Captain Ragnar stood in front of a police flitter, a suited CID agent on either side of him. They raised an eyebrow at Jia and Erik’s display of dominance, but they didn’t go for their guns. Jia was grateful. She didn’t want a standoff with government agents. That would only complicate their new, albeit temporary job.
Mara swallowed. “How is my brother doing? Is he…okay?”
The captain nodded. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. He came close to dying, but he’s in stable condition now, and they expect him to make a full recovery. He’s not going to be doing any marathons next week, but he doesn’t need any limb or organ replacements.”
Mara put a hand on her chest and let out a relieved breath. “Erik and Jia explained what’s going on. It’s still hard to believe. He always wanted to be a police officer growing up. I never expected he would get involved with dangerous criminals.”
Jia patted her on the shoulder. “He understands his mistake, and he’s done his best to not get you involved. It’ll be up to him after this. There’s no way he can stay on the force, but at least he might be able to avoid jail if he’s upfront and works with the police.”
One of the CID agents, a tall man with a pinched face, stepped forward and cleared his throat. “This is all very touching, but we’re taking you into CID protective custody until this is all over, Miss Thompson. I’m Agent Niels.” He nodded at his bored-looking partner. “And this is Agent Wan.”
“What do I need to do?” Mara asked.
“Just come with us so we can keep you safe. We’re still putting the pieces together, but we believe the men who attacked you were working for Ralic Vohn, a high-level lieutenant with the Adriatic Support Association.”
Mara nodded slowly. “They don’t sound so bad.”
“Don’t let the name mislead you. They are a small but dangerous syndicate with operations in southeastern Europe and North Africa. They’re the latest contestants in the competition to replace the scum that’s been cleared out of Neo SoCal.”
“And my brother was working for these people?” Mara paled.
Jia shook her head. “Probably not directly. It’s more that he took money from some previous criminals who might have fallen in with the Association, and the syndicate was hoping to leverage those connections.”
Agent Niels could barely conceal his sneer. “You don’t have to worry about it, Miss Thompson. You only need to come with us. The CID and NSCPD will clean up this mess and root out whatever syndicate tentacles are left in the department.”
“Erik, Jia,” Emma transmitted directly to them. “There are flitters approaching at high speed. Their transponders don’t correspond to public records. Shall I engage them with the turret?”
Jia grimaced. “Damn it.” She flipped off her safety.
Agent Niels backed up and reached into his jacket. “What are you doing?”
“No, Emma. We’re going to need you for something else.” Erik hefted his TR-7. “There are a bunch of flitters coming with spoofed transponder codes. Those your guys by any chance?”
The agent tapped this PNIU and squinted. “No, we kept this location secret, but I see what you’re talking about. That group of vehicles flying in our direction is a little too perfect.”
Captain Ragnar frowned. “This was all done too quickly. There are too many points where things could have leaked.”
Jia nodded toward the MX 60. “Mara, get inside and stay low.”
The woman’s eyes widened. She crawled into the backseat and lay down, her hands over her head.
“We can keep her safe.” Agent Niels glared at Jia. “We should just get in the flitters and run.”
“Flying around under fire from desperate gangsters sounds like a dumb plan.” Jia patted the side of the MX 60. “Let’s finish these scum off on the ground, but if this goes badly, we have a friend who can remotely control that nice bulletproof flitter and get her out of here.”
“You two aren’t even law enforcement anymore.” Agent Niels frowned. “You shouldn’t be involved.”
Captain Ragnar smiled. “Local police regulations allow ad hoc deputization as necessary. I’ll do the paperwork later, but welcome to the team for tonight, Deputies Blackwell and Lin.”
Erik saluted. “More than happy to be back in the saddle.”
“Ridiculous,” muttered Agent Niels.
Jia didn’t care about the ego of a CID agent. They had a fight coming up. She turned around as target markers popped up in her smart lenses. “Now it’s time for the not-so-fun part.”
Grinning, Erik switched his gun to four-barrel mode. “Nah. This part’s fun, too.”
