Freelancing

by Adair Hart

  Alcarez eyed Seth. After a moment, he said, “No. You’re weak. Interesting tactic. I bet they planned to send a large strike force once you reported back in.” He looked around the room for a moment. “I can accept that you were recon. However … how did you know to take that specific vantage point?”

  “It was the tallest building. I was just going district by district, picking the best place to look.”

  “Uh-huh,” said Alcarez. “And how did you know I was on Generis? Or even in Tooka?”

  “The contractor said you were. Figured Tooka, being the biggest city, was a good place to start.”

  Alcarez rubbed his chin. “A valid approach. On the other hand, they could have deduced that from the other merc ships landing here but not reporting back.”

  Seth shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno.”

  Alcarez smiled. “Just thinking out loud. Nonetheless, it’s your lucky day. You get to go into a cage and join the crew for ransom.”

  “That’s nice.”

  Alcarez laughed. “It’s been a while since I laughed. I’ll even let you keep all your fingers.”

  Seth’s eyes widened as he looked at the other captives in the cages. He had not noticed the cloths wrapped on their hands before. “Oh, shit.”

  “Oh, shit, indeed,” said Alcarez as he stood. He motioned at the robot guards.

  The guards grabbed Seth and dragged him over to a cage. One guard opened it while the other tossed him in.

  Once the cage was locked, Alcarez walked over. “For your sake, you better hope the guild comes to its senses.”

  “I’m with you there,” said Seth, licking his lips.

  Alcarez laughed again. “An optimist.” He turned and exited the room.

  The robot guards left as well, then sealed the door.

  Seth looked at the others. Two looked like they were already dead. Another had trouble keeping his eyes open. Another two looked like they were sleeping. The one nearest him was awake, but looked like he was in pain. Seth motioned at him. “You speak Kreagan?”

  The Tansih crew member nodded and, in a weak voice, said, “I do.”

  “I’m Seth.”

  The crew member tapped his chest. “Cortik.”

  Seth sighed. “Have they been feeding you or giving you water?”

  “Once a day. Our metabolism demands more.”

  Seth shook his head. “That’s messed up.”

  “Did you … come alone?”

  Seth looked around. He was not sure if the place was bugged but decided to play it cool. “Yeah. I was just supposed to find the ship, and then they were going to drop Covendrin mercs in here.”

  Cortik coughed. “It would be nice … to see them destroy this … place.”

  “Hang in there, man,” said Seth.

  Cortik nodded. “Surprised … to see a Fredorian.”

  “Earthborn, actually, but I guess to everyone else, Fredorian.”

  Cortik sniffled and lay back against his cage. “I don’t have much hope … that we will survive.”

  Seth narrowed his eyes. “Don’t worry. If help comes, I’m sure it will be soon. They probably had someone tail me just in case.” He glanced around the room. If Alcarez was listening, then maybe this would help Blake’s efforts with the Red Wave appear to be more credible. “Alcarez won’t know what hit him.”

  Cortik nodded as he took a deep breath.

  “Relax, man. Conserve your strength,” said Seth as a pang shot up his leg. “I’ll do the same. Hang in there.”

  “Your optimism … is appreciated,” said Cortik. He closed his eyes and lay down.

  Seth tried to get into a comfortable position, but the cage was barely large enough for him to lie down in. His ankle was throbbing. After inspecting it, he did not think it was broken. Most likely sprained, but it hurt like hell. He looked up at the dim lights in the room. The uneven breathing of the other Tansih crew members filled the air. This was not how he expected his first contract to go. He had no doubt Blake would come, but the thought that maybe it would not be enough crossed his mind. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain.

  It took about forty-five minutes for Blake to get from the northeast vantage point to the area south of Alcarez’s turf. He had activated his camouflage and kept to the alleyways for most of the journey. For areas that had an open space, he stuck to the sides of buildings. The Red Wave turf was easy to spot, with their emblazoned logos on the buildings. He had to take a moment for Seth’s update on what he had found.

  With that done, Blake crossed the street into Red Wave territory. It was larger than he expected, occupying most of the area south and southwest of Alcarez’s ground.

  Two males in red undergarments with metallic light armor clashed against the gray building they stood in front of.

  Blake set his communication status to disabled and crept to an alleyway next to the building. Looking around, he noticed that there was a stairway above him that ran on the outside of the building. A set of stairs led to the ground, but it was latched and flush with the stairway around the second story.

  He focused and then jumped up to the stairwell. His camouflage would give him some cover since he did not see any type of thermal detection devices on the Red Wave guards. He pulled out his striker and aimed down the alleyway. With a quick burst, the sound of bullets hitting concrete reverberated around the alleyway. He slid his striker onto his back and pulled out his FHP-10 laser pistol.

  The two Red Wave members rushed around the corner with weapons drawn. They bobbed their heads and looked all around as they crept into the alleyway. When they had passed where Blake was, he pulsed two shots to the backs of their heads.

  They had no chance.

