Raid (Animus Book 9)

by Joshua Anderle

  “About how long is that?” Kaiden asked.

  “For these models, about another seventy minutes.”

  He nodded and then followed as their young guide slid back into the sewers. “Hopefully it shouldn’t, but if things get heated…Chief, you should probably bring the ship closer.”

  “Oh, I did that as soon as you walked into the gate,” the EI informed him. “I also know how your discussions can go.”

  “Like I said, I’ll be civil.” As soon as he had descended the ladder, another group of havoc droids stood and stared at him. They didn’t prepare to fire but seemed ready to if he tried anything. He sighed and shook his head. “They aren’t making it easy, though.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  When they finally entered what they assumed to be the closest thing the Halos had to a central command, they were greeted by a room that was vastly different than the shantytown above. Holoscreens abounded. A number of members either worked on tech or repaired armor and droids. Wires and glowstrips littered surfaces and various monitors displayed schematics, messages, or diagnostic check completion rates. This looked more like the place a hacker or tech gang would work in.

  “It looks pretty good, right?” Falco asked as they continued to pass through.

  “Yeah. If you guys actually still have funds for stuff like this, you’d think you’d use a little of it above,” Kaiden stated and made no effort to hide the slight challenge in his tone.

  Falco turned and began to walk backward as he continued. “The Junk Town is basically a front. Even before the incident, that’s how it was,” he explained. “Of course, some of the buildings are powered up and function as labs or repair shops to keep up appearances or when we need the space. But most are filled with proxy servers and the like to confuse any other gangs or even military who decide to prod around over the net.”

  He nodded. “That’s neat, but should you really tell us that?”

  The young man stopped in his tracks, thought it over for a moment, and finally lowered his head and sighed. “Dammit.”

  “You’re not paid very well, are you?” The ace chuckled.

  “Falco!” a voice shouted. The trio looked up the hall to see a man with slicked-back blue hair and angry eyes. Kaiden recognized him, albeit vaguely. “You were one of those I talked to after beating the droid.”

  The man approached and studied him carefully. “Yeah, my name’s Fritz.” He scowled. “I should pound you for doing us a dirty like that.”

  “Feel free to try,” he said lightly and tapped the stock of his rifle. “But you know that droid did you dirtier.”

  Fritz scowled but shrugged and nodded. “That’s why we’re talking at all. Follow me, Falco, you’re dismissed.”

  The kid nodded. “Right, sir.” He turned and whispered as he passed. “Please remember to not start anything, all right?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he and Genos followed the other man into a makeshift conference room. A woman with long black hair with several blue dyed lines glowered at him and her bright eyes revealed EI lenses. The other occupant was a tall, thin man with close-cropped hair—streaked black and white—who wore a long blue jacket with the Halos logo on the chest.

  “Hello again,” he stated as Fritz took a seat belligerently beside him. “You’ve met Fritz now. I am Janis, and this is Kit.” He pointed to the woman, who nodded coolly.

  “I guess we didn’t really have a chance for introductions last time,” Kaiden admitted as he and his companion sat and removed their helmets. “I’m Kaiden Jericho, ace in training at Nexus academy, and this is Genos, a Tsuna mechanist.”

  “Nexus Academy as well?” Janis asked and looked at the Tsuna.

  “Indeed.” Genos nodded.

  “So we were showed up by an Academy kid?” Fritz sighed. “That’ll look great for our rep.”

  “I’m twenty-two,” he replied. “And I was here for the droid, not for you.”

  “If the droid was not active, you probably would have dealt with us instead, right?” Janis asked.

  “Technically, I suppose. But I remember you saying that most of you didn’t want the droid turned on. I could probably have talked you into giving it to me instead of…more violent methods.”

  “I doubt that was the first plan you came up with,” the Halo leader countered and leaned forward. “But you seem to be saying that more to placate us than anything else. You said you wanted to talk. What about?”

  “First off, that jet-bike—who’s was that again?”

  “It was mine,” Kit said and finally spoke. “Do you know where it is, by any chance?”

  “Uh, probably in pieces in a chop shop. I sold it for creds a couple of towns away after I left,” he confessed and she narrowed her eyes. He raised his hands defensively. “I wanted to start this by offering to pay for it. It seems only fair to try to wash away at least a little of the bad blood.”

  She considered this, folded her arms, and after a long moment, slid into a chair. “We can talk about that after we talk about whatever you’re here for.”

  “Right, so…” He clapped to focus his thoughts and find the best words. Unlike the Riders and Kings, he wasn’t exactly on good terms with the Halos, which made the offer difficult now that he actually had to voice it. “I need hackers—although, from what I understand, you’ve…uh, branched out?”

  “After a fashion,” Janis responded vaguely.

  “Not by choice, really.” Fritz huffed. “After the massacre, only a little over a dozen of us were left to pick up the pieces. We had enough funds to scrape together new hires, but the other divisions of the Halos in the west were wary about joining up with us, even temporarily to help. The guys we were able to get were either new to the whole gang life deal or were from smaller gangs looking to make their way up.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Some bounced when they got here and saw the state of everything “

  “That room outside is mostly made up of what we salvaged from before the droid attacked. Most of it is actually older stock we kept in inventory,” Kit informed them. “We’re making some headway, but if you need hackers…I guess it depends on the job.”

