Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration

by Joshua Anderle

  “Now, I’m beginning to think this was a mistake,” the head officer grumbled.

  “Breaking news. We have new information from the Ramses situation,” the anchor declared. “Just before the barrier initiated, we were able to sneak a small camera bot into the area. It seems to have been destroyed, but what it recorded has been received and pieced together. Here’s some footage from the battle zone.”

  The lighting was rather dim, but it showed the view of the cam bot as it drifted through the forest and entered the plaza. It revealed gang members fighting against Guardian droids with the violence edited out.

  “Cover up all the good stuff, huh?” Wolfson chuckled. “It looks like things aren’t as under control as Ramses would like the public to think.”

  “I’ve always thought companies that develop technology that would attract interest from deplorable types should build their headquarters in private locations and away from populated areas,” Laurie stated in a disapproving tone.

  The cam bot closed in on a blockaded section, where a woman talked to a group of people in different colored armor. Wolfson leaned forward and studied the figure in black for a moment before he bolted to his feet and narrowly avoided flipping the table. Laurie squawked when he was almost upended by the man’s precipitous action.

  “What’s gotten into you?” he demanded and righted himself.

  “Laurie, that’s Kaiden.”

  “What?” the professor exclaimed and peered at the monitor. “Pause,” he ordered. The screen froze and he studied the armored figure with narrowed eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. I helped build those weapons myself, and that armor is the suit I gave him last year,” the giant confirmed.

  Both men seemed to have sobered instantly. Laurie looked at the head officer, his expression grim. “Get Sasha in here.”

  Jaxon parried a blow from the swordsman, flipped his blade, and caught it with his other hand before he lunged into a strike. His adversary dodged the attack, drew a pistol, and fired from under his arm. One bullet struck Indre in her shoulder and the other knocked her submachine gun out of her hand before she could take a shot.

  The merc launched a flurry of swipes and the Tsuna dodged or parried each time. Unfortunately, he was losing ground and the enemy’s blade grew closer and closer. Indre lobbed a static mine, but the man slashed it in half before it landed. He then speared the blade into the floor and used it to propel himself up to drive a powerful kick that catapulted Jaxon into the wall. The assailant landed lightly and immediately fired two shots that caught Indre in the chest and hurled her to the floor.

  “Indre!” Amber shouted with real worry and Izzy waved at her to go as she and Silas kept the enemy raider occupied. The battle medic retrieved her stim-ray and activated it immediately as soon as she was within range.

  “I’m fine,” the agent grunted and propped herself up on her hands. “I’m lightly armored, but this isn’t merely stylish plastic I’m wearing.”

  “Don’t push yourself. I’ll have you back in shape in no—” The swordsman leapt into the attack, his blade poised above him as he drove aggressively toward them. Amber dropped her stim to draw her pistol, but their assailant was tackled from behind by Jaxon, who immediately shoved his blade between the armor plating of the man’s arm. The merc grunted and dropped his sword but uttered no cry of pain as the blade dug deeper into his flesh. He thrashed in an attempt to free himself from the Tsuna’s grip. Jaxon pummeled his fist into the man’s helmet and both the helmet and the armor on the aces’ hand cracked from the force of the blows.

  The merc finally caught his captor’s hand and flipped them both. He drew his knife and struck at his opponent’s head but Jaxon leaned to the side and the blade stabbed into the carpet. Indre and Amber fired simultaneously and the assailant rolled off the Tsuna and activated his shield device. The lasers from the girls’ small sidearms did little to drain the protective barrier and he recovered his blade and made his way across the room. Jaxon hurried to retrieve his machine gun.

  “You should use this time to escape instead of pissing about,” the raider declared as he threw a static grenade at Silas. Izzy dove in front of him, snatched the grenade out of the air, and lobbed it back. It detonated and sheathed the merc in a crippling claw of electricity.

  “Are you talking about the Sauren?” Silas asked as he raised his shotgun and fired directly at the merc’s chest. The impact shattered his armor and drove him back into the wall. “A couple of us here have taken on a Sauren. I doubt yours is stronger than ours was.”

