by Bob Blink
"Maybe you shouldn't have come," Morrison suggested as he watched the scene play out. "They can't track you like they can us. You could hide out, maybe even in a different city and avoid all this."
Rao was about to reply when his eyes blanked. In the real world, Raobot was rapidly uploading data from his own memory into the editable file of the LA Rao.
"Unacceptable," he muttered as he did so.
Suddenly Rao's eyes cleared and he looked at those around him, then shifted his glance toward the shotgun he'd placed on the floor. Without a word, he walked over and picked it up.
He handled the weapon differently than he had a moment before. It was apparent that the weight was uncomfortable for him, but he held it like someone who knew what he was doing. Deftly he pointed it in a safe direction and quickly pumped the action, holding it open as he checked for any live ammunition inside. Satisfied his weapon was empty, he closed the breech, half rotated the weapon and brought it deftly to his shoulder. Sighting down the barrel at a picture near the back of the hallway, he pressed the trigger causing an audible click. He nodded with a certain satisfaction, then reached down and grabbed a handful of shells from the open box that Don had been using to charge his own weapon, and smoothly fed them into the tube under the barrel.
"I thought you said you hadn't ever handled a shotgun before?" Mike Lee asked, watching the confident manner in which the programmer worked the weapon.
"My counterparts in the caverns have been having weapons training," he explained. "I was just given an instant upload of what they have learned. I feel like it was me who engaged in an afternoon of target practice. I am ready," he added with a fierce grin.
Once everyone was prepared, with weapons and ammunition set out near their selected stations, they took a break to eat the takeout they had grabbed in town down the road while they had the chance. They didn't know just when Walker's people would show, and were counting on their friends in the caverns to keep them informed.
"We will see them on the holo," Rao said pointing to the large display of the area around the summerhouse, explaining to Sam who'd come in to see how things were progressing. There are multiple viewpoints we can quickly shift between, and can zoom in as needed to monitor any of the interlopers. We also have created a program to monitor new ID's that appear in the Sim. When people come in via the gaming couches, they are given a new ID. It is never used a second time, so by watching for the appearance of newly assigned numbers in the registry, we can tell they are arriving, and how many of them there are."
"Can Walker find the Rao you inserted that same way?" Sam asked.
Rao grinned. "Perhaps if he knew to look for it, but I was the one who designed some of this, and I overrode the protocols and hid that ID in some older files. I do not see him finding it, not that it matters if this goes bad. Rao is here with the others. If they die, so does he."
"Have Jessica or Cindy overheard any more of Walker's communications?" Raobot asked.
"Walker and his people have been very silent," Sam explained.
"Where are Greg and Ray?" Rao asked.
"They went out," Sam said. He didn't bother to add he was supposed to meet them shortly.
"Out?" Raobot asked. "That does not seem wise. This is not a good time."
"The ladies are very upset about it, but they wouldn't say what they were doing," Sam said. "Cindy is monitoring channel ten in case they call. She has instructions to inform them if matters look bad for our friends in the Sim."
Rao was about to comment when Raobot spoke.
"They are arriving," he said in his flat mechanical voice.
Chapter 47
"It looks just like the video Zack showed us," Walker said as the rest of his team materialized beside him. They were just shy of two hundred yards down the hill, located behind a stout stone wall that ran perpendicular to the house for nearly a hundred yards. Nine men, including the three newcomers who had never done this before, should be more than enough to handle this crew. The video showed a total of eight men in position to resist his force. He'd like to have more men given the number they were up against, but there were problems with that, and he had worked out a way to compensate for the nearly equal forces.
He'd initially been angry when Zack had told him the group was fleeing the city. That meant they knew he planned on attacking, and once again he wondered how, but the fact they had the ability to predict his actions made him all the more determined to bring an end to their interference. They could run, but they couldn't hide, as the expression went. He only had to wait to see where they relocated, and then have Zack adjust where he made the insertions. That was exactly what they had done, and once their victims were firmly in place, they'd planned accordingly.
"This place doesn't look like much," Luke said. "I'd have expected them to go somewhere they'd have more support. It's an uphill charge to the house, but there's lots of cover," he added. "They won't be getting any emergency support. They are too far from any place useful."
"Unless they have some people hiding here we don't know about," Jason suggested.
"We've had a close look at the place," Luke reassured him, knowing the man wasn't familiar with how this worked and what they could see inside the Sim.
Walker had been having similar thoughts, and was a little uneasy not knowing what these bastards might be thinking. The problem was, there was nothing these guys could do to harm them, and they must know that, so if there were a surprise of sorts waiting, it wouldn't really matter if they simply charged ahead to see what it might be. Besides, he had a few surprises of his own in store.
"Let's see what they have been planning," Walker said, and tightened his grip on the military rifle he carried. All of his men were similarly equipped, and he'd had Zack ensure they had a goodly supply of extra magazines. He wished he could remain in constant contact with Zack during these assaults, so the technician could keep him informed what the video showed, but that simply wasn't possible.
