by Gavin Magson
Once the bricks and limbs had ceased skittering across the street the wailing of the dying was all that could be heard. Miles had already packed up his rifle and was taking the staircase three at a time as he rushed down to street level. When he had caught up to his men Rose had joined Rex and Jerry, the shock on her face enough to cause him to stop and look at the carnage.
A torn and bleeding mess of a body lay nearby to his left, the woman letting out a strange keening noise in her last few painful moments of life. Seeing the fear on Rose’s face was enough to change his immediate thought of letting her bleed out. Taking his knife Miles marched across to the woman, plunging it straight through her chest and stilling her struggling heart. When he turned around Jerry was mirroring the action, having found another mercenary on the verge of death.
“I didn’t think it would be this… horrific. I wish there was another way. Let’s get this exo operational again and leave this bloodbath behind.” the men didn’t offer any reply to what Rose said, her quiet voice carrying far in the now silent street.
“Time is pressing,” said Miles as he surveyed the bodies for signs of life. “We need to get that exo operational again before backup can arrive. Rose, you know what you have to do, my men and I will look for something to help right the suit.”
Rose nodded and headed towards the downed suit, leaving the men to search through the material scraps and debris for anything that could help. When she reached the suit Rose found a bloodied and beaten woman cradling the body of her twin.
“Can you do something, please? She’s hurt, but the bleeding has stopped. She just needs to wake up.” wailed the woman.
Rose pressed her fingers against the woman’s throat and felt the faintest beat of a pulse, the last flickers of life.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I could do now; she doesn’t have long left. Make your peace, if you can.” Rose was annoyed, not only that she could not think of any more fitting words, but that she couldn’t spare the time to help.
When the living twin hunched over the still form of her sister Rose took the opportunity to release the shackles tied off to the exo’s rear plate, which would also allow her to open the plate and access the suits main logic board.
Four large security bolts, each with a different head, were swiftly undone by the self-adjusting tool she pulled from her bag. With a grunt Rose lifted the plate clear, her fingers wrapped around the two handles and her knuckles snow white from the strain. Behind the thick armour plate was a crisscrossing arrangement of varying sized metal bars, some in strange, eye straining shapes, the purpose of which was supposedly to dissipate explosive damage.
Rose made quick work of removing the metalwork, the memory of how to do so still fresh in her mind. Finally she had access to the logic board and reached into her bag for the terminal and interface cable; she found just one of them.
Rose frantically searched through the bag, emptying out all the contents in her panic to find what she desperately needed.
“Miles, have you seen the interface cable?” the panic in her voice had the mercenary rush to her side without hesitation.
Miles saw the pile of tools and equipment beside Rose and felt the prickling of fear along his spine.
“What does it look like. It could have been dropped?”
“It’s a grey length of cable three feet long, one end has a fat circular connector and the other much thinner. There won’t be another cable anywhere around here.”
“Rex, Jerry, torches on, scour everywhere Rose has walked for a grey cable. Make if quick.”
Not one to shy from work Miles brought out his own torch and covered the ground between the pavement and alleyway that Rose had waited in before sending the kill signal. His torch flooded the dark alley, causing a pack of rats to scurry away from the mutilated leg they had been gnawing on.
Behind Miles his two men were busy moving bodies and debris in search of the elusive cable. In the alley Miles was losing hope, nothing he had found so far was anything like the description Rose gave. He turned back to the street and made to join his men in their search. Just as he was about to step out of the alley’s darkness the crack of a gunshot caused him to hunker down by the nearest wall.
Jerry was facedown between two bodies, and Miles could see Rex hiding in a side street almost opposite him. A cold, familiar voice came from the far end of the street.
“Young Ward tells me his mother is a forgetful woman.” said Boden Shaw, gesturing to the men behind him who flooded the street with the torches mounted to their weapons. “Don’t worry, Rose, I’ve made sure not to leave your child alone and scared, unlike you.”
