The Terminus experiment s-34

by Jonathan E Bond

  Nobody knew exactly what was going on, but at the moment the attack came, the resistance to their departure had all but evaporated. Small pockets of vampires, usually just two or three at a time, still plagued them, but they weren’t of the deadly caliber that they’d first encountered. Most of were small and lightly cybered, nor had they encountered any with magical abilities for almost five minutes of climbing.

  As Rachel gained the top landing, she looked around at the rest of the runners. Flak stood tall and silent, the Vindicator cradled in his arms like a child. He was breathing easily, despite the blood running from four separate wounds on his arms and chest.

  Truxa had done what she could for him, but she’d also been wounded. Her left arm was broken and although she’d healed herself, the bone wasn’t completely mended and the wound hampered her magical ability. She’d been forced to take the fall-back position. Wielding Sinunu’s crossbow, she was in charge of making sure that whatever the rest of the team knocked down stayed down.

  Sinunu had pulled up her balaclava hood to reveal a blooded mouth, missing two teeth where a dying vampire had smashed her face-first into the wall, seconds before de Vries had broken the thing’s spine. She was also walking with a limp, favoring her right hip. From the fire in her eyes, though, Rachel guessed Sinunu was riding on a killing wave and didn’t notice any pain.

  Rachel found herself smiling. Even though she’d gotten hit couple of times, the bullet that had grazed her thigh had been a ricochet. She put a hand to her left shoulder and felt blood there. Evidently, the fat woman had managed to get her licks in before Rachel had shot the back of her head off. Still, Rachel didn’t feel it either. Her body was humming with intense excitement. Part of her was angry and scared, angry that they hadn’t found Warren, and afraid for what might have been done to him. That was a small part, however. She was alive. Truly alive for the first time in her life, It was as if everything had come down to this, fighting alongside people who trusted you with their lives, and knowing that you would kill or die to not let them down. Dancing that razor’s edge.

  She looked around again and a huge swelling of pride filled her. This small team was going up against incredible odds, against some of the darkest creatures the Sixth World had ever seen. They’d been bloodied, but were unbowed. They were hurt, but they were still deadly, and any vampire who crossed their path would find out just how deadly.

  The only one who remained uninjured was de Vries. He was a whirlwind of destruction, and seemed to take a perverse glee in killing vampires that had made Rachel queasy the first few times. Now, she understood his reaction. The only time de Vries had seemed sad since the fighting had begun was when he’d been forced to hurl the still unconscious body of the decoy at the vampires approaching from below. And though it had bought their escape, she’d heard him muttering, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  “Talk to me, Sandman We’re almost out of ammo, and I don’t think we can take too many more hits.” Flak’s voice sounded calm over the tacticom, but Rachel thought she could detect a hint of strain, maybe even fear.

  “There’s not much I can tell you,” came Sandman’s voice in her ear. “The fighting outside is pretty hot. Whoever these guys are, they’re kicking hoop and taking no prisoners. At first, the vamps were getting back up again, but these guys are pros, and they’ve changed their tactics. Not so many vampires are getting up anymore.”

  Flak grunted. “So the military-type boys are winning?”

  There was a pause. “Yes and no. They’re taking down vampires fast and furious, but somebody tripped something in the system about five minutes ago, and some more vampires just showed up out of nowhere.”

  “Damn,” muttered Flak. “Any way to slip out in the confusion?”

  Sandman’s voice came over the com again. “Probably not, but you’ve only got one more corridor, and then you’re back the fresh air. Give me about a minute to double-check everything, then be ready to hit it when I give you the signal. You still packing those shaped charges?”

  “Affirmative,” said Flak.

  “Well, you’re probably gonna need them. The doors at the end of the hall are locked tighter than Lofwyr’s vaults, and there’s not one thing I can do. I’ve been shut out of that area of the system.”

  “Check,” said Flak. He turned to the rest of team and said, “You heard the man! One minute, and we’re out of here. Get your drek together, and make sure you’ve got enough ammo.”

