“Me?” John repeated, not understanding her.
“She said you asked her about Richard last night.” Aerin stated.
Her disposition was vastly different than what John was used to seeing. There were no signs of cheerfulness in her eyes, there was no joy in her voice; instead it had been replaced with something else. There was a fire in her eyes, though it was small, like an ember that had been kept glowing for years, unable to burn out.
“It was a coincidence.” John began to explain. “I saw the case file; something rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like I’d seen the guy before, so I went to ask Meredith.” John paused for a moment as he carefully chose his words. “When she told me about him, I-“
“I appreciate the concern.” Aerin said, cutting him off. “But this isn’t your fight. Richard is my problem, you don’t need to-“
“Now stop right there.” John said sternly as he stood, cutting her off this time. Aerin unconsciously took a step back as John got close. “You appreciate the concern? No. You don’t get to do this alone. If this Holland guy is your target, then he’s my target too.” He took a deep breath as he placed his hand on her shoulder, speaking a little more calmly this time. “I am your Slayer, and for better or for worse, we’re a team.”
“A team.” Aerin repeated as her eyes moved back and forth. Her gaze moved around John’s face as she studied him. “Y-Yeah.” The mix of emotions changed on her face. Suddenly she turned away from John. “You’re right. We’re a team.”
Without saying another word, Aerin walked away. John couldn’t help it as a smile crept up on his face. Somehow he felt that the words he had chosen were exactly what Aerin needed to hear. He shook his head slightly and sat back down into the office chair. He leaned back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. The rest of the day flew by.
The SUV hit another hole in the road and John was jostled back to awareness once more. He opened his eyes to find that they had made their way along the road farther north now. Many of Los Angeles’ tall skyscrapers now lay behind them as the structures nearby slowly gave way to moderately sized office buildings. The alternating patterns of light and shadow that the evenly placed street lamps cast on the ground began to give John a headache and so he was forced to turn his attention inside the car. Diamond and Lazarus sat in the front seats ahead of him just as they always did, while Hatchet and Ghost occupied the back row. John and Aerin were nestled in the middle row again, as seemed to be the custom so far. He looked over to his left; Aerin sat gazing out of the window. Ever since his brief encounter with her earlier in the day, she had stayed quiet, but John could feel that the air around her had lessened, although it was still tense.
“Well this is different.” Lazarus suddenly spoke, breaking the almost deafening silence.
“What do you mean?” John leaned forward in his seat and asked.
“Normally I’m the one dragging people out on missions.” Lazarus smiled. “Not today.”
“Come on, Laz.” John patted Lazarus on the shoulder before leaning back in his seat. “Be a team player.”
“Hey, I’m just saying.” Lazarus held up a hand and waved it as he spoke. “So, this Holland guy, he sounds pretty rough.” He stated. “Sounds like Old Meredith has some history with ‘em.”
“He’s dangerous.” Aerin spoke up. John looked over to see the same serious look on her face that had been there before, but this time there was a hint of concern in her voice. “He’s managed to avoid us for this long, and he always has a way out. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Understood.” Lazarus said with a nod.
“Boss,” Diamond said as he slowed the SUV down and came to a stop beneath a red light. “We’re here.”
“Right.” Lazarus looked out of his window and studied the area for a moment. “There’s the parking deck.” He said, pointing to a structure over to the right. “Get us off the street.”
Diamond turned off of the main road and pulled up into the parking garage. It was the tallest public structure nearby that would offer a good vantage point over the surrounding area, during the briefing earlier it had been decided that it would be the place where Diamond and Ghost would provide over watch to the other teams. The sound of the engine reverberated throughout the concrete walls as they slowly climbed round and round up the central spire. Diamond navigated the SUV up to the topmost level where he then parked over on the far end of the north side. Once the vehicle came to a stop, everyone disembarked. As soon as John opened his door he was blasted in the face with a chilling wind. The parking deck was tall enough to receive such a gust; for a moment John thought it might affect Ghost’s ability with his rifle, but he was sure the man could compensate.
