“We've swept for the tracker,” she replied crisply. “It's still pinging our servers. They all say he's here, only he's not. Nick and his friends may have tech that can mislead ours.” She felt all the adrenaline draining away. This always happened after a mission. That and the hunger. She already felt it nibbling at the corners of her consciousness. She tried not to look at her men. She could feel the movement of each of them; hear their hearts beating in their chests. When she was like this all her senses were heightened to the point of being painful. And there was always the voice in the back of her head, nudging her to do what it wanted. Her fists clenched and unclenched as a particularly strong urge to feed rolled through her body.
On the other end of the phone the Major was silent. He knew about her hunger. What it did to her. At the moment he wasn't pressing for an explanation for her shutting him out. That would come later.
“Then we're hooped. Our tech is bush league compared to theirs. Stand your men down. Put a watch on the place. So far this incursion‘s been focused around Kailex Industries. We’ll work with that. In fact we've already got a lead we can follow up on.”
Her heart sped up bringing with it a welcome spike of adrenaline. The hunger faded into the background. “We have a lead?”
“Maybe. Kailex has a research facility on the north side of Vancouver near Grouse Mountain that he didn’t want anyone to know about. Title was hidden within a subsidiary, Vulcan Energy Corp. No one knows anything about them but there's a sentence or two on their website describing what they do. Thermal energy research. Could be nothing but it does appear to hit close to the mark with what happened in Vancouver. Take a look at the place on the QT. If he's there, I want him.”
She nodded, thinking about it. “Thermal energy fits with the quake. Hard to judge with the tech we're dealing with. Whatever he's developing, I don’t think it’s a cure for cancer.”
The Major snorted mirthlessly, “He was testing something Walker. There's no doubt about it. I'll bet you all the time you're going to spend with medical this week that it was a success.”
Her stomach flipped flopped and a sour taste filled her mouth. She should have expected this. For a few minutes she'd thought he’d chosen to ignore her little rebellion but that wasn't the case. He was going to make her pay after all.
“Medical?” she stammered.
There was very little she feared anymore, but Medical? What they did to you changed you. Never for the better and it was always painful. “We're too close for me to spend time in Medical,” she pleaded, not liking the way she sounded. She almost said she didn't want to go but that would be a useless argument. He wouldn’t care what she wanted. She had to be punished.
“You're going tonight,” he insisted firmly. “I've asked them to run a full spectrum of tests. Your recent behaviour has me worried. I need to know I can trust you.” Now he seemed almost happy. This was the thing about him that creeped her out. He liked to hurt people now. It hadn’t always been this way.
“You disobeyed a direct order on an active mission. Consider yourself lucky if that’s all I do to you. The lab rats have a new procedure they're anxious to try and you've been such a success they believe you can be ramped up even higher. Make you a real fighter.” He laughed. “As if they’d know anything about fighting. He paused waiting for some response from her. “Relax. It would take a month from start to finish if I let them have you now and we don't have that kind of time. We‘re close. Closer than we’ve ever been. So I need you. If I didn't, you'd be there, right in the middle of all those test tubes. But if you disobey me again, I'll shut you down and give you to them. When you disobey orders you're no use to me and some use to them. The labs love you and no sacrifice is too great for what we're doing.” The last came out with a bitter snap that surprised her. It sounded so personal. He usually kept strong emotions to himself. “Have you anything to add?” he finished, his voice cold.
“No sir. Thank you sir! I have absolutely nothing to add that you don't already know,” she replied, her own voice just as cool. She could play the same game. Keep her fear and disgust for Medical to herself and give him nothing. Still, she couldn't resist a shudder. The things they did... but he already knew what they did. He’d heard her screams.
