So so so so so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I have lost a job, gained a job and had to start again from scratch at least twice over. So this part is way delayed, but please pleasre review-- lookat that, nearly at the 1,000 mark!
All hail the fight scene. As far as I can tell all references to artillery or munitions is correct.
Part 2- War broke out in Haven
When Aiden and Nyx finally managed to fight their way into central command— amidst the throngs of transgenics who had heard the piercing wail of the siren and headed to the hub of activity— they found Max on the dais by the command screen, her hands firmly poised on her hips, glowering at the computer.
She barely spared them a glance as she focused on the picture. "Can you see how many?"
Dix's fingers flew over the keys and pictures popped up and spun away faster than even Aiden could see.
"I think it's a first wave," Dix said and Alec, leaning over his shoulder, agreed with him. Dix had managed to tap into the hover drone footage and spotted a large contingent of black and unmarked vehicles heading their way, boasting heavy machinery on the outside and, undoubtedly, even deadlier machinery on the inside.
"White wouldn't allow us to overpower him." Alec glanced over his shoulder to Max. "This is just the start."
"You mean it's real?" Cece asked, grabbing Harley's hand as they made their way up to the rest.
"Of course not," Isacar scoffed. "Had it been a real emergency we would have fled in terror and you wouldn't have been notified."
"It's real," Max said absently, ignoring Isacar and his sarcasm. "They're coming." She regarded the large trucks as the rounded the corner and appeared on another monitor. So this was it; what they had all been waiting for. This was the time when they'd have to stand up and be counted. She knew as she looked at the screens that some of those she counted among her nearest and dearest wouldn't be standing this time tomorrow. That reminded her. Max spun to see Bill watching her intently.
"Bill, I want you to leave."
"Max—" he started but she cut him off.
"No, listen to me. I need you to go back to Lydecker and tell him that his time has run out. If any of us are still alive tomorrow we'll talk then, on this frequency, and maybe we can cut some kind of deal." She bit her lip. "Actually, don't tell him the frequency unless he agrees to release your family. That should piss him off."
Bill grinned.
"Peatrie, Roma?" Max called two of the Xs she remembered from unit 4 to come over. The two transgenics walked over, their heads held high as they watched their leader. "I need you to escort this ordinary out of Terminal City. His safety is imperative. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," they echoed in tandem.
"Okay," Alec took a deep breath and stood at the balcony. "This is what we've been waiting for, people. This is what we've practiced. Alpha team is headed by Max and will take point. That's the front gates and leading attack. Beta team is with me on the walls. Gamma team is Drew's in the rear and Delta team take the air with Aiden." Alec pointed out the team leaders for those who weren't sure who they were. "Does everyone know their assigned teams?"
There was a chorus of 'yeah's and one or two curses.
"Then what the hell are you waiting for? A written invitation?"
There was a mad scramble and Alec felt himself grin. He turned to Max. "How was that?"
"I was inspired," she said, her mouth turning up in a smile even as one of the X-series raced over with her gun.
"Me too," Pix said from his chair. "I got all choked up."
"Just don't fold," Dek said as he clambered into his bulletproof vest, an army issue stolen by two anomalies in the last raid. "I don't want to die."
Pix gave him a glare. "Thanks, no pressure, then."
"None." Dek gave his heart-stopping grin, quite lost on Pix.
"Alec better take care of you," Cece moaned as she handed Harley his gun, rubbing her aching lower back as she did so. "You are no good to me all busted up."
Harley merely leaned over and kissed her. "Thanks, princess."
"Go kill some cultists," she grumbled, her face flushed with pleasure and nerves.
"That goes double for me," Sunny demanded as she tucked her hair behind the microphone she'd be using to keep in touch with those on the battlefield. She was the one appointed to direct the battle from right there in central command, her eagle eyes, so used to watching gamesters and hustlers, now trained for those threats against her family. Biggs looked as his mate as she adjusted the volume and he felt a swell of emotion for mer. She'd been the one who had kept him sane on the outside. With her blonde hair and elfin features, she looked fragile, but he could see the core of pure steel hidden beneath the bubbly façade. As their gazes met he could see the worry on her face and he did his best to smile.
"I'll be back," he offered, knowing that, as part of Alec's team, he would be in thick of it all and might not make it back.
"Unless this is a horror movie, and then you've just jinxed yourself," B.J. pointed out, sliding into the chair by the cameras, his eyes sharp for his surveillance position. Jace offered him a clip around the back of the head as a warning and then paused and tucked her hand into her jacket, pulling out a ball of black fluff.
"I want you take care of Mely if I don't come back," she asked awkwardly. B.J. took the cat and stared up at her ignoring the way the beast tried to claw his jacket to shreds.
"You're aerial assault, that's one of the safest places to be. You will be back."
"Provided you don't get hit by Feen's friendly fire," Techie said as he wrapped a length of wire around his hand and fed some cables into sockets.
"Hey! I heard that," she called. She glowered at him before turning back to Chance and Tara, wishing them best of luck before they headed off to the surgery. They were to set things up for the aftermath and all hoped to hell that they wouldn't have much to do. Techie smiled at her and decided to take matters into his own hands. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and headed to where the thickest group waited.
Isacar waited worriedly with Icarus and Zeph as Skye finished fitting up Flex. "I refuse to a be a single mother," she said under her breath, "come back or, so help me Manticore, I'll follow you to hell and drag your sorry ass back here."
"I love you, too," he said as he pulled her to him for a soul searing kiss.
Techie cleared his throat and Isacar glanced at him. "I'm told it's a traditional gesture to kiss the soldiers goodbye, like a ritual that ensures affection is carried into battle," he eyed Techie, "if you even try it, I'll find some way of maiming you."
Techie sputtered. "I wasn't!"