  The man sat and he wheezed and coughed before he uttered a hoarse laugh. “Ours is a Xin-Tei. If you know how fearsome a Sauren can be, imagine what one is like when he’s willing to do what they won’t.”

  Another roar sounded far louder and much closer, and it was immediately followed by a massive rumble as the wall beside the downed merc collapsed. The EX-10 Sauren appeared in the hole and stood at least eight feet tall with a long tail, dark scales, and chipped talons that were still lethally sharp. It wore armor of modern design, but this seemed bolted onto the skin with no underlay. A curved helmet and visor with a gap in the middle revealed a snarled jaw and long teeth—longer than Silas remembered Raza having.

  “It looks like you won’t have to imagine.” The raider chuckled and stood slowly. “He’ll simply show you, but try to last a couple of minutes, at least. He came all the way here for ya.”

  The Sauren immediately targeted Silas, who managed to evade the reptilian alien’s claws. The enforcer was at a disadvantage as his shotgun needed to cool. He opened the vent as Izzy raced forward and threw a flashbang. Their adversary simply spun and smacked it and her with its tail to knock both away. Silas activated his gauntlet and the rings along the arm opened. The massive beast struck again and he met the attack with a punch, but even with the added force of the impact mod on his gauntlet, he barely managed to stop the attack. It was very evident that he hadn’t hurt the alien or even marginally driven him back.

  With a savage hiss, the Xin-Tei caught Silas’s arm and tightened his grasp to break the gauntlet. He hauled the enforcer closer and speared his claws viciously through the man’s armor and into his chest.

  “Silas!” Izzy screamed as the Sauren drew back his other arm to behead the enforcer. Jaxon stopped him when he leapt onto the monster’s back, shoved his machine gun against the back of the massive head, and fired. The shots destroyed the back of the helmet almost instantly, and blood spewed from the beast, but it merely growled and jumped back to bludgeon Jaxon between him and the wall. The ace dropped his weapon, but the Sauren released Silas as well.

  The enforcer tried to stand and Izzy hurried over to him, draped one of his arms over her shoulder, and helped him to Amber. The raider merc smiled and aimed with his shotgun. “I don’t think so,” he said conversationally but froze when a disc landed at his feet. “What the hell is—” The mine activated and another wave of electricity engulfed him, this time without the help of much of his armor to protect him. He stiffened and collapsed to writhe and convulse from the sustained charged release.

  “Nice job, Indre!” Amber called as she helped Izzy with Silas. “Go on and help Jaxon.”

  “I’ll help too. Just patch him up.” Izzy drew her rifle and spun away but hesitated when the swordsman attacked with his weapon at the ready. She wasn’t fast enough to dodge but held her rifle up, and the sword sliced through the rifle but slowed enough for her to skip back and avoid the strike. Amber drew her pistol and fired, but the merc activated his shield again and continued his advance. Izzy drew her repeater and targeted the shield as the man drew closer. She paused for a moment when Indre appeared, raised an arm, and launched two rockets from her gauntlet.

  Their adversary scrambled back and was able to slice one of the small rockets in mid-flight, but the other struck his shield and deactivated the barrier. The lights on his armor turned off as well.

  “Those were small EMP rockets. They have
a limited detonation range, but he won’t be able to attack so freely now,” the agent explained as she readied her submachine gun.

  “Let’s get him before he comes back,” Izzy declared and moved closer to the merc.

  The man’s interest in them had waned, however, and he now focused on where Jaxon battled the Sauren with his back to him, exposed and vulnerable. He dashed over, his sword held ready for a vicious strike to bisect the Tsuna.

  “Jaxon! Get out of the way,” an unexpected voice cried in warning. The ace, who still had no idea of the danger behind him, ducked instinctively and flung himself to the side. His reaction avoided the swordsman’s attack. Both the Sauren and the merc were engulfed by a wave of purple energy, followed by a bolt that pounded into the beast and erupted. The Xin-Tei howled in pain as much of its armor cracked or shattered.

