Enhanced

by Ben Brown

  Lea listened to her partner’s reply as she watched the chopper overhead lowering two harnesses.

  “I’ll see you when you get there, hope you don’t miss all the fun.” Lea placed the harness around her body and braced herself, ready for the winch to lift her off her feet.

  During the flight to the target, neither Lea nor Martinez spoke. Instead they checked their equipment. Lea was brisling with weapons — guns, knives, and grenades. Martinez and Lea traveled to the drop zone with four soldiers, all of whom looked like they would be deadly in a fight. After fifteen minutes, two more choppers came into view and fell into formation behind the Black Hawk. Soon the target appeared over the horizon.

  “We will drop to a few feet from the ground,” the pilot said over the intercom. “Once you and the others are off, we’ll head out and wait for extraction. The other choppers are armed, so once their teams have disembarked, they will hold position to offer air support. We’ll reach the drop zone in one minute.”

  Martinez nodded to the others in the chopper. Lea and the four troops nodded back. The Black Hawk descended quickly.

  “Right, you’re good to go,” the pilot said. “Good luck!”

  Lea looked out through the open door of the chopper. She had a clear view of the mansion and its grounds. It was immense, and very impressive.

  The Black Hawk was unloading its personnel on the largest of the back lawns. The lawn was at a lower level to a smaller, more manicured lawn, which adjoined the rear of the house. A sandstone wall surrounded the upper lawn. The wall consisted of a stone balustrade and capping; this formed a railing that enclosed the entire upper lawn. A stone path cut its way from the rear of the house, through the upper lawn. The path finished at an ornate set of semi-circular steps, which led down to the lower lawn, maybe four feet below. The steps were about fifty yards from the rear of the house. By landing on the lower lawn, the wall would offer a good level of cover to Lea and her teams.

  The four soldiers disembarked first, followed by Lea and Martinez. They trotted quickly toward the house as the Black Hawk lifted off, allowing the second chopper to dive in and disgorge its eight-man team.

  As the third chopper began its descent, a sudden whoosh came from the roof of the house. Everyone stared in horror as a shoulder-fired missile streaked for the helpless bird.

  The third chopper never stood a chance. It disappeared in a brilliant fireball and plummeted to the ground.

  The second chopper banked hard to engage the rooftop assailants, but another missile flashed from the roof before its guns had time to track. The pilot pulled up hard, the engine screaming, but the missile ripped into the tail rotor, throwing the bird into an uncontrollable spin.

  Lea watched in horror as it plunged into the lawn.

  With a flash and a roar the helicopter exploded, washing those on the ground with blistering heat.

  “Call for reinforcements, we’re going to get hammered here!” Martinez screamed at the radio operator. The soldier dropped to his knees and began to shout into his radio.

  Lea screamed, “Fan out and head for cover. Expect heavy gunfire and hand-to-hand combat. We need to take that building! Am I clear?”

  The men answered as one as they moved with deadly efficiency.

  A bullet snapped past Lea, blowing the radio operator’s head apart. Lea gestured to one of the soldiers to take over the radio. He complied as she turned to face the onslaught.

  Automatic weapons fire filled the air. The rest of her team headed for cover, but she stood her ground as she pulled her weapons. In her right hand she held the gun Doc had made, set to bullet mode; in her left was a Heckler & Koch MP5.

  Heading towards her, were at least thirty clearly enhanced individuals, all firing their weapons. The speed of their movements made it almost impossible for the troops to get a good shot, but for Lea it was like shooting fish in a barrel. She planted her feet and opened fire — precise head shots, only a few rounds for each target. As she fired, she dodged bullets meant for her.

  Martinez was taking cover behind a large stone pot at the base of the steps. The pot was being ripped to pieces by gunfire. He glanced in Lea’s direction and gaped in awe at the scene that met his eyes.

  Lea stood in the middle of the bloodbath, defiantly standing her ground against the onslaught. She was like a blur, moving so fast he could hardly see her.