“Where is he? What have your men done with my boy?” her voice quickly built to a hate filled scream.
Rose did not care about the multitude of guns trained on her, through the tears that the bright lights caused she was focused on only one thing, and that was the imposing figure of Boden.
“He’s safe, like I said, I even found him a comfortable room back in the compound. He had this on him,” Boden pulled the cable out of his pocket, and threw it towards Rose. “I gather you’ll need it to get my exo back up and running.”
Miles listened to the exchange from the safety of the alley, watching the hand signals Rex was relaying to him. The man’s plan to grab Jerry, who was only some ten feet away from his side street, was risky and desperate, but all they had. Miles signalled back that he understood.
“And if I do this, what guarantees do I have for my life and the life of my son?” asked Rose.
“You are too useful to let you die, Rose; you’ll keep Ward company in the compound and see to it that my war machines are well maintained. There is another option you could take but know this; your son’s death would not be swift, he’d suffer for his mother’s betrayal, just like he’d suffer at the hands of my men if I didn’t return intact.” Boden raised his voice at the end of his speech, which Miles knew was directed towards him.
Miles checked the magazine loaded in his rifle, confirming it was the one filled entirely of High Ex rounds. He stepped deeper into the alley before crossing to the opposite side, ensuring he remained out of sight of Boden and his mercenaries. From this position he could see Rose’s shoulders drop as she knelt to retrieve the cable at her feet. He could not blame her for helping Boden; Miles would never expect a mother to surrender the life of her child.
Sighting down the barrel Miles targeted the top floor of the furthest building he had an angle to hit. One glance across to Rex confirmed the man was prepared for his ludicrous plan. Miles glanced back at his target and squeezed the trigger.
The payload detonated milliseconds after impact, the explosion large enough to rip apart the two walls that met at the buildings corner and a segment of the roof with it.
Miles could do little but watch Rex’s charge across the street, rifle tightly strapped to his back to prevent it sliding around his body. The man barely slowed as he dove and rolled across Jerry’s still body, surging back to his feet with Jerry now slung across his broad shoulders.
Bullets zipped through the air, some ricocheting from the road, as Boden’s men turned back from the diversion and opened fire on the sprinting figure. Rex continued past Miles for several paces, not beginning to slow until he was safe from harm.
“Nice trick, Miles, very inventive. I see we haven’t killed you just yet.” shouted Boden, ignoring the wail of Rose, who had dived for cover.
Miles moved over to Rex, who was opening the armoured jacket Jerry wore and finding the source of the wound. From what Miles saw the man was in a bad way, his chest still moved as Jerry sucked in some laboured breaths, and his eyes were open and moving, yet there was blood everywhere. Miles walked back to the alleys corner and pressed his back up against the wall.
“Aye, I’m a tough bastard to kill, just like my men. Yours were too soft, didn’t last long at all. I’ll take a lot of pleasure in putting down a mad dog like you.”
Miles wished that he could
see Boden’s expression, for the anger and venom in the man’s voice brought an instant grin to his face.
“This dog outfoxed you, and it will be me who gets to see the light fade from your eyes if you don’t quit this betrayal. I’ll give you tonight only, Miles; take your men and leave this sector for good. If my men see any of you again, I’ll kill the woman and child, and string up their bodies for all to see outside my compound. Go find some hole to grow old and die in.”
Miles turned to look at Rex, who mirrored his expression of angered resignation; Miles knew they had no other options with Jerry bleeding out than to leave Rose to her fate.
“You’d best treat Rose and Ward like royalty, Boden, because if you don’t it’ll be the biggest regret of your life when I come to skin you alive.”
Miles turned away from the alley’s mouth and helped Rex in hoisting Jerry between them. As they marched away from the street both men heard a crash, followed by the tell-tale thuds of the exo as it regained its feet.
“How the fuck are we going to take those down now? Rose has the signal generator.” said Rex, his voice flat, emotionless.