Once again they had two teams. He'd lead one, and Luke the other. They'd discussed the attack plan just before being inserted based on what Zack had been able to show them of the preparations the cops had made. They must be getting pretty nervous about now, knowing what was coming for them. From what they'd learned, they knew who Walker was and that his men would simply fade away if shot, not really harmed. A man can take risks when he knows the outcome isn't going to be fatal.
Walker took the left flank along with Kurt, Mark and Bill. Luke took his slightly larger team toward the right, using the stone wall as cover until they were well split and ready to advance using the trees and rocks for protection. Walker had just started the move toward the house when he heard the sharp crack of a high power rifle. His gut clenched, but the bullet didn't come anywhere near him. He wondered if one of Luke's men had been hit. They'd known there was a sniper in place on the roof, and were supposed to move accordingly. Walker scanned the roofline, but couldn't see any sign of the shooter, and having no target signaled his men to move faster.
"There are nine of them," Raobot said, seeing the images and scanning the list of identifiers that had just appeared on the screen.
"He's added manpower," Rao said. "We thought he'd remain with his primary team."
"Nothing we can change now," Raobot said. "Inform our friends at the house what is coming for them. They've split into two groups, the larger coming up on the north side."
Only the two Raos were in the computer center at the moment. The rest of the group was supposed to be watching outside for any possible approach to the bunker during this critical time. It wouldn't do to be caught unexpectedly while the battle inside the Sim was developing.
"Nine?" Rodriguez shouted, wanting conformation. The LA version of Rao who was acting as the contact to those back at the Facility, shouted back confirming the number.
"Shit!" Rodriguez cursed, but relayed the information over their combat net to the others. They'd expected just the six that Rao said were left of Walker'
s primary team.
He heard John Morrison's shot, and saw one of the approaching attackers stumble and fall. First blood to them. They weren't following normal police procedure. Not with these guys. They wanted them down and out before they got anywhere near the house. It would be a temporary victory, but maybe it would buy them time to figure out a long-term solution. However it worked out, he wasn't going down without a fight.
Spotting movement in the fading light, he placed the front sight onto his target and triggered a pair of three shot bursts. He couldn't tell if he hit anything or not, but almost immediately a series of fully automatic weapons opened up with bursts of their own, directing their fire in his direction.
The shots slammed into the house, and a few hit the glass panes of the dining room and bedroom windows. That must be giving Walker and his men pause. If they'd expected to shatter the glass as a way to announce their presence, they now had to realize something was amiss. Lee looked at Rodriquez and smiled.
"Your friends weren't bullshitting us. I'd like to know how they made that glass bullet-proof."
"They edited some kind of file and changed its properties," Rodriguez said, not that he entirely understood how that would help.
"Walker, don't take anything for granted about this place," Luke warned. "The glass is bullet proof. Good stuff too. Our shots don't appear to be having any effect on it. Who would do that? Oh, and watch that sniper. He potted Carl right off."
Luke finished his brief report and checked his guys and the path they would have to take to get to the house. There were stretches in the open, but if they moved quickly their time exposed would be minimal and there were more than enough solid objects to provide cover.
Taking aim at the roof of the house, Luke fired an aimed three-round burst, watching the rounds strike along the edge, kick up dust and splinters of something. That should make that sniper nervous, he decided, and without signaling, charged out heading toward the rock he'd picked out. The men behind him charged along, several firing at the house hoping to dissuade any return fire, not because they had picked out any targets. He heard shooting as he ran, heart racing, mostly from the far side of the house where Walker's team was making their approach than from this side. Another sharp crack that distinguished itself from the chatter of automatic weapons indicated the sniper hadn't been long deterred by his strafing the roofline.
Once he reached his position, he looked around and checked his team. They were full strength again, with Carl just a short distance away.
"You all right?" Luke asked.
The man nodded, then added, "That isn't any fun at all."
"Beats what it might be," Luke replied philosophically. They'd all been through it before themselves. "Keep your head down from now on."
The intensity of fire had increased dramatically, and Luke could no longer tell who was firing. He suspected both sides were going at it on Walker's side. The shooting here was a little less intense.
"Let's go," he ordered, starting his dash for the next cluster of rocks.
"He's back, I tell you," Sammi said, her voice tinged with disbelief. "I watched you hit him solid. With that big rifle, there's no way he wasn't out of the game. But I can see all five of them grouped together again."
"Maybe you miscounted the first time," Morrison suggested, knowing he would catch static for it.
"Bullshit!" Sammi snarled back, annoyed. "I don't make that kind of mistake in a situation like this."
"Ask Rao. See what he might think of it," he suggested as he tracked another target.
"There," he said silently to himself and he dropped another of the group. Now it's four," he thought pleased with his shooting in this light.
Mike Lee triggered a long burst at the two men who hesitated before starting their run. He could see he winged one, but the other clearly made it safely to the cover provided by the trees. They were getting closer than he liked, but the light was bad. Maybe Rao could do something about that. He shouted for the programmer, but when he looked he was talking on his communicator to someone.
