Plagued: Book 1

by Eden Crowne

  She and Quill shed their packs. Helena conferred quietly with her son before jetting out of sight.

  Quill disappeared into the open hatch, climbing down a ladder bolted to the wall. Slinging her gun around to the back, Sky followed.

  They were in a wide, damp, dark tunnel that smelled foul, like sulphur or urine. Sky's nose was not pleased. The air was close and her eyes began to water. She wiped at them with the sleeve of her uniform and tried to take shallow breaths. Lights flared on and off as they passed, triggered by motion sensors. The way in front and behind wrapped in darkness.

  “Take your contacts out. The filters.” Quill ordered.

  Sky was surprised. “How do you know about that?”

  He looked over his shoulder. The flare of light from one of the motion sensors illuminated his face momentarily, bouncing off his fine cheekbones and giving his expression an eerie glow. “I know many things about you. Some you do not even know yourself.”

  She trotted up next to him. “You and your brother talk in riddles. Can't you just say things like a normal person?”

  He whipped around, pinning her against the wall roughly, his face close above her. “I'm not normal. I'm an aberration. An ABR chemical freak.” He shook her once as if to make his point, and walked away, still talking. “I need your eyes to tell me how many men are hiding. We are going into a delicate negotiation. Keep one hand on your gun, the other by your thigh. When you see a heat signature, put out one, two, three fingers or however many men you see. Say nothing except when I tell you to speak. If I give you a two finger cutting motion. Shoot at anyone in front of you.”

  The corridor ended at a steel door with a keypad blinking in the half-light.

  “And here we are.”

  Quill punched in a combination.

  “This is pretty impressive for a gang of profiteers.” Sky couldn't help saying.

  “This is part of an old Victims Army base. Hence the refrigerated blood vault and multiple entrances. Your major and his pals secured it after quietly wiping them out in a private operation. They have been trading in blood for several years now.”

  He braced his feet and slowly pulled the door open. It was at least a foot thick, made of heavy steel. “Stay behind me until we confront them, then stand to my right.”

  A narrow ramp, half the size of the hallway, rose steeply ahead, illuminated along the ground by pale yellow fluorescent lighting. The design was identical to the one Sky stumbled upon after the explosion. The complex was built for defense. Crowding onto these long, steep ramps would put attackers at a disadvantage. Defenders could shoot from above or below.

  Quill strode into the echoing hollows of the blood vault as if he owned the place. Sky emerged more cautiously. Looking left and right for tell-tale heat signatures. The random lights barely illuminated the place. It was much bigger than Sky realized on her previous visit. Her concentration that night being focused on survival, not architecture. She picked up four signatures right away and tugged on Quill's jacket. He shifted his head slightly and she signaled two left, two above. There must be a catwalk around the top of the warehouse.

  Almost immediately, she saw three more red glows spaced evenly above, directly opposite.

  The major was waiting for them in front of the open door of the vault. He stood at the top of the ramp looking so very self-satisfied. Though Sky knew he was a traitor, seeing him here still hit her hard. She was used to thinking of him as a high-ranking and respected officer. He was also, for better or worse, the father of Kara's baby and her lover. Sky couldn't understand what had attracted her sister to this man.

  The major had brought plenty of muscle. Flanked by two soldiers on each side, plus the ones in the shadows.

  Quill walked in with only Sky in her Tactical gear.

  “Hello, Bromwell,” Quill said cheerfully. “How's my mother?”

  The major shouldn't know yet that Helena was free.

  “That depends on if you have access to the funds we discussed.”

  “Wasn't much of a discussion. More of an order,” he pointed out conversationally.

  The major waved away the comment.“Semantics. Besides, the situation has changed somewhat.”

  Quill smiled again. “Perhaps more than you know. Now, tell the man what we want.” He pointed to her.

  “What?” she looked at him, puzzled.

  “Tell-him-what-we-want.” He spoke in a slow, measured tone as though Sky was having trouble understanding. Which she was.

  Sky looked from Quill to the major and back again. “We want the vaccine?”

  'Blood,' Quill mouthed silently.

  “Um, we want the blood,” she said hesitantly.

  Quill nodded approvingly. “Exactly.”

  The major stared at her, as if trying to place what little he could see of her face under the helmet. They'd only met briefly at Rickey's party and the name on the front of her uniform was blacked out with duct tape. “Aren't you a little young to be a traitor?”

  Sky said nothing.

  He rocked back and forth on his heels, still looking very superior. Sure that he had the winning hand. Sky felt another shiver of fear run up and down her spine. Quill might be very young, but she was sure almost no one got the upper hand with him. Ever.

  “We are only now beginning to realize exactly how much this particular batch of blood might be worth. It seems to have increased in value.”

  “Overnight?” Quill feigned a look of surprise.

  One of the soldiers handed a small tablet reader to the major. He held it up with a flourish.“We have a secure satellite link. I assume you are prepared as well?”

  A red light flickered above what must be another entrance. This one to the right of the vault. The light turned from red to green. An alarm buzzed once and the heavy door swung slowly outward.

  The soldiers flanking the major swung their weapons in that direction and the Major Bromwell took a step behind them.

  “What the hell,” he growled. He gave a hand signal towards the men in the rafters and Sky saw several heat signatures swiftly move through the dark to cover the door.

  Sky caught her breath as Hugo and four men entered. They were dressed exactly alike in tailored dark suits, the light bouncing off the sheen of their leather shoes. Hugo's hair was slicked back, he looked like a young executive on his way to a marketing meeting. None of them carried any weapons overtly.

  “Having a party and you didn't invite me?” Hugo put one hand to his chest. “I'm hurt.”

  “How did you get in?” the Major growled. He was visibly angry, flushing a brighter red to Sky's super-sight. “We're not meeting until later.”

  “Please, this place had more holes than a hobo's undershirt. Entry is not that difficult.”

  The Major cast a disapproving eye over the group.“Where's Llewellyn?”

  Hugo smoothed his tie and looked the Major up and down just as critically. “He had an accident. Tripped in front of a speeding bullet. Very clumsy. We're all in mourning.” He gave a quick smile that was as cold as the frost in the vault.

  Sky looked past Hugo and the men in the open door but couldn't see any other human heat signatures. Quill's eyes flicked to her and she shook her head a tiny bit. She'd spotted thirteen men in total, including the Major. Thirteen. An unlucky number.

  “Who's in charge now?” Major Bromwell barked.

  Hugo moved forward. “I am.”

  Four red-hot heat signatures came into focus from the very back of the blood vault, though she could see no actual bodies. They had not been there a moment before. Quickly she spread four fingers across her thigh.

  Quill grinned and looked at her out of the corner of his eye before addressing the major. “Really? Two of us? A bidding war with my mother as collateral, thereby making sure I will top whatever number the others come up with? How nefarious.” He bit his lip and looked sly. “I like it.”

  The guards kept their weapons trained on Hugo's group.

  With a smal
l nod in Quill's direction, the major said,“You seemed the most volatile and well connected of our bidders.”

  “I shall take that as a compliment.” Quill bowed elegantly. “However, I rather doubt the others like this little game. Do you, Mr. Competition?”

  “No,” Hugo flicked at a piece of dust on his perfectly cut sleeve. “I do not.”

  The officer carried on, oblivious to the connections between his supposed 'bidders'. “My promotion is rather more costly than I thought and, as I mentioned, we are only now beginning to realize exactly how much this particular batch of blood might be worth.” He pointed at the vault behind him. “So, our decision is that we will divide the shipment in two although the price we agreed on remains the same.”

  Hugo looked down his nose at the Major.“We pay the same for half the amount?”

  “And what of my mother?” asked Quill, the bantering tone replaced by something very different.

  Sky thought she would be very careful of someone like Quill when he spoke like that.

  “I believe we will conduct a separate negotiation for her.”

  “No, I believe we won't.” Helena St. James popped into sight from inside the vault, her stealth suit flickering into silver. She pistol whipped Bromwell a vicious blow to the side of the head that dropped him to his knees.

  Quill aimed his gun and took out the two men flanking him. “Mother!” he shouted dramatically, “I'm in a negotiation.”

  Chaos, or so it seemed to Sky, exploded with everyone simultaneously firing and running for cover. Sky had been in a few firefights. Never, though, in such a confined space.

  “Him!” Quill waved two fingers at one of the soldiers on the catwalk. There was no way Sky was going to just shoot the man, no matter what he'd done. She sprayed bullets just over the soldier's head and he ducked. Several men ran out from hiding, one to pull Major Bromwell to the railing, two more firing randomly in her direction.

  Sky fell back to the sketchy cover of a metal generator. Quill stood calmly as though bullets would just bounce off him, took aim, and shot twice. Sky saw one body fall from the catwalk and another slump against the railing. There was a blur of speed and he was kneeling beside her.

  He turned a very disapproving stare her way. “I said shoot him.”

  “You didn't say kill him,” she hissed as the bullets whizzed by overhead.

  “I thought that was a given.”

  “Maybe in crazy town which you are obviously the mayor of!” she growled, keeping her head down.

  With an exasperated snort, he pointed behind them. “Lay down cover over there if you're not going to actually shoot anyone. Mother's unloading the blood.”

  Sky stared at the cold storage vault. “Unloading how? They're in a vault!”

  He put his finger to his lips and in a shimmer of speed, was gone.

  Hugo and his group had taken cover in the open doorway. Sky could see a little of their warm glow emanating from around the edges. They'd all pulled out pistols. A few well-aimed shots from them and the clatter of heavy bodies falling echoed behind her.

  Sky released a short burst of fire, conserving her ammunition. There were only a few answering shots.

  “Hallo!” Quill called from the cover of the generator. “You there in sniper land. Your commanding officer's usefulness has come to an end. That does not mean you have to go down with him.”

  The major began cursing loudly as all firing ceased. “You'll never do this without me,” he screamed, his voice cracking. “I have the access codes and authorizations, no one else! You can't just walk out with a load of blood. The drones will be on you in minutes.”

  “That's not exactly correct,” Quill waved his hand in a beckoning gesture.

  Someone walked out from behind Hugo's group. Dressed in a tuxedo with a grotesque red and gold devil mask that reached all the way over his head, completely hiding his features and hair. He must have come from the ball and kept the mask as a disguise. He was of medium hight, a little stocky. Beyond that, Sky couldn't tell at all.

  “My new best friend happens to have the codes in question as well. How lucky for me. Survivors,” he said clearly, “will still receive their share. The money of your fallen comrades will be carefully transferred to their families or you can take it for yourselves. You can discuss details with your new boss later.”

  The three soldiers crouched by the major lowered their guns. One grabbed a pistol from the holster on the major's belt before the officer could stop him. And tossed it aside. Carefully sidling away, the soldiers let their weapons hang by the shoulder strap and raised their hands.

  Quill stepped forward. “If you wish to go down with the ship,” he pointed towards the major. “Feel free. Otherwise, we will accept your sincere apology for attacking my mother and you may take whoever is still breathing and go. We will be in touch.”

  They lowered their hands, looking at one another as though expecting a trick.

  “Don't you do it, you sons of bitches!” the major shouted, trying to grab at them as they moved out of reach. “Don't you dare leave me!”

  Quill made shooing motions. “Go. Go on. Scoot.”

  The soldiers split up, walking to where some of the men lay on the ground.

  “Sky, tell them which ones are still breathing.”

  She scanned the area above and below, eventually pointing at three men on the floor. The ones on the catwalk were already turning blue. That meant no blood circulation.

  The men pulled the others by their vests and with a determined effort, began to drag them towards the door Hugo had used.

  Blood running down from the open wound on the side of his head, the major shouted. “Get back here and help me!”

  The soldiers kept moving. They were near the open doorway when Quill loudly and intentionally cocked his gun. Sky's heart began to pound hard again.

  “Um, sorry. I didn't hear that apology yet.” Quill gave them a fake hurt expression.“Waiting.”

  The three soldiers looked at each other and back at Quill.

  “Sorry,” mumbled one man.

  “Yeah. Sorry we scared your mom. I didn't hit her,” said another.

  “Me neither,” said the man next to him. “It was the major. He gets off on stuff like that.”

  “Shut up!” the major tried to get to his feet. Quill was on him in a flash. He kicked out and Bromwell fell heavily. Another blur of speed and he was back beside her.

  Quill inclined his head. “Apology accepted.”

  They reached down, grabbed hold of their comrades and pulled for all they were worth.

  That left Sky, Quill, Hugo and his three men, the major and the man in the mask. Everyone else dead or unconscious or busy doing whatever they were doing in the vault.

  “I'll see you in the blood farms!” the major screamed.

  Helena appeared in the vault door and gave her eldest son a thumbs up. Though Hugo's eyes followed her, she didn't even look his way.

  She disappeared back inside and the men by Hugo walked past the stranger in the mask, over to Quill. They stood in front of him for all the world as if waiting for orders.

  Hugo's brows drew together as he observed this turn of events. This was not something he expected, Sky thought.

  “See,” Quill said to Sky conversationally as the well-groomed men in suits ranged themselves on either side. “Turn them once and after that, it is quite easy to turn them again. Gentlemen.”

  One of Hugo's men or Quill's, Sky was confused, slipped on a glove. He walked directly to the major. Before Sky even had time to take a breath, he pressed the barrel of his gun against the officer's temple and pulled the trigger.

  Major Bromwell slumped to the floor.

  Sky cried out and took a step back. Hugo was beside her in an instant. Covering the distance between them almost inhumanly fast. He threw himself between Sky and Quill, his gun out.

  Quill said nothing, favoring his brother with little more than a bored glance. The shooter laid the gun bes
ides the dead man. The two other men in suits looked dispassionately at Sky and Hugo.

  “Leave with your pals, brother. We have already secured the blood supplies and transferred the money to the client's secure satellite network. There's nothing more for you to do here.”

  “My men...”

  “Are mine now,” Quill interrupted. “And doesn't it work out to the same thing? Both of us serving King and Country?”

  Hugo's pistol did not move.

  Sky stayed where she was, totally out of her depth emotionally and physically. Her hands were trembling and she wrapped them tightly around her gun. She didn't want to, but her eyes kept pulling themselves of their own accord to the body of the major as it shifted from red to yellow to pale blue. The air was thick with an unknown scent. Like hot peppers and gun powder. Breathing it in burned the back of Sky's throat and stung her eyes. Anger? No. She'd been around anger. This was different, far stronger.

  Hatred.

  This must be what that terrible emotion smelled like. A searing, painful scent. Around Hugo and Quill, the thermal auras were burning blood red from the passion of their emotions. Her enhanced vision picked out flares of scarlet and orange shooting out from both of them.

  Nearby, the mystery man continued to observe the events silently. His aura remained a steady, warm glow, very much under control. He wasn't afraid of either of the young men.

  “Come with me, Sky.” Hugo reached out to close his free hand around her arm.

  Quill shook one finger back and forth in the air. “No, no, no. Sky needs to return to the masquerade with me. We still have some personal business to attend to.”

  Hugo hesitated, looking at her.

  Sky struggled to keep her emotions in check, get her poker face back in place in order to meet his eyes. Mom was depending on her.

  “That was not a request,” Quill snapped his fingers and the sound echoed in the silence of the underground warehouse.