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Cool Darkness: Chapter 4
Cool Darkness
by Matthew Carpenter
Chapter 4 : Pawn to Rook 4
"How the hell do you expect me to come up with that kind of
security information by tomorrow morning? There's got to be a dozen or
more hard locks on that place, not to mention getting around ICE"
complained Jack, trying to make Nebulus understand the tight security
at Cryon.
"Jack, take a chill pill. So it'll take a few more hours than normal.
Just get it done as soon as possible. We need as much info as possible so
we can pull this off."
"And what if we can't? Why the hell is getting this stuff off line
so important anyways? It's not like we're trying to protect every
netrunner in the country." Nebulus dropped a few tablets on the desk
the two were sitting at. Jack watched them rolled around on a pile of
computer paper until they spun around and stopped toward one edge. By
the time Jack looked up at Nebulus, he had already walked away,
thinking about something else. To Nebulus, nothing was impossible. It
was just a matter of coming up the right plan of attack.
"Shit" mumbled Jack to himself, picking up the two pills.
'Probably only iron tablets' he thought putting them in his mouth and
downing them with the Coke sitting on his desk. 'Everything must be
duplicated. All security systems must be located and analyzed. Personnel
and schedules must be analyzed. What a fuckin' bitch!' He jacked back
into Cryon gathering the last bit of information that was necessary to
invade as he always called it.
A few hours later, the group was together once again for last
checks on the plan of attack. The meeting place was the same warehouse
that Nemesis and Slash had gone to after taking out Dave. Kind of ironic
since it is usually a place to go after the fact. It quaintly went along with
Nebulus' ego, though. Good for dealing in the black markets; bad for
dealing with friends. But then again, they all did live on the edge just
for that rush of adrenaline. For Nemesis, that was his drug of choice.
"So are we gonna go in and tear this place up or what" Nemesis
said loudly sitting down at the large meeting table that was probably
designed to be a stretch dining room table. It had been refinished and
had a monitor array placed into it so that it took up most of the table face.
He placed his combat boots up on the table and faced the head of the table
where Nebulus sat.
"Pig" joked Slash, sitting across from him.
"So who are your friends, Slash?" asked Nemesis, gathering a
straight face, ready for business.
Slash turned to her right where one of her two 'friends' were
seated. He was dressed in almost all black leather, with a black hair cut
resembling Nemesis' with a gold earring to top it off with style. "This is
Aberdon. And she is Donna" pointed Slash, looking at her other friend
who was sitting next to Nemesis who noted her long stocking-clad legs.
Her miniskirt and skimpy top left little to the imagination and much to
be desired, at least as far as Nemesis was concerned, who was becoming
aroused as his eyes caressed her legs very slowly.
"And what do you do for a living" he smirked eyeing her over his
shoulder, getting as much of a lookover as he could get away with.
"Looks like I'll be coverin' your ass macho man" she replied with
a nasty tone of voice, never letting her intimidating facial expression
change.
He laughed. He laughed sarcastically loud. "So where do we stand
on info?" he said dropping his bullshit like a mercury weight.
"We've got most of the blueprints for the place in question
including security and surveillance systems, piping and electrical, and
nets. Security schedules are being analyzed by the comps still and tap in
sites are being assessed as to hard connects" came back Jack who sat at
the other head of the table. He touched the table screen a few times and
a general blueprint of the main floor and grounds came into view. "This
is the general layout of the place, he said adding mini windows of the
basement levels. The target site is on the absolute bottom floor of the
building, and it's pretty heavily guarded and secured. It's going to take a
lot to get to it" he said with a little worry. He was getting used to the
situation and finally excited about the job, but still slightly intimidated
with the size of the operation. It was the largest job he'd ever done and it
was one of the few that involved both people on the nets and in the
physical objective site.
"Piece of cake" confidently spoke up Aberdon.
"Yea? So how would you attack it!?" attacked Slash. Nebulus sunk
a little deeper in his chair, awaiting this test.
"Once the electronics are secure, a team will go in the rear
security zone by entering this loading zone, here" he said pointed to a
grid on the monitor. "From there, one of us will take over that physical
security site to control the area. From there, whoever's runnin' will lead
the group through checkpoints by disarming systems and allowing them
to enter secured sectors. Any guards can be removed by our new
security guard and diverted temporarily. Then it's just a matter of
pullin' things together. Piece of cake."
"Not bad...not bad" spoke Nebulus, sitting back up in his chair.
"Almost like we had talked about earlier." Putting his elbows on the
table, he glanced over the prints one more time. The room was silent.
All eyes were on Nebulus since he had the final say on the plan. He stood
up and took off his jacket, placing it on the back of the chair.
"But it won't work. The security layout would never get you past
the main gate. Cryon doesn't accept night deliveries. No one goes in or
out after dark, period" said Jack, standing his ground against a plan as
simple as that. "So the question is, how do we get to the dock without
being noticed at all."
"Sewer system. It's the oldest trick in the book, but I bet you it
would work" said Nemesis.
"Don't be stupid. A company like that isn't dumb enough to leave
their pipes clear" snapped Slash, expecting more from an experienced
front man.
"Yea, but all the outside pipes aren't connected to the inside pipes.
They're all for rain, not sewage. Look. There's not one connection from
the building pipes to the outside pipes. In fact, it looks like all the inner
pipes go down to the basement and out the bottom of the structure
through smaller pipes into an underground piping system I would guess.
