Until My Dying Day

by S. C. Stokes

  Survival is a powerful motivator.

  Kasey looked over the assembled parties. Hades and his Helldrakes stood at the ready. Eighteen ruthless assassins, clad head to toe in black cloth and Kevlar that both concealed their identity and provided state of the art protection from weapons fire. While his men stood in silence, Hades’ gaze darted about, alternating between scanning the room’s entrances and exits and studying the other parties clustered about him, specifically the growing police presence.

  Kasey got the impression that he didn't spend a whole lot of time above ground. Being out in the open and surrounded by so much law enforcement was clearly not his idea of a good day out. Hades’ discomfort only multiplied when Sanders arrived at the head of a contingent of ADI agents. The ADI had deployed as many agents as it could muster. More than fifty wizards stood shoulder to shoulder with their new chancellor. Wearing bullet-proof vests over their dress shirts and slacks, it was an odd sight, but Kasey couldn't help but stare in awe at the potent display of arcane power they represented.

  The Ninth Precinct had gathered what remained of its strength. Many of its wounded officers had been dispatched to local hospitals, but those that were still standing were as resolute as ever. The Fighting Ninth never backed down from a fight. In the battle for New York City, they would give it everything they had. Bishop, Morales, and Henley stood alongside a dozen of their colleagues, hovering uneasily between the groups of wizards. Kasey was relieved to see Henley had survived the station’s siege. He had been on patrol when the station had been hit by the Night Crew.

  The Ninth Precinct was ready for war. Twice now, war had found its way into the Fighting Ninth’s home, and there was no way in hell they were going to take it lying down. The opportunity to settle the score with the Shinigami was one they would not let pass.

  West excused himself to coordinate with the adjoining precincts. Closing down and evacuating three city blocks was no simple exercise. It would require the deployment of NYPD resources on a grand scale. Trying to vacate and evacuate part of the city in broad daylight without alerting the Shinigami to their intention was an almost impossible task. Nonetheless, West had set about it with every shred of cunning and resource at his disposal. Local units had already begun a gradual evacuation of the buildings at the periphery of the strike zone. As the assault commenced, the evacuation would escalate as the police cordon tightened to ensure Akihiro could not escape or endanger the lives of other innocent bystanders.

  So, it comes down to this. Less than 100 souls. I hope it's enough. It has to be enough.

  “Bishop, Morales, Hades, Sanders, let's bring it in.” Kasey began. “We’re running out of time. We need to get moving before they detonate the weapon.”

  The heads of the respective strike forces gathered around a planning table while their divisions looked on patiently. Hades’ pet made as if to follow him, but he raised his hand to stop her. A flush of red flashed across her face. As Kasey locked eyes with her, Hades’ pet snarled.

  Kasey shrugged off the hostility. She had no time for such nonsense now.

  As the leader of each element gathered closer, Kasey addressed them. “Alright, everyone, I know we've had our differences in the past, but I'm glad that everyone here is willing to set them aside for the good of the city and the lives of everyone who remains in it. You have all heard what we are up against. Many of you have seen it firsthand. Understand in no uncertain terms, if Akihiro’s plot is not stopped, the entire city will be destroyed, along with everyone in it. There is no bargaining or reasoning with him. He has spent years working to bring this to fruition. If he succeeds, he will both devastate this country and gather the life force of millions of its citizens. Akihiro believes this will grant him immortality.”

  “Will it?” Bishop asked. “Is that even possible?”

  Sanders tapped his hand on the table. “We’ve seen him use another’s life force to heal himself, but to be honest, we don’t know what harvesting life force on that scale will accomplish. The study of necromancy is forbidden, both here and the rest of the civilized world. Taking a life to harness its energy for oneself is a crime that cannot be countenanced and is not tolerated in any form.

  “The Shinigami give no heed to our laws. They have existed in secret for centuries. The council had sought to root them out, with no success. They hide underground in countries where our influence holds no sway. This is the first time they have been on US soil in a century. We need to end them here, now, before he can detonate the device.”

  “We’re on a clock people,” Kasey replied. “If we haven't successfully disarmed the device by five pm, everything will be lost. The city and everyone in it will perish.”

  Hades glanced at his Rolex. “It's almost two pm now. That doesn't give us a whole lot of time.”

  “You’re right. We’re almost out of time, which is why this is so crucial. Every one of us needs to play our part, if we are to have a chance at stopping him,” Kasey said, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

  “What do we know about the target?” Bishop asked. “What are we walking into?”

  Sanders leaned on the desk. Pointing at the map of Manhattan, he said, “My men have been watching 432 Park Avenue for weeks. We know that Akihiro has a number of acolytes at his disposal. After the incidents here and at the council, it’s safe to say they are heavily armed. We also believe he has numerous wizards who have defected to his cause. We'll face both magical and mundane firepower as we attempt to breach the building.

  “Park Avenue itself has been heavily fortified. While it’s still under construction, most of the building is hidden behind temporary fencing. We haven’t been able to get inside, but our agents have scouted it from the adjacent properties. He has been busy barricading his position. Several anti-vehicle impediments have been constructed inside the barrier. To the untrained eyes, they appear to be construction materials, but we know better. The panoramic windows that have been already installed on the lower floors have been blacked out or covered. We've been unable to get a good look inside the building, but it’s safe to say that whatever is waiting for us in there will be equally hostile,” Sanders concluded.