Her phone pinged, thankfully breaking into her reverie. The red dot had moved. Actually it had jumped to a new location. Her eyes widened as she noted what that was. She pressed the phone back against her ear. “Sir, our target has moved but not in any normal way. One minute he was here, the next he was miles from here.” She checked again. This was too much of a coincidence. “He's gone right to that facility you mentioned.” She grinned, happy at this change of fortune. “If I use the choppers my squad can be there and set up in less than an hour.” She waited tensely for his response.
His answer took forever to come but that was probably just her heightened senses. When she got excited time slowed for her. This was another thing that set her apart, made her feel different from everyone else. It was also frustrating. No one liked waiting. Now it seemed like she waited for everything. Normals were slow to react to pretty much everything. Then he was talking.
“Just as long as you remember good soldiers follow orders. Forget that again and you and I will have a real problem,” he said at last. “Red One will meet you at the facility. Secure the perimeter but don't engage. You have COM but keep the line open. Kailex is your primary, Benson your secondary. I want Kailex alive. I don't care if he’s messed up a little. I just want him capable of forming sentences when I see him.”
He paused long enough to make her want to scream. She was already moving however, using arm motions to bring in her men and direct them to the choppers. “This other fellow, your secondary. He's clearly dangerous. Maybe even a soldier for them. Don't fuck with him! Bring back the body. The labs will want it. I mean what I say Walker! Don't screw with this guy. You saw the same video I did. Take the shot from distance. Got that?”
“Yes Sir!”
There was no hesitation, because none was allowed, but a small voice deep inside still nagged away at her. Somehow she couldn't shake the feeling Nick wasn't the bad guy in all this. Unfortunately, she'd been given a direct order. Like it or not, the Major was her path to ending this nightmare. Once she closed off these incursions she could leave. Go her own way. Make her own choices. A small part of her wondered if he’d let her leave. She was different now. When all this was done, maybe she’d be the next target. Switching to coms she gave the order she'd been itching to give, “Load the choppers. We're moving out.”
◆◆◆
Beside me Belle let out a low warning "chuff".
"Yes girl, I see them.”
Meeta had opened a portal and sent us directly to the coordinates Belle provided. How that worked I didn’t ask. I gathered it wasn’t an exact location though. We'd need to do a little searching on foot. I'd been worried he’d be gone by the time we found him but that worry disappeared once we stepped through the portal. Kailex was here! Belle said she felt him. Then suddenly I felt him as well. It was like the smell of fresh bread. Unmistakable and mouthwatering.
We were up on a ridge looking down at a number of men loading three big rigs with equipment from inside the building. I knew this was the right place as soon as I saw the armed guards. I counted five Kevlar vested men with rifles. They stood watchful, alert and purposefully positioned.
The next part of the plan was the part that made me nervous.
“How close are they?”
Meeta answered immediately, her voice sounding like she was standing in the middle of my head. This mind to mind communication was truly freaking me out.
“They're close. Roughly four to five minutes away. Snipers are moving into position along the ridge. Their tactics appear sound. They should be able to contain everyone below to the building. Provided their aim is good, no one should be able to escape to the trees. Not even you once you’re down there.” Her voice held a hint of a warning.
Excellent, I thought. Whatever happened Kailex wouldn't get away. Walker had followed the tracker as planned. I just hoped I wasn’t the only target anymore. If all that firepower was just for me this was going to end badly. Biting my lip, I considered how to get inside without attracting attention. I needn't have worried though as Kailex strolled onto the dock to watch the loading process. Almost immediately he began pointing and giving emphatic instructions to the loaders. He seemed unhappy with the way they were handling the equipment.
Turning to Belle I gave her big head an affectionate pet.
“I need a distraction so I can get inside without being shot by Walker’s snipers. If we're fast we can take him down quick and leave Walker to tidy up. She‘s brought enough fire power to settle this quickly. I just have to make sure Kailex doesn’t escape through a back door or one of those portals. This will probably only go one way for me but that’s OK as long as Kailex goes down with me. Walker's job undoubtedly includes me so I’ll be drawing fire. If I'm able, I'll run at the end. I just don't think I'll be able. Don’t get in the way and don’t hurt anyone that doesn’t need hurting. Leave me and return to Meeta.”
