Collision: Book Four in the Secret World Chronicle - eARC

by Mercedes Lackey

  “Just now,” Sera said, still catching her breath. “I do not believe that they will fall for our trick again so easily, however.”

  “Well, be coming up with more. The fascista are giving us many problems.” An explosion, followed by screams, punctuated his words. The Kriegers, despite taking heavy losses, were still advancing from the city square. The Blacksnake mercs and Red Team were making them pay for every inch, but that didn’t change the fact that they were an isolated group fighting against what amounted to an army.

  “Red Team Leader, do you read me?” That was Khanjar; John couldn’t see where she was, and he had other things to worry about at the moment. Spotting a group of unarmored Kriegers coming out from an alley across from their position, John charged his fires and blasted the entire group, sending them to the ground flaming.

  “This is Red Team Leader,” Molotok said, pausing to aim his rifle and fire a burst into the chest of a trooper that had been weakened by an RPG. “Go ahead.”

  “Position is untenable. We have multiple casualties, and the enemy is still advancing. Advising that we make a push for the other teams, or withdraw.”

  “Check your HUDs. Pullback is a big no-can-do,” Vix replied, before Molotok could. “You’re being rear-flanked. Exit’s about to be cut off. The other teams are still bogged down, so you’re on your own for now.”

  Molotok uttered a long string of expletives in Russian. “Copy, Overwatch. Khanjar; we will have to be regrouping and making push for other teams. Only option. Prepare to join our position. We will provide covering fire.” He turned to the rest of the team. “This will be getting messy.”

  Red Team: Generator Tower

  “Do you really think she can do it?” Knight asked.

  “She’s not leaving us with much choice but to trust her reflexes,” Mel said. “We don’t have time to figure a way past this door. We already used most of our security countermeasures upstairs.”

  Above them, the sound of footsteps were growing louder.

  “And there’s that too,” she said. “We’re going to have company pretty soon now.”

  “Damn her,” Red cursed. “Alright, she made the call. We’re going to have to play it out. Only two, we might be able to take on two. But not if they know we’re coming. Those damn energy cannons might pick us off at a distance, and if they’re smart they would just destroy the staircase around us. We need a distraction, from up top. Knight, can you throw sound?”

  Silent Knight shook his head. “No, I just channel it in concentrated beams. I can make a ruckus above them, but they’ll see the blast and know it came from down here.”

  “So much for that,” Red muttered, and snuck another peek up the shaft. They had descended about halfway. At least their descent had slowed. As they neared the bottom, they were being more cautious. “Mel, got any ideas?”

  She didn’t answer. She appeared to be lost in thought.

  “Mel?” Red nudged her.

  “What? Oh, sorry,” she apologized. She reached into her pocket, and withdrew her remaining incendiary mini-bombs. She passed them to Red. “If you’re going to get in close, you’ll need these, the last of the fire bangs. We don’t have the luxury of an ambush this time, so forget the fancier settings. Just press here to set them to explode, then here to activate the magnet and countdown. If you plant it right, you’ll get a nice searing detonation right on their armor. Try not to get any on you.”

  “Still have to get in close though.” Red frowned. “I suppose we could try the Doppelgaenger disguise again. It’ll be tight though, dunno if I can grow it in time, or what our cover story’s going to be. We left a lot of dead Kriegers up there to explain our way out of this.”

  “No, too risky,” Mel agreed. She bit her lip in indecision. “Risky… oh Lord, I don’t know if I’m ready to try something this big. It hurts to even think about it.”

  “What are you talking about?” Red asked.

  “Something I’ve been working on,” Mel sighed. “Something I lost before.”

  “Since when do you make with the cryptic?” Djinni asked. “If you’ve got something, share with the class, please.”

  She rewarded him with a soft chuckle. Reaching out, she caressed his face through his thick scarf. “Do you trust me?” she asked.

