Advance (Animus Book 4)

by Joshua Anderle

  “My point is that this guy is hunted all over the galaxy. No matter how many Marines he has killed, coming to Earth—the home of the WC and tens of thousands of bounty hunters, trackers, soldiers, mercs, and gangs looking to make a name for themselves—is not the best place for a guy like him. He’s as likely to have people hunting him as he is to be attacked by some crazy punk on the streets to make a scene,” Magellan explained. “He’s here for a reason, and it’s likely that he will try to kill us as much for personal pleasure as for business. My guess is that he doesn’t want witnesses, which is something he usually doesn’t care about. It’s one thing to fight someone who is insane, but it’s another when they are insane and driven.”

  Lazar’s head tilted as he thought for a moment before the realization hit him. He turned to look at Kaiden. “Gin can take out a group of WC Marines alone. This kid is still training for that shit. What do you think he can do against someone like that?”

  “I don’t expect him to do anything,” Magellan stated and leaned against the stair railing. “On the next floor, there is a door that leads to the maintenance hall. Kaiden can take that to the outside of the building and hail the dropship.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I can see the sign on the door from here.” The bounty hunter jerked a thumb behind him. “Since he hasn’t already jumped us, he has to be waiting for us up above. I will engage him while the dropship makes its way back. You can obviously come too, Lazar.”

  “He could be right here,” the merc pointed out. “He has that cloak so could be right beside us and we wouldn’t be able to see—”

  Magellan unclipped something from his belt and held up a blue cube. “This device emits pulses in an area and registers changes in energies in around a fifty-yard radius. It’s mostly useless in normal circumstances—a heart or thermal scanner would do the same job it does but better. However, since no one really thinks of it when designing the latest stealth doodad, it’s actually favored in my occupation. It is also one of the only things that can find someone with an eidolon grade or higher cloaking generator.”

  “You’ve tracked him this entire time?” Kaiden asked. “Has he been with us all the way through the entire facility?”

  “He bolted when the nagas appeared but my EI told me he had a reading back at the hangar. We ran right beneath him.”

  “What?”

  Gin sighed and knocked the back of his head impatiently against the wall. The steps he had heard had come to an abrupt stop. They no longer ascended the stairs, and he could occasionally hear murmured speech. Did they break for snacks?

  They wouldn’t leave without wishing him goodbye, would they? That would be incredibly rude. Magellan knew he didn’t come to Earth very often, so this should be a special occasion.

  Maybe they were creating an exit strategy? It was a wise move, he supposed, but also an annoying one. He sighed. As much as he was delighted to face Magellan again, he had the other two with him. Gin wanted to see what they could do, particularly the boy—or, at least, he wanted his shiny things. But if they weren’t up to snuff, Magellan, big softy that he was, would probably prioritize their safety over facing him.

  He wondered if he should record the fight.

  The killer tapped his fingers together and considered his options. They had talked about a ship to take them away. This was a gig, which meant it was probably only a dropship and nothing with powerful weapons. Then again, they were rather fast and maneuverable, and for all his skills and gadgets, he had nothing that would enable him to tail them effectively. Worse, he’d arrived there in an escape pod, not exactly a multi-use vehicle.

  Perhaps he should create a distraction? Something that wouldn’t allow them to simply run off at their leisure? He checked the options on his suit. Most of his items were for personal use or use against human targets; he had nothing to destroy or disable ships. A little irritated, he fumbled through the compartments on his belt until he reached one on the back left. His fingers traced along something unfamiliar and he removed a glass vial filled with a brown liquid. It puzzled him for a moment until he remembered that he had found it at this very facility the day before. He smiled as he remembered its purpose. While it might not work as he intended, it would be something fun to add to the games.

  He pushed himself off the wall and walked to the door to the roof. Hopefully, he would make it back in time to greet the party. If he didn’t, it would be the height of rudeness.

  “We walked right the hell past him and you said nothing?” Lazar growled. His face took on a heated shade of red and veins throbbed in his temples. “We could have taken him there.”

  “Yes, in a hangar bay full of mutants ripping each other apart that would come after us once they were finished. We would have faced both them and him.”

