by TR Cameron
Cara shook her head. “I considered that. No. It’s about…well, everything. I had reached this conclusion before coming in here this morning, but what Kayleigh shared makes me even more convinced.”
“That sounds serious.”
“I think we need to confront the Remembrance now with no more delay and no more screwing around. If they’re calling in their reinforcements, it’s a chance for the clean sweep we’ve been waiting for.”
Diana paused to think it through. “How should we do it?”
Kayleigh spoke before the other woman could answer. “The warehouse. I can have stun drones nearby in case any try to escape, and it seems like a reasonably easy location to attack. There are way too many corners, sure, but at least there won’t be people with rifles shooting at you from a distance.”
“Cowards,” Cara grumbled.
She clearly hasn’t moved past the destruction of her motorcycle. Either of her motorcycles. Diana shook her head. “There are any number of risks there, trying to take them all at once. What about using the stun drones as they roll out to their attack?”
The tech shrugged. “We could do that, but if we miss some, they’re already on wheels. This way, the ones who are missed are the ones who get stunned. Besides, what if they decide to portal somewhere instead of driving out of the base?”
She scowled but couldn’t argue. “Yeah, that’s a concern. How do we make it so it’s not us walking into a firing squad?”
Cara grinned. “I have a thought on that. Aerial assault.”
Diana frowned. “Did you hit your head when you jumped out of that window? You’re making less sense than usual.”
Her second in command laughed. “No, really. Helicopter deployment like we did on the train. We land on the roof, blast a few holes, and drop in.”
“It would certainly have the element of surprise.”
“Plus, it negates their ability to use the building as a defensive position. We’ll be on them before they can get it together.”
She pictured it in her mind. There was still too much that could go wrong, but it was ambitious enough that it might actually work. With the right amount of planning, they could probably pull it off. She frowned. “What’s to keep Sarah from bolting as soon as she hears us come in?
“I knew you’d see that problem.” Cara sighed. “I don’t have an answer to that yet.”
Kayleigh sounded thoughtful. “You said that at one point, you fought against a guy who could suppress portals, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I did.”
“I bet Nylotte knows how to do that,” Cara said eagerly. Do you think she’d join the fun?”
“Couldn’t she simply counter all their magic, then?” the tech asked with a frown.
The second in command shrugged. “Hell if I know. But since we’ve never seen someone do it, I’ll go with a big old ‘no’ on that one.”
“I’ll have to agree with that, Diana added. “No way. But it’s a good idea. I’ll find out.”
Deacon barged into the room as she said the last words. “Whatever it is you plan to find out, you’d better do it fast. Everyone we’re tracking has started to move toward the warehouse. It looks like it’s on.”
Those present bolted to their feet. Diana pointed at the door. “Deacon, put out the call for our people. Cara, get the mobile armory prepped to roll out as soon as we’re all here. Kayleigh, wrangle the helicopter and get the rest of our aerial support in the air.” She gestured with her arms to summon a portal. “I’ll talk to Nylotte.” By the time the others had left the room, she was already in the Kemana.
Chapter Thirty
Diana returned as the others were loading into the truck. She was the last in and triggered the doors to close behind her before took her seat beside Cara at the rearmost set of lockers. “I’m in. Go.”
Hank was the driver as they hadn’t added a new team member for that task yet. “Welcome back. We’re rolling.” The mobile armory lurched as it pulled away from the building’s loading dock. It was disguised as a delivery vehicle for a large box store at the moment, but the electronic skin could transform its identity at the press of a button. The team had discussed the value of entering one of the city’s many tunnels with one look and emerging with another, amused by how much that would mess with anyone trying to track them.
The comms were quiet while everyone focused on getting geared up in the new space. They’d planned a few trial runs, but the way the situation had intensified over the last weeks had preempted them. Diana slipped Fury’s carry strap up over her head and hung the weapon in its sheath on a locker hook. Another of the many things they hadn’t yet managed to find a solution for was a convenient way for her to carry the damn thing when she wasn’t in full kit. Ah, well, first things first. We’ll destroy these idiots once and for all, then there will be time to deal with all that.
