“Hey, jobbers in the back,” a voice called over the intercom. “We’ll land in five. Get ready because this will be a quick drop. Anyone who lags behind doesn’t get a piece of the action, and that means they don’t get their fee,” she explained, and the intercom emitted a soft static whine as it clicked off.
“Well, it looks like it’s time, gents.” Magellan placed his rifle onto his back as he stood.
Kaiden smiled as he returned to his seat and grabbed his helmet and rifle. “Let’s earn some creds,” he declared as he began to put on his helmet before he paused and turned back. “Oh, I forgot to fully answer your question. My name’s Kaiden Jericho.” He pulled the helmet on and locked it into place.
Chapter Two
Kaiden watched as the dropship departed once the pilot stated that she would be back ten minutes after one of them activated their beacon. Kaiden looked at the small, square device. The instructions were simple enough—pop the safety glass and press the trigger for five seconds. He slid it into his supply case and joined the other members of the chain team.
Hodder bristled as he passed him and glared but said nothing, although he tapped his fingers on his cannon. Kane still fretted about his hand. He’d removed his almost destroyed glove and now applied a stitch cream. Kaiden winced as the man clenched his wounded hand. He had almost forgotten how the stuff felt considering the painless rejuvenation serum that he used back at Nexus. It repaired minor to moderate wounds quickly, but as the name implied, it felt like your hand was stitched with no anesthetic by a particularly new doctor.
He reached Magellan and Lazar on the cliffside of the hill where they had landed and looked over the ridge. In the distance and a little over a half-mile away, was their target—the now abandoned biodome belonging to the Axiom Corp. Even from this distance, Kaiden noticed breaches along the bottom lining of the dome and dents and tears in the top. According to the details they had been given, it had only been abandoned for twenty-two days, yet it appeared to have accrued a significant amount of damage in that short space of time.
“That big bastard has dealt with some shit while vacant, huh?” Kaiden commented, breaking the silence.
“No kidding. Biodomes are built quickly, but they aren’t made of paper and string—especially one commissioned by a place like Axiom,” Magellan noted. “Although why they decided to set up in this particular part of the Amazon… Mutants run the place. What do you think they could have been doing out here?”
Lazar huffed and tapped the ash from another cigarette. “Axiom is known for their blunders more than their successes. My guess is they were either searching for some sort of material out here or maybe working on the mutants themselves.”
“I’d say the latter is the most likely,” the bounty hunter agreed. “Maybe I’m getting more optimistic as I age, but perhaps they are looking into a way to reverse the effects or at least make them more docile.”
“Hmm, not to be a killjoy, but I doubt they are that compassionate,” Lazar stated. “If that were the case, sending in a team of heavily armed mercs and the like means they gave up on altruism rather quickly.”
Kaiden retrieved an EI pad. “Chief, bring up the target,” he ordered. The pad came to life and displayed a holographic image of a large silver tube with the Axiom AX logo embedded on it. “I have no idea what’s in it, but they must want it badly to spend almost a million credits on its retrieval. You would think they would have their own teams to do that.”
“They do,” Magellan confirmed. “We’ll probably run into whatever is left of them. Corporations and Zaibatsu’s hate resorting to freelancers. My guess is that whatever is in there was too much for the guys whose usual day consists of guard duty and transferring projects from one base to the next with a full patrol of Hawk Jets and Outcast bombers.”
“Not enough grit to get the job done,” Lazar added and took another drag. “We’ll see what we’re dealing with once we get in, but from what I know, it’ll be anything from venom leapers to those goddamn shriekers.”
“Not to mention the mutated anacondas,” Kaiden added. “What are they called? Nagas?”
Magellan nodded. “That’s the Sanskrit word for serpent used in mythology to refer to a mythical race of snake people.” He chuckled. “Viciss Labs really fucked up when they let that whole mess happen. Mutants are a worldwide problem now, but at least we know that the cryptos are the real deal now, even if they aren’t nature’s beasts.”
“Oh, they are nature’s now,” Lazar grunted and readied his heavy machine gun. “Nature’s abominations. Are you two ready back there?”
