Frankie had her gun up and ready, scanning the landscape with her enhanced vision, but spotted nothing.
Cole was up next to her while Gibson and Veronica stayed near to Dion.
‘Looks clear to me,’ Frankie said.
‘Agreed,’ Cole answered her.
Frankie looked back at her other three teammates and quickly noticed that Dion did not have a gun.
‘Dion, did you not bring a side arm with you?’ Frankie asked.
‘A what?’ Dion asked.
‘A gun, a pistol, did you not…’
‘No, sorry. Should I have?’
Frankie sighed and swung her pack off of her back. She quickly pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, a Carran P22, and passed it to him along with a couple of spare magazines filled with ammunition.
‘You know how to use that?’ Frankie asked.
‘You point that end at the bad guy, right?’ Dion said.
‘Smartass,’ she quipped. ‘Okay, let’s go,’ she said and led the team from the downed flyer, around the aircraft, and started to move them along the street.
In the distance, she could hear the sounds of gunfire, but it was a long way off and nothing to worry about.
Moving forward to the end of the side street they were on, they found themselves emerging onto one of the main roads going through the city, and there was a huge four-way junction up ahead.
Frankie and Cole remained up front and scanned the road in either direction. There were a few car wrecks and some debris, but it was otherwise clear and quiet. Frankie knew from the map she could see in her vision and their location on it that they had to cross the junction and then bear right a few blocks to reach their destination.
‘It’s quiet here,’ Gibson said.
‘Seems that way,’ Frankie agreed.
‘I don’t like it,’ Dion offered.
‘There ain’t nothing to like here, kid,’ Cole said. ‘I take it we need to cross that junction,’ he said, turning to Frankie.
‘That’s right. Our rendezvous is on the other side of it, and that road going to the right is a dead-straight-line into enemy territory,’ she said, referring to the map.
‘Then we’d best cross it real quick like,’ Cole said.
‘Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,’ Frankie said. ‘Right, come on, follow me,’ she said and jogged out from the cover of the building they were next to, over the road and south to the edge of the building on the north-west corner of the junction. Frankie peered around it looked down the street. Several blocks along to the west there was an overpass, which to the best of her knowledge, marked the frontline here. She zoomed her vision in, doing her best to scan the overpass and its surrounding area for anyone who would cause trouble for them. As she scanned about, she could see the first signs of life, spotting American troops in some side streets up there, along with some heavy artillery in the form of tanks and mechs. But it was notable that none of them was out on the street in sight of the overpass.
Frankie looked east, in the opposite direction, and there was no obvious American presence there, either.
Frankie didn’t like this one bit. She looked back at Cole.
‘How’s it look?’ he asked.
‘Ominous,’ she said. ‘If I had to guess, I’d say the Chinese have some snipers down there picking off anyone who comes out into the street.’
‘We’re a good distance away, though, right?’ he asked as he moved forward and took a look himself. ‘Okay, they’re a good way off down there,’ he said.
‘They are. So how about you all run across as one, as quickly as you can, giving them as few targets as possible, while I give you some covering fire. And then you and Veronica do the same for me.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Cole said.
Frankie waved her teammates over. ‘We’ve got to cross this road, but we have to do it quickly. It’s likely we’ll be shot at, so we want to give them as few targets as possible. I’ll cover you while you make the run, and then Veronica, can you cover me? Cole will assist you.’
‘Absolutely,’ Veronica said.
Cole merely nodded.
‘Are you ready?’
‘As I’ll ever be,’ Gibson answered sarcastically.
They all got themselves was ready as they could while Frankie found a spot to lie down and aim her rifle, zooming her vision in as far as it went.
‘Okay, I’m ready. Three, two, one… go,’ she called out and watched the street as her friends dashed for the other side.
It took maybe a second before the first bullet whizzed by, missing her teammates but hitting the road further back. Frankie scanned the overpass and all around it, and after two more shots, she caught a flicker of movement in the shadows inside a burnt out bus atop the overpass. Frankie aimed and fired back with single shots, taking her time to aim properly.
‘We made it,’ Gibson messaged to Frankie through their neural link. Frankie rolled sideways, away from the road and out of sight from the sniper before she got to her feet.
‘Where is he?’ Cole asked her through their link. He was already down on one knee, his gun up with Veronica next to him, aiming her rifle down the street.
‘On top of the overpass, in the bus, third window from the left,’ she answered to them both. ‘Have you got it?’
‘As best we can. Let me know when you go and we’ll put a couple of rounds in there,’ he said.
Slinging her rifle on her back, Frankie calmed herself for a moment, then opened her eyes and ran. ‘Going,’ she called to Cole as she started to sprint.
She’d barely made it two lanes into the six-lane-wide road when the first shots zipped by her. But she kept going while Cole and Veronica kept firing up ahead, and several seconds later, she skidded to a stop beside them.
‘Excellent, well done,’ Gibson said.
‘Good work,’ Cole agreed, relaxing his rifle and retreating to cover.
‘I don’t think we got him, though,’ Veronica said.
‘Hopefully, that won’t be an issue,’ Frankie said.