“She does, but Rose left me the Pulsar. It’ll be our last surprise for Boden, so we will have to be much smarter next time. Let’s worry about Jerry now, Rose and Ward are safe for as long as they are useful to that psychopath.”
Chapter 39
“Your man doesn’t know the meaning of patience, Major, but I have to admire his determination to prove himself the better of this simulant.” said Lixion, stood staring down at the exercise hall through the wide window.
“Patience isn’t in his vocabulary.” replied Major, grinning as Ajax went through some warm up exercises. “Patience is not for the man that comes back from the grave and almost immediately is deployed to avenge his murder, taking seventeen lives in one night. He does have a ruthless determination about him, one of many attributes that makes Ajax such a deadly man.”
“He does look different than he did only a few days ago. Has he opted for an augment to replace that ruined arm?”
“No, he refused one, wants to remain natural. He is Konarian after all, a distrust of augment technology is almost hereditary.”
“Mad,” mused Lixion, seemingly talking to himself. “A man of his skill could be one of the greats, an unstoppable killer feared throughout the cosmos, if he augmented his body. Let’s hope he has found a way to push himself further naturally, otherwise this will be another disappointing display.”
Lixion peered through the spectacles he wore, a recent edition that Major couldn’t help but think hypocritical. The left hand of the lord was a prosthetic with no user-controlled actions, simply a plastic lump formed to look like the severed limb. It was old, like its wearer, contrasting against his aged skin as the polymer coating had yellowed with age. For a man so supportive of augmenting, thought Miles, Lixion wasn’t willing to improve his diminishing body.
“What is with the black matting?” asked Lixion. “You left the floor bare last time.”
“This time I want to make sure Ajax faces a tougher challenge.” answered Miles.
Ajax finished his exercises, which left his body warm, supple, and with a slight sheen of sweat. He knew as soon as he stepped foot on the matting that either Major or Raúl had thought to use the pillars as part of the fight. It wasn’t obvious yet as to how many there would be, whether they would target both combatants or just him, or if the pillars would be deployed immediately or during the fight. Ajax ran through several scenarios and counterplans in his head to best adapt, all of which he thought undermined the surprise that the original bout had proven.
Ajax removed his regulation green shirt, neatly folding it and moving over to the nearest corner to place it on the ground. The onlookers, save Major and Raúl, were bemused by this act, though not even Lixion voiced the question on many people’s minds. The doors at the halls furthest end opened and through it entered the eight pillars in two rows of four, splitting evenly on either side of the open room.
Ajax began walking towards the halls centre, his pace slow, breathing even. He watched the pillars intently, one had placed itself in each corner, the other four were moving in a wide, clockwise ring, lazily rotating around him. He knew now that the pillars were programmed to attack him and him alone, which didn’t come as a surprise; Ajax grinned.
In through the open doors charged the Believer, no battle cry coming from its thin slit of a mouth. The simulant moved at an unhuman pace, narrowly avoiding one of the pillars as it completed its rotation, heading straight for Ajax.
At the last moment Ajax span away from the simulant, just as a pillar attempted to behead him from behind. The Believer threw up an arm that blocked the curved blade, which only sliced through the translucent skin before biting into the braiding below. Ajax brought his right elbow up and struck the Believer at the base of the skull, causing it to stumble.
Ajax did not have time to follow up the attack, a pair of pillars were swiftly bearing down on him. He ran to them, ducking around the nearest pillar and turning to grab its arms. The machine’s inertia threatened to dislocate Ajax’s shoulders as he strained to halt it, gritting his teeth at the effort. The pillar came to a stop and Ajax jumped, pushing the arms away from him to angle the pillar such that he landed two footed at its centre, rupturing the thin metal casing and bending it in half.
The second pillar had changed its trajectory and was heading back for Ajax, who picked up the ruined machine with a grunt and rammed it into the next, releasing his grip as the pillar’s rotation pulled both pieces out of his hands. He turned to face the recovered Believer, ignoring the crashes of the out of control pillar behind him.
