10:12 A.M...
Four black Chrysler 3000s drove across the road leading to Topa’s estate. The human drivers parked, turned the headlights off, plunging the area back into darkness, and then the passenger and the two back doors opened. Three Un-Men got out of each car, and the vehicles rocked back and forth as the Un-Men exited. They moved to the back of their vehicles as the drivers popped the trunks, and an Un-Man of each group removed Uzis from the back and armed their brethren and once they were armed, their Input Sensor blinked three times as they received their orders from the Factory.
They uttered, “Setting programming to Infiltration Mode. Eliminate any obstructions to primary Seek and Destroy Program.”
The dozen Un-Men gathered in front of the lead vehicle and looked to the north gate that was about a hundred feet down the wall from them. They synchronized to determined the best entry point and relayed their findings to the Factory.
Five armed men stood guard within the gate. The guards noticed them when they pulled up and readied themselves to engage the armed intruders and if they had to, the men would shoot on sight.
In unison, the Un-Men nodded their understanding of the Factory’s orders. They slung the Uzi over their shoulder and started for the wall directly in front of them as the drivers drove the vehicles away. The Un-Men climbed over the fifteen foot wall by stabbing their fingers into the brick. Each thrust of a hand into the mortar and clay sounded like a boot crunching across the snow; it sounded like an army marching across the white powder as they all scaled the wall.
“The intruders climbed over!” a man at the gate yelled.
“Quick, radio in backup!” another man yelled through his WM-B.
The five guards opened fire on the intruders, and bullets riddled the dozen bodies, filling their business suits with holes. The Un-Men remained standing, staring ahead. The guards ceased fire and glanced at one another, seeing that the intruders were still alive.
The Un-Men turned their heads in an eerily co-occurrence and looked to the guards.
“Obstacle encountered,” they stated as they assessed the obstruction.
Two of them lifted their Uzi, aimed, and shot the men, and the men’s bodies jerked as the wave of bullets bombarded them. The Un-Men ceased, and the men collapsed to the ground. The two Un-Men scanned the bodies and determined the men's life signs had ceased.
“Obstacle eliminated,” a Team Leader stated. “Setting programming to Seek and Destroy. We will track down Pandora and eliminate her.”
They headed into the heart of the estate in four groups of three as they all stated, “Pandora will not escape us this time.”
Earlier at Topa’s house...
The two henchmen shoved Kat down the stairs of the cellar and followed after her as the wooden steps creaked with their weight and once they reached the bottom, one of the men frisked her. He took the music box, business card, and the note from her pant’s pocket and set them on a table. He laid the white book and her gun there after he had ejected the gun’s magazine and cleared the weapon’s chamber. The other henchman motioned with his gun to a chair for her to sit, and she complied. Racks of wine filled the cool dusty room, and a rat scurried across the concrete floor in the back.
One of the henchmen grabbed her chin, lifted it up, and examined her face. “You aren't much to look at, are ya?”
She didn’t respond, giving up. Kat conceded that this was her fate for not killing Topa. She had him in her sights, and she couldn't pull the trigger.
The henchman released her chin and joined the other man at the square table. They both removed their WM-B and breathed in the room’s filtered air.
Kat regretfully wiped her hands over her face, remembering Preacher and the more she thought about him, the more she thought about how she'd failed to do what she had come to do.
“What do you think Topa will do to her, Muggs?” one of the henchmen asked.
“Don’t know,” the other replied as he shrugged. “Slap her around I guess. What does he usually do with women?”
The one named Warner picked up the music box, opened it, and Unfinished Melody played as Kat relaxed in the chair and her eyelids drooped. Her sorrow and pain vanished with the melody as it lulled her into an oblivious euphoria. Nothing mattered when she existed in this state, not even the death of Preacher.
“Hey, she’s falling asleep.” Muggs stood and kicked her chair. “Stay awake!” He glanced at the book. “Maybe use this time to pray.” He smirked. “Or don't you know you’re going to die?”
Entranced by the melody, she ignored Muggs and listened as if she was a child and the music box was the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and she would happily follow the bewitching music and vanish from existence. Kat stayed in this euphoric state until Warner closed the lid, ending the melody.