Diamond opened the trunk for everyone to get their weapons. Hatchet retrieved a large machine gun that had been stowed away beneath the floor in a small hold; he unclasped the top of the weapon and attached a box of ammo to its side. Lazarus checked his pistol that he kept on his side before servicing his rifle; he loaded the magazine and charged the gun. Diamond had taken a tripod from the back end of the SUV and had set it up over near the edge. He attached what looked to be a camera on top of it and began adjusting the lens. Next to him, Ghost began to assemble his own rifle. It was the first time John had seen the sniper’s weapon of choice up close, and the sheer size of it shocked him. The sniper rifle was nearly as long as Ghost was tall. It was painted a matte black and had a large scope on top. At the end of the weapon’s long barrel was a large rectangular muzzle break and the weapons stock had a large spring nestled within it, both items to reduce the recoil that would surely tear through the man’s shoulder under normal circumstances.
Ghost propped the rifle up against the ledge as he rested it on its bipod. He and Diamond began to scan the area as they made small hand gestures between each other. John walked over and stood by Aerin, who had been surveying the site on her own over next to the ledge. She didn’t say anything as John approached; her expression was the same as before. Her eyes moved back and forth slowly as she studied the building before them. He watched her as he waited; only imagining the thoughts that could be inside her head. John could tell that this mission meant a great deal to her.
“That’s the one, right there.” Lazarus stated the obvious as he pointed to the large triangular building ahead of them.
“Pretty fancy place. Don’t look like they’re hurting for money.” Hatchet observed.
“Diamond, Ghost.” Lazarus turned toward the two men. “Give me something.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Diamond responded. He closed his left eye and pressed his right to the scope and began scanning the building from the ground floor up. “Two guys at the front door. Four on patrol around the building.” Diamond readjusted his scope and shifted upward. “Three guys on the fourth floor, two on seven, another two on ten, and looks like three on fifteen.”
“That’s only sixteen.” Hatchet stated.
“Rest of ‘em must be somewhere inside.” Lazarus said as he shouldered his gun. “Right then, not too bad. We’ll approach from the south, there.” He pointed to the wall ahead. “Then we’ll scale the wall. After that we’ll-“ Lazarus suddenly stopped as he looked to his left seeing John staring blankly into the distance. Beside him, Aerin seemed to be in the same shape. “Hey.” He nudged John on the shoulder. “You alright, mate?”
“Yeah, I’m…” John responded. “I’m fine. It’s…” He continued to stare off toward the building. There was a perplexed expression on his face. “It’s just… Aerin, you feel that?”
There was something in the air. A heavy weight, unlike anything John had ever felt before. It tasted like iron, sour, like he had bitten his tongue without realizing. The wind felt off. It blew from different directions around them, though no one seemed to notice. His balance felt shifted. He closed his eyes and felt like he was falling. He shook his head, the feeling lessening, before looking to Aerin beside him.
“Yeah, I do.” Aerin responded. She
closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m not sure what it is… but it’s definitely his work.”
“Wait.” Lazarus held up his hand to stop her. “What? Who?”
“Richard.” Aerin answered as she looked at him. “Whatever he’s doing in that tower, it can’t be good.”
Lazarus quietly gripped the ledge in front of him as he stared off toward the triangular building. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his cellphone to check the time; the display read 12:20am. He sighed and put it away before turning and heading back to the SUV. He opened a box that was left in the trunk and pulled out a handful of headsets, the same type that John had used before. He walked around and handed them out to everyone before clipping one onto his ear.
“Let’s get this ball rolling.” He said as he clicked the button on the side of the device. “Strike teams, Gemini Actual, do you copy?”
“Orion Actual, everyone copies loud and clear.”
“Right then.” Lazarus picked up his rifle and checked it one last time. “Orion, get ready to move into position.”
