Erik didn’t say anything as he swept near the back, downing another gangster. The men below were getting better about staying low but remained doggedly determined not to leave despite their total ineffectual counterattack on the two exoskeletons above them.
“Good enough for me,” Jia replied.
Her concern fading, she joined Erik in painting the room with bullets. More gangsters fell to their deadly efforts. High-velocity rounds tore through the unarmored flitters and ripped through the men behind them. They might as well have been standing in the open.
A brave man made a run for the metal stairs as if being closer would help. The stairs crisscrossed back and forth, forcing him into a natural defense movement pattern, but there were too many gaps in the rails. Jia’s shot tore through his head before he made it a fifth of the way. His body rolled down the stairs, and his gun clattered to the floor.
“How are you doing outside, Felix?” Erik transmitted. “Any trouble?”
“Nobody’s tried to come out yet,” the gangster replied, sounding surprised. “But we can hear the show in there. You’re really letting those bastards have it, aren’t you?”
“It’s more they’re trying to let us have it and failing.”
The entire front line of the enemy was annihilated or lying on the ground, on the way to death. Jia jumped off the catwalk, kicking in her thrusters to slow her descent. She continued to sweep back and forth with the machine gun, killing and wounding more men before landing with a resounding thud on the warehouse floor. Another quick burst put her on top of a cargo flitter with her massive shield in front. It continued to repel the feeble shots of the gangsters with ease.
“I’m beginning to think these guys were too arrogant,” she muttered. “A couple of corner turrets or bots with missiles, and this would have been a lot harder.”
“You’re complaining about us not having as much trouble?” Erik asked.
“I’m just remembering that training scenario from a couple of weeks ago. We almost died in it.”
“Be glad these guys aren’t as smart as Emma.”
“Their systems people are better than their, shall we say, operations personnel,” Emma observed. “Penetration is taking longer than I anticipated. I wouldn’t say I’m impressed as much as I’m annoyed.”
“How long are we talking?” Erik asked.
He leapt from the top of the stairs, barely using his thrusters. His exo smashed into the top of a black MX 60 of all things, crunching the roof but leaving only mild scratches on the legs of the exoskeleton. Jia hoped that wasn’t a portent for the future.
“Not long,” Emma commented. “Just longer than I anticipated. Keep culling gun goblins, and I’ll handle it.”
The surviving gangsters suddenly broke and ran for the exits. Jia and Erik held their fire. No reason to cut down fleeing men. They weren’t there to wipe out the syndicate, they were there for information.
“They’re retreating,” Jia transmitted. “But they’re still armed.”
“Fine,” Felix sent, sounding annoyed. “If they want to surrender, we’re not going to waste them, and then this doesn’t have to be a thing. Miss Tellvane likes to give people job opportunities despite past mistakes, but let’s see if they’re dumbasses.”
Erik and Jia stayed in their positions, watching and waiting as the men fled. None were bothering to shoot at them anymore. No one stopped to check on their downed friends. Smoke billowed up to the top of the warehouse from the burning remnants of the destroyed flitters, but relative to what they could have inflicted, there was remarkably little damage. Most of the vehicles remained mostly intact if nobody counted all the new holes.
Loud gunfire sounded from outside, and an explosion shook the warehouse.
“What the hell was that?” Erik asked.
“A bastard chucked a grenade at us,” Felix shouted. “We told them they could surrender, but they’re fighting even harder. Damn. Now I see why. Got bastards coming out of other parts of the building, including with some heavier weapons. I think they’re trying to break through.”
“Hold them,” Erik ordered. “We need to get what we came for.”
“Hurry the hell up, Blackwell. You’re supposed to be doing all the heavy lifting on this. We shouldn’t have to duck grenades and rockets.”
“Take out a couple dozen, then you can bitch.”
Jia stepped off the flitter. “That explains why they didn’t put up much of a fight. It was strategic repositioning.”
“They’re not trying to break through,” Emma explained. “They sent some sort of emergency distress call and were told to disrupt the formation outside but not withdraw. That’s the problem with using their local system so tightly; it makes it too easy to spy on. I’ve got primary camera, drone, and turret access, not that the last is helpful anymore considering what we’ve done to it.”
“Outside, huh?” Erik walked slowly between the vehicles, his exoskeleton frame standing taller than anything else on the floor. “Airstrike on the warehouse, maybe?”
“They wouldn’t have their men stay so close to it,” Jia replied. “They have to be planning something different.”
“Reinforcements. Lots of them. That would be my guess. We’re running out of time. Hurry up, Emma.”
“You do your job, and I’ll do mine,” Emma offered in a condescending tone. “I can’t dump every file based on my current level of access. Wait. I think I have an explanation.”
Another loud explosion sounded outside. The din of gunfire was constant. It was insane that this level of fight could occur without the authorities arriving right away.
“The message I just received came from the internal server,” Emma continued, “and was transmitted to all the gun goblins is as follows. ‘Boss says mess up the Prism assholes outside. The big boys will handle the exos. They’ll land up top.’ Hmmm. I’m sweeping the nearby area with the drones and cameras, looking for anything unusual. By the way, when you get a chance, please investigate this vehicle on the warehouse floor. Although I haven’t achieved full systems penetration, it is clearly indicated as the vehicle containing the ‘latest shipment.’ You might find that of interest.”
