Author's Note: First off, I would like to send my condolences to the Royal Family and all who mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who died on Thursday, September 8th, 2022 during the 70th year of her reign. As many of my readers will know, I feature The Queen and some fictitious members of the Royal Family in my stories – primarily Vengeance. Out of respect for The Queen, I will continue to feature the Monarch in my stories.
Secondly, I am working hard on getting this story finished.
Friday, July 21st, 2017
Over on the far side of the country...
Los Angeles, United States of America
10:40 GMT-8 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team L.A. & Team S.D.
They were back there again.
The Aon Building: it had started there but it had not ended there. It had ended a long way north of Los Angeles but ultimately, it had drawn to a close in a Los Angeles morgue – or she hoped it had.
Juno Richmond had witnessed death; indeed, she had caused death in her line of work with her mentor. She was just fourteen years old, and she still struggled with the disturbing events which had brought her into the guardianship of her cousin. But then she had met a boy and he had made her life complete. Seeing him lying on the stainless-steel table, covered in a sheet, a gaping wound in his neck – it had simply meant that it was real; Logan Dark was dead. Seeing him. Touching his skin for the very last time. The skin was cold; no longer warm and sensual as it had once been. She had wanted to see him just one more time – she had insisted. But what remained was just meat and bone. What had been Logan Dark was gone, gone for ever. That realisation had stopped the tears and suddenly, for the first time in three weeks, she had felt . . . nothing. But that nothing had swiftly changed to a feeling, a strong feeling. It was a feeling like none she had ever felt before. She wanted one thing, just one thing to bring her life back into balance.
She wanted revenge.
Up North...
The CN Tower
Toronto, Canada
16:40 GMT-4 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Concord: Phosphor, Blackout, Vancouver Ninja, Coyote & Valerian
with Warrior, Tremor, Thunder & Scout
The Vancouver Ninja looked down at their new recruit.
"I really don't like you."
Valerian looked up at her reluctant mentor.
"I don't particularly like you, neither, Ninja Girl."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Get over yourself, Ninja Girl!" Phosphor grinned. "Give the little runt a chance."
"And I thought you were a bitch," Valerian commented.
"She is a bitch," Blackout admitted.
"Oh, yeah!" Coyote added.
"Do you guys need a room?" a voice called over the radio.
Valerian smiled as she recognised the voice of her friend. She was over the moon at being reunited with Maxine – or Thunder as she had been christened.
"We're good, Thunder."
"Pleased to hear it. I thought maybe you'd gone a little soft without us to keep your mind from going wonky."
"It's Steph that has a wonky mind," Valerian pointed out.
"You did too, if you remember."
"Let's not go there, 'kay?"
"Okay, I always knew that you 'Psyche Crew' guys were fucking nutters, but Christ!" Deborah Nillingsley AKA Tremor commented.
"Well, Tremor, while you play nice with Thunder, I'll get setup with Scout over on our perch," Thomas Drew AKA Warrior said.
Phosphor ignored the bickering as she stared up some 342-metres to the main pod of the CN Tower which towered 554.3-metres to the very tip of the antenna spire. Somewhere within that towering concrete creation, there was a nuclear device which, if detonated, would produce a nasty electromagnetic pulse which would spread out for several miles in every direction, disrupting electronic circuits across the area.
However, the CN Tower was not the only location of a doomsday weapon.
Two miles to the east...
Corktown Common
The area was reclaimed ex-industrial land which had been turned into a picturesque park.
The first thing which entered the mind of Thomas Drew as he parked up just short of the park was how appalling the tactical situation was going to be – the natural cover was plentiful but that only meant that the enemy would have the figurative high ground leaving his team to search them out at high risk to themselves. One ex-soldier and two girls with lost childhoods, not to mention a normal young woman who just wanted to go back to a normal life.
There was so much to atone for but he also had responsibilities – three of them.
A little over four hundred
miles to the southwest...
The University of Chicago
Chicago, United States of America
13:40 GMT-5 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Four teams were at large in the city.
Three belonged to Fusion, and one was just a guest. But it was all that they had to take on and defeat the forces arrayed around the adjacent Washington Park in Chicago's Southside. Indeed, they had had to seek assistance to bolster their numbers. Fortune, who would be leading Alpha Team, looked across the room at their two guests who did not seem overly happy with the deal they had made to provide assistance to Fusion.
Apollo and Artemis, the brother/sister vigilante combination, who had previously agreed to stay off the streets of Chicago by threat of death, had been approached just the evening before by Hawk and Lynx who had explained the impending situation, leaving very little out. Surprisingly, Adam and Adora Stockdale had leapt at the chance to provide assistance to Fusion and to the City of Chicago. However, having had a night to sleep on the risks ahead of them, the pair were understandably a little bit nervous.
Fortune would be joined by Ember and Relentless who would make up Alpha Team. Red Raven, Discord, and Rook would make up Bravo Team. To add some adult support, Rhino, Hawk and Lynx would make up Charlie Team. Ares and Sneak would be deep down in Safehouse Zulu managing the operation from the command centre.
It was very important that they succeeded as Chicago was the home for so many.
Cue the Batman '66 theme...
Gotham City,
United States of America
15:40 GMT-5 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
As could be expected, there was a lot of ground to cover.