"Good." Isacar shrugged. "I assume there was a reason for your venturing over here?"
"Yeah," Techie scratched his nose. "You're heading over to the Evac centre, right? Helping the unwilling or unable to get out?"
"Well, you've been paying attention in class," Isacar drawled. "Yeah, I'm on mothers, babies and the rest of the useless detail. Why?"
Techie looked away. "I could use the hands here. If you want to stay with me rather than head off with your family?"
Isacar pretended to weigh it up. "Diapers or devices? Whiny babies or wires? Moaning moms or motherboards?" He turned to Skye, tapping her on the shoulder. "Skye, I regret to inform you that I've been unavoidably detained. It seems I am essential to the mission and must remain here. What can you do?"
Skye pulled away from Flex and eyed him and Techie. "Fine, stay and play with your friend." She glared at Techie. "I swear by Renfro's manly moustache, if anything happens to my boy, I'll make Feen look like an angel and Drew look sane."
Techie swallowed even as Isacar blushed. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good, now if you'll excuse me." Skye resumed her kiss with Flex.
Aiden took a deep breath as he watched the various goodbye scenes that were being enacted all around him. Drew and Dek were so close that he couldn't see daylight between them; Syl and Krit were having an intense discussion to one side. Zack and Emma . . . well, that was probably illegal in public. Even Luke was getting in on the action with that cute Sigma.
He sighed in silent prayer for all his friends, hoping that they'd make it back alive. He turned and caught sight of Nyx putting on a bulletproof vest. His usual easy-going temper evaporated into thin air and he marched over to her, wrath in his eyes.
"And just what the hell do you think you're doing, missy?"
Flex broke his kiss with Skye as he heard the raised voices and saw Aiden and Nyx standing nose to nose.
"I'm suiting up to defend my home," Nyx said, somewhat belligerently.
"Nooo," he countered. "You are going with Skye and Icarus to evacuate those who can't fight. You are not on any attack team. You are not attacking. No attacking for you!"
"I'm a good fighter!" she maintained, picking up the bullet-proof jacket.
"You're an even better evacuee," he snatched the jacket out of her hands.
"Who died and made you the boss of me?" she glowered.
"No one had to die. I am the boss of you and I say you're staying home!"
"Like a good little girl?" she said dangerously.
Aiden was in no mood to heed the signs, or even to notice the looks he was getting off everyone who had stopped their intimate goodbyes to watch the scene.
"Dammit, Nyxie!"
Flex's eyes narrowed at Aiden's tone.
"You need me on your team," Nyx said, folding her arms over her chest.
"Great," he exploded, "on my team. Teamwork is so essential; it gives the enemy one more person to shoot at!"
"I don't want to be on his team anymore," whispered Zan to Dek who bit back a laugh at the unfolding drama.
Nyx growled. "I'm going, whether you like it or not."
Aiden grabbed her arms and shook her, not noticing Flex start forwards at his harsh treatment of the girl. "So I can be worrying about you, losing my head to think that you are in the thick of it all, distracted and getting my team killed?"
"Killed?" Meri frowned. "Can I switch teams too? I don't think I want to be on Aiden's side anymore." Feen nodded her agreement.
Nyx opened her mouth to speak and then stopped. "I just don't want you to . . . leave. I need to fight by your side to make sure you come back."
Flex's jaw dropped.
Aiden held her face tenderly. "I love you, remember? I will be back. Please, please, Nyxie, just stay here."
There was a war in her eyes as she finally nodded. "Okay, just don't die. Dead heroes make terrible mates."
"I promise that I won't do anything that could be considered as brave, how's that?"
Nyx regarded him thoughtfully before nodding. "I'll stay. Just as long as you promise to return."
"Promise." Aiden leaned forward and planted an urgent kiss to her lips. He pulled away and smiled. "I'm superhuman, I'll live through this."
He turned and ran smack into Flex, whose face was dark and scary. "Don't count on that."
Aiden stepped back nervously. "I could have been mistaken; there are worse things than death."
Flex raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "We could find out."
Aiden swallowed at the thunderous look on Flex's face and gave him a tentative smile. "Flex, pal, buddy!"
"Relax, Aiden," Dek said with a grin, one arm anchored around Drew's waist as he looked on. "It's not like you've been making out with the girl behind his back. Oops."
Drew elbowed her smirking mate and Aiden spared him a glare before darting a glance back to a fuming Flex. "Friendly fire, in your case, won't be."
"Don't shoot the messenger," Dek teased.
"However tempting that might be," Max added, strapping an AK-47 onto her back. She turned to Pix who was watching with something akin to envy.
"You okay?"
He gave her a rueful smile. "I always expected to be by your side when it came down to it."
His hands fell uselessly to his chair and she could see the recriminations and frustration written clearly on his face. If only he hadn't lost his cool and walked out of Terminal City to see Logan. If only he had been more aware of his surroundings. If only . . . if only.
"You are," she whispered to him. "I'm counting on you, Pix, like I always have. You're my eyes and ears back here." She moved closer. "But most of all, you're the heart of Terminal City and Freak Nation. Don't you know that?"
She laid a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to kiss his forehead; his eyes shone as he gave her a grateful smile, unable to put into words what he felt.
Alec watched as she comforted one of her oldest friends and he spun on his heel to complete his task. Ben was helping Jondy into her holster.
"You're right and tight, Jon."
"Thanks, bub." Jondy looked up and caught sight of Alec bearing down on them. She looked from him to Ben and back. "I'll be . . . over here."
Ben frowned in incomprehension until he saw Alec standing in front of him. "Huh, that was kinda tactful for Jondy."
"Yeah, seems to be an 09er trait," Alec said, shuffling his feet until he realised what he was doing. He glanced up into Ben's eyes, so familiar to his own. "You're on Max's team."
