Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1)

by Adrian D. Roberts

  “Of course,” Sneaker turned around and pulled his datapad out. It only took him moments to activate the hologram of the building, being careful to set it to its lowest brightness so not too make too much of a target. He entered some commands and a red cross appeared near the middle, a little below half way up. “We’re here.”

  “I see, can you put in the control room?” Valerie asked.

  Sneaker tapped another command in bringing up a blue cross. “Here, three floors up from us. They’ve set it up about half way between the stairs and the outer wall. I’m guessing they’ve put it into one of the old apartments.”

  Valerie frowned in thought. A room like that would have to have been reinforced, not just the doors but the walls as well. Would they have done the floor? What are the floors made of in these buildings? Is it standard permacrete?”

  “I’d presume so,” Sneaker thought for a moment. “Hang on. I pulled the original specs from the planning office.” He switched off the holographic representation of the building and started going through files on his datapad. “Here we go, yep the walls are pretty flimsy with no guts to them, but the floors are solid permacrete.”

  “Hmm.” Valerie stared up at the ceiling. “If you installed a security room with permacrete floors, would you reinforce that floor?”

  “I bet you would, but no, I wouldn’t,” he answered. “I’d completely replace the walls certainly. The floor though would be too much work.”

  “Bring the map back up.” Sneaker did so and Valerie studied for a few seconds. “OK,” she looked around orientating herself to the schematic. “We’ll go up one more floor then head in here.” She pointed to a position two floors down and directly below the security room. “We’ll set up in that room as though we’re settling in. That will keep them guessing as I haven’t seen any cameras in the rooms themselves only in the more public areas. Shaped charges will punch through the ceiling and if we move quickly enough, we’ll be in their security room before they know what’s happening.”

  She looked at Sneaker, he seemed more composed now. “Ready?” she asked.

  He nodded back firmly. She turned to Rush who was still covering the rear stairs onto the floor they were on. “Rush. It’s time to get the grenades out. Are they in your rear belt pouch?”

  “Yeah, Valerie. Here.” He replied and started to turn away from his position towards her, reaching for the grenades as he did so.

  “Keep your eyes on the stairs, Rush.” Valerie commanded. “I’ll come to you.”

  “Oh right, sorry.” He turned back quickly and she ducked over to him.

  “We were fine this time. In future you keep your eyes on your assigned vector until there’s imminent danger from another direction, unless you’re told otherwise or someone else has taken over your position. Understood?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Rush replied contritely.

  Valerie opened his pouch and pulled out half a dozen of them. The grenade was still the most effective way in an environment such as this, to deal with targets around corners or in enclosed spaces like a room. No gun, no matter how sophisticated, could match the complex angles and curve of a thrown object. An experienced grenade thrower, could put the right spin on it, to control the bounce and surprise a target from an unexpected direction.

  Each smooth ten centimetre silver cylinder weighed two hundred grammes and had a red button on the end, with a cap designed to be flipped over. The button could be twisted to set the timer to a delay of one, two, three, four, five, ten or twenty seconds and on Valerie’s order, Rush set them all at three seconds. That was, in her opinion, the best default for the enclosed space of a building. The grenades could have been lighter, they were designed at two hundred grammes to give the thrower a good heft for accuracy. A different design, larger and not as powerful as those used by the Legion, but still effective.

  She slipped two grenades into each of the deep outside pockets of her overcoat. The last two went into small pockets on the front of her body armour, designed for just this purpose.

  “Alright everyone, we’re moving up to the next level and then going into the floor rather than continuing up. Same as before. I’m point, Hobbs is Slackman, Sneaker and Rush have the rear.” She drew her pistols and edged round close to the stairs to the next floor. “Moving.”

  Pistols at the ready she ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Mag rounds hissed past her head from a door only four metres away when as she reached the top. Her enhanced reflexes kicked in and she ducked into a shoulder roll, coming up against the wall in a crouch, pistols pointing at a shooter who was trying to correct his aim. He hadn’t realised he was exposing his body by leaning further out of the doorway he was using as cover. Valerie’s pistols hummed once each and the shooter’s head exploded, splattering, blood, bone fragments and brains out behind him.