  Martinez felt relieved, because with her on his side, he and his men might just make it out alive. Without her, they were most certainly dead!

  Heavy gunfire now came from the roof of the house. It was all but impossible to return fire.

  “Tell Captain Jacobson to direct rocket fire at the roof! How long until reinforcements arrive?”

  Lea’s almost superhuman actions had the radio operator transfixed as he sat positioned beside Martinez.

  “Sorry sir — uh yeah, okay, reinforcements won’t get here for at least another eighty minutes. I’ll inform the Captain to lay down rocket fire as instructed.”

  As the soldier responded, Martinez could tell the young man was struggling to keep it together. Martinez patted him on the arm.

  “Also we need to advance as soon as your Captain says it’s okay. Please let him know,” Martinez said.

  The young soldier nodded. “Yes sir.” He began to relay the message to his superior.

  Lea was beginning to lose ground against the onslaught. Some of Dominic’s people seemed enhanced but others were just experienced fighters. The un-enhanced men were most likely mercenaries.

  Lea’s MP5 ran dry, so she re-holstered it on her back, unable to reload while under attack. Her other gun was beeping, informing her that she only had twenty rounds left. She knew it was time to move. Lea pulled her large Marine Raider knife from her belt and ran into the oncoming hoard. She reached the leading group of advancing aggressors, three men, all enhanced. The first whipped his gun toward her face. With the Marine Raider held by her side in her left hand, blade pointing backwards and cutting edge face down, she made a punching motion up and across her assailant’s throat, severing his head in one swift movement. The second man was to her right, returning fire on Martinez and his men. Before he could react, Lea spun counter clockwise, plunging the Marine Raider deep into his chest.

  The last of the group was now to her right again, faced away from her. He was firing his weapon at a wounded soldier on the ground, cutting the soldier to shreds. He realized that Lea was behind him and turned to attack, only to come face to face with the barrel of her gun. She fired one round, straight between his eyes. His head exploded, drenching her in blood.

  Suddenly, someone hit Lea hard from behind. The force of the attack knocked both weapons from her hands. She hit the ground hard; face down in the dirt, a very powerful hand on the back of her neck. With her face buried in the ground and a knee in the curve of her back, she was trapped under the weight of an obviously large man. She felt his hot breath on her left ear.

  “This is it, bitch! Say your goodbyes!” he growled.

  She felt the barrel of his gun press against her left temple.

  Lea reacted fast. Her left arm was pinned against her back by one of his legs, his other leg pinned her right arm to the ground. It would mean dislocating her arm to reach her intended target, but she would do it. Her left shoulder popped as she forced her left hand up, searching for its targets. She found them and squeezed with everything she had.

  The man screamed as he released his grip on her neck. She, however, didn’t release her grip on him. Lea instead stayed latched on like a Pit Bull in a fight, crushing his balls! She squeezed until she felt his warm blood covering her hand.

  Lea jerked upwards, violently throwing the ape off her back. He fell to the ground, grabbing his blood-soaked groin. She was already on her feet and looking down at him.

  “You bitch, I’ll rip …” Before he could finish, she kicked him under his chin, snapping his neck.

  Lea grabbed his gun as two women dived at her. She just manag
ed to get off two shots before either could fire their weapons.

  Martinez and his troops were now plastering the house with rockets. Lea sprinted over to him and squatted down at his side.

  “This is going badly. I didn’t expect this much resistance,” she shouted over the thunderous sound of the rocket fire. She grabbed her left arm at the wrist, pulled it sharply down then rotated it slightly to jerk it back into its socket.

  Martinez winced as he watched Lea resetting her dislocated arm. At that moment, the Captain of the unit came running over, keeping his head low.

  Captain James Jacobson was a tall, lean African American in his mid-forties. Lea and Martinez turned to him as he arrived.

  Jacobson nodded sharply. “Sir, ma’am. I’m afraid to say, this is a lost cause! We have no chance of advancing. We’re out-manned and have minimal firepower. We need to pull out. I’ve lost half my men and that’s enough!”