“Ready when you are, boss,” Hodder acknowledged and turned toward him although his eyes glanced at Kane.
The weasely merc winced as he slipped his glove back on. “Yeah, we’ll be right there.”
“We’re leaving in five. Take a final look in the crate and figure out what you’re taking. Pile on as many explosives and grab as much ammo as you can. I wanna get this done quick, and I don’t wanna hear your excuses if you run out,” the merc captain commanded. He looked at Kaiden and Magellan. “We’re the muscle here. I believe you about your rifle, Magellan, and you look or at least act like you can handle yourself, youngblood.”
“I’m not a youngblood. That means I haven’t done this before,” Kaiden grumbled and drew his machine gun. The Tempest had camo casing over a black body with a short barrel and four vent ports on either side.
“Well, I can look at you and tell you’re the youngest here. But I’ll stick to Kaiden if you’re that opposed.” Lazar examined the gun quickly. “Is that a Tera Sovereign model?”
“Yes, sir,” Kaiden said with a smile. “I bought and modified this one myself. It’s energy based, so I added a mod to overcharge the core for stronger shots, another to reduce overheating to compensate for it, and improved stability. I’ve used it a few times already. Unless we run into any jumbos or hulks, I’ll be fine.”
“I doubt that’ll be an issue,” Lazar responded. “It’s not really a place where Titan-class mutants live unless they’re partial to taking vacations.”
“Nagas have hides like steel, and they do live here,” Magellan reminded them. “If we do run into one of them, we’ll rely on you and your boys to take it down.”
“Not a problem,” Lazar promised. “Both Hodder and Kane have cannons and enough explosives to take down the big stuff, and if that doesn’t work—” He tilted his head back, and Kaiden saw a collapsed grenade launcher attached to his belt. “I’ve got this. And plenty of special packages for anything that comes at us.”
“That’s considerate of you.” Magellan studied the dome once more. “So, do either of you want to throw any plans out there before we head out?”
“It doesn’t seem necessary. There aren’t any human hostiles to worry about, and considering the weapons we have, sneaking doesn’t seem to be a priority, right?” Kaiden looked at the others. Magellan shrugged and nodded, but Lazar remained stoic.
“Since you bring it up…” he began and eyed the bounty hunter. “You mentioned you were here for personal reasons. Can we expect you to run off at any point during the mission?”
“Perhaps, but it’s unlikely,” Magellan confessed. “You don’t need to concern yourself with my personal objectives. I’ll deal with my own problems.”
“It’s a concern if we are caught in the crossfire,” Lazar pointed out and turned to scowl at the man with his arms folded. “You’re a nearly top-level bounty hunter, Magellan—four-star class who command prices in the millions for their services. Why are you slumming it on something like this? Who or what are you looking for and are we in any danger of getting caught up in your mess?”
Kaiden was surprised. He looked cautiously at Magellan. The man certainly seemed to know what he was doing and was well armed, but from what he had seen back at the port and during the flight, he seemed rather aloof and laid back. He didn’t look that old, and four stars was only one rank away from the top. To achieve t
hat rank at his age, he must be a damn good hunter.
“To be fair, it’s only one to two million for a bounty. Millions is my count of bringing them in alive,” he clarified with another casual shrug and smirk.
Good Lord. Kaiden hadn’t run into many bounty hunters in his life besides Cameron and a few others at the Academy. Back in Texas, there had been the occasional Dead-Eye who pissed off the wrong person or earned a fierce reputation who had the occasional scrap with a hunter. Those were a much lower level—bronze to gold at the highest—and wanted more to make a name for themselves than anything else. A tingle of excitement coursed through him and he wanted to see what this guy could do.
“I suppose I can be more forthcoming. I doubt I’ll have to worry about you trading info since if you did, you probably know rather well that I’ll have no problem finding you.” He spoke casually, but the menace was more in the calmness of the threat than in his tone. “The person I’m looking for… It’s more of a personal hunt than a job. He’s escaped me a couple of times and is damn hard to track. But he always finds opportunity in places like this.” He nodded to the dome.
