I do not own BGC2032. This is my first attempt at fic writing so please go easy on me. This takes place just after 'scoop chase'.
Crusade of Vengeance
1: New Players
The seemingly abandoned warehouse in the lower zone of MegaTokyo didn't look that much different from most…except that it had a secret Genom facility inside of it. It was so secret only a select few of the senior staff and the workers on site knew of it. Security was limited to just a few human guards to keep a low profile.
"Are you ever going to be ready to move out?"
The head scientist gritted his teeth. He'd only been here a day and he'd had more than enough of Madigan already.
"Almost. This isn't just a regular transport job you know. What about the extra security I was promised? As it is now a bunch of ten-year-olds could walk in and steal two of the deadliest weapons ever devised. It gives me the chills."
"We don't NEED extra security," Madigan replied confidently. "No-one even knows this facility is here."
Spineless fool! Madigan turned away and headed for the main office. Genom badly needed some success right now. Largo's assault on the Genom building had rattled Quincy badly, not to mention leaving her scarred for life. She felt the burn scars down the left side of her face angrily. Good thing for Largo that the Knight Sabers had killed him quickly, she'd have done the job far more slowly. As if that wasn't enough they'd then lost a whole new boomer type and then one of their most brilliant people had flipped his lid and tried to blow up the AD police building. Worst of all he'd been caught and, whilst Genom had disowned him, their public credibility had taken a severe knock.
Still, hopefully their fortunes would change once Professor Vidor's creations went into service. She smiled at the heavy battle suit and large jet-black gunship on the warehouse floor. The suit was 8 feet high, bulky and heavily armed with guns on both arms and rocket boosters on the back (for looks, imagine Boba Fett's suit and double its size!). The helicopter gunship was even more heavily armed, far larger than usual (size of a Chinook and a half!) and had two jet turbines in its underbelly. Separately these weapons were lethal; together she had no doubts they could level MegaTokyo completely. The Knight Sabers would be in for a surprise soon…
* * *
"Is that it?"
"That's the one, Koji. Time for some fun!"
"Ok, hold on, I'm killing the engines."
The large UH-1R derivative type transport chopper was hovering near the warehouse as the 8 men inside got a good look. Then Koji, the pilot, powered down the engine and started to 'glide' the chopper in as its rotors started to slow. It was a very dangerous manoeuvre, one move wrong and the chopper would be stuffed in the ground, but it was necessary for this job. Fortunately, Koji's skills were more than up to the job and they touched down safely and silently in the shadows just outside the main gates.
The co-pilot turned to the men in the back. "Everyone ready? OK; let's do it!"
* * * *
The 2 guards at the main gate weren't in a great mood that night.
"I can't wait to get out of this dump!"
"It's not this dump that gets on my nerves, it's that bitch Quincy put in charge. Still it won't be long now. About 20 more…"
His sentence went unfinished as his head exploded. The other guard stared in horror as the body slumped to the ground and jerked his head up to see three men all dressed in black from head to toe with gas masks and all sporting M32 assault rifles with silencers (or M16 Mk 2 if you like!).
"No…"
The last thing he saw on earth was a blinding burst of light…
* * * *
The three killers stepped over the bodies and darted through the yard to the wall of the warehouse and up a fire escape. One of them looked quickly through one of the upstairs windows inside taking in the gunship, battle suit and the remaining Genom staff.
"Shadow 2 to Shadow 1, the eagles are in the nest. We're in position and ready to hit."
"Wait one, Shadow 2."
Two more minutes passed before the next message came in.
"We're in position now. We go in 3…2…1…
* * * *
Madigan was just finishing a call to Quincy saying all was well when the front doors of the warehouse exploded inward. Guards and scientists were cut down by a hail of automatic weapons fire from 5 black suited intruders who had come out of the smoke like phantoms. The other 3 killers broke in on the upper gantry and joined in the killing. Madigan quickly backtracked into the office and tried to raise Quincy again but the screen disintegrated as a hail of bullets went through it.
"Oops, bad connection. Forgot to pay the bill this month? Typical of Genom isn't it?"