  Kaiden was rather surprised. He definitely hadn’t expected to get an earful of their current predicament but assumed they hadn’t really had the chance to actually voice how screwed they were after the attack. They obviously had to keep up appearances for the newbies. A gang having to hope that their previous reputation was enough to sustain them was common after a bad loss.

  “Then I guess I’ll get to the point,” he began. “I’m building an army—a group of raiders, really.” He extended his hand and Chief appeared. Fritz and Janus went wide-eyed and Kit looked at it curiously. She was the only one with EI lenses and he sometimes forgot that being able to see an EI without some kind of device was odd. Chief turned into a hologram of the AO fortress—the old one Kaiden knew. “It’s run by a group that’s looking to cause considerable trouble for everyone,” he explained. “They’ve been making moves, mostly capturing big businesses through both legal means and very much illegal. After that, it looks like they plan to move into terrorist actions.”

  “What kind?” the Halo leader demanded. “I know ‘terrorist’ is never good, but it can come in many varieties.”

  “We don’t exactly know yet. But it is one that they are building quite a big army for, and it seems my school might be one of the first targets.” The hologram changed to display different models of droids. “We don’t know everything they are building, but we do know they seem to be amassing a hell of a force. This fortress seems to be one of their main barracks and development stations.”

  “That looked…big,” Fritz muttered. “You wanna take that place on?”

  “We don’t have the forces to take on something like that,” Kit pointed out. “Even at our prime, we’re not an—”

  “Assault force. I know. That’s not the plan for you,” he countered. “Like I said, I need hackers. I’m sure they have hum
an defenders of some kind, but the majority of what we face will be droids and automated defenses. I have a couple of hackers already, but with how big this place is and how this could go to hell really quickly, having backup and a larger team of hackers would be helpful. You wouldn’t have to be with the main force at all. I have the Fire Riders and Skyway Kings for that, along with some other friends.”

  “The Riders and Kings?” Janis whispered, his face creased in thought. “You have yourself quite the force already. You really seem to want to do this.”

  “I’ll ask the big question if you don’t mind, Janis,” Fritz stated and fixed his stare on Kaiden. “If this place is such a danger, why not contact the military? Why are you planning this with a group of gang members?”

  “Because this organization is good at hiding themselves and have done so for years.” He remained silent for a moment and tried to decide if it was better to reveal what he knew or if that would simply make them laugh it off. They’d believed him this far, though. “Have you heard of the Arbiter Organization?”

  “The new Illuminati, essentially?” Fritz asked. He glanced at his Halo teammates and they both nodded. “Yeah, we have.”

  “Are you saying this is their base?” Janis questioned and focused on the hologram as the droid figures shrunk and the base was displayed behind them. “That’s…rather foreboding if true.”

  “I’m not sure how many they have.” The ace sighed. “My team and I took care of a smaller one but from what we know, they have a few more like that. But this is the biggest one we’ve found and the most important one we’re aware of. We want to not only eliminate it from the field, but we hope we can find something concrete there—plans, a ledger, or relevant data. We need something we can show the council that will make them take action before the AO does.”

  “I see.” Janis leaned back in his chair. “Before we go further, what are you offering?”

  “As in pay?” he asked and received a nod in response. “Whatever you can carry with you. All I want—what my team wants—is the evidence.”

  “Did you make the same promise to the other gangs?” Kit asked.

  “I did,” he confirmed. “But as hackers, you’ll be in the building first and have more time to gather what you wish when the fighting finishes. Plus, you’re probably the only ones who will want what’s on the servers. The others can’t hack into them like you can.”

  “They can simply take the computers, though, which are still worth creds as equipment,” Fritz argued. “Although, I suppose a couple of us could probably strip them before they think of that themselves.”

  Fritz, Janis, and Kit looked at one another, almost like they had a silent conversation. Their leader finally drew a deep breath and turned to Kaiden. “We have ten high-class hackers and about twenty more that can help with more moderate objectives—splicing into doors, commandeering defense, and the like. Our Engineers can help with the assault, along with the droids.”

  “How many droids?” Genos asked.

  “And of what caliber?” The ace looked out of one of the windows of the room to where a few assault droids were being assembled with junk parts. “It looks like most will be fodder.”

  “Most of the droid force will be,” the man agreed. “But we have a shipment of parts and mods coming from the other Halo division in Oregon. We’ll be able to assemble a small force of Havoc, Guardian, and Soldier droids that will actually be able to mount a solid offense.”

  “When will the attack happen?” Fritz asked.

  “We’re still putting the final pieces together.” He retrieved his tablet. “Do you have a contact?”

  Janis nodded and picked up his own tablet and they exchanged information. “I’ll keep you informed, but estimate another week of preparation at a minimum.”

  “That should be enough to assemble a stronger force.”

  “I’ll make sure everyone works day and night to get it together,” Kit promised.

  “Make sure not to work them too hard,” Fritz warned. “They need to be ready to fight and hack too.”

