Chapter 29 - Simon Trevor - Storm
November 17, 3040 4:10 AM
I landed my hovercar in the distance, like I did when we approached the Spades and Diamond Casino. I want to have the element of surprise on my side because I don't think they're expecting us.
I've sent Apollo on scout duty to see what we're up against. He's been running circles around the building and hasn't raised any alarms, but he'll have a hard time determining who is in the building without a clear view. The Li station has very few windows to peer in and even if we could see what was going on inside, there are no lights on. It appears they're working in the dark.
It might be another ruse set up by Tiago. Perhaps Curtis was lying to Fenrir before the bomb went off, to throw us off the trial and lure us into another trap. But in order for that to happen, Curtis would have had to know that someone would survive and who could've predicted that? I certainly doubt that any of these halfkinds can tell the future.
"So, looks like this is the final charge, eh?" Fenrir says to me. "We're storming the gates before the sunrise."
"I suppose so," I say.
"Commander, I hope you're right."
"Right about what?"
"About what we're doing," he responds. "Shoot first, ask later. Don't let your guard down, hit a preemptive strike. Do you really think they're that dangerous?"
"We didn't think so before. Look how it's turned out."
"I suppose you're right," he says reluctantly. "But, as I asked before, do you think what we're doing is right or not?"
I dodge around the question because the answer isn't simple. "It doesn't matter if it's right or not, what matters is what will happen if we don't do anything."
"And what do you think will happen?"
"I don't know. But judging from tonight, it doesn't seem to be any good."
"That's the human way, I suppose," he says gruffly. "Either destroy, destroy, destroy, or create, create, create. Why can't your kind leave things alone?"
"I can't answer for all my kind," I say defensively. "But I suppose doing something is better than doing nothing."
"So you think," he responds vaguely. It's odd, when we started this mission, Fenrir was the one who seemed most likely to hold nothing back, while I was the one who wanted to use restraint. Now the roles are reversed.
Apollo returns from his scouting mission and interrupts our conversation. He can sense the tension.
"I hate to break up the party because I know you and Fenrir must be having an enlightening conversation, but I think Curtis was telling the truth," he says. "There's one of them out on patrol right now."
"Which one?" I ask.
"The cheetah halfkind, Ace Lawton," he responds.
"And he didn't see you?" Fenrir asks.
"I doubt it or he would've reacted sooner," Apollo says.
"Good job, Apollo. Did you get a look inside?"
He shakes his head. "Sorry, Commander, it's closed shut."
"It's okay."
"What's the plan, Trevor?" Fenrir asks.
"No more sneak attacks," I say. "We do a frontal assault. It'll be at most six halfkinds and we brought in some extra fire power, so we're prepared for whatever they have."
"Ahh, you're referring to the Spitfire?" Apollo says.
I pick up the heavy gun from the ground and secure its strap around my torso.
"Yes, I am," I say. "And this."
I pull out some mini grenades from my pockets. They're called mini grenades because of their size, not because of their damage capabilities. Their blast radius is quite remarkable.
"What do you guys have?" I ask. "Don't tell me you only have those single barrel energy pistols equipped in your helmets."
Apollo swishes his tail in an odd motion. The sensors in the back of his helmet pick it up and four more barrels protrude from hidden compartments. Fenrir does the same.
"Try five barrels," Apollo says. "We can switch it to higher caliber, too, if you want."
"Um, that's not necessary," I say. "Fenrir, do you have any more marbles left in your shooter?"
"Only a few, I didn't have time to restock or recharge," he says.
"That's okay. Everyone's armor equipped?" I ask. They both nod. "Okay. We'll take out Ace first and then carefully make our way in. Equip your scent boosters. Got it?"
Both of their helmets switch gears and out come the scent boosters.
"Good," I say. "Let's go."
We march prudently towards the station. It's about 200 meters away. We walk through some shrubbery that hugs a hovercar parking lot. It leads to the entrance and it's our only cover, as the area around the station is quite open. I crouch down and make sure my head doesn't stick out. The canines tread lightly on their paws.
We're now about 100 meters away and I can see someone moving along the side wall. He's strolling about casually and appears to be holding an energy pistol. He grips it loosely with his hands. I give the signal for the others to stop and their steps come to an immediate halt.
