Griff: Hell Squad #17

by Hackett, Anna

  No one spoke as they zoomed toward the Blue Mountains. She glanced at Griff, sitting beside her. At first glance, he looked calm, but she could see the lines bracketing his mouth. She pressed a hand to his arm.

  His head turned, and he gave her an intense look.

  “I’ll follow instructions,” she said.

  He raised a brow. “That’ll be a first.”

  Indy slapped his arm. “I want us all to get back safely.” She wanted time with Griff all to herself. She wanted to explore every inch of him, cook him breakfast, knock back tequila shots together and have drunken sex with him. She wanted him to finish the falling and tell her he was one hundred percent in love with her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “You’ll be careful?”

  He turned more toward her. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe, from anything that could hurt you.”

  She stared at him. “Griff—”

  “Entering the Jamison Valley,” Finn called back.

  Griff straightened, and the moment was lost. Indy looked out the window, and in the growing twilight, she could make out the dark trees below.

  “Look,” Griff said.

  That’s when she saw the bright lights shining on top of the clifftop ahead. Her stomach pitched. The Gizzida stronghold.

  They zoomed deeper into the valley and lost sight of the alien base.

  “Approaching drop zone,” Finn said.

  The Hawk descended, then pulled into a hover just above the ground. Hemi pushed the door open and jumped out, carbine in hand.

  Griff helped Indy down, then he and Dom set up the ramp. The men wheeled their bikes out. The second Hawk had landed close by in the clearing. More berserker bikes were parked, ready to go. Levi and Ash were maneuvering a large box off the Hawk—the portable engine to power the Skyway. She watched them lock it onto the back of Tane’s bike.

  God, it was dark here. Leaves crunched under her boots, and the night coolness washed over her cheeks. Indy moved closer to the bikes and tripped over a tree root. Damn.

  Griff grabbed her arm and steadied her.

  “Thanks,” she whispered. So much for her stealth skills.

  “Good hunting.” Finn’s voice came quietly through their earpieces. Indy swallowed. Hard.

  The Hawks lifted off silently. Then, there was nothing but the darkness, and the low murmur of insects.

  “Mount up,” Tane said quietly. “Let’s ride.”

  The berserkers all turned on the low-impact lights on their bikes. Griff swung a leg over his bike and looked back at her. Indy climbed on behind him, settled in, pressed up against his back.

  “Ready?”

  “Ready.” She wanted this mission over as fast as possible.

  They rode through the trees, bumping over sticks, rocks, and leaves. Tane took the lead and beyond the faint glow of the lights, all she saw was darkness. She held on tight to Griff and wished it was just the two of them on an open road. No armor, no mission, no aliens.

  Maybe one day, if they succeeded in destroying the octagon.

  “Walkway ahead,” Tane murmured in their earpieces.

  Indy peered ahead. She watched Tane gun his bike up a set of steps and onto a wooden walkway set among the trees. It was wide, with railings, and it was easy to imagine tourists wandering the paths in the dappled shade of the rainforest.

  The rest of the squad followed. She held on tight and Griff rode his bike onto the walkway. From there, they picked up speed.

  “Rotted area,” Tane called out.

  She felt Griff accelerate. “Hold on.”

  She gripped his armor harder and a second later, the bike flew into the air. She gasped, seeing the section of the walkway that was completely rotted away.

  They landed with a thud and kept moving. Indy leaned into the turns with Griff. In a few places, the branches had grown in, slapping at their faces.

  “Coming up on the Railway platform,” Tane said.

  The berserkers all pulled their bikes to a stop on a wide platform. She watched the men swing off their bikes, then push them in under some overgrown branches to hide them. Then the men lift their carbines.

  Tane clicked on the light on his carbine and shone it upward. She stared up at the narrow train track heading up the side of the mountain. Built in beside the tracks was a set of stairs, for maintenance or emergencies, she guessed. It was so steep, it looked almost like a ladder. The metal parts of it were rusted and the wooden pieces rotting in places.