“He’s a scavenger?” Kaiden asked.
“That’s one of his professions. But he’s also a murderer who’s wanted in several countries, colonies, and stations. No clan, gang, or mercenary group backing. The last time he was in a merc group was the Starkillers, and he eliminated them.”
“I’ve never heard of them. Did he kill their leader or something?” Lazar asked.
“Yes, along with the remaining fifty-six members of the group,” Magellan revealed. “They almost lost a battle with a small team from the Omega Horde. He personally killed most of them in that fight. Apparently, he thought his mercenary group wasn’t up to snuff, and instead of simply leaving, he felt the need to eliminate the entire gang. He killed those present and hunted down the others who weren’t even there.”
“So he’s cold-blooded. A kind of guy who won’t accept the weak?” Lazar questioned.
“Actually, he’s a fairly nice guy and has a good sense of humor.” Kaiden and Lazar gave him questioning looks. “He’s certainly vile and tops my personal list of people who need a bullet in them, but he’s not exactly the silent or chest-pounding type.”
“A man who would kill off all his buddies for a single mistake doesn’t strike me as a Mr. Personality,” Kaiden retorted.
“Most serial killers don’t think with the kind of logic we can necessarily understand,” Magellan countered. “I don’t agree with what he spouts, but I almost admire his commitment to his way of thinking. He’s killed cops, guards, gang members, mercs, and other bounty hunters and even a couple of other killers and slavers. He has a ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ mentality. If you pick up a weapon, your life is fair game. If you fail, it’s forfeit.”
“It sounds like he would be a bounty hunter for sport instead of creds,” Lazar commented.
“He could have made a good hunter, in all honesty,” Magellan agreed thoughtfully. “But I’ve trailed him for almost a year now. Like I said, he’s damn slippery when he wants to be. At other times, he makes a scene and I can get to him in time, but he’s been able to escape all four times.” Magellan tapped his chest armor. “He uses a long-shot pistol he calls Whistle. My best guess is that it’s a modified Specter, but he prefers a jagged blade he carries with him at all times. That blade of his has left me a few scars.”
“You make him sound like some sort of phantom. Does he have a name?” Lazar asked.
Magellan nodded. “Gin Sonny.”
The merc’s eyes widened, and a cold chill chased up Kaiden’s spine. He had heard the name in the news and on the lips of the people in rogue ports. He carried a bounty of almost sixty-five million credits and a body count in the hundreds and was known to mostly attack colonies and traveling vessels. Recently, he had slaughtered a dozen members of a gang and twenty guards, both on the Hughes Station.
“And you think he’s here on Earth?” Lazar asked, his rumbling, serious tone sharpened by surprise. “Do you think he’s here?” He gestured vaguely toward their destination.
Magellan nodded. “That’s why I took this mission. It’s easier to hide as a member of a chain team for a simple retrieval mission than to announce my presence by coming alone. If I took my own ship or even a commercial flight, that could potentially give me away.” He palmed his pistol, a small silver weapon with a brighter sheen than his rifle. “This fires disrupter kinetic rounds and punches clean through armor and shields while barriers can’t touch them,” he explained. “Despite the fact that he seems to prefer more…visceral weapons, he has a talent for tech. Part of the reason he keeps getting away is all the tech he scavenges and repurposes.”
“That’s a hell of a thing to keep hidden from us. It could mean our necks if he runs across us while trying to get to you,” Lazar fumed.
“Or you could have taken this mission knowing nothing at all if I hadn’t come,” Magellan countered as he stowed his gun. “Besides, he has no vendetta with me, so it’s not like he’s stalking me and you’re caught up in it. He may not be here, but it’s a potential target. I searched every corner and tunnel of Hughes station and found no trace other than the pod ship he used to get there hiding in a bay. My guess is he boarded a supply ship to Earth, and the only ships that came through between his massacre and the time I arrived both came from South America—one from Chile and one from Brazil. The Brazilian one was larger and therefore provided more places to hide. Add this to the fact that the dome over there was abandoned by its team when it was attacked by mutants, and it seems the tastiest target for him. Unless, of course, he found another batch of victims, but I would have heard of that by now. He likes to show the corpses off.”