  Martinez started to speak, but Lea cut him off.

  “I agree, Captain. We need to call our Black Hawk back for extraction. First, we have to move from this position and find a safe extraction point. The chopper would be shot down before it got within one hundred yards of us!”

  Martinez butted in, “What about Dominic? Was all of this for nothing? We need to advance!” Martinez was losing his normal cool veneer. He was rattled.

  Lea grabbed him by the shoulder. “We’re beaten here. That doesn’t mean we’ve lost, it just means we’ll get another chance later. That is, if we have the good sense to pull out now! Dominic is far better equipped and manned than we anticipated.”

  Martinez nodded reluctantly, then turned to the Captain. “Suggestions, Captain, where should we pull back to?”

  “We should head for the trees behind us …” Jacobson pointed. “ … and then continue to the road about half a klick from here. I believe once we’re through the trees the enemy will disengage, in favor of making a break for it themselves. They must realize that backup will be here soon, and in force.”

  Lea and Martinez nodded in agreement.

  “I’ll lay down covering fire while you and your men head for the trees,” Lea said.

  “We’ll be moving fast. Don’t hold back too long, or you’ll be on your own,” Jacobson replied as he turned to the radio operator. “Private, call up for extraction at the coordinates for the road.”

  The radio operator franticly adjusted his equipment, but after ten or fifteen seconds, said, “Sorry sir, but we’re being jammed. I can’t get a signal out!”

  “Damn it! We need to move anyway, or we’re dead. We’ll head for the trees and try again at the road,” Jacobson said.

  Martinez nodded.

  Lea hit the implant on the side of her neck. “Doc, are you there? Doc! Damn it, I’m being jammed too. Let’s move now!”

  She turned and looked over the wall. Dominic’s men were making their move!

  “Go!” shouted Lea as she started firing her newly reloaded MP5 and the M16 she had grabbed from a dead subject.

  Martinez and the remaining troops made their break for the woods.

  9

  “Wake up!” Zac yelled, slapping the Frenchman’s face.

  As Octavien woke, he lunged forward. Zac grabbed him around the throat with one hand, while pointing his gun at the brother.

  “That’s enough! Play nice or your brother here might get a bullet in his head!”

  Octavien froze. “What do you think you will achieve by holding René and I hostage?” he spat.

  “Good question. The answer is I’m not sure, but hey, what the hell. Plus, there’s nothing I like better than having a garlic eating sack of shit like you pissing me off!

  “Both you and I know the way this is going to work, I ask a question and you answer it. We’re heading for a house in the Hudson Valley — is Dominic there?”

  Octavien became very alarmed. “You are making a big mistake if you believe you stand any hope of getting close to that place. You will be killed before you even set one foot on the driveway.” Octavien grinned. “You will be crushed by the sheer number of our people!”

  “Okay, how many people are there — and once again, is Dominic there?”

  “It doesn’t matter how many people there are, you are heavily outnumbered and that is all you need to know. I can’t wait to see you killed. You will be torn to shreds!” Octavien pushed himself towards Zac again.

  Zac tapped the gun on the seat to remind him about his brother. His eyes flicked to the gun, and he settled back in his seat.

  “Once again, is Dominic there?”

  Octavien eyed him for a few seconds. “Yes!”

  For a brief second Zac looked at Chinwendu. She returned his gaze in the driver’s mirror. Octavien saw his opportunity, and took it. His right hand reached under the seat. He pulled out what looked like a samurai sword. In one savage motion he thrust it towards Zac’s chest.

  Zac reacted just in time, managing to twist off the seat, narrowly avoiding the attack. Zac grabbed the blade with his left hand. Blood began to smear its bright steel as he struggled to keep Octavien at bay. The pain in his hand intensified as he forced the blade up towards the roof of the car. At the same time he brought his gun around.

  One shot to the chest, and all the fight in Octavien was gone forever.

  “Pull over!” Zac shouted as he wiped the Frenchman’s blood from his face.