  She groaned internally. She knew there was about three hundred meters of track to climb, and the steepest part of the track was fifty-two degrees. This wasn’t exactly going to be a stroll in the park.

  “God, three hundred meters of this.” Levi groaned. He was the unlucky one who was carrying the portable engine on his back.

  They moved closer, passing an abandoned train car. It had clearly been designed specifically for the tourist attraction, and looked almost like a rollercoaster car. It had a clear plastic roof, and sides that were now covered in grime.

  “Watch your step.” Tane started upward first.

  To say it wasn’t easy was an understatement. Indy climbed each step carefully, the track flattening out in a few places, but mostly it was steep as hell. In places, she used her hands to help pull herself up.

  She sucked in some air, her lungs aching. Damn. She needed to get into the gym more. The guys weren’t even breathing heavily, while she sounded like a set of bellows. Hemi was even keeping up a low stream of conversation.

  The trees closed in very close to the track. She turned her head to the darkness, could almost feel the yawning valley stretching away. She bet it was a lovely view in the day time. Up on the adjacent cliff, she could see the lights of the alien encampment. Somewhere below that, she knew the Three Sisters stood. She was a little bit sorry that it was too dark to see the rock formation.

  Suddenly, Indy heard a strange chittering noise in the trees near the track. She paused, tilting her head. “Shh.”

  Hemi went quiet. The berserkers all lifted their weapons.

  The noise had stopped. It was quiet except for the night’s insects.

  Indy shook her head. “Must have imagined it.”

  Griff moved closer.

  “Stay sharp,” Tane said.

  “Right,” Indy said. “We should be coming up on a section of tunnel.”

  Soon, Tane’s light illuminated the dark mouth of the train tunnel. Indy shuddered. She did not want to go in there.

  “Keep moving,” Tane ordered. “Not too much farther now.”

  Thank God. Indy followed Hemi into the tunnel, Griff behind her. The track was steep here.

  They were well into the tunnel, when she heard the chittering noise again. She froze, and sensed the squad do the same thing around her.

  “What the hell is that?” she said.

  “No idea.” Griff angled his head up, looking around the dark tunnel.

  “I don’t see anything,” Dom murmured.

  Tane scowled at the tunnel ceiling. “Keep going.”

  They moved upward cautiously. The sound seemed to echo off the walls. Then Indy spotted something up near the ceiling. It was…moving. She pointed. “What’s that?”

  The berserkers whipped their carbines up. They moved closer, Tane’s light illuminating some sort of beige object attached to the tunnel roof.

  “Cocoon?” Griff suggested.

  It looked almost like a beehive. It was vibrating.

  Before Indy had even finished the thought, the cocoon burst open. A cloud of black insects poured out.

  The men’s shouts reverberated off the walls.

  Oh, shit.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Fuck!” Hemi waved his arms around.

  “They’re mutated alien bugs,” Levi yelled.

  The insects swarmed them. Indy felt the creatures nipping at her face. She threw her arms over her head. Then Griff was there, throwing an arm over her and pushing her down. But she c
ould still feel things stinging and biting, and she bit back a scream.

  “Incoming,” Ash called out.

  Indy heard a muffled thump, and then smelled the sharp scent of cedar oil. He’d thrown one of the cedar oil grenades that had been engineered to use against the canids. She knew that the alien hunting dogs detested cedar oil.

  “Limited effect,” Tane said.

  “Coming through,” Hemi bellowed.

  Suddenly, flames lit up the tunnel. The chittering noise reached a fever pitch that buzzed in her ears.

  Griff grabbed her arm and helped her up. Ahead of her in the tunnel, she saw Hemi waving a small flamethrower around. The black insects dropped from the air, their burned husks littering the tracks.

  The remaining bugs coalesced into a small, black cloud, then streamed out of the tunnel.

  Indy released a breath, trying to calm her racing pulse. She’d take her comms desk over this insanity any day.

  She glanced up and saw that Griff had tiny bites all over his face. He reached out and tugged on her ponytail. “All right?”

  She nodded.

  “Everyone okay?” Tane asked.

