by TR Cameron
Jared grunted in reply. Part of him was excited at the news, but most of him was stressed and anxious about the battle to come. He had plenty of combat experience in his past, as most of the people in his company did, but it had been a while since he’d been out mixing it up in person. I’m sure it’s like riding a bicycle. After I shoot someone, it’ll all come back to me. He touched the pistol on his left thigh, a twin to the one on his right, and drew a calming breath. “Okay. Signal the guards to open all the doors and fade. Let’s do this thing.” To the men and women with him in the van, he said, “Time to move.”
The burner phone sitting in her lap vibrated, and Ruby’s eyes snapped open. She looked down to see an update on the group text channel that connected her to Demetrius and Morrigan. The infomancer had sent a message about gangs flooding the streets and alarms sounding in the casinos, along with a picture of a very crowded Magic City Strip. Ruby peered down through the opening in the ceiling and saw a bunch of wannabe gangster-types flood into Spirits. Normal security responded to blunt their advance and got punched, kicked, and worse for their troubles. When the first gunshot went off, Ruby rose into a crouch and said, “Here we go.”
Idryll reached out and grabbed her arm. “No, hold on. This is like a hunt, where you send in the animals to spook the prey. These are the animals. We need to wait for the hunters. They’re the ones we want.”
Ruby saw the wisdom in the statement immediately but still had to ask, “Are you sure?”
The other woman’s face was calm and confident. “Positive.”
Ruby nodded. “Okay, we wait.” The phone buzzed again, with a message from her sister that read, “On my way.”
Jared’s force, more than two dozen strong, moved at a jog toward the casino. About a third carried rifles, and the rest were armed with pistols. Although the security footage would reveal they were more than simple gangsters, he and Grentham had chosen to ensure they didn’t match, didn’t look like they had easy access to the best gear. He was growing increasingly paranoid that their actions would get traced back to them, and he feared the boss’ reaction if it did.
Thus, his troops wore whatever armor they could come up with and whatever weapons they could procure, either by stealing them from criminals or through black-market transactions. Their numbers should carry the day even if something unexpected happened, and the magicals in the mix would be his edge. Some of the people could be traced back to his company, but not all of them, which would give Aces Security deniability. If the authorities caught any of his soldiers, they’d claim to be freelancing, earning a sizable cash payment for their loyalty, for their dependents, or themselves.
They penetrated the casino in a rush and spread destruction in all directions, taking both the responding security and the attacking low-level criminals out of the fight without distinction, the latter’s job complete. That they used nonfatal damage as payment at the end to those who had come in as a distraction would doubtless heal all open wounds. He marched toward the first display case and shot the guard in the chest with a trio of bullets as the man tried to bring his pistol to bear. The rounds knocked him backward despite the protective vest, and one of Jared’s team hurried forward to zip-tie him. No point killing where we don’t need to. Better all around if we can do this without fatalities. He took a moment to stare through the protective case at the diamond ring within, then used a diamond-tipped striker to shatter the case. He grabbed the ring and shoved it in his pocket, then activated the comm channel connecting him to his people. “Fan out. Team One works the first floor, Team Two on the escalators with me. We have a crown to steal.”
Chapter Thirteen
Right before Ruby made her leap into the fray, Morrigan announced her presence with an arrow that discharged a cloud of gas on impact. Ruby saw it in slow motion as she fell, then one of the enemies gestured and summoned a breeze to push the vapor away. Great, they have magicals with them. That’ll liven things up. Fortunately, it also pushed the mist out of her path. She spent the last couple seconds of her fall idly wondering if the magical mask or the head covering she wore underneath it would filter harmful agents. Something to ask about, anyway. Maybe Kayleigh can whip that up.