  Red Djinni stared at her. Did he trust her? In the short time they had been together, Red found he had been relying on her more and more. What had begun simply as two lonely people finding solace together in bed had grown into… into what, exactly? He had shared more with her than anyone, even Victrix and Bulwark, ever since he had joined ECHO. When he needed support, comfort, or just a steady someone to bounce ideas off of, his first instinct was now to go to her. She had a way of cutting through the emotional baggage that could cloud anyone’s judgment and get to the heart of the matter. What was important? Looking past pride and fear, past the mundane day-to-day trivialities that seemed to have a chokehold on most people, Mel’s outlook on life had a way of bringing clarity to all of Red’s insecurities. The lady had obviously seen a lot in her time, had suffered through most of it, but she was still here, still kicking, still fighting. She was a part of him now and if he didn’t have her, he simply didn’t know what he would do.

  “Do I trust you?” the Djinni said, and marveled as he was struck with the answer. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Then maybe that’ll be enough,” she said as she gazed upwards. “Haven’t really been myself lately. Haven’t been able to get things to work right. Maybe all I needed was you. Maybe that’s all I’ve ever needed.”

  She took a breath, held it, and exhaled slowly. Above them, the sounds of footsteps stopped and were replaced by surprised cries of alarm, followed by a barrage of energy-cannon fire. Red and Knight exchanged a surprised look and peeked out to witness an impossible sight. High above them, at the very top, ECHO forces came streaming into the open shaft and began thundering down the stairs. The descending Kriegers had thrown themselves against the wall, their cannons trained upwards, trying their best to snipe the ECHO troops as they came into view without destroying the stairs, their only exit from what was essentially a very deep, smooth pit. The first few shots seemed to find their mark, felling the ECHO soldiers in place. One soldier screamed as the blast evaporated half of his chest. He fell over the railing and plummeted straight down the shaft, past the startled Kriegers, only to fade out of existence before hitting the bottom.

  “I’ll be damned,” Red breathed. “You got your illusions back!”

  “For a while, actually,” Mel grunted, as beads of perspiration began to form on her brow. “Only small stuff, so I kept it quiet. Haven’t tried anything quite this… big yet. You better get moving. Don’t know how long I can keep this going.”

  “What are you talking about, I’m not leaving you down…”

  “Go!” Mel hissed, her eyes locked on her illusion high above. “You and Knight, close the distance before they realize we’re here, before they figure out they’re shooting at figments of my imagination! I can’t move with you and concentrate. I’ll follow when you take them out. Go!”

  Red hesitated, and clutched her hand. “You start climbing the minute, the minute, it’s clear. You got it?”

  She nodded, but kept her eyes firmly set on the combat above. Red let go of her hand, and turned to Silent Knight.

  “You ready?” he asked. The armored man nodded as Red pulled off his gloves, and then his nanoweave shirt, exposing his arms and torso.

  “Then let’s make this quick,” Red grunted, and sprouted his claws.

  With his sonic dampeners at full power, Knight followed the Djinni as they dashed up the stairs. Red kept his eyes firmly set on the Kriegers, trusting his radial awareness to lead him to sure footing on the treacherous stairway. Mel’s illusion was keeping them busy, and more importantly, focusing their attention up at the top of the open shaft. Her phantom ECHO warriors screamed at each other, and kept out of line of sight of the Kriegers and their deadly energy
cannons, firing the occasional blind shot over the railing. They appeared to be pinned down, but their cover fire managed to hold the Kriegers’ interest. At full speed, Red and Silent Knight closed the distance in seconds, and they fell upon the first Krieger before he could even register their presence.

  Knight put on a burst of speed and hit the Thulian low around the knees, knocking him to the ground. The guard fell in surprise, his legs swept out from under him. Before he could raise his arm cannon, Red leapt over Knight and came down on the Krieger’s helmet. The Djinni reared back, noting a thin cleft where the nose guard met the helmet’s visor, and struck. His claws tore through the slim opening, and he fought down a surge of revulsion as his fingertips tore through bone, flesh and grey matter.

  The other Krieger, noting the sudden silence, looked back at them and staggered back in alarm. Red ripped his claws loose from the now limp Thulian guard, and as he shot forward he heard a buzzing crescendo behind him as Knight ceased his noise dampening and ramped up his sonic blast. The second Thulian was now clearly audible, spewing curses as he too raised his energy cannon and leveled a blast directly at Red’s heart.