  “Fuck, I hate bugs.” Levi grumbled, swiping at his face.

  Indy saw he’d copped the brunt of the attack. He’d smeared blood across his cheek.

  “You must taste good, King.” Ash grinned at his best friend.

  Levi shot Ash the finger. “Chrissy thinks so.”

  Indy groaned. “Don’t start.”

  “All right.” Tane swung his carbine up. “Let’s get to the top.”

  Finally, after what felt like forever, they reached the top of the railway. Indy was huffing now.

  “You’re out of shape, wild girl.”

  She poked her tongue out at Griff. “Maybe I’ll start going to the gym a bit more.” Only problem was, Indy hated the gym.

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I know some other, more fun exercise we can do.”

  She felt an instant jolt of lust. “Oh, yeah. If you’re lucky, I might take you up on that.”

  “Skyway platform and engine room is over to the right,” Tane said, interrupting their teasing.

  The building was made of lots of glass, with a large wooden deck, to no doubt take advantage of the views. She saw the deck had once been a restaurant. Most of the tables and chairs had been knocked over.

  They walked through the building, their boots echoing. Then they reached the Skyway platform. Indy studied the faded, curling posters, advertising all of Scenic World’s attractions. She stared at the thick cable coming into the Skyway building, and saw the glass-sided, blue-and-yellow car hanging off it, ready and waiting for passengers who would never arrive.

  At the end of the platform, Tane kicked open a door, then Levi and Ash carried the small engine inside. Glancing inside the room, she saw Levi pull a small toolkit from his pocket. He rolled it open. Then he set to work, opening up panels on the Skyway engine. He started disconnecting lines and connecting up the portable engine. Ash stood beside him, holding a light, and handing him tools.

  She knew that once upon a time, Levi and Ash had run some successful auto shops as part of their motorcycle club. They still kept their skills sharp.

  While Levi worked, Indy moved across the platform. She looked out across the dark valley at the bright lights on the other side.

  Her gut rolled. They had to succeed. They had to destroy the octagon.

  “Babe.” She felt Griff’s heat behind her, and he dropped a kiss to her shoulder.

  She spun, pressing her arms to his armor-covered chest. “We’re going to do this.”

  He nodded. “Yeah.” He touched her cheek. “We sure the fuck are.”

  “Starting it up,” Levi called out.

  The portable engine rumbled to life. Then there was a clanking sound, and the glass car moved forward several meters before it stopped again, rocking on the cable.

  Levi punched a fist in the air. “Woo-hoo, we are operational.”

  “Well done.” Tane turned to face the car. “Let’s get aboard.”

  Indy pulled in a deep breath. Time to be badass.

  * * *

  Griff pried the doors to the Skyway car open. He waved Indy inside.

  She stepped aboard, taking in the seats on either side of the narrow center aisle. Moving over to one of the windows, Griff used the butt of his carbine to knock the glass panels out.

  The rest of Squad Three filed aboard. Soon, they were slamming the butts of their carbines against the glass.

  “Indy, call in Squad Nine,” Tane ordered.

  She nodded, tapping on her portable comp screen.

  Tane nodded at Levi. “Let’s go.”

  The car jerked to life, sliding out of the Skyway station. They moved out over the darkness of the valley below. There was some clunking and Griff hoped to hell whatever Squad Nine had planned would mask any noise.

  “Stay in the center of the car,” Griff told Indy.

  With another nod, she crouched down in the aisle. It was the safest place for her. Once again, he wished she wasn’t here with them, heading straight into danger.

  But as he took in her steady, focused face, he knew she’d do her job. He could sense her nerves, but she was doing what she had to do.

  That was his Indy. She’d never hide from a fight.

  If he’d been with her when he’d gone to prison, she would’ve raised hell to try and free him.

  A second later, a dark shape whizzed past the car, followed by several others. He heard Indy gasp.

  Suddenly, lasers lit up the night, shooting at the Gizzida encampment.

  Griff smiled. Squad Nine and their distraction were here.

  “Hell, yeah,” Hemi said. “Those ladies are going to tear things up.”