  Chinwendu swerved towards the side of the road and brought the car to a screeching halt. Zac opened his door and dragged Octavien out, pulling the dead body into some bushes. He ran back to the car and opened the boot, and did the same with René.

  He hit the communication implant in his neck. “Doc, do you have our location?”

  “Yes, Zac, why?”

  “Contact the authorities and tell them to pick up a dead body and an unconscious man at these coordinates. What’s the status of Lea’s team?”

  Chinwendu joined him. She helped as he covered the bodies with branches.

  “I’ll inform Kennedy about the bodies,” Doc replied. “Now, Lea is thirty seconds from landing at the house. She and the troops will take the house by force so I suggest you head to there as soon as possible. However, from your location it will take at least half an hour.”

  “Let her know we’re on our way, and tell her to expect heavy resistance. Octavien said the house was well manned. He didn’t give me numbers, but I get the feeling things are going to go tits up!”

  “Consider it done. I will inform you of any changes. Doc out.”

  Chinwendu and Zac headed back to the car.

  “Let’s have a quick look to see what other goodies the boys have hidden,” Zac said as he glanced at Chinwendu.

  She nodded and headed to the boot. Zac looked under the back seat. The car turned out to be an Aladdin’s cave of weapons. Under the seat he found a large knife, a stun gun and two handguns. Chinwendu found an assortment of automatic weapons, ranging from Uzis to two M16’s with grenade launchers. All were hidden inside the floor well of the boot. It took less than a minute to find all the weapons, then they were on their way again.

  Chinwendu drove at an alarming speed, but she was calm and in control.

  They continued for five minutes in silence, when suddenly Doc’s voice boomed into their ears. He sounded concerned.

  “Zac, Chinwendu, I’ve been trying to contact Lea and Martinez. I’ve used our implant and the radio system that the unit has, but to no avail. I lost contact with them about ninety seconds ago, and it would seem that all signals are being blocked. I was unable to warn her. I fear things are going badly.”

  “Shit! We’re still at least twenty-five minutes away!” Zac felt sick. The thought of what he might find if they got there too late chilled him. “We need to get there, and I mean now!”

  “Agreed. I’ve diverted the Black Hawk that dropped Lea’s team. It’s heading to your location now. It should be within sight very soon.”

  Right on cue, the chopper appeared over the
horizon. Doc continued. “The other two choppers have been destroyed, so forget Dominic. Our priority is saving lives. Get out as many of our people as you can.”

  “Understood.”

  Chinwendu stopped the car and the two loaded themselves up with the weapons they’d found. Zac took one of the Uzi’s, an M16, and the samurai sword, plus his own gun. Chinwendu took the remaining M16, Uzi, and the knife. She also placed the stun-gun inside her robes.

  They stood looking at each other as the chopper lowered its harnesses. Zac smiled. “It will be okay, Chinwendu, you’re in control now. If Dominic is there he’ll have no hold over you. Just focus on the mission and on me.”

  “Thank you, Zac. I won’t let you or the others down,” she said as the chopper hoisted them into the air.

  Once inside the aircraft a crewman handed them headphones. He indicated for them to put them on. Instantly they heard the pilot’s voice. “We expect heavy fire as we head in, so we’re coming in from behind the house. Hopefully it will give us cover, at least until we’re clear of it.

  Zac spoke into the mike. “When we come in over the house, I want you to drop to about twenty feet, and then pull up again. Then get out of there as quick as possible.”

  “How are you supposed to disembark, if we’re moving at a hundred miles an hour?” asked the pilot.

  “Chinwendu and I will jump!” Zac said evenly.

  The crewman sitting opposite stared at him. He couldn’t believe his ears. No one could survive a jump like that.

  “You must be fucking nuts — but it’s your funeral. Once you’re off, we’ll head to the other side of the trees which shield the house from the road; we’ll set down there and wait. There’s still a radio blackout, so you’ll need to let the ground troops know where the extraction point is.”

  “Understood.”

  “One minute to drop zone and good luck to you both. You’re going to need it.”