by P. S. Power
“Send the coordinates. I’ll work up a crew… We need to meet a good ways off, so we don’t spook them. We can’t afford to mess this up. Not now.”
“Got it. Messaging the location now. Meet us a mile South. I’ll send Burke to get you and bring you all in. There’s an old abandoned grade school there. We passed it earlier. Meet him by the jungle gym.” If it was meant as a joke Marcia couldn’t tell. She just took it as serious, as unlikely as it sounded.
She knew the crew that she’d want to go with her, mainly made of people that could handle things without hurting anyone. Denis, Tobin and Christian. She also knew that she was probably going to get Brian and Karen in the mix too. Lady Glory wasn’t much in a fight, but she could subdue people without harming them pretty well. Proxy was a problem though. He tended to just kill people and they needed to ask some questions if they could. Normally it wasn’t a big deal, but this time it just might be.
In the end, about ten minutes later she had Sammy and his bus ready to go, with Mark and Penny going along as well. Prime was left watching Peggy very publically at the hotel, both set up to act as Warren’s assistants, with instructions to be distracting to the cameras if they could do it without getting into trouble. Charlot got left too, but that was mainly just because she had a child to worry about rather than her possibly getting in the way or causing trouble. She’d been good at her job, back in the day, which meant largely knowing how to get in front of the camera at the right time. It was what Team one did.
Prime could have been trouble though. The man was tough, no one doubted that, but it was an almost silly kind of thing with him. He’d fight an opponent into submission, and then back off, so that he wouldn’t look bad if anyone was watching. That or he’d waste time grandstanding instead of actually just doing his job and killing the person. So he could stay back and make sure their image was maintained while they went on illegal covert operations. So far as she could tell it was still illegal anyway. They’d tried to report it to everyone they should, but so far, if anything had happened with that, no one had bothered mentioning it. The only thing they had going for them was the vague idea that a group of Infected might be involved, other than them, and the lie that Morris and Harpo were Infected.
Neither of which would hold up in court. If it came down to it and they had to act, it would probably be best if they just made the bodies disappear. The Everglades should work for that. She had a strange suspicion that she might just be about to find out if it would really work or not.
The only surprise was something she shouldn’t have felt at all. Conroy loaded up on the bus along with a large duffle bag from his car, a little red Honda that he’d had forever, but kept in great condition. The bag was new, made of heavy canvas and looked to be holding several pieces of hardware that would be illegal for a civilian to carry at all. Luckily for him he’d hired on. He could carry gear for them legally enough and even use it in a pinch. The shocking thing wasn’t that he’d want to come along, but that he called out for Penny until she answered.
“Um, here?” There was a brief laugh from several people, and then Brian started waving his left hand in the air, gesturing to the window seat next to him. Karen had moved in next to Tobin across the aisle, since their powers worked well together and the plan was for them to strike first, if possible. They needed to coordinate and make sure Tobin wasn’t too close to her or the other way around. They could each entrance the other if that happened and then they’d lose half the power from what they were doing.
Conroy moved toward them, and then looked toward the back, where there was a larger seat that would fit six people or so.
“Come with me then, both of you. You told me you can see Cooper here, right? Help me get her locked on to mission spec.” They all moved, Mike speaking the whole time as they did. The drive was one that took nearly an hour, but mainly because they went by the scenic route, she was almost certain. The place was pretty, but a bit flat for her taste. Filled with green though, once they got away from the hotels and tourist zones.
Denis ended up sitting next to her, but didn’t say anything much. He often didn’t on missions anymore. Marcia suspected it was because he was afraid he’d start cussing like a sailor when he got stressed. He did that, but most of the time he picked his targets well enough for it anymore, so no one really minded. He listened as she gave out the assignments nodding along until he realized she hadn’t given him one.
“Am I guarding the bus then? Because…” He shook his head and didn’t finish what he’d been thinking. Since it probably involved something crude, she let it go too.
“No. I want you to back up Christian. If anyone tries anything near her, you drop them. I don’t care who it is. Try to take prisoners if you can. We don’t know what’s going on here after all. You two are going to hold back until needed, but if she tells you to do it, take out anyone she indicates without question. Non-lethally of course, but, you have a side arm, right?” Marcia hadn’t checked when he sat down. That really kind of showed how distracted this whole thing had her, since she normally would already know the answer.
“Yeah, holster at my back. I’d feel better if you gave us Yi too. He’s way better in a fight than I am. Still, having him on Karen and Tobin’s team makes sense. We’ll live. By hiding and cowering most likely, but if you wanted a tough guy you should have gotten Warren to bring his boyfriend.” It wasn’t totally a joke, but Carl, the level fifteen trainer, was too important to waste on field ops. He had an innate understanding of what people needed to learn and how to get them to do it, even if it wasn’t readily seen by anyone else.
It was his Infected power. His first mode was a disregard for others pain or discomfort, so it worked out pretty well. In an insane way that almost everyone hated. He really was tough though. No one could doubt that. He pushed himself just as hard as he did everyone else.
So she just agreed.
“Your job is to keep Chris safe. Running and hiding will work for that. Better than fighting most of the time. Not that you can’t fight. I noticed that you didn’t look too shabby with Brian last night.” She watched as he winced and held his stomach.
