Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1) (31 page)

***

Up in the apartment block opposite the gate, Troll watched the seconds count down on her wristcomp and at the agreed time triggered the explosives.  The wall blew out with a deafening roar.  Amidst the dust and debris, Barney rolled out with the missile launcher.  In his peripheral vision he noticed people in the compound below, turning to look up at him in shock, but his focus was on the gate.  He could see the recycling lorry heading as fast as it could go towards it.

Guards at the gate were turning towards him, not knowing which threat they should be concentrating on.  The truck they had been watching accelerating towards them or the explosion from behind.  The dust and debris from the detonation hid Barney from them.  When the missile suddenly shot out, they could only stare in incredulity.

Being one of Sneakers anti-tank missiles with the infantry mod, when the missile was fifty metres from the target multiple small darts sprang out.  The main missile slammed into the gate, disintegrating it in a white hot fireball, obliterating the guards closest to it and blew the others in the compound off their feet.  The darts landed all around the gate and many of the guards who survived the initial hit, died in the subsequent explosions. 

The recycling lorry sailed through the middle, its front cab smashed in by the missiles fire storm. Barney rolled back, casting aside the launcher and grabbed his Mag rifle.  Troll moved round as Barney got clear, her Mag rifle came up and she opened fire on the guards at the main entrance.  Most of the survivors were on the ground and she showed no mercy, killing them where they lay.  The hyper velocity, spinning Mag rounds did instant and bloody damage to their bodies.

Inside the truck, they felt the concussion wave hit them, but were well protected by its reinforced body.  The basic design of a rubbish collection lorry hadn’t changed in thousands of years, based on the principle, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.  There were more technologically advanced ways of disposing waste, but they were more complex, harder to manufacture and, more importantly, cost a lot more.  The concept of waste being collected by hand and stuffed into a container that crushed it down is antiquated.  Its advantage is that it’s labour intensive and labour’s cheap.

“Shit,” Rush said.  The body of the truck was mostly unaffected, but it’s cab was another matter.  “Main camera’s gone and the controls are all over the place.”

“You got it?”  Valarie shouted.

“Just about,” he shouted back.  “The backup survived as planned and here we go.”

Valerie felt the truck swerve in, what she hoped, was the direction of the front entrance to the building.  They really felt the impact as it slammed through the doors and much of the wall surrounding it.  She hung on grimly as the others all got flung forward by the force of the collision.  The instant she felt the truck come to a stop, she activated the remote on the rear doors.  Not designed as an assault vehicle, they rose slowly and it took valuable seconds for it to open sufficiently for her to roll out. 

Shots pinged off the truck above her and she glanced in the direction they were coming from, pistol coming up.  One of the guards was lying on the ground firing in her direction.  She was about to shoot him when his back exploded in blood, rounds from Troll and Barney’s position ripped him apart.  Valerie glanced about.  She could see most of those outside the building were either still recovering from the blast or already dead from either the explosion or the two Enforcers.

The truck was fully inside the building and Valerie just inside herself.  Hobbs and the others were on their feet and moving towards the rear of the truck, coming to back her up.  It was time to move, she couldn’t give those inside time to respond.  She had to hit them as fast and hard as she could.  She drew her left pistol and sprang round the side of the truck.

Enforcers were coming in through the door leading to the loading dock.  They were shocked and disorientated, not expecting missiles to be fired at them or a truck to ram into the building.  Valerie’s pistols were already aimed before they even noticed she was there.  Three Enforcers and for Valerie, three clean double taps.  Head, throat and chest.  They fell where they came in, not even having a chance to raise their weapons.

She looked around, there were two ways in, the loading dock door and a corridor leading to the central stairwell.  Sneaker’s building schematic was out of date, but they couldn’t change something as fundamentally structural as those.  The truck had gone through an interior wall.  It held some sort of ready room for the guards.  Bodies were strewn about both under the truck and the rubble.  Some were still alive but were barely moving.  This is why they had a little breathing room.  Valerie didn’t hesitate.  She moved over and finished off those who were still alive, with a shot to the head of each one before shooting the two surviving cameras.

“You don’t mess about do you?”  Valerie looked up to see Hobbs standing there with Sneaker and Rush coming up behind him.  She could hear Troll and Barney continuing to fire at those still in the compound outside.