"Yeah?" Ben's voice was belligerent.
Alec swallowed. "I need you to take care of her for me. I won't be there and you will. I need you to make sure that she comes back."
Ben regarded him steadily, wondering if Alec knew what he was saying here. He was telling Ben that he trusted him to bring her back and make sure that she suffered no damage. Max was the most important thing in the world to Alec—and to Ben—and it was almost like being trusted to guard the crown jewels. It was a heady feeling to be so trusted and Ben, nodded, for once without a sarcastic rejoinder.
"Sure."
Alec gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks."
Ben took a step back. "But I won't hug you."
"Thank Manticore," Alec scoffed and made his way over to the one person he didn't want to say goodbye to.
Max looked up and felt her heart turn over as he stood in front of her. No matter how many times she saw him, his presence always hit her hard in the solar plexus. From his silky-soft tousled hair to his kissable lips, his melt-me-baby eyes and love-me-anyway grin to his strong protective arms and carefree attitude, he just blew her away.
Not that she'd ever tell him; it would give him far too much ammunition to know that all he had to do was cock that grin and she'd fall over herself to have him. She pushed away the swell of emotion and pure lust that always slammed into her when he focused his attention on her and pretended nonchalance.
"Hey."
"Hey, Maxie," he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck in his telltale nervous gesture. "I guess this is it."
"Not planning on saying goodbye, I hope," she drawled leaning against the desk with her hip.
He gave a soft laugh and Max motioned him over to the window, trying to get at least a semblance of privacy from the overeager ears of the transgenics.
He wrapped his arms around her and stared out of the grimy pane. "You know if you squint hard enough you can see the Space Needle."
Max choked on a laugh as he repeated the first words he had ever said to her. "Thanks for the memory. I can't even believe you remember that."
"Hey, you weren't the one who got booted," he said rubbing his chest in memory of her kick. "These things stay with you."
"Oh please!" she waved his words away. "If you remembered every single time I hit you—"
"Looong memory," he nudged her nape with his nose.
"You really got under my skin," she admitted suddenly. "I wanted to hate you, but you wiggled your way in."
"You're still under mine," he whispered against her hair, "right where my heart is."
Max wanted to call him a sap; she wanted to tell him that he was being overly sentimental and was making her gag with his sweet silliness; but she couldn't.
Instead she turned in his arms and tucked her head under his chin, wrapping her arms around his waist and breathing deeply of his scent.
If she had to remember one thing for the rest of her life, it would be the way she felt when she was wrapped up in him; when she was in his arms and it felt like no one could hurt her and nothing could touch her. It should have grated that she wanted that protection and security from her mate but it just felt right and she felt a sudden surge of guilt for not allowing him to show it as often as he'd wanted to. For the first time she saw how her independence could have emasculated him and she squeezed him tighter, leaning up on her tiptoes to give him all that she had left.
"I have to tell you that you mean everything to me. I have wanted you and wanted to be with you since we met and I can't imagine life without you; don't want a life without you. You make me proud and you make me whole. I love you, Alec. Don't die on me . . .I need you."
As she pulled away his face was obscured by her tears and his shaky hand reached up to brush them away, his heart full of the words that he had longed to hear.
"God, Max." He crushed her to him and devoured her lips, pouring into the kiss everything that he felt, everything that he wanted to say but didn't have the time.
Just didn't have the damned time.
"They're heading down Main Street," Dix interrupted apologetically. "They'll be here in less than ten minutes."
Max reluctantly pulled away, fighting the urge to drag him with her. Alec forced himself to let her go and scanned her face, imprinting each and every line on his memory, just in case.
He watched as she dragged the soldier back into place and nodded at him, 452 in all her glory.
"Let's go kick some cult ass."
He took a deep breath and pulled himself together, heading over to where his team had assembled themselves. Thanks to the expansion in numbers he had sixty transgenics on his team which would be split between the east and west walls. There were secondary forces installed inside Terminal City in case the enemy made their way through the first teams, but Alec wasn't planning on letting that happen. He inclined his head towards Biggs, Joshua and Flex who would be on Beta team west with him and handed Jondy the reins of the east wall with Harley and Jay.
"Everyone suited up?" he asked and received acknowledgment from his platoon.
"Let's go."
"What, no rousing speeches or pompous fist thrusting?" Drew shook her head. "And here I thought the last stand was rife with mini prep talks."
"Can we please not call it the last stand?" Dek begged.
Ben rolled his eyes. "This story shall the good transgenic teach his son;
And Terminal City shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered."
Alec winced at the bastardisation of the St. Crispin's day speech, but gamely continued; "We few, we happy few, we band of brother;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me—"
"Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile," Ben nodded at Alec who grinned.
"This day shall gentle his condition."
Flex muttered; "Make him a member of the X-Series, even if he is an anomaly."
Max smiled softly and finished; "And transgenics in America now-a-bed,
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their barcodes cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Freak Nation's day."
"Amen," Mole said as he swung his rifle over his shoulder and they left the stage.
Drew's team was stationed at the rear of Terminal City so she expected to have the longest wait for action. After the bio-toxin spill, the whole city had been cordoned off by barriers and miles of barbed wire. Exactly how barbed wire was supposed to keep out invisible viruses she wasn't sure, but at least it gave them a good fortification to defend.
Between them and the rolling vista of industrial buildings of Seattle that led out to the bay and, eventually, the ocean, was a vast expanse of almost abandoned wasteland. If White knew about the no man's land he might try the rear attack sooner, and so she and her team had to be sharp.