There's a man hole near the docks that I bet connects to the city sewers"
pondered Jack, getting more intrigued with the possibilities of actually
pulling this stunt off.
"Check it out. Make sure they're clean and that the pipes are
large enough for men with equipment to get through. If it is, we'll go
with it. I had a similar idea to the one proposed. I'll pose as a guard and
help the team get through each level of security. Nemesis, get me a wish
list of equipment to get the job done. Then you and Aberdon get the stuff
ready. Slash, you and Donna look over every micron of this plan and
make sure it works. Make detailed notes on everything we will need to
know about this place. Jack, continue working on info and breaking
systems. Also, get the ROMS ready to write to with the info Slash gives
you. Meanwhile, I'll get some party favors. Aberdon and Donna, you are
staying with us until this is over, understand!" commanded Nebulus.
This was it. If there were any questions, now was the time to bring it up.
Once the plan was set, it was set. There were no objections.
August 21. Friday, early morning. The humid air hung stagnate
outside the metal door of a warehouse in the shipping district. Launch
Site 13 as it was called. All missions were started here. This one was just
bigger than most. Usually, it was mainly netrunning to get information.
This time it involved flesh and blood almost more than fiber optic cables.
Nemesis stood outside the door waiting for the rest to arrive. He looked at
his watch. '3:49. One minute to go' he thought. A lone docking light far
away painted a soft, white brush stroke of light across his bare chest and
the warehouse behind him. 'Forty seconds to go.'
The dull hum of a van came from around the far side of the
warehouse, moving slowly along the gravel drive. The headlights were
turned off as the garage size door of the warehouse began to open,
spilling an ambient light onto the gravel. Nemesis opened the personnel
door behind him and walked through closing it behind him and locking
it. The black beaten up van crept past the open garage to turn around
and enter backwards. The garage door began to close as Nemesis walked
up to the back of the van and opened the doors with a sharp creaking.
The gang was here.
"Right on time" he said.
"Time to party" said Slash being the first to get out of the crowded
van. Everyone in the back were sitting on A3 cases that were unloaded
first by Nemesis and Aberdon. Stacking them sideways to each other,
Nebulus brought the pass card up, giving the privilege to Donna who
aggressively ran it through the bar reader of the first one she came to.
The green light on the handle block went on and an internal lock
disengaged with a soft pop. She opened it up and everyone looked in.
"My, my, aren't we gonna have fun tonight" glowed Slash looking
at the case full of explosives.
"C4-type II, IRAPM's, concussion bombs, hand grenades,
hey....where's my grenade launcher?" joked Nemesis looking at Nebulus.
"Look in case two. Each one of you has a personal case that is
openable with that card. Everything you need is in there. Merry
Christmas kids."
"How much did this cost you anyways?" asked Slash with a grin.
"After I told them why we were going in, they practically gave it
to me just to secure their other investments. To answer your question,
no you can't keep it" he replied with a grin that stretched from ear to
ear.
The transformation began. Everyone began getting their clothes
on and their body armor secured. All of the smiles had left by the time
4:00 AM rolled around. Weapons were checked and rechecked.
Ammunition and explosives were properly attached and weapons slung.
Jack had already disappeared into the basement of the place; a secret
room under the floor where the master comps were located. The comps
sucked power directly from the power station that was not more than a
quarter mile away. That way the general power loss could be attributed
to humidity or any other stupid, unexplainable phenomenon.
"On line in one minute!" yelled Nebulus from his makeup case.
Everyone was already ready, checking each other over. Nebulus jacked
in quickly checking on Jack's status.
"On line!"
The four got side by side. The seriousness and concentration
hung in the air almost as thick as the humidity. Beads of sweat had
formed on every one's forehead. Foot steps were heard from the far side
of the warehouse and Jack soon appeared out of the homemade wooden
office, heading towards the group.
"Are you ready?" questioned Nebulus.
"Comps are set. Once you get in, you'll have less than 10 minutes
to complete the job, which in this case is plenty of time. One minute to
secure the desk. Two minutes to get to subbasement 4. One minute for
diversions and gaining access. Three minutes for setting the bombs and
getting out. That leaves you with one minute to blow the place and two to
get out" said Jack.
"And that's worse case scenario, right?" asked Nebulus, hinting
that Jack was underestimating their abilities.
"Yeah. In reality, you'll probably do it in half that time, so just
keep me informed of where you are and everything will go OK. I'll be
able to track you anyways, so don't worry too much."
"All right. See you in a few then."
"Good luck, and if everything goes wrong, I'll just blow the net if
I can. That way, any system assignment will be destroyed."
"Good deal. Lets get going" said Nebulus looking back at his
group. Dressed in solid black from head to toe stood the attack team.
Expanded honeycomb titanium armor plated Spectra 3000 body armor
hugged every curve of their bodies, protecting them from most
firepower out today. Explosives and equipment was strategically secured
to the armor for quick, but easy use. After a quick checkover, they took
their seats in the back of the van with Nebulus navigating and Donna
driving. It took twenty minutes to get there. The corporation had a
large complex just outside of city limits. An old apartment complex had
been renovated and made into an employees park which housed
thousands of people. The six story concrete apartments stood above a not
so beautiful street that had it's fair share of crime, vandalism and street
gangs. The van was parked in an alley just out of site of the complex.