  “We could have killed him before that happened,” Lazar rebutted. “Or we could have used more of that bait you have to distract the mutants.”

  “That’s not how bait works. They usually don’t care how good it smells when they are actively trying to kill you,” Kaiden stated.

  “Shut it, kid!” the merc barked. “Now is not the time to—”

  “Lose your cool. I agree,” Magellan interjected. Lazar’s head whipped round to glare daggers at him. “Maybe that wasn’t what you were going to say, but I must stress it.”

  The merc continued to draw in angry breaths and he clenched and unclenched his fists. “This is why I didn’t say anything,” the bounty hunter continued. “We have a chance to prepare for the fight right now, to plan for victory rather than simply hope for it. Gin doesn’t seem to exactly understand what hubris is, and my guess is that he’s underestimated you.”

  Lazar cocked an eyebrow. “He’ll regret that if he has.”

  “That’s my point,” Magellan said. “I’ve mentioned that I feel some personal responsibility for him. Maybe that’s foolish or self-centered, but I’ve never gone after him with anyone before. Perhaps that’ll be enough for me to finally put an end to him. You screamed at Hodder to not let his anger make him do anything stupid, so take your own advice.”

  The other man shook his head. His breathing was still erratic, but his features no longer twisted in rage. “Good point. A jackass way to put it, but I follow.” He heaved a sigh, opened his grenade launcher, and slowly slid the final grenade in before he turned to look at Kaiden. “Hey, Kaiden, hand me your shocks.”

  The ace opened his visor, clearly confused. “You can have them, but I already told you they are defective now.”

  “Getting hit in the head or chest by something as hard as a rock is still effective,” the merc stated. He took the belt, unclipped it, and wrapped it around his massive arm while his eyes counted off all six. “At the very least, they can provide a distraction.”

  “Take the maintenance hallways out of here, Kaiden,” Magellan said. “Use the map and find the fastest route. Have the pilot take you out of here, and we’ll signal for her when we’re done.”

  “I won’t leave you two behind,” Kaiden declared, his once shaking hand now balled into a fist. “How the hell would that sound? On my first chain mission, I left while two guys died and the other two got all the glory?”

  Magellan shook his head while Lazar scoffed, “Don’t be so pro—”

  “I swear to God, if either of you tries to lecture me about pride, I’ll kill you before you even find him.”

  After a minute of silence, Lazar and Magellan looked at each other as if asking whether they should debate it or simply club Kaiden on the head and leave him in the stairwell. Soon, Lazar turned and shrugged. “If he dies, I’m keeping his share.”

  “Fair enough.” Magellan nodded. “I’ll make sure your gig tag gets back to your loved ones.”

  “You won’t have to make too many trips to do that.” Kaiden slid his visor back into place “Who’s going in first?”

  Lazar, without saying a word, readied his cannon and grenade launcher and walked purposef
ully up the steps. Kaiden and Magellan followed as they prepped their weapons.

  “This isn’t smart, Kaiden,” Chief warned.

  “You’re used to that already, aren’t you?” Kaiden retorted. The EI uttered what sounded like a mix between a dejected laugh and an angry huff. “Besides, you’re here to back me up right?”

  “ʼCourse I am, dumbass.”

  When they reached the top, Magellan and Kaiden stepped to either side of Lazar who stood in the center and one step down from the door. He lifted a leg and in one smooth motion, kicked the door in. He growled as he charged with Kaiden and Magellan behind him. They scanned the room, ready to fire at the barest hint of Gin, but found nothing.

  Lazar snarled. “Seriously? Your intuition is shit, Magell—”

  A creak from the far side of the room announced Gin’s entrance. He closed the door behind him and raised a hand. “So you did come. I’m happy to see that.”

  Lazar fired his grenade at the killer. It exploded and engulfed him in flames.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kaiden raised an arm to shield himself from the explosion. A part of him knew that was the purpose of his armor, but the blast was powerful enough to make the gesture instinctive.

