The guards were alert, however, and extremely well trained and organized. Laurence began to suspect that these were ex-military soldiers by how they reacted to their attack. The assault on the gate did draw their attention, however they were better trained than to leave weaknesses in the rest of the perimeter. Where civilian services may be tempted to rush to the point of activity, the guards at this location maintained equidistant positions around the perimeter. His men ended up taking fire from firing points at the top of the wall.
"Flank our men with the cars!" Laurence instructed. SUVs moved in on either side of the attackers, blocking the flanking fire. "Blow the wall." Laurence looked down the alley where his men were also ducking flanking fire. They moved in and set the charges then ran back to the covers of their SUVs. The charges detonated and a small hole was blasted into the wall. Too small with the coverage. It would act as a bottleneck. Before he could instruct another charge be set, however, his men moved in and dove through the hole.
Laurence turned to his monitor that was displaying the video captured by the helmet mounted cameras. His men set up a small beachhead, driving the resistance back deeper into the property as more entered through the hole. He was suffering casualties, though, and the lack of adequate preparation was becoming more and more apparent to him. "Flank their position and neutralize them," he instructed.
"They have night vision, sir," one of the agents said as he took up a defensive position behind some concrete furniture.
"Deploy flashbangs," Laurence instructed. Good night vision gear would not be severely affected by them, but they would still be distracting enough to allow his men to seek a better position. He noticed the brief flashes on their helmet cams as they moved along the wall and further into the property to bypass the security force's defensive positions. "Let's get symmetrical coverage. Don't give him any holes to sneak out of." Laurence watched as they tightened their position on the house and attached buildings. The teams split up with interior teams moving into the buildings while the exterior teams took intercepting positions around the complex. Three of his team found a place to climb to the roof and set up sniper positions. In the crossfire between them and the perimeter forces the defenses were forced to take up positions in the buildings.
"Room by room. Clear it and get the boy. As long as you have his signal he's not in a saferoom." Laurence put on his vest and helmet and headed toward the breach. "Move those away from the gate." He pointed to the SUVs as he walked by. The gate had been cleared and the SUVs were too conspicuous to passing law enforcement where they were parked. He ducked into the hole and joined the clearing teams, hunting for his target personally.
Brandon and Rachel ran up the stairs as Steven was about to run down. "It's all out war out there! We can't get through to 911 either!" Brandon ran up to Steven and helped him up off the floor as Steven started to scramble up. "We need to get downstairs. There's a safe room we can hide in."
"They'll find it and blow it up. I've seen the stuff these guys have been using." Steven followed Brandon down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, small grenades were tossed in through the broken windows.
"Close your eyes, Brandon!" Steven closed his and put his hands on his ears. He could still see the bright flash through his eyelids and Brandon fell over, pulling Steven and Rachel down. Time seemed to switch to slow motion as he heard Asherah screaming in his head. He could see agents approaching rapidly and saw little flashes of light as they ran toward them. The furniture above them exploded in a shower of splinters and Steven realized that they were using sound suppression on their weapons.
Brandon rolled over, holding his ears. He reached for Rachel and started dragging her. Another flash-bang went off near them and Steven could hear Brandon crying out in pain and fear. Rachel, however, was looking right at him, with a little smile on her face. Steven was going to say something when she was suddenly beside him, between him and the agents. Steven put his hands on her shoulders to pull her down away from the line of fire when he could feel the impacts on her back. She was shot multiple times, bullets that would have hit him. She fell over on top of him and he tried to roll her off him. But she stopped him, putting her lips by his ear.
"Your parents are still alive, Steven," she whispered.
She pulled back to look at him squarely in the eyes and smiled at him when another bullet that would have hit Steven hit her in the back of her head and her eyes went blank as she instantly went limp in his arms. In shock, Steven could barely register Brandon screaming as he tried to scramble over toward the two of them. A security guard had taken up a position near them and was laying down covering fire as Brandon ignored sharp splinters and glass in his attempt to reach Rachel. The guard was yelling something at them but Steven couldn't hear what he was saying. It wasn't hard to guess, however. And yet, Steven watched Rachel sink out of his arms to the floor, stunned as much by her death as by what she had just said. Dazed, he looked at Brandon as he crawled to her side, cradling her and screaming her name.
Suddenly time caught up to them almost explosively and Steven watched the guard fall on his back and clouds of splinters went flying through the air by their heads as the agents closed in. Asherah was yelling at him to run over and over again, sounding absolutely terrified. It was time to go. He grabbed Brandon by the shirt and dragged him away from Rachel, behind the bar, then started running away from the incoming agents. Brandon followed him as if on automatic.
They made it out into the courtyard behind the apartment. Before them was a large manicured garden and a garage that was attached to the wall. "Is there a garage door on that building?" Steven asked. Brandon nodded, numb. "We need to get to that building," he whispered loudly as they went out into the courtyard. Suddenly the pavement erupted in little explosions around their feet. "Run!" Steven pushed Brandon along as more bullets attempted to find them. Then suddenly the bullets stopped. Steven didn't look back, instead he ducked into the garden behind Brandon.