  With a shout, Knight battered Red to the side with his free hand, and caught the energy blast high on his shoulder as his own sonic discharge slammed into the guard, throwing the Krieger back against the wall, where he bounced with a clatter of metal against stone and fell to his knees on the narrow stairway.

  Red caught himself against the wall, righted himself, and continued his advance, risking a quick look back at Silent Knight. The big man had fallen backwards, exposed circuitry sizzling and spewing out sparks from his damaged shoulder. He flailed like a turtle on its back, but at least he was moving. He waved Red on, struggling to remove his more traditional ECHO sidearm from it’s holster at his side. Red flew forward, pressing his advantage, but the Krieger had recovered from Knight’s concussive bolt, and was ready for him. Despite the bulk of his armor, the Thulian proved nimble and moved with surprising speed. He deflected Red’s attack with a quick sweep of his cannon arm, and countered with a brutal jab that caught the Djinni a solid blow to the stomach. Red grunted, fell back a moment, and groaned as he felt a building pain in his abdomen.

  Oh man, that’s really going to hurt in a minute…

  It had been a mistake to assume all the armored Kriegers had traded agility for near invulnerability. Apparently, it was still possible to dodge and weave while wearing all that metal. For the most part, they didn’t need to. Their energy cannons were enough to take down most opposition from a distance. And the energy cannon was still Red’s biggest concern, so he advanced again, albeit warily, and struggled with the concept of keeping close enough to prevent the guard from simply gunning him down and somehow getting through his defenses with his bare hands.

  He opted for misdirection. He led with his right, which was immediately parried by the guard’s cannon arm, and followed with a piercing strike with his left hand claws with unerring precision at the cleft in the Thulian’s nosepiece. The Thulian deflected the blow with a contemptuous head bob, let the claws deflect down and away from his face and immediately caught Red’s wrist with his free hand. He turned, twisting Red’s arm and the Djinni was forced to follow with a sideways somersault or risk the Krieger simply snapping the bones in his forearm. Red landed on his feet and flailed instinctively at the armored hand that held his wrist in a vice-like grip. The Krieger howled in pain as Red’s claws pierced their way through the flexible fabric at the wrist, and let the Djinni go.

  Got ’im, he’s not going to be grabbing me any time soon. Still, he’s damn quick, and if I’m not careful he can still bash me to death…

  Red cursed as he leapt back, dodging two massive overhand strikes. The Krieger had apparently read his mind, accepting his obvious advantages of strength and a near impervious shell, opting to simply crush his foe with his arms. He raised his arms again, his murderous intentions clear, when a few rounds from Knight’s sidearm ricocheted harmlessly off his torso. Red looked back. Silent Knight held the gun with a shaky hand. Now sitting upright, his whole body actually twitched, and it was clear that the damage to his suit was more severe than Red had previously thought. Knight tried to come to his feet, but his arm jerked again, one knee buckled at the joint, and he fell with a clatter to his side.

  The Thulian watched Knight thrash and struggle, and leveled the barrel of his cannon at Silent Knight’s head.

  “Hello!” Red snarled, knocking the cannon to the side. The deflected energy blast tore away at the guardrail, leaving an enormous gap. Red slapped at the side of the Krieger’s helmet. “Rude!” he mocked. “You’ve already got a dance partner! Dance with the one that brung you, moron!”

  That drew the Krieger’s attention away from Silent Knight. Red was still too close for the Krieger to use his arm-cannon as a blasting weapon…but not too close for him to use it as a club. Red ducked under the first swing, but couldn’t dodge the second; he managed to catch it on the shoulder instead of his head, but it still hurt like hell, and the follow-up to his ribs wasn’t any better. Red backed down a couple of steps, taking him out of range of a third blow, then went for broke.

  He made a diving tackle at the Krieger; the Thulian dodged it easily, but Red had been expecting that. He shot past, his hands already up in front of him. As soon as they touched the wall, Red folded his body up, turning his head to spot the Krieger; shoving with all of his might, he sprung from the wall. His legs hit the Krieger in the lower back before he was even fully extended, throwing his entire body weight and as much strength as he could muster into the blow.

  It worked. The Thulian’s legs buckled, he overbalanced, and went through the missing section of the guardrail into the pit.