  More shots came across the stairwell from her left. A man and a woman, using the balcony wall for cover, their shots scattering around her. She stood up, stepping backwards unexpectedly, her left pistol came up, two shots, two more dead. No one else was shooting at her for the moment and Hobbs moved to the top of the stairs, his Mag rifle humming as he sniped the cameras. Valerie waited for him to finish, then she moved carefully round the stairwell, to the corridor leading to their target room.

  She stopped at the corner and gently eased her head round. The corridor went all the way to the side of the building, ending in a sealed window with doors spaced out on either side, presumably for the residential apartments. Most of the doors on the left were blocked up for some reason, with only one left to give access to that side. In that doorway stood a man using it for cover, with two women crouching behind a make shift barricade. All three had their guns trained down the corridor towards Valerie, but they could not have seen her as they didn’t open fire. The lights were on in most of the corridor, ending a few metres from the stairwell, leaving Valerie in the dark and hard to see.

  There were a couple of options here. A straight shoot wouldn’t be a very good idea. They may not have been able to see her when she looked around the corner, but they certainly would if she stepped out with her guns. This was exactly why she’d grabbed the grenades. Being on the right hand side of the corridor, it would have to be a left handed throw. It was not her strongest side. This is where over a hundred years of training and combat experience came into their own. Holstering her left hand pistol, she pulled a grenade out of her pocket. She left the grenade on the three second fuse, took a deep breath, flipped the cap, pressed the button, half stepped round the corner and pitched the grenade, adding a flick of the wrist to send it spinning in.

  The grenade went high and wide, hitting the corridor wall just below the ceiling. From the angle Valerie threw, it should have bounced up, but the spin caused it to carry onwards down the corridor, away from the wall and diagonally down, straight behind the barricade. The man and two women opened fire on Valerie as soon as they saw her step round. They were just too slow and not good enough shots, none of their rounds came close to her before she was back out of sight. After that it was too late and they were torn apart as the grenade detonated. Metal shards tightly packed around the explosive core, flew out in all directions, perforating them and turning three human beings into lumps of meat and bone.

  Valerie drew her left hand pistol and stepped round the corner. She could instantly see that none of them were any danger to her. She took care of the two cameras quickly, before waving to Hobbs by the stairs. He copied her signal behind him and jogged up beside her. Sneaker and Rush appeared at the top of the stairs and took up position there. Rush covering the way they had come and Sneaker the stairs coming down from the next level. Valerie nodded to Hobbs and moved down the corridor, her pistols at the ready.

  As she approached the doorway the man had been in, she heard confused shouting from inside. A man’s voice called out. “Bella? What happened? Did you get the bitch?” She approached stealthily, staying close to the wall on the left. “Shit, that
’s Geary.” The voice continued. “What happened to him?” It sounded closer, not far inside the doorway. “Stanger, Megdiche. Cover me. I’m going out there.” Valerie moved up next to the doorway, her back pressed against the wall and her left pistol pointed at head height.

  A Pulse rifle barrel came out slowly and then he leaned out, his head right in front of Valerie’s pistol. He would have a perfect view of the Mag round heading straight between his eyes. The round didn’t have the distance to create a wobble and cause the devastation to soft targets that was its signature, it went through his skull cleanly and out the other side. For those behind him there was only a puff of red and grey mist out of the back of his head before he folded to the floor as though he were a puppet with its strings cut.

  “Fuck!” A woman inside exclaimed and rapid fire Mag rounds sprayed the entire doorway.

  Valerie stayed in position and listened to two Mag rifles on full auto, waiting patiently. A Mag rifle is an extremely deadly weapon particularly in the right hands. A single round can cause horrendous damage to the human body. As Valerie heard Troll explain to Hanna a week ago, the danger was that you used all your ammo in one go.

