Without a Front: The Warrior's Challenge (Chronicles of Alsea Book 3)
Page 25
“Think we should keep the secondary team outside until Herot is secured?”
“Too dangerous. The moment you start taking out guards, you elevate the risk of discovery. You don’t need five other warriors descending on you while you’re trying to get Herot out.”
The air shifted next to Tal, and Vellmar noiselessly crouched beside her. “Heat signatures show no change in their numbers,” she whispered. “And there are no unusual animals inside.”
Tal nodded. Since heat scanners were in the toolboxes of most well-equipped warriors, a means of defeating them was a necessary defensive capability. The technology to completely conceal body heat had not yet been invented, but it could be redirected via a small powered unit worn on a belt. Different models produced different heat signatures. If by any chance the enemy guard on the next ridge focused a heat scanner on them, they would appear as a herd of boren, grazing animals common to this terrain.
The fact that the enemy numbers hadn’t changed meant their original count, based on the empathic search, was accurate. There were no warriors in there maintaining a perfect front. Tal and every one of her Guards, on the other hand, would be doing just that the moment they moved off this ridge. Only Micah lacked the ability, but Gehrain was strong enough to wrap his own front around Micah’s mind. Their empathic stealth would enable both teams to move through the building while maintaining an invaluable advantage: they knew where their enemies were, yet were invisible themselves. Only a visual sighting would set off an alarm.
“Targeted,” came the whisper from her left. Tal watched a Guard press the stabilizer on her optic scanner and then back away. The scanner hovered in place while her partner moved in behind it, peering through toward the opposite ridge. He nodded, deactivated the scanner, and handed it back. Both of them looked at Tal, who pointed toward her eyes and then made a fist.
Get a target lock. Go.
The two Guards vanished without a sound. Theirs was the most difficult job of all: they had to get over to the opposite ridge as quickly and quietly as possible, working through an area under constant observation. The primary and secondary extraction teams could not move until both outlying guards had been neutralized.
The guard on this ridge was more difficult to locate due to their near-parallel positions, but a slight curve of the topography gave them the angle they needed. As soon as the second optics team found their quarry, Tal sent them on their way. She and the remaining ten Guards settled in for a wait.
Twenty ticks later, a message on Tal’s wristcom notified her that the second team was in place. The team crossing the valley took another thirty ticks, no more than expected given the terrain. As soon as she received their notification, Tal tapped her earcuff and whispered, “Neutralize. Now.”
Both confirmations arrived mere pipticks later. Her warriors were swift and deadly, but they had still burned up half a hantick just to remove the two easiest guards. Tal looked up at the sun, already low in the sky, and shook her head. They were on schedule, and she had planned the operation for just after dusk, but she couldn’t shake the sense of a looming deadline.
She rose, drawing the eye of every Guard, and made an “O” shape with her fingers and thumb.
We’re clear to proceed.
In less than half a tick, all eleven of them were over the ridge and moving silently downslope. They would be joined at the bottom by the other four Guards, who had been instructed to regroup just outside the clearing around the house. Their new job would be to guard the house and clearing, watching for any possible reinforcements or escapees once the real assault began. A second set of four Guards would also remain outside the clearing, ready to storm the house the moment the extraction team was clear. To make that easier, they would wire the front door for a quick entry.
They arrived at the rendezvous point and paused to check their gear one more time. The sun was below the ridge now, drawing a lengthening shadow across the valley, but it wasn’t yet dark enough for Tal’s tastes. She was not about to lead six warriors across that clearing until she was sure they wouldn’t be instantly visible to anyone looking out a window.
She centered herself and extended her senses, verifying the locations of Herot and his keepers now that she had the building in front of her. The situation near Herot was unchanged: he still had one warrior with him and two just outside. Of the other five guards, two were relaxing—and probably drinking—in a room upstairs, two were together on the opposite side of the building from Herot, and one was walking away from Herot’s location. He was fronting, but not well, and she could sense irritation and relief. She frowned. He had most likely just been relieved of duty, which meant that one of the guards with Herot was fresh and alert. Probably all three of them; the guards upstairs weren’t relaxed enough to have been drinking long.
Her wristcom vibrated, and she looked down to see a message from one of the Guards on the perimeter.
Opah’s window is boarded. No entry.
Well, she hadn’t expected it to be as easy as killing Herot’s in-room guard with one quick shot through the window. That was why she and Vellmar had spent most of a hantick practicing their throwing. Not that Vellmar had needed it; that woman was deadly accurate from the very first throw. But Tal hadn’t done much blade handling in the last moon except for a hantick here and there, when she found time to unwind with Micah. Still, it didn’t take long before her muscle memory kicked in. Once she was warmed up, they worked on coordinating their throws, which Tal enjoyed despite the situation. Accurate throwing required a perfect bonding of brain with body, and there was something almost poetic about the feeling it brought.
The shadows were deepening. It was time.