She used force magic to kill her velocity and landed in a run. Idryll was finding her way down, probably involving claws and damage to the building’s façade, but she couldn’t worry about that now. The nearest foe spun and raised his rifle toward her, and she smashed her bracelets together to summon a shield. She belatedly remembered to activate her force shield, and it materialized outside her clothing. His bullets failed to penetrate the magical dome, and she drew her pistol and pulled the trigger. The anti-magic bullet sped through her shield and slammed into his vest, knocking him off balance. As her shield fell, she ran and leapt into the air, delivering a front kick to his face that snapped his head back and dropped him to the floor. She landed standing over him, already seeking another enemy.
Jared craned his neck to locate the archer who had launched the gas arrow. It had halted his progress toward the escalators. The attack had struck uncomfortably close to him, and without the wizard at his side, he wouldn’t have avoided whatever effect it had. Next time, we remember gas masks. He gave orders over the comm while his people moved. “Team One Squad A, keep grabbing the diamonds. Squad B, go after the masked freaks. Derek, find a spot and snipe whoever is shooting those arrows.” He gestured up at the upper level. “Team Two, resume moving to the second floor. Secure the escalators while we go up.” He marched toward the motorized stairs, part of his force advancing toward it with weapons drawn and shooting anything that moved, the other half following and doing the same thing behind them. He was in a bubble of safety for the moment and used the opportunity to contact his partner. “Grentham, status?”
The dwarf replied, “Oh, it’s a total mess out there. Absolutely beautiful. All the casinos’ alarms are screeching away. The Ely PD have shown up but are facing so much resistance they can’t get out from behind the protection of their cars. When this ends, the casino owners are going to be down a bundle from losing those gems.”
“Except the Underground, of course.”
Grentham laughed. “True, except that.” One particular group had been paid to handle the dwarven casino and hand over the gems afterward. They’d use the proceeds to compensate for any losses the Underground suffered during the assault. Of course, if any money remained, Grentham and Jared would split it. “Any resistance?”
“Two fools in masks, plus one archer.”
The other man’s voice betrayed his concern. “The ones from the Kraken?”
“One imagines so. That’s fine. We’ll make sure they won’t be around to do any more damage.”
Morrigan had chosen a spot in the second floor’s corner that looked down over two-thirds of the main level. After her gas arrow, which had worked exactly as the file described, she’d taken out a couple of enemies with her magical force arrows. Still, a ton of bad guys remained, so it was a good opportunity to try something that would inconvenience more than one at a time. She reached back and located another of the technology arrows Kayleigh had provided. In one smooth motion, she drew, nocked, and loosed it at a pair robbing a display case on the far left side of the casino floor. It struck at their feet, exactly where she’d aimed it, and detonated on impact. A subsonic pulse the file had described as an acoustic weapon rippled from the arrowhead. Both men fell to the floor clutching their heads as vibrations ravaged their inner ears. Morrigan smiled down in satisfaction and reached for one of her sharp arrows as she spotted a rifleman angling toward Ruby’s back.
Idryll noticed movement from the corner of her eye as she dealt with a pair of low-level thugs who had somehow avoided the fallout from the soldiers’ entrance. A man with a rifle had moved into the protection of a circle of slot machines and lifted his weapon, seemingly concentrating on whatever was in his scope. She followed the line of the barrel, saw that it pointed toward Ruby’s sister, and dashed at f
ull speed toward the man, hoping she could get there in time. He pulled the trigger as she arrived and slammed bodily into him, knocking him flying. She scored a glancing blow with her claws, robbed of its power by her focus on ruining his shot.
He rolled and tumbled back to his feet with surprising grace and lifted the rifle to dispatch a flood of bullets at her. She dove to the side and scampered behind a row of slot machines. The projectiles clanged into them, and sparks flew as his rifle tracked her motion. She popped her head up when the barrage stopped and saw him smoothly change magazines and point the weapon back up toward the second floor. Dedicated scumbag.
