A man didn’t need cybernetics if he had a quality boot. Erik introduced his to the terrorist’s face.
The man’s head snapped back, and he groaned. Two quick punches to the face knocked him out. Erik ripped the mask off to find a pasty-looking man with a thin mustache and a newly broken nose.
Erik kicked the terrorist’s rifle into the air and grabbed it. No TR-7 meant less fun, but a rifle was better than a pistol. He walked over and grabbed the other rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. A quick pat-down of the men scored him a few backup magazines, but not as many as expected. These men weren’t geared up for a decent fight.
“Idiots,” Erik muttered. “TPST would have cut them to shreds.”
“They must have thought they could contain things with the hostages,” Jia replied. “I’m in position. I have downed security guards here.”
“I’ve got the main exit cleared,” Erik replied. “On my signal, Jia, engage.”
“What’s your signal?”
“Listen for the gunfire.”
“Ah,” Jia replied. “Subtle.”
“Subtlety is overrated.” Erik chuckled. “Emma, tell the people hiding around the bend to haul ass out of here. Tell them a plainclothes CID team is here taking down the terrorists.”
“Why don’t I just tell them the truth? I think they’ll be far more impressed if a pair of local heroes is here to save them.” Emma laughed.
Erik flipped his fire selection to burst mode, thinking back to the man who recognized him earlier. “Ok, sure. That works, too.”
He took a moment to orient himself and locate the next closest pair of terrorists with the help of Emma’s display. One patrol was walking toward the exit, whereas the other was heading away. None of the guards had moved from the other exits, and no one seemed to be panicking despite Emma’s targeted disruption of terrorists’ comms and her control of the system.
They must have a plan for that.
“Police are present,” Emma reported. “There are two patrol flitters circling the tower, but they’re not landing.”
“They must have orders to wait for TPST,” Erik concluded. “It’s fine. We’ll finish up here before our Grayheads get a chance to kill anyone. A hard entry with exos might involve casualties, but we are already inside.”
He lifted his rifle and jogged toward the patrol, not bothering to run along the wall this time. The performance of the first two terrorists told him all he needed to know about their relative skill. This would come down to speed of engagement.
Wipe a pair or quad, then backtrack to guard the flank of the fleeing crowd and secure the main exit while Jia freed the hostages.
Erik turned a corner and came up behind the patrol. The men spun at the sound of the rapidly approaching footsteps and earned three bullets in their faces for their trouble, their masks doing nothing to save them.
Gunshots rang out in the distance. Jia was on the move.
Erik pivoted and charged back toward the main exit, surprised the next closest patrol wasn’t moving toward either his position or Jia’s. The crack of their rifles echoed down the concourse, louder and closer than the other fight.
“Who the hell are they fighting?” Erik asked.
“Oh.” Emma snickered. “I decided to help you out and stall the gun goblins by taking advantage of their pitiful intelligence after I expanded my systems penetration. I borrowed the holographic projectors from nearby stores to convince them they’re under attack by police forces. I don’t know how long it’ll work. They’re being rather generous with their shots.”
“Good job, Emma.” Erik closed on the main entrance.
Shoppers streamed toward the exit, some weeping, but no one screaming or yelling. Not everyone was running, though they all kept to at least a brisk walking pace.
“It’s him,” someone shouted, pointing at Erik. “It’s the Obsidian Detective, just like that CID agent said!”
“CID agent?” Erik whispered.
“I told them the truth about you,” Emma replied. “Not about me.”
Erik shook his head and darted through the crowd, avoiding collisions. Some people stopped to clap for him, but he ignored them and continued toward Emma’s deluded targets.
His hard run quickly brought him to the men, who looked his way.
One of the terrorists snorted when they spotted him. “Don’t waste any more ammo on holograms.”
“Good plan,” Erik replied before shooting him and his friend in the head. “That’s the way I fight, too,” he explained as their bodies collapsed, the rifles clattering to the floor.
“Expand the trick to all the bastards and help Jia,” Erik ordered. “I’ll clean up the rest and draw their attention with my special technique.”
“I have an idea,” Emma said. “It should be more helpful for Jia.”
“Just do it,” Erik ordered. “We don’t have a lot of time to sit around discussing.”
“Very well.”
“Any help is welcome, but what special technique were you talking about, Erik?” Jia asked, her breathing ragged over the comm.
“Being obnoxious. You just keep it up there.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got their attention.” There was a small pause. “And now I have an Army of Leems to help me?”
Chapter Nine
Jia frowned.
Sometimes plans sounded much better in theory than they proved to be in execution.
That wasn’t a new experience for Jia. She and Erik had been involved in so much trouble dealing with criminals and the Core that she generally assumed something would go awry.
In this case, Jia realized the terrible and retrospectively obvious problem in using fake Leems when taking on Grayhead terrorists who’d pledged themselves to the real thing. It would be more accurate to say she understood her mistake once the first hostage started screaming.
Oops.