  “What about the adjacent buildings?” Hades asked.

  “The adjacent buildings?” Kasey asked. “The police will clear them. Why?”

  “Your target is surrounded on every side by vantage points with clear lines of fire. It’s a sniper’s dream. If we’re caught in the open, we’ll be cut down. Those buildings pose as much of a threat as the target itself.”

  “You’re right,” Kasey replied. “We’ll be using armored carriers for the insertion. The police are going to ensure we have a clear route to the target. We'll be borrowing armored personnel carriers belonging to the various precincts of the city. Chief West has requisitioned their use. They should allow us swift and safe passage through the city and allow us to make an armored insertion into the ground floor of the Park Avenue complex. They will withstand any small arms fire until we reach our destination. We will clear the ground floor and lock it down. Once inside, we’ll be safe from any external over watch they have positioned. The same black out windows will protect us once we are inside. We'll leave a contingent led by the Helldrakes and the Ninth Precinct to ensure that no one can enter or exit the building. A joint strike force of officers will accompany Sanders and me as we breach the subbasement and make our way down into the building. Vida, what do you think we can expect to find?”

  Vida laid a set of blueprints on the table and rolled them out. “These are the original construction plans filed with city council. Be aware that 432 Park Avenue is the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere. Its foundations are equally as impressive, descending deep within the earth. On their own, they took a year to construct. It is our belief that somewhere beneath the building, within those foundations, they have prepared means to drill further. I believe that somewhere in the subbasement of the building we are going to find some sort of tunneling
or boring machine. That boring machine will be tunneling deeper, and it is probably designed to detonate an explosive weapon deep beneath the city. It's likely they have been tunneling for some time. Sanders and Kasey's contingent will need to be prepared. They will need to clear swiftly through the subbasement. They will need to find that weapon and disarm it before it can reach detonation depth. To that end, officers from our bomb squad here at the Ninth Precinct will accompany them. Once the weapon has been taken out of commission, you can return to the surface and sweep the building floor by floor. Akihiro will be cornered.” Vida looked around the table. “Remember, this man is armed and extremely dangerous. You can’t give him any quarter.”

  “Exactly,” Kasey replied. “At the same time as we breach the ground floor, we will have an aerial-based insertion attack from above. Several airborne tactical units will land on top of the building and sweep down through it. Hopefully this will pressure Akihiro into the waiting guns of the Helldrakes and the Ninth Precinct who will be waiting for him. Are there any questions?”

  “Just one,” Hades replied. “You said wizards were defecting to his cause? Any idea how many?”

  Sanders shook his head. “We have seen as many as ten enter the building and not exit. The true number could be much higher, but the reality is, they are cowards who would abandon our cause for the honeyed whisperings of a madman. They are to be shown no mercy. It doesn't matter who we face in there—when you get inside, don't hesitate. They'll not think twice about killing any one of us. We need to possess the same resolve.”

  “So the Arcane Council isn't going to have an issue with us killing a dozen of its citizens?” Hades asked.

  “If they are not with us, they are against us,” Sanders said. “The ADI and Arcane Council have no tolerance for those who would carry out or aid in genocide to fulfill their own selfish ambitions. Make no mistake, Akihiro is committed. We have no idea how long he's been planning this, but we do know he has been masquerading as Arthur Ainslie for over a year. There is no price he will not pay, no lie he will not tell. No life he will not take. If any of you succumb to his influence, we'll put you down right alongside him. Am I understood?”

  “Crystal,” Hades replied.

  Kasey looked at the faces gathered around the table. Their steely eyed resolve echoed what was in her own heart.

  Bishop gathered up the blueprints. “If there is nothing else folks, let's move out. The carriers are waiting for us out front. Let’s get loaded up and get it done. Good luck and Godspeed.”

  Chapter Nine

  Kasey stared out through the ballistic glass of the armored vehicle, a Lenco Bearcat, as it rolled down Madison Avenue. The Bearcat was closer to a tank than a truck. Covered in military spec steel armored bodywork, and blast-resistant floor, doors, and hatches, it could easily withstand heavy gunfire while delivering a fifteen strong tactical team right into the heart of a hostile environment—a role that made it eminently suitable for its current mission.

  West had done his job well. The convoy had faced little traffic as it had wound its way through the city. By the time the strike force reached Madison Avenue, the streets were deserted.

  As the strike force had set out from the Ninth Precinct, Manhattan’s outlying police precincts had begun an evacuation of the island. If the strike force failed, the loss of life would be immense. The NYPD would do their best to clear as many innocent civilians as it could, though Kasey knew they didn’t have anywhere near the time required. Any warning Akihiro gained from the evacuation now was unlikely to do him much good. It had taken the convoy only minutes to reach their destination.

  Kasey’s earpiece crackled to life. “Strike force, this is Sanders. ETA sixty seconds and counting. When we engage, stay off comms unless absolutely necessary. With the size of our contingent, it will be all too easy for any radio chatter to drown out crucial communications. Ready yourselves. We’re weapons hot. See you on the other side.”