She stripped her civilian clothes off and packed them away and slipped on the black ARES base tunic, her tactical pants, and high combat boots. The black uniform top went next, and the utility belt clipped on over it all. Rath acted as a runner since he had geared up faster than the others and delivered two flash-bang grenades and two sonics, which she divided between her thigh strap and belt. She transferred the Ruger from the boots she’d worn when she’d entered the vehicle to its holster off-center at the small of her back.
Kayleigh’s voice overrode the sounds around her as Diana worked her way into the bulletproof and at least temporarily magic-proof vest. “The chopper will meet you halfway there. They’ll have ropes but you’ll have to bring the magnets from the truck.”
“Affirmative, no problem,” Hank replied. “I have the route in my HUD.”
Cara bumped her, and when Diana turned to look at her, raised her hands. The message was clear. See, I told you the mobile armory would be awesome.
She rolled her eyes at her second in command and secured the Velcro straps that held her vest tight, then re-secured them when it failed to move comfortably with her when she twisted.
“Okay, people. Here’s the deal. We’re heading in to take on the enemy in their home base. Fortunately, they’re not likely to be expecting us, and they didn’t exactly choose the location for defensibility.” She turned to face her team and rested one hand on top of the lockers and the other on the handle of the storage bin above the bench. “We’ll helicopter in, blow holes in the roof, and rappel down. Watch the crossfires and keep track of where your teammates are on your map.” There were nods accompanied by a few looks of concern, but mostly expressions of eager anticipation.
Diana grinned. “The good part is that this is exactly the kind of thing we’re best at. They won’t be able to cast spells from a distance because there will be no distance. Load up exclusively anti-magic for this one, and we should be able to eliminate half the threat reasonably quickly. Okay, team assignments—Khan and Hercules, Stark and Face, and Croft, Rambo, and I. The three of us will charge through the chaos and work toward wherever the lead witch is and eliminate her, and we’ll deal with whoever is in the way. That leaves everyone else for you.”
Tony laughed. “Call us the garbage men because we’re taking out the trash.”
Groans answered him, along with Kayleigh’s muttered, “You are such an idiot, Stark,” which generated more good-natured mirth.
“Okay, one more bad part. There’s no way to know how fast they’ll prep, so it’s possible that instead of raiding a group milling about getting stuff together for an operation, we’ll wind up against an actual fighting force, equipped and ready to roll. Neither option changes what we have to do. Every last one of them needs to be accounted for so we can put this thing to bed. If there are any escapees, Glam has them with the drones, so don’t risk yourself to catch any runners.”
Cara raised her hand, and Diana shook her head with a groan. “What?”
“How about we simply funnel them all outside and let the drones do the work?” A smattering of insults and shouts answered t
he facetious question so that she didn’t have to, and she turned back to her locker. “Hercules, ETA?”
“Five and a quarter to the landing pad.”
“Okay, y’all. Five minutes to get ready before we kick it into high gear.”
She felt her back to ensure that the Bowie knife was in its proper position and loaded her vest and belt with spare magazines for her pistol and rifle. A tap verified the healing and energy flasks were where they were supposed to be. She snapped her fingers. “Grenades. Rambo, make sure every team has at least one smoke grenade and at least one flash-bang. They should protect our entry.”
“Yep.” The troll jumped from where he stood on the bench and ran the few steps to the rack on the wall to gather several of each.
Her shock gloves went on next, and she attached the line from under her sleeve to the connector that would recharge the energy in them. She removed Fury from the locker, detached the strap, and slid the sword and sheath awkwardly over her shoulder. After a few attempts, she found the top loop that Kayleigh had added to her vest and managed to slide it down at the correct angle to catch the other. When it was done, the Katana’s hilt protruded over her right shoulder, positioned for a quick grasp and forehand attack. It’s yet another thing I haven’t had enough time to practice with. But, hey, there’s no time like the middle of a battle with a room full of enemies and a psycho witch, right?