"Comms on. Mic check" said Nemesis. Everyone donned their
small headset/mic. Nebulus had a lapel mike with a single ear speaker
that had been placed under the fake skin of his disguise that finished the
security officer uniform he wore under his wet suit.
"One." "Two." "Three." "Four." "Five." the group replied in order.
"Sounding good everyone. Jack, check in" came back Nebulus.
The line was dead for a second. "God here. RYLAC."
"How can he hear us?" asked Donna looking over at Nebulus.
"He wrote a program to interface his deck with a comm system. It
shows up as a two-way speaker in his environment. Sync watches on
4:56 on five, four, three, two, one, mark." Watches were synced.
"Injection time people." Each person, including Nemesis, took out a small
packet that contained three vials with needles. Nemesis took out the first
vial which contained a clear liquid and injected himself with the
adrenalizer, designed as a short term super steroid with little side effects.
The first needle was placed back and the second vial was injected in the
same area of the arm. This one was a sense and reflex enhancer
designed by the military. It would give them better combat reflexes
when they needed it. This was followed by a third injection of a pain
killer. It was designed to not activate until a large amount of pain was
inflicted, then it just temporarily deadened the area's nerve system.
Designer drugs, designed for combat. Perfect for terrorist raids.
"5:00. Time to go people" said Nebulus fastening his wet suit shut.
Face masks were put on, covering everything but their eyes, and
equipment and weapons were gathered. The five exited the van silently
and moved over the man hole located a few feet from the van. A quick
jimmy with a bar and the lid slid over with a low screech. A quick look
around and Nebulus was the first in, followed by the two newbees as
Nemesis viewed it.
"I hope we can trust these two!" firmly whispered Nemesis to
Slash, who gave him her look of approval before jumping in. Within
seconds the whole team was in the sewer system. Pipes lined the old
concrete and stone walls. The water level was only thigh deep so it didn't
prove to be very cumbersome.
"You checked this place out OK, right 3?" asked Nebulus over the
comm.
"Two gates were cleared. Everything is a go."
Night vision glasses allowed easy travel through the system for
the first fifty or so feet until voices were heard from behind. Everyone
stopped. Aberdon, who was trailing, turned around, crouching to the
water level. It sounded like kids. Then it was as two street punks stuck
their heads down into the sewers looking for the vanished group of
strangers. One reached a hand down below his head, visibly carrying a
flash light. Before he tuned it on, two silent needler shots were fired and
the bodies of two dead kids splashed into the water below, creating a little
wake that was eventually felt by the assassin.
"Too bad" said Nemesis leading the group once again through the
small cavern. "Let's go." They traveled through the sewers with very
little trouble. The tunnels were relatively flat and the footing was still
firm due to the recent construction of Cryon some 10 years ago. Nemesis'
night vision led them on until the man hole cover was reached near the
loading docks of the company. "God. How does the weather look?" asked
Nebulus, who had unzipped the top part of his suit after reaching the
ladder which led to the surface.
Jack had been in the net for some time now, checking on
programs, root operations, and watching out for ICE. "Security checking
will be done in one minute" came back Jack.
'One minute. Come on. Hurry up' thought Nemesis, quite eager to
get this job started. The adrenalizer was beginning to take effect.
Watches were being checked until the second before the security
program checker was finished, exactly 5:10 AM.
"Go" said Jack. Nebulus had already shed his wet suit and Nemesis
had slid the man hole cover out of the way while being covered by
Donna. Nebulus was the first out, quickly running up to the docking
door. He was quickly followed by the rest of the group who crouched by
the sides of the door, waiting for Nemesis to put the cover back on. He
finished and regrouped with the team who had taken off their glasses to
allow their eyes to adjust to the indoor light emanating from the door.
Nebulus entered. He quickly walked down the hallway and turned left
towards the security desk that monitored that side of the complex. The
security guard at the desk came into view and stood up as he approached
the desk.
"Who are you and what are you doing in this section of the
building?" the guard asked in a not so calm tone of voice. Obviously the
security had been upgraded for Operation Revolt.
Nebulus walked around so that he was next to the guard. "We've
got a problem in section 5" he replied bringing his arm from behind his
back. He thrust his hand forward into the guards throat, knocking him
out with a stunner. The guard shakingly fell to the floor and was kicked
under the desk. TV monitors lined the panel in front of him that had
four jack in sites.
"God this is one. Secure all personnel sensors and override all
subsystems in this section to me" spoke Nebulus outloud into his comm
mic.
Jack looked down onto the gaming board on the
table in front of him. An elaborate table top created like
an old model train scene had been transformed into a
World War II battlefield. Moving armies in Eastern Europe
moved on the forest-like layout depicting the different
programs going on. He immediately spotted the correct
security program that monitored the security personnel's
heart rate from individual sensors mounted on their
watch bands. He touched his finger to a spot near the
army foot soldier representing the algorithm and blinked
into the battlefield in front of the corporal with his
superuser privileges and general's uniform. He
immediately attacked the young soldier with his bayonet-
tipped M1 rifle and fought him down to the ground where
he thrust the nine inch bayonet blade into the soldiers
chest, terminating the program's operation. He returned
to his chair in front of the table again, this time wearing
a replica of Patton's uniform. "Done" was his reply to
Nebulus.
