Hart Of Vengeance: A Danielle Hart Novel (Book 2)

by Gregory Sanders

  "I'm not going to lie to you," Hawkins addressed the group, "this place is built like a fortress, and it's crawling with heavily armed guards. That doesn't matter, we have a job to do. Our mission is to take Itsuki Tatsuda alive at all costs. Anyone else in there is optional. Capture if possible, eliminate if not. If a subject doesn't surrender immediately, drop them. They won't hesitate to drop you, given the chance. Based on the plans on file with the city when the estate was built, we expect that Tatsuda will be in his second-floor office. There is a panic room built adjacent to it, so he will probably attempt to flee there. If he manages to barricade himself in there, we will have to cut him out. Any questions?"

  The entire group had a grim determination. They realized the stakes were high, and that this was bigger than anything the Capital Police had tackled before. They had trained to serve and protect the citizens of the Capital City from crime great and small, and they weren't about to quit now.

  "No questions?" Hawkins verified. "Okay, we move out in an hour, as soon as the sun goes down."

  CHAPTER 17

  The Nightfury's probe had broadcast back data better than No'tok and Gar'loz could have hoped for. Of the three primary orbital shipyards they intended to strike, all of them current had either a Dreadnaught or Pathfinder docked. The first one on the attack order even had two Pathfinders.

  "This is exceptional news, Admiral," Gar'loz was fidgeting with excitement. "All of our targets have at least one ship docked inside, which means we will not have to rely on targetting the shipyard framework itself."

  "Yes," No'tok smiled, "I believe that your plan will suit our needs quite nicely. Well done."

  "Thank you, sir," Gar'loz answered. "With the Admiral's permission, I will initiate the attack sequence for the first target." No'tok nodded his approval and gestured for Gar'loz to sit in the commanding officer's seat.

  Gar'loz slowly ran a hand along the chair, then seated himself. He faced the bridge crew and began giving orders. "Navigation, set a course to the first set of target coordinates. Tactical, I want all missiles ready to launch on my command, and set the camouflage system to full stealth. If we are noticed before we attack, we will fail. Failure will not be tolerated today, or any day."

  Both officers went about carrying out their orders. There was a slight humming sound as the camouflage system initialized. The forward display showed that the ship was moving away from its hiding place on the dark side of Deimos and now on an approach vector to the first of the orbiting shipyards. As they drew near to their intended target, they could start to make out more details of the Martian shipbuilding and repair facility. The two Pathfinder ships docked on each side of the central pillar were also now visible.

  No'tok smiled. They were even kind enough to face the engine sections of their ships toward us. They will never even know they were attacked. They will simply awaken in Th'warzin's realm.

  "Commander, we are at the given coordinates," Mak'naw informed Gar'loz.

  "All missiles are ready to fire on your command," Krat'sa stated. "Camouflage system at full power."

  "This is your plan, your hunt, and your kill," No'tok told Gar'loz. "Give the order."

  "Launch missiles!" Gar'loz ordered.

  Krat'sa tapped her console and four missiles soon appeared on the display streaking toward the two docked ships. The missiles impacted, and the engine cores of the two ships erupted into two balls of bright white light that engulfed the ships and the adjoining shipyard. As the lights began to fade, a huge cloud of debris was seen wear the shipyard had once been.

  No'tok patted Gar'loz on the shoulder. "Excellent work, Commander. Now let us move on to our next target."

  ***

  K'oron piloted his small ship over the Martian capital city. With the ship's camouflage system engaged, the ship was invisible to both the eye and sensors. Everything had gone according to plan. The found a cargo transport and managed to attach to it long enough to get through the city's dome undetected, then detach and fly away. They had circled the location indicated by Queen Constance's tracking signal three times already as K'oron ran various scans.

