With her preparations complete, she closed her eyes and concentrated. All around her she could hear the merc’s approaching. The aircar must know she was injured and was now co-ordinating the merc’s to close the net in. Sorting through everything she could hear, she found what she was looking for. The faint whine of an aircar’s engine. High and to her right.
Using the Blaster as a crutch, she climbed to her feet and swung the gun’s power pack over her shoulder. Hobbling slightly, she made it to that end of the alley. She would have only one chance at this. She had to get it right.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped out into the open. Bringing the Blaster up, she searched the skies and saw the aircar. Whoever was piloting it was good and managed to jink as soon as she realised the danger she was in. The pilot wasn’t fast enough. Pulling the trigger, Valerie braced herself, the wounded leg complained at the pressure it was under, and an uncountable number of bolts of energy lanced up into the sky. They tore the side of the aircar apart and it hurtled towards the ground.
Valerie turned to duck back into the alleyway. A Pulse from one of those surrounding her caught her in the back. It spun her to the floor and she was only just able to roll into cover before more followed. Gritting her teeth in pain, she dragged herself to her feet. It felt like her entire back was on fire as she hobbled further into the alleyway. Shouts echoed from behind her. The merc’s smelt blood and were coming in.
Propping herself against the wall, she swung the Blaster round just in time. Merc’s rounded the corner and their bodies flew backward, driven through the air by the Blaster’s power. More would be following. Backing up slowly, she fired a constant stream of energy along the alleyway. She heard boots coming from the opposite direction, around a corner. With a final burst, the Blaster’s power pack ran dry. She ducked around the corner, straight into a two metre tall merc charging towards her.
Ducking her shoulder, she used the same move on him as she did on Gaunt over a year ago. Her shoulder slammed into his stomach and, using her uninjured leg, she threw him clear over her. A woman was right behind him. Valerie’s fist slammed into her throat, crushing her windpipe through her armour. More followed and they were on Valerie before even she could react.
In the close confines of the alleyway, it was fast, dirty and brutal. Valerie let loose every move she knew and all of her rage. Again and again, the box in her mind, storing everything she tried to control and bury, snapped open. Men and women died from punctured lungs, caved in skulls and broken necks. Dozens were incapacitated by snapped arms and legs or simply knocked unconscious. It was not enough, there were too many of them and those who died were getting in her way.
Suddenly Energy coursed through her. Her limbs spasmed out of control and she fell to the floor.
She lay there amongst the bodies of the fallen, helpless for one of the very few times in her life. A pair of immaculate shoes approached down the alley. The few surviving merc’s stepped out of their way until they stopped directly in front of her.
“The Admiral did warn me you were good, but that was quite extraordinary. An entire platoon on the roof, killed in seconds.”
Valerie struggled to move. She was barely able to raise her head enough to look up at the owner of the shoes. The suit would have cost a Family ransom and was worn by a handsome, blue eyed, blond man.
“K, k, k, ill ou,” she managed to stammer out. He crouched down to look at her and she could see the gratification deep in eyes.
“Extraordinary,” he repeated. “Absolutely extraordinary. I’ve never seen anyone move a millimetre after being hit by a neural disrupter and yet you are talking. It is such a shame you came to your end here.” He stood and pointed the disrupter at her again. The second blast sent her to oblivion.
***
“That was a little more damaging than you estimated, Dorme.” Arnold Ison said mildly, his back to the assassin. He stood on the balcony overlooking the islands shopping area. Smoke from the various fires still hovered over the buildings.
“Yes, she was better than I thought, but it was, as you say, an estimate.” When setting the deal, Dorme heeded Admiral Cestari’s warnings about Carter. He was deliberately vague about how much damage he could stop her inflicting to the island. He was very aware how Arnold Ison dealt with those who were not true to their word.
Ison turned away from the view. The slight smile told Dorme the older man was very aware of why he had been vague. He wanted to wipe that smile right off Ison’s face and cursed inwardly as he did dare not. He prided himself in not fearing any man or woman, but here in Ison’s centre of power, was not the place to do anything about it.
“You have done your job well,” Ison said, “and I thank you for warning me. Without the mercenaries you brought, I think my own people would have struggled to stop her.”
“It was my pleasure. You have been a good client of mine, and when I learned someone sent her after you, I thought it prudent to intervene.”
“And you have no idea who it was?” Ison asked pointedly.
“None, I’m afraid. If of course I hear any more, you will be the first to know.”
***
Hanna’s fingers flew over her virtual keyboard. She was at her desk in the Workshop and coding a new worm. It had been almost an hour since Deni reported dropping Valerie in the sea and as the time went on, the worry ate at her.
Coding relaxed her. The complex quantum mathematics allowed her to not think about the danger Valerie was going into. It didn’t stop her constantly glancing at the VI screen on her right. There, two com channels were set to receive, one for Deni and the other Valerie.
Deni checked in six minutes ago, as she did every ten minutes, precisely to plan. Valerie’s had been dormant since she switched off her equipment. According to the plan, she would not hear from Valerie for at least another half an hour. It would take her that long to swim ashore, make her way through the forest and sneak into the Ison mansion.