Jia hadn’t intended to terrify them, and she mostly doubted Emma did. But once six Leems with lightning guns and shields blinked into existence, the men and women who had been stunned into silence by Jia gunning down their guards lost it.
It probably didn’t help that dead security guards were strewn around the area.
Jia could have used a security bot horde about then. Far too many parts of Neo SoCal were designed under the assumption no significant trouble would happen there.
She could see how people might have believed that two or three years back, but after the string of criminal activity and terrorist attacks that had afflicted the city, the laissez-faire attitude surprised her.
The police and CID had grown more effective in dealing with trouble, but as the current situation proved, more effective didn’t equal preventing all trouble.
“The Grayheads have actual aliens helping them!” a woman shrieked. “They’re going to feed us to the Leems.”
A man made the sign of the cross and murmured a quiet prayer as if he were trying to scare off demons and not aliens. The terrorists stared, their faces hidden behind their masks.
They didn’t seem to remember the men who had just died.
Maybe, in their sick little minds, they thought the Leems had somehow invented a personal jump drive and heard their prayers. In the end, Cosmic Universalism was a new religion, even if its ideological adherents denied it.
They wanted to worship something a lot more flesh-and-blood than traditional religions.
Jia didn’t wait for them to remember she was there. She darted from her wall to move behind a stone bench across the concourse.
Most of the terrorists continued to stare at the holographic aliens. One man pulled off his mask, revealing a mix of fear and reverence. Tears ran down his face. A single terrorist swung his rifle in her direction and fired. The shot whizzed past her as she ducked.
“Don’t fire!” shouted one of the other Grayheads. “The Leems will protect us from her. They have come to help us!”
Jia rolled her eyes. She couldn’t decide if she was surprised
that Emma’s trick had worked, or if it’d been the obvious way to take advantage of the terrorists. In either case, she was grateful they lacked the skill and wherewithal of the dangerous Grayhead groups she’d dealt with in the past.
She gritted her teeth, staying low. No one was shooting at her, even the man who had taken the earlier shot.
He must have been waiting for his opportunity. There were still too many terrorists there, given the hostages. She needed to move quickly and finish them off before more of their friends decided to show up and give her a hard time.
“Hey, Grayheads,” Erik’s loud voice called over the concourse speakers. “I’ve taken out a bunch of your guys already, and I’m sitting near the front exit, making sure the police can walk right in and cut you down like the worthless alien ass-kissers you are. I knew I couldn’t expect much from a bunch of morons who worship aliens, especially the Leems. If you want to worship someone who crashes their ship, I know all sorts of guys, or if you want to kill me and shut me up, come toward the main exit, and let’s chat. Or what? You going to chop yourself up and feed yourself to a space raptor? Become fertilizer for a mushroom? There’s nothing more pathetic than a Grayhead. You’re human. Get over it, assholes.”
Emma chuckled. “I’m also faking some communications to convince the rest of the gun goblins that all the hostages are escaping that way. It should encourage them to move along and not come back for Jia’s group.”
“Good,” Jia whispered. The slight sound attracted gunfire. Emma helpfully added target highlights for all the immediate terrorists, including the one who was shooting at her.
“Stop firing! You’ll anger them,” a voice said.
Jia crawled to the other end and popped around the corner to take a shot. Energy arced from one of the holograms at that exact moment. The terrorist fell backward, blood spreading from his chest wound. His companions stared at the Leem hologram, uncertainty on their faces.
“See?” a Grayhead spat, his pointing finger accusing. “You’ve angered them! Get on your knees and beg their forgiveness.”
“This is bullshit,” the shooter replied, pointing his gun at the Leem. “It’s just a hologram. Lightning guns don’t make you bleed!”
He pulled the trigger. So much for reverence. The bullet zipped right through Emma’s fake Leem. A moment later, all the Leem holograms dropped their weapons and raised their fingers in salute.
Jia assumed it was Emma messing with the terrorists, but when a creature only had four fingers, mimicking obscene human hand gestures was less effective.
The Grayheads’ faces contorted with rage. They opened fire on the holograms, wasting precious ammo and time on manipulated light. More importantly, they gave Jia her opportunity to finish them off.
She popped up and fired again. Her finger didn’t rest as she moved from target to target, placing one bullet apiece in the chest or head until all the terrorists lay on the ground, bleeding out.
Lack of discipline doomed them.
“There are no aliens,” Jia announced. “My name is Jia Lin, and I’m here to rescue you. One of my partners is using the local systems to create a distraction.”
Recognition dawned on some of the hostages’ faces. She didn’t want to go through a complicated explanation about her status at the moment and hoped simple straightforward confidence would earn their cooperation.
Gunshots continued to echo in the distance, the noises overlapping and becoming a percussive concert of death.
Emma’s target map revealed almost all the terrorists were homing in on Erik, with only a small group heading toward the hostages.
Jia didn’t have time for clever plans. The original plan had gone to hell. Sending everyone into a warzone would get them killed. There were elevators nearby, and no terrorists near them. The choice was obvious despite logistical concerns.
She holstered her gun and ran over to a terrorist to collect his rifle, along with his and his friends’ spare magazines.