I roughed up her big head one more time.
“I’m going to repeat this because you’re a stubborn cat. Once I’m in, get away from here as fast as you can. Meeta will drop a portal near you.”
The big cat pushed her head into my chest. An image of the both of us leaving through a silver portal came to me but I shook my head. “I'd love that girl but you do what you’re told. Don't wait. Maybe I'll get a chance later to get away.” The big cat gave a low, sad rumble, then turned to the ridge where the snipers were still moving into position. With surprising quickness, she floated along the ridge line until she vanished from my view entirely.
Her movements were ghost-like; mine less so but still swift and sure. Once again I marveled at my rapidly expanding abilities. Everything seemed to happen faster. Effortlessly I worked my way around until I was next to the green space, opposite Kailex. Hearing him was easy. He seemed incapable of shutting up, giving orders even when they weren't needed. Still, no one questioned or looked up from their work. His orders went unquestioned.
One last thing to do. Concentrating hard I found Walker. I seemed it have an innate understanding of where she and Kailex were now. She was just east of me, looking down at my position. With a start I realized she knew exactly where I was. I reached out and made a connection with surprisingly little effort.
“Walker, I'm here to help. Kailex is the one you want. I'm just the guy caught in the middle. Tell your men not to shoot.”
That was it. That was all I had time for. Maybe she'd listen to me, maybe she wouldn't. Whatever happened, I'd done what I could to get through to her.
“Now Belle.”
Across the way I saw a streak of white. Gun fire started up almost immediately followed by shouts of simple surprise and fear. On the dock, Kailex stood frozen with a puzzled look on his face as he tried to understand what was going on. He spun around on his heel until his gaze centered to his left. Walker. He’d found her. Suddenly he spun again and looked right at me. Well, that was it. Time to move! All my plans were history. I’d forgotten that it was impossible for us to hide from one another.
I managed to get about twenty yards from the dock before the first bullet zipped past my head. Damn it! There were either shooting at me or so freaked out by Belle they'd decided to shoot at anything that moved. Other bullets closely followed the first, forcing me to jig left and right hard and quick. One of Kailex's men appeared in front of me, a surprised look on his face. Without stopping I slammed an elbow into his head. He fell hard. I hoped I hadn't killed him. I was getting stronger and quicker with each hour so it was hard to keep up with the changes.
A quick leap and I was on the dock but I'd lost a second avoiding the sniper fire so I wasn’t quite quick enough. I saw Kailex grin just before he fired a small fist sized weapon at me. For something of such a small size, the bolt of white light that struck me was unexpectedly powerful knocking me onto my back! I took a quick inventory and was astonished to find I was more or less unhurt! My suit had flared red when I'd been hit but seemed to have protected me from the bulk of the charge.
Twisting to the left I avoided his second shot and leapt back onto the dock to get within grappling distance. The two of us clattered to the deck throwing punches and knees in all directions. I knew if I were to have any chance I had to end this quickly so I rained down punches. My ferocity must have surprised him because I got in several solid blows before he suddenly slumped beneath me. I hit him a few more times before I realized it was over. I stood up shakily, my heart pounding so hard I thought it was trying to leave my body. I'd done it! He was out or so badly stunned he wouldn’t be running off anywhere! Finally things were going my way.
I’d come prepared. Slipping a roll of duct tape from my pocket I bound his hands and was about to do the same with his feet when I was picked up and thrown across the dock. I hit my head hard on the metal railing and just lay there seeing a million stars. I was grabbed and lifted into the air again. I hung there for a long moment looking down blearily at the grinning maniac who now decided he had enough time to punch me several times in the chest and stomach. He was at least six foot five and incredibly strong. He wore army issue camouflage fatigues with the name tag ‘Robert’. I gathered he was one of Walker's. He wasn't normal though. He was like her. Like me. My Beast clamored to get out and kill.