“Already in position, Gemini. Step up your game.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lazarus said as he shook his head. “This ain’t a race.” He slung the rifle over his shoulder and turned toward the others. “Hatchet, Aerin, John, you ready?”
“Yeah.” John replied.
“Ready.” Aerin stated.
“You bet’cha.” Hatchet said with a smile. He lifted his large machine gun up and brought it to his shoulder. “Let’s go find this son of a bitch.”
“Let’s move.” Lazarus said before glancing back to Diamond and Ghost. “You two, watch our backs down there.”
“We gotcha covered, boss.” Diamond replied as Ghost nodded in agreement.
Lazarus quickly led the group down the stairs that connected each level of the parking deck until they finally reached the ground floor. They made their way over to the entrance of the parking deck before stopping and checking both directions for any signs of movement. The streets were dead in either direction, save for the occasional car passing by down the road. The group crossed the street and moved slowly toward Holland’s building alley by alley. John got a firsthand look into Lazarus and Hatchet’s military background; he had seen them in combat before, but seeing them up close and personal was something else. They moved methodically down the narrow passageways, stopping at each new opening and carefully examining it before clearing the other to move with simple hand gestures. By the time they moved the few blocks between the parking deck and the edge of Holland’s compound, twenty minutes had passed by.
“There it is.” Lazarus whispered while pointing straight ahead.
“Yep.” Hatchet agreed. “That’s our wall.”
Lazarus led them forward just a little farther until they came to the wall. It was a pale concrete slab that ran on for a block in either direction. John looked side to side at either end of the structure and didn’t spot any cameras or monitoring equipment; the plan appeared to be moving smoothly. Hatchet sat his gun down softly and cupped his hands together in order to boost everyone over the wall.
“Orion, we’re in position.” Lazarus spoke into his earpiece.
“About time. We’ll move on your mark.”
“Hold up.” Diamond’s voice suddenly came over everyone’s earpiece. “Gemini, Orion, you got two patrols on either side, they’ll pass by soon. Go on my mark.”
A still silence fell over the group as they waited patiently for Diamond to speak again. While waiting, Lazarus slung his rifle behind him and stepped up into Hatchet’s hands. John steadied his breathing, up until now he hadn’t noticed how irregular it had been. Despite all he had been through, he was somehow still nervous. Every fight so far had been straight forward, but this was something else. He wasn’t used to all this sneaking. While waiting, he glanced over at Aerin for a brief moment and saw a much different expression on her face. Unlike John, Aerin seemed calm. Her eyes looked focus and her mind seemed clear.
“Mark.”
Lifting with his legs, Hatchet boosted Lazarus up onto the wall. Diamond had been correct; Lazarus spotted two men clad in black armor immediately to his left. With one leg still in Hatchet’s hands and another braced on the wall, Lazarus raised his rifle and let out two suppressed bursts from his gun. The rounds impacted into their intended targets and the two figures dropped lifelessly to the ground.
“Two down.” Lazarus stated.
“Likewise.”
Lazarus dropped to the ground as quietly as possible and quickly moved out of the way. Hatchet hoisted Aerin up and she dropped down next to Lazarus with barely a sound. John stepped up into Hatchet’s hands and he too went over the wall. After sending the rest of Gemini team over, Hatchet picked up his machine gun and fell back. The alley he picked to hold up in gave him a good deal of cover and provided a view of the entrance in case things went south.
John’s fall had been less than silent, but it did the job. Lazarus moved over to one of the bodies and began to inspect it. He turned the body over and rifled through the man’s pockets. After finding nothing of interest, he began to drag the body over to the nearby bushes. John moved quickly to assist him with the other body, the last thing they needed was someone spotting their work. The man was heavy from the body armor that covered him. The face was concealed by a helmet, which John removed in curiosity. It appeared to be a normal man underneath; save for the piercingly purple eyes that seemed to glow even though the man was dead.
“Puppet Soldiers.” Aerin remarked as she leaned down to inspect the man. “Definitely his work.”