"You see him?" I ask the other two.
"Yes," Apollo says. "That's Ace."
"You think either of you can get a clear shot from here?" I ask.
"It's a tad far," Apollo says.
"Yes, 100 meters is a bit much," Fenrir says. "Even with my homing sensors on, I'm not sure how accurate I can be."
"I don't know how much closer we can get without attracting attention," I say. "If neither of you think you can do it, I'll take it."
"Be my guest," Fenrir says. "You're the Commander."
Apollo also nods.
"Okay," I say. Both my hands clamp down on the handle of my pistol, my right index finger grazes the trigger. I hold it up in front of my eye, keep my arms steady, and zoom in on my target. A deep breath goes in and then exhales out. My mind is clear, my focus is strong. I take one last look at my target and pull the trigger.
The flare streaks out of my gun, arcing in the air until it homes in my target. It travels fraction of a millisecond by fraction of a milliseconds. I'm wide right. I miss by a few inches.
Ace reacts to the impact of my shot. A small hole is on the station wall. He sees the dent and is confused by what has happened. He doesn't make the connection that it was a pistol that fired at him, but knows something very peculiar is going on. He peers closer at my miss and inspects it.
"Let's move!" I yell. "Full strike!"
The three of us emerge from the bushes and charge towards him. He turns around and it looks like he's about to vomit. He doesn't have time to think and bolts for the door, his pistol still in hand.
We're about 20 meters away and we're closing in on him. He's in front of the entrance and knocks a few times on the closed door. We fire a few shots his way, but aiming on a full sprint isn't easy and they miss him left and right. He sure is taking his sweet time entering the building. As we approach, I notice he's not trying to get in, but phoning in some kind of code.
Sure enough, I'm right. Out bursts a behemoth of a creature, a pistol in each hand, firing like a maniac.
"Try and take me down, assholes!" he yells.
The glare of the street lights shine off his massive frame and they hug his colossal and well-defined muscles. He has a horn stuck in the middle of his head. It's Alex Lawton.
The three of us split up and take cover. I hide behind a trash bin, Fenrir dashes behind small metal wall, and Apollo jumps under some raised plant holders. I delicately pop my head up, but I'm hit with a barrage of gunfire.
"Apollo, Fenrir, do your helmets have something that can help us see past our cover?" I ask them on my communicator.
"Yes, there's a camera installed on the top," Apollo says. "I can use it to peer above this plant holder."
I wait a few seconds and he chimes back in.
"It's out. Those two definitely know where we are, they're firing recklessly at our locations," Apollo says.
"We don't nee
d your fancy device to figure that out, the barrage of energy shots tell us the story!" Fenrir shoots back. "Give us something we don't know."
"Their location is about 20 meters ahead of you, to the left. Can you sneak in a marble and distract them? We can use it as cover fire."
"Got it," Fenrir says. I see him press a button on his leg mounted box with his paw. A blue, bouncy ball of energy fires from it. I stick my head out and see Ace and Alex looking at it, entranced by its gentle glow. But then Alex realizes what it is, pushes Ace out of the way, and jumps to the side. The sphere goes off, emitting a concentrated explosion that sends pieces of the ground flying into the air.
Now is our time. I jump out from behind the trash bin and start firing at Ace. Apollo and Fenrir also start charging. They team up and throw a volley of fire in Alex's direction.
Ace and Alex both roll around until they find something they can hide behind. They take a few seconds to rest and then continue their stand, firing shots left and right. It's too much to dodge, so I'm forced to find something to hide behind. I see another trash bin and use it as a temporary fort.
Apollo and Fenrir have a different strategy. They're aggressive and continue going forward, side by side. I see Alex pop up from behind his cover and fire a shot straight at them. Fenrir is able to dodge it, but Apollo gets hit square in the abdomen. I hear him yell out a sharp cry.
"Apollo!" I yell. "Fenrir, get him out of there!"
Fenrir stops dead in his tracks and turns around toward our fallen ally. Alex continues to fire, but his other shots miss wildly. His first shot must have been a fluke. Fenrir clamps his jaws on Apollo's uniform and drags him away behind an abandoned hovercar parked in front of the station.