  "It is heavily guarded," K'oron told Danielle and the nine soldiers that had packed into the rear of the small craft. "I'm also detecting numerous life signs in the building across the way from the Queen's location. They are staying very still, as though they are waiting to pounce. It is possible that whoever is keeping the Queen here may have reinforcements waiting in case of trouble. We will not be able to withstand an attack from the group inside the location and the group in the adjacent building. So, we must make our entry from the rear. There is a little-used recreation area not far from the target location. It will be a good place to land the ship." K'oron maneuvered the ship to the park and set it down gently. He opened the rear door, and everyone exited the craft."

  "Everyone set your comms to frequency 69.4, and leave them open at all times," Danielle instructed the group. "Things could go sideways really quick in there, and you don't want to have to stop to tap you comms on if you get in trouble. We saw an entrance at the rear of the building, so that is our point of entry. We move quickly and quietly. Use stealth takedowns to remove hostiles if at all possible. If we have to use our weapons, we'll lose the element of surprise, which is our advantage right now. Form up on me, and let's move out."

  The group made it's way to the high walls around the estate property. A lone guard was standing watch at the rear entrance. Danielle motioned for the group to hold their position in the shadowy corner of a nearby building. She waited until the guard was facing away from their position, and then charged at him.

  She had to sprint across more than fifty feet of ground to reach her target, yet she hardly disturbed the blades of grass she ran on. As she ran, she pulled a small bladed knife from its sheath. Upon reaching the guard she drove the small knife into the back of his neck with her left hand and snapped his head back with her right. His spinal cord was severed instantly, and he fell to the ground dead. She motioned for K'oron and the other to join her.

  "I see you paid attention in training," K'oron whispered to her. She nodded in reply.

  K'oron carefully eased the rear wall door open enough to get a visual on what lied ahead. He spotted two guards patrolling along the highest point of the roof.

  "Those two up there are going to be challenging," K'oron whispered to Danielle. "We could strike one down using a blast rifle, but the other one would surely notice and sound the alarm." He studied the scene in front of him again. "It is not a perfect plan, but I might be able to use that tree growing beside the residence to scale to the roof area without being seen if I am careful and use my personal camouflage device."

  "Even if you could one of them out silently, wouldn't the other guard notice that his partner was missing?"

  "I did say that it was not a perfect plan," he acknowledged. "I do not have any other ideas for getting past those two on the roof. I suppose that if we timed it perfectly, we might be able to sneak across the courtyard area to the rear porch one at a time, but the odds of us all..."

  He was interrupted by the sound of an explosion on the front side of the house. They could hear distant shouting, followed by the sounds of various weapons being fired. The rooftop guards turned their attention to the front of the house, leaving the rear courtyard unobserved.

  "What was that?" Danielle asked in alarm. "Who are they shooting at?"

  "I cannot answer that," K'oron replied, "but if you want a chance to get in the residence without being noticed, this is our chance." He took off running toward the rear porch of the estate. Danielle and the others followed him across the open courtyard.

  "Well, the guards inside will be on alert now," Danielle said, her hand on the door latch. "Follow my lead and we'll get the Queen and get back out as quickly as we can." She pushed open the door, and they group eased inside the building.

  ***

  "Move out people!" Hawkins shouted to the police task force. The body-armor
clad officers of the Capital Police began to move forward through the hole that now existed in the front wall of the Tatsuda estate. The estate guards quickly located the source of the explosion and opened fire on the approaching police. Police snipers quickly dropped the two guards on the roof, their bodies tumbled down the sloped portion of the roof and landed on the ground below. They crossed the front courtyard toward the main entrance to the building. One officer went down but was still moving, so two of the others grabbed him and dragged him out of the line of fire.

  Hawkins ran over to check on his downed man. "Where are you hit?"

  The downed officer, Hector Cantu, was struggling to speak. "The vest caught in sir. Just got the air knocked out of me." The officer's body-armor had taken a pulse blast center mass. The fabric had been burnt off in the area, and the carbon fiber and gel matrix beneath was partially melted. "I'm good. Give me a second to catch my breath and I'll join you." Hawkins smiled at him and nodded. Then he ran back to the main door.

  "Is he okay?" Peterson asked as Hawkins returned.