  Suddenly the unreality of all that had happened that night hit Rachel. She looked around at the bloodied crew, then down at the guns in her hands.

  She let out a small laugh. “Hey, guys, just twenty-four hours ago, I was wondering if I was gonna make the rent and whether to splurge on another pair of heels for work.”

  Sinunu responded with a low chuckle. “Under the circumstances, you’ve done pretty fragging well.” She looked over at de Vries, who was standing near the door. “Next time you want to bring someone else along for the ride, vampire man, they better have as much on the ball as your girl here.”

  De Vries smiled at her. “Is that your oblique way of apologizing?”

  Sinunu looked at him for a moment, and Rachel thought she was angry, but then Sinunu shrugged. “I guess it is.”

  Dc Vries’ smile grew into a toothy grin that somehow didn’t remind Rachel of the vampires they’d been killing for the last half an hour. “Apology accepted.”

  The tacticom crackled. “Heads up, people. This is about as good as it gets.” Sandman’s voice was staticky over the com. We’re rolling again. There’s some fighting out by the front gate, and we’re going to try slipping past it. The corridor is clear, and you’ve got about a twenty-second window to make the loading dock. If you can, meet us at the front gate. Be careful. There’s a lead storm flying out here, and the good guys are on the defensive now.”

  “Roger, Sandman,” said Flak. “We’re outta here.”

  The rest of them got into position.

  Rachel took up her new place, the position Truxa had held before getting injured. How strange that only two hours ago, she’d felt like a lost outsider with these people. Now, she was at home. She knew her role, and knew she was trusted to carry it out. She had proven something to herself as well, though she wasn’t quite sure what that was yet. All she knew was that she’d gotten back on her feet, her wounds were distant things, and that razor’s edge was calling to her.

  “Okay, everybody,” said Flak, from up near the door, “this is it. One last dance, then hopefully we can get the hell off the dance floor. Everybody hang tight, conserve ammo, and if I give the signal, run. Don’t look back.”

  With that, he opened the door, and they began to move quickly down the long hallway leading to a door at the far end, the exit sign gleaming like a promise.

  24

  The cyberware is implanted prior to infection and remains fully functional after vampirism takes hold. But there are some drawbacks, the foremost being that if the cyberware is damaged in any way, the subject dies. The other hurdle to be overcome is the loss of some of the vampire’s capabilities with the introduction of cyberware.

  –

  Dr. Oslo Wake, laboratory notes. Test series OV13652, 02 November 2058

  Julius and his men hadn’t known what they’d find in this godforsaken place, and it was worse than anything they could have imagined. Vampires with cyberware.

  Julius jammed his foot on the head of the vampire he’d just downed, just below the metal cranial cap, and rammed his shotgun up under the thing’s flat, rotten nose. He pulled the trigger and watched as the thing’s face came apart in a wet spray. Pushing the barrel of the shotgun further into the ruined flesh, he angled his shot upward and blew the cap right off the vampire’s head.

  In the last thirty minutes, his men had learned a valuable lesson. The vampires might be undead, and might be able to take a lot of punishment, but if they were cybered, they were vulnerable. Screw with the cyber, and the vamp was hosed. />
  Looking up from his kill, Julius triggered the commlink in his helmet. “Biggs? Heads up. They’re flanking you. Team Two, lay down suppressive fire.”

  Then he was running, the heavy combat suit making sweat stream down his body. Just behind him, the mage Killian managed to keep pace, despite his diminutive frame.

  To his left, the earth elemental that Killian had summoned minutes before was heaving great mounds of dirt over a small group of vampires that had tried to attack it.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Julius caught movement, and was turning to deal with it. when the night erupted in flame.

  The vampire, a human female, turned into a glowing fireball in mid-air as she leapt for him. Julius used the heavy gloves of his combat suit to bat the burning woman aside as he continued running. “Thanks, Killian.”