“We don’t have time,” she said.  “We can’t afford for these to get up and come after us.  First job is to take out the freight elevators by the loading docks.  Sneaker.  Rush.  Set up by the corridor and hold that position.  One of you keep an eye on that hole we’ve just made.  Troll and Barney should be able to keep it clear, but don’t depend on it.  Hobbs’ you’re with me.”  Everyone moved to obey her.

For the first time in a year Valerie was behaving more like her old self.  The act of leading a team into a tense, high risk engagement woke the part of her that excelled in these situations.  It felt like the mother who was wounded and hurting so badly, took a step back and the commanding officer of Shadow Company came to the fore.  The woman who ran the most dangerous and effective combat unit in the history of the Pantheon, was now in charge and she liked it.

Valerie went to the door the three Enforcers came through.  Their bodies were propping the doors open where they fell, allowing her to look in without exposing herself.  Not seeing any immediate danger, she ducked in, pistols at the ready and quickly destroyed the four cameras set up in there.  The three loading bay doors were open.  They must have been in the middle of sorting a shipment, though she couldn’t tell if they were loading or unloading.  A wheeled truck stood at an angle a few metres from the bay.  Bodies were lying around it.  A woman stood up from where she was taking cover behind the truck.  Mag rounds hit her squarely in the chest.  She must have been trying to fire at Troll and Barney.  Valerie was impressed by how accurate the shots were.

Most of those working in the loading bay had either been outside when they attacked or trusted those in the guard room to take care of whatever was going on next door.  Not realising just how devastating the attack had been.  There were no threats to Hobbs and herself.  It was time to do what they came to do.

“Room clear,” she called back to Hobbs.

He came in, passed her his Mag rifle and unslung the Plasma.  There were two large lift doors made of heavy metal at the back of the loading dock.  Hobbs took careful aim.  He and Valerie were both standing well back so as not to be engulfed in any back blast and Hobbs fired.  His first shot melted straight through the right hand door, the metal streaming down to pool on the floor, the shot only being stopped by the thick permacrete rear wall of the lift shaft.

The second shot did the same to the door on the left.  They waited a few moments to let the metal cool enough for them to approach. Valerie stayed in position, keeping an eye on the open bay doors to cover Hobbs as he moved to the now open shafts.  He aimed up the right hand one, seeking the grav lift car further up.  He fired once then jogged over to one side.  The plasma ripped into the car and it came crashing down with a thunderous roar.  Hobbs didn’t wait this time, but went straight to the left shaft.

“It’s coming down.”  He called back to Valerie.  I bet their pissing themselves right now.”  He repeated his shot and got clear.

Once the dust and debris settled from the second explosion, Hobbs went back over to Valerie.  “Well that’s the Plasma done.”

“Good job.  Now the only way up or down is the stairs.”  Valerie congratulated him, though she just could not get any warmth into her voice.  “We didn’t have any room for error on that one.  Keep it with you though, I can’t imagine how much it cost Sneaker.”

They jogged back to the other two.  “Anything?”  Valerie asked.

Sneaker nodded to two bodies further down the corridor.  “Two Enforcers, but we got them and took out the cameras.”

“Excellent.  Let’s go,” she ordered.  “I’ve got point.  Hobbs you’re slack.  Sneaker.  Rush.  Rear guard.”  The corridor was dimly lit, but a quick look down didn’t show any movement.  She walked slowly in with both pistols at the ready.  Hobbs followed five metres behind.  Sneaker and Rush stayed put, crouched down in the cover they had found.  They would move once the corridor was clear and Valerie and Hobbs were into the next section.  That way all four were never exposed at the same time.

The corridor was ten metres long with only one door half way down on the right and ended in double doors.  They looked like they led to the central staircase.  The door on the right was open.

“Corridors clear,” she said to Hobbs.  “I’m checking that door.  Stay here and cover the stairs.  Rear, you stay put and cover Hobbs.”  All three acknowledged her commands.  She ran quickly to the door on the right and burst in.  After the racket they already caused, this wasn’t the time for stealth.  If there was anyone in there, they would be expecting her.  Valerie’s pistols ranged around the room, but it was empty with no other way in.  Equipment lay scattered about, but nothing of use or concern so she called back to Hobbs.  “Room clear.  I’m coming out.”

“All clear,” he replied.  “Go.”

She came out and nodded in the direction of the stairs to Hobbs.  He nodded back, staying behind her as she moved forward.  The doors were slammed open by two Enforcers, both with their guns up and Mag rounds whizzed past Valerie, fired from behind by Hobbs.  Her pistols were already spitting fire, one aimed at each of the Enforcers.  They both flew backward through the doors, their bodies a bloody mess.

