Nemesis: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 6)

by Jonathan Yanez

  “Fair enough,” I said. “Just hear me out. We have a day or two to prepare and we know what direction they’re coming from. Let’s funnel them into a corridor of our choosing. Laine, Cassie, and I can distract them in the mist so they have no idea who or how many we are. Once the first few rounds of fire go off, our giant flying friend will come to take a look. We’ll let him deal with the Grimm Reapers. I’ll sneak in while the chaos ensues, grab X, and take care of Aleron.”

  I opened both palms to the women like I had just performed some kind of magic trick.

  They didn’t look impressed.

  “It could work.” Cassie chewed her lower lip. “There’s a lot that could go wrong.”

  “There’s always a lot that can go wrong,” I answered.

  “You’ll have to get out quickly once the winged beast arrives,” Major Valentine added. “The most dangerous part will be when you infiltrate their lines to take out Aleron and grab X. If anyone sees you do either of those things, you’ll be smack dab in the middle of their army.”

  “I can do it,” I pressed. “The Titans have already lost enough. Let me do this.”

  “Okay,” Major Valentine slowly nodded.

  I turned to Cassie.

  “Only if Laine and I provide support,” Cassie insisted. “I’m not that bad with a Artemis 3000 either.”

  “Agreed,” I answered. “Let’s get some rest then find the place where we’ll funnel them in. This is going to work.”

  After more hydrating and a few protein packs, we slept in shifts. My slumber came quickly, unhindered by dreams of any kind. When I woke, I went scouting with Cassie and Laine for the section of the city we’d use to funnel in the Grimm Reapers.

  Major Valentine gave Cassie access to the overhead satellite, allowing us to make an educated guess where the Grimm Reapers would enter the city and also where we would need to limit their options of travel.

  The sun was high overhead. The ruined city place looked so much different during the day. The mist that ruled the night now lapped and licked at our feet and ankles. The sun beat down on us in a cloudless sky. The stone streets were slick with lichen and moss covered what stone buildings did still stand on either side of the street.

  “Eyes open for Croc men, winged monsters, and whatever else is out here,” I warned as we moved block after block away from our own base. “How’re we looking, Cassie?”

  “Great. Aleron should be here tonight, in about eight maybe ten hours,” Cassie answered. “They’ll be coming in from the northwest. We should block off a few streets ensuring they only come down the one we want them to.”

  “But how do we block off entire streets?” Laine voiced the question on all our minds. “Barricades? Caltrops of some kind?”

  “It has to look natural or it’ll put them more on edge than they already are,” I thought out loud. “If we make it too obvious, they may think it’s worth going hours out of their way just to skirt the area.”

  “What if we collapsed some of the buildings on the streets we don’t want them to go down?” Cassie suggested. “It’ll look like old building just fell. In the darkness and mist, they won’t be able to tell that all the buildings just recently came down.”

  “Good idea.” I nodded along with Cassie’s suggestion. “I bet the Titans have some magnetic explosives we can use.”

  “The sounds of the explosions will bring unwanted attention from the locals,” Laine pointed out. “We’ll have to use remote detonations and set them to go off at once when we’re far enough away.”

  “Look at us.” I smiled at the two woman. “Just a Cyber Hunter, Cantz, and experimented-on human working together to ambush a madman and his gang.”

  “It sounds crazy when you say it out loud like that.” Laine grinned.

  We spent the next few hours scouting out which street we wanted to funnel the Grimm Reapers into and which streets would need to be blocked. Lucky for us, a few of the streets we needed to make impassable were already ruined. Buildings had given way to the weight of time and fallen across the street.

  Cassie took copious notes on her map on which streets required explosives and which streets we would want Aleron and company to travel down.

  We chose a rather narrow and bumpy road to make our stand. A two-story building at the end of the street would provide a perfect perch for Laine to use her Artemis 3000 while Cassie and I ran through the buildings on either side of the road, causing havoc.