  The mage just nodded, sweat streaming down his face and blood coming from his nose. He’d been lighting up the night with his fire elementals, and the drain of summoning and casting was taking its toll.

  On Julius’ right, Biggs was standing at the point of a wedge that made up Team Three. Ruby spears of coherent light lanced out into the darkness, cutting dark forms into pieces.

  Julius cursed himself for not arming more of the men with lasers. They seemed to do more lasting damage than simple lead rounds.

  When they’d discovered this, Julius had reformed his teams into straight vee-shapes, with a laser man walking point and the heavy guns playing backup. Each team had started out with a mage, though none as powerful as Killian. The vampires had caught on quickly, however, and only Killian and one other mage still lived.

  Even with the reinforcements the vampires had received from inside the compound, the Fratellanza troops had managed to force them back again, until they’d almost reached the building.

  Julius wasn’t about to leave this place without his son, but he hoped fervently that whoever was directing the defenses had committed everything to the exterior. If they hadn’t, and there were another forty or so of these bad boys lurking inside, it would be a running battle his men were sure to lose. Even with their superior speed and maneuverability, the vamps were proving manageable out in the open. Inside, the undead would have all the advantages.

  Julius and Killian reached Team One just as Biggs finished bisecting a vampire. The thing screamed, though it tried to pull itself forward with just its hands, leaving still twitching legs behind.

  “Die, you godless bastard!” screamed Biggs as he burned the vampire’s head from its shoulders.

  “Report,” said Julius as he advanced with Biggs.

  “I figure there are still about sixty of ’em total, with the reinforcements. It only seems like more ’cause they’re so hard to put down. We’re sitting at about thirty percent casualties, about eighteen men dead. Nobody still alive has been bitten, far as I know.” Biggs’ voice was tight with adrenaline and fear. “But I got some boys staking anybody who goes down, just to make sure our own dead don’t get back up.”

  Above his head, Julius could hear the sounds of four airborne drones in the background. They’d started out with six, but somehow the vampires had managed to bring down two of them. It didn’t really matter, though. The drones were little more than a nuisance to the vampires. With their light guns, the drones couldn’t target the vampires long enough to do any lasting damage.

  Julius spoke over the commlink. “We can’t take this prolonged fighting,” he said. “We’ve got to make a hard push for the loading dock there. Teams Three and Four will fortify the position, and One and Two will start ransacking the place. Once we find Warren, I want this place burned to the ground. Understand?”

  Biggs turned to him, and Julius could see his wide grin beneath the visor covering the top of his face. “My pleasure.”

  Julius spoke into his commlink again. “By the numbers, people. Team Four, take the left flank and advance to just below the loading dock. Team Three, back them. Team One and Two, provide cover. When Three and Four are in position. One and Two take the building.”

  Just then the entire back of the loading dock lit up with a brilliant light, and the concussion was enough to make Julius stagger. In the afterglow, he could see the door to the loading dock buckle outward and finally fly upward.

  “What the hell?” Biggs had turned to stare, and so did everyone else out there, vampires included.

  Then forms spilled out of the ruined doorway. Julius counted five of them, one so huge it had to be a troll. Even from here, Julius could see that they were in bad shape.

  “Damn, he’s going to be hard to take down,” said Biggs.

  Suddenly, the whine of a Vindicator brought the battle back into focus as the huge troll started chewing up the nearest vampires. The group was running, hunched low, shooting up any vampire that came close.

  Julius accelerated the visual field on his helmet and switched to night-vision enhancement and flare compensation. He brought the group into focus, the troll first, then a human with pale pale skin and white hair. There was a small elf, and another.

  He recognized this one. Rachel. Warren’s girlfriend.

  What’s she doing here? The sight of her was so incongruous that for a moment, he couldn’t believe it. Then the formation of the team struck home. Fratellanza, Inc. had earned millions of nuyen trying to keep teams exactly like this from penetrating their client’s defenses.