Madigan guessed the intruder was smirking under his gas mask. "This is the part where you tell me it's nothing personal, I suppose. Do you know who you've just attacked? There'll be nowhere in the world safe for you!"
"Oh I know all right and you're wrong about one thing; it is very personal."
The gunman reached up and pulled off his gas mask revealing that he was a blond blue eyed Caucasian and barely out of his teens. "I'm just collecting my inheritance and repaying Genom for services rendered ten years ago."
Madigan's eyes widened in shock. "Then you must be…!"
The gunman stitched her from head to toe before she could finish. "Damn, that felt good!"
"She was the last one, Matt." Koji pulled his mask off as he said that. He was about 52 with dark hair and was pure Japanese. Then he saw who it was Matt had killed. "Madigan…you killed a very big fish! Feel a little better now?"
"A little. But it's nowhere near enough. Not until that old bastard dies; slow and screaming!" Matt replied forcefully.
Koji nodded in understanding. "Then let's load everything up and go. This was just a beginning."
"I'll get the Scorpion. You and Reena start up the Spectre," Matt said and started running for the heavy battle suit and climbed in. Genom had put in encryption codes on the suit's systems but with the knowledge Matt had that posed no problem. Koji had no trouble starting up the gunship either. The rest of the team fled back to their UH-1R transport and fled into the night, blowing up the warehouse and covering their tracks as they went out.
Matt grinned as he fired the suit's rockets and shot into the sky alongside the gunship. In and out in less than 10 minutes; talk about clockwork. Nothing had gone wrong and no losses, at least on their team. As for flying the Scorpion, all he had to do was think what he wanted and it did it, thanks to its thought controlled interface.
"Matt, get aboard!" Koji's voice came over his communicator.
"Get aboard? What are you babbling about?"
"The suit and the ship were designed to work together!" Koji smiled. "There's a bay in the back. See it?"
Matt looked back to see a large opening in the back. "I get in there? Are you sure?"
"Trust me. I'll slow down for you."
As it turned out, Koji was right and Matt had no trouble manoeuvring the suit inside. Once inside he found himself in a large storage bay that seemed specifically designed for storing the suit.
"I never knew about this! What else can this ship do?"
"The Professor thought of everything. What we have now were supposed to be the first of many units, Matt. They were supposed to be the next generation of military hardware for your country's military."
"Yeah, before those Genom pricks stole them!" Matt spat in disgust.
"Relax. Now that we have them we'll get even. As of now Quincy and his friends have a big-shit headache."
"I can't wait," Matt grinned as he uncoupled himself from the suit. "But right now I need a break. Working that thing sure does take a lot out of you."
"I've got just the place for that," Koji promised, feeling the strain of his own interface with the Spectre. "It's got great beer and an even better singer. You have to see her to believe it, trust me."
"Sounds good. Let's get to the rendezvous point fast."
* * * * *
Sylia Stingray was having an unusual sort of day. It started off with Fargo, her inside contact, calling her to arrange a meeting. The meeting place wasn't his usual style; out on a powerboat near the remains of Aqua City. He was waiting for her below in the cabin when she came aboard. He was dressed casually in shirt and slacks in place of his usual suit.
"You weren't followed, I trust?"
"As far as I can tell, no," Sylia told him. "What's wrong?" She now knew for sure that things were badly wrong. He seemed on edge and there was none of his usual insufferable romantic banter.
"Here's the mission details and specs," he passed her 4 discs this time. "It involves two pieces of merchandise that Genom lost last night…"
Sylia snorted. "You're expecting to me to play bloodhound for Genom?"
"2 weapons actually. Their specs are on the discs. Does the name Calvin Vidor mean anything to you?"
"Professor Calvin Vidor?" Sylia certainly had known him.
"Yes. He and your father were close friends so I understand. The 2 weapons that Genom misplaced were of his creation. This job is so serious that my clients are offering 100 million for this."
Sylia's eyes went wide at that. "I take it there must be a large catch here."