"Team in" ordered Nebulus who took control of the video cameras,
freezing them onto walls. He jumped into cyberspace with his God given
superuser access to check for personnel in the area. A map of the floor
came up with personnel locations and details. He jumped out, routing the
ground floor and the first three basements to the monitors in front of
him.
The team quickly arrived, hauling their over-and-under
weapons, and party favors with them. A quick look at the monitors and
Nemesis was off first seeking the entrance to the elevators. Slash took
off after him, followed by the two others right behind. The corridors
were lightly painted and had industrial carpet lining most of the halls.
A few more turns through the halls and the group came to a halt behind
a wall, separating them from the two security officers stationed at the
elevator.
"One. Problem at elevator" whispered Nemesis into his mic.
"Security at elevator 4, sector 6g : move promptly to sector 5g and
report back in to gate on arrival" announced Nebulus, speaking into the
security's comm. The guards looked at each other for a moment,
questioning the command from their security base.
"Request secure ID verification" came back one of the guards.
"ID hold out 764421 confirm" replied Nebulus, reading the code
from one of the monitors. The guard motioned to his partner and the two
walked off towards sector 5g, watching the offices as they went. As they
moved out of site, the lights indicating that the elevator was moving
down turned on. The group stayed still.
"One. Someone's on the..." spoke Slash.
"Team. Backtrack to stairs. Take first flight down and move
towards sector 2." Donna spun around and headed back first, frantically
leading the group. If they were caught now, the show would be over
right then. The stairs soon appeared in a side corridor and were entered.
The heavy fire-proof door was shut with a soft thud and Slash was the
first to go down the concrete stairs. The walls were solid white and were
dimly lit by night security lights.
The door to the first subbasement was reached and opened. Slash
peered around and saw no one. The walls were only four feet tall in this
sector. Offices were separated by a few grids of these as far as she could
tell by the dim light. Shadows snaked down the halls, carving light into
odd shapes and strokes by the bookcases and supporting pillars. The
team entered the floor and proceeded right along the hallway.
"No guards until the elevator" spoke Nebulus into his comm. The
team hugged the right wall, silently treading down the hallway,
stopping every twenty feet to check to make sure no guards were
walking rounds within the offices. Just because the security monitors
didn't show any guards, there was no absolute guarantee.
Sector 2 was finally reached. Nemesis looked at his watch.
5:11:43. Just a bit behind schedule, but nothing significant enough to
worry about.
"Let's take the stairs from now on" whispered Donna. "That way,
they can't track us."
"Forget it. The elevator's right nearby" darted Nemesis
continuing on in the general direction of the elevator. 'Who the fuck
does she think she is! This is my plan and my attack. She's just along for
the ride!' They reached the corner of the hallway in front of the
elevator.
"Watch out! There's..." trailed Nebulus.
"One. What's it like?" asked Nemesis, itching to get into a fight
right about now.
"Hold it right there! Don't move!" yelled a guard from behind the
group. They slowly turned around as two more guards came from the
elevator area. They all had on armored vests and carried high caliber
handguns, all pointed at the group. "Sidney, call into base and notify
them to send more people!" commanded the first guard, still pointing his
gun at Slash. "Drop it now!"
Nemesis faced the two guards that had come from the elevator and
slowly started to pivot around towards Aberdon who was right behind
him. Slash and Donna began to put their weapons on the ground,
crouching in anticipation.
"Base, this is" spoke a guard into his comm.
"Now!" yelled Nemesis, laying down a spray of needlers at the two
guards in front of him. Aberdon spun around in Slash's direction
cutting the first guard to pieces with an array of silenced hard
ammunition. Three guards now lay dead on the floor, their blood
staining the carpet underneath them.
"I told you we needed armor piercers" spoke Nemesis at Aberdon.
"Anything less, wouldn't have killed them."
"Too bad for standard armor vests. Next time, wear something
better than that" scoffed Slash grinning over the dead bodies.
"Team, what's up?" asked Nebulus over the comm.
"Thanks for the warning, one. We just waxed three of 'em"
replied Nemesis, dragging one into an office room. The other two were
placed under the desks in one of the nearby offices as well in hope of
temporarily concealing their presence.
The elevator door was opened and the group entered, pressing the
button for subbasement 4 on the panel. The doors shut and the elevator
began to move down.
"Guards in sector 2DD, report to sector 4DD immediately" spoke
Nemesis into the security comm. He looked back at the monitors,
bringing up the bottom two levels. 'More guards at the key points. More
security blockades to bypass. Shit. Guards are moving in on the elevator
in sector 2DD.'
"One, this is God. Security ID failed. They won't listen to you
now. Presently blocking communications to other sectors."
"What the hell happened" asked Nebulus getting quite pissed by
now that the plan was getting fucked up.
"The security is tighter than I thought. Out."
The elevator stopped, but it wasn't at subbasement 4. The team
looked around and at the panel, trying to find out what was wrong.
"Team, this is God. Break out of the top hatch and find another way back
into the building. Security is on to you."
"Shit!" yelled Nemesis very mad that the plan had failed.
"We're still in so don't fuck up!" yelled Slash.
"Everybody, get back!" yelled Aberdon, pushing the group to the
opposing side of the elevator from the doors. He aimed his grenade
launcher from under his gun, and fired at the floor, just under the doors.