Tal chose a first-floor window on Herot’s side and broadsensed once more to be sure that none of the guards were looking outside. Their emotions showed no sign of nervousness or alarm. Satisfied, she held up her forefinger and thumb in an L shape and looked at each member of the two teams in turn. Every one of them responded with a short nod, and she closed her hand into a fist.
Let’s go.
Vellmar and Senshalon were right behind her as she ran to the window. Senshalon was the largest of her Guards, and she had chosen him specifically for his physical strength. The three of them flattened themselves against the wall, watching, sensing, and waiting. Then Tal held up her fist, and Micah led his team across the clearing to join them.
So far, so good.
Vellmar pulled out a power-sensing unit, scanned the window, and held up her hand palm outward. The window was wired for an alarm. She took four thumb-sized power routers from her pack and attached one outside each corner of the window, routing the alarm’s power up and over the window before it continued on its normal path. After a second scan, she nodded.
Senshalon reached into Vellmar’s pack and extracted a large suction cup. Pressing it to the window, he used a plasma pen to melt the glass in a thin line, drawing a person-sized square around the suction cup. The bottom cut was flush with the window frame, allowing for the easiest entry. With a soft exhale, he lifted out the glass and walked away, carefully leaning it against the wall several paces from the others.
Tal put her hands on the frame and silently hauled herself up.
She was facing a dark bedroom, sparsely furnished with a bed and desk. The bed was directly below the window, and she prayed that it wouldn’t creak when she stepped on it. Turning herself in the opening, she lowered her legs onto the bed and only gradually allowed her weight to settle, holding her breath. It made no sound, even when she stepped off it.
Vellmar and Senshalon followed her in, and when the bed stayed quiet even under Senshalon’s weight, she knew it would be fine for the rest. As he was stepping off, Tal moved to the door. Micah would monitor his own team; this was where they split up.
The house was old, its doors opening on hinges rather th
an power slides. Tal had anticipated that possibility and quickly sprayed the hinges and latch with lubricant. The door opened without a sound, revealing a curving hallway.
Herot was being held down the hall to her right, toward the back side of the dome. She extended her senses, relieved to read Herot’s guards in the same place as before and no others within a dangerous range. Holding up her fist, she opened the door all the way and moved out, keeping to the wall.
They were halfway to Herot’s room when Senshalon’s weight caused a floorboard to creak. To Tal’s sensitive ears, it sounded like a falling rock hitting a boulder.
All three of them froze in place.
Tal had been constantly monitoring the guards outside Herot’s room and knew they heard the creak. One dismissed it. The other was curious, but not enough to leave his post to investigate.
She pointed at Senshalon and motioned for him to go in front. As he passed, she unsheathed one of her throwing blades, hearing a soft snick behind her as Vellmar pulled hers as well.
They made it ten more paces before Senshalon set off another floorboard. Once again they froze, and this time the guard’s curiosity turned into suspicion. Voices indicated a short, irritable argument between him and his partner at the door; it sounded as if the suspicious guard was being accused of manufacturing a reason to leave his post. These two were bored with their duties.
With a final sharp statement to the remaining guard, the suspicious one began moving toward them. Tal waited, expanding her senses to all of the guards in the house. None seemed concerned, least of all the woman still at Herot’s door. Her strongest emotion was annoyance.
Senshalon dropped into a crouch three paces ahead, poised for a sprint, while Tal and Vellmar drew their arms back. The footsteps approached, the emotional presence grew stronger, and then the guard came around the curve of the hall.
Tal made an instant adjustment for his height and let her blade fly, seeing Vellmar’s arm flash down at the same moment.
The guard saw them, widened his eyes, and died with one blade embedded in an eye socket and another in his heart. He did not utter a sound as he crumpled, nor could his last thoughts betray them. Tal had wrapped her own front around him, shutting off his surprise from detection by the others.
Senshalon was already running toward him even as the knives had been released, and just managed to catch him before he hit the floor. He lowered the dead man the rest of the way, pulled out the knives, and wiped them clean as Tal and Vellmar joined him.
Once the three of them had repositioned for the next strike, Tal readied her knife and centered herself. Focusing on the other guard at Herot’s door, she projected emotions and doubts.
Curiosity. Where did he go?
The guard was reluctant to leave her post. She had her orders, and due to Tal’s forceful prevention of suspicion, she saw no reason to override them.
Curiosity. Annoyance. No harm in leaving for a moment. Probably just a stupid joke. Idiot. Tal injected an expectant annoyance.
No harm. No harm. Just for a moment. Curiosity…annoyance…joke.
She felt the guard’s purpose tilt over the edge and nudged Vellmar.
They waited as she continued to project onto the guard, whose footsteps were now sounding down the hall. Before the woman came fully into view, Vellmar’s blade was in the air, followed almost instantly by Tal’s. They struck in precisely the same locations as before. Senshalon was in a better position for this kill and caught the dead guard while she was still upright.
From there it was just a few steps to Herot’s unguarded door.
Tal reached into her thigh pocket and pulled out a small device, remembering vividly the last time something like this had been used on her. She motioned Senshalon to one side of the door and Vellmar to the other while she stood directly in front, her thumb hovering over the activation button. Focusing once again, she projected emotions onto the guard inside.
