by S. C. Stokes
Sanders.
Kasey glanced up. Opposite the Park Avenue superstructure was the modest Park Avenue Tower. Its lower terrace was providing Akihiro’s disciples a lethal overwatch position.
With her hand raised to block the glare of the afternoon sun, Kasey searched for her quarry. She found him on the terrace among a handful of his companions. The disciple had an RPG tube standing before him that he was eagerly repacking.
“Up there.” Kasey shouted pointing across the street. “We need to take him out before he reloads.”
At her side, Morales raised his rifle and drew a bead on the position before opening fire.
Bullets stitched across the building's facade, but the elevated position made it difficult to hit their foe. The disciple simply dropped down and used the building itself as cover against the forces swarming beneath him.
Something moved on the roof top of the retail building. Lifting her gaze, Kasey realized a half a dozen of Akihiro’s men were taking up positions. Gunfire split the air as the Shinigami’s forces sprung their ambush. Glass rained down from above as more of his forces shattered windows of the surrounding buildings to allow themselves better vantage points.
We’re surrounded. He knew we were coming. This isn't an ambush—it's a bloodbath.
Kasey watched as the first of Hades’ dismounting Helldrakes was cut in half. The back door of the flipped troop carrier burst open and Sanders clambered out.
Kasey called into her transmitter. “Sanders, are you ok?”
“A bit shook up, but the carrier took the worst of it.”
The strike force was pinned down and using the vehicles as cover, the strike force returned fire as best they could. Kasey cringed as she saw an officer of the Ninth Precinct fall, his Kevlar vest failing to save his life. A second later, the ADI agent at his side collapsed, blood pooling on the sidewalk beneath him.
“We need to get off the street. It’s a killing ground,” Kasey called into her earpiece.
“Easier said than done,” Henley replied. “We may be concealed from the worst of it here. Only those across the street have any line of sight to us. We need to level the battlefield. If we can deal with that emplacement across the street, our forces will have some room to maneuver, but at the moment they are surrounded. It may only be thirty feet to the building, but it may as well be three hundred. If they break cover, they’ll be cut down.”
Kasey watched as two of the Shinigami disciples on the terrace stood and fired bursts into the strike force beneath. The dismounting agents took cover, but the disciple holding the RPG got to his feet.
He leveled the weapon at Sanders’ already battered vehicle.
“Sanders, look out! RPG!” Kasey shouted, her voice shrill.
Sanders turned towards the RPG. With bullets dancing all around him, he raised his hands and chanted, “Ahweorfan!”
The rocket veered off course, as if it had a mind of its own. Instead of hurtling towards the Chancellor, it wheeled wildly to the right and slammed into the roof of the five-story retail building. The sniper's nest occupied by the Shinigami disciples was blown to smithereens.
With the right flank in shambles, the strike force had a little room to breathe.
“Dispatch. Where is our air support? We could really use it right about now,” Kasey asked into her earpiece.
“Air support is inbound. Sixty seconds out,” dispatch answered.
“I’m not sure we’re going to make it that long. We need them now.”
A spear of emerald energy hurtled down from above. An unfortunate Helldrake at Hades’ flank was caught in the blast. The arcane energy stripped the flesh from his bones.
“There isn’t enough cover,” Sanders replied. “ADI, raise a shield.”
The disembarking agents chanted as they wove their energy into a protective ward. The latticework of energy began to form above the armored carriers. As bullets struck the shield, bursts of light flickered across its surface. Under the safety of the protective shield, the strike force regathered. It wouldn’t last long, though; the ward may have been robbing the bullets of their lethal kinetic energy, but each impact was draining energy from the wizards maintaining the shield. In time it would fail, leaving the strike force exposed once more.
In the shattered wreckage of the retail building’s rooftop, there was movement. Several of the acolytes had survived the RPG and had resumed firing on the street below.
“Who was inside the transport that destroyed the store?” Kasey asked.
“That would be me,” Bishop replied through the earpiece.