Idryll leapt over the three rows of slot machines that separated them. Her foe whipped the rifle around toward her, revealing that his alleged change of target was a ruse. She wrenched herself to the side in mid-flight, but bullets scored along her skin anyway, cutting grooves into her flesh. Her twist saved her from a puncture, but she landed awkwardly and had to throw herself into another roll to find a place where she could safely stand. More angry than injured, she grabbed the chair that sat in front of the nearest slot machine and ripped it from the floor, sending bolts flying. She hurled it at the man, whose expression of alarm showed the idea of being attacked by a flying chair hadn’t been something he’d ever considered. He dodged, and she used the time to close with him.
Her opponent tried ramming the butt of his weapon into her face as she arrived, then tried to kick her when she blocked it. She intercepted the second attack with an upraised foot and torqued her body to bring her knee into his stomach. The armored vest he wore protected him from most of the blow, but it stole his balance, which was sufficient to her needs. She put her foot down and spun backward to level an elbow into his face, then finished the spin by driving a fist into the same spot. He went flying, and she followed to ensure he stayed down. He was unconscious before he hit, but she slashed the strap of his rifle with her claws and threw it across the room where it wouldn’t easily be a threat to Morrigan. Okay, let’s see if there are any more rifles around here.
Ruby launched herself onto the escalator on a rocket of force magic, shouted, “Up here,” and hoped both Morrigan and Idryll would hear her. She landed cleanly and smacked her bracelets together to summon another shield. The enemy reacted as she’d hoped. The ones in front continued to push for the second floor, but the back half moved to engage her. She discharged lightning from both hands at them, and a pair of magical shields appeared to cover all five of those who’d remained to fight. She growled in irritation and drew her pistol, sending anti-magic bullets at the magicals.
Their comrades stepped into the way, taking the shots on their armor plates and jerking weapons up to return fire. She called up a full-body shield with her left hand to protect herself from the hail of bullets, thankful that they didn’t have anti-magic rounds. A force blast slammed into the shield, propelled her back down several steps, and required her to focus on her balance for a moment. When she’d regained it, she saw one of the magicals looking up. Above her was a gorgeous chandelier that she knew was far heavier than it appeared at first glance. The engineers had needed to install specific structural supports to hold it. With a smug grin, a witch raised her wand and slashed it through the air, cutting its support in half with a sizzling beam of fire.
Ruby holstered her gun, grabbed a flash-bang grenade from her belt and hurled it at the gaggle of enemy soldiers, then leapt from the escalator to avoid the falling chandelier. It smashed right where she’d been standing. She landed on the casino floor and rolled to absorb the impact. She’d been at the wrong angle and hadn’t had enough time to lessen her velocity with magic, and her ankle had twisted annoyingly. Ruby forced herself to keep moving and gained her feet, opened a portal to the high roller room that had to be her foes’ final destination, and hopped through.
Chapter Fourteen
The detonation of the flash-bang grenade was the signal Morrigan had awaited. She backed away from the railing, returned the arrow she’d had at the ready to her quiver, and opened a portal. She stepped through to the high roller room to find Ruby already there. Her sister had taken a position on the right of the chamber facing the single doorway that led into it, so she moved to the left. She nocked a razor-tipped arrow and aimed it at the closed door, then drew a deep breath to calm herself for what was to come.
That barrier flew inward without warning to slam into the gaming tables that occupied the center of the area. She fired blindly into the opening, reaching back for a second arrow as soon as the first was on its way. A soldier in a black uniform carrying a rifle scurried into the room in a crouch, and her arrow missed as Ruby blasted him with force magic. The intruder bounced off the wall and slid down, and she put her next bolt through his leg, pinning him to the floor. A shield materialized to guard the entrance, and people flowed in behind its protection. Gunfire sounded from the right, and Ruby’s bullets passed through the barrier as if it wasn’t there, knocking down two more of their enemies.
A grenade bounced off the wall above the door and fell among the invaders. Morrigan laughed inwardly. Not real good on that shield, whoever you are, leaving the top open. Lightning discharged from the projectile, sizzling as it reached out to ensnare several of the thieves, who jerked and stuttered under its assault. She drew an electrical arrow and launched it into the floor in front of the incoming people to add to the chaos.