“You mean where he beat me down in about two seconds, while pulling his punches to keep from hurting me too bad even though I was hitting him with a sense of paralysis that should have dropped a small elephant? Don’t say he can’t hold back anymore, he totally did. Remember, he’s hit me for real more than once, so I know the difference. It was all I could do not to puke on him.”
They sat for a while, everything going quiet about then, the bus slowing down near a really run down building that could have once been a school, if they only had fifty kids going there at one time. It was a single building, done in a light tan that must have been a mobile facility that no one had bothered to move when they were done. The place was that along with a big yard, a jungle gym and as promised, Burke. He was still in his black on black business suit and had his sunglasses on. The day was bright enough for them and from the bit of sweat on some of the people with her, warm enough, even at this time of year.
The idea was simple enough, they’d get the lay of the land, helpfully demonstrated by a little model that the agent had built while waiting for them, made out of objects he’d just found laying around, then they’d jog over to the house and start their entry. It was less than a mile to run and even the slow people could do the distance inside ten minutes or so. Plus it would give them a bit of time to get a feel for the place they were in. It was isolated, and they didn’t even pass another building as they moved. She had to assume there were cameras or sensors, because Mic was a pro in that area, but if they moved fast enough, they still might have the situation under control before anyone knew they were coming.
The first problem showed up before they got to the car parked behind some trees, where Reyes and Lancaster were watching from. There were two kids playing in front of the place. Little kids. Babies. If either was four years old Marcia would have been sur
prised.
It would be hard for them to just go in, if they had children to contend with. At least without hurting them. It meant they’d really need to count on Goblin and Lady Glory then. Not just to stop the shooting either. If it wasn’t so important she would have called the whole mission off and just waited for the targets to come outside. As it was, they’d just have to risk the kids. They’d try to protect them, since they weren’t the problem, but they couldn’t let these guys go. Not if they were guilty of trying to kill the President. If it was just that they were being held hostage, then they still needed to go in.
There didn’t seem to be another way.
“I think I can get a count of who’s in the dwelling and figure out who’s in charge. From this range it shouldn’t be that hard. Shall I try?” Christian stood with her arms crossed, face damp and slightly red, her light blond hair matted with sweat. She’d worn jeans and a heavy jacket along with running shoes, which couldn’t be cool, but would protect her a bit if she had to crawl on the ground or anything.
“Perfect Chris. Could save a lot of time.” Lives too, but she didn’t mention that part. Everyone knew that already.
She settled to the ground, sitting Indian style, back of her hands on thighs, eyes closed. She didn’t speak or do more than shift just a tiny bit while she worked. The kids kept playing in the yard and a single woman, who looked to be about twenty, came out and spoke to them briefly, then left. It was, Marcia thought from the pictures she’d seen, Cal Morris’ daughter Beth. She certainly didn’t look like a prisoner.
It took longer than Marcia liked, but that couldn’t be helped. After all, how long was quick when it came to pulling information from minds? She was just getting ready to sit herself when Christian stood up suddenly.
“It’s… There’s more than one thing going on Marcia. We need to secure the people here, they’re all involved. There are no hostages here, there never were. We need to warn Washington, the base… Congress. This isn’t just a few people trying to make a point. They’re planning to start Armageddon. Now. In a few minutes. We need to stop them.” To make her point she started running toward the house. It was totally out of character for her, but got everyone’s attention.
Especially when Brian started heading that way as well, easily passing the telepath. It was a stupid way to do it, so she yelled at them, not caring if it gave them away.
“Down! LG, Goblin, go! Everyone else get ready, we rush as soon as everyone is as dazzled as their going to be.” Which would be in about six seconds, if she had it right. Tobin could handle anyone that could hear him, and Karen anyone the light she projected as a brilliant blue beam touched. The problem was that everyone was inside. Except the kids out front. It meant making a hard entry, which meant that she should go first. No one else was bullet proof. Not on their side at least. Of the people they had with them Brian was closest to that state, being in his armor. It didn’t cover him totally but was something.
Chris hadn’t mentioned Infected being inside though, so Marcia waited and signaled the rush.
“Now!” She sprinted, not saving anything, pushing as hard and fast as her body would go. It wasn’t enough, because the woman who might be Beth Morris stepped into the doorway, firing an automatic weapon from the hip. She couldn’t really hold it down, so the spray took out one of the kids in a bloody cloud before Marcia could get there. The woman found herself hit at about seventy miles per hour, which didn’t go well for her, a sickening crack coming from her neck as she flew back into the wall behind her, inside the house. Marcia was in contact with the body the whole time as it caved the plasterboard and two by fours, using the resistance to kill part of her speed.
Inside it was a confusing hodgepodge of events that she couldn’t really track totally. She was on the first person that tried to shoot her before she realized it was Weathers, who’d gone bald since they’d last met. He hadn’t gotten fat at least. Not too much. She pulled her punch, taking three rounds to the chest as she did, trying not to kill him, just in case he had information they needed.