  He jumped down and checked that they were no longer moving. One of the members was about Blake’s size. He stripped off the member’s light armor and took his red undergarments. Blake pulled open a slot in his back armor and put the clothes in. He could hear faint heartbeats in the distance. Maybe more were coming. He hustled out of the alleyway and crossed out of Red Wave turf.

  Taking a moment to breathe, he enabled his interface. His jaw clenched as he listened to Seth and the android. With narrowed eyes, he shut off his screen and cracked his neck. Somebody was going to get hurt. He moved at the sound of someone shouting in the distance. The Red Wave must have discovered the bodies. Normally he would have taken the time to hide them, but he was not going farther west into their territory. It would also put them on edge, which is where he needed them to be.

  His eyes turned slightly blue as he headed off to the vantage point.

  When he got to there forty-five minutes later, he crept up the stairway with his striker aimed forward. It did not take him long to get to the roof. The smell of blood led him to a spot on the ground. There was not much, but enough to indicate that it was Seth’s. He checked the vents for the interface, and once found, he noted that it was powered down. Probably due to no active presence detected. He picked it up and put it into his back armor.

  Peering out over the edge with his own binoculars, he did not see any sign of Seth. He sighed and put away his binoculars. After taking a moment to focus, he headed back to Red Wave turf. If Seth was being held, it was probably at the warehouse, so he needed to get his plan moving, and fast.

  When he got back to the Red Wave turf after another forty-five minutes, he found a tall building south of Alcarez’s turf that he could use as a vantage point. Although there seemed to be more farther west, he only needed the closest one that would allow him to set something up. The smell of others nearby combined with the noise they made confirmed that the Red Wave were now agitated. Probably still looking around. He used his grappling gun to pull himself up.

  Once on the roof, he took a position near the edge and began to scout around. In the distance, he could see the towers and concrete wall that Seth had marked surrounding Alcatraz’s southern area. A bit farther west from his current position, in Red Wave’s turf, was an active club.
He figured there would be plenty there who would get riled up at the first hint of an incursion by Alcarez. With that in mind, he climbed back down and headed that way.

  The mesmerizing beat of the club filled the air as he got closer. It always intrigued him that despite all the alien music that most Earthborn heard, they still stuck to variations of music that was around at the time of their abduction. The Red Wave apparently had a thing for synthesized metal.

  He crept into an alleyway across the street from the club. As expected, there were a lot of Red Wave members in their custom colors, hanging out. He headed north toward Alcarez’s area. It took him a bit to find a good three-story building, but when he did, he grappled up. After a quick change to put on the red undergarments, he knelt at the edge and scoped out the nearest towers.

  Two of them stood out to him. However, it was the small drones flying between them that he knew he would need to hit first. After that, it would be the robots who came out to investigate. He figured a sticky grenade on the wall would open it up, and then he could create the commotion he needed.

  The tricky part would be to breach Alcarez’s wall without being detected. His camouflage might work at a distance for most organics, but not against machines or those with heightened senses. He knelt and pulled out his striker. Using his under-barrel grenade launcher, he set the delay to twenty seconds, then shot a sticky grenade at the wall midway between the towers. Once he confirmed that it had stuck, he took aim and searched for the drone. It took a moment to find the drone again, and when it was near the sticky grenade, he fired. The drone crashed to the ground.

  A wailing noise shot out of the towers. Robot guards rushed to the drone.

  He calculated he had about five seconds. He rushed to the edge and used his grappling gun to rappel down.

  Halfway there, the grenade went off.

  Once on the ground, he hustled around the corner and took aim at the robots who were beginning to approach the breach. Drones had already began to fly forward.

  He hit two drones and one of the robot guards, then turned and headed south to the club. When he got near, he ducked into an alleyway. He cupped his hands and said, “Alcarez is coming!”

  The reaction was immediate. Red Wave members drew their weapons and looked around. After a minute or so, the drones came into view. Once the first shots were fired, he knew it would escalate quickly. As the Red Wave and Alcarez’s robot guards began to engage, he slipped through the crowd, heading east, while taking a few shots at the drones. Once he was far enough away from the fight, he removed the red undergarments and then headed back toward the vantage point he and Seth used initially.

  As he walked, he observed the various towers. Although there was chaos near the breach he had created, the robot guards in the towers did not leave their posts. He did note that they were facing that direction, though. When he was a good distance away and southeast of Alcarez’s turf, about halfway to the vantage point, he grappled up a building to get a better view. Looking back west, he could see that Alcarez’s southern border with the Red Wave was a hive of activity as robot guards of all types rushed to the breach. He focused on the few towers that were on the southeast side of Alcarez’s area. Most had just one guard in it. He selected one and grappled down to head toward it.

  After a few minutes, he reached the wall outside the tower. He pulled out one of his dual blades for his left hand. His right hand held the grappling gun, and after a quick shot at the tower, he was pulled up and over the wall.

  The robot guard had turned to investigate. As it looked over the edge, Blake leaped into the tower and sliced off its head. The guard’s body crumpled to the ground.