“I should have known,” Kasey answered. “Couldn’t resist a little window shopping, huh?”
“Would have been nice,” Bishop replied, “but Thompkins managed to obliterate it, along with most of the first floor.”
“A real shame, but there are still a few stragglers on the rooftop there that are making our life difficult. Think you could deal with them?”
“Already on our way,” Bishop answered, panting. “Five floors of flaming stairs. Almost there, hang tight.”
Before her eyes, an acolyte fell off the roof, plunging five floors to the street below. Moments later, Bishop and her team emerged and took up firing positions on top of the building.
The Shinigami acolytes opposite Park Avenue were emptying clip after clip into the strike force beneath. They weren't even trying to cover themselves now.
Kasey raised her hands and chanted, “Egni Ysgarlad.”
A lance of scarlet energy, like a flaming sword, leapt from her palms. She guided it through their midst. The arcane energy sliced through them like they were paper, shearing their torsos from the rest of their bodies in one fell swoop.
The arcane energy swung toward the Shinigami that was reloading the RPG. It sliced straight through the weapon, detonating its payload. The resulting explosion silenced the Shinigami position for good.
Thumping rotor blades overhead signaled the arrival of precinct’s air support. The aerial reinforcements bracketed the surrounding buildings with weapons fire.
“Let's move!” Kasey shouted.
With the officers overhead providing covering fire, Kasey, Henley, and the balance of the strike force ran for the protective shield the ADI had summoned. With dozens of wizards strengthening their shield, it held firm as the fire of the Shinigami forces slackened.
“Into the building!” Sanders called leading the charge into the building. “The sooner we’re off the street, the better.”
The strike force closed ranks and surged toward their objective; 432 Park Avenue was finally within reach. The covered windows may have concealed the buildings’ interior from the outside world, but it still seemed more inviting than the bloodshed that had met them on the street.
“Dispatch, we’re ready to breach,” Kasey called. “Thanks for the aerial assist. If you could insert the tactical squads on the roof, we’ll pincer them.”
“Roger that,” dispatch replied.
Both choppers began to climb, making their way to the towering rooftop of 432 Park Avenue.
“Dispatch, this is Aerial 2-4,” a stern voice said through the earpiece. “We have someone on the roof.”
“Take him out,” Kasey bellowed.
“Kasey, this is Aerial 2-4. He’s, uh, glowing.”
Oh, no.
Kasey looked up to see a torrent of billowing emerald flames surge toward both helicopters. The first chopper veered violently to avoid the blaze but clipped its rotors on the Park Avenue skyscraper. The chopper crumpled as the arcane flames consumed the second helicopter, seizing its engines and likely immolating its crew.
Then, as swiftly as they had climbed, both helicopters began to fall.
Chapter Ten
Both helicopters fell from the sky, tumbling and turning through the air as they plunged twelve hundred feet to the ground.
“We’ve clipped the building. We’re going down,” one of the pilots shouted into his comms.
“In
side, now!” Kasey yelled, pushing those in front of her as they shoved their way through the narrow entrance into the building.
The first helicopter clipped the building once more, its rotors being annihilated by the building’s unyielding facade. The second helicopter, which had been caught in the arcane conflagration, was silent as it dropped like a stone.
Kasey assessed her options. There was no saving the aerial borne tactical units. Those that survived the arcane assault would certainly perish in the crash. Kasey had to put her efforts into saving those on the ground around her. The debris from the falling helicopters posed a considerable threat to the strike force who were desperately fighting to get off the street.
As she reached the doorway, she turned and chanted “Tarian!”
A shimmering shield of sapphire energy rose from the sidewalk. Kasey raised her gaze and spotted the helicopters’ sharp descent. Her heart pounded in her chest. It was a race, her rising shield against the falling aircraft, with her life hanging in the balance. She centered her mind and focused all of her will on the shield before her.