  The momentum also drove Red over the side of the stairs, but he managed to grab the broken railing with both hands—

  —at about the same time that he felt an armored hand clamp down on his leg.

  “Well, that’s just great!” Red hissed, his hands struggling to keep a grip on the walkway. He glanced down, and saw the Krieger holding onto him for dear life with his injured hand, blood now flowing freely from the tear Red had made with his claws. The other hand, fully enveloped in the cannon’s chassis, was a blunt instrument, lacking even simple articulation necessary to maintain a grip. The Krieger looked around, and flinched when he noticed the drop, easily a hundred feet to the bottom of the shaft. Desperately, he began to rock back and forth…

  “On no you don’t!” Red snarled, and fought the Krieger’s movements by flailing his legs. The Krieger screamed, his grip on Red’s leg slipping as pain erupted in his slashed wrist. “Wenn Sie nur schwingen für die Treppe zu denken, werde ich gehen lassen.”

  The Thulian looked up, growling.

  “Du bluffst.”

  “No bluff,” Red croaked. He took a deep breath, and let his right hand fall away from the walkway. He gasped as he tightened his grip with his left, stifling a scream as the weight of both of them threatened to tear his arm from its socket. He held his right arm tight against his chest, his fingers gripping his scarf as a child might clutch a security blanket. He glared down at the Krieger defiantly. “Your move, shithead.”

  “Bist du verrückt?” the Thulian demanded, his body now still, his visor locked in horror on Red’s furious eyes.

  Despite the pain, and the brutal strain of keeping his fingers locked on the metal walkway, Red erupted in shaky laughter.

  “Seriously, I have to get that printed on some business cards…” he chuckled.

  “Genug. Sehr gut. Dann sterben wir beide.” the Krieger said, raising his cannon.

  Red stopped laughing, and pulled his free hand away from the folds of his scarf, now clutching one of Mel’s blinking incendiary bombs. He flicked his wrist and let the button-sized explosive drop and latch onto the Krieger’s helmet with a magnetic hum. The guard hissed in surprise, and shouted in alarm as he realized what Red had done. He raised his cannon higher, levelling
it at the Djinni’s chest. Red saw a blue light begin to glow down the length of the barrel and heard a dull voltaic whine as the cannon ramped up.

  He kicked at the gun, in reflex, as the bomb detonated in a flash of light and an eruption of condensed plasma.

  The Krieger was killed instantly as his face seemed to simply implode, his grip on Red’s leg falling away and his cannon, knocked away by Red’s boot, discharging its payload into the wall. He didn’t even have the opportunity to scream. So Red screamed instead, as searing hot plasma splashed onto his legs, immediately burning away several layers of skin and gouging divots into his flesh. The Krieger’s lifeless, smoking body flew back with tremendous force from the cannon blast, shot down the pit and collided with the fragile stairwell, neatly shearing an entire section of the stairs from the wall. Together, the Krieger and a good thirty feet of the stairway fell the remainder of the shaft to the bottom…

  … where they had left Mel.

  “Mel, take cover!” Red screamed.

  She didn’t answer, and before Red could shout again the bottom of the shaft erupted in an enormous flash of light and the ear-splitting boom of an explosion. Red averted his eyes, and when he opened them he saw the base of the pit now awash in flames and thick black smoke start to climb up the pit towards them.

  “Mel!” Red screamed.

  Red Team: Ultima Thule

  Red Team had lost all but two of the Blacksnake RPG teams after the Kriegers had made a renewed push to isolate them. The last two RPG teams were pinned down, unable to effectively employ their munitions—unless they wanted to die, that is. Untermensch was down; a grenade that had been armed by one of the Blacksnake operatives, who had died mid throw after his head was taken off by an energy blast, had rolled next to Red Team’s position. Untermensch had been the first to spot the danger; he had shoved Mamona behind him, then took nearly the entire blast to his body, shielding his comrades. At first glance he looked like he was dead; the nanoweave had stopped some of the fragments, but not all of them. Blood flowed from the holes in his uniform, and his face was in tatters. A quick check for his pulse revealed that he was in fact not dead; his visible wounds were already starting to close, his healing factor kicking in. Since the Kriegers were too far down the street for her powers to affect them, Mamona was put in charge of guarding Georgi and checking on his status.