She lay on the floor with unblinking eyes and watched as Brandon and Steven crouched and ran off to safety behind the bar. Several agents chased after them but they were far behind them and had not found them yet. They would get to live tonight.
Once they were out of sight, Rachel sat up. She spit out the bullet that had entered through the back of her head and felt the wound. It was almost closed. Smiling, she got up and dusted herself off. Hearing faint pops of muffled gunfire, Rachel looked up on the roof where the snipers were. They could be a problem and a severe threat to Steven. Steven could avoid those chasing him on the ground, but the snipers would be impossible to hide from.
Rachel stepped through the busted picture window, walked to the wall of the neighboring mansion and jumped up onto the roof. One of the snipers saw her and trained his weapon on her. She smiled prettily at him and continued walking. This time, the bullets had no affect as she calmly approached them. Casually reaching down where one of the snipers was sitting, she ignored his attempt to block and kick her and grabbed his head and squeezed. His skull burst like a tomato under her grip and he went instantly limp. The other two saw what she did and saw her coming for them. They started shooting at her while frantically scooting backwards. With a grin she was on them instantly and grabbed both of them by the neck with her hands. With a deft flick of her wrists, their vertebrae cracked and she crushed their necks for good measure.
She then sat on the roof next to the twitching bodies, caressing the hair of one of them as he finally expired in her lap and watched Steven run through the garden. He had turned out to be everything she hoped for and so much more.
Steven tripped as he was running through the garden. It was odd since he never trips like that in nature. Brandon kept running toward the garage and Steven looked back to see his pursuers. He scrambled to get back on his feet but his calf started hurting like crazy. He fell a bit, catching himself with his hand. He didn't trip, but had been shot in the leg. Gritting his teeth, he got his legs under him. No broken bones, h
e surmised. He felt a presence and saw them coming. Turning, he started running. Branches and leaves were blown up around him by high velocity bullets as he ran. These bushes were no match for their weapons.
"Steven, turn around," Asherah said, calmer now, more determined.
"What?" Steven said, still running. "They're shooting at me!"
"You need to see this." Asherah seemed strangely collected now, even though heavily armed bad guys were closing in on him and shooting at him. "Steven! Now!" she yelled and Steven reflexively turned around, almost tripping.
As he looked he saw things shooting out of the brush, entangling the pursuers. Branches and vines were attacking the agents. Steven stumbled to a stop, dumbfounded.
"You need to believe, Steven. This is not your imagination." Asherah sounded extremely sad. He felt her sorrow as more of the vines shot out, entangling the agents.
As Steven watched, one of the agents was ripped in two by the vines. Asherah yelped, "I'm so sorry, Steven. I can't control exactly what they do. But they are protecting you, Steven. This is really happening."
Steven stumbled back and fell on his rear in shock. Roots shot up and grabbed another agent and pulled him down, struggling and screaming until they pulled him down into the ground. He felt Asherah cringing, crying. "They were only supposed to tangle them up," Asherah said apologetically.
"This isn't happening," Steven scooted back as more agents funneled into the garden. He felt the life in the plants, felt their power and their defensiveness. It was like they were more than plants. And he felt Asherah strongly inside his heart as her presence washed over him.
"I'm real, Steven," Asherah assured him quietly as yet another of the agents was speared by multiple branches, making Asherah mentally flinch. The agent was lifted off his feet and pulled back into the brush where Steven heard sickening sounds as the agent was dismembered from inside.
Steven was gasping at what he had just seen. Was he having an episode? Going crazy? Wiping his face, he turned and ran, as much from what he had just seen as from the agents that sought to harm him. He had totally forgotten about his bullet wound. In fact, it no longer hurt. Steven wondered if he was finally cracking.
"I'm so sorry, Steven. I'm so very sorry. I really wanted to show you some other way." He could feel Asherah's extreme sadness so strongly that almost made him cry. He grabbed his head and groaned. This can't be happening now. "But you're not going crazy, Steven," Asherah assured him. "Please believe me. Your life depends on it. Our lives."
"Okay, people are trying to kill me right now and I have to run. But you and me, we're going to have a heart to heart when this is over. Okay?" Steven said through gritted teeth as he crashed through the door of the garage.
"I'm so sorry," Asherah repeated again and he could feel her torment. "That didn't happen like I hoped it would. Oh, Steven, I didn't mean for them to die." Asherah was crying. Steven felt her love for life that mirrored his own love, not for his or her own life, but all life, even the agents. He was horrified by their deaths and Asherah was as well, combined with her torment that her plan had gone so badly astray.
"Okay, we'll discuss that later." Steven felt a surge of sympathy for her. He was well aware of plans that go awry and had been the cause of so many deaths himself. Imagined or not, he hated her beating herself up for that.
As he was running into the garage, slamming the door behind him, Steven almost tripped over Brandon who was on his hands and knees on the floor. From the looks of things, Brandon's meal was now on the floor. The door bounced back on something that got in the jam.
"Come on, Brandon. We have to get down out of sight." Steven closed the door again and looked at his calf. It wasn't bleeding too much or hurting as much as before but it still felt like a hot poker was taped to his leg. He grabbed a Band-Aid from one of his less critical wounds and repositioned it over his calf and then kept pushing on. He was learning the value of the concept 'run now, cry later.'