"NO!!!!" yelled Slash. Before she could do anything about it, the
grenade impacted on the floor and exploded filling the cabin with fire,
smoke and a shock wave that threw everyone to the floor. The far side of
the floor blew out destroying the lower part of the doors as well. Slowly,
Slash looked up to view the damage, her ears were ringing from the
blast. Black smoke filled the cabin allowing almost no visibility.
"Two. What the hell can you see?" she asked Nemesis, pulling him
to sit up.
He switched his eyes to infra-red and then to ultraviolet, trying
to get a better picture of the cabin. "The floor's about half gone and the
doors are severely damaged." The cabin swayed a little in the elevator
shaft as the team began to regain itself.
"One this is three. How the hell do we get out of here!" screamed
Slash into her comm. The earphone just buzzed; the diaphragm
completely shredded from the shock wave. "One this is three, come in."
Nothing. "Shit! We're cut off! Why the fuck did you blow the elevator
like that you moron!? You killed the goddamn comms!" she yelled
throwing her comm to the ground.
"Wait. Elevator ladder. Come on" said Nemesis venturing into the
grayish-black smoke, his mask temporarily giving him a filter to breath
through. His adrenaline pushing him onward, Nemesis crouched near
the hole and reached out for the rung of the ladder nearest to him.
"God, this is one. Secure fire alarms and all security sectors not
in this area. I want my team to be shut off from everyone else. We've
lost communications with them."
Jack stood up from his playing board and
proceeded to another one : another level of security. He
sat down at the second board dressed in a Civil War
General's uniform. The gold braids from his blue epaulets
dangled near the surface as he closely looked over the
terrain. He found where he wanted to be and placed his
finger at the spot only to appear there instantly.
He stood in the Union Army's camp under overcast
skies looking around for the program he wanted to kill.
"Young man, come here!" he yelled in a northern accent
at one of the messenger boys.
"Yes sir" the boy said breathing hard from
carrying messages as he stood at attention in front of
General Jack. His weathered uniform and tattered pants
could hardly be classified as a uniform, but yet it worked
well with his position.
"Where can I find the lad who's carryin' the
message about the fire?"
"That'd be me, sir. I'm sorry I haven't gotten it out
yet, but they blocked my normal way out and I can't get
by."
"Why don't you give the message to me and I'll
make sure that it gets out, son" he said holding his gloved
hand outward to the young boy.
"But sir, I.."
"Now, son!" he commanded, lowering his voice to a
thunderous growl.
"Yes sir." he replied giving Jack the message. He
looked confused with the order, but was not about to
disobey a general.
"Now git goin' kid." The boy turned slowly around
and then started to walk off looking for another problem
to report. Then he collapsed about ten feet from Jack as
his head exploded from the .50 caliber flint lock pistol ball
that pierced the back of his head. No one paid attention as
they were not programmed to monitor his operation. He
landed face first into the muddy ground as Jack put the
gun back in it's holster at his side and blinked out of the
board, leaving the message to be erased.
Nebulus had yet to be nervous, but he wasn't exactly calm
anymore as he found the remote sensing information and popped it up
on the screen of one of his monitors. After a little searching he changed
the monitors to display the motion sensor and thermal sensor
information from the different floors. 'Elevator shaft. What the fuck
are they doing in a goddamn elevator shaft?' he thought to himself.
"Hold it right there, mister!" yelled a guard from behind Nebulus.
"Don't move, don't even breathe!" The guard and his two counterparts
slowly walked around, surrounding him at the guard desk. "Do you
really think we were that stupid!?" asked the guard.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my sector?"
confronted Nebulus, unfamiliar with the uniforms. The guards were
decked out in military-style commando garb, carrying heavy caliber
rifles and explosives.
"We're the other half of the security that you didn't take into
consideration in your plan. Now shut up!"
"Hey! There is no other side of security that I don't know about!
Now put those guns down before I notify security and make this a big
mess!" ordered Nebulus, standing up to face the leader of the group who
stood on the other side of the security desk across from him. 'Shit.
Heavy bore weapons, needlers, grenades and explosives. They really are
military. Lieutenant DeGrace. Oh, shit...' he thought to himself as his
eyes looked down to the ground in front of his adversaries' boots. A
single hand stuck out underneath the desk.
"Mistake number one, asshole. Now sit down" said Lieutenant
DeGrace. He slowly gripped the arms of the chair and sat down, hoping
that the commandos wouldn't take notice of what was on the monitors
yet. 'Come on Jack. Call me. Call me.'
"One this is God."
"One is dead" was his only reply. The monitors blinked out and
Nebulus' comm went dead as one of the commando's behind him grabbed
him by the throat and forced him to the ground backwards, shoving a
needler into his throat as his head firmly hit the floor.
"Your body armor won't protect you from this, now will it"
sneered the commando, living for the fight. Nebulus just laughed, and
continued to laugh sarcastically until he was silenced with the butt of a
gun against his head.
"The hunt is on" spoke the Lieutenant into his comm.
"Damn. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?"
Jack talked to himself in the net, surrounded by the
playing fields and game boards of the blue lit room. "Wait.