Her fingers moved almost by reflex as she glanced over again. Seven minutes since Deni’s check in. She looked away and the com sparked to life with Valerie’s voice.
“Mission blown!” Hanna’s head jerked up in horror. “Do not respond. I repeat. Do not respond. Extract and go to ground. I will make my own way out. Carter clear!”
Hanna was about to answer and to hades with the consequences, when she realised she couldn’t. Valerie had cancelled the net from her end. Without broadcasting in the open, they couldn’t talk to her.
“Hanna,” Deni’s alarmed voice came through. “Did you hear that? What do we do?”
“You’ve got to go and get her,” Hanna snapped instinctively and there was a long pause.
“I’m...” Deni started to say and stopped before continuing. “Where from?” she asked hesitantly. We can’t com her and we don’t know where on the island she is.”
“Just go and I’ll...” Hanna did the same and her brain started to catch up. “I don’t know. I’ve got no way to track her,” she said dejectedly. Hanna felt so helpless. All the confidence, from everything the three of them had built, all the successes, was suddenly blown away and she felt lost. Her mind felt like it was moving in slow motion. She tried to think of something they could do, but she had no idea.
“If I go in there, they’re going to spot me in an instant,” Deni said. Hanna could tell she was considering it anyway and a part of her really wanted to tell Deni to go.
“No, Deni,” she told her friend. “Valerie gave the extraction command. You have to pull out of there without being noticed. Come home.”
The pause was much longer. “Alright,” her tone was just as dejected as Hanna felt. “I’m on my way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Shit!” The glass of water rebounded off the wall and Hanna buried her head in her hands. “Why is there no sign of her?” she sobbed to the empty room. “It’s been two hours. Why aren’t there alarms ringing and police being called in? Where is she?”
The
re was nothing from any of her Hacks, military or civilian. All communication from the island was cut off. It was like someone had shut down the datanet connection completely. Nothing was coming out, nothing at all.
Scrubbing the tears from her eyes, Hanna flung her long hair away and shoved herself out of her chair. Deni would be back any moment and she had to talk to her. The outer door lock pinged red on her first try and Hanna slammed her fist into it. It didn’t help. The lock pinged red a second time and now her hand hurt. Clenching her teeth, Hanna slowed down and entered the combination correctly.
The lights were dim on the shop floor. Most of the gang and mechanics were at home in bed. They wouldn’t be due in for a couple more hours. One of the bays was lit, with a wheelie up on the rack. Cortez and Utona were doing a night shift and rebuilding its suspension. They looked up as she stormed down the stairs.
“Hey, Hanna,” Anja called from the front office. She was leaning back in her chair, feet on the desk in front of her, while she monitored the buildings security screens. “How did the Job go?”
“Eh? What Job?”
“Whatever it was the three of you were working on tonight.”
Hanna shook her head distractedly at the pink haired Enforcer. “Fine, it was fine.”
“Good, there’s Deni now.” Anja pointed at her screen and Hanna saw Deni pull up in the yard on her two wheeled scooter. The aircar was kept at a separate location. They didn’t have the room to store it in the Workshop.
Deni did not waste any time and ran inside. The two girls stared at one another for a second. Hanna saw her panic mirrored in her friend. With a distracted thanks to Anja, they rushed up the stairs and slammed the door behind them.
***
Anja watched them go. Cortez and Utona were still watching and she gave them a pointed look. They got the message and went back to work. The office wasn’t very big. It wasn’t much of a stretch for Anja to reach over and push the door shut.
She thought carefully about what she had just witnessed and keyed her com.
“Earl’s coffee and cakes,” a voice answered.
“Hey, Earl, it’s Anja. I’ll be by for breakfast in a couple of hours. Could you have one of your Banh Mi specials ready?”
“No problemo. I’ll make the dough up now.”
“Thanks, Earl. I’ll see you in a bit.” Anja disconnected the call and settled back in to wait for her shift to end.
***
Dawn had only barely broken. The streets were still in heavy shadow from the surrounding buildings when Anja stepped out of her wheelie. The last of the Banh Mi was in her hand. She finished it off as she walked through the alley. Brushing the crumbs off her hands from the crusty bread, she went down the steps halfway along.
The door at the bottom was already open. The corridor inside much cleaner than the last time she was here. A junkie stumbled past her on his way out, his early morning fix held tightly to his chest. Further along, the lanky shape of Orrick detached from the wall and nodded to a door to one side.
Anja nodded back at the Enforcer and preceded him inside. This was one room the junkies never entered.
“I got your message,” Rapaport demanded from behind her desk. “What was so bloody urgent you had to get Earl to wake me up?”
“At least we know it works,” Anja replied mildly. “Hopefully it won’t trip any of Hanna’s systems.”
“Yes, yes. Well done. What do you want?”
“I think we’ve got our opportunity to make a move.”
Rapaport sat up, her pinched face bright, eyes eager. “What makes you say that?”
“Milicevic and Deni went out on a Job last night. Deni came back this morning and Milicevic didn’t.”
“So, maybe she stayed to torture another poor Privileged slob.”