  “I’m gonna tell Roth and Theron you called them ladies,” Levi said with a smile.

  Griff watched the Darkswifts swoop and soar. “Look over there, you alien bastards.” While the Gizzida were busy fending off Squad Nine, the berserkers could slip in on the cable car.

  “Squad Nine is focusing fire on the anti-aircraft turrets,” Indy murmured. “God, I love those ladies.”

  He glanced out the window and could just make out the waterfall flowing down the cliff.

  “We’re past the halfway point,” Indy said.

  Griff peered forward. He could barely see the other side. The spot where they’d stop was blanketed in darkness, but several hundred meters farther along, the raptors had the clifftop lit up.

  The cliff edge got closer and closer. Griff saw several huge piles of downed trees. The Gizzida had cleared the area. He felt his teammates turn more alert. Everyone’s carbines were up and aimed.

  “Eyes open,” Tane said. “Get ready, Three. Indy, stay in the center of us.”

  Griff spotted movement in the trees. “Hang on. There’s something near those piles of trees.”

  “Raptor patrol on screen!” Indy cried.

  The raptors were marching along, relaxed and unhurried. Shit, probably a regular patrol.

  Don’t notice us. Don’t notice us. Everyone in the car tensed.

  A raptor pointed toward the cable car and Griff sensed their confusion. Then they started shouting. The alien soldiers lifted their weapons and started firing on the car.

  “Fuck!” Tane yelled. “Get down.”

  Griff dropped to his knees, firing out the window. “Indy.”

  “I’m in cover.”

  The rest of Squad Three fired on the raptors. Laser fire lit up the night, illuminating the clifftop.

  Bone-like projectiles peppered the car, shattering the remaining glass.

  “Sniper!” Griff yelled.

  Boom. The car rocked wildly on the cable.

  Griff cursed, gripping the frame to stay on his feet.

  “Projectiles are explosive,” Indy said.

  “We’re almost there,” Tane shouted.

  The car jerked to a stop.

  Tane wrenche
d the doors open. “Go!”

  The berserkers rushed out, firing on the raptors.

  Griff nudged Indy forward. She kept her head down.

  “Stay down,” he told her. “And stay in the center of the group.”

  In a huddle, they ran forward. Hemi lobbed a grenade. It hit the raptors and exploded, sending several aliens tumbling to the ground.

  “Raptors all down,” Indy said.

  The berserkers straightened. Ash blew out a breath and Hemi smiled, looking satisfied.

  “Let’s get to the hotel,” Tane said.

  They moved through the few remaining trees and came out on an empty street. Wary and silent, they crept along the cracked and buckled asphalt. Ahead, the rooftops of the resort buildings were visible. Light speared into the sky, and the Darkswifts were still firing lasers at the ground, evading the return raptor fire.

  Tane held up a hand. “Through there.”

  They climbed through a hole in the fence. A rectangular pool lay ahead. Griff imagined that at one time, it had been a relaxing, tranquil place. Now, the pool was filled with green sludge. Several wooden pool chairs were rotted and collapsed on the paving surrounding the pool.

  Griff scanned the area, searching for somewhere safe to stash Indy. There. “Indy, over here.”

  It was a tiny pool house. He guessed sunbathers had once taken shelter in there from the sun.

  Indy looked inside and nodded.

  “Stay,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I mean it. Stay in here and don’t move.”

  She went up on her toes, gripped his armor, and yanked him down for a kiss. “I’ll be careful. Be safe, Griff. You belong to me now, and I’ll be pissed if this body gets scratched, shot, or burned.”

  He smiled at her. “Okay, wild girl.”

  She pressed her lips to his ear. “You should know, I’m falling in love with you, too.” She pulled back and winked at him.

  With her words glowing inside him, Griff spun and joined his squad. They moved together toward the main hotel buildings, making their way up a path through a dense, overgrown garden.

  “Let’s find this octagon and blow the fucking thing to pieces.” Hemi patted the explosive charges on his belt. “I want to get home and crawl into bed with my woman.”