"There is. The 2 weapons are the Scorpion tactical assault battle suit and the Night Spectre attack helicopter. Their computer systems, avionics and combat potential are revolutionary. They can outperform, outthink, outspeed and outshoot anything else in their class. Pound for pound they may be deadlier than all of the Knight Sabers combined! That's how serious this is."
"How did Genom lose them?"
"Sheer stupidity mostly. Miss Madigan was in charge when they were taken. She stored them in a small low security warehouse downtown that was hardly ever used. After all the public problems Genom's had lately and given that it was thought no-one knew about the weapons she tried to keep them incognito with minimum security. She paid for her mistake with her life and all the others at the site."
"Do you know who the attackers are?"
"No. They're very professional, I know that much. They left no clues behind last night and didn't leave a single eyewitness alive. I'm starting to think the motive is personal and not money. Neither of the items has reached the open market and they'd fetch several billion there without a doubt. Be very careful this time, Sylia. This probably isn't going to be like the run in you had with Vision, unlike her these people will kill, so watch yourself."
* * * *
This time Sylia had recorded the conversation and played it back to the other Knight Sabers.
"Whoa, 100 million? Is he serious?" Linna said once the recording finished.
Sylia nodded. "I've never known him so serious. He looked as shaken as he sounded."
"With good reason, look at this!" Nene exclaimed. She and Mackie had been reading the Scorpion and Night Spectre discs.
Mackie agreed grimly as he looked at the Spectre's armaments. "She's right, sis. Even with the new suits you just built I wouldn't want to bet on a winner if it came to a fight. Man, chain guns, rocket pods, laser cannons…this thing's armed to the teeth! "
"So what? Most gunships I've heard of have all that anyway," Priss wasn't impressed. "What makes this one so hot?"
"Its computers and guidance system," Nene said. "It's got a moleculartronic type processor, much faster than any other model because it allows direct thought control."
"Thought controlled aircraft?" Linna couldn't believe it. "That is bad."
"The Scorpion suit has the same," Mackie added. "Genom was bringing them out for the US government's next defense sale competition, you know, the one they lost last time to the Chang group?"
"Despite the fact they stole them in the first place," Sylia muttered angrily.
"Just like your dad?" Priss asked gently.
"I think so, Priss. Professor Vidor was killed about the same time as my father…"
Priss was confused. "So why didn't they bring these things out back then?"
"I remember Vidor was always more suspicious of Genom than my father was. He probably made things a little difficult for them. It must have taken all this time for them to clear up the bugs and problems."
"So where do we start?" Linna wondered. "We don't even know who has them now."
Sylia decided quickly. "We'll start searching the city tomorrow. Fargo said that the Spectre only had fuel for a short flight so I doubt it's gone too far. Hopefully we still have time to find it before they do anything. Oh, Priss, don't you have somewhere to be right now?"
"Oh hell, I've got to get to the club!" Priss flew out of the room to her bike outside.
"Nene, see if the AD police have got anything on this. Genom's got a lot of enemies; see if you can find any clue as to who might have pulled this off. "
"OK."
* * * *
"You were right about this place, Koji. Just the place for unwinding after a good day and night's work," Matt then downed a whole beer without catching a breath.
"Despite the fact we haven't done much work since last night!" Koji grumbled but he was grinning nonetheless as he sipped his beer. Hot Legs truly was the place to unwind…and talk business with no-one listening in. "I paid our respects to Mr Chang today and our fee for his good help last night. So it's just the 3 of us now."
"Yeah. Just you, Reena and me. She worked out well as your back-up in the…"
"Look out, keep quiet!" Koji snapped suddenly.
"What is it?"
"Unfriendly ears. Behind you."
Matt glanced around to see Leon MacNichol and Daley Wong enter the club.
"You know them?"
"They're AD police. Normally I wouldn't be concerned but those two are very competent compared to the rest. We don't want to get their attention."
"Relax Koji, Genom would hardly go to them for help would they? Not to get illegal weapons back. Anyway they hardly look interested in us, more in the main feature." Matt glanced up at the stage. "And here she is right now."
Priss and her band were just warming up.