Anja bit back her first instinctive reply. Nothing was ever easy with Rapaport. “So, the girls were panicking. Something went wrong out there.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I told you, they do things without involving the rest of the gang. Even Cracker isn’t included.”
“You want me to risk my neck on a maybe like that?”
“No, I suggest you get ready while I confirm where Milicevic is. Even if she’s only out of the way for the day, we can take the territory before she gets back. How soon can you have your out-of-towners ready?”
Rapaport licked her lips nervously. “They’re spread out all over the surrounding territories. It’ll take a couple of hours get them together.”
“Do it while I check on Milicevic.”
“What if she turns up and that little bitch Hanna notices the new faces?”
“Then we’re both dead.” Anja had had enough playing nice with this woman. She needed to get Rapaport off her arse, if her plans were to work. She strode over to the desk and shoved her fists onto the top, looming over the grey haired woman. Orrick stirred from where he leant against the wall. Anja ignored him.
“Do you want to do this or not? We’ve got a far better chance of surviving, if we hit while she’s not here and Hanna’s distracted. With that girl watching Milicevic’s back, any ambush will be very hard to set up. If we move now, we can have the entire territory sown up and Hanna dead before Milicevic returns.”
Rapaport looked away and shifted in her seat. Her forehead glistened with sweat, despite the cool air in the room. Anja kept her face and body still, projecting confidence until finally Rapaport nodded.
“Alright, I’ll bring them in.”
“Stay off the coms. If Hanna gets even a hint, we’re dead.”
“Don’t tell me what I already know!” Rapaport snapped. Anja smiled back at this first sign she actually had a spine and held up her hands.
“I’m sorry. Send me the signal when you’re ready. I’ll do the same, when I know for sure Milicevic is out of the way.”
Back in her wheelie, Anja found her hands were shaking. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and willed her hands back under control. Gently she let go and turned them palms up, opening and closing them into fists. The shaking stopped. Pausing to make sure she was fully composed, she activated her com.
“Cracker,” the Chief Enforcer answered shortly.
“It’s Anja.”
“Everything alright on the night shift?” he asked slightly concerned.
“Yeah, that was all fine. Can we meet? I know the Guv isn’t happy with me and I’d like to know what I can do to make it right.”
“Where are you?”
“I just got some breakfast from Earl’s and I’m heading home.”
There was silence from the other end of the line for a moment. “OK, I was on my way in to the Workshop. Why don’t I meet you at your place?”
“That would be great. Thanks, Chief.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” The com clicked as Cracker disconnected.
“Yeah, you will,” Anja said to the empty car. That was fortuitous. She hadn’t really expected to be able to get Cracker alone that easily. Sometimes chance just worked in your favour.
Quickly she started the car and pulled out into the road. It was important she was in place before Cracker arrived. It was still early and traffic was light. Minutes after making her call, she drove into her parking space in the garage under her building. Most of those who lived in the building didn’t have cars and the unused space had been taken over.
The Privileged owner of the building converted it into an underground shanty town to increase the rent collected. There were only a few cars in the corner of the car park still useable for its designed purpose. People were on their way to work and gave Anja’s car a wide berth as they shambled past. They knew better than to even touch an Enforcer’s wheelie.
The stairs heading up to her flat were crowded and Anja snaked through them as best she could. Her bright pink hair helped and warned people to get out of her way. Eight flights later, she was on her own floor and through the door to her flat. A single corridor ran from the doo
r to the kitchen/lounge area with the bathroom and single bedroom coming off it.
Anja headed straight for the kitchen. Drawing her Mag pistol, she checked the safety was on and placed it in the middle of the empty table. In the corner of the room, attached to the permacrete outer wall of the building, was her small armoury chest. Anja entered the combination and withdrew two thermal blades and two more Mag pistols. One blade went into the back of her trousers, under her short jacket. The other three weapons, she tucked away in several places around the room.
With them all hidden, she walked around the room, checking to ensure the only weapon on display was the pistol on the table. Satisfied, she switched on the coffee machine. She set it to the strongest brew and shook her head. That wouldn’t be a good idea. She may well have a long day ahead after a night shift, but Cracker didn’t know that. He’d be expecting her to go to sleep after talking to him. Anja switched the machine to the type Cracker liked, making herself a hot chocolate heavy with sugar instead.
She paced back and forth across the kitchen and lounge area, reminding herself time and again where her weapons were. A bleep interrupted her mid-stride and she almost ran to the door. She took a moment to fix her hair in the mirror next to the door, before opening it with a smile.
“Hi, Cracker. Thanks for coming.”
The tall, bald man nodded back at her. “That’s alright, you’re a good Enforcer and it’s best to get it straightened out.”
Anja waved him in. “Go through, coffee’s on.”
“Good, I think I’m going to need it,” he rumbled.
“Oh? What’s up?”
He shrugged his large shoulders. “Don’t know. Hanna commed and said she needed to see me a second ago.”
Anja placed a mug into the machine. Hot black coffee started bubbling out into it. “The girls seemed a little rattled when I saw them earlier.”
Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) Page 18
