Chapter 26

We charged over the open heath, dodging side to side as bullets whizzed overhead. The overturned SUV lay several meters to the left, and the Ayanami personnel had piled out of their ruined vehicles and taken shelter behind the bridge where it butted up against one of the Toyota Elites. Behind us I heard the Razors' motorcycles as their chugging motors cut off and their raucous battle cries joined with the sound of gunfire.

I broke for the upturned SUV to the left, motioning the others to follow. As if sensing my plan, Viridian led the Razors in the other direction, fanning out in an attempt to envelope the Ayanami position. Bullets kicked up the dirt around me as I bolted to the right, interposing the overturned Landcruiser between me and the Ayanami goons to give us some cover. The vehicle provided us with decent cover, and soon Michelson's goons were exchanging fire with the Razors, giving us a brief respite. Movement flickered out of the corner of my eye, and I saw that there were still people strapped to their seats inside the car. One had managed to crawl out and scrambled several meters away from it, while two more were still fumbling about inside.

I came to a stop just inches away from the one on the ground. He looked up at me with a pleading look right before I kicked his teeth in. Then Bullnose was beside me, planting another series of kicks into his groin and stomach. I turned away from the helpless man as Bullnose proceeded to beat him senseless, focusing my attention on the SUV. My underbarrel launcher spoke, hurling a grenade toward the downed vehicle. The projectile hit the ground and then bounced up into the cabin of the vehicle. The men inside screamed, but a fiery blast tore through the car, drowning out their voices. A split-second later another explosion erupted. It tore through the vehicle with savage abandon, belching flame high into the night sky.

I looked over to see Rei standing a short distance away. She held her hand up to shield her face from the heat wave as the fiery light danced over her features like a Belanese dancer, casting dark shadows over her face. She gave a start as an animalistic roar sounded from behind. She spun around to see Bullnose as he gave another bestial cry and swung his booted foot into the sec-man's face. His head snapped backward and finally ceased to struggle as consciousness left him.

Shock registered on her face before I grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face me. The look of my face, like some feral animal framed in the firelight, made whatever she was going to say die on her tongue.

"You and Blitz are going to stay here," I said, not even making a pretense of explaining myself. "Give us cover fire when you can and make sure those wage-slaves keep their heads down."

Sporadic gunfire punctuated the background noise as her gaze drifted from mine to the wreckage that was still wreathed in flames.

"Hey!" I grabbed her by the chin and turned her head toward me. "Get your drek together. We still have work to do."

She nodded dumbly.

"Blitz, watch her ass and give us some cover fire."

"You got it, P," the rigger assured me, hefting his machine pistols for emphasis.

I shouldered my rifle, steeling myself against what I knew was coming next. Motioning Diana and Bullnose after me, I took off across open ground toward the nearest stand of trees and shrubbery to the right. Michelson's men opened fire as soon as we broke cover, but for the most part, their ill-aimed shots missed wide. I reached the copse of trees sooner than I thought and dodged behind a large oak when a crash sounded behind me. I looked back to see Bullnose sprawled out in the underbrush. At first I thought he was down for good, but then he was up on his hands and knees, scurrying for cover.

Diana slung her shotgun over her shoulder. "Cover me!" she shouted, moving back to help Bullnose.

I braced my shoulder against the pine and turned back toward the firefight. Muzzle flashes lit up the night like a sputtering Christmas tree as the sec-men traded fire with the Razors, one or two of them taking pot-shots at us in the process. I bent my head toward the scope of my Colt, watching as the magnification intensified and the red crosshairs swam into my vision. I centered the reticule over the first figure I saw. He stood up over the car, frantically shouting directions to the men around him. In the darkness, I couldn't see his face, but the straw-colored hair atop his head told me instantly who he was: Blondie. I stroked the trigger twice, and the assault rifle barked in my hands. A split second later, the Ayanami security chief jerked backward as the bullets struck, but an opaque white film flashed around him, protecting him from the brunt of the attack

"Fragging magic," I swore under my breath, quickly shifting aim before the sec-men could figure out where the shot came from. One of the company men had poked his head over top of their makeshift barricade, looking around for the source of the last attack. I centered the targeting reticule over his head and pumped the trigger. The unsuspecting yabo's head exploded in a shower of gore, and he flopped to the ground behind the Toyota.

That really got their attention.

I whirled back around the other side of the tree as a volley of return fire slammed into my cover of choice, showering me with a spray of splinters and wood chips. I looked over as Diana hauled Bullnose into cover once more.

"Are you okay?" I asked

The ganger nodded breathlessly. "Yeah, I just got the wind knocked out of me."

Suddenly Sugar's voice was in my ear, screaming incessantly. "You've got Lonestar closing in on your position!"

"How long do we have?" I said, taking one hand off of my weapon to hold it against the throat comm. piece.

"Three minutes—five tops. I can reroute the patrol cars with the GridGuide, but it's not going to last long. You better finish this up quick."

