick snicker from Dario. He walked over to Jensen and rested his hands atop his chair. “Don’t feel too bad that he didn’t call on you, buddy. Like he said, he has things on his mind.”
“If you can believe it, I’m not at all cross,” Jensen admitted and rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture of discomfort. “Actually, I’m relieved.”
Juro, after catching his breath, turned to the leader’s personal assistant. “Dario…er, Mr. Adesso, when Mr. Rayne said plans were changing, does that mean our current plans are void?”
Dario shook his head firmly. “Not in the slightest. If it were that severe, he would certainly tell you. We’d be wasting time and resources otherwise.” He slapped his palm against the chair’s headrest in rhythm to amuse himself. “Merrick is looking at things from a new perspective at the moment. There is no cause for worry right now. The goal always takes priority, but we’re playing in the dark so we have to consider change when necessary.”
“This won’t cause any delays, will it?” Nolan asked. Juro glared at him and couldn’t help the thought that perhaps, if he were truly concerned about that, he would do more about the current situation.
The visitor raised a hand and tilted it from side to side. “Eh, perhaps, but we won’t slow down, not while in this phase. I’m sure all of us are tired of that by this point.” His hands snaked down to Jensen’s shoulders and the man flinched visibly. “That’s one of the big reasons we are all here, right? We’re tired of the bureaucratic nonsense of trying to save the world, eh?”
“From something none of us are sure we can even take on,” Nolan muttered. He’d suddenly become rather depressing, hadn’t he?
“Maybe, maybe not, but we’ll damn sure try,” Dario said. His odd cheerfulness never faded, despite the seriousness of the discussion. “It’s also why I plan to enjoy myself until whenever the supposed end times are upon us. What do you say, Jensen? Do you care for a little fun after the next meeting?”
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