"What's his status?" I yell frantically over the communicator as Ace continues his bombardment of shots.
"I'm fine," Apollo says. I'm surprised to hear his voice. "His shot hit my armor, I just have the wind knocked out of me. Thanks for getting me out of there, Fenrir."
"It's my job," Fenrir says taciturnly.
"We're getting in closer," I say. "Continue the assault. Our priority is to get inside the station and take the others out."
"Understood," both of them say.
I stick my gun out and fire a few shots blindly at Ace. He responds to my gunfire with more gunfire. Back and forth we go, our standoff switches from one side to the other like a seesaw. I look at Apollo and Fenrir, and the same thing happens to them. This is going nowhere. We need to change up our approach.
"I have a plan," I tell the others via the communicator. "I'm going to draw them out and when I do, find cover. I'll take care of the rest."
"How are you going to do that?" Apollo asks.
"With the big guns."
I dig in my pocket and pull out a mini grenade. I unstrap my Spitfire and set it to my side. I press a button to arm it and lob it overhead to Ace's direction.
"What's this?" I hear him yell. "Shit!"
A giant blast shakes the ground and I can see smoke fly into the air. The second this happens I stand and hold the Spitfire up. Alex is too distracted to see me rise and Ace has made it to the door, back turned to me. Damn this guy is fast, I thought my grenade would've damaged him in some way, but he was able to react and dodge it with his speed.
It's irrelevant. The Spitfire is already armed and aimed at him and with one pull of the trigger, I fire.
A wall of blood sprays the door and his body violently pushes forward. His back is painted red and his shirt has been torn to pieces. He falls forward, arms out stretched on top of him, and slides against the door as his wound wipes against it and creates a streak of red.
Alex, not wasting a moment, takes this opportunity to dash inside. I see him and fire another shot, but I miss. I usually don't miss at such a close range, I suppose he's blessed. He makes it through and forgets to shut it in the chaos. It's wide open.
I look at Apollo and Fenrir. Both of them have risen from their concealments and we approach the open door.
I take a look inside and see Alex's back as he continues to stumble into the hideout. There's a chimp halfkind who was working three compcubes at one time, but now her focus is on the three of us. As we stand on the front doorstep, Ace's body is right below our feet.
And then I see Tiago. I stand tall and for a moment put my firearm to the side of my body. He returns the gesture and straightens his back. We look eye to eye at each other, leaders locked in a dead stare.
"Something smells off," Apollo says. "I can't quite put my paw on it."
Suddenly, I hear a scratching sound, like sandpaper. It's Ace. He's still alive and is crawling slowly in agonizing pain back into the building.
We look at him in astonishment, dumbfounded that he isn't dead yet. There's a few holes of missing flesh on his back. His skin and fur has been singed from the extreme heat of my weapon, yet here he is, doing whatever it takes to try to get back in.
I look back at Tiago, still standing confidently, arms folded up on his chest. There's something different about his expression. He's smiling.
"Wait, I know this smell," Apollo says.
I look to where Ace is crawling and I move my head closer. I see a glimmer of light glint in front of him. My eyes sharpen in on it, it beams faintly.
I realize what it is, a wire. My eyes madly follow the string. There are metal canisters strung along the wall, near our position. Ace is now in front of the string and raises an arm above it. With one final burst of energy he lets it fall, right on the wire.
"Bomb!" I tell the others. We turn around and do a mad dash away from the door. I feel a ripple shake the ground and the front view lights up from the explosion behind me. It can't end like this, it won't. I see the trash bins I was hiding behind earlier. It's our only chance, so the three of us jump behind them. I sure hope they're made out of something sturdy.
The blast is smaller than anticipated, the only thing that reaches us is dust. We're fortunate. I stand up and see the doors are charred. The inside of the station is slightly damaged, but capable of working.
The bombs were only meant to blast away intruders, not level the building. In his last moments of life, Ace Lawton tried his best to kill us. He failed.
The lights turn on and I can see the others hiding behind a makeshift fort of furniture. Fenrir said Curtis Lawton did the same thing. They're concealed, but we'll smoke them out. The final assault has just begun.