“I carry two guns, yet I need a bigger one,” she grumbled.
“You could shop wearing a tac vest filled with grenades,” Erik replied between ragged breaths. “Or wear a carryaid with the laser rifle strapped to it.”
“I shouldn’t have to go shopping in full tactical gear,” Jia grumbled back.
The hostages had mostly regained their calm. Many trembled in fear, but they didn’t seem scared of her. She didn’t know if they recognized her, but they had to understand the woman who had gunned down the terrorists was on their side.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” Jia called. “My partner’s helping create that opportunity right now. The police are on their way.”
“Aren’t y-you the police?” asked someone.
Well, crap. That was bad information management. “Not anymore. Everyone get ready to move!”
A couple nodded numbly, but no one stood.
“I assume they activated the emergency override on the elevators?” Jia asked. “And I assume you’ve cleared it, Emma?”
“Both are correct.”
Jia loaded a fresh magazine into her borrowed rifle and turned toward the hostages, pointing a finger to her left. “Listen up. We’re going to make a run for the elevators. You will all take them down, and I’ll guard you while you’re doing it. There are elevators around the corner over there.” She inclined her head in that direction since no one saw her pointing finger. “There isn’t enough space for everyone to go down at once, but you will proceed in an orderly manner. If you do that, I guarantee you’ll get out of here without further injury.”
Some of the hostages stood, newfound courage and determination on their faces. Others, still weeping, trembled as they rose, their expressions making it plain they didn’t think they would survive the next few minutes. Jia didn’t rush them, especially since people needed to scoop up and comfort their scared children.
The Grayhead bastards could have at least let the children go.
After giving the hostages a moment to calm themselves, Jia gestured toward the elevators. Emma aided the situation by providing a flashing red arrow.
“Let’s go,” Jia shouted. “Keep it orderly. I’ve got your backs.”
Screams and shouts sounded from the other side of the level. Gunfire was nearly constant now. Erik wasn’t saying anything, but that only meant he was concentrating. A quick check of the map showed far fewer terrorists than before, but Jia didn’t like that the small cluster no longer was moving toward the main exit.
Four men with rifles could hurt a lot of people quickly.
She jogged alongside the group, sweeping the area on the small chance Emma had missed someone. “Let me know if any of the terrorists move toward me, Emma.”
“Of course,” the AI replied.
Once they moved away from the main concourse, her Leems vanished, though she kept up the arrow. Whatever equipment she’d borrowed had a limited range. Jia didn’t care. She was moments away from rescuing the hostages, and then it was just a matter of picking off the rest of the terrorists or keeping them pinned down. With their patrol and exit guard forces consolidated, they had decent numbers, but they weren’t the ones with reinforcements on the way.
Jia and the hostages arrived at the elevators. Desperate men and women slapped the access panel and crammed in with surprising care, given the situation. The crowd earned her respect for their control.
Panic could have undone everything and led to more deaths.
“Just go one level down,” Jia ordered, infusing stern command authority into her voice. “Let’s fill them up, though.”
Judging by the numbers of elevators and the size of the crowd, it’d take four or five trips for all the hostages to evacuate. It was a large number when they were waiting, hearts pounding, for them all to escape, but it was a tiny fraction of the number of people who had been shopping when the attack started. The terrorists had screwed up. They should have secured the exits first. Given their focus on the elevators, they might have unde
restimated their importance for escape. Jia had never been one to be pleased by someone’s incompetence, but she modified her thinking patterns on the fly.
“TPST is almost here,” Emma announced. “The police have set up a secondary line outside and below and above this level. All people who previously escaped the level appear to be safe.”
Erik grunted. “Good. I hate fighting these guys with their own stupid rifles. These things aren’t adjusted well. No wonder they can’t hit anything. However, there are a lot of them. Throw enough lead in the air, and you’re bound to hit something…or me.”
Another group of hostages departed in the elevators. Jia took a deep breath and spun toward her side, catching movement on the map before Emma’s next announcement.
“Group en route to your position, Jia.”
Inevitable? Most likely. Frustrating? Absolutely. Surprising? No.
“Everyone, keep getting on the elevators,” Jia shouted. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Another batch of hostages crammed into the cars. The doors hissed closed, and the elevators left with a hum.
Jia selected burst-fire mode and aimed her rifle, waiting for the terrorists to come around the corner. Emma’s targeting highlights made the task trivial.
She waited a couple of heartbeats until all four of her targets cleared the wall, then her rifle came to life with a crack. Her initial burst ripped through the first man’s chest. With practiced precision, she repeated the attack three more times, like it was another day at the range. All the terrorists lay dead only a couple of meters from the wall.
They never got a shot off.
As she reloaded, the elevators returned. The crowd remained subdued, even the children, despite the most recent firefight. They loaded into the elevator without much pushing as if they sensed the one thing they could all do to aid their survival was keep calm.
No one’s attention lingered on the dead terrorists. That was for the best. They would never hurt anyone else.
Unfaithful Covenant Page 7