I glanced around the tree, only to be chased back by another volley of fire. I growled with frustration. "We're fragging pinned down, Diana, can you give me some help?"

"It'll take some time, but yeah. You'll have to distract them."

"We can take care of that. You just do what you have to do."

She nodded her assent, and again I held my hand to my commlink. "Blitz, you still there omae?"

"Yeah, buddy. What can I do you for?" His words were lighthearted, but his voice sounded strained.

"We gotta lay down some cover fire so that Diana can do her thing. You up for it?"

"Always, P. I'll tell Rei to be ready. You just tell me when."

"You'll know when the fireworks start."

"Roger that."

I clicked the comm. and turned my attention to Bullnose. "We're going to need you too."

He gave me a determined nod, lifting his Uzi in his arms.

I took a deep breath. Then I shouldered the Colt and twisted around the tree, mentally switching firing modes as I went. I pumped the trigger twice, and the underbarrel grenade launcher coughed, spitting a pair of grenades at the Ayanami position. The first rebounded off of the bridge and into the stream, detonating in a geyser of water. The other hit the Toyota Elite and rebounded into the dirt right in front of it. The muffled explosion went off, kicking up a huge spray of earth. It was largely ineffectual, but the spray of mud made the Ayanami goons duck for cover.

"You're clear!" I shouted to Diana.

The magician rose up from behind the bushes she had been hiding behind, her hands twisting in some kind of intricate pattern. I turned away from her as the ritual progressed and focused my attention on the Ayanami position. Switching back over to full auto, I peppered the car and bridge with precise bursts of fire to force the Ayanami men to keep their heads down. Bullnose joined the barrage with me, and soon more weapons rang out from somewhere across the darkened park as Blitz and Rei added their voices to the mix. As I kept up the fire, I was consciously aware of the magazine quickly draining of rounds, but we effectively pinned down the opposition and bought Diana valuable time.

Finally the channel clicked empty. "Reloading!" I cried, fumbling through my jacket for the last clip. A mental key from my cyberware ejected the spent magazine, and I slammed the new one home. But as I chambered the first round, I found that it wasn't needed.

Diana finished her spell and stretched her hands out, palms upward. The earth before the Toyota began to tremble. As she slowly began to lift her hands upward, a shape started to claw its way out of the ground. The thing was shaped roughly like a gorilla; its thick arms nearly dragged the ground, and its hunched form towered nearly three and a half meters tall. Roots and rocks stuck out from its lumpy form, and a tuft of brownish grass sat atop the low crown of what looked to be its head. The earth elemental turned toward Michelson's position and surged forward. It bounded up onto the Toyota's hood, and the vehicle's chassis crumpled under the spirit's manifested weight before it leapt down into the midst of the corporate formation. It reached out toward the nearest Ayanami goon and grabbed her up in its beefy arms, tossing her into the air. She screamed as she sailed toward the stream, landing hard with a splash.

I looked back to Diana where she stood with a triumphant grin plastered over her face. "C'mon," I shouted, "let's get moving while they're distracted!"

I motioned the others after me and made a break for the next copse of trees, trying to maneuver toward the makeshift barricades while sticking to cover. As we dashed across the open ground, I looked over to see Viridian leading his boys in a similar tactic to close the gap between them and Michelson. We neared our objective, a small stand of trees about thirty meters from the Toyota. As we got closer, one of the sec-men seemed to wise up to our plan and opened fire, railing away with his submachine gun. I lunged, plowing into the underbrush like a bulldozer. I rolled to a stop and pressed my back against a large oak as Bullnose dove amidst the trees. I looked over to Diana who was hot on our heels. She was just at the edge of the copse when she staggered. A pair of crimson wounds blossomed on her chest and shoulder as the bullets penetrated the armored lining of her duster. She pitched forward on the ground, her lifeblood spilling out onto the grass and leaves underneath. A cold hand of fear twisted my stomach.

"Diana!" I shouted, lurching back toward her. Bullets hounded my flight, but I seized her by the back of her coat and dragged her into cover. I collapsed on the ground by her side, rolling her over face-up. She gasped, her breath coming in gurgling wheezes. Her shoulder was a bloody mess that had already been caked with dirt and wet, glistening leaves. Bullnose started to brush them off, but I slapped his hand away.

"Leave them. Right now it's the only thing keeping her from bleeding out."

I turned my attention back to Diana as she gave a bubbling sigh. The sound told me that her lung had been punctured—she was going to die if I didn't do something. My heart raced hysterically.

I desperately pushed the emotion down, but I couldn't keep the worry out of my voice. "I'm going to get you out of here," I said frantically. "We've got to get you to a hospital."

She gasped, shaking her head. "You can't!"

"The hell I can't," I growled, moving to scoop her up into my arms. "The others can finish this up."

"No, you don't understand… the elemental… Harrison has taken control of it!"