  We returned to our base, relaying the news to Sergeant Toy and Major Valentine. Cassie gave them her map showing where we planned to make our stand as well as the roads that would need to be blocked off.

  Sergeant Toy wore a scar just below his hairline on his forehead where a Croc had tried to take his head off the night before. Thanks to the healing tech Doc had at his disposal, a Heal Aid squirted antibacterial foam in a wound while skin spray developed a kind of synthetic bandage until the user’s body could heal on its own.

  I saw him and a few of the other Titans eyeing my right arm since the battle with the Crocs. The armor on my arms was punctured in a dozen places. It hung together by a few metal pieces still connected.

  I’m sure they were amazed how I healed without aid. Right now, since Sergeant Toy and Major Valentine were going over our plan, story time would have to wait.

  “We can do it.” Sergeant Toy nodded. “Doc has patched us up pretty good. My seven Titans that are left can place the charges. I only ask that we be involved in the offensive tonight when the Grimm Reapers come. We didn’t come this far to sit out.”

  I traded looks with Major Valentine.

  “Please, ma’am,” Sergeant Toy requested. “We searched for our two Titans that monster took last night in the mist. They’re gone. Let us avenge them, make their deaths count now.”

  “If that’s what you feel your Shadow Praetorians need,” Major Valentine relented. “I’m sure Daniel would appreciate the help.”

  “We’d be honored to fight by your side again,” I told the sergeant. “There’s always a chance Aleron could take his Grimm Reapers on a different route. If that’s the case, we’ll have to provide him with a brief fire fight then persuade him to follow.”

  “We can do that.” Sergeant Toy nodded his gratitude in my direction.

  “If not, we can use your team on either side of the street. We’ll create a kill box until our winged friend arrives,” Cassie added. “One of the most important things to remember is that when that creature comes, we stop firing and hunker down. The only time we come out of cover is if we need to provide Daniel a hand.”

  “Roger that.” Sergeant Toy actually looked relived. I imagined he thought there was a high likelihood we’d leave him out of the fight.

  “We’ll get those charges placed and get far enough away before they detonate in case that flying monster comes back to check things out,” Sergeant Toy said, already turning to go. “We’re on it. Those sons of brums won’t know what hit them.”

  Twenty-Nine

  The sun was setting. The mist began its rule of the sky, rising from the ground into the air. True to his word, Sergeant Toy and his Titans had the charges set and detonated within two hours’ time.

  I stood on the half crumpled roof of our home base when the sounds of the explosions echoed through the dead city street.

  The sound was deafening. Outside, the swamp sounds I was beginning to recognize as insects, birds, and small lizards nothing had disturbed our day, until now.

  I stood, nervously excited. If our play was correct, the winged serpent would be moments away. The sounds of the explosions would send it toward the direction of the blasts.

  Cassie joined me on the roof, climbing through the same hole in the corner where the Crocs had broken through the night before.

  “What are you doing up here?” Cassie asked with an arched brow. “Sightseeing?”

  “Wait for it,” I said, holding up a finger. “That beast, it’ll be drawn to the sound.”

  “
Right, but that creature could be coming from anywhere right now,” Cassie reminded me. “The odds that it would fly right over us, let alone low enough for us to see, at the moment have to be…”

  Cassie’s voice trailed off as the rhythmic beating of wings forced the mist back.

  The creature was as long as a dropship from head to tail although not as wide. Green scales started at its snout up to the crown of its horned head then fell down the creature’s body, wings, and tail.

  The beast held four powerful limbs close to its body as it flew toward the sounds. The two wings that acted independently from the arms were at least as long as its body.

  As soon as the beast passed over us, it was gone.

  “Sergeant Toy,” I said into my earpiece. “You have incoming.”

  “We’re out of the way,” Sergeant Toy added grimly. The death of at least two of his own at the hands of the monster was still fresh on his mind. What wore on him worse was the fact that he couldn’t do anything to retaliate against the creature.