‘Are we far from the meeting place?’ Dion asked.
‘Just a couple of blocks along, and then two more to the right,’ Frankie said.
Not wanting to hang about as they were already a few minutes late for the meeting, Frankie led the way and started to jog to pick up the pace. They had no more trouble, and after they had turned right, they began to see more movement and life up ahead. Army vehicles and personnel were going about their business while sentries stood on rooftops, keeping an eye on the surrounding area.
The centre of this activity turned out to be an old warehouse that appeared to have been abandoned a while ago, although, signs on the outside of it suggested it used to be a food distribution business.
Frankie led her team in towards the main entrance, where a guard with a rifle and full army gear asked them to stop.
‘Who are you and what’s your business here?’ he asked.
‘We’re here to meet with Corporal Hurst,’ Frankie said. ‘Tell her Dion is here to see her.’
‘One moment,’ he said and backed off a step as he concentrated for a moment. A few seconds later, he focused back on Frankie and her team. ‘You can go in; she’s coming to meet you,’ he said and waved them through. They walked through the main warehouse loading doors and into an open area with people walking here and there, all of them in military uniforms of some kind.
‘Keep an eye out,’ Frankie said. ‘She’ll meet us here.’
No sooner had she said this than a voice nearby called out.
‘Dion, wow, it’s great to see you,’ said a female voice. Frankie turned and saw an unremarkable girl in urban camouflage clothing, her dark hair tied back in a bun.
‘Karla? Wow, I would have never recognised you. You look so… different,’ Dion said.
‘Yeah, well, that’s the military for ya,’ she said. ‘Great to see you, I was wondering what had happened to you?’
‘Our flyer got shot down,’ Frankie
cut in. ‘I’m Frankie, this is Gibson, Veronica, and Cole,’ she said.
‘The friends you mentioned?’ Karla said.
‘That’s right,’ Dion answered. ‘We need to speak with you about Animus.’
‘As do I. Things have become a little more complicated since we talked the other day. Follow me,’ she said and led them through the mess of makeshift desks and seating that had been set up in here. They stepped into a side room, and Karla shut the door behind them.
‘You have your own office?’ Dion asked.
‘I’m one of the few on the team here that needs a stable Net connection to do my job; that means I get to work in here,’ she said as she walked over to a wall with a map of the city on it. ‘You want to meet with Animus, right?’
‘That’s right,’ Frankie said. ‘Do you know where he is?’
‘I do, and that’s the reason I needed to talk with you. Animus is basically an independent war journalist and political activist, as well as my friend. He wants the world to see the real war that’s happening here and will go to some dangerous lengths to do that. He’s always on the frontline, in dangerous situations, and that need to be in the action has got him into a little trouble,’ she said before turning to the map. ‘So, the frontline pretty much follows the Jordan River here that runs through the city. It moves back and forth a bit as they push in on us and we push back, but it’s been on the river for over a year now. However, the day before yesterday, the Chinese pushed in over the river south of the 2100 Freeway, all the way to the Memorial Highway, taking the rail yard, the Industrial Park, the water processing plant, and the prison. The problem for you guys is that Animus is holed up inside the Emergency Management building here, next to the river and well behind enemy lines. I got a message from him a short time ago, he says he’s fine and they don’t know he’s there… yet. But that won’t last. Now, we should be able to get you in, there’s a rail line that runs beneath the Memorial Highway here. You can go through that tunnel as we have it well defended, but once you’re through, you’ll be on your own,’
‘Well, shit,’ Frankie said.
‘What do you think?’ Cole asked her.
‘I think it sounds like a nightmare, that’s what I think,’ Frankie said. As Karla had been speaking to them, explaining the situation, Frankie just felt worse and worse about all this. The risk on this mission had just gone through the roof, and yet, here they were, with the man they needed less than a mile away behind enemy lines.
‘Sorry I don’t have better news for you, but if you can get him out of there, I would really appreciate it on a personal level. He’s a friend, and I’m scared that he’s gone too far this time and will end up dead,’ Karla said.
‘What about the military? Will they not send a team in?’ Gibson asked.
‘I’ve already asked, but they can’t risk it. He’s not vital to the war effort, so the answer’s no. They’re happy to let you go in, but they can’t support you with people or hardware. Our resources are quite stretched as it is.’
‘Do you want to ask the director what he thinks?’ Gibson said to Frankie.
‘Why? What would that achieve? We either do this or we don’t. If we don’t, what do we do next? The plan would be finished, and this would be a wasted trip. It pretty much relied on this contact.’ Frankie sighed. ‘And I take it he won’t divulge Janus’ whereabouts remotely?’ she asked Karla.
‘I doubt it. He can be quite mercenary. However, he has already said to me that if you get him out of there, he’ll answer whatever questions you have,’ Karla said.
‘Okay, so he’s using his knowledge as bait,’ Frankie mused. She thought for a moment before turning to her teammate. ‘Cole, you’re the one here with the most combat experience. Looking at that map, do you think we can do this?’ Frankie asked.
Cole looked back at the map and studied it for a moment before turning back to her. ‘I think, if we can get past their frontline, we stand a good chance, yes. A night time mission would be preferable, of course.’