  Luke, Mack, and Marlo barged into the room through the hole in the wall. The swordsman flipped to his feet and prepared to attack, but his blade was shot by someone behind them. It shattered, and some of the shards embedded themselves in his armor.

  Flynn walked up from behind the heavies and waved to Amber. “Miss us?”

  “Great, there’s more of you.” The raider grunted and snatched a grenade launcher from his back to aim it at the new arrivals. He fired, but Mack simply held a hand up and the explosive bounced against the barrier and left the team untouched. “Sit your ass down!” the vanguard yelled as he hardened the shield and punched it to thrust it forward. The barrier hurled the merc back into the wall once more and he slid slowly to the floor.

  “You dare scar me?” the Sauren shrieked and stood tall. He drew what at first looked like a stick, but it opened into a long staff with three scythe-like blades on either side. “Kill you. Kill all of you. Claim heads as trophies.”

  “Are the translators acting up or are this guy’s speaking skills lacking?” Flynn asked with vague amusement.

  Luke held his hammer up as Mack surged with energy, and the two raced toward the raging Sauren. Jaxon focused on the swordsman, who tried to draw his pistol and fire, but Flynn shot it out of his grasp and left a neat hole in his hand to go with it. The Tsuna punched the merc in the stomach, grasped his helmet with both hands, and pounded it into a pillar before he spun and delivered a powerful kick to his head. The enemy impacted hard in a clumsy sprawl and one hand rose wearily before he finally collapsed.

  The Sauren swiped viciously at the approaching heavies with his tail. Luke activated his bounce jet and vaulted up to shatter the ceiling, which seemed to confuse their adversary. Mack used the opportunity to grab the tail and swing the Xin-Tei around once before he launched him into the nearest pillar. The alien opened his mouth to roar in fury, but the protest died in his throat when Luke plummeted down on top of the massive creature. He hissed in response and swung his weapon with unexpected speed. Although it looked crude, the blades were edged with miniature vibroblade razors that cut easily through the titan’s armor. Luke backed away enough for the Sauren to force him off and the colossus turned to the other heavies. Marlo’s cannon had finished charging, and the last thing the beast saw was a long shaft of energy.

  The beam powered into the Sauren and burned through his remaining armor and scales, and the force of it drove him through the unopened window and destroyed part of the wall around the aperture. The Xin-Tei roared defiance as he fell to the plaza below and the sound cut off abruptly. Luke and Mack looked over the edge and to where smoke rose from his unmoving body.

  “Damn. He ain’t coming back.” Mack chuckled.

  “Do you think he’s dead?” Luke asked.

  Jaxon joined them. “For now, he’s incapacitated, at least. If he is still alive, he shouldn’t be nearly the same problem as he was before. Even a Sauren’s regenerative ability is limited against blasts like that, especially when the flesh under the scales is burned.”

  “He was something of a disappointment, don’t you think?” Luke asked the Tsuna. “Compared to Raza, he was way tougher, but for some reason, he held back on us.”

  “I think so as well,” the ace agreed and studied the felled Sauren thoughtfully. “I think Raza would believe he was a disappointment too, although for different reasons. If he is alive when they take him in, he will be sent back to the Sauren homeworld.”

  “He was one of the traitor Sauren, right?” Silas asked as he hobbled over. “He’ll probably wish he was dead considering how they deal with them.”

  “It’s good to see you back on your feet,” Jaxon stated. “It looks like they are all taken care of so for now, we need to press on. Where are Kaiden and Cameron?”

  “Already ahead of you. They went on to take care of the last guy in the lab,” Flynn explained.

  Jaxon nodded and focused on his team. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Ready to go.” Izzy nodded and delivered a playful punch to Silas’ shoulder. “Even he should be okay, even if he has a penguin walk right now.”

  “You ain’t leaving me behind.” Silas grunted and hefted his shotgun.

  Jaxon nodded as he vented his weapon. “Then let us join Kaiden. It wouldn’t be gracious of us to not see this to its conclusion.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Is there anything you can give us before we head in, Chief?” Kaiden asked as he and Cameron approached the development lab.