  “Do you think that got him?” Lazar asked as he slid one of Kaiden’s defective shock grenades into the launcher and hooked it to his holster behind his waist.

  “That would be surprisingly anti-climactic,” Kaiden said. He raised his machine gun with both hands. “Not that I would mind.”

  Magellan said nothing as he fired ten shots into the flames. “He has that barrier, remember?” he muttered. “My rounds haven’t hit anything, which means—” His eyes widened, and he shoved Kaiden and Lazar aside. Quickly, he drew his pistol, aimed upward, and fired. A jolt of electricity flared from the gun and the force of the shot knocked him to the floor.

  His companions stared dumbfounded at the pistol’s power but clenched their eyes shut as the shot erupted in a shockwave on impact with something to create a shower of sparks. Kaiden rolled and retrieved his Tempest. His aim snapped from one side of the room to the other as he searched for their target.

  “You came to play, I see,” Gin shouted. The man used the cages in the room to pull himself up. Parts of his armor cloaked and decloaked at random. The barrier energy around his chest and arms fizzled and a loud hum emitted from the generator on his back. “All that sass from such a little gun. Is that a voltaic blaster, Magellan?”

  Kaiden aimed and squeezed the trigger from his sitting position. The killer sprinted to remain ahead of the laser fire. He slid to his knees so the shots went over his head and flipped backward as he drew the Yokai.

  The Tempest overheated and the ace vented it quickly. In a split second of shock, he realized that Gin’s gun was one developed by Nexus technicians—how had he got his hands on one? The moment of speculation vanished as the killer aimed at his head. He pulled the trigger and the spike spun in the weapon, but he turned quickly and fired at Magellan. The missile barreled at the bounty hunter but collided with Lazar’s metal gauntlet.

  “A fellow aug—nice to meet you,” Gin quipped. Lazar glared at him, lowered his arm, and raised his cannon with a shot already charged in the chamber. He fired the bolt and Gin spun to dodge the blast and threw several small orbs as the shot slammed into and destroyed the wall behind him.

  “Flashbangs!” Magellan warned. He lowered his hat and looked away as Lazar shielded his eyes.

  “Chief, darken visor,” Kaiden ordered. The EI complied, and the ace looked away as the orbs erupted in several large flashes of light. His ears rang and he grimaced in frustration.

  “Sorry, partner. I would have activated the dampeners, but the systems still aren’t—Kaiden! Fall back and raise your gun!”

  He did as Chief instructed and something thudded into his Tempest. The force of the impact knocked his weapon into his helmet and something scraped along the face of his mask.

  A cry of pain was quickly suppressed and Magellan called Lazar’s name. Kaiden regained his equilibrium and shook his head to clear it. Lazar had two more spikes in the gauntlet that shielded his face and one in his left arm. Magellan seemed unharmed, but two spikes pinned the bottom of his jacket and one of his sleeves to the ground.

  Kaiden cursed at a barb embedded in his weapon. “Quick thinking, Chief, thanks.” He tossed the machine gun to the side and drew Debonair as he scrambled to his feet. Gin now stood in front of the hole in the wall.

  “It’s a bit busy in here.” He chuckled. “Let’s open the floor up to keep this going.” He stepped back through the hole and bent forward. The ace fired three quick shots as his target leapt up and out and the rounds sailed through the hole and ripped through the interior of the dome in the distance.

  “Dammit!” Kaiden cursed. Something tore and Magellan rushed passed him, the bottom third and arm of his coat ripped. The bounty hunter vaulted through the hole and hurled a grappling hook up the side of the wall. The hook attached and yanked the man upward. Kaiden ran to Lazar, who tore the spike from his arm with a pained hiss. The ace plastered the remainder of his flesh adhesive on Lazar’s wound. The merc leader’s face twitched in pain for a moment, but as the liquid settled, he rolled his shoulder and yanked the spikes from his gauntlet.