When he looked back he could see the group was on the move again, this time taking cover behind a pair of the larger chunks of granite out there. He saw that Rodriguez had dropped one of them as they'd made their dash, but by his count there were four altogether too close.
"I thought Rao's friends back in the caverns weren't going to allow them to get any closer?" Lee asked. He turned to yell at Rao again, but before he could do so, Rodriguez shouted at him.
"Look at that," the Lieutenant hollered.
Lee looked out the window again, and was stunned to see the massive blocks of granite shimmer and turn transparent. Then they were gone, and the shadows of the four men who were taking cover behind them were exposed where they could be seen.
"Now's the time," Rodriquez said as he commenced firing. Lee didn't need any additional encouragement, as he raised his rifle and emptied the magazine in a series of controlled bursts. When they were done shooting, all of the attackers were down. Lee couldn't see them any longer, and wondered if they had disappeared as they had back when the attack on the Senator left him with a mystery.
On the far side of the house, Rand and Luther were shooting at Walker and his surviving companion. They were trying to make the stone wall hoping for cover, but when he was within twenty feet of the wall, it lost definition, and moments later no longer existed.
"What in hell is going on?" Walker shouted just as a pair of slugs, one from one of the automatic rifles and another from a carefully aimed long-range sniper rifle smashed into his chest. He groaned as he collapsed onto the ground, his vision going dark almost immediately.
"Did you see that?" Walker asked Zack as the technician opened the cover to his transfer couch.
"Can't see a damn thing," Zack shot back as he checked Walker's controls. "Something is blocking the video. I lost everything shortly after I transferred you in."
"Rao is doing it," snarled Walker. "Get me back there. They're trying to stop us by using some kinds of tricks. Can you drop us closer to the house?"
"I can put you by the rocks, or into the trees," Zack offered.
"The damn rocks aren't there any longer," Walker complained. "Neither is that wall we thought looked so inviting. I'd like to know how they did that. Dump us into the trees this time. That'll get us closer to the house and we have an idea what we are dealing with now. You're sending everyone back when they are killed?"
"That's what we agreed on," Zack said, nodding his head. "I've sent that Carl fellow back three times already. I don't think he's enjoying himself very much."
"Getting shot hurts, even if it isn't for real," Walker said as he pulled the cover back over himself. "Hurry!"
"Damn it, they're back again," Lee said spotting a group of men moving out in the trees. "How did they get over there?"
Rao stuck his head into the room and shed some light on what was happening.
"They've gotten smart," he yelled. "My friends in the caverns say they are being sent back as soon as we kill them. Usually it takes some time to set everything up for a transfer, but their techs must have pre-assigned a bunch of IDs and had everything else ready for multiple insertions. They can't come back under the same ID, the system won't allow it, but they are coming in under a different label, even though it's the same guys."
"You mean we have to kill them all over again?" Rodriguez asked.
"Until we use up whatever sets of pre-arranged identities they have, yes," Rao replied. "We never considered they might do this. Walker's damn clever, I'll give him that."
There was no time for more conversation. Lee was already shooting and changing magazines as he tried to nail the attackers. They could hear shots from the roof, both Morrison's single shot and Sammi's automatic rifle, and a similar clattering from across the hall.
Walker couldn't believe he was the only member of his group that had made it alive up to the side of the house. Now, protected by the stone slabs that marked the
rear portion of the residence, he checked his weapon waited for his team to rematerialize. He'd been grazed by two shots, both painful, but he was alive. Zack had told him the interference with the video couldn't blot out his location in the Sim. That was something basic to the system, so as long as one of them made it someplace alive, Zack could send others there. He'd know soon enough. While he waited he checked his radio and risked a call to the other team. Tom answered.
"Who's this?" Walker asked, not recognizing the voice.
"Tom, sir," the voice answered.
"Where are you?"
"Jason and I made it to the side of the house," Tom replied. "Jason's in a bad way. He took three or four rounds in the approach. The others are all dead."
"Tell him to check out," Walker ordered, then stay put.
"What?" Tom replied, surprised.
"That will send him back to the caverns, and Zack can send him back fully restored. Zack will locate on your position. Now do it."
"Okay, he's gone," Tom replied hesitantly a moment later. Walker guessed he didn't like being here alone.
"Good, have Luke contact me once he returns."
Walker broke the connection and glanced back at the sound of movement. Kurt and his other team members were materializing as they returned once again.
"This sucks!" Kurt noted as he rubbed his chest, apparently where he'd be shot on the last cycle.
"We couldn't have guessed this was possible," Walker agreed. "But we're close now, and they haven't got a shot at us while we're protected by the hill. Once we charge through into the house they'll be intent on stopping us, but we keep charging until we've got them. Unlike us, they can't be re-spawned."
Kurt nodded, pleased at the thought of payback. He'd been killed twice already, and didn't look forward to the possibility of it happening again.
