Chapter 38
Jill and Zhang had been on Earth for two weeks now, and the operation had gone smoothly. They met the informant who let them through the tether security under the guise of workers and proceeded to New Phoenix undeterred. Once or twice a Templar spy would recognise them but Zhang's sharp eyes saw them first, and they were incapacitated before they could report back, leaving Jill and Zhang to progress. Now, after fourteen gruelling days of subterfuge, trickery, hacking and stealth they now stood at the front door of the Templar stronghold. It was late afternoon and the street was still bustling with activity.
"You ready?" asked Zhang
"Yep, let's go." Replied Jill
They entered the building through the front doors, which parted automatically to allow them access. A receptionist was chatting to a man leaning over her desk holding a bundle of files. They were unnoticed as of then, and Zhang took the opportunity to scan their surroundings.
"See over there?" whispered Zhang, indicating the upper corners of the room. Jill looked, and could make out small indents in the high grey ceiling.
"Most likely cameras. You take them out with your glove, I'll take those two."
Jill nodded and made her way to the wall, charging her plasma glove and making two small plasma balls and releasing them at the two cameras at the same time as Zhang fired his two particle beams, killing the two people at the desk. Jill ran around to disengage the security measures while Zhang secured the exits.
"Just a minute, done. Elevator's open." Said Jill
"Let's go, before they come and find these two."
Jill smiled wickedly, "I have an idea where we can put them."
After a few minutes, the bodies were both stashed in a janitor's closet in a suggestive position.
Zhang looked at Jill disbelievingly, "You have some kind of evil mind Jill, I'm almost worried about Jack."
Jill looked at him sideways and raised an eyebrow, "If you're worried, then you must not be the same Zhang Ho I've heard of."
Zhang flushed slightly, "Ah, whatever." He said dismissively, "Let's make sure your boyfriend isn't waiting."
The two of them made it into the elevator without incident and Jill set up her equipment and overrode the controls, giving them access to almost any floor in the building, except for floors 45 to 50.
"Huh, that's weird." Said Jill as she found the lockout.
"What is it?" asked Zhang
"Nothing to worry about, it's not our floor. This one is." Jill pushed a button and the elevator rocketed up the shaft, popping both their ears as it did.
"Almost like a tether," commented Jill
Zhang nodded, "Just smaller, and with worse company."
Jill glared at him and kicked him in the leg. Zhang laughed with pain and rubbed his shin.
They reached the rooftop, the exit was guarded by two marines who were facing the other way, but they turned at the 'bing' noise the elevator made as it arrived. They brought their guns up at the door.
"Halt, come no closer." Said one
"Put your hands behind your head and come out slowly." Said the other
Jill left the elevator after a pause with her hands behind her head as instructed. The two guards stared at her suspiciously,
"Why didn't you follow protocol?"
"I didn't know the protocol, does it matter?"
The guards looked at each other incredulous, who was this woman? Obviously an intruder. As they moved to take her into custody, she activated her implanted hidden blades and stabbed one of them while shouting "Zhang!"
Zhang stepped out of the elevator and fired a stream of ionised hydrogen at the other guard's head, killing him.
"I think we're good here. Let's get the boys in." said Jill as she stepped outside onto the executive landing pad. She placed a small device on the centre of the pad and stepped back under the cover of the exit hallway.
"Zhang, remember that old song by the Weather Girls?"
"Uh, you mean 'sIt's raining men'?"
Jill looked up and smiled, shading her eyes from the sun.
"Hallelujah." She said
A small red dot blipped on the console of the Shiv's cockpit, signalling the drop point was clear.
"Drop point has been reached. Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure but now it's time for me to drop you off." Said Cassandra
Jack and Ben looked up from their conversation and both nodded in confirmation.