  This is exactly what Stanger and Megdiche did. As soon as Valerie heard them run dry, she calmly stepped round into the doorway. A woman and a man stood there close together. The woman was desperately reloading. She already had the old clip out, it lay on the ground in front of her, where she discarded it, and was reaching for a fresh one. The man, a boy really in his late teens only just coming into manhood, was staring dumbfounded at his weapon, surprised that it was no longer firing. He didn’t even see Valerie before she shot him with a double tap to the chest.

  The woman’s expression was one of fury, her mouth half way through a curse when her jaw was ripped apart. The second shot entered her nose and left nothing recognisable about her face.

  This room was unlike any of the others they had yet encountered in the building. It took up an entire quarter of the floor. The two outer walls were in front and to the right of Valerie. Apartment walls had been cleared away and replaced with supports. Long tables were set up over the left half of it, with what looked like some sort of chemical production facility taking up the right. On the tables were various powders and liquids in different stages of assembly, with cameras set in the ceiling all along them. Among all of this were people, a lot of people, and all wearing bright blue overalls.

  This is where the confused voices came from. They were quiet now. Men and woman were crouched down beside the tables. Some muttering to themselves or crying softly, others stood where they were, staring at her and some continued with their work without looking up.

  Valerie walked in slowly, her gaze roving around the room, taking in all the people. Seeing no threat she slowly lowered her pistols. “Bloody hades.” Hobbs said from behind her. “This must be Tumblers main manufacturing site.”

  “So it seems.” Valerie replied, noting distantly to herself the similarity to the one on Gomez. She raised her voice and pointed to the left wall with two doors for the disabled loading lifts. “Everyone stop what you are doing and get over there.” None moved. “I said now!” To emphasise her point, she opened fire on the cameras, working her way steadily down the table nearest to her. People screamed and ran from this mad woman who was causing all the carnage.

  Hobbs came in behind her and started shooting the cameras on the right hand side of the room. Valerie saw what he was doing and systematically destroyed those on the left. Driving the hapless workers away from her, to where she wanted them .

  “Valerie,” Sneaker called as she shot the last camera. She turned to see he had caught up with them and Rush was in the doorway, his weapon trained down the corridor, just as those she killed only a minute ago had done. “There’s movement in the stairwell. I don’t think Tumbler is very happy we’re in here.”

  “I bet she’s not,”, Valerie said. “Hobbs. You done?”

  “Yep,” he answered from the other side of the room. “I got the last one. Nice of Tumbler to make them so obvious for us.”

  “They’re obvious so the workers know someone is watching them, to discourage any stealing from her.” Sneaker said.

  “As long as it helps us, I don’t really care. Hobbs get the charges out.” Valerie ordered. “Sneaker. Find the spot we need. I’ll keep an eye on our guests.” While the two men carried out her instructions, Valerie turned back to the cowering workers bunched up against the lift doors.

  “I want everyone to turn around and face the wall.” She commanded in a clear voice. “Come on everyone.” She pointed her pistols at the most obstinate and they quickly obeyed. Once they were all facing away from her, she commanded. “Good, now kneel down. That’s it give everyone room. Perfect, I want you to lean forward and rest your heads on the person in fronts back. Those at the wall, rest your heads on that.” They all complied, shuffling around to fit on the floor and doing their best to do as she had ordered. “We are going to leave shortly but I’m placing movement charges behind you all. If anyone stands up or moves backward, they go off and you all die. There will be one explosion, that’s us leaving. The movement sensors will be activated after that, so no need to panic at the first detonation.”

  Satisfied, she turned and saw Sneaker staring at her with one eyebrow raised. She just shrugged and said quietly. “It’ll keep them out of our way. We ready?”

  Sneaker pointed at Hobbs who was jumping down from a table. “We are when you are.”

  “Excellent,” Valerie jogged over to Rush and asked him. “What’s going on out there?”