What the shek…? Idiots. What are they doing out there? Irritation.
This one was more resistant than the woman; he was better trained and more highly skilled. But he was no match for Tal. In fact, all three of these warriors were less skilled than she had expected. They felt more like mercenaries than sworn warriors.
Sharpening her senses, she pressed harder.
Irritation. Am I the only one who does my duty? Irritation…irritation…anger!
At last he responded, and she wrapped her front around him as he moved. A heavy footfall landed just inside the door as it was yanked open. “What the—?”
He froze under the assault of her immobilizer, his mouth still open in the middle of the last sentence he would ever utter.
It was not the way she would have preferred to deal with him, but his proximity to Herot meant they could not risk an attempt to kill him with a knife. The only way to be sure he couldn’t get off a shot was to prevent him from moving at all.
He thudded to the floor, his tongue partway out and his eyes bulging. This time Senshalon could not stop the noise of his fall. The effects of an immobilizer passed easily through touch, and this was a lethal model.
Tal pushed the door open as far as she could with the guard’s body blocking it and found Herot sitting on a rumpled bed, his eyes wide with fear. Had Vellmar not wrapped her front around him before they even opened the door, his terror would have given them away.
“Lancer Tal!” he said much too loudly.
She shook her head and put a finger to her lips, then focused on the dying guard.
He was by far the worst one. The other two had died instantly, but death by immobilizer was slower and much more terrifying. He stared up at her, unable even to blink, desperate and panicked in a way that came not from the higher emotional center of the brain, but from the more primal core of instinct. Buffeted by the sheer power of this deeper fear response, Tal struggled to maintain her extended front. This felt like the foulest kind of violation, denying him the chance to be empathically heard even in his final, dying burst of terror. It was one of the worst deaths imaginable, and the only way she could even slightly redeem it was to look into his eyes, giving him a connection with another Alsean as he felt his life draining away. At the last piptick, his terror faded and was replaced by another deeply instinctive response: the acknowledgment and acceptance of death.
Then he was gone.
Tal closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she reached out for her tyree. It was impossible to absorb a death like that and not feel emotionally soiled. She needed to touch something more innocent, something far removed from the reality of what she had just done. Salomen was there, and Tal knew she had some idea of what had just happened. But her support was unwavering and exactly what Tal needed. Opening her eyes again, she met Herot’s gaze. For just a moment, she saw his sister’s eyes looking out from his face, and smiled without thinking.
Though the eye color was the same, the fear in them was not. Tal snapped back to reality, pocketed the immobilizer, and pushed through the narrow opening. Vellmar scooted in after her, and the two of them dragged the guard farther into the room. Senshalon entered behind them and closed the door.
Tal crossed to Herot and whispered, “Can you walk?”
He looked with horror from the dead guard to her. At last he said, “No. I tried to escape two days ago, and they broke my ankle. I can’t put any weight on it.”
She wasn’t surprised. When Salomen had first sensed his pain, she suspected it might be from beatings that could result in a lack of mobility. It was another reason for choosing Senshalon.
“Anything else hurt?”
“No.”
He was lying. His face was bruised and scraped, and the stiff way he held himself indicated more bruising under his clothes. But nothing seemed in need of immediate medical attention, and Tal respected his pride.
“I understand. But I can’t leave.”
She followed his pointing finger downward. He was shackled to the bed with cuffs and heavy cables.
“I see you managed to irritate these guards too.” She motioned Senshalon forward and pointed to the cuffs.
He pulled the plasma pen from a thigh pocket and quickly severed the cables. Turning his back, he crouched down and whispered, “Climb on.”
Herot put his arms over Senshalon’s shoulders and scooted up against him. Without so much as a grunt of effort, Senshalon straightened with his arms under Herot’s thighs, hoisting him on his back. “Ready,” he whispered.
Tal expanded her senses and was relieved to feel no alarm from the other guards. She tapped her earcuff and said, “Target acquired.” The secondary team was now free to use disruptors if necessary. It was going to get noisy very soon.
Leaving the com channel open, she led the way out. This time they didn’t worry about creaking floorboards, moving as quickly as they could back the way they had come. Tal stayed out in front and Vellmar covered their rear, both of them constantly scanning for any approach. To Herot’s credit, he did not utter a sound as they passed the two dead guards in the corridor.
A shout shattered the silence, followed quickly by the sound of disruptor fire. None of it was near them, and they reached their destination without being seen. As they flattened themselves against the wall, well out of the way of the front door, Tal barked, “Blow the door!”
With a deafening roar the door exploded inward, setting off a screeching alarm. Two Guards leaped through the opening, disruptors at the ready. Two others began raining disruptor fire on every window in the front of the house, preventing any chance of an enemy warrior getting off a shot as Tal’s team sped through the gaping hole and across the clearing. As soon as Herot was in the cover of the woods, Tal called out, “Target is safe! Wrap them up!”