  Blake landed inside the small enclosed area and knelt inside the nearest wall. The noise around him indicated that everything was being tossed at the Red Wave. He peeped out with his binoculars northwest toward the warehouse. If Seth had been taken anywhere, it was probably there. Blake decided to check there first. A path wound from obstacle to obstacle, but it required him to move fast. If he took out the two nearest towers, it would be much easier. His eyes darted back and forth for a moment.

  With a big grin, he holstered the grappling gun and put his blade back and then pulled out his striker. It was time to play.

  The journey to the warehouse was a good test of Blake’s skill. He had paused several times on the way there to assess the situation. It had taken thirty minutes without detection, but he was outside the warehouse. Looking south, he could see the commotion had grown considerably. The Red Wave had deployed their large two-legged mini-mechs, which were tearing through Alcarez’s group. Alcarez had something comparable in his own souped-up heavy robots, but they were few compared to the numbers the Red Wave was putting out. The discrepancy between an established power versus a new one was obvious. If Alcarez had more time, he might have been able to compete. For now, it was a slaughter.

  As Blake approached the warehouse, he took cover between two shipping containers. He sniffed the air and caught a hint of Seth’s scent.

  The robot guards and various other machines were streaming out of the warehouse and headed toward the breach.

  Blake figured that Alcarez was activating his reserve defenders, but it would not be enough. Blake tapped at his helm and scanned the entrance. Switching between views showed him that there was electrical activity near the front two corners just inside the entrance. Probably security cameras. He crossed over to the right side of the warehouse and parked himself between a ship and the warehouse wall. After getting his FHP-10 ready, he sneaked up to the right side of the warehouse entrance and took aim at the first camera when it came within view.

  Zzzt!

  The camera blew up.

  Blake snorted. Apparently Alcarez had not invested in high-end security cameras. On top of that, they were facing inward, instead of toward the entrance. Probably relied too much on his guards and drones to handle anything outside that. Blake took a moment to observe the pattern of robot guards going to fight the Red Wave. When he detected a pause between deployments, he crossed the entrance to the left side.

  Zzzt!

  The other camera blew up.

  Blake checked his FHP-10. It was close to recharge mode, meaning he only had a few shots left. He sighed as he slipped into the warehouse and hugged the left wall. After sneaking to the corner, he hopped up on one of the shipping containers and surveyed the warehouse interior.

  The warehouse was structured like a grid. The element storage tanks took up a significant amount of space on the right side of the warehouse, while the left was pure shipping containers. Near the back was a set of ramps that led to a second level and a set of offices. Along the sides of the warehouse was a series of small rooms.

  Blake figured that Seth was in one of the side rooms. There were two security cameras on each side of the warehouse near the middle that he would need to take out, but they were a good distance away and would probably detect him if he got into their line of sight. It was times like this he wished he had a sniper rifle, or even someone who was capable of using one. While he could see long range, aiming and firing was a different story. He jumped down from the container and weaved his way to within range of the other cameras. It took a moment to line up a shot at the first camera on the left.

  Zzzt!

  It blew up, causing the few guards that had been rushing out to stop and investigate.

  Blake knew it would not be long before they figured the interior had been compromised. He took aim at the second camera on the right.

  Zzzt!

  The lighting dimmed as more guards went to the right side. The other guards had begun to fan out.

  Blake slipped off behind a shipping container and pulled out his striker. This was going to be a firefight. If it was organics, he would have probably gone with his dual blades and stealth. However, robots could see his thermal signature and most likely hear him. He knew there was technology that could cover the thermal signature, but it was not technology he had ac
cess to, and it was bulky relative to what he had. The shipping containers would be his cover. He moved forward up a path between the shipping containers and the side rooms.

  A robot guard spotted him but crumpled when a stream of bullets overpowered its kinetic shields. Several more guards appeared.

  Blake took advantage of their processing. They would update each other on where the shots came from and target that area. With that in mind, he swung to the right and slipped behind another container. When the robot guards had advanced to where he had been before, he sprayed them down. According to his calculations, that was four robot guards. Given the intense pace of the other guards leaving the warehouse, he figured the Red Wave was getting close. He took a moment to focus. He could now see the wispy trail of Seth’s scent.

  Several footsteps snapped him back to reality.

  He sensed that two more guards had come over. With a burst around the corner, he took them by surprise. He rushed past their smashed bodies and ran along the wall, taking care to follow Seth’s scent. The shit and piss odor was strong, and getting stronger the closer he got to the back end of the warehouse. As he ran into a small open area, he slid to a stop and began to backpedal. His heart went into overdrive.

  A massive two-legged robot with large weapons as arms and a rectangular pod on top of the legs pivoted and trained its guns on where Blake had stopped.

  He spun around and dove back behind the shipping container.

  The robot advanced.

  He had fought these before on a previous contract. Low-grade defense robots, but effective for what they did.

  A spray of bullets hosed down the area next to him.

  He put his striker back and pulled out his dual blades. Although he was sure he could eventually burst down the robot’s shields, he needed something that would go through it. It took a few seconds for him to figure out where the robot was by the heavy stomping. When it was nearing his spot, he jumped up on the shipping container and then launched himself onto the robot’s backside.