Carrot was standing guard to her right, watching over the walls, and Max's brother Krit was on her other side, his eager eyes alert for anything. Zack was on another section of the barrier with Luke, Ganko and a female anomaly called Debbie. Various other transgenics were scattered over the barrier, ready and willing to do battle for their lives and the lives of their friends.
Drew tapped the headset that Techie had rigged up for every team-leader and spoke confidently into the microphone. "Team Gamma all in place, no activity here."
"Yet," she heard Zack mutter over the headset and found a knot tighten in her stomach as the reality hit her.
There was no activity yet, but soon the air would be thick with it. They had to be ready to fight, to defend, maybe to die.
No activity yet; but she was waiting.
Aiden was really glad that Flex wasn't a part of his team. He was well aware that the overprotective transgenic would be less than thrilled at his burgeoning relationship with Flex's pseudo daughter and would quite happily pull out Aiden's entrails. It was a little hypocritical when you considered that Flex had always been the ladies man, well aware of what happened between men and women— but maybe that was the problem. He knew what Aiden and Nyx would be up to, given half a chance. However, that hypocrisy wasn't something he was going to call Flex on. He liked his liver where it was, thank you very much.
Still, he was glad that he was miles away on another part of the compound. He'd just have to stay away until Flex had cooled down.
A couple of years should do it.
He could have done without the added pressure though; it was hard enough knowing that he was in charge of aerial assault without thinking of murderous parents on his tail. As aide, he knew that he would be called upon to be part of the team leaders and, under any other circumstances, he would have been quite happy to be taking point but thoughts of exactly what Flex could do with a pair of chopsticks, or worse, what Skye could do with her pinkie, was throwing him off his game.
Well, at least he had a good team. He flicked a glance over his shoulder to Feen, Meri, Jace, Syl and Zan, who made up the command structure of his team. He knew that they'd stand by him here on the rooftops of Terminal City, ready to rain down fire and sulphur on their enemies. Well, bullets and explosives anyway.
"Nothing doing here in Delta-land," he said into his mouthpiece. "All quiet on the rooftops."
"With you in charge?" came a crackle from his headset, sounding suspiciously like Pix. "Hardly, pal."
"Bite me," he offered cheerfully and sat back against the wall, his eyes scanning the horizon for any hint of movement.
"No messing up the airwaves with inconsequentialities," Sunny ordered from her post within central command. She tucked her blonde behind her ear as she peered into the screens on wide alert. "Keep the channels clear."
"Roger."
"Sorry, Sunny."
She smiled as she ran over the screens again. She knew that White was on his way and spotted the chain of trucks coming onto the radar.
"Alpha team, enemy is turning onto the street. ETA four minutes."
"Roger that," Max's voice said over the wires. "We're in place."
Sunny's fists clenched and she automatically searched the screens for Biggs who was part of Alec's main team. After reaffirming to herself that he was in place and not in pieces—yet—she took a deep breath.
"Times up, people. The guests have arrived."
Pix clapped his hands, shrugging his sling off as easy as he could. "Let's get the party started."
"Can we have the guest list please?" Techie grinned as he finally finished the amendments he was making to the security cameras on the front gates. He flipped a switch and the view changed from the outside view of scattered humans and their anti-transgenic banners to a link-up with a camera halfway down the street, facing onto the highway.
Images of big black trucks filled four screens and all eyes immediately assimilated the information and filed it away.
"Okay, team," Isacar spoke into his headset. "We have four LMVs complete with grenade launchers, three Humvees, two K-42 series TOW missile carriers complete with prerequisite missiles and, ooh, one late model ULTRA AP 3T. Takes us up to a grand total of, I'd say, a truck load of trouble. A Humvee and TOW MC have signalled and divided off. Beta and Gamma teams get ready for their asses. With the ULTRA, I'm disinclined to believe that rotted aluminium gates will present any kind of challenge or, indeed, problem. Alpha team behind barriers. They're coming in one way or another."
"Copy that, thanks Isacar."
The blond put his head to one side considering and then decided to ask anyway. "If it's at all possible, can you preserve the ULTRA? I always wanted one of them."
"Not until you get your license," said Flex's voice over the waves and Isacar pouted.
"Verdammung, die gerechtes nicht angemessenes ist."
"If we live through this, I'll get you one for your birthday," Dek offered and Isacar grinned as he heard Flex growl.
Max eyed Dek and shook her head. "Does pissing people off come naturally?"
"No, I have to work hard to be this good," he answered as he hunkered down behind one of the barrels and adjusted his gun.
Max hid a smile and peered over the top of the blockade she was hiding behind to spy Ben moving into formation some way away with Zane and Sigma on his left, Mole on his right. Other transgenics littered the front area of Terminal City, hiding behind debris left over from long ago skirmishes and the rush to leave the toxic city behind.
The gateway didn't look like much. In fact, to Max, it looked more like a poster of the worst that the post-pulse era had to offer; but it was their home; their own slice of paradise and every single person there would kill to preserve that.
Max could hear the deep thrum of tires coming down the street and she held her breath, counting the tire treads and speed, gauging how long she'd have to wait until the inevitable attack.
Dek looked over at her and spent a few precious seconds staring at the face of the woman he loved second only to Drew. He took in her raven hair spilling down her back, the hard glint in her eyes and the carefully poised posture, ready to spring into action and he grinned.
"Babe, you look hot."
Max was startled enough to stare at him bewildered as he gave her his best heart-stopping smile.
"Kiss for good luck?" he asked and Max couldn't help the glint of laugher in her expression, even as she tried to scowl.
"Kiss my transgenic ass." She shouldered her gun as the roar of engines came from just beyond the gate, the sound silencing the few humans who had been foolish enough to stay behind and heckle the transgenics.
"Yes, ma'am," Dek laughed and pulled the safety off his AK-47.