  She hired a bunch of shadowrunners. Julius realized in a flash that she must have been trying to rescue Warren. But if that true, then where is any son? He scanned the entire area and saw no sign of him. The runners didn’t have him.

  Julius caught sight of another face among the group coming out of the compound. It appeared for a second, then was gone from his magnified field of vision. But for Julius, it was a face he would never forget.

  The face of Martin de Vries.

  This man had killed Derek, and he had kidnapped Warren. Or so Julius had thought. But if that were true, then why was he killing these vampires? And why was he in the company of Warren’s girlfriend, a woman Julius knew would never work against the interests of his son?

  Julius had questions and he needed answers. He was determined to get those answers. And his son.

  “Team Two, give them cover fire!” he yelled.

  The night was rocked by gunfire and lit up like New Year’s Eve. Team Two poured everything they had into the enemy.

  A small group of eight vampires, led by a female who was more cyber than vampire, tried to cut the group off. The man Julius recognized as de Vries tore her limb from limb, and used one of her cybered legs to beat another vampire to the ground, then reached down to pull out the creature’s heart.

  Suddenly, the doorway to the loading dock seemed to swell like the ocean, and forms started pouring out into the night.

  “This is Recon to Mobmaster One. We got lots of company. I count at least forty more vampires chasing that little group.”

  Julius watched as the runners formed a circle, shoulder to shoulder. They were surrounded on all sides. He knew then that they were going to be overwhelmed. Killed before he had the chance to find out what they knew about Warren.

  25

  There is a certain irony to hunting the hunter, especially these beasts Vampires are arrogant and cruel, so distanced from their humanity that killing them brings me no guilt. As a society, we stand quite ready to put rabid dogs out of their and our misery. Why not these foul abominations as well?

  –

  Martin de Vries, Shadows at Noon. posted to Shadowland BBS. 24 May 2057

  Rachel stood shoulder to shoulder with Sinunu and Truxa. At their backs were Flak and de Vries. Her legs felt like dead weight and she could barely stand from the fatigue. I will not let it end here, she thought.

  Firing as quickly as she could aim, Rachel watched as the line of vampires advanced on them. The first of them was an old man. He was dressed in a tattered suit that showed recent bloodstains running down its front. His left arm was a clunky p
iece of cyberware left over from the Desert Wars, and the right side of his head was plate metal. Just behind him came a trio of women. They were all brown-haired and slim, but the middle one was missing her right arm from the shoulder, and the simple dress she wore still smoked near the neck. The arm had obviously been taken off by a laser, but she just as obviously didn’t seem to notice.

  Flak’s voice came over the tacticom. “Sandman, it looks like this is it. They got us pinned down. Is there anything you can do?”

  Sandman’s voice was strained. “Just hold on. I’m going to try to get control of the perimeter defenses.”

  Suddenly, the night was lit up again, this time by the mini-guns on the roof and fence. Sandman’s aim wasn’t as good as a security rigger’s would have been, but it wasn’t half bad. Hot lead tore into the vampires, separating the wave that was advancing on them, opening a tiny hole in the middle of the line.

  The runners were just about to move when the first of the miniguns fell silent. Rachel looked up just in time to see small knots of vampires, heedless of the damage being done to them, tearing the miniguns from their housing.

  “Good, but not good enough.” said Flak over the tacticom.

  Suddenly, there was a screaming roar from in front of Rachel, in the direction of the Fratellanza trucks. Out of the darkness, a huge form rolled forward, looking like some deformed locomotive. Scattering vampires like chaff, its wedge-shaped scoop cutting white flesh and dragging vampires under, the huge vehicle plowed through, bearing straight for them.

  Just behind the monster truck, Rachel could make out the van that had transported them there.

  “That more like it? Seems the military-type boys want to get you out almost as much as I do.” Sandman’s voice held a note of triumph that Rachel hadn’t heard before.