  "Took a round in the vest," Hawkins replied. "He'll live, but he would have probably rather went a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer than to have taken that hit. He'll be so sore he can't move tomorrow, but he'll still be alive."

  "Breach!" Ordered Hawkins. A member of their team hit the door with a concussion ram. The double doors flew inward off their hinges.

  Hawkins, Peterson, and Chen were the first ones in. Chen dropped a man running down the center hallway toward the doorway. Peterson scanned the upper balcony for any shooters but saw none. Hawkins was checking the side halls.

  "Clear!" Hawkins announced.

  "Clear!" Echoed Chen.

  "Clear!" Peterson finished out.

  The rest of the task force entered through the doorway, weapons aimed at every direction. Once everyone was inside, Hawkins began giving orders.

  "I need Peterson, Chen, Oglethorpe, Randall, and Hastings with me. We'll be going upstairs in search of the target. Reyes, Kelley, Carson, and Willis. Finish clearing the east wing. Goodson, McIntosh, Dearing, and Hopson, clear the west wing. Gideon, Borowitz, and Han, clear the center hallway. After the lower level is clear, Goodson's group hold this area, the rest head upstairs to help clear the second floor. Move out!"

  The various officers formed their groups and began clearing the building's lower level. Hawkins and the others advanced up the staircase and held a position on the upper landing.

  "Okay, Peterson, Chen, this is your case, your bust," Hawkins said. "You take the office. Randall, come with me and we'll clear the west side from here to the back staircase. Oglethorpe and Hastings, clear the east. Good hunting everyone. Signal for assistance if you need it."

  ***

  Due to the commotion on the front side of the estate, getting to the second floor had been easier than Danielle had expected. When she and K'oron had realized that another group was in the process of assaulting the building, they decided that it might be best to have the rest of their party remain at the rear entrance to hold that position for their exit strategy. The two of them followed the signal they were picking up from the Queen's radioactive marker up the rear stairs and towards an interior room. They could hear the noise of pulse blasters and shouting.

  "It's the police," Danielle said somewhat confused. "I wonder what they are doing here?"

  "Police?" K'oron asked, "What is a 'police'?"

  "It's civilian law enforcement," Danielle explained quietly as they continued along. "They keep the peace in matters not involving the military."

  K'oron shook his head. "I do not understand. In the Dominion, the imperial military enforces the law of the Emperor."

  Danielle stopped in front of a door and looked at the tablet she was using to track with. "This is the room we want. Looks like there are two people in there." She placed the tablet in her pocket. "As far as the police go, I'll explain it to you later."

  "Capital Police! Get your hands up now!" A woman's voice shouted at them from the other end of the hallway. The woman had a pulse blaster trained on them already. Danielle and K'oron slowly raised their hands over their shoulders. The woman spoke into the comms device hanging from her ear. "Chen, do you read me? I need some backup!" She addressed the two individuals she was holding at gunpoint. "Turn around. Nice and slow." Danielle and K'oron pivoted slowly to face the woman.

  "If you are here to stop us from liberating the Queen from here, you might as well kill us now," Danielle glared at the woman with the gun. "Death is the only thing that is going to stop me from seeing her freed."

  Peterson ignored Danielle's dramatic statement and was in a state of semi-shock staring at the purple-skinned man in front of her. "Who, or what, the heck are you?"

  "My name is K'oron," he replied, "and I am the Commandant-General of the Order of V'drellz Stragizi. We are here to free the Terran queen from captivity and return her to her throne. If you are going to point a weapon at the two of us, it would be polite to inform us who you are."

  Peterson's shock eased slightly at hearing this man address her in her native tongue. She was trying to decide what to do when her partner arrived.

  "What do need, Sandra?" Chen said hurriedly rounding the corner into the hallway. "I came as soon as I..." He stopped suddenly upon seeing K'oron and aimed his weapon towards Peterson's detainees. "Oh man! Now this conspiracy has aliens! What's next?"