“First I'm going to beat you, then I'm going to break open your skull and eat your brain,” he announced with fatalistic ferocity. The eating part seemed a little over done to me but the beating part sounded like he really meant it.
“Wow,” I responded weakly, “You really enjoy your work.” Then I kicked him in the head causing him to back pedal several steps. Despite the hard kick, I remained hanging in the air. I realized this was no time for half measures and slammed my knee squarely into the middle of his face. That did the trick. Together we fell to the deck where he lay blinking furiously and twitching. I circled to his left cautiously. I'd hit him pretty hard but he was acting like something had gotten stuck in his brain. He was definitely not right in the head.
Any other thoughts I might have entertained were rudely interrupted by a kick to my head that I only just saw coming from the corner of my eye. The foot whizzed past my nose so I had a pretty clear view of it and its owner; a woman with fiery red hair. She was small, about five foot two but like the guy, all muscle. I could tell by the way she moved, dancing into position to send another kick, this time to my knee, that she was like him. Like me. Another freak of nature. Where were they all coming from? I dodged but the knee changed pace and direction to glance off my right ear with enough power to send stars my way once again. I was just great at this. The perfect punching bag. Just like the Robert she wore green army fatigues with her name emblazoned on the front. ’Lisa’. Like him she wore a scary smile and showed way too many teeth. They must both have been very proud of their dentist.
“Let me guess, you're going to kill me and eat my brain? Or was that break open my skull and beat me with it? I get a little confused when I'm fighting.”
I avoided another attempt to kill me while I wondered if I could hit her. I'd never hit a woman before and suddenly found I had deep seated reservations about this. Lisa apparently had none about hitting men, however, because she leapt in the air and planted both feet in my chest sending me flying backwards. I seemed to be spending a lot of time traveling in the opposite direction from where I wanted to be. I slammed into my favourite metal railing again with a loud "Ooomph"! Then I rolled off the dock with the railing banging my head two or three more tim
es on the way to the ground. Laughing as if she'd just heard the greatest joke ever Lisa pulled a wicked looking knife from her belt and leapt my way with the obvious intent of planting it squarely in the middle of my chest.
Yes, I realized, I can hit a woman.
Twisting hard to the left I felt the knife slide across my right arm, eventually biting deep into the wood of the steps with a loud 'thunk" while Lisa crouched on all fours above it. Hoping I didn't kill her but afraid to hold anything back I threw a wild, round house punch that stunned her. Spinning to my feet I hit her again. She slumped to the dock, unconscious or dead. I had no time to find out because once again my luck was changing for the worse. Turning my back on Lisa, I saw a strange tableau unfold in front of me. Kailex was standing, with both eyes closed, in the center of the dock. On either side of him were two men whose green army fatigues bore the names Jeremy and Dickens. Jeremy was tall with a runner's body while Dickens was short and extremely stocky. Dickens looked the more dangerous of the two, although it was hard to tell because both wore the same evil clown smiles that decorated the faces of my previous two assailants.
All three stood frozen in place, fists raised in the heat of battle, even Kailex. A curious sense of foreboding washed through me as I realized that here was a different kind of battle. I could feel the surge of power from where I stood, as each attacked the other. If Jeremy and Dickens had worked together they might have had success, but I could tell immediately this wasn't the case. They fought independent of each other and Kailex was winning; slowly bending them to his will. Not good. Not good at all! I was tempted to enter their contest of wills – in fact my Beast demanded it - but I held back. Discretion was the wiser course. I was too new at this game, my power too untested. Better to rely on a physical solution which I, at least, had some familiarity with.
With a quick look around I spotted what I needed - the weapon Kailex had fired earlier lay on the dock floor. I swept it up thinking I could put them all out with three shots. Instead my heart sank as I looked up and saw the battle between them was over. They no longer fought each other. The focus of all three was on me.
The God Hunters Page 19