“I’ll meet you halfway. The sometimes-fun part.”
“So much for secrecy.” Agent Niels and his partner pulled out pistols, slugthrowers. He slapped at his PNIU. “I’m calling for reinforcements.”
“Don’t worry.” Erik raised his gun. “We won’t need them.”
Chapter Nine
Grim-faced, Captain Ragnar drew his stun pistol. “We can’t shoot until we’re sure. Some people might not care about leaving behind unnecessary carnage, but that’s not the way I work. But if those guys are from the syndicate, I have no problem going all-out.”
“It’d be easier to light them up when they’re landing, but okay, your call.” Erik frowned. He didn’t have time to convince the captain, so he nodded to the MX 60. “Jia wasn’t lying about how armored this thing is. We can use it as a barrier. Unless they have something a lot more impressive than what their other guys are using, we’ll be fine.”
Despite their dubious looks, the agents and Captain Ragnar took up positions behind the MX 60. The flitters grew from specks of light in the distance to shadowy outlines behind bright headlights. They slowed as they grew closer to the park and descended as a group. Gangsters rushed out with rifles and arrogant sneers that didn’t match them crouching behind their vehicles. Erik would credit them with at least being smart enough to not exit directly into the line of fire.
“Our reinforcements will be here soon,” Agent Niels shouted. “You don’t want to do this, Ralic. Just throw down your weapons and surrender.”
“Oh, you know who I am?” Ralic shouted back. He didn’t look much different from any of the other suited thugs, but the CID agent would know better than Erik.
“I’ve got Erik Blackwell and Jia Lin here. From what I can tell, they’re itching to add some kills to their belts.”
Ralic scoffed. “Good. When we take them out too, it’ll send a bigger message to anyone who thinks they can stand against us, but we’re all about good relations. Turn over the girl, and none of you cops or agents have to die. We could even use a few people who owe us a favor.”
Captain Ragnar glared at Ralic. “You really think you’ve won?”
“I’ve got a lot of guys here, and you’ve got five. Yeah, I think I’ve won, cop.” Ralic’s smile twisted into pure contempt. “Now turn her the hell over before I lose my patience. You think you’d be the first cops I’ve killed?”
“That’s cute.” Jia laughed. “He really thinks he has the advantage.”
Agent Niels’ mouth tightened into a painful line. His math didn’t match Erik’s and Jia’s. Erik didn’t mind his fear as long as the man could shoot straight, but that might not be much of a problem.
The CID agent only needed not to get shot.
Ralic growled and opened fire. His men followed. Bullets pinged off the MX 60 and fell to the ground, crushed. Erik and Jia had been right. It’d take a lot more than what the criminals were carrying to damage the reinforced vehicle.
Jia’s rifle came to life. She fired careful, controlled bursts, her face a mask of concentration, and her bullets ripped through the unarmored flitter. One man shouted in pain and slumped. Her follow-up burst added a new hole to his head. Her other targets ducked, keeping up their fire but not breaking to run.
Captain Ragnar shot his stun pistol with an impassive expression. He chose his shots carefully and took out one
thug. The CID agents pulled their triggers as fast as they could. They were doing a great job of ventilating the other flitters but not putting any targets down. Erik wasn’t going to complain.
Suppression was useful on the battlefield.
He joined the fun with a four-barrel burst toward another vehicle, then jerked his rifle in the opposite direction to fling some lead near the heads of other men. The gangsters crouched after his attack, lightening the return fire, but the storm of bullets coming from all sides forced Erik and the others behind their cover.
Emma’s helpful targeting highlights kept Erik and Jia aware of the positions of the enemies. The gangsters' courage came from numbers, not personal bravery. They hadn’t advanced past their flitters, despite their superior numbers.
Just as Erik realized that, one of the men dashed out from the side of their formation, hoping for a wide flank. Erik stuck his barrel out from the front of his flitter and fired a four-round volley into the brave but stupid bastard. The bullets shredded the man’s chest and he fell to the ground, gurgling blood. Volleys from all sides continue to strike the MX 60.