The simulant was more cautious now, advancing but not rushing. When it got within striking distance the simulant threw a high right punch and, as Ajax moved under it, aimed a knee that Ajax narrowly managed to block. The Believer’s left hand came down to strike Ajax’s shoulder, pitching the man off balance to the mats below. Ajax rolled onto his back, just as the next attack began.
As a large foot rose up and came down towards his head Ajax threw out his hands, catching the foot just as he twisted his body away. The Believer was upended and span in the air, crashing down to the mat chest first. Ajax had a strong grip on the right ankle and rolled up the Believer’s back until he was standing next to its head, the body arching as Ajax pulled the ankle higher.
Just as the Believer began to thrash Ajax planted a heavy boot on the back of the Believer’s neck and shifted his weight to that foot, pinning the simulant. Ajax increased the pressure of his grip on the ankle, twisting it as far as the braiding would stretch. No more was the Believer silent, a distorted scream erupted from its mouth as Ajax put all his strength into twisting the foot until something sheared.
“Are you sure the man isn’t augmented?” asked Lixion, not accepting what he had just seen. His ears rang with the Believer’s scream, a noise few had heard and lived.
“One hundred percent natural, I’ve the health report to prove it, if you need confirmation.” said Valentina, speaking up before Major had a chance to.
Major turned to Lixion and grinned at the sight of disbelief on the man’s wide face, stunned by the unexpected improvement in Ajax’s performance.
When Major glanced back at the fight Ajax had released the Believer, which was attempting to regain its footing, and five of the pillars were now in ruins. They had been expensive to fabricate, and Major has hoped they’d increase the Lords enjoyment of the spectacle. He would likely leave out mention of their cost if asked for a run down by Lixion, since the fight was already threatening to be cut short.
Ajax picked up a dislodged blade from the ground, jamming the fallen weaponry in the open mechanism at the top of a sixth pillar. This resulted in an ear-splitting screech as the internals tore apart, the outer casing swiftly beginning to glow from the build-up of heat. Ajax kicked it away from him, pushing it some twenty feet before it slowed to a halt.
> When he turned back to the Believer Ajax rolled to his left, avoiding another punch and coming up behind the simulant. It was sluggish to rotate now, the ruined foot slowing it considerably. He lashed out at another pillar as it careened in for the kill, his kick well planted to spin it into the final neighbouring pillar; they made short work of demolishing each other.
Ajax felt frustration at the simulant, its mobility ruined so early in the fight, leaving the bout disappointingly one sided. Ajax ran at it, ducking a punch to land a powerful blow to the Believer’s chest, a second chopping above where a hip should be. He ignored the savage punches that now made contact, for Ajax was subconsciously rolling away from the blows to lessen their damage. Again and again he connected, his punches strong despite his constant movement.
Blood was running freely from several cuts, one of which was a wide gash above his left cheek. The Believer’s flesh had split in several locations, the braiding bent or broken and piercing both internally and externally. A viscous yellowy fluid oozed from the wounds, it’s smell pungent to Ajax.
He didn’t see the kick, so confident that the ruined foot would stop them that Ajax wasn’t looking for such attacks. The Believer increased the tempo of its punches, causing him to block them, before jumping off its good leg and swinging its other to connect the shin with Ajax’s unprotected ribs.
At least two ribs were snapped, one of which had punctured his left lung. The sharp stabbing pain was unlike any he had suffered before. A strange calm washed over Ajax, not the anger or rage he usually channelled in a fight. He sucked down what air he could and advanced, fists raised in a boxer’s stance.
Ajax moved backwards as a punch fell short of him, stepping in and landing an uppercut that snapped the Believer’s head back. His left fist connected with the simulants throat and he felt the braids part beneath its flesh. As the head came forward Ajax unleashed everything he had, his fists connecting with any unprotected part of the simulant, which could not keep up with his speed.