  “Whoever is in there hasn’t moved an inch since we got the signal. Either they’re meditating on how amazingly this has fucked up for them, or they’re working on something.”

  “Like what?” Cameron asked and rechecked his weapon.

  “My guess is they either came here for data or some sort of gadget. They will have to bypass something to get either,” the EI explained.

  “No other signals?” Kaiden inquired.

  “No. Counting the ones we’ve dealt with so far, I guess there is one missing, huh?” Chief surmised. “She’s not showing up on the map, so I guess she caught on.”

  “The assassin Flynn was after,” Cameron recalled. “He obviously didn’t get her.”

  “Be on your guard. We don’t wanna deal with any more surprises tonight.”

  “What should we do if she shows up?”

  “Do you mind taking care of her?” the ace asked.

  “Not at all. It’s good practice. Assassin fishing is a fairly normal gig in my future,” the bounty hunter admitted. “But don’t you wanna have a go?”

  “My tally has been nothing but droids tonight, and my guess is this guy is the head honcho.” He shrugged as he approached the door. “I might as well pull my weight, right?”

  “What if I want a go at him?”

  “You’ll have a shot, assuming the other one doesn’t show up,” Kaiden pointed out. “Besides, I called dibs.”

  “Like that matters,” his teammate complained.

  “Too late, I have dibs.” The ace kicked one of the doors in and a loud clang echoed in the room when it fell. The two walked in, their weapons ready, but they wouldn’t need to initiate a search of any kind. In the center of the room sat a man with tanned skin and long silver hair in a long coat with no helmet, who typed at a console—a pyramid-like device—protected by a shielding field. He paused and turned to reveal someone who appeared to be in their early thirties with blue eyes. If he was shocked or angry, he hid it well. A smile crossed his lips as he laid one hand on the console.

  “Do you mind keeping the racket down? I’m almost finished here,” he requested. Kaiden fired a shot just to his left and destroyed a sizeable chunk of a machine in the back. The man looked up casually. “That seems unnecessary.”

  “Are you the leader of these EX-10 guys?” the ace asked.

  “More a general manager than a leader,” he stated and stepped away from the console to stand before them with no apparent concern.

  “Either way, are you aware that we’ve eliminated most of your friends?” Cameron asked and adjusted his sights.

  “Friends would also be a little inaccurate, but yes, My
compatriots do seem to be mostly incapacitated. Kudos. You’ve been a real pain,” he muttered flatly as he pressed a button near the console and the shielding for the device deactivated.

  “You came here for that?” Kaiden sounded incredulous. “It seems like way too much effort for what looks like a piece of post-modern art.”

  “I’m not that interested in it, but it’s not for me,” he explained and regarded them casually with his hands clasped behind his back. “We’re here to get it for someone else—normal merc business, really.”

  “Well, our missions are in something of a conflict, then. We’re here to stop you, and only one of us can get paid,” Cameron retorted.

  “Agreed, and it looks like I’ll need capital for rebranding and to recruit new team members.” He moved his hands from his back to reveal two large pistols.

  The Nexus duo’s fingers rested lightly against their triggers. “You’ll need it for funeral expenses if you don’t surrender,” the bounty hunter threatened.

  “I don’t understand mercs like you. Honestly, you're screwed at this point,” Kaiden observed. “Is it a point of pride or something? Going down in a blaze of glory?”

  “More simply, choosing the path of least resistance in this case.” He spun the guns in his hands. “I escape, die by you, or die by my employers. They aren’t a real forgiving bunch.”

  “Kaiden, I’m in,” Chief declared. The man spun to see the EI’s avatar on the console screen.

  “Bring up the shield and lock him out,” he ordered and the shield appeared once more.

  “Kaiden?” the man wondered aloud. “You wouldn’t happen to be Kaiden Jericho, would you?”

  “Have I already got a reputation in the mercenary world?” He chuckled. “I could blush.”

  “Don’t let it go to your head,” Cameron shot back.

  “You certainly do have a reputation. I was told to be on the lookout for you,” he stated, then frowned unexpectedly.