  “I think their assembling to come down here.” Rush replied. “Several people have dashed across the end of the corridor. I’ve been keeping them honest and I think I may have winged one of them, but it’s damn difficult to see down there.”

  Valerie looked round and saw movement as someone else ducked from one side to the other. “Alright, you’re doing well Rush, keep it up for a sec. I’ve got an idea.” She went back to Sneaker. “I’m going to toss a grenade to Tumblers forces at the end of the corridor. Keep your eyes on me and two seconds after I throw, detonate the ceiling charges. That’ll give us time to get up to the next floor. If they’re frightened enough out by the stairway, we could well be into the security room before they realise what we’re up to.”

  She turned to the mercenary. “Hobbs, I need you up into that room as quick as you can. Get it cleared, then help Sneaker up. Sneaker. Rush will be right behind you so you help him and I’ll follow up last. I’ll keep them on their toes in the corridor and I won’t need any help. I want the next set of charges placed as soon as you can, preferably before I get there.” Hobbs slung his rifle, drew his pistol and crouched not far from the hole to be. Sneaker crouched down next to him, watching Valerie as she went back to the doorway.

  “Here’s the plan, Rush,” she said to him. “I toss the grenade and Sneaker detonates the explosives in time with it. As soon as they both go off, we let rip down that corridor. Keep it to short bursts, but constant and move your shots around. They’ll be hurt, shocked and confused, some of them will stumble into our line of fire.” He nodded his understanding to her. Valerie holstered her pistols, drew a grenade from her right overcoat pocket, switched it to her left and unslung her rifle with her right. “Great, another left hander,” she muttered

  “Eh?” Rush queried.

  “Don’t worry, just talking to myself. Ready?”

  Rush rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck before settling back into position. “Ready.”

  Valerie looked back at Sneaker who nodded in response. “OK. Fire in the Hole.” She activated the grenade and tossed it underarm in a gentle curve. It crested just below the ceiling before landing at the far end of the corridor on its side. It rolled forward and bounced deceptively gently off the balcony wall before detonating. For Valerie and her team were hit by the twin concussion waves from the two explosions. They were ready for them, with their eyes tight
ly shut and protected their ears as best they could. Rush swung his rifle round, from where he had taken cover in the doorway to shield him from the grenade, and opened fire. Valerie followed him and stepped past, using what was left of the barricade as cover, the hum of her rifle joining Rush’s. Just as she predicted, blinded and confused Enforcers stumbled into their sights and were cut down unceremoniously.

  Valerie counted slowly in her head, not being able to look to see if the others had done their part. After the amount of time she mentally allowed, she tapped Rush on his left shoulder. He quickly ducked back into the room. Valerie scooted over to take over Rush’s position and continued firing. No one was now coming openly into her arc of fire, but they were occasionally trying to look round the corner. It would have been almost impossible for Rush to see them doing that, just as it had been for Bella, Geary and the other to see Valerie. The goggles they wore were not sophisticated enough. There Valerie had the advantage, her eyesight included the same level of genetic enhancement over the average human as the rest of her. Her night vision allowed her to see even into that dim shadow and her reflexes were fast enough to pick off those curious souls.

  She glanced to the right and Rush was no longer visible in the room. Valerie gave it a slow count of ten, sprayed both sides of the end of the corridor, to keep Tumblers people on their toes. She grabbed another grenade from her left pocket. With one hand she set it to a two second fuse, hit the button and slung it straight down the corridor to explode, just as it entered the stairwell. Using the distraction, she sprinted towards the hole in the ceiling, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder. The table was still below the hole and she took a running leap. Her foot landed squarely on the table, right underneath the hole and she pushed straight up. Jumping into the hole and grabbing the side with both hands. In one smooth movement she pulled herself up and clear of the drug factory.

  The room above was some sort of squat, with a couple of mattresses and clothes strewn about. Hobbs was by the only door, Rush was covering the hole and Sneaker was getting down off a chair.