After he did, Warner examined the music box more closely. “This ain’t no ordinary trinket. It’s electronic or something.”
“You could pawn it at least,” Muggs said. “It is silver.”
With the drug-like music gone, her pain and sorrow rushed back like a runaway locomotive. Feeling nothing would be better than this heart pang, so Kat pleaded, “Could you please let the melody play?”
“Shut up! You don’t get a final request.” Warner propped his feet on the table and started rolling a cigarette with synthetic tobacco.
Muggs looked around the cellar as he said, “I’ve heard a couple of stories of people who’ve been taken down here. Isn’t there another entrance to this place? One that comes up in the middle of the estate? I’ve heard...”
lub-DUB... lub-DUB...
Kat ignored the men as they talked, and she focused on the cellar door like a prowling tigress about to pounce. Ultra-Epi coursed through her blood as the e-field of her body altered, and her ocular organs sparked with blue voltage and with a calm voice, she said, “They’re here.”
Warner lit the cigarette and blew white-pink smoke from the side of his mouth. He took another drag of NicPhake as he ignored her warning. He didn’t even look at her.
“Who’s here?” Muggs asked, turned to face her, and gaped, seeing her eyes. He stood, nearly knocking his chair over. “Are you some sort of creature from the underworld?!”
“They’re here,” Kat repeated. She didn't care if the Un-Men found her or not.
Warner tightened his jaw, not hearing his partner’s comment, and yelled at her, “Didn’t I tell you to shut the puck up?!” He stood and lifted his hand to strike her as white-pink ashes dropped from the cigarette, and he paused. “What's wrong with your eyes?”
“There are twelve intruders at the north gate!” a man yelled over the intercom of their WM-Bs. “Hades! They’ve scaled the wall and are inside!”
Warner picked up his mask and listened.
The man on the other end breathed hard as if he ran. “We're engaging them.” Weapons fire filled the airwaves. “They must be wearing armor. We’re switching to...” There was a pause. “Two of them are turning toward us and have lifted their weapons! Take cover!”
The rapid tat-tat of Uzis drowned out the man’s screams.
Warner turned to his partner and ordered him, “Quick get on the radio and see what Topa wants us to do.”
“Right, I’m on it.” He put his WM-B on and activated the intercom. “Boss, this is Muggs.” There was no reply. “Boss, this is Muggs.” There was still no response. “Can anyone hear me?” Only dead air returned his call, so he turned to Warner and questioned, “Now what?”
Warner thought for a moment and said, “You stay with the woman. I’m going to head to the main house and see...”
Gunfire erupted above ground, drawing their attention.
Muggs looked up to the cellar’s small window and uttered, “It's outside the house!”
“These intruders move fast,” Warner said. “We need to get out of here!”
The door to the cellar burst open, and three Un-Men
started down the stairs, aiming their Uzis.
“Target acquired,” they stated in their monotone voices. “Will now terminate Pandora.”
“Hades!” Muggs cursed as he and Warner drew their guns.
The men opened fire, and the Un-Men continued down the steps unhindered by the metal barrage.
“Puck! Why won’t they die?!” Warner yelled. “What are they?”
Kat ran to the table, grabbed her things, and then turned the table over. She ducked behind it and glanced at Warner and Muggs, knowing they were doomed and at that point, she didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was that this would give her a second chance at Topa.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Muggs asked as he turned to her, and a bullet struck his shoulder, knocking him back.
Warner grabbed him, pulled him behind some crates, and continued firing at the three intruders as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “Die already, you puckers!!”
Muggs leaned on the crate to support himself and returned fire.
Kat dashed for the rear of the room as bullets sprayed by her and in the back, she found a door. She turned the knob, but it was locked, so she stood back, fired at the old lock, and kicked in the door. She sprinted down a tunnel, hearing the two men die as the Un-Men overran their position. It didn’t matter to her if the men died as hatred filled her heart; she believed they got what they deserved. Kat followed the tunnel to a ladder with bloodlust fueling her manic dash, and she climbed to the surface where a manhole opened into a group of apple trees. No Un-Men or guards battled in the immediate area, so she took the time to check over her weapon. Her heart slowed since the danger was gone for the moment, and the blue Ult L-E faded as the Ultra-Epi dissipated in her blood.