High above them perched on the gates stood Sal, a third generation X-series with exceptional eyes and reflexes. She'd spotted the approaching vehicles before the hover drones and felt the vibrations of the tires through the structure she stood upon. Sal waited until they rounded the corner and stared at the heavy black trucks, their sinister shine and dark appearance giving her the chills.
Their heavy machinery proclaimed that they meant business and, as they approached the gates, the hum turned to a roar as they picked up speed.
Sal touched her radio. "They're coming in fast, coming through the gates in ten . . . nine . . ."
Max braced herself.
"six . . . five . . . four . . ."
"Here goes," Dek whispered.
"Two—"
Before the final countdown, the driver of the leading Humvee slammed on the accelerator and 5,000 lbs of reinforced steel hit the barricade at its full speed of 65 mph. The wooden gate, backed by iron rods and steel bolts, stood no chance against the machine and imploded inwards in a hail of wooden boards, shards and metal bars.
Max and Dek were forced to duck even in their sheltered position as wooden splinters rained down on them.
"Ow," Dek scowled as he was hit on the head by a board the size of his fist. "First casualty."
"Flesh wound," Max whispered despite the noise. "Now shut up; don't let them know we're here."
"Couldn't hear us anyway," he muttered, rubbing his sore head.
The leading Humvee swept into the compound, coolly, arrogantly, as if nothing could stop the heavily armoured car.
It would have been right had not the transgenics recently acquired Zane, a car mechanic with a grudge against the military. His swiftly assembled Tire Deflation Device, complete with Caltrop spikes, sent three inches of sharpened metal alloy into the tires, puncturing the speeding wheels in several places simultaneously. That much friction and pressure suddenly expunged could only mean one thing.
The tires exploded.
The force of the explosion and sudden deflation sent the car spiralling out of control. The bumper fishtailed and skidded into a second set of Caltrop spikes, exploding against that set as well.
Well and truly out of anyone's control, the Humvee jack-knifed across the compound, smashing into several strategically placed barrels which tucked under the tailgate and flipped the vehicle 360 degrees into the air.
Soaring like a black 5000 lb bird, the Humvee flipped onto its side and skidded towards the broken entrance, its slide sending sparks up into the air like distressed smoke signals. The metallic screech echoed in the courtyard as its journey ended in front of the gate, conveniently blocking the way for any of the other vehicles to enter.
"You gotta admit," Ben said over the radio, "that was cool!"
Max rolled her eyes and smiled. It was kinda cool. "Hold positions," she ordered. "No one present a target."
There was a crackle of acknowledgement from the radio followed by a heavy thump that made Max peer over her barrel to the flipped Humvee just in time to see the front windshield shatter onto the ground and a pair of black boots spring into view.
They were followed by black-clad legs, a bomber jacket and reams of red hair. Before anyone could draw fire the woman built like a brick outhouse dodged behind the vehicle and bobbed out of sight.
"Want I should shoot the truck, ma'am?" asked a southern accented transgenic.
"Of course," Dek replied smoothly. "Because gunfire and an exposed gas tank go so well together, dumbass. Where did you do your training?"
"Easy tiger," Max soothed, her eyes flitting over the exposed underbelly of the truck and ignoring the flush of the unfortunate transgenic.
She felt, rather than heard, the screech of metal as the woman peeled back the crunched top of the truck to pull out her fellow cultists and Max cursed the fact that the Humvee had flipped on this side, making shooting at it dangerous if not downright suicidal.
The crunch of boots told her that the other members of the cultist's army had stopped and alighted from their vehicles on the other side of the fence, and she wished that she could see through the walls. How could she assess the situation if she couldn't see what was happening on the other side?
Max touched her headset. "Pix, give me eyes here. What's happening on the outside?"
Back at command Pix flicked to the screen Isacar was monitoring.
"Okay, Max. Five hiding behind the overturned Humvee, too close to the gate to fire on. Two vehicles have been exited. Twenty in black en route."
Isacar frowned. "Twenty from two cars? What are they? Contortionists?"
B.J. grimaced from his pos. "No, but they do have the grenade launcher and the missile carrier still up and ready."
They watched as the twenty black-clad soldiers marched in formation up to the walls, knocking humans out of the way as they formed a circle around the gates.
One of the braver, and more mentally challenged anti-transgenic protesters shook a placard at the cultist. "More frigging freaks. Scum go home."
Without looking, one of the cultists brought a handgun from their belt and swung it up, shooting the man dead in the head.
He dropped to the floor and the humans stumbled back, away from both the menacing cultists and the dead body at their feet.
The cultists didn't even seem to notice as they moved into position.
"Shit!" Sunny swore succinctly. "They're swarming the gates. Max, take them out. You're swamped."
Max nodded, even though she knew that Sunny couldn't see her. Her throat went dry, knowing that any stray fire would take out the gas tank of the Humvee along with a sizable portion of the gate, fence and anyone within a sixty yard radius.
But she had no choice. "Sal, permission to fire."
"Yes, ma'am."
Sal shouldered her assault rifle, knelt down, braced her arms and took her shot.
The first round of fire sounded loud in the courtyard and, as if choreographed, resulted in a free for all.
The sound of bullets bouncing off metal shields was inaudible amongst the rattle of machine-gun fire.
Max's arms almost hummed as her gun reverberated in her hands, the shells falling down around her feet like metal petals. Her eye was all for those cultists spilling over the fence and gates like ants at a picnic.
The shot and return of fire was comforting in its regularity and the echoes of surrounding fire soothed the beast that was 452, who waited inside Max, ready to pounce.
Twenty vermin were trying to eradicate her people and she'd be damned if she let them plague her home.
She shot at a cadre of twelve who tried to enter by the south wall and knocked two of them back, dropping them like flies.