The fireball that came for her face was so sudden she had no time to defend against it. Fortunately, she did have friends who had encountered similar problems before. The magic deflector hanging from the chain around her neck sizzled and snapped as it cracked but successfully absorbed the incoming power. She fired an arrow back at the wizard who’d launched it, but he deflected it with a twitch of his wand. With the enemies now fully in the room, it was time to collapse her bow, draw her daggers, and mix it up.
Jared followed his people into the room with the crown and skirted the outskirts while the others moved to engage the defenders. Over the comm, he ordered, “Keep them busy. Take them down if you can.” He continued circling the edge, but when the one nearest him traded her bow for a pair of daggers and turned in his direction, it forced him to admit that his opportunity to secure the prize was fading by the second.
He drew both his pistols and fired at least a dozen bullets at her, but she dove out of the way, ending up crouched behind the display’s pedestal. He didn’t doubt that some sort of nasty magic he wanted nothing to do with would be directed at him in seconds, so he backed quickly toward the door and ordered his best wizard to make a try. The man moved forward, holding a wand in each hand and blasting at the pair, but he had no greater success as the one stayed behind cover and the other threw up shields against his attacks. Grentham's voice sounded in his ear. “Okay, Ely PD has managed to get a handle on the outside. You need to get out before they cut off your retreat.”
With a snarl of frustration and a last look at the crown he’d hoped to secure, Jared spun and headed for the exit.
Morrigan watched the man who had shot at her go for the door. She fired a force blast at his back, but he escaped before it caught him. Lucky jerk. Three soldiers and a wizard remained in the room. She sent a force blast at the nearest poker table, and the heavy piece of furniture flew backward, smashing into two of their non-magical opponents and flattening them against the wall. She charged the third, ducking under a sizzling beam of fire from one of the wizard’s wands that set something alight behind her, and skidded to a halt in front of the last soldier.
He snapped out a fist at her face, his reflexes as fast as hers, but she shifted nimbly aside to avoid it. She stabbed a dagger at his stomach, where it skidded off a protective plate and sliced him rather than embedding itself in his guts. Morrigan smashed him in the nose with the hilt of her other dagger, and he stumbled backward far enough that she had room to slam a sidekick into his chest and hurl him back into the wall. She sheathed her daggers and blasted him with lightning to finish him off. R
uby shouted, “Go after that other guy. I’ve got this scumbag.”
Morrigan didn’t argue as she ran from the room in pursuit while grabbing her bow.
Idryll had been systematically cleaning up the thieves on the first level, keeping an eye on the exit and intercepting any who tried to leave. She’d stayed in constant motion to avoid getting outnumbered and had substantially reduced the number of functioning opponents. Still, she had plenty of enemies to choose from. One stomped toward her, a black-uniformed man with a combat baton in each hand. He seemed to be completely unconcerned with escape and equally uninterested in stealing the diamonds. His face radiated bloodlust, a desire to test himself against another. A matching sensation coursed through her veins, and she gave him a toothy grin. He snarled, “Want to dance?”
She snapped out her claws in response, further tearing the garment that had never been made for them in the first place. Ruby had insisted she try, and she had, but there was no way she was going to wear the thing again. It was functionally useless, not to mention fairly ugly. Her foe advanced cautiously but steadily, and she judged his movements. Good balance, strong grip on the weapons, eyes moving around to be sure he’s not caught unaware. A decent opponent.
Idryll grinned and feinted forward, but he didn’t respond to the move, only came at a steady pace. Her estimation of him went up a notch for not overreacting. He had a plan and was going to stick to it. Good luck with that. I have a plan, too. He led with a forehand strike from his right-hand baton, and she faded to her right to avoid it. The other flicked out at her face, but she batted it aside with her forearm and stabbed at his throat. He quickly repositioned the weapon's shaft, and her claws scored the metal rather than his flesh. The other baton whipped down at her legs, forcing her to dance aside. He followed her movement, keeping the fight close, sending quick strikes from the weapons at her face and body.