  "She says the Queen is being held prisoner here," Peterson motioned her pistol toward Danielle. "So, there you go."

  "You're a V'drellian, aren't you?" Chen asked K'oron. The detective was taking K'oron's presence much better than his partner.

  "Clearly," K'oron answered, the frustration starting seep into his voice. "I do not know what your reasoning is for being here, but we have a mission to complete, and you are hindering us."

  "Like I said," Danielle snorted, "the Queen is in the next room with another person. Open the door and see for yourself."

  "I don't know about the Queen, but this room is where we think Tatsuda is," Chen reminded Peterson. "I guess we'll know how crazy they are when we open it. Call for backup before we kick it in?"

  Peterson was still hearing weapons fire coming from other parts of the building. "No, everyone has their hands full. We got this. You cover them, I'll hit the door." Chen nodded and focused his attention back to the two strangers he had at gunpoint.

  Peterson didn't see any keypads or console panels near the door. The only means of opening it appeared to be the antique doorknob. She took a stance in front of the door and kicked it just beside the knob, her gun poised for whatever might be on the other side. The door flew open and inside she saw an older Asian man sitting in a chair beside a small cot. On the cot a young woman was unconscious. The man had a pulse blaster in his hand and was pointing it towards the woman on the cot.

  "Drop the weapon!" Peterson yelled at the old man.

  "You drop yours!" The old man hissed back at the detective.

  Peterson realized who the woman on the cot was. "Crap! Chen, it's the Queen!"

  "Yes, it is the Queen," the old man sneered, "and unless you want to be the cause of her death you are going to let me walk out of here unfettered. After all, what's more important? Capturing an old man, or saving the life of your monarch?"

  Danielle, K'oron, and Chen could hear the conversation from out in the hallway. Chen was trying to split his attention between being ready to help his partner, and keeping K'oron and Danielle at gunpoint.

  "We told you," Danielle whispered to Chen. "Let us help. That is why we are here."

  Chen thought about the proposition. It seemed that the story this woman and her alien friend had told them was true. The Queen was in the room where his partner was, and being held hostage. This whole case had taken on the surreal qualities that one might find in a work of fiction, yet here he was living in the middle of it. He could keep these two at gunpoint and wait for the house to be cleared and backup to arrive, but in that time T
atsuda might kill the Queen. He decided that was an unacceptable risk. He looked at Danielle, nodded and lowered his weapon. Danielle and K'oron lowered their arms.

  "Thank you," Danielle said quietly to the police detective. She turned to K'oron, "Can you get in there using your camo device?"

  K'oron looked at the doorway. "Yes, I believe so. As long as I can get past the door, I can make my way to the Queen."

  Danielle nodded. "Do it. Get a shield around as much of her as you can. Once you are in position, we can make a move."

  "I'll rub my comm," he told her. "You should be able to hear the static sound over the channel." He pulled a small device from his pocket and tapped it. K'oron instantly disappeared from view.

  "How did he...?" Chen started to ask but decided it was a question for a different time. He could see part of the room from his position in the hallway. Peterson still had her weapon pointed at the old man, and the old man still had his weapon pointed at the Queen lying on the bed.

  Danielle placed a hand to her earpiece and the nodded to Chen. The detective thought for a moment. His mind was racing to find a way he could he let Peterson know that it was safe to take out Tatsuda.

  "Sandra," he shouted from the hallway," we're going to have to wait for backup and a negotiator. It's like the standoff we had last month in the Orion Bar, remember?"

  "Yeah, okay," Peterson replied," I'm good holding him here until the others get here."

  The old man laughed. "There isn't going to be any backup for you. The moment that door opened, a sedative gas was released throughout this building. Only the area immediately surrounding this room was unaffected. I'm afraid you two are all alone."

  Danielle looked at Chen. "What happened at the Orion Bar?" She whispered.

  "We had a four-hour standoff with a guy, only to find out after the fact that his gun was empty of pulse charges," Chen answered, his gaze still on the door. "We could have taken him down at any time. I hope Sandra gets the message."