The first chopper veered wildly, as the pilot attempted to bring it down in the middle of the intersection of Madison and East 56th Street. His efforts were in vain as the helicopter nosedived at the last moment before slamming into the asphalt. The chopper crumpled in on itself. Sparks leapt as the tail rotors hit one of the intersection’s many traffic lights, and a billowing fireball blossomed out from the shattered aircraft.
The other helicopter slammed into the roof of one of the convoy’s parked Bearcat transports.
The falling chopper crushed the cab of the armored vehicle. Roaring fire played across its surface. The flickering orange flames battled with the emerald conflagration that had consumed the aircraft. A moment later, the helicopter and Bearcat exploded.
Kasey shielded her eyes as the detonation sent a shock wave rippling outward. Twisted metal ricocheted through the street, turning it into a death trap. The heat from the blast washed over her, buffeting against her shield. Fortunately, the arcane ward held firm against the shards of shrapnel that sliced into its shimmering surface. Were it not for the magical barrier, she would have been cut to shreds.
Opening her eyes, she examined the carnage around her.
Smoke rose from the ruined Bearcat, whilst the helicopter was scattered to the four corners of the street. The chopper’s rear rotors had broken free, one of which had missed Kasey by mere feet. It sat buried in one of the ten-foot square windows that lined each of the faces of 432 Park Avenue. As Kasey looked closer, she could still see the emerald flames lapping along its surface. Whatever spell Akihiro had used on the aircraft, it was persistent and deadly. It appeared to have entirely consumed the crew before they even had a chance to scream.
Kasey’s heart ached at the loss of life but there was nothing she could do for them now. Dropping her shield to preserve her strength, she turned and entered 432 Park Avenue to find the members of the strike force rallying.
Inside, Park Avenue was not what she’d expected. She had seen the towering residential complex in her visions numerous times in the last year. She had seen the attack on New York from every conceivable angle, but it still filled her with a surreal sensation to be here at its epicenter.
This is where it all begins. The one building that can withstand the devastation that Akihiro is about to unleash.
It was also perhaps the most dangerous place on earth. It was apparent that Akihiro was expecting them. They had charged head long into a war zone. The ambush on the street had already taken a toll on the strike force. They had lost almost a dozen people just to make it in the door. An unsettling lump in Kasey's throat told her that they would not be the last. Akihiro’s acolytes had always proved themselves adept at selling their lives.
The first floor of the residential skyscraper was still unfinished. Pallets of tiles and steel piping cluttered the ground floor. A bank of elevators ran along one wall, while an emergency stairwell occupied the left corner of the room. The raised first floor ceilings were almost twenty feet off the ground, creating an illusion of spaciousness. While Park Avenue towered over the city, the skyscraper’s footprint was surprisingly narrow.
“Spread out, secure the room. They well and truly know we are here now. We need to lock this building down,” Sanders ordered.
“I will work with West to tighten the cordon,” Bishop replied, via the comms. “This rooftop provides us with an excellent vantage point. No one will be able to slip in or out without us having a clean shot at them.”
The other members of the strike force spread out to secure the first floor. Kasey studied the pallets of tiles. Rather than being stacked in a corner they ran in neat lines, forming a makeshift barrier. Odd, given that space was at a premium.
Oh, no.
The penny dropped as the Shinigami disciples rose up from behind the makeshift barrier and unleashed hell at point blank range.
“Down!” Kasey shouted, ducking behind a pillar.
The Shinigami opened fire and two police officers dropped immediately, followed by an ADI agent who was turning to face the new threat.
In the midst of the carnage, Hades didn't miss a step. He simply drew his pistols and went to work.
The Shinigami unleashed short bursts before ducking back behind the pallets to avoid the retaliatory fire from the strike force.
Hades wasn’t having a bar of it; every time one of them raised their head to fire, Hades took it off. Both pistols blazed as Hades dropped four of the henchmen in quick succession. With each kill, the weight of fire from the right flank eased.