A bright yellow outline appeared around a cargo flitter in the corner of the warehouse. Erik and Jia advanced slowly, both worried it might explode at any moment. Dead bodies surrounded the vehicle, and now that Jia had time to think about it, she realized there were a greater number of men around the vehicle. She’d assumed they wanted the larger cover, but Erik was right. They wouldn’t have stayed close to anything bound to go up in a fiery cloud of death.
Given their angle from above and the orientation of the vehicle, Erik and Jia hadn’t been able to see the flitter’s open back door and the ramp extending down. Four large crates lay inside. Three of them sported huge holes from Erik and Jia’s indiscriminate fire. The pair didn’t even need to open them to see what was inside, thanks to the holes. Some of the small packets had been blasted into the open and dark liquid was spreading over the floor, along with powder from vials. Jia had seen both in her time as a cop.
Jia scoffed. “Phoenix Root and Archangel? That’s what they were so desperate to protect? Stupid drugs?”
Erik crunched several vials of Archangel underneath his exoskeleton’s foot. “If all these crates are filled with drugs, we’re talking tens of millions of credits. That’s a lot of money. Most people aren’t going to blow that much off.”
“Syndicate scum,” Jia muttered.
“Judging by the internal records I’m now able to access,” Emma interjected, “the ground-level walls are hardened. It would be rather difficult to enter this building except from the roof under normal circumstances. Please note there are multiple cargo flitters approaching in tight formation. They will be here in minutes. The Star Guild men are doing a decent job of engaging the Prism Associates outside, but casualties appear rather lopsided in favor of your colorful new friends.”
“They were depending on no
one being crazy enough to crash a flitter into the building,” Jia concluded. “Or at least being able to stall long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Or we just got lucky. It could be that with all the trouble they’ve been having lately, they’re spread out more.”
“Whatever works,” Erik replied. “Emma, yank everything you can from the system. We might have to pull back, depending on how many people show up.” He backed out of the flitter and down the ramp, then aimed his grenade launcher at the nearest crate. “We want to set a few fires ourselves. Go ahead and disable the fire suppression systems if you have access.”
“Yes, I do.” Emma sounded amused. “You’re going to destroy their drugs? Whatever moral objections Miss Tellvane has over the trafficking of humans might not extend to drugs. She might be agitated by the destruction of tens of millions of credits’ worth of goods.”
Erik let out a dark chuckle. “I only agreed they could take what survived. I never agreed anything would survive. She should have negotiated a better deal if she wants to complain.”
Jia jumped out of the cargo flitter and moved to Erik’s side. She liked the idea of tweaking Tellvane far too much, but it’d be easy to lie and say they’d blown up the drugs by accident. She’d decide later.
Two plasma grenades later, the flitter lay in scorched pieces. The crates were now in shards, and the drugs had been vaporized.
“This is interesting,” Emma declared.
“What?” Erik asked. “A Hunter ship suddenly jumped into orbit and is preparing to bombard us?”
“Not that interesting. The cargo flitters have slowed and are turning around. Ah, I see. The backs are opening to allow the exoskeletons in them to fire.”
“Felix,” Erik transmitted, “back off. You’re in no position to take on exoskeletons.”
“Not complaining, Blackwell,” Felix replied. “But if we back off, they’ll come at you from all angles.”
“It won’t be the first time. Now get the hell out of there. You were the one bitching about having to do all the work. Let me get back to doing my job.”
“Don’t blow up that warehouse, Blackwell,” Felix replied. “We need to make this worthwhile. Miss Tellvane made her position clear on that.”
“How long is the system dump going to take, Emma?” Erik asked.
“Longer than you’d like,” Emma replied. “Depending on the strength of the enemy forces, they might overwhelm you before I finish.”
She sent a feed from the outside cameras. Felix and his men were withdrawing under fire, pulling their wounded into their damaged flitters. The Star Guild men didn’t press the counterattack, instead reducing their fire once they realized the other gangsters were running. Some of the Star Guild threw their hands into the air and roared in triumph, convinced total victory was in their grasp.
The exoskeletons in the cargo flitters didn’t fire. Instead, the flitters flew backward, passing over the top of the building. Six exoskeletons jumped out, armed with machine guns and rocket launchers. The surviving men from the warehouse rushed to surround them, including men with their own portable heavy weapons.
“Felix,” Erik transmitted, “once we pick off the exos, swing back around and nail these guys from the rear. Their attention will be on us. I’ll let you know when.”
The gangster grunted. “You’ll be dead by then, Blackwell.”
“We’re not going to die here,” Jia commented. “No way we’re getting taken out by those assholes.”
“If you say so, but that’s not what the pool says.”
Erik chuckled. “You should have let us bet.”
“In Prism, we don’t let people bet on their own deaths. Don’t want them cheating and purposely getting killed to mess with the payout.”
Jia jogged away from the corner and ran to some flitters in a more central position, then pointed her weapons at the top of the stairs. She loaded a plasma grenade, ready to take on the reinforcements.