Who took him out?" He moved from board to board
checking all the different systems that were running,
personnel marks, timelines and on. With a single
thought, twenty more boards came into play on the
ceiling above his head. It was just like the feet of the
tables were nailed to the ceiling. "Ah, I love tesseracts!"
Jack announced with a smile as he changed perspective
and jumped onto the ceiling to view the new playing
fields : thermal and motion sensors of every floor in their
sector. "Time for some fun!"
By now the team had climbed down the elevator shaft ladder to
within sight of the fourth subbasement. Nemesis lead the way down
with Donna, Slash and Aberdon following closely behind. Their weapons
slung and both hands holding onto the ladder, Nemesis pondered what an
easy target they would be if anyone would open one of the doors and find
them there.
"Team this is God...God....God..." echoed one of the speakers in the
shaft. Slash looked around, trying to find the source without any luck.
"God, where are you!" Slash yelled, clinging onto the ladder, not
allowing herself to look down.
"I can't hear you, but I know where you are. Keep going and
hurry up. One is dead so get out as soon as possible."
"Shit!" screamed Slash. The reality of the challenge was at hand.
'Have we come this far only to be finished off. Goddamn it. I knew it was
too big!' she thought to herself, as they descended closer to the elevator
door.
They reached subbasement 4 in no time and stopped to gather
their weapons for an assault. "Guys, we're one minute behind schedule.
Since Nebulus is out, I say we just take out everything in our way and get
out in the same manner" Nemesis said, looking back up the ladder. 'Nice
ass, Donna. We'll have to fuck when we get out of here.'
"Let's do it!" snarled Slash. 'Pay back time. Now the fun begins.'
As the team climbed away from the door, Nemesis pulled out a
magnetic explosive and secured it to the doors, sliding down the ladder in
time for the doors to be completely destroyed. Aberdon was the first into
the hall. The doors were shredded onto the floor nearby and the bodies
of two guards lay among the scattered debris. A quick look around and
the shielded doors were closing quickly, locking the area out due to the
explosion. The team reassembled in the hall.
"Team, this is God. I can talk you through to the strike zone. Go
forward to the first door and I'll open it!" he ordered. The team took off.
Jack looked onto the master board for the sector, viewing what was going
on. "Enemy on other side, door opening now!" he yelled into the
microphone next to him on the table. The team crouched next to the
walls as the door slid open. Four guards were waiting just like Jack had
said, and were soon disposed of by a sneak attack of needlers and hard
ammo as the door opened. They ran ahead down the hall, now lit by
security lights. The concrete walls and hard metal doors concealed labs
and computer rooms by the dozens as they continued down the straight,
tiled hallway.
"Six guards commin' from the right hallway!" yelled Jack.
Nemesis and the team slowed down and slid next to the facing wall of the
hallway. "Shutting blockade" said Jack as the solid metal shielding door
fell into place, locking the guards out of range. The group continued on.
Running towards the next intersection, Nemesis veered towards
the left hallway. They turned into the hallway, only to be stopped by a
solid door, again. Slash and Donna ran back a few steps, watching their
backs.
"God, we got a door" yelled Nemesis, knowing that he wouldn't be
heard anyways.
"Incoming!" yelled Slash as a squad of commandos came down the
hallway in full force. Donna opened up and let out a spray of hard
ammo, hitting a few, but having little effect.
"Shit! They're armored!" she yelled as the two men got in
position. Scraping fire bounced off the walls around Donna as she fell to
the ground, trying to get out of the way of the action.
"Now!" yelled Aberdon. He and Nemesis ducked around the corner
with their weapons, laying down fire. The commandos taking cover
against some of the walls that led into other hallways began putting
down another layer of ammo at the two. Donna jumped out a little to
thrown down a flash mine. She was nicked by two rounds in the chest
and fell backward just as the mine exploded, sending up a high intensity
flash explosion. Slash jumped out just as it went off and fired two mini-
grenades which impacted directly above the cowering attackers.
Aberdon and Nemesis took off down the hallway after the commando
position and engaged themselves in the fight by firing at the
commandos at point blank range. Taking a few hits each, they pressed
through the group until they were out of ammunition. The smoke from
the grenades had cleared and there were only a few more left. Nemesis
picked up the nearest one and slammed his fist into his face, crushing
every bone from the impact. The commando grabbed Nemesis' arm just
as he was thrown into the wall behind him and forgotten about as
Nemesis' attacked his next victim. Soon the floor was littered with
bloodied camouflage, their broken armor not strong enough against
specialized armor piercing rounds. Slash and Donna joined the two men
in the middle of the battlefield.
"Now this is what I call a fight!" yelled Nemesis allowing his
adrenalizer to get the most of him.
"Military commandos. Looks like we underestimated Cryon a little
bit. Let's move" said Slash, leading the team back to the door. Reloads
and armor checks were made. Scrape marks in her armor were only left
in Donna's chest where she was hit.
"5:14:39" said Nemesis.
"Team, God here. Door opening in 2 seconds."
"It's about goddamn time" hissed Aberdon. The door slid upward
surprising the group who was ready for anything now. Another squad
of commandos were lying on the ground, as if they had collapsed.
"Nerve gas is great isn't it" came Jack's voice over the speakers.
"That boy's crazy" blurted Slash. They relaxed their weapons
enough to start running down the hallway towards the last blockade.
Jack watched intently at the movement of the team from within
the computers. "OK. Alarms deactivated. Explosives deactivated.