The custom Aston Martin Vulcan, or 'Batmobile', cruised through Uptown at speed, the sleek monstrous black beast, using just a fraction of the eight-hundred horses which lived beneath the extended hood. The massive wing at the rear drawing attention to the super-low-slung monster, the exhausts of which throbbed violently with the extreme power available to the driver who was just as black as his transportation. Behind that vehicle came another equally black machine, this one a customised KTM X-Bow GT. The open-topped vehicle had both seats occupied by black-clad compatriots of the man driving the Batmobile. The three-litre Audi turbo-charged petrol engine roared from adjustable-bore exhausts as the nine-hundred-kilogramme vehicle easily kept up with its big brother as both zipped in and out of the light afternoon traffic.
They were not alone. Indeed, Fox was keeping track of them from his basement facility within Wayne Tower. His technology was keeping track of the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys'. Depressingly, there seemed far more of the latter than the former in Fox's mind. However, that simply made things just a little bit harder which meant that more brain matter was required, and Fox loved a conundrum.
"What do we have here?" the man mused as he studied a camera view where rapid movements had caught his eye.
One the image had been brought up onto a bigger screen, he could see that it was a small sports car, easily zipping through the traffic, heading east in what could only be an attempt at intercepting Batman and Catwoman. Fox frowned – he had never laid eyes on the car before, and it seemed very new. After some swift checking of cameras, he finally caught the vehicle's license plate, and he grinned.
"Now, are you friend or foe?" Fox wondered as he followed the car which was now on a parallel street to that which Batman and Catwoman with Nightwing were driving along. "If you are foe then you have a lot to worry about, but should you be friend then watch out for young Nightwing."
Fox's eyes then narrowed as he spied another vehicle, one which was decidedly unwanted.
Waterloo Station
London, England
20:01 GMT+1 (19:00 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 2 hours 59 minutes
Team Victor Bravo, Team Foxtrot Two, Team Hotel One
Charlie Tango Zero-Eight/One-Zero/One-Two
Team Victor Bravo
Intrepid stopped amidst the hundreds of people purposefully making for their transport, on or off the railways.
The girl ignored the comments as people moved around the obstacle she formed. She was dressed like any other thirteen-year-old girl and her masked face was buried deep within a hooded top under which she wore a baseball cap. Her hooded top was navy blue as were her jeans. Her lightweight combat boots were black. Nobody paid her much attention as she switched her backpack onto her left shoulder and unzipped a side pocket. Her eyes focussed on a large man who wore the clothing of a builder, only his utility belt of hammer, drill, and various other accoutrements also seemed to carry a small pistol barely visible. Intrepid could see where there was some building work underway down the tunnel leading to the Jubilee Line. It struck her that the builders seemed to go in and out of the tunnel but none of them appeared to be accomplishing anything and their hands were too clean, she decided. Therefore, she signalled to Aegea who was just feet away, examining a windows display – or pretending to do so.
Together, the two girls formed up on the 'builder' as the man made for the closest Costa. They waited until he had ordered his large latte with skimmed milk before they then followed the man towards an employee entrance where he dutifully punched in a code which released the door. The man turned to ensure that the door had closed behind him and found two young girls pushing through.
"What are you too doing?"
"Fuckin' you up, mate!" Intrepid growled honestly.
The man responded slowly to the weird electronic growl, and he swiftly checked out the maintenance corridor which was empty all the way to a bend a dozen yards away. The man braced up with a yelp as something hard was jammed into his groin.
"Now, if you want to ever toss yourself off again, you'd better start talkin'," Intrepid pointed out as she pushed hard against the butt of the Glock 26 Gen4 pistol which had its suppressor buried deep into the man's most delicate area.
"About what, you crazy bitch?"
"I'm in the market for a bomb – a big fucking bomb – know where I can find one?"
The man's face paled, and he reached for his hidden weapon. In a movement so swift she even surprised herself, Aegea knocked the cup out of the man's other hand and flipped off the top before dumping the piping hot contents over the hand reaching for the pistol. The man made to scream but he found a second pistol hard against his right cheek and Aegea simply shook her head and the man whimpered but remained silent as he cradled his blistering hand which was turning red very quickly.
"Is it down the Jubilee Line tunnel?" Intrepid hissed.
The man hesitated but then he did scream out as Intrepid put a bullet into his left thigh and he began to sag towards the floor his eyes boring hate into Intrepid's hidden eyes.
"The countdown has begun and there is fuck all you can do about it."
"Is that so? Take him!"
The man turned to find a pair of men clad in grey jumpsuits and wearing ballistic helmets with grey face masks just feet away. The closest raised his assault rifle and rammed the butt into the man's face. Nobody felt sympathy for the man who was dragged away into the bowels of the station.
"Akuma, Victor Bravo Four – we have one in custody, and it appears that the Jubilee Line tunnel is ground zero," Intrepid reported.
"Copy that!" Akuma responded.
"Very good," Crimson announced as she came down the corridor with eight more grey-clad Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFO) following along behind, all of whom carried SIG Sauer MCX carbines.
The CTSFO standard was the highest Authorised Firearms Officer level in the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum and was established by the Metropolitan Police Service in the lead up to the Summer Olympics of 2012. Each team of sixteen was classified as a police tactical unit which was capable of forced entry and pursuit of terrorist suspects using various armoured vehicles including boats and motorcycles.
Crimson pulled open the door leading out into the railway station and without fanