Gruefield 18 (Tarnished Sterling Omnibus)

by Robert McCarroll

  "Hello," I said.

  "Hey," Nora said, coughing, "Some psycho bitch just stormed the hideout."

  "What?"

  "I don't know who it was, but you need to get back here."

  I played through the security footage again, somewhat disbelieving what I saw. Pam and Jennifer left Nora, Ben, and Icerazor chatting in the garage. Xiv was napping in the exercise room. No one was watching the outside cameras as a figure in tactical gear laid down a mat outside the door and hooked a wire to the knob. The figure disappeared from view for a couple of minutes. The next thing I saw were a couple of indistinct grenades fall from a ceiling vent onto the garage ramp. They'd been cooked off, leaving only Nora with enough reaction time to cover her ears and close her eyes before the flash-bangs went off.

  Racing for the door, Nora stepped onto the mat outside, completing the electrical circuit and taking a massive jolt. It left her whimpering on the ground when the figure dropped down and delivered a knockout blow. Yanking the wire off the knob, the figure drew a Taser and a short shotgun as she entered. From her gait, it was clearly a woman. Icerazor had recovered enough to conjure up a diamond double of himself. The sparkling gemstone figure charged at the intruder. Somehow, she ignored it, bouncing a CS shell off the ramp and into Icerazor's knee. As he fell, his concentration shattered, along with the diamond doppelgänger. She tagged him with the Taser on the ground.

  Ben grabbed the Taser wires and ripped them out of her weapon. Icerazor rolled slightly, but couldn't summon the strength to stand. The tear gas wasn't helping any. Ben tried to hold his own, but she moved fast, and brutally pistol-whipped him with the insulated Taser. When Ben went down, she delivered a boot to Icerazor's head to keep him down. At this point, Xiv was bounding in. He hadn't been trained against firearms, and took a CS shell to the chest. It bowled him over, knocking the wind from him and giving him two lungfuls of tear gas when he did inhale. I winced when I saw the butt of the Taser collide with Xiv's temple and send him tumbling into the fuel storage cage.

  The intruder searched the hideout, taking two things in particular: my laptop and the head of Omicron's bot. As I watched the braid swing behind her on the way out, I sighed.

  "Nikki Greeler," I said.

  "How?" Nora asked, holding an ice pack to the side of her face.

  "Planning," I said. "The imminent unveiling of our team is a bit of an open secret. She knows I'm looking for Omicron, and she waited for when the fewest people were inside the hideout to strike."

  "How'd she find it?"

  "We didn't exactly go to great pains to hide."

  "What's she hoping to gain?"

  "Information on Doctor Omicron. If she knew my wrist computer was a computer, she'd probably have taken that too. I think she's under the impression it's just a tracer launcher."

  "The balls on that girl," Nora said, shaking her head. "To walk right in and take on three powered individuals."

  "I'm just happy she stuck to non-lethal force," I said. "She can get her hands on some seriously deadly firepower."

  "She has your laptop. You know what that means? If she gets in, she has contact information for a crapload of us, VPN information for the Fund..." Revealing pictures of Omegaburn.

  "My homework for the last year," I said.

  "What's that matter?"

  "I don't turn in homework signed 'Shadowdemon.'"

  Nora swore, quite loudly. "She's not as insane as Masquerade either," she said.

  "I'd say she's rather intelligent and levelheaded."

  "Who is this Nikki Greeler, anyway?" Icerazor asked. "Some sort of local criminal?"

  "More like a vigilante," I said. "Only she's decided we're stooges of the government."

  "So an unlicensed heroine," he said, "who's not afraid to take on the licensed crews."

  "Her stepmother was channeling funds to Doctor Omicron, only she died when Omicron set her up. We've been trying to follow the leads from the Greelers to Omicron, but nothing's come up."

  "She clearly thinks we know more than we do," Nora said.

  "What was with that trick shot off the floor?" Icerazor asked. "I could've sworn my double was covering me."

  "What's this about you guys getting your asses handed to you?" Jennifer asked, pushing past Icerazor. I replayed the video. "Oh, she's good. Planned that to a T, didn't give you a chance to act."

  "Thanks for not saying we suck for losing," Icerazor said.

  "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Don't push me."

  "Did she have to hit Xiv that hard?" Pam asked. "He's only a kid."

  "She probably had no idea how strong he was, and didn't want to take a chance."

  "Still."

  "I know. He's a bit out of it, we had Cupric take him to Vanguard to be checked out."

  "Where's Ixa?" Jennifer asked.

  "Why?"

  "I want to find out if she knows a spell that can track this bitch down."

  I smirked.

  "What are you grinning at?" Jennifer asked.

  "You're angry about an attack on your teammates. I'd say that's progress of sorts."

  "Oh, stuff it."

  "We could use her help, but we don't need it to find Nikki."

  "No?" Jennifer asked.

  "You know how many products there are to track stolen laptops these days? Do you think I'd go without one?"

  "Sweet," Icerazor said. "She's tracking herself for us."

  "We're not officially a team yet," Nora said. "The charter still isn't approved."

  "In this case, I think we can plead exigent circumstances."

  "So, where is she?"

  Part 22

  We followed my laptop out past the bedroom communities to the northeast, to the Doolittle Country Club. The Air Force officers from the Gruefield Range started the local myth that it was named for Jimmy Doolittle. It was actually named for Preston Doolittle, a nineteenth century industrialist who founded the club. Most of its members were the sort of people who lived in Leyden Heights, somewhat above the Greelers' income bracket.

  The country club proper was a plot of woodlands marred by a golf course and a clubhouse that resembled an antebellum plantation house. We could only look at its pillared facade through the wrought iron gates. The armed guards behind it were just rent-a-cops, but the giant "members only" sign told us what to expect by way of a welcome through that route. We pulled further up the road and parked.

  "Can you get us a more exact location?" Jennifer asked.

  "Look, all I know is that the tracker software is connecting to the Internet through the country club's network. It's not a GPS unit." I checked my wrist computer. "There doesn't appear to be a wireless signal that I can reach out here," I said. "I'm on cell service. If we get any further from the towers, I'll be on a sat link."

  "I can't believe a country club wouldn't have wifi," Nora said.

  "I can get one person through the front doors," Jennifer said. "Everyone else will have to go over the wall."

  "That would require changing into civilian clothes," I said, "Then back again later. It's better if we all just go over the wall."

  "Rough climb," Nora said.

  "Apexa can make us a staircase."

  "Right," Nora said, "I'm not used to thinking that way."

  "No problem," Jennifer said, "One psychic wall crossing coming up." We piled out of the van and Jennifer summoned up a golden set of steps. They were nothing fancy, but they held our weight, and we dropped down on the inside of the wall. We made a beeline for the trees.

  "Do they shoot trespassers here?" Icerazor asked.

  "No," Jennifer said, "Just throw you out."

  "So why are the guards armed?"

  "Lots of money, remote location, prime place for robber
y," I said.

  "Or kidnapping," Jennifer added.

  "So," Nora said, "How do we find Nikki without upsetting the old money?"

  "Who cares about upsetting them?" Pam asked.

  "They can make our lives very difficult," I said. "We want to be as low-key as possible." As we moved along the treeline, I checked my wrist computer again. "I got a signal. It wants a password to connect."

  "Doubleday," Jennifer said. "Grandad's a member here." I typed it in and soon had a brand new connection, saving me on the data charge for the cell signal.

  "If we're on the same network as the laptop, I should be able to log into it from here."

  "What good will that do?" Jennifer asked.

  "One word: webcam." I connected to my laptop and pulled up the image from its webcam. The image was poorly lit, but had stacks of books and dark walls. Nikki was a dark blob as she stared contemplatively at the laptop. Her face resolved as she leaned in to type something. She frowned and leaned back again. "She's trying to guess my password," I said.

  "Is it swordfish?" Icerazor asked.

  "No."

  "That's the library," Jennifer said, "Third floor, north wing."

  The audio feed from the laptop spoke up. It was a woman's voice, mature, confident. "Nikki, I thought you came here to visit. Put that toy away and join us."

  "Yes, Mom," Nikki said, closing the laptop.

  "I lost my connection, she must have unplugged the wire."

  "I could just run in and grab it," Nora said. "I don't think the guards could stop me."

  "What part of 'these people can make our lives miserable' isn't clear?"

  "Look," Jennifer said, "We know it's inside the clubhouse. With the crowd there, we're back to the 'sneak in wearing civvies' plan for two of us. I don't think Nikki is going to leave it out of her sight."

  "I didn't bring any civvies," I said.

  "What sort of hero are you? I always carry spare civvies on me."

  "I don't," Icerazor and Nora both said.

  "We brought a damn van, a change of clothes isn't that much to put in the back." Jennifer frowned. "Fine, I'm going back to the van, get changed, and then walk through the front door. I'll see what I can do about opening a service entrance and letting the rest of you into the basement. We can pick our next move there."

  "Sounds like a plan," I sighed. Jennifer headed back to the wall and lifted herself over it with a flying disc.

  "I should've installed a camera back there," Icerazor said. "Ow!" Nora punched him in the arm. Her full face covering hid her expression, but Pam's was quite clear. I shook my head.

  "Not smart," I said.

  "Next time," Pam said, "I punch you."

  "Calm down," Icerazor said, trying to think of something that wouldn't dig himself deeper. And he'd only been joking. My mind went to the pictures I'd copied from Omegaburn's memory card. My face would end up paste if they turned up by accident.

  "Apexa's at the gate," I said.

  "Thank you gentlemen for noticing me," Jennifer said. "I just need to use a phone, I do have a guest pass though." There was a pause as one of the guards said something. "The earpiece? Just a radio. Too bad most of it's garbage talk radio." Icerazor's hand slapped to his face as he realized his comm had been on. "Thank you," Jennifer said as the guards opened the gate and she strolled casually to the clubhouse. Her chatter grew inane as she was greeted by people inside. When the banter stopped, I made sure my comm was on.

  "Apexa, status."

  "I passed the front lounge. Do you see the garage?"

  "It's tucked around back, right?"

  "Make your way over there. There's a service entrance and a loading dock between the garage and the clubhouse. I'll try to let you in there."

  "You heard her people, lets move." Nora vanished in a gust of wind and dry leaves. The rest of us moved somewhat more sedately, staying low and scuttling across the gap to the drive and down the ramp to the loading dock.

  "I always heard it was hard to get into the Doolittle Club," Nora said. "This isn't that bad."

  "Do we have to crack jokes right now?" I asked.

  "You know me better than to ask," Nora said. The plain gray service door opened and Jennifer peered out.

  "Miss me?" she asked. "I know Ice did." Icerazor buried his face again. We pushed inside. White tile lined the floor and the lower half of the walls. Institutional green paint coated the upper walls. The ceiling was white. Rows of metal shelves covered in boxes, jugs, jars, and bags blocked most of the view of the walls.

  "What smells like chlorine?" Pam asked.

  "There's a pool in the south wing. Either it's a draft from that, or we're near where they store the supplies."

  "It smells closer to the concentrations used in bleach," I said.

  "Look, cleaning supplies," Jennifer said. "Stop harping on the scent."

  "All right. Any idea where Nikki Greeler is?"

  "I didn't get that great a look at her on your webcam, but there aren't too many black members. Mr. and Mrs. Southern are in the dining room with at least one guest. I didn't see any others."

  "Is Mister Southern a second or subsequent husband?"

  "I don't know them that well. I only ever came here when I visited Grandad."

  "Okay. Nikki has a very distinctive long braid. Can you see if she is the guest with the Southerns?"

  "What are you going to do?"

  "We're going to hide and wait for you to tell us what you find out."

  "And if she is?" Jennifer asked. "That dining room is rather crowded. A bad place for a confrontation."

  "I'm making this up as we go. Which is why we need all the information we can get."

  Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll take a closer look." She headed off. We made our way cautiously down the hallway. As we approached a corner, I gestured for a stop, forgetting that Pam had no idea what a bent elbow with a raised fist actually meant. She walked right past me, right into the field of view of a maid trying to diplomatically turn aside the amorous advances of a guard. She wasn't completely devoid of sense, and leapt back before he pulled the trigger. Two bullets smashed tiles behind where she'd been standing.

  "This is why we need to train together," I muttered as Nora whipped past.

  "I don't care too much for guns," Nora said, followed by a clatter of metal on tile from the dismantled pieces falling to the floor. Nora might be fast, but she didn't hit very hard, so I rushed forward and clocked the guard. He went down with one punch. "I had it under control," Nora said.

  "You'd have bruised him to death before you knocked him out." I looked around at the empty hallway. "Where's the maid?"

  "A better question is what are you doing here?" The voice belonged to a figure clad in black descending through the ceiling. A large white 'N' marked his chest. The sides of his head had gone white, but the top was still black. His mask was the same style as mine. He had the physique of a man who'd once been muscular, but been robbed of it by age. His toes floated a foot above the floor.

  Before I could answer, Pam delivered a haymaker which should have sent him sailing down the hall. He glided to a stop a few yards away. "Holy crap, what's he made of?" Pam asked, shaking her hand as if she could cast off the pain like water.

  "I've tried to answer that question for decades," the man in black said. An amorphous tether of black energy reached out from his outstretched hand and wrapped itself about Pam as she started to charge. "It's not Neutrinos, but that's the name I've taken." Nora delivered a flurry of ineffectual punches as the name Neutrino started to spark recognition in my mind. Neutrino wrapped a tether around her ankles and slid her along the floor away from him. Icerazor carved through one tether, then the other, the black energy dissipating as his blade severed the cable. Pam charged forw
ard, delivering a punch that sent Neutrino crashing into the far end of the hallway. Icerazor charged forward, but Neutrino wrapped a tether around Nora and used her to slam him into the wall. Both crashed to the floor, his sword skidding freely along the tiles.

  "What's going on guys?" Jennifer asked over the comm.