Their remaining comrades turned their weapons on Hades. He dove behind the pile of internal piping. The Shinigami poured round after round after Hades but to no avail. He pressed himself flat against the concrete floor as he reloaded his pistols. Bullets ricocheted off the steel piping, but Hades appeared to have a sixth sense for when to keep his head down. Unfortunately, he was trapped, pinned down by the remaining acolytes.
Zryx held up her fist, signaling the Helldrakes to assault the Shinigami position. Breaking cover the Helldrakes’ coordinated fire drove the Shinigami into cover. She leapt deftly onto the pallet of tiles and raised her submachine gun before proceeding to cut down the remaining ambushers in a withering hail of automatic weapons fire. Hades’ pet may have been psychotic, but she was also fearless. Even when facing a storm of firepower, she cut down the Shinigami acolytes with ruthless and clinical efficiency.
As the gunfire eased, there was the dull scrape of steel on steel. Kasey turned to one of the elevators beside the Helldrakes.
As the doors parted, they revealed a weapons crew manning a .50 Caliber heavy machine gun. Akihiro had turned the elevator into a weapons emplacement. Fortified and dug in like a makeshift bunker, the weapons team had a perfect arc of fire.
Zryx dove off the pallet as the heavy weapons team pulled the trigger. The machine gun roared to life. At point blank range, the Helldrakes had nowhere to go. The machine gun cut through five of them before they could process its existence. As the remaining Helldrakes scattered, the weapons team turned the machine gun on the remainder of the strike force.
The strike force unloaded their weapons at the heavy machine gun team. Unfortunately, the steel plates that had been welded together as a makeshift barrier were proving highly effective at keeping the weapons team alive. Every second they survived, more of the strike force fell.
An ADI agent at Kasey’s right hurled a sphere of fire at the elevator. The blaze struck the wall, super heating the steel. It glowed an angry shade of scarlet but still the weapon blazed away.
As the weapons team brought the heavy machine-gun to bear on the ADI contingent, Sanders emerged from behind the next pillar, raised both hands and chanted, “Drifan!”
The incantation leapt from his outstretched hands. It closed the short distance between him and the elevator swifter than the eye could track it. The spell hit the Shinigami position wi
th unyielding force. The improvised fortification was cleft in twain, the blast carving a hole through the heavy machine-gun, the weapons crew, and the elevator itself. When the dust cleared, sunlight was streaming in through the gaping rend in the elevator shaft’s external wall.
The last of the ambushing acolytes were dispatched by the strike force’s relentless advance, and the lobby fell silent.
Kasey surveyed the damage. The Helldrakes were tending to their wounded. At least four of them were dead, and another was critically injured. The heavy machine gun had reaped a fearsome toll. Among the fallen was a sandy-haired police officer from the Ninth Precinct and an ADI agent that Kasey didn't recognize. There were at least four other wounded members of the strike force being attended to by their comrades.
“See to our wounded,” Kasey directed as she bent down to examine a wounded police officer. “Get them to the safety of the cordon and lock this place down. Check the other elevator shafts, ensure there aren’t any other surprises waiting for us in there.”
Sanders and the other agents moved through the ground floor, sweeping for any remaining acolytes. The strike force had not held back; the acolytes had been exterminated with extreme prejudice. Hades and the Helldrakes prized open the remaining elevator shafts, one at a time. They were empty except for a singular shaft that held a functioning elevator.
“Kasey, this one isn’t empty,” Hades called out. “There’s a working elevator here, and we all know that Akihiro is up there. That was him that took down the choppers. So let’s take a ride. We can end this right now.”
Kasey shook her head. “That’s not a ride, it’s a death sentence. If we step into that coffin, there isn’t a chance in hell we make it safely to the top.”
“Hell’s my domain, Chase. You’ll be surprised what I can make happen with a chance,” Hades countered.
“Not now, Hades. When we do go after him, we’ll be taking the stairs. You saw what happened to the choppers. Unless you want to join them in the next life, you’ll need to keep your feet on solid ground. Besides, we deal with the weapon first, then we clear the building, floor by floor and cut him out like the cancer that he is. Understood?”