A crow cawing from the branch of an apple tree drew her attention. Red fruit littered the branches, and her face softened from that of a warrior in the rages of battle to a woman in mourning. Preacher loved apples; he had eaten one almost everyday. She closed her eyes and held the bloodied book to her chest. Topa would die this time, and nothing would stop her, so Kat rushed toward his office, determined to finish him off no matter what grave sin she had to commit to do so.
Smoke from gunfire and small explosions lingered in the air as she hurried by several bodies and one Un-Man they managed to disable. Electrical snaps flew from several holes in its head. The humans’ red blood and the Un-Man’s black oil mixed in a small pool, and Kat felt a smidgen of guilt. Those men wouldn't be dead if the Un-Men weren't hunting her, but the guilt left her as hatred returned, drowning the small voice that uttered save them. She ducked behind a hedge as four men rushed past her.
Fright paled their faces as one shouted orders, “We have to pull back from the gates and meet at the armory. We need heavy artillery.”
The group of men hurried on. The thought of helping them against the unstoppable monsters never even crossed her mind, too much animosity clouded her thoughts. Kat stepped from the hedge, turned to continue to Topa’s office, but paused, narrowing her eyes. Another obstacle popped up to block her revenge.
lub-DUB... lub-DUB...
Ultra-Epi coursed through her blood as her eyes produced a cerulean lambency. “Un-Men,” she said with loathing; there were two of them.
Fear didn’t fill her heart but rage as the warrior’s side of her returned, and she gripped the gun ready to eliminate all who stood in her way as an Un-Man stepped from the side of a building to her left and another stepped from a cluster of trees on her right. Kat had encountered five different models of Un-Men over the past year. The Rogue they discontinued; it was a Type Four. The one to her left was a Type Two; it was a six foot six, thin model with dark brown skin and a South African accent. The other one was a Type Five; it was a six foot, large, muscular model with a Russian accent.
“Target acquired. I and another unit have cornered the Pandora Project,” the dark skinned Type Two or T-2 relayed over its I-Link.
“Commencing attack,” the T-5 stated.
Without a second thought, Kat raised her gun and fired once to her left and once to her right. She was going to kill Topa. The Un-Men fell to the ground and lay still as downed trees as Kat rushed on. She wasn't going to let anyone or anything get in her way.
Chapter Ten
Caught In A Cross Fire
Earlier...
At the northwestern corner of Topa’s estate, Kim pulled her black knapsack from the pile of leaves she had hid it in, threw the grappling hook over the wall, and climbed the cord to the top. She spotted four cars parked by the north gate with twelve men getting out; they carried Uzis. She dropped back down into the estate. “Great, just great!” she muttered to herself. “Who are those guys?” She whipped up on the rope, forcing the grappling hook to fall down, and then she stowed it in the knapsack.
Gunfire erupted at the north gate as Kim raced for the center of the estate; she would try to go over the south wall. Gunfire continued as Topa’s men shouted, some in panic and some as their last cry. Kim ducked into a tool shed before six men rushed past her. Weedwackers, a lawnmower, shelves, axes, and other lawn tools filled the outbuilding, and she waited in the dark structure till she heard the men move on into the distance then she left quietly.
A man came running up from the other direction. “I’ve spotted an intruder,” he shouted over the WM-B’s intercom.
Another man joined him before Kim fired four times, hitting the first man twice in the stomach, and he fell, shrieking as blood poured from his abdomen. The other two bullets hit the second man in the shoulder and heart. The first man’s shrieks alerted three more to her position before he died. She shot one in the face before the second guard tackled her, and they struggled for the gun till a shot discharged. Kim moaned and rolled the dead man off of her and by then, the third guard had his weapon trained on her.
“Toss your gun!” he shouted. “Now stand up.”
She stood, raising her hands.