Communications deactivated" he spoke to himself. He constantly went
over the area again and again in a split seconds making sure that
nothing would go wrong once the team was in place.
The last blockade was passed without any problems. Labs with
built in windows now lined the concrete substructure. The halls were
relatively dark, but shadows from the security night lights lined the
walls.
"The lab should be up around the next corner" cautiously spoke
Slash to Nemesis who was running side by side with her in the wide
corridors. Weapons pointed forward, they slowed to a brisk walk to
within inches of the intersection that led to the target site. 'There's got
to be a squad here' repeated Nemesis in his head. 'Come on, let's go, let's
go!' anxiously thought Slash, ready to get the job over with.
"Intruder is using armor piercers. Stop them at all costs. It's up
to you, McGletspy" Lieutenant DeGrace's voice came over the military
comm to the guards posted out front of the labs for Project Revolt.
'Time to start the show' thought Nemesis to himself. He pointed to
his eyes while holding a flash mine in his fingers. Everyone
understood. They took their positions around each other, ready for
attack as Nemesis slid the flash mine smoothly across the floor in the
direction of the target. A second later, Nemesis' polarized CRI's viewed
the four guards decked out in armored gear and heavy bore weapons as
the flash mine went off, not too far from their position in front of the
metal lab door. Heavily armored in urban camouflage, Kevlar II body
armor and carrying anti-terrorist attack gear, the four commandos
opened fire immediately after the flash dimmed. Their anti-radiation
goggles protecting them from the burn of the mine allowed their
weapons to pinpoint Nemesis' head in their sites, only to miss by his fast
reflexes.
"Four in armor!" yelled Nemesis over his shoulder while bringing
his gun up for an assault. The barrage silenced for a millisecond.
"Get back!" screamed Slash, pulling Donna with her. A
minigrenade exploded on the corner wall and was followed by three
more that left more shrapnel than damaged concrete.
"Hold this" said Aberdon shedding his equipment pack,
containing some of the explosives. "Let's do it!" he yelled, throwing two
grenades into the hallway. Right after impact, he and Nemesis began
the attack by charging into the intersecting hallway to face the
commandos head on. Spraying needlers and hard ammo, the firing line
pressed forward towards the commandos. Without time to react from the
grenade, the commandos began taking damage as the onslaught
continued on. Their armor being torn away from the ammunition, the
guards soon fell to the ground without an escape route. A quick release
from one of the commandos launched a minigrenade at the line. Moving
out of its way, Aberdon and Nemesis lost position as the grenade exploded
behind them. Unsatisfied, however, Nemesis took control by directly
attacking one of the commandos in close combat. Weakened from the
fire fight, the commando fought to gain balance as Nemesis picked him
up off the ground by the throat, throwing his gun to the side for the
challenge. Kicking with his bloodied leg and grabbing with his hands,
the commando fought until Nemesis slammed his fist into his face. The
anti-gas goggles exploded under the pressure. The commando went limp
in Nemesis' hands as he pulled his fist out of the commando's face,
leaving only a crushed and bleeding lifeless body to slump to the ground
with a release of his grip. One other commando ran towards Nemesis, but
was cut short as Aberdon gunned him down, finding weak points in the
sides of his armor. Nemesis reached down towards one of his kills of the
day to get another weapon in time to head kill one of the other guards
preparing to fire on Aberdon. Weapons pointed at the head of the
remaining one, Lieutenant McGletspy.
Panting from the adrenaline rush, Nemesis lowered his barrel to
walk closer to the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant's leg and chest were
bleeding from needlers. He held his chest with his hand under his shirt,
provocatively looking at the approaching Nemesis.
"Eat me mother fucker!" yelled the Lieutenant, holding in his
now exposed hand a death mine : a high explosive that personnel carry
for hopeless situations.
"Get out!" yelled Nemesis, running backwards and diving for the
nearest intersecting hallway only a few steps away. Aberdon let out a
few rounds into the Lieutenant's skull but not in time to silence the
mine. A millisecond later, it erupted into a ball of fire, engulfing
Aberdon. A cloud of fire flew down the corridors, running over the rest
of the party that had taken cover by kissing the ground. The shockwave
from the blast echoed its anger down the corridors until the fire itself
had died away. Slowly Nemesis pulled himself up off of the ground.
Putting out a few fires that had started on his suit, he gradually made his
way back to the battlefield.
Donna and Slash stood at the tip of a large blood pool. Aberdon's
body was now in six pieces, his extremities lying on the ground near
him. Blood stains and body parts cluttered the ceiling, walls and floor
where the commandos had been. All their bodies were now soaked,
burning and scattered all about the hall. Donna moved over to Nemesis
and handed him her gun.
"Gimme your K1 and let's get this over with" she softly spoke.
Nemesis' large hand took hold of the grip and pointed it towards the
facing locked door. He let loose a minigrenade which exploded,
destroying the locking mechanism on the door. Donna turned back
around towards the door only to be handed Nemesis' K1.
The lab was lined with liquid beds and computer terminals with
the large computer in the back. The whole room was barely large
enough to contain the ten beds. The group got straight to work laying
down the explosive packs and detonation arrays around the beds and
supercomputer.
"Sync check" said Nemesis as the last one was placed down.
Donna took out the detonator and confirmed that they were all properly
synced.