"She's dead, Steven," Brandon said as Steven helped him to his feet and pulled him deeper into the garage.
"Yeah, but we can't dwell on that right now, Brandon." Steven was looking around to assess what they had. There was a classic Ford Mustang with a cover over it, and a few dirt bikes. Steven recognized the one Brandon customized and drove through their childhood. "Do these still run?"
Brandon nodded. The staff kept everything fueled and ready to go at the whim of their bosses. One of the benefits of being wealthy.
"Okay, Brandon, we need to get to my apartment." Steven pulled the cover off the car and looked in it. It was in pristine condition, well maintained by the staff and he was satisfied that it would do the job.
Steven pulled out the scanner and looked at it again. Still no dot identifying him. He didn't know if it was still working or not or if his tracker was still transmitting, but the scanner would come in useful in nailing the technology of these people down and Steven was intent on utterly destroying their network and all of their data.
"We need to get to my apartment," Steven repeated. Brandon wasn't listening. "If we can get there I can crack their scanner and throw these dogs off our scent." Steven looked at Brandon, who looked back at him glumly. Steven wasn't sure Brandon was even hearing him, but continued, "Okay, you are going to take the car because they're not looking for you. Take the back way out. I think they're mostly in the houses now." Steven shook Brandon's shoulder. "Do you understand?"
Brandon looked blankly at him.
"Pull it together, Brandon. Yeah, she's dead. You're not. If you want to stay not dead you need to listen to me." Steven slapped him a few times on the face to jolt him back to the now.
"I'm taking the dirt bike." Steven looked at the bike and made sure the key was in it. "They are tracking me, so when I leave, they'll follow me." He looked back at Brandon. "When they follow me, you go. Do you understand?"
"Then what?" Brandon asked, blinking. Steven sighed. He hated having to hold Brandon's hand like this, but then Brandon hasn't been shot at and chased for the past two days. And his girlfriend did just get shot. Steven remembered what she said. That was going to be something he was going to have to ponder on for a while later when this was over. How did she know his parents? He shook his head, coming back to the present.
"I'm going to the forest and draw them in. They can't travel as fast as I can through the trees. That'll give me a head start and I'll meet you at the apartment. If I can get to my laptop I think I can disable whatever they're tracking me with, then it's our turn." Steven was feeling very predatory right now. "I am done with being chased like a helpless rabbit, Brandon. And I'm done being shot at and watching people get killed."
Steven grabbed the dirt bike and positioned it by the garage door. He looked down. "How hard would it be to take this off?" Steven looked at the muffler. Brandon had customized it since the last time he rode it hoping to eek out a little more power. But Steven wanted to be heard. He wanted everyone to know he was leaving and to pull them away from Brandon. Brandon shrugged and grabbed a tool and with a few turns of the tool, slid the muffler baffles out. "Cool. They will hear me and ignore you."
He looked at Brandon. "Brandon, I'm so sorry about Rachel." Brandon looked down, still very much stunned. "We need to focus right now. Okay?"
Brandon nodded.
"Okay." Steven got ready to start the motorcycle. It had been years since the last time he'd done this, but it still felt familiar. "Open the door then close it after me and hide in the car for five minutes, then follow me out. Got it?" Brandon looked at him then got into the Mustang. He grabbed the garage opener in the car and pressed the button and Steven started the motorcycle as the heavy door opened. With a quick glance at Brandon, he released the clutch and barreled out of the garage, making as much noise as he could. This time he was in control and he was determined to keep it that way.
Chapter 21
Glass crunched underfoot as Laurence walked through the vast residence. He kicked over the body of a secur
ity guard and looked into his blank eyes. "No more worries for you," Laurence whispered before moving on. The property had been largely secured. His men were preparing to blast a couple of safe rooms, and Laurence hoped that Steven was in one of them. His signal was flickering, fading in and out for several seconds at a time. The satellite was at its apex position overhead so the signal should be strong. He looked at his scanner, hitting it on the side as if that would help. "This is going to take forever."
One of his agents herded a couple of maids downstairs. Laurence looked at them as they stood before him trembling. One noticed the body of the guards on the floor and gave out a terrified squeak before covering her mouth. Laurence smiled amicably as he walked up close to them then held up his phone. He had a picture of Steven on it, one that was surreptitiously taken of him as he ate at the restaurant. One maid shook her head, biting her lip. Laurence raised an eyebrow and she shook her head again. Laurence showed it to the other, who averted her gaze. He grabbed her face and showed her the image. She gasped but shook her head. Laurence was disgusted. How can a visitor come to their home and they not know? But then Steven was a very sneaky kid. Perhaps they truly didn't know. He waved at the agent and walked off as the agent shot the maids in the back of their heads.
"Where is their security system?" Laurence rubbed his eyebrows. He was feeling the days without sleep now and sorely wanted to end this and find some place to crash.
"We think it's in one of the safe rooms, sir. We should be in there shortly," the agent replied, catching up with him as he holstered his pistol.
Crow - The Awakening Page 49