Diana donned her glasses and information flowed across her vision. The truck lurched to a stop, and the back doors opened when triggered from inside the cab. She strode forward, selected a rifle, and looped its carry line over her head before she leapt out and moved aside to allow the rest of the team to emerge. Hank jogged from the front and closed the doors when they were all out, then opened one of the low storage containers that were built under the floor of the passenger compartment. He withdrew four magnets, handed one to each team, and carried the extra himself. It was exactly like the man to bring a backup in case one of his meticulously maintained primaries failed. The agents turned and raced toward the chopper, keeping their heads low to avoid the unnaturally quiet rotors.
The aircraft lifted off as soon as they were all on board. They stood, grasping handholds mounted in the ceiling, and a National Guard soldier helped them drape the ropes they’d use for the building entry over a shoulder and under an arm to ensure it wouldn’t hinder their exit from the aircraft. She handed each of them the safety line they would have during their descent to the structure. The plan was for the pilot to pull up fast and close enough that they could jump down, but it never hurt to have a backup in case something went wrong.
If they have a wizard on the roof playing sentry, this could go downhill in a hurry. She banished the thought. Kayleigh would have alerted us already or simply stunned him. The tech hadn’t put any of the drones’ feeds into their glasses, but she was confident that the woman maintained constant surveillance.
The team was silent as they flew through the dark skies. The wind whipped in one open side of the helicopter and out the other. Anik handed out shaped charges to use on the roof, and Cara took the one for the three of them. Because they’d be using the same magnet, they’d need to go down in sequence rather than all at once, but she hadn’t wanted to add any more moving pieces to the mix.
The pilot’s voice crackled over the speakers mounted in the bulkheads. “One minute. Everything looks clear for a hover-and-go.”
Diana searched for something inspirational to say but couldn’t come up with anything perfect, so she went with honesty instead. “People, this fight has been long, hard, and annoying for all of us. But finally, we have our opportunity to eliminate them all and rid our city of their threat. Nylotte will prevent them from being able to portal away.” She’d received a telepathic message that her teacher was in position several minutes before. “All that’s required is that we go in there and do what we do best. Watch out for each other and don’t overreach. By the time this operation is done, you owe me every member of this bloody group dealt with. Prisoners are fine but don’t risk yourselves to get them. They started the killing, so they’ve earned whatever end fate determines they should have.”
There was a respectful silence until Tony quipped, “Do it for Cara’s motorcycle. It was one day away from retirement.”
Laughter ensued, and Diana shook her head in mock despair. The pilot announced, “Fifteen seconds,” and she waved her team into position. She shouted, “We are the Blackops Agents of Magic. Let’s get in there and kick some criminal ass.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The helicopter tilted and descended abruptly and the speed change made the view outside the open door smear strangely. Diana had an instant where she thought she saw her teacher hiding in the trees nearby but wasn’t positive. A stomach-dropping lurch made her catch her breath when the aircraft pulled out of its dive to hover above the roof. The agents jumped the three feet to the surface. Rath added a mid-air somersault to his leap, and the chopper veered away. She pointed for Anik and Hank to take the area to their left, Tony and Sloan to run to the right, and she, Cara, and the troll positioned themselves above the center. If we had more people, we could have simply dropped directly into the office, but as it is, that would raise the danger level for the others way too high. Maybe once these losers are done with, we can expand.
Her hands worked as her mind wandered, securing lines to the magnet while Cara placed the explosive. When she was done, she ran through the roll call, and each of her agents reported ready. “Okay, explosives, then grenades, then get in there and don’t stop until they’re destroyed. On three.” She counted down and they detonated the charges together. One member of each team threw canisters into the hole, and the sound of the explosions was swallowed in the yelling and screaming that suddenly erupted below. Tony had suggested simply grenading the hell out of them, but with magic in play, they could possibly face the projectiles boomeranging, so she’d nixed the idea. She grinned at her teammates. “See you inside.”