The next person was harder for her to handle, emotionally. It was a kid. Not a baby this time, but the boy might have been all of twelve. He screamed at her as he fired a little twenty two rifle at her.
“Filthy Infected! Die bitch!” He had to work the action on the rifle after the first shot. It gave her time to simply step in and slap him into unconsciousness. Then she broke his little rifle. If he was going to go around shooting people with it, he obviously wasn’t responsible enough to have something like that. What were these people thinking?
Probably that the evil Infected were going to come and kick their asses, from what they were screaming. Proxy had been behind her it seemed, if not coming in at the same speed, clearing the next room over. There was gunfire, but it was over when she got there. The six people there were all dead, of course. There was still noise coming from the back of the house, so she took off toward it, only to find a door that led to a garage. There were people inside, but a single car was taking off at full speed leaving most of them behind. The tires smoking on the slick gray cement.
Marcia hated car chases. Even a family car was faster than she was once they got going, and they were big enough to be a pain in the butt to stop, if you were running at the same time. It was the one time when she felt having a personal firearm would have really helped. She tried anyway. Mic was in the vehicle and as far as she was concerned he needed to answer some questions. Especially in regards to why one of the women there had killed a baby while trying to shoot her. That was sloppy and more than a little evil. No one sane would use a weapon they weren’t strong enough to control.
She got to the car before it got twenty feet from the building it had started in. It was a large steel bodied thing, so it didn’t speed up all that fast, though the engine sounded like it was good. A race car engine hidden in a Sudan or the modern equivalent. Whatever it was the drug lords and special forces groups were doing in that regard to fool everyone else this week no doubt. It didn’t matter, they weren’t getting away. It would be too hard to punch through the engine block with it moving, so she sped up and kicked the front driver’s side tire as hard as she could. It bounced her off backward into a roll, but it made the thing explode too. It was a run flat tire, or had been, being solid inside, but the metal it rested on couldn’t take the stress of the blow and neither could the rubber.
“That’s a start.” She got up and ran over to the vehicle, which was listing badly to one side, but still running on three wheels, and took out the passenger side front one as well. It took two kicks this time, because she was using her left foot, which was just as strong, but not as accurate. The wheel popped off whole. They crawled along at about five miles per hour for a few seconds, and then stopped as the metal rim that remained dug into the soft grass they were on. She didn’t wait for them to act, just headed to the car to put an end to the chase, but found everyone inside was already unconscious when she got there.
It took a second to see who was doing what. It turned out to be Denis who was staring at them from a good ways off, so they might be actually asleep or just feel so paralyzed they couldn’t move. It was a handy trick, when you wanted people alive. Marcia stepped back, breathing hard, but not feeling it. She still needed oxygen like everyone else, so she didn’t bother trying to talk, just waving at the car a little. Less than a minute later Lancaster and the guys ran over with fists full of zip ties and started securing everyone. They had to scramble to get the people inside taken care of before they all woke up, but they managed it, only having to knock out one person again. The boy.
Marcia hadn’t hit him hard enough the first time.
While she waited for the prisoners to wake up, Brian started dragging the bodies out into the front yard of the house. There was no fence, but no neighbors either, so it was probably fine for the moment. Eight people were dead. It was her fault of course. Not solely, but she was the one in charge of the clusterfuck, so she had to a
ccept the blame. It didn’t help that Chris had started haring off like she had, but that wasn’t her fault. She just didn’t know not to do things like that. That or whatever she’d found was really just that bad. The woman had her talents, but she didn’t normally pretend to be some kind of bad-ass. It wasn’t her way.
Again it came back to it being Marcia’s fault.
She wanted to finish the job and get rid of the bodies, since they had nearly ten people left, mainly women and kids, but a few men worked in that had managed not to get themselves killed. They weren’t that happy, the conscious ones. Not at all.
“Murdering scum!” One of the men helpfully called out. “Baby killers!”
There was indeed a dead baby, but Marcia didn’t have it in her to own that one. She shook her head and started to speak, only to have a voice in her ear suddenly scream.
“Bomb! Get away from the house. Bomb! Run!” It was Penny and from the cadence she was using, she was taking her own advice.
Everyone did start to take off, except the people tied in place near the front porch. Marcia didn’t have a lot of time to think about it; just falling back on old patterns and training she grabbed Mic and Weathers and ran. Brian had two with him as well, the boy she’d KO’d and a girl that might have been about Bridget’s age. Even with their lower mass it had to be nearly impossible for him to run while carrying them. He did it anyway. They got far enough away with their packages before the bomb went off, pretty much wiping the last traces of the house from existence. If they’d had any papers or computer information, it was gone. That was inconvenient, but probably the plan.
There was a soft exhalation next to her after it happened, the fireball and smoke still climbing into the sky. Penny again.
“Fuck. Those people… Some of them were just kids.” She sounded so ticked Marcia reflexively got ready for an attack. Cellophane couldn’t hurt her and eventually she’d win that fight, even if it was just dumb luck on her part, flailing around until she hit something. Unless the girl cheated and used something on her that she wasn’t ready for. Superglue in her mouth and nose maybe? She’d never tried it, but she doubted she could beat that fast enough to save herself and Penny could put it there without her noticing at all.