  “Go and assist him,” he bellowed. Kaiden nodded and flung himself down beside the hole and rolled onto his back. Cautiously, he inched the top half of his body through and aimed Debonair upward. Magellan and Gin fought against the side of the structure. The killer had cut his adversary’s hook wiring and the hunter was held in place only by what appeared to be a blade on one of his gauntlets. The murderer kicked at his rival and tried occasionally stab him with a jagged, curved blade. Kaiden couldn’t get a clear shot. Magellan mostly dodged the attacks as his rifle was still slung over his shoulder. He blocked one of Gin’s kicks with his knee and managed to draw his other pistol. A shot sounded, and the two combatants disappeared in a fog of poisonous gas.

  The ace cursed again and scrambled to his feet. “I can’t get a shot,” he yelled to Lazar. “They are heading to the roof.”

  “Then let’s get up there,” the merc responded. He tried to close his fist a few times, and while his hand still worked, it responded slowly.

  “Are you all right?” Kaiden asked as his companion retrieved his cannon and stomped to him.

  “I’ll make do,” he grunted. “Up the stairs. I ain’t losing this freak.”

  “Roger.” Kaiden nodded as they sprinted to the top of the dome.

  Gin grinned from ear to ear as he attempted another strike on his pursuer, this time aimed at his shoulder. Magellan released the blade on his gauntlet and disappeared under the poisoned smoke. The killer tried to deactivate the spines on his fingers but they wouldn’t respond to his mental commands. “What exactly is in this little concoction, Magellan?” he asked. “My arm doesn’t work properly, and my leg feels a little heavy… Oh, I guess there’s a soft touch of chlorine?”

  The bounty hunter responded with two bullets to the man’s chest. The force was enough to dislodge his arm from the metal plating and impel him a few feet into the air. He slammed his artificial leg into the wall to keep himself from falling and ran his good hand over his chest. Pieces of his armor crumbled and fell and he felt the small layer of foam from the safety orbs within. He winced. “I see you’re not in much of a mood to talk.”

  He dug his knife into the wall as another shot whistled past his ear. In a smooth motion, he used the knife to balance himself and pulled his leg free to thrust up the side and reach the edge of the roof. He pulled himself quickly to safety as Magellan fired three more rounds. Each chipped away the metal of the roof’s edge.

  “So damn feisty,” Gin muttered. He flicked the fingers on his artificial arm, and after a few attempts, the spines finally receded. “That was a neat trick, Magellan, but you’re gonna need more than home remedies to keep me down…although that stuff really fucked my filte
rs up.”

  His barriers, thankfully, had regained some of their energy. Lazar and Kaiden burst through the door onto the roof. “And we’ll keep it going, by the looks of things, ” he mused and turned his attention to them. “Keep me entertained until Magellan gets here, would you?”

  The ace fired Debonair, and the killer responded with a small circular shield that absorbed the shots. “You gotta try a little harder.”

  Lazar roared, raised his cannon, and charged a shot. Gin cocked his head, closed his fist, and punched the barrier toward them as the merc was about the release the trigger.

  “Lazar, don’t!” Kaiden cried, but his warning came too late. He jumped back as the bolt smashed into the barrier only yards away from them. The blast blew the merc leader back, and the cannon shattered as he slammed into the rooftop. Kaiden was knocked to the edge and lost Debonair as he flipped over the side of the roof. Frantically, he managed to grab the ledge before he fell.

  He hauled himself up and reached for Debonair but a sharp pain stabbed through his hand. Blood dripped to the metal floor from where a spike protruded through both the top and bottom of his hand. Kaiden gasped and winced and pushed the pain aside. He rolled to his pistol, snatched it up, and raised it but was knocked onto his back by a boot to his head.

  “You’re decent, kid—top one hundred, I can safely say.” Gin held his pistol aimed Kaiden’s head as he stomped on his chest. “But this is the second time I have you beaten and under my boot. My guess is you’re not as good at this as you like to believe you are.”

  The ace tried to respond, but the killer slammed his boot into his stomach. “Does your little EI have anything else up its cybernetic sleeve?” he asked and waved his pistol from side to side. “I want to see what it’s capable of and what I can potentially do with it.”

  Something smashed into the man’s hand and knocked the gun away. Gin gripped his hand in pain as one of Kaiden’s shock grenades rolled along the ground.