‘Of course,’ Frankie said, and turned back to Karla, who had turned slightly away and was clearly concentrating. Frankie recognised the body language of someone taking a call through their neural net and waited until Karla looked back up at them. But when she did, Frankie could see the new and concerning expression on her face. ‘Whats up?’
‘You have to go. Now. I just got a message from him. The Chinese have found him,’ Karla said, worry filling her voice.
‘Like I said,’ Frankie turned to Cole, ‘a daytime mission is the way to go.’
2.07
Karla led them outside, walking them towards the back of the warehouse car park and the chain link fence at the back.
‘I’ll walk with you to the frontline, but I can’t follow you into enemy territory,’ Karla said, ‘orders from my superior officer. Also, I can stay in contact with Animus from here and keep the lines of communication open.’
‘That’s fine,’ Frankie smiled. ‘Dion, you’re staying here as well. There’s no need for you to follow us. This is going to be a dangerous mission. In fact, I only want volunteers to come with me. I’ll happily go alone, so, if you would prefer to stay here, that’s all okay with me,’ she said, looking at her team.
‘What? Are you kidding?’ Gibson asked.
‘No, I'm serious,’ she said. Frankie was pretty sure she could do this and make the trip through the blasted urban landscape and bring this hacker with his ridiculous name back safely, but to expect her teammates to do it was asking a lot, she thought, this was not what the mission was supposed to be. ‘This mission goes above and beyond, so there’s no obligation to follow me in there.’
‘I’ve already followed you into a hostile Corporation building; I think I can handle this,’ Gibson said.
‘Of course, I’m coming with you,’ Veronica answered incredulously.
‘You’re not going in there without me,’ Cole said, his tone final.
Dion went to speak, his expression one of confidence and excitement as he fed off the comradery of the others, but Frankie raised her finger and looked at him, stopping his outburst dead.
‘Don’t even think about it. You’re not coming. We’ll be back to pick you up later. Sorry, you’re just too valuable and not experienced enough in the field,’ she said.
She could almost see the excitement drain out of him, but, to his credit, he nodded and didn’t protest.
‘All right then, lead the way, Karla,’ Frankie said.
Karla led them to the back of the carpark and pulled aside a section of the chain link fence that had, from what Frankie could see, been purposefully cut for access, probably by the troopers. They squeezed through one at a time, and dropped down a bank to a train line and up and over a fence on the other side. They found themselves in another industrial property, which Karla walked them through. Everyone’s guns were out and ready as they walked in near silence, checking the rooftops, the doorways, windows, and anywhere else that an enemy soldier might be able to hide out and pick them off. But the local area seemed quiet for now.
Frankie could hear the gunfire in the distance as the DU and Chinese forces clashed in another part of the city, but as long as it wasn’t near them, that was all right with her.
They reached the road out front of the warehouse and Karla turned left, keeping close to the buildings and using the various abandoned vehicles as cover as they moved south along the road. To their right, looking west, Frankie could see the highway beyond the buildings atop an embankment of grassy earth. They must be getting close, she thought, as she moved around another derelict car, keeping close to Karla.
Karla caught Frankie’s attention with a click of her fingers and pointed west at another commercial property, this one looked like it used to be a self-storage business. Frankie looked down the length of the long buildings that were lined up here with their endless, brightly coloured doorways, many of which had been broken open years ago and looted, their contents scattered over the
concrete floor.
Karla looked back at Frankie and suddenly within her vision, an icon appeared showing that Karla was requesting a neural link.
Frankie accepted it and the channel opened up.
‘The underpass is at the end of this property,’ she said through the link.
‘Copy that,’ Frankie replied as she picked her way over the rubbish and debris.
As they moved, Frankie could now see the highway above the building at the end of the row and the tunnel that was cut into the earth beneath it.
At the back of the self-storage place, another chain link fence separated them from the train lines beyond, that the highway passed above.
Karla moved slowly, her gun up as she scanned the area, watching the tunnel.
‘Be careful here, guys,’ she hissed. ‘We’re right on the frontline.’
Everyone nodded and took up a wide spread of positions, their guns aimed at the tunnel and the highway above.
Karla looked up and whistled a short and relatively quiet signal.
As they watched, several faces appeared over the wall, also pointing guns of their own.
‘Hold your fire, guys,’ she said in low tones to Frankie and her team.
Frankie watched one of the men up there make some hand gestures before they spotted movement from the tunnel and a DU Soldier stepped out, his hands held high and away from his gun.
‘Karla, welcome back to the frontline. I see you’ve brought some friends with you.’
Karla walked up to the chain link fence, visibly relaxing. ‘These are the guys I was telling you about,’ she said.
‘The rescue mission,’ the man answered her before he looked over at Frankie.
Frankie looked back at him, keeping her face neutral as she noted the metallic implants on the side of the man’s head.
‘You realise what you’re asking,’ he said to Karla.
‘Just give them some covering fire; they will do the rest,’ Karla said.
Promethean Files 2: The Prometheus Gambit Page 9