“Looks like boss man was right.” Lazarus agreed. “Let’s keep moving.” Lazarus raised his rifle and scanned the empty space between the wall and the building. “Diamond, where to?”
“Door to your left.” Diamond stated over the headset. “Can’t say the same for you, Orion.”
“We’re already inside.”
“Right then.” Lazarus nodded toward the door. “Let’s move.”
The group moved cautiously away from the wall toward the building. Even though the patrol had been dealt with, they didn’t take any chances. Lazarus led them slowly toward the door that would take them inside. He reached for the silver handle and pulled on it, but to his dismay it wouldn’t budge. Without blinking, Lazarus reached into one of the many pockets on his vest and pulled out an odd looking object. It was shaped like a garden hose, or perhaps a small drill, and had small metal bits extending from its tip. Lazarus slid the head over the doors lock and squeezed the trigger. The sound of metal scraping came from within the device as it quickly picked the lock. With a slight click, the door unlocked.
The only guards they had seen on the ground floor had been the two that watched the front door. There were still eight soldiers inside of the building that were unaccounted for, so Gemini moved with extreme caution. The hallway they had come into from the door looked generic. The walls were painted in a base white and there were little to no decorations. There were a few actual offices that were encased in glass windows on either side that were dark and empty, but nothing that would suggest anything sinister.
They crept slowly down the hallway as Lazarus led them along. He moved meticulously, scanning each room for movement before motioning John and Aerin behind him. After a while they reached the door to the staircase. Lazarus moved forward and carefully opened the door; John had expected it to creak loudly in cliché, but was surprised to find that it was well oiled. Aerin moved into the stairwell first, followed by John, and then Lazarus. He let the door close gently behind him before he raised his rifle and moved cautiously up the stairs.
“We’re in the stairwell.” He spoke into his headset.
“Same here. It’s six floors to the security room, have fun.”
Lazarus shook his head and pressed on. John had become accustomed to strenuous activity with all the training Samuel had put him through, but the staircase proved to tug at strings he didn’t normally feel. The first
few floors had been nothing, but by the time they had reached the fifth floor he was feeling it in his legs. Just walking up the stairs didn’t really bother him; it was the quiet way in which they moved that was really tugging at his muscles. As he pressed on through the burning sensation, he began to notice something. The strange feeling he had felt out on the parking deck had changed. The closer they had gotten to the building, the stronger he had felt it, but as they climbed the stairs upward he noticed the feeling was lessening. Before he could think on the subject more, the sign for the seventh floor appeared ahead on the wall.
“Target down.”
“That’s another.”
The faint sound of suppressed fire came from the door ahead. Orion had engaged and taken out the two soldiers that Diamond and Ghost had spotted on the seventh floor up ahead. Lazarus upped his pace as he ran up the stairs as to not miss out on any of the action. Suddenly, the door to the seventh floor flew upon.
“Shit! We missed one!”
The person who ran through the door was not a member of Orion. The black armor and helmet was the same as that of the Puppet Soldiers who Lazarus had killed outside. The man appeared to be retreating from the firefight, possibly to call for backup. When he realized he was face to face with the enemy, the man immediately attacked. He pulled a knife from his vest and swung at Lazarus. The Australian’s reflexes proved too fast for the soldier and each swing missed as Lazarus ducked and dodged. With each successful dodge, Lazarus attempted to land a hit on his assailant, but the soldier proved himself to be quite good at hand to hand combat. Their fight eventually pushed Lazarus up against the railings of the stairwell. He grabbed hold of the soldier’s hands as he stopped the knife from penetrating his throat. In one swift motion, Lazarus bucked his hands forward, sending the soldier’s own fists into his helmet; in the temporary reprieve from his attack, Lazarus spun the man’s hands around and shoved the blade into his own throat. The Puppet Soldier gagged on his own blood for a few seconds before falling limp on the cold concrete of the stairwell.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 20