Diana jumped into the hole and gripped the line one hand and both feet to control the speed of her descent. It took only seconds for the transit and she wasn’t able to get a good sense of the battlefield in so short a time. She landed, stepped away from the position to clear the way for the next person, and raised her weapon in barely enough time to direct a burst at a witch who wandered in front of her, choking from the smoke and bleeding from an ear. The bullets spun her and she fell and blood pooled beneath her.
“Sonic out.” She threw one grenade and then the other toward where she thought the magicals would have been clustered based on Sloan’s descriptions of the facility. The haze interfered with her lines of sight and limited what could have been a mass melee into a much more focused affair. She was sure the others would feel the same.
Rath and Cara appeared at her side, and she pointed forward. Clipped communication in her ear confirmed that the other teams had cleared their initial landing zones and engaged the closest enemies. Her team strode ahead and turned a corner formed by a six-foot stack of crates to where three opponents had dug in behind hastily improvised barricades. Bullets forced the BAM team to find cover, Diana and Rath to one side of the lane and Cara to the other. She tossed her last flash-bang, only to see it rebound into view almost immediately. She used her telekinesis to hurl it upward, and it detonated high enough that it didn’t bother them, although the sound of breaking glass accompanied the blast. I hope that was the office. Take that, witch. She grinned as her earpieces picked up a wizard yelling about not being able to create a portal. A shriek of pain punctuated his sentence. Way to draw attention to yourself, idiot.
She pointed at Rath and gestured upward, and the troll clambered agilely to the lip of the crates and hung by his fingertips, ready to move. She whispered, “Go, Croft,” and Cara whipped into the lane, fired her rifle, and raced forward. Diana stepped in behind her and used force magic to jolt the weapon from one defender’s hand, then attempted her telekinetic wand-grab. She was al
most shocked when it worked but the wizard in question was literally shocked when Rath soared toward him and discharged his batons into the man’s chest. The other rifleman fired at Cara, but she’d already dropped into a slide. The couple of rounds that might have threatened Diana were deflected by a force shield she summoned to her left hand.
The troll attacked the unarmed man and swung his batons at sensitive places with noisy cracking sounds. Cara darted up and planted the stock of her rifle in the man’s face when his magazine ran dry. Diana looked for a new foe and located two wizards about a dozen feet away who moved in a crouch toward the exit, using the stacked crates of stolen goods to hide. Not good enough, guys. She used a force blast to elevate herself, which elicited a shout of alarm from somewhere behind her before she arced to land a little beyond their next turn. When they appeared, she smiled.
“Hey, fellas.” She rushed in before they could react, caught the one on the right in the jaw with a hook punch delivered with the loud snap of the shock gloves and lashed a kick at the other man’s groin. He summoned a shadow shield to block it and snapped the magic disc at her face.
She backtracked a few steps to avoid it and cursed at the appearance of her least favorite form of magic so early in the battle. It got worse when tentacles erupted from his other arm but before she could panic, Fury whispered in her mind that he was well able to handle shadow. She drew the sword and swung it smoothly to chop through the translucent, grasping limbs and spun into a strike at her adversary’s head. He lifted the shield and it had enough power to stop the blade. The defense also left his body open, however, so she tried the kick again and this time, it connected. He staggered back in pain and his defenses failed. She hammered him in the face with the hilt of the weapon and punched him with her shock glove. He collapsed with a groan.
Diana slid Fury into its scabbard and looked around. Even in the battle display, which had dots for friend and foe, it was difficult to sense the flow of the fight. They were still outnumbered but hopefully, the chaos would hold for long enough that her team could thin out the opposition before they could coordinate a defense. Rath dashed past her and she heard a yell of pain from the direction in which he had headed. The cute tiny troll I found has become an absolute monster of a fighter. Who would have imagined that? She scanned the battlefield for Sarah but didn’t see either her or magic that could be connected to her. A little disappointed, she selected an enemy dot on the map nearby and stalked toward it, ready to do her part to even the numbers a little more.