  “Dragon,” Cassie whispered, still coming out of the shock of seeing the animal. “What kind of experiments were done here by Genius Industries to create a dragon?”

  “Dragons don’t exist,” I told her.

  “Then what do you call that thing that just flew by?” Cassie insisted. “A flying snake? A winged lizard? You can call it whatever you want, but it’s a dragon. How are you not shocked right now?”

  “I don’t know of anything that shocks me anymore,” I answered. “I think I’m just numb to it all at this point. Croc people-humanoid-things, dragons, Knights of the Way? Sure, why not.”

  “You think there’s more dragons out there?” Cassie asked.

  “Who knows,” I answered. “The last thing I want to do is go looking into what Genius Industries was up to out here. If they’re responsible for creating the dragons and the Crocs, I don’t even want to know what else they cooked up. The Earth turned into a giant experiment lab when it fell with corporations using it as their testing ground.”

  “It feels like that,” Cassie agreed.

  “But Phoenix has a different path for the Earth,” I thought out loud. “They’ll use the super seed to get it back on course. I just wonder what lives out here now.”

  “Well, there’s moss and lichen on the stones,” Cassie pointed out. “Maybe life is finding a way back, even without the super seed.”

  “Maybe,” I answered. “Or maybe it’s getting a hand from whatever Genius Industries did out here.”

  We both stood quiet for a moment, each lost to his or her own thoughts.

  “We have eyes on the creature and it—it looks like a dragon,” Sergeant Toy said over the shared channel.

  “A dragon?” Major Valentine repeated.

  “Yes, ma’am, we’re far enough back to avoid it. Crip, this thing is huge. As soon as it’s done, we’ll double check to make sure all the streets we wanted blocked off are impassable,” Sergeant Toy said. “Though initial reports are that we have completed the objective.”

  “Good; keep your head down and out of sight,” Major Valentine ordered. “Satellite shows Aleron and the Grimm Reapers will arrive just after midnight.

  The rest of the night was spent ensuring that the explosions blocked the street we needed them to, which they did, and getting as much rest as we could. We needed to be alert and ready when Aleron arrived.

  The hours passed and I was able to spend most of them sleeping. When I woke, fleeting memories of a large man with some kind of hammer or axe in his hands filled my mind.

  I wasn’t afraid of this man or image, but neither was I sure it was a friend.

  “We should take up our positions soon.” Laine eyed me, seeing that I was awake. “I was going to rouse you, but you looked like you could use the rest.”

  “Thanks, I think,” I said, rising to my feet and stretching. I began to remove my armor. “If I’m going to sneak in amongst Aleron’s forces when the shooting starts and the dragon comes, I’m going to have to be able to pass for a Grimm Reaper.”

  “Some dirt on your face will help, along with messing up your hair, and these,” Cassie handed me a worn pair of goggles and a dirty cloak. “I found them amongst a pile of Ramil’s belongings. “I don’t think he’d mind you using them, even if he did have a say in the matter now.”

  “Thanks,” I said, removing my chest plate and throwing the tattered brown cloak over my shoulders. The thing smelled rancid.

  Cassie and Laine took it upon themselves to smear dirt on my face and ruffling my hair like I was a dog. I think Laine even slapped me a few times under the guise of ensuring the dirt stained my face. I think they might have even enjoyed it.

  I let the goggles hang around my neck. With the help of the cloak and the night fog, I’d fit right in with the confused Grimm Reapers.

  Major Valentine remained behind along with Rival, who had spent the majority of his day under his sensory dampening helmet. I could tell the major wanted nothing more than to join us, but also understood her responsibility of not allowing another convict to escape.

  Along with Cassie, Laine, and I came Sergeant Toy and his remaining six Titans.

  We jogged through the fog toward our predesignated ambush locations.

  Laine jogged beside me with her Artemis 3000 on her shoulder.

  “Maybe I should be the one to go in and get X,” Laine said. “I can transform into one of them.”