She stood to follow through and only Dek's pulling her back stopped her from being made into Swiss cheese as they returned fire.
"Shit!" she swore as she ducked back down, bullets rattling above her head.
"Down girl!" Dek said, a frown on his handsome face. "How 'bout being a little more careful, sweetheart?" His heart pounded at her near miss.
From the corner of her eye Max could see Ben and Zane engaging the enemy and she felt a flush of pride that her brothers were fighting alongside her.
But because of their situation and the way they had to be careful not to blow them all to kingdom come, some of the cultists made it through the barrage of fire and reached over the barricades to grab their counterparts.
And that changed the rules.
It was hard to use the guns to shoot the enemy when you had to be careful not to shoot the truck; it has harder still when you had to be careful not to shoot each other.
Transgenics everywhere had to leave their weapons and engage the enemy in hand to hand combat.
Max dropped her AK as soon as it ran out of bullets, not even caring to refill the ammunition as she waded into the fray.
The first cultist she reached was a big son of a bitch, almost topping seven feet and Max's diminutive size could only help as she dodged between his legs and beneath his first blow. She swung around his body and slammed her foot into his knee, hearing the grunt as the knee joint snapped. She followed that up by crashing her fist into his kidneys and grabbing a handful of his hair to smack his face into the nearest wall.
He suddenly dipped in her hands, causing her to lose her grip but gain a handful of hair. He dropped to one knee, not seeming to care about the leg that hung limply from the socket. He used his hips to swing the useless leg around and caught Max in the ankle, dropping her to the floor.
Max cursed as her head snapped back, cracking into the ground hard enough to make her see stars.
She almost felt her brain rattle inside her skull and a sick feeling swam in her stomach. The cultist took the opportunity to try to stomp her pretty head into the floor and Max instinctively rolled, his foot missing her head by a whisper.
Max had never been comfortable with guns, preferring hand to hand, but in this instance she knew that she was outmatched. He was too big, and brute force would win agility and speed. So she had to go with plan B.
She surged to her knees, her hand dipping into her boot to grab the knife that was holstered in the black leather. As she leaped to her feet, she brought the knife up in a sharp arc and aimed for his throat.
The cultist was almost shocked as the red liquid poured down his chest and the air stopped expanding his lungs.
Max swiped the droplets of blood from her face and was searching for her next opponent before he'd hit the floor.
The blow was aimed at his face and Dek staggered back, his jaw exploding in pain.
"Bitch!" he spat at the female cultist he'd named Whippy, after her odd way of tossing her head and whipping her thin blonde hair at him. It was actually a pretty good fighting method as the slim strands stung like a bitch when they lashed against his cheek.
She swung a roundhouse punch but Dek leant backwards, feeling her knuckles swish past his nose.
Feeling more in control he grabbed the wrist as it made its way past his face and he pulled her in, pulling his head back and head-butting her with all his power.
If it hurt her anywhere near as much as it hurt him then he knew he'd won a point.
She stumbled back and he followed it up with a hard kick to her solar plexus, her breath rushing out, hot and fetid into his face. Dek gagged and wrinkled his nose in disgust, grabbing the hand gun from his belt and firing one shot into her chest.
She straightened; a fierce gin on her face as bold as the bullet in her . . . Kevlar vest.
Dek rolled his eyes. "Gee, that's fair."
She kicked at his hand and his knuckles caught the full brunt of her fury, the jolt enough to make him let go of the gun. The metal clattered to the floor and Dek lashed his, no empty, hand out in a back-handed slap and her head whipped back with the force.
She cricked her neck and started forwards again, only to stop and look down, puzzled at her midsection where a long piece of metal stuck out through her rib cage.
Dek let go of the metal bar he had thrust into her and admired the precision of the move he had made. He reached back and yanked at the bar, staring at the blood-soaked sharp end as it slid of the woman with a sickening plop. The shard had once been part of the gate that held their defences and he smirked to realise how useful it had been to his defence. But this was no time to marvel at the irony as his friends were in danger.
He picked up the bar like a star baseball player and waded into the action.
Sunny flickered between watching the fight at the gates and the screens where they were waiting to fight. Max and her team were deep in action, and it seemed that Alec would soon be following.
"Beta team, you're up. The Humvee and TOW missile Carrier are gearing your way. Be awake."
"We're ready," Alec's firm voice sounded professional and seemingly at ease.
Isacar turned to Pix. "The cultists have left the east side free. Shall I order the reinforcements to go to Beta team west?"
Pix bit his fingernail, his brain trying frantically to dissect all scenarios. Would it be a good idea to grab Harley, Jondy and Jay from the east and send them to Alec's aid? Or should he leave them there in case White had more surprises up his sleeve? What if White's team doubled back and he'd left the east side exposed?
The decision was soon taken out of his hands.
"Okay, they're on their way," Alec said unnecessarily to Biggs who had heard the same radio message.
"This remind you of anything?" Biggs asked with a grimace as he pulled the rifle in closer to his body. Alec caught the reference immediately.
They had done so many missions and attacks together that they all seemed to blur into one; but the one that did stick out in his memory was one where he and Biggs had waited behind a corrugated cardboard drum, kinda like this one, for Max to make a frontal attack with her team. What they hadn't seen was Max circling around and catching them unawares, making Biggs fire at Alec in fright. Only super reflexes had stopped Alec from losing the top of his head.
"Friendly fire?" Biggs said with a raised eyebrow at Alec's irritated remembrance and Alec was forced to smile.
"Not so friendly." He shook his head at his old friend. "Just watch you aim. I'd hate to take you back to Sunny in a plastic bag."
As they looked at each other in amusement there was a slight whistle in the air, a rustle of wind and suddenly the world exploded in a shower of bricks, mortar and fire.