"I never get tired of watching Priss perform," Koji smiled. "She always makes me feel 30 years younger."
"Watch it, Koji. You want to be called a dirty old man?" Matt teased.
That gave Koji a kind of warning sign: the only time Matt had any sense of humour was when he was getting drunk. Time to leave soon, because he knew Matt's sense of euphoria wouldn't last. Sooner or later he'd be wallowing in the past again…back to his world of pain and hurt. As soon as this show was over, they'd shut up shop and go home.
Across the room Daley was trying to get some answers out of Leon.
"What are we doing here in the first place? No, scratch that, I know what we're doing but aren't we supposed to be…?"
"Forget it," Leon was in an uncompromising mood. "I'm not searching through every back alley and warehouse in MegaTokyo for something that doesn't exist."
"But the Chief…"
"The Chief can kiss my ass. I'm not breaking my back just because the 'higher-ups' are giving him a hard time over a fire in the back end of town."
Daley raised an eyebrow. "Given that those 'higher ups' are likely to be Genom, don't you think we should be worried a little?"
Leon paused a little at that. "Maybe. But we need more to go on than what we've got now, which is next to nothing, so I think we'll just take it easy here."
Daley shook his head as Leon gazed at Priss. "I've lost count of the times you've crashed and burned with her, Leon. Why do you bother?"
"Because I think there's more to her than meets the eye, Daley."
Linna and Nene were waiting for Priss as usual when she had finished for the night.
"Hey Priss, your biggest fan's here," Linna teased.
Priss growled as she saw Leon. "Don't start with me! I don't need that guy right now. I think he's getting suspicious that I'm a Knight Saber and I don't want to give him any chance to find out. Anyway, speaking of that, how's your latest fan?"
"History," Nene answered for Linna with a little disgust. "She dumped him yesterday."
"What again?!" Priss rolled her eyes. Linna changed boyfriends almost as much as she had to repair her bike at Raven's. That was the fifteenth she'd dumped in two months. Priss almost wished she'd find someone and stick with him, at least for a little longer than normal. Linna's constant changing kept reminding Priss of her lack of luck in that department. "What made you dump this o…uh hello, Earth to Linna?"
Linna had suddenly spaced out. Priss turned around and followed her gaze. She was staring directly at a blond guy sitting at another table.
"Number 16 coming up do you think?" Priss whispered in Nene's ear. "I almost feel sorry for him."
"No worry. He's leaving."
Priss looked back to see that Nene was right. The guy was staggering toward the exit helped by a much older man.
He must have knocked a few back, Priss thought to herself as they left. He was a hunk though; Linna certainly can pick them for good looks now and again. Least he's not the chairman of EMI!
"Lin…" Nene suddenly realised she was talking to thin air. Linna had gone over to the bar and was talking with the barman.
"The 2 that just left? That was Koji Nagoya and a friend from the States. It's the second night in a row they've been in. You'll probably catch them another night if you want to talk."
Koji Nagoya? The name did sound familiar to Linna. Then she remembered; he was a big shot businessman who owned a lot of small companies and was loaded to the teeth…Interesting. Still he wasn't the one that Linna was interested in. She normally didn't go for non-Japanese but that guy was a real exception.
Good looking and he's friends with a rich guy, sounds promising.
Linna hoped this one would work out better than the others. She never seemed to settle with anyone for long. So far she'd had boyfriends with no taste, sense of reality or who had too many ties to Genom or the AD police. This one seemed safer on that front. Little did she know…
* * * *
"There was a real good looker checking you out in there, Matt," Koji said as they left.
"Really?" Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Too bad. Once this is over I might start looking for…that. But not now."
Koji sighed inwardly. By the time this was over there was a good chance they would all be dead. Matt had been such a great kid 10 years ago: full of life and outgoing. There was no trace of him in this 20-year-old cold warrior. Koji felt a surge of anger toward Genom as he thought of that. In a way, they had killed Matt ten years ago and left this empty shell in his place. But, for better or worse, Koji would stand by him. His promises demanded no less. He and Matt would take down Genom or die trying; and God help anyone who got in their way…