Agent Niels gritted his teeth. “We need to hold out until our reinforcements arrive. It’ll just be a couple of minutes.”
“Two large CID flitters passed a drone I’m borrowing in the distance,” Emma reported. “His time estimate is roughly correct.”
Bullets bounced off the MX 60 and fell in a clattering hail. The gangsters demonstrated decent trigger discipline, with most opting for bursts or single-fire rather than wasteful streams of fully automatic against the hardened cover.
Erik and Jia popped up without comment at the same time to down men on either side and dropped at the same time as well.
“This is taking too long,” Jia muttered. She reached into a vest pocket and yanked out a plasma grenade.
Agent Niels’ eyes widened. “Is that a grenade?”
“No, it’s a beignet.” Jia primed the explosive with a quick twist of its notches. “Of course it’s a grenade! A couple of minutes is a long time when you’re outnumbered.”
Captain Ragnar shook his head, his mouth curling into a smile. If he disapproved of the explosive, there was nothing in his body language to suggest that.
He always knew more about what was going on with Erik and Jia then he ever let on, and from what Erik had picked up, it wasn’t an accident he’d ended up their captain.
“You can’t just throw a gre—" Agent Niels began.
“Grenade out.” With a smile, Jia flung the object in question lazily over the MX 60. The cacophony of gunfire continued, joined by shouts of warning, but it was too late. The grenade’s explosion consumed half a flitter and wasn’t any kinder to the criminals behind it. Brief screams cut through the air before death snuffed them out.
“If we’re going to die anyway, let’s take those pigs with us!” Ralic roared.
“Impressive in his own dumb way.” Jia rolled her eyes.
The surviving thugs didn’t continue hiding. Some hopped over the front of the remaining flitters. Others screamed in defiance, charged from either side, and resumed shooting.
Erik waited for a lull and set his gun on the MX 60 for return fire, then pulled the trigger and swept from the side. Jia mirrored him on the opposite side. The deadly wave cut through the charging thugs. Captain Ragnar’s bright shots stunned thugs, saving them from the death wave. The wide-eyed CID agents stayed low, clutching their pistols.
The futile charge was over in seconds, the survivors lying on the ground groaning in pain or twitching and stunned. Jia and Erik both popped in new magazines. There weren’t any men still standing, and Emma wasn’t showing more or offering any warnings.
Erik walked toward a bleeding but still breathing Ralic. “You’re a real dumbass.”
Ralic coughed up some blood, a huge grin on his face. “You’re dead, pig. You just don’t know it yet.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Jia slung her rifle and pulled a medpatch out of a pouch. She offered a reassuring smile to the frightened Mara hiding in the back of the MX 60. “Let’s stabilize the survivors. I imagine you CID agents might have some questions.”
“The CID vehicles are now forty-five seconds out,” Emma commented.
Erik shook his head at the downed Ralic and looked into the distance. It was hard to make out the lights of the CID flitters among the background haze of illumination that was Neo SoCal at night. They were approaching fast and low.
Agent Niels lowered his head and tapped his PNIU. He murmured furtively, his brow creasing in concern. His partner accepted medpatches from Jia and applied them to the survivors. They might not save everyone, but murderous criminals should have known better than to charge a group that included Erik and Jia.
“There’s a problem.” Agent Niels looked up with a frown as the large flitters slowed. Red and white holographic lights flashed, illuminating the large letters on the side: CID. The flitters were both large enough to hold all the prisoners, but they needed ambulances. There was no point in transporting corpses.
“What problem?” Erik watched as the vehicles swept past from the carnage of the immediate battlefield and turned around.
“My reinforcements were delayed by a mechanical problem. They said they won’t be here for a few more minutes.”
Erik knelt behind one of the bullet-riddled syndicate flitters and leveled his weapon at the newly arrived CID flitters. “Then who the hell are these guys?”
“Good question,” Captain Ragnar replied with a frown.