Biggs looked up, his mouth open in horror at the hole where the wall used to be.
"Hell! Okay, that's new!"
Alec tapped his headset. "We're gonna need a little assistance. They've got heavy artillery."
Pix grabbed the microphone off Isacar. "Beta team east head over to west, NOW!"
"Wasn't expecting that!" B.J. said with a low whistle.
"Or that!" Isacar replied with a hard swallow as he pointed to screen 6.
Sunny and Techie leaned over and both cursed simultaneously as a black two-man helicopter came into view.
"Shit, shit, shit," chanted Pix as he wheeled his way over the balcony. "Dix?"
"What?" The monocled transgenic looked up from his electronic gadgets, his hands wrapped in wires and a screwdriver between his teeth. He had been working on altering several police issue hover drones to send feedback directly into command central instead of Police headquarters. It was a plan that Alec had suggested for them to gain greater surveillance over the city. If they could get it working.
"We could use those things right now."
"Ven 'et schum on to 'elpe!"
Pix shook his head. "What?"
Dix dragged the screwdriver from between his teeth. "Then get someone to help me! I have one pair of hands, Pix."
"You can't do it alone?"
"Manticore didn't give me fucking octopus DNA!" he snarled at the stupid question.
"Okay, Techie, Isacar—anyone else who can use a screwdriver— help him!" Pix ordered.
An X-series with long dark hair hurried over. "I excelled in diagnostics and repair."
Dix gave her a look. He didn't know who she was and she looked a little young to know what she was talking about. "Name, kid?"
"Em," she said, "X7. I can help."
"Okay," he shoved a bolt cutter in her hands and thrust her at Isacar. "Help him."
Isacar didn't even bother to look up. "I hope you're not bothered about getting your hands dirty, sweetheart."
"If we weren't meant to get dirty then no one would have invented soap, darlin'," she retorted and Isacar's eyes widened as she whipped the spanner off him and got to work.
Aiden looked up as he heard the explosion from one side of Terminal City.
"Where do you think that came from?" Feen asked her eyes wide.
"Sound like the west wall," Zan replied, his face set in a hard mask.
Feen's fingers danced towards her headset but she pulled them away at the last moment, realising that it would be distracting to be constantly asking for assurances that everyone was okay.
There'd be time for counting the bodies later.
This war thing was much harder on the emotions than they had been taught at Manticore and Feen suddenly wanted nothing more than to be tucked back up in central command with Techie.
Syl tapped the base of her gun, her eyes religiously scanning the skies. Her back was ramrod straight and Meri frowned at her.
"Syl, what's up?"
"I've never really been parted from Krit during a mission before. Its unnerving."
"At least he isn't under attack yet," Meri pointed out. Syl's lips twisted.
"What's so funny?"
"I just had the image of what my fourth graders would say if they could see me now!"
She kept grinning even as she returned to her task. The task being identifying that strange whirring coming from the end of the block.
"What the hell?"
"No way!" swore Zan as he spied the helicopter headed their way. "No fucking way!"
"Huh," Aiden said around the ball of fear erupting in his stomach. "I guess they have copters."
"Would anyone mind if I threw up?" Feen asked, her calm voice belying her words.
"Yes," Jace answered. "I can't fight with the scent of your vomit all around. It's . . . off-putting."
"Can Delta team please remember that they are soldiers and not kindergarteners?" Aiden requested as his heart pounded. He could feel slick sweat appearing on his hands and he tightened his grip on his gun. Soldiers had been drilled that they shouldn't be afraid, but those who screamed that at them in the training yard had never had to face down a missile-carrying precision helicopter with a tiny assault rifle and half their family by their side. It was unnerving and he felt quite justified in being terrified.
"Would you like the good news or the bad news?" came a voice from his headset.
Aiden pressed his set. "Good news."
Pix's voice continued. "The good news is that it's only a two man chopper with minimal range. It has to get close enough to you to see you before it can shoot."
"If we are in their range then they are in our range," Aiden nodded, the knot of tension edging away. "I like that."
"Bad news?" Zan asked with an odd wince, just waiting for it.
"It's not alone."
Aiden's head snapped up and he was the first to see three small black helicopters fly around the corner to join the first.
He cursed, low and long as he dropped his gun and grabbed a grenade from his belt.
"This is gonna be fun."
Drew had been listening with bated breath as her fellow transgenics were engaged in action. Even though her palms itched to join the fight, she knew that her time would come.
As if granting her wish, her radio crackled to life.
"Gamma team get ready to engage, troops coming your way. Mounting the wall."
Drew nodded and then remembered that they wouldn't be able to see her do it and rolled her eyes. "Copy that."
Her team caught her eye and readied themselves in response.
There was a whip-like sound and twelve metal hooks appeared over the walls edge.
"Grappling hooks," she muttered and frowned thoughtfully. "Anyone good with knives?"
"Got it!" a lizard-like transgenic on her left seemed to catch her thought and sprang forwards almost faster than they could see. Like a frog he leapt into action, all fours projecting him off the ground with such force that Drew was sure he'd smash into the wall like obscene vertical road-kill.
His hands and feet hit the wall and, instead of splat, they stuck so that he could scale the wall like a tree-climbing lizard.
"Huh, there's something you don't see everyday," Carrot said.
Drew watched in amusement as the lizard-man reached the top and perched there, digging in the back of his pants to pull out a knife and sliced through the first rope.
There was a startled yell from the other side of the fence and Drew grinned maliciously.
The lizard turned to crow and that's when the first shot was fired.
He fell forwards into the compound and Drew's heart sank as he hit the floor with a final thud, sending up a loud of dust.
As the impact of his body on the ground echoed around the courtyard the transgenics were silent, as if in respect for the memory of one whose heart had only just stopped beating.