***

Someone was shouting, though shrieking would be a more apt description, and Hanna’s head really hurt.  Impressions started to come in from her body.  She was lying on her side on a hard cold floor, with her legs curled up and her arms behind her back.  She moved slightly and almost cried out in pain.  Those impressions became a lot more urgent.  Her head was throbbing and she felt sore in numerous places around her body, stomach, arms and legs, hands numb.  It was her left shoulder that was really bad.  She had been beaten enough times over the years, to recognise it was a lot worse than it should be.  Fortunately she was lying on her right side so at least there was no pressure on it.  She feared it was dislocated and dare not move it.

Her brain was starting to catch up and she remembered walking with Deni when a van pulled up beside them.  The side door opened and both girls went to run, splitting to go in opposite directions.  It wasn’t unknown for kids their age to disappear this way in the Ghetto.  Pimps would just grab girls and boys, move them to another part of the planet and put them to work as Whores.  There were many dangers and if you didn’t recognise them, you didn’t survive long in her world.  Hanna didn’t know if she had been unlucky or if it was planned, but she ran straight into a huge man who grabbed her with both hands.

Hanna reacted instantly, kicking him squarely between the legs and she was looking him in the face at the time.  It tightened with pain, but he didn’t let go or loosen his hold in the slightest.  For a moment they stood there, staring at each other, before he roared in anger and threw her bodily into the van.  Hanna bounced off its opposite wall inside.  Landing on her front, the breath knocked out of her.  She’d looked up as the big man got in, the vans suspension compressing with his weight and the light being blocked by his massive body, as he closed the door behind him.  At that point she recognised the scarred face and wild hair.  It was Gaunt, whose bar room brawls were legendary around Inferno.

She tried to scramble away from him as he reached for her, but there was just no room and nowhere for her to go.  What happened next in Hanna’s unfortunate experience, was the virtuoso of a beating.  She had been hit many times, sometimes beaten so badly she couldn’t walk for weeks.  She’d lost count of the number of broken bones she’d experienced over the years.  What Gaunt did to her in that van showed all the others to be pure amateurs.  He hammered her with his colossal fists, threw her again and again against the sides of the van and bounced her off the floor numerous times.

She had been determined not to cry or scream in pain, not to give him the satisfaction and this seemed to just drive him on more and more.  He was in complete control though, as not once did he break any of her bones.  The beating only ending when he grabbed her left arm and wrenched her from the floor.  He dislocated her shoulder and caused her to finally pass out with the pain.

Hanna had the impression that some time had passed since the van, from fleeting memories of her stirring into consciousness for a few moments at a time.  Nothing she could define, just barely glimpsed flashes of awareness.

The shouting was still going on and Hanna opened her eyes.  A pair of legs stood just in front of her and the man they belonged to was facing away.  She seemed to be in the corner of a room.  It looked to be some sort of office.  A thick luxurious rug covered most of the floor, ending not far from Hanna so she lay on the exposed permacrete floor.  A large desk made of real wood sat at the end furthest from her, with a wide window looking out on the Ghetto behind it.  A communications centre with multiple VI screens sat against the wall opposite Hanna.  This was where all the noise was coming from, several people stood around a small dark Asian woman, who was shouting into the com.

“What the fuck do you mean, you don’t know?” the woman shouted.  Hanna recognised her, it was Tumbler, which meant she must be in her building and that was not good.  Gaunt stood by Tumbler, towering over her. 

“They’re taking out the cameras.”  A woman on the other end of the com replied.  “Last we saw of them, they were on the stairs.  We’re sending everyone nearby there, but no one is reporting.”

“That’s because she’s fucking killing them you idiot.”  Tumbler said, obviously trying to calm herself down and take control of the situation.  “Did you watch that footage before sending it to me?  There’s only a few seconds before she shoots the cameras, but in that time she personally shot four of our people.  One, just one of them got a shot off.  Whoever that woman is, she’s good and she’s going to keep killing whoever you send against her, if you keep sending them in piecemeal like that.  First things first.  Seal the fucking building.”

Suddenly the sunlight coming in from the picture window behind the desk cut off and lights switched on in the room.  Hanna looked over to see, what she’d always imagined the blast door on a warship would look like, cutting off the room and presumably the whole building from the outside world.