Erik raised his weapons. “Let us know if the guys outside start heading toward us, Emma. I’m betting they just want to cut off our escape, but will otherwise leave their buddies free to do what they want.”
Jia sighed. “Too bad we blew up the drugs. We could have hidden behind them. It would be entertaining watching them try not to shoot at us to avoid the wrath of their boss.”
“Get ready,” Erik barked.
Emma’s feeds showed the exoskeletons closing on the rooftop access. The models didn’t look military, and the jump jets were small and inefficient, but the pilots were smart enough to have their shields extended. Not being a complete idiot wasn’t the same thing as being well-trained. Even with the recent slowdown, Jia all but lived in simulators.
“After I fire, I’m going to keep moving,” Jia explained.
“Sounds like a plan,” Erik replied. “I always appreciate Alina giving us these models. I doubt our new friends have anywhere near the same range of movement. Let’s take advantage of that.”
The exos advanced into the entrance, their weapons at the ready. Six to two; it was time to see how unfair the odds were. By Jia’s calculations, the enemy needed at least twice as many to stand a chance against her and Erik.
Jia allowed herself a grin. No reason to deny to herself that she’d gotten cocky. Sometimes arrogance was justified.
“Here they come.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Since Erik had taken up penjing, his appreciation of beauty had increased, not just for plants, but for everything. Destruction was beautiful in its own way. Not death, but destruction. There were so many flavors, so many different facets expressed at the end of an object during its removal from the world. A single method, such as plasma grenades, could have many subtleties.
The massive blue-white explosion created by Erik and Jia’s plasma grenades resembled a blooming flower that melted the catwalk holding up the first pair of exos.
The enemies had entered hot, machine guns roaring, their bullets streaming down toward their enemies, but that confidence lasted only a couple of seconds, thanks to the explosion. The blast sent the two exos flying through the air, their shields having saved them from the bulk of the damage. Another exo tumbled headfirst, his jump thrusters useless for anything other than accelerating him toward his doom, given gravity. The three remaining exos hesitated behind the door, stunned by the brutality and speed of the counterattack.
That moment of hesitation gave the invaders their chance. Erik leapt from one flitter to another, tracking one of the falling exos and awaiting his opportunity for the kill. The first rule of piloting an exoskeleton was counterintuitive. That was to remember that exos were an extension of the body, but not the body itself. It was obvious the gangster didn’t understand that, or he would have stopped flailing and not opened himself up for a clean shot to his body. Erik’s machine gun roared to life, and the large, fast bullets passed through the narrow gap and blew through the pilot, producing a shower of blood.
Jia’s solution was less elegant. She didn’t move her exo during those dangerous seconds following the initial attack. Instead, she followed the second target with her arm, adjusting and firing a single plasma grenade shortly before it landed on the first floor. Without his shield angled properly, the gangster didn’t stand a chance. He managed to scream for a half-second before the explosion burned through his tactical suit and fried him.
The third pilot displayed more discipline and brought his shield in front of his exo before he smacked into the floor with an echoing clang. He shook his head with a groan, the shield and the exo’s design redistributing most of the force of the collision. His exo lay on the ground face-down, shield between him and the floor, exposing the pilot. Erik’s and Jia’s bursts ripped into the man’s upper body, his harness and tactical suit not robust enough to survive the heavy rounds.
It was now three to two, and neither Erik nor Jia had taken a significant hit. He hoped whoever had bet on him and Jia surviving had gotten good odds.
A roar sounde
d from above. Erik jumped to the side instinctively, avoiding the rocket barrage. The explosions blasted a nearby flitter into the air, where it tumbled end over end before landing on top of another. Jia returned fire as she ran between the rows of vehicles, but the enemy’s shields absorbed the blow. The reinforced defenses that had saved them from the warehouse full of enemies were now challenging them.
The charred, smoky roof access had been blown open wide enough by the grenade attack that all three remaining exos could aim at the targets below with ease. Rockets streamed down from the gangsters, pelting the ground in a fiery rain. Erik’s and Jia’s constant movement kept them from suffering any direct hits, and the rapidly accumulating fire and smoke further obscured their movements. Their shields could, in theory, survive a couple of rocket hits, but neither of them wanted to test that theory.
“I would have thought they would be more careful in their own warehouse,” Jia complained.
“I think they noticed we already blew up the drugs,” Erik offered with a laugh. “Now they’re just pissed off.”
“No one forced them onto this career path.”
Jia jumped over a vehicle to avoid an explosion and launched a grenade at the exos. They backed up and overlapped their shields, absorbing the plasma explosion with nothing more damaging than black scorches on their shields. She hissed in frustration before firing a quick burst at them.
Erik understood her frustration, but at least they were taking them on in high-end exos instead of the more unpleasant person versus exo fights they’d been involved in. Trusting the Lady was one thing. Trusting her to save him from stupid matchups was something else entirely.
A rocket slammed into Erik’s shield. His exo vibrated from the blast but his shield held, just a couple of small pieces flung off. He angled it up in time to survive another attack before rushing into a thick batch of smoke, his eyes watering. Ventilation was a good reason to blow things up outside.
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