"5:16:12. Time to move" said Slash, exiting the room first. Donna
put on the last pack containing the party favors and left last, detonator
in hand. The trek back down the halls was fairly simple. Their boots left
a trail of bloodied bootprints from the last battle as they jogged down the
hallways. The thought of where was Jack was on everyone's mind since
they had had no contact with him for the past few minutes. A few more
jogs to the left and right put them back at the stairwell.
"5:16:49. Let's do it" said Slash looking at Donna. Nemesis went
into the stairwell and proceeded to go up a flight and a half, checking
for more guards. Slash followed, but not as far since she was Donna's
backup. Donna was the last in and shut the door until only her hand
with the detonator was sticking out, making sure that the structure
would not interfere with the detonation.
"Here we go!" she yelled up the stairs. 'Do it' she told herself as
she pushed the trigger button down and pulled her arm in quickly.
Donna began running upstairs as the explosions in the lab rocked the
basement in a stunning blaze of fire and thunder. Sonic blasts blew out
many of the windows as it ran down the hallways only to be followed by
clouds of fire that engulfed everything in site. Multiple explosions could
be distantly heard as the team regrouped on the third subbasement level
and continued upward toward the main floor.
"Watch it!" yelled Slash as they made their way to the bottom of
the first floor's stairs. An infrared antipersonnel mine was seen on the
wall next to one of the bottom stairs. A look skyward showed the
explosive sitting, waiting for it's target to come through it's invisible
trip line. Carefully stepping over the trip line, Nemesis led the way to
the top door. 'This is just too easy of an escape' he thought to himself
remembering many other raids whose exit was much tougher than it's
entrance. He unfastened two grenades from his armor and proceeded to
throw them into the hallway, shutting the stairwell door quickly behind
them.
"Grenade!!!" yelled a guard from inside the hallway. Nemesis'
guess was right. The two exploded relatively at the same time. Nemesis
quickly entered the smoky hallway and proceeded to fire at the four
commandos who had taken posts on opposite sides of the stairwell door.
Slash and Donna soon jumped into the hallway, taking posts on either
side of Nemesis, guarding against additional intrusion. A few quick looks
around only produced the four dead bodies on the ground. Nemesis
reloaded.
The party turned right from the stairwell door and proceeded
with caution to the next intersection. They moved slowly with their
weapons pointed straight ahead, searching for the way out while still
knowing that they had to return to the original entrance to not only get
out, but to also find out what happened to Nebulus. The first intersection
was clear.
"Donna. String a mine across here" ordered Nemesis who
continued to move on. Donna handed the mine to Slash who plastered it
to the opposing wall while Donna strung the device across the
intersection.
The lights began to flicker on and off. Then the siren was heard.
The team stopped to look around. The electronic whirring of the fire
alarm filled the entire hallway with its annoying tone. "Code 1 fire alert
in subbasement 4. All personnel must evacuate these premises
immediately" spoke a recorded voice from the speakers that Jack had
been using previously. 'Why the hell are the alarms going off if Jack
had control of the situation?' questioned Nemesis.
"Jack must be out as well" said Slash. "Let's get the fuck out of
here!" The team took off down the hallway. It was time to leave Cryon
once and for all. The operation had taken long enough. Half of the team
was either dead or taken out of the picture somehow.
"Donna. Give me your gun and start preparing some party
favors" yelled Slash taking Donna's gun. Donna took off her pack and
sorted through the explosives and grenades, ready to hand them out
when people needed to die. Passing another intersection, the team saw
the back of the chair at the security desk. Nemesis waved his hand back
at Donna and she put in it a high explosive, enough of a bang to destroy
the room.
"Hey man, catch!" yelled Nemesis. Nebulus turned around only to
see the explosive heading his way. The guards hiding behind the walls
still had their guns pointed at him if he screwed up. But then, what else
could he do. The team stopped their advance and Nemesis shot two
minigrenades into the room. Nebulus jumped from his chair and
sprinted towards his team as the grenades went off and the explosive
landed on the chair. The team took cover just as gun fire was heard, but
was soon silenced by the deadening thunder of the explosive as it
completely destroyed everything and everyone in the room.
"Glad you still know what you're doin'" said Nebulus looking at
the team.
"We figured something was up, so I decided to make sure no one
was in the room" replied Nemesis.
"There may be more guards down the hallway."
"Let's go." Getting up once again, the team continued down the
hall and fought through the fire and debris of the security room.
Finally advancing down the final hall, Nemesis emptied his gun of
minigrenades and destroyed the entrance door and hopefully
everything else that could attack them. Donna dropped off the party
favors and they carefully exited the docking entrance. Nemesis was first
away from the entrance and proceeded to move aside the manhole cover.
The group got into the hole and Donna, being last as usual, pressed the
detonator, igniting the explosives left in the pack. The docking area of
the building erupted in fire and exploded sending debris everywhere.
But, the team had already begun the trip through the sewers. The job
was over. It was time to go home.
Sitting in the van on the way back into the city, no one talked.
The van took a corner and drove by the Cryon building, getting a good
look at all the police and fire department personnel who were attacking
the multiple fires in the building. The deep color of fire offset the light
grayish color building in the morning light. The sun had just started to
come up, but was still pretty early before daybreak. They soon turned
into the city, taking their masks off.
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