*****
Rufus stood near the open door of the hangar, the twilight warning him not to leave the shadows just yet. He listened intently on his satellite phone while it rang. When the voice on the other end answered he turned deeper into the shadow and glanced about to ensure it was safe to speak.
“I got your text. Are you certain it is ready?”
“We tested this one. Twice. After what happened with the last one…I can only apologize Monsieur Thorn. You were adamant about receiving it so soon, it couldn’t be tested and…”
“As long as this one works.” Rufus held his hand to the phone to prevent his voice from carrying. “It is still selective in its operation?”
“If you mean it will only kill what you aim it at, yes. Of that we are certain.”
Rufus shuddered as he tried to imagine how the device had been tested. “I’ll take your word for it. I’ll be sending my man to pick it up. No need to ship this one. Just make sure that it is properly cased.”
“Already taken care of, sir.”
Rufus quickly pressed the end call button then dialed Viktor. When the man answered Rufus didn’t allow him time to speak. “I need you to pick up a package in Austria.”
“They have finished already?”
Rufus fought the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “And it has been tested. There will be no repeat accidents.”
“Might I suggest that we not bring it the hunters? If they caught wind…”
Rufus nodded solemnly. “Agreed. Leave it on the plane. Contact me when you are close, and I shall meet you at the airport.”
“We’ll be taking the fight to her?”
Rufus glanced toward the stairwell leading to where Jack and his team of warriors were set up. “We will be taking the fight to someone, but I am not yet sure to whom.”
*****
Little John boarded the transport and strapped in. He tucked his rucksack beneath his seat and kicked it under tightly with the heel of his boot.
“Yo, boss, you ever face a Winnebago before?”
“Wendigo. And no.”
“Yeah, well Winnebago rolls off the tongue easier.” Little John checked his weapon safe then stowed it beside him. He watched Spalding strap in across from him. “You think this thing is as bad ass as the major thinks it is?”
Spanky shrugged. “I haven’t met a monster yet that was warm and cuddly. From what the spotter said, a lot of hikers have gone missing up there.”
John glanced about and watched the other hunters prepare for takeoff. Their demeanor seemed relaxed and uncaring for the most part. He hooked his thumb toward them and nudged Spanky. “Just another day at the office for these characters.”
“No sense getting twitchy ‘til you have to. Learn to relax until you have to tighten the sphincter.” Spanky gave him a quick wink.
John blew out a nervous breath and tried to relax his shoulders. “Easier said than done. If this thing is anything like what the XO sent to our PDAs?”
“Every monster has its weakness. If not silver, then it’s something else. I haven’t met anything yet that a good beheading and a big fire couldn’t kill.”
John stared at a spot in the wall, his mind elsewhere. “I pray you’re right.”
“Look, Sullivan, this thing eats so it probably breathes. If it breathes or bleeds, it can be killed. Don’t get wound up over it. We’ll probably get boots down, run into it and find out it’s nothing big. Hell, we may even find the missing spotter and find out his cell was busted. There’s no telling.”
John nodded absently. “I suppose you’re right. I just have this creepy feeling.”
“Why’s that? Because they think that these things were once human? So were vamps and wolves. Hell, just about everything out there that we hunt was once human.” Spanky snorted and shook his head. “Doesn’t say much for human nature when we can be turned into a monster so easy, does it?”
“There but by the grace of God go I.” His voice was barely a whisper above the engines spinning up.
“Yeah, well, just remember…we’re the good guys.” Spanky slapped the man on the back of the shoulder then settled back, his eyes closed for the ride.
John stared at his hands, his mind wondering, Are we? Are we really?
*****
Bigby watched as the team loaded into a truck then pulled away from the hangar toward the airstrip. He eased around the edge of the window sill and focused tightly on the hangar. The setting sun threw shadows across the different openings and he couldn’t make out what was within.
“Looks like some of them are leaving. Probably out to hunt some unsuspecting werewolf.” He cast a quick glance toward Mick. “Or werecat.”
Mick didn’t take the bait. He kept his eyes focused on the tips of his boots. “You going to wait until they return to do your thing or do you plan to gas the other two-thirds while these are away?”
Bigby smiled at the disdain in his voice. “I’m not sure yet. First things first. I need to put eyes on those air inlets.”
“They’re on the back side of the hangar. You’ll have to actually leave here to find them.”
“Aye, and I intend to.” He put the caps back on the binoculars and set them aside. “I just need to wait for it to get a little bit darker.”
Mick snorted. “Just walk up like you own the place. You did it with me, and look at how that worked out.”
Bigby squatted next to the man and tilted his head, studying him in the growing darkness. “These men aren’t pussies like you are. They actually put up a fight.”
Mick turned hateful eyes to him. “So take the fight to them. Face them like a man.”
Big smiled and Mick felt a lump form in his throat. It wasn’t a happy smile.
“If it were one on one, I’d do just that, mate. But these boys are trained killers. Just like me. Unlike some people, I know when the odds aren’t in my favor.”
Bigby reached across the man and plucked a protein bar from his stack. He ripped it open and bit off a chunk. “I’ll be taking the fight to them, but not until the time is right.”