Kaiden’s heart raced and a prickle of something he hadn’t felt in a long time left him oddly uneasy. Fear, he realized, but shrugged it off. He drew a deep breath and calmed himself while he checked his gear, grenades, salves, guns, blade, and armor. The routine activity restored his focus, and he reminded himself that everything was in place. Mutants were a bitch but weren’t unconquerable. Essentially, they were only animals with enhanced capabilities and bloodlust, but they could still be defeated if you knew what you were doing—like mercs or most droids.
The enemies he had faced were more like an obstacle, not a threat. But potentially facing a killer like Gin Sonny—one who took joy in hunting you down and whose expertise was ending your life—somehow seemed immensely more potent.
Something infinitely more terrifying.
“Hey, boss, are we going? It’s been more than five minutes,” Hodder called.
Lazar looked at Magellan one last time before he turned to his lackeys. “Yeah, we’re going, but I need to fill you two in on something first.” He walked away from Kaiden and the bounty hunter.
“Don’t worry about it, kid. If he is here, I’ll take care of him,” Magellan avowed and placed a hand briefly on Kaiden’s shoulder before he walked away. The ace nodded, held up his weapon, and looked at the dome.
It was time to see if the Nexus training had paid off. If he fell on this trip, there were no lives to spare. This death would be final.
Chapter Three
The group approached the doors of the biodome’s entrance. One had been ripped off its hinges and laid damaged and rusting on the jungle floor. Hodder and Lazar took point, peered into the entrance, and signaled the others to move in. Kaiden entered first, his machine gun at the ready. They hadn’t encountered anything thus far, but cries and growls echoed in the air and metallic crashes and thumps from within signaled that this wouldn’t be a simple jaunt.
They proceeded into the building and a long passageway with a number of doors on either side that provided innumerable options.
“Should we split up?” Kaiden asked.
“Fuck that,” Kane declared. The man clutched a cannon—smaller than Hodder’s, but Kaiden was more worried about his than the big one, as Kane’s finger�
�s drummed nervously on the trigger. “We move as a group. I ain’t walking around here alone, not with the possibility of running into that crazy killer. When we get through this, I’m demanding a raise in the pay.”
“I’m beginning to miss all that bluster you had on the dropship.” Kaiden activated the flashlight on his helmet. “Would you stop fidgeting with that thing? It makes me feel anxious because it seems more likely that you’ll blow us apart than death by mutants.”
“You’ll hear him charge it up before he fires, remember?” Hodder sneered. He stepped up beside Kaiden and with a cocky smirk. “Besides, look at it like this. It’ll be a quick death compared to having your limbs torn apart and eaten by shriekers.”
Kaiden swung his gaze to the merc who raised a hand to block the light from his eyes. “If we run into any of them, they’ll hopefully drown out his welching.”
“How can you guys be so calm about this?” Kane hissed. “Dealing with a killer with a sixty-five million credit bounty? That’s over the line.”
“Quiet, Kane,” Lazar instructed and pushed past the trio to peer down the hall. “If you’re too chickenshit to continue, go back to the rendezvous point and wait there. We’ll take care of this, and Hodder and I will split your cut.”
Kane stiffened and a frown crossed his features. His breathing still hitched but the finger stopped tapping the trigger. “Fuck that too. I want my share.”
“Good. Focus on that. We aren’t here for anyone’s head. We’re here to retrieve that storage container and get out of here,” Lazar reminded them. “This bastard might not even be here, and if he is, he’s Magellan’s problem, not ours.”
“Let’s get moving, boss,” Hodder requested as he raised his cannon over his head and rolled his shoulders. “I want to find something to shoot. If there isn’t anything here, then I wanna get back and get some liquor. There’s too much blood in my alcohol stream.”
Advance (Animus Book 4) Page 2