The cultists knew no respect and they flipped over the wall like Olympic gymnasts in training, landing in perfect formation.
"Fire!" Drew yelled and, as one, they opened fire on their enemies; those who wanted to destroy them for no other reason than because they existed.
Drew had seen more than her fair share of fighting and knew instinctively as well as through experience that they were in for the fight of their lives. The cultist fought hard, their faces blank as they returned fire. When they were hit they ignored their injuries and carried on regardless, blood pumping, hands blurring, until the fatal shot where they would just lie down in the spot, dropping onto the ground they had fought so hard for.
Despite her hatred for an enemy who wanted to erase her off the face of the planet, Drew felt a wave of respect for their fighting ethic. They showed no fear, no weakness and carried on until their dying breath.
It was something Drew could empathise with.
When the ammunition started to run low and the cultists were close enough that bullets didn't matter, they began to fight hand-to-hand.
The cultists could almost automatons; robots designed purely to kill, like those metal Daleks in a show Ben had once made her watch. Their movements were almost choreographed, unlike the transgenics who favoured a more fluid fighting style.
Transgenics also spoke when engaging the enemy. They might have been trained by Manticore but the majority of them had been taught by Max and Alec, and neither were stoic when it came to fighting with words as well as weapons.
Barbs spun as often as bullets and quips seemed to cut as often as blades, the cultists not showing their rage on their faces, but their eyes glinting with the fury of the words that were hurled at them.
Drew smirked as one cultist practically foamed at the mouth at a derogatory remark on his heritage and, suddenly, she knew their weakness—Pride.
"I would have expected that, with millennia of experience, you guys would finally have figured the fashion thing," she said as she slammed her fist into one's eye. "I mean, yeah, basic black on black doesn't go out of style. But, seriously, is it that you guys have no imagination or that you have no taste?"
There was a glint in the eye of the cultist and it made Drew's heart sing.
"Abominations like you shouldn't wear clothes," hissed the cultist, startling her. "You should crawl naked on your bellies like snakes. You're animals, freaks of nature that shouldn't be allowed to live, let alone breed. When we're done with you we'll start on your bastard offspring and eradicate them like the vermin they are."
The pat of her that lived in all of them, the part that Manticore had so carefully nurtured and suppressed, left to fester like an infection, sprang up inside her, urging her to kill, to hurt, to make them all pay.
"We're not animals!" Drew spat and her fists followed her words, driving back the cultists with her fury.
Make them pay. Echoed the voice inside her. Make them all pay.
A red mist floated into Drew's vision and she pressed her advantage.
Pix gnawed on his fingers watching the screens as the death toll mounted on both sides. He saw people he knew fall to the ground and had to close his eyes and go on knowing that he would feel all this later.
"How are we doing?" Techie called up and Pix let his gaze linger on screen 6 where the helicopters circles above Feen, shooting at her as she danced over the rooftop.
"Fine," he croaked and shot Sunny a helpless look.
Sunny's attention was torn between yelling commands to Alpha team and watching Biggs get his ass kicked by a cultist.
"We're getting hammered here," Dix muttered and grabbed the mike. "Max, looks like a second wave is incoming."
Max heard the warning as she plunged her fist into someone's belly, her knife long lost in the confusion.
"Copy," she grunted and head-butted the woman she had her hands around, her fingers going for her throat.
It was the work of a minute to snap the woman's neck and Max stood for a second, trying her get her bearings despite the blood mixing with sweat and stinging her eyes as it dripped down her face.
An odd feeling of disorientation swamped her as she halted and she stumbled slightly, her foot knocking against a discarded rifle.
The initial adrenaline rush of combat had long since faded and her body was starting to adjust to the thrust and parry of battle, storing her energy to let out in smooth bursts. With the news that the second wave was coming through she took that second to drag up her energy reserves but found them alarmingly low and. She cast a look around, and could see the weariness painted on the faces of her allies. They had been trained for long, arduous fights; it didn't mean that they didn't get exhausted by the constant physical and mental exertion.
As she stared at the combatants, her eyes drifted down to those who hadn't made it. The courtyard was littered with bodies, their stillness a sick parallel to the vibrant, gruesome action taking place above their decaying corpses.
Fight scenes in movies always seemed to look so clean, but here was reality: blood, guts, limbs and vomit strewed the floor along with the bodies and other debris. Transgenics and cultists alike lay on the ground, bleeding and broken and Max's stomach turned as she failed to differentiate friend from foe amidst the bloody carnage. The stench clawed up to her throat, threatening to choke her and make her lose the scant breakfast that she had grabbed this morning; a lifetime ago.
So many lost; so many would continue to be lost in this senseless battle if she didn't do something to turn the tide.
It was more 452 than Max who grabbed the gun by her feet and checked the chamber for bullets.
She tapped her headset and raised her voice. "946 says duck!"
In tandem every single transgenic hit the deck as Max opened fire on the exposed underbelly of the Humvee that had started it all. A bullet caught the gas tank and, as if in slow motion, the fire sparked the petrol.
A ball of blinding light slammed outwards, the Humvee exploding from the insides out, shattering into a million fragments, each shard a deadly point of metal designed to kill on impact. The swell of fire engulfed the gate, dropping the nearest cultists like flash-fried flies as it spread over the front of Terminal City.
A mushroom cloud of smoke puffed its way above the walls and hung over the entrance like a black cloud of doom, signalling the destruction that lay within. 452 let go and Max stepped up grinning as she shouldered the gun. "946 says engage!"
Transgenics surged to their feet, renewed and invigorated by the reduction in enemy ranks and went to work at eliminating the rest of them.
Max had time to feel superior before she was grabbed from behind.
"You really think that you could escape from me, bitch?"