“Gassing a group of people when they aren’t expecting it isn’t taking the fight to them. It’s cowardly and you know it.”
Bigby refused to be baited. “Maybe. But I see it as a way to even the odds.”
“How is poisoning the whole group evening the odds?” Mick sat up straighter and stared at the man.
Bibgy swallowed the bite he had in his mouth and sat down on the floor across from Mick. “If I had a missile, I’d use it. If I had an army, I’d use it. Since I don’t have either of those weapons, I’ll use my head. And my head tells me to gas them all and then go through and sink a round into their skulls while they’re twitching on the ground.” He bit off another chunk of the protein bar then tossed the rest aside. “We came at these buggars with an army once. They sent ‘em packing with their tails between their legs. Then they hunted us down and they took out that army. That leaves just me.”
“So rather than admit defeat, you’re going to poison the whole lot of them?”
Bigby nodded. “Every last one. Right down to the little shits whose only job is to sweep the floors and empty the bins. If they’re part of that operation, they die. Plain and simple.”
Mick exhaled hard and settled back against the wall. “It’s still wrong. I’m no warrior like you claim, but even I know that.”
“One of these days you’ll care about something enough that you’ll be willing to put your life on the line for it.” He stood and stretched. “When that happens, you’ll understand why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
Mick watched the man stroll across the empty workspace but his mind was wrapped around Jennifer. She didn’t deserve to die because this maniac wanted the rest of them dead.
Care about something enough to put his life on the line for it? He thought of Jennifer again and swallowed hard. He found himself standing, his fists clenched as he watched Bigby stare through the binoculars agai
n.
In his mind he was moving toward the man, his body shifting, preparing to rip him apart. In reality, he sat back down and stared at his hands.
*****
Lilith stood along the upper railing and stared down at her demon army as they began grouping into battalions. She smiled to herself as fully two-thirds of her people had already found their way to her once more.
“Very soon the rest will arrive.” Samael hovered nearby, his body hidden in the shadows. “We can arrange transport once they are assembled.”
Lilith turned slowly on him, her eyes questioning. “Tell me, lover, why don’t the demons simply possess the bodies of the hunters and bring me what is mine?”
Samael sighed and placed a hand on her hip. “The hunters have been warded from possession. I cannot tell if it is a spell or talisman, but your demons cannot physically inhabit their bodies.”
“A shame. It would be pleasing if I could retrieve what is mine and simply have my demons cut the hunters throats before departing.”
“As soon as we realized who we were facing, the demons attempted. It was…painful to say the least.” Lilith gave him a quizzical stare and he continued, “The warding burned them. Much like silver to a vampire. The hunters never even realized what was happening but the demons who volunteered? They will not soon forget.”
“Interesting.” She turned back to observe her troops once more. “And can we discover the source of the warding?”
“Perhaps once we have attacked and decimated their force. We could leave one or two alive and question them.”
“And if they don’t know or are unwilling to share this information?”
Samael smiled. “Then we shall bury them alive in the rubble of their stronghold.”
Lilith smiled and stepped close enough to kiss her fallen angel. “You’re starting to sound more like your brother.”
Samael snorted, “You have no idea.”
*****
Jameson walked through the newly constructed halls and heard his own footsteps echo off of the walls. The structure appeared nearly abandoned but he knew that was intentional. He strode to the stairwell door and pulled it open just as Ingram stepped out.
“I was just coming to escort you in.” He gave Jameson a puzzled look.
“I have a copy of the schematics, remember?” He held the door for Ingram and waited while he slowly turned and began to make his way back down the stairs. “How long until the operation begins?”
“The drone just verified that they are assembling and preparing to move. The Titans will be in place in a matter of moments.”
“They won’t begin without us?” Jameson waited while Robert punched the codes into the door to the operations room.
“Negative. They are in stand-by mode waiting for the order to go.”
Jameson took his seat and waited while the small handful of technicians prepared their consoles. Ingram walked slowly behind each one and pointed to the large flat screen mounted above each station. “Communications. Satellite Imagery. Air Support. Life Support.”
Jameson’s brow furrowed. “Life Support?”
“They monitor the vitals of the Titans via their interactive armor. If anything goes south, we’ll get a report here in real time.”
“How do you mean, ‘goes south’?”
Ingram shook his head as he sat beside Jameson. “If they incur any battle damage, it’s reported here. We monitor their heart rate, adrenaline and cortisol levels, blood pressure…the works.”
Jameson hiked a brow. “And it’s all read through their armor?”
“Yup. We can even feed their heads-up displays there. Or we can switch to a helmet camera and see things as they do. It’s quite remarkable.”
Jameson crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I’d say it’s time to get the party started.”
Ingram smiled and leaned forward to the communications tech. “We’re a go.”
“Affirmative, sir.” The two older men watched as the tech typed commands into his console then hit enter. Almost instantly, the Titans began moving from their camouflaged cover and converging on the moving targets.
Ingram leaned across to Jameson. “This shouldn’t take long.”