  “No way,” I answered, thinking of the little boy she had back at Dragon Hold. I knew if I used this as a reason, she’d just argue. Instead, I tried a different approach. “I can heal if anything goes wrong, plus if you change in front of anyone or they even suspect that you’re an alien of some kind, we’ll have the GG to worry about. Our list of enemies is long enough.”

  Laine looked as though she would argue but instead bit her tongue and nodded.

  “Thank you,” was all she said.

  Two blocks from our own home base, our defensive corridor began. The idea was to ambush them, blowing up both the lead and rear vehicle to box them in. I’d give the go-ahead, taking out the rear vehicle as soon as I had eyes on Aleron.

  Sergeant Toy would take out the lead car as soon as I made my move. Everyone else would take shots of opportunity where needed until the dragon arrived.

  I carried a pair of magnetic explosives shaped like hand-sized cylinders. They’d stick to anything metal once I activated the timer.

  We dropped Laine at the two-story sniper building at the far end of the street. Sergeant Toy and his Titans spread out, flanking the street and taking up their positions.

  The darkness was total now and the fog made it worse. The only things that cut through the night were the lights on our rifles and those on the helmets. Without any kind of headwear, my hair was damp with mist.

  Soon Cassie and I were the only ones jogging down the street. I kept a wary eye out for Crocs or anything else that might be living in the mist. We reached the opposite end of the street, where the vehicles would first arrive.

  Cassie looked over to me, checking the display on the top of her left vambrace.

  “Still forty minutes out,” she confirmed. “Keep your heads down. I kind of like you now and it would be a shame if anything happened to you.”

  “Just kinda?” I asked.

  “Don’t push your luck,” she smiled.

  I knew it was only a short time I had known the woman, but the experiences we shared together bonded us like two souls who had walked together for years.

  “Remember.” I reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m the one that heals. You don’t. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

  She stepped in closer wrapping her fingers around mine.

  “I won’t,” Cassie promised. “I’m looking forward to that second date once we get back.”

  “Are you going to take off your helmet so I can kiss you or what?” I asked, releasing her hand so she could perform the action. “We’ve got a small arm
y to ambush.”

  Cassie removed her helmet, pressing her lips to my own so fiercely, it made my head swim. Chemicals released into my system with the action. A weightless feeling overcame me.

  I held her tight, wishing in that moment, not the kissing, although that was great as well, but the closeness we shared could last for a lifetime.

  We pulled away at the same time.

  “Come back safe and there’s more where that came from,” Cassie said, replacing her helmet and walking into the mist.

  I stood there in the middle of the misty street. The woman had taken my breath away. I knew that I was going to get through the events of the night, but now I had even more incentive to do so.

  I crossed over to my end of the street, finding the one-story building on the corner I marked out before. Most of the walls were intact with a wide window that looked out into the street. Inside the building, a pile of rubble lay in the corner. The pile of rubble was the same height as the window.

  With a little bit of preparation, I’d be able to dig into the rubble then cover myself with the debris, both camouflaging me and offering me a view into the street.

  I worked quickly and quietly. By the time I settled in, Cassie was giving the twenty-minute mark warning.

  I lay in my hiding spot for the next twenty minutes, thinking about what I had to do. I saw myself performing the actions before they would take place.

  Spot Aleron, take out the rear vehicle, wait for all hell to break loose, go in, and get X, I repeated to myself over and over again.

  I checked to make sure my axe and knife were snug in their holsters and that my MK II was loaded and ready for the dozenth time.

  “Here we go,” Cassie said into the channel. “We’re five minute out. We should be able to hear vehicles and see lights soon.”

  “Roger,” Sergeant Toy answered. “We’re ready.”

  “Ready,” Laine answered.

  “In position,” I said.

  Despite taking slow and even breaths, my heart pounded out of my chest.

  “I’m coming, X,” I whispered to myself. “I’m coming.”