  “Then we’re agreed?” Kaiden asked and a little of the weight left his chest.

  Janis nodded. “Obviously, we’re not exactly altruistic, but I assume that even if this isn’t some organization of rumors, they are still assembling a force that is worrying. If they are attacking your Academy, my guess that’s only a start before they tear across the country, which includes us.”

  “I’m sure the military would get involved, even if they found some way to hold them off,” Kit reasoned. “But who knows how much land they can cover in that time?”

  “Plus all the goods we can get from this,” Fritz added with a smirk. “It’ll be nice to work with new tech again.”

  Kaiden and Genos nodded and the ace shook Janis’ hand. “Thanks for listening, and…uh, sorry for shocking you back then.”

  “A little static between temporary allies.” The man chuckled and his grasp tightened a little. “No worries.”

  He nodded and looked at Kit. “So, what do I owe you?”

  “I’ll send you the bill later,” she stated. “I have other concerns than jet bike shopping for now.”

  “Understood. We’ll be off, then.” Kaiden and Genos went to the door and the ace paused as he pulled it open. “Oh, right. Are you guys gonna bring that sat-cannon too?”

  He looked back to see Fritz’s amused face, but the humor wasn’t shared by Janis and Kit.

  “I’ll take that as a no. I’m looking forward to the battle!” he called as they hurried out of the underground base.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Genos took manual control of the ship from Chief and prepared to take off. Kaiden exhaled a relieved sigh as he took his co-pilot chair.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” The Tsuna chuckled as the ship began to gain altitude.

  “Maybe not for us, but if we were simply some nice elders there to tell them the good news, we’d be paste by now,” he joked.

  “I’m not really sure what that means,” his companion replied as the ship banked away from the Halos base. “But I’ll agree with you, nonetheless.” Genos increased speed with a suddenness that made Kaiden flatten himself against his seat. The junk town seemed to rocket into the distance.

  As he virtually pried himself off the chair and forced his muscles to relax, he noticed a blinking light in the corner of his vision. “What’s that, Chief?”

  “Messages. You have quite a few.”

  The blinking stopped but a panel of contacts appeared in its place. Two were from Zena and Janis, checking the number to make sure it was right, but the seventeen others weren’t.

  “What the hell? Laurie and Chiyo have been trying to reach me,” he exclaimed.

  “Oh…I suppose we should have checked in with them through all this, shouldn’t we?” his teammate murmured.

  “Chief, why didn’t any of these get through?”

  “They did but I held them off.”

  “Why?” he demanded.

  Chief’s eye narrowed in exasperation. “We have been kind of dealing with more important things the last few hours—you know, like getting shot. I sent them messages saying call back later but they didn’t listen.”

  “They’re probably wondering how the meetings went.” He sighed and tried to contact Chiyo. “At least we’ll have good news to send back.”

  The comm link took a moment to establish but she answered quickly and he opened a holoscreen. “Nice of you to finally return,” she began, a snarky edge to her tone. “Where are you and what happened?”

  “Good evening, friend Chiyo,” Genos said cheerfully.

  “Hello, Genos,” she responded. “Answer the question, Kaiden.”

  He chuckled. She seemed peeved, for some reason. “I’ve had a little trouble, but it’s all good now,” he informed her.

  “Trouble? Did the gangs attack you?” she demanded and worry replaced the grumbling.

  “Not really. I would ask you to con
tact a cleaner if that were the case, and not the kind that makes your armor look fresh.” He laughed. “The Fire Riders and Skyway Kings are with us. Genos and I finished talking to the Azure Halos.”

  “How did that go?”

  “Well enough. We had a small misunderstanding, to begin with but after that, they were almost nice,” he admitted.

  “What could they bring to the table?” she inquired.

  “Fewer hackers than I hoped. They have a decent force, but most of their new recruits are actually engineers. I’m not sure how many we need. They said they have about thirty-something hackers in all but only ten are actually really good.”

  “If the Halos say they are good, then they are. They are one of the few groups that actually know what that means in the profession,” she stated. “On how useful they will be, well, we have a better idea now.”

  “Have you found out more info from the drive?” He asked.

  “Indeed. The building is actually the main fortress in an old military outpost and was refitted by the organization, it looks like,” she explained.

  That was something, but a building, no matter how big, was less important than what it contained. “Do we have a better idea of the force we’ll face?”

  “Large. It has a construction division so I’m sure it increases every day,” she replied. “What do ours look like?”

  “As far as soldiers and all that, we’re just shy of three hundred,” he answered. “The Halos will also bring in a number of droids of their own, but they aren’t in the best place right now on that front. They are building more and should have some good models by the time we are ready to go, but most are slightly better than junkers.”

  “Still, it’s better than using humans as fodder,” she reminded him. “That’s actually a more sizeable force than I expected. Are they aware of what we’re facing?”

  “I told them the gist. They know this won’t be easy but they’ve decided they can’t let these guys run around freely. It’s bad for business. That and the potential loot.”

  “Well, either for gain or morals, I’m glad we actually have their help,” she confessed. “It makes it seem more possible now.”