“Let’s hope.” Jameson watched the screens and could almost imagine it was the mutated hunters that the Titans were engaging. “For their sake.”
12
Mitchell eyed the two men standing before him. “You’re telling me that Major Tufo gave you his okay for this op?”
Dom shifted uncomfortably. “Well, Colonel, he said he would okay it if you did.”
Mitchell leaned back in his chair and studied the pair. “You realize that Jack isn’t going to stand still for this. He’s convinced that the Wyldwood is some kind of soothsayer. What she says is law, and she told him it was only supposed to be his crew.”
“Yes, sir, but I’d feel better knowing he had another set of eyes covering his six.” Dom could feel the man’s eyes piercing him. “I know it sounds like ‘mom said it’s okay with her if it’s okay with you’, but…” he glanced to Marshall who fought a grin.
“I understand,” Mitchell groaned as he leaned forward. He ran a thick fingered hand across his face and exhaled hard. “Look, if you want to tag along and provide support, I have nothing against it. But I promised Jack I’d keep my nose out of their business. You have to have his blessing.”
Dom felt his face twist as he tried to think of a way to twist the colonel’s words. “You think I can tell him that you ordered us to tag along?”
Mitchell snorted. “Absolutely not.” He stood and poured another cup of coffee. “Ask the man. Plead your case. The worst he can do is say no.”
Dom snapped to attention and gave the colonel a quick salute. “Thank you, sir.”
“Be safe out there,” Mitchell called to the closing door.
He sighed heavily as he sat back down and pulled the folders to him that were copied from Stevens’ stack of papers. He rifled through the reports until he came to the armor that the Titans wore.
“Project Gladiator?” He sifted through the papers and pulled up the overview of the battle armor. “Why the hell couldn’t we have gotten something like this for our guys?”
The phone on his desk buzzed and Mitchell picked up the receiver. “Mitchell.”
“Colonel, you have a call.” Lieutenant Gregory sounded a bit confused as he spoke. “The man says that he’s your father-in-law?” Mitchell gripped the phone harder and felt his jaw tighten. “Do I put it through, sir?”
“Yes. Put him through.” Mitchell heard the click and buzz while the call was transferred to a secure line.
“Mister Mitchell?” an unfamiliar and tinny voice asked.
“Colonel Mitchell. I take it this is Walter Simmons.”
“You’re a very hard man to track down, Colonel.”
Mitchell ground his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. “What do you want?”
“I need to warn you, Colonel. Your people…my daughter isn’t safe.”
*****
Jack finished packing his gear and was preparing to leave when Evan approached him, a broad smile on his face. “You may need these, Chief.”
Jack watched as Evan handed him multiple magazines for both a FiveseveN and a P90. Jack held his hands up to stop him. “Doc, those won’t do me any good. Silver is useless on these guys and—”
“It’s not silver.” He handed the magazines to him again and Jack flipped a round out to examine it.
“It looks like a standard silver round.”
“It may look like it, but it’s a milled bullet from the arrows that Kalen gave us. We finally found an industrial diamond bit that would cut the arrow shafts. I had the boys in the fabrication shop mill you enough rounds to fill these magazines.” Evan practically beamed as he spoke.
Jack stared at the round, his mouth hanging open. “You’re serious? I have ‘angelic bullets’?” His face broke into a wide grin as he stuffed the maga
zines into his pouch. “Doc, you’re a freakin’ genius!”
“I aim to please.” He gave the man a quick smirk. “You aim, too, please. That’s all we have, and the fabricators said that they burned up all of the diamond cutters they had making these. Every shot counts.”
“No spraying and praying, gotcha.” Jack felt practically giddy. Until Evan delivered, he was afraid he would be facing a demon legion with nothing but an angelic dagger and his dick in his hand. He quickly checked out the pistol and carbine then checked that the rounds cycled freely. “Good job, Doc.”
“Just be careful out there, Chief.”
“I have his back.” Dom stepped beside Jack and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “If you’ll have me, that is.”
Jack’s face fell and he gently shook his head. “Dom, I appreciate it, but—”
“No buts, buddy. We cleared it through Mitchell and Tufo. Both gave us their blessing, but only so long as you’ll allow it.” Dom watched as Jack opened his mouth to protest and quickly cut him off. “Look, I know we aren’t ‘supposed’ to assist, but you have to admit, having an extra set of eyes on the situation can’t hurt. We can provide backup in case something doesn’t go as planned. We can hold back and pick off stragglers or something.”
Jack sighed and averted his eyes. “Dom, this is supposed to be just—”
Dom held his hand up to stop him again. “We don’t have to engage, Phoenix. Me and the boys would just feel a whole hell of a lot better if you had somebody watching your back. Even if that means covering the perimeter.”
Jack lowered his eyes and chewed at the inside of his cheek. After what seemed like far too long, he nodded. “Perimeter only. Do not engage unless you have to.”
Dom smiled and slapped the man’s back. “All we have are these worthless silver rounds. Maybe we can slow them down, right?”
“Possibly.”
Allister approached from the shadows and cleared his throat as best that he could. It sounded much like a cat hocking up a hairball. “Chief Jack, we are prepared.”
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