Jia and the captain jogged toward the remains of the syndicate’s defensive line. Smoke continued to pour off the smoldering wreckage of the grenade’s victim, but the other vehicles provided some small cover. Agents Niels and Wan rushed forward too, both looking confused.
“Emma, prepare to take off and deploy the turret,” Erik ordered. “Keep low, and try to keep the emitters undamaged so you can run with Mara if you need to.”
“Emma? Who’s Emma?” Agent Niels looked around.
The MX 60 lifted off, and the turret popped out from the bottom. Emma pointed the heavy weapon at the cargo flitters.
“Call the NSCPD, Emma,” Erik ordered. “At this point, it doesn’t matter who the hell shows up. The more, the merrier.”
Agent Niels waved a hand. “Wait a second. There might just be a mix-up. You can’t always shoot and ask questions later.”
Erik regretted not packing armor-piercing rounds. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”
The back doors of the large flitters lowered to the ground to form ramps. Each disgorged the same cargo: a large group of rifle-armed men standing beside an exoskeleton with its shield already extended and a heavy rifle. The men poured out of the flitters and kept their rifles pointed.
A booming amplified force sounded from one of the exos. “I’m Agent Niels of the CID. I thought you might need some help, but it looks like you’ve already got the situation under control. We can take custody of Mara Thompson now.”
Jia looked at the Agent Niels near them before giving Captain Ragnar a meaningful look. He inclined his head toward the new arrival and shook his head.
“Ralic’s barely hanging on,” Jia shouted. “And Mara’s safe. We have the real Agent Niels here, so your lie isn’t going to work. If you don’t want to end up like your friends, you can fly away now, or you can die. Same difference to us.”
“It was worth a shot,” replied the exo pilot. “Ah, poor Ralic. That explains why he wasn’t answering my call. He thought he could handle this himself, but one can’t fault a man for ambition.”
“Why do you even care about Mara Thompson anymore?” Jia replied. “Whatever plan you had to use her is over. The CID and the NSCPD are going to dismember your operations here, and you just lost a pile of guys.”
“Losses are inevitable during any new business venture.” The pilot offered an exaggerated shrug with the help of his exo. “They’re also a valuable lesson for certain men not to let th
eir reach exceed their grasp. As for the woman, that’s our business, not yours. The question before you is simple: her life or your life?”
“Get ready to fly away, Emma, on my signal,” Erik murmured. “You might not be able to take sustained fire from exos. Circle the area until the real reinforcements show up.”
Jia’s hand edged toward a pouch holding another grenade. She offered Erik an almost imperceptible nod.
“I’ve got my own question.” Erik pointed his rifle at the exo. “Actually, it’s the same question. Her life or your life?”
Chapter Ten
Emma accelerated forward and sprayed bullets at the new force, downing several men and scattering the others before the exoskeletons’ guns came to life in a deadly river of bullets that barely missed the fleeing MX 60. Jia threw a grenade into the back of the flitter, and the explosion sent men screaming, their bodies burned and half on fire. Blasted pieces of the flitter rose into the air, and a billowing cloud of smoke obscured the vehicle.
Her team’s flitter barriers jerked and shuddered as bullets ripped through them. The heavy rifle fire from the non-blasted exoskeleton forced Jia and the others to duck. High-caliber bullets shredded the flitters, turning them from protection to inconvenience.
With a loud clank, the exoskeletons emerged from the smoke, one with a scorched but intact shield. Emma angled the MX 60 and came in for a pass. The turret spat out a heavy stream of bullets that sliced into the gunmen and ripped into the large flitters. Emma’s first pass downed half the surviving foot soldiers. Her bullets sparked as they struck and bounced off the reinforced ballistic shields of the exoskeletons, but the aerial assault forced the exoskeletons to concentrate their fire on the threat above. Emma continued diving and weaving. A loud buzz sounded from above before she pulled to the side.
“They appear to be EMP-hardened,” Emma reported. “Unfortunately.”
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