"Jack, I believe you said you wanted to go first?" said Ben as he strapped his helmet over his fair hair. Ben was tall, even by augmented human standards, with a square jaw, brown eyes and messy hair that he kept tied in a rat's tail. Jack strapped his own helmet over his somewhat darker and tidier hair and sealed his suit for zero-atmosphere. The bomb bay had been evacuated of its usual artillery and now it had two heavily-armoured and armed super-soldiers in place of its payload.
"Ready Ben?" asked Jack
"Ready." Replied Ben, giving Jack a thumbs-up
"Alright Cassandra, how's the weather?"
"Relatively clear, with wind speeds at roughly 100 metres per seconds at high altitude. You have a clear drop; no sky traffic is due for another half hour. Remember, only hit your packs when your AI tells you, otherwise you could end up in the Caribbean."
"Alright, we got it. Let us down." Said Jack
"Releasing payloads in three, two, one, mark." was the last thing that Jack heard before the world around him went quiet. He looked up and saw clouds rushing up to meet him, faster and faster. He smashed through them collecting condensation on his helmet as he went, his arms were stuck to his sides and his teeth chattered slightly as crosswinds buffeted him. His motion tracker indicated Ben following him out a moment later. His altimeter dropped rapidly, until he was out of the clouds and staring at the bustling metropolis ahead of him. He shifted his body until it rotated so his body was now parallel to the ground, arms and legs spread out to maximise drag while his armour locked up around his joints to keep them from being wrenched out of their sockets. His shields flickered as the air rushed past it at ridiculously high speeds but they managed to hold against the onslaught.
"Isn't this great Ben?" said Jack over the radio
"Yeah, just great. I can feel my lunch coming up to say just how great it is." replied Ben, sounding somewhat queasy.
Jack steered himself towards the drop point; with Ezio calculating his speed and trajectory and his experience he was confident he would make it there safely.
"Jack, activate your re-entry pack in three, two, one, mark." Said Ezio, and Jack obliged, rolling backwards once more and activating his re-entry pack to slow his descent. The building that he was supposed to land on came up to meet him faster than he'd like, but the deceleration from the re-entry pack slowed him down enough to hit the rooftop with a solid thud, his armour locking up as soon as it hit the ground, cushioning his fall somewhat so that he only took minor damage. He stood up dramatically, feeling great, while Ben followed behind him a few moments later. His landing was somewhat less graceful but he was still in one piece as he came up alongside him. Jill and Zhang came out to meet them, each smiling like idiots.
"That was amazing! I've never anything like that before, not even in those 2150's action movies." Exclaimed Zhang
Ben crawled to his feet behind Jack, dazed but unhurt.
"Remind me never to get thrown out of a spaceship again."
"Duly noted." Replied Jack
"We should get inside. They're probably wondering where the people who aren't at their posts went." Said Jill
The four of them squeezed back into the elevator and just before Jill pushed the button, the elevator descended with a bone-jarring shudder straight down.
"Jill? Is it supposed to be going this fast?" asked Jack
"I don't think so!"
"Oh shit!" exclaimed Zhang
Jack looked up and quickly cut his way through the roof of the elevator, jumping up and out. He glanced at the walls rushing past and knew that something had gone wrong.
"Guys, get out now!" he called down.
Jill and Zhang clambered out with the assistance of Ben, who followed their example. It was too dangerous to grab the walls as they rushed past, and the elevator ran without cables.
"What now?" asked Zhang
Ben flicked out his energy blades and motioned for Jill to grab onto him.
"Follow my lead." He said
Jack flicked his blades on and Zhang climbed onto his armour. Ben jumped with all his strength and sunk his blades deep into the walls of the elevator shaft. Jack did the same, his fall slowed down just as the elevator slammed into the bottom of the shaft with a resounding crash that rang in Jack's ears. Ben jumped down and Jill got off of his back. Jack and Zhang did the same.
"Good thinking Ben, how'd you know that would work?"
Ben shrugged modestly before replying, "I didn't, but I knew we would have survived any other way so I took a leap of faith."
"Uh-huh, how about we get out of here." Said Jack, not waiting for a reply