  Every member of the strike force had been fitted with an ADI earpiece. The all-in-one communicator would allow them seamless communication within a several mile radius. Unlike standard communications equipment on the market, these earpieces were designed to work even in the underground metropolis of the Arcane Council, a quality that would be crucial in whatever labyrinthine catacombs existed beneath 432 Park Avenue.

  “Roger that, Sanders,” Kasey replied. “Everything is looking good here. Nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like we may have caught them napping. Let’s lock and load. People, this is it.”

  Kasey glanced sideways at Henley who was driving the armored truck. Both hands gripped the wheel firmly. At a little over fourteen tons, the Bearcat was a mobile battering ram. Approaching the intersection of Madison Avenue and East 56th Street, he eased off the gas, but barely touched the brakes. Wrenching the wheel to the right, he brought the armored vehicle around the tight corner.

  On both sides of East 56th Street, skyscrapers towered above them. They barreled past the First Republic Bank, with its terraced office building.

  432 Park Avenue rose into the sky like a concrete and steel finger. Although still under construction, it towered far above its neighbors. A crane sat seemingly appended to the structure. It was a shame that the building might never be completed. Akihiro’s perversion of Arthur Ainslie's dream had fitted it for a different destiny.

  At the base of the structure, a temporary fence stretched away from the building’s facade, obscuring the sidewalk immediately in front of the skyscraper. It ran from the First Republic Bank on the left, clear past 432 Park Avenue to a five-story glass tower resting in the shadow of the Phillips building.

  “What do you want me to do about the fence?” Henley asked, pointing at the temporary barrier.

  “What fence?” Kasey said, the corners of her mouth rising up into a grin.

  “Roger that,” Henley replied, dropping his foot down on the gas.

  The armored carrier picked up speed, hurtling towards the aluminum barricade. Kasey had witnessed the Bearcat in action during the raid on the Marina. She knew the barrier didn't stand a chance.

  The vehicle struck the barricade and obliterated it. The aluminum mesh exploded inward as the van burst through the cordon, dragging the fence along with it.

  As they broke through, enormous hunks of welded steel rebar that had been connected like World War Two tank traps came into view. Several of them had been driven into the concrete. Others sat seemingly loose, scattered in front of the building. They were larger than Kasey had imagined and posed a more significant threat then the fence.

  Henley swerved, pulling hard left on the wheel, narrowly avoiding the first of the tank traps. The hedge that had been planted to separate 432 Park Avenue from its neighbors fared poorly as Henley plowed a ten-foot-wide hole right through the middle of it. He stomped on the brakes as Kasey braced for impact. The Bearcat barely slowed as it approached a pair of roller doors on the adjoining building.

  The steel roller doors fared little better than the hedge or the fence as the Bearcat punched straight through it, veered to the right, and into a BMW parked inside the private car park. The BMW crumpled like a sardine can as the Bearcat ground it into the wall. Kasey flew forward until her seat belt arrested her motion and she slammed back into the seat.

  Shaking off the impact, she unclipped her belt and threw open the door. Henley grabbed a black tactical pack and clambered out of the cab, before looking at the crushed convertible.

  “Someone’s not going to be happy,” Henley muttered.

  Kasey looked around the private car park. There were more than a dozen luxury cars including a Bentley, a Ferrari, and a Lamborghini. “Oh, I dunno, Henley, in the scheme of things, you probably picked the cheapest of the lot. I’m sure West will be glad you missed the Bentley.”

  There was an almighty screech of twisted metal as the next armored carrier in the convoy struck the first of the tank traps. The steel, braced against the concrete, absorbed the brunt of the carr
ier’s assault. Sparks leapt off the carrier as it ground to a halt. The next vehicle in the convoy veered right and slammed into the ground floor of the retail space on the right-hand side of 432 Park Avenue.

  The fourth vehicle got caught in a tangled web of welded steel. With most of the sidewalk littered with stalled armored carriers, the convoy came to a halt and the rest of the strike force dismounted in the street itself.

  Kasey followed Henley to the entrance of the parking garage.

  A deafening rush filled the air. Looking up, she spotted the rocket’s trail. Before it, a rocket-propelled grenade hurtled toward the convoy. The RPG struck the ground next to one of the Bearcats. The ballistic steel would take a fifty-caliber round but the high explosive ordnance lifted the vehicle, flipping it off its wheels and onto its side. Dust billowed out from the point of impact.

  Gunfire erupted from above. Bullets slammed into the armored vehicles as the members of the strike force disembarked. Before her eyes, an ADI agent was dropped as fire from a high caliber rifle punched through him.

  “It's an ambush,” Kasey yelled. “They’re above us. Get everyone into the target building!”

  All about her, the strike force was in turmoil. Agents and NYPD officers huddled in the shadows of their armored vehicles. Akihiro’s forces were everywhere, their elevated position giving them a deadly edge. If the strike force remained in the open, they would be slaughtered, and the attack would fail before it began.

  Movement at the overturned transport caught her eye. As its rear doors opened, a sandy-haired figure stuck his head out.