“I should kill you where you stand, but Topa will want to interrogate you.”
She grinned. If he only knew she had already killed their boss... He grabbed her knit mask, pulling it off her head, and her blonde hair frizzed out and then Kim said, “You shouldn’t have done that.”
He questioned, “Done what?”
She stared at him coldly as she said, “You shouldn’t have seen my face.”
Kim ducked, twirled, sweep kicking his legs from under him, and drew the tactical knife from the sheathe on her right calf. She jumped on top of the man and slit his throat before he could react, and his blood splattered her face. Kim looked at him with no emotion or remorse; she had been trained well. Kim stood from the dead man and scowled. The assignment had turned into a Wetworks. Blood dripped from her knife, so she bent and wiped the blade on the man’s pants, and she turned abruptly, hearing someone run toward her, and she stood ready to attack the next guard.
Earlier...
Katharine's view...
Avoiding the guards and staying clear of areas the Un-Men are in, I spot a tool shed ahead of me. I notice a lady as the lady stands from the man she killed. I halt, raise my gun, and aim it at her. The lady's preventing me from moving on, and I need to get by her and fast. I see the lady's knife. Is she a guard? She isn't well armed. I notice the men. No, she just dropped five of them; she can't be a guard, then why is she here? I glance over my shoulder. It doesn't matter; I need to get by her and take my revenge before the Un-Men close in on me.
Kimberly's view..
I freeze as that woman points her weapon at me, thinking that woman's another guard. I look to the ground where my PPK lies then to my knife. That woman's too far away to lunge at, but I can throw my knife. I study her face. That woman's the one from Topa’s office; she's the one who couldn’t kill him.
Katharine's view...
I start to shoot the lady in the leg when I believe I recognize her and a sense of joy peeks over the mound of hatre
d and sorrow I feel. I've never come across anyone I thought I knew, and my mission of retribution loses its priority as I ask, “Have we met?”
Kimberly's view...
I don't answer her, considering if that woman wasn't able to shoot Topa, what chance is there that she won't shoot me?
Katharine's view...
The lady ignores my question, and I don't know where I recognize her from. Whose side is she on?
“Do you work for the Council?” I ask her. “Or maybe you're a bounty hunter working for the Factory?”
I lower my gun a bit, then raise it, and make a face as my heart hammers the bio-mecha warning. I gaze past the lady and realize I stayed too long and they've tracked me down. I feel my Ult L-E trigger; the light show doesn't seem to bother the lady for she comes at me with her knife. Instinct takes over, and I side step to the right and fire as the lady leaps at me like Tarzan attacking a tigress.
Kimberly's view...
Moments earlier...
That woman must be wearing some sort of electrical device on her face for sapphire flames rage about her eyes and make her whole face burn with an angry aura. I look closer but don't see a devise. With that woman distracted and muttering like a crazy person, I take the opportunity and pounce, lunging with my knife. That woman reacts much faster than I thought she could; I fear this is my end as she fires, but I continue my attack even as I wonder what the demon-like brimstone blazing from her eyes is. The bullet barely misses my face as I bring my knife down. She blocks the chopping blade with her gun and kicks me in the stomach, and I stumble back and notice my PPK at my feet. I can't grab it just yet, so I stare at her for a long moment as if she's Lamia, the child-eating daemon. In all my years as a Life Closer, I never saw anything like her.
I quickly shake off my dismay and terror and focus on my gun. If I can grab the gun, then I can kill that hellish woman standing before me. I start for the PPK when gunfire from an Uzi erupts from the trees behind me, and I dive to the ground. That woman fires again. I roll, pick up my gun, move to a kneeling position, and search the area for my adversary; that woman's gone. I run and take cover behind the tool shed and look to the line of trees where the Uzi fire came from. Sparks shoot up from among the trees, and I carefully make my way there and investigate, finding two men dead. Both have a single shot through their head, and I realize that woman wasn’t aiming at me. I was wrong; that woman can kill, so why didn’t she kill me? Black blood trickles from the men’s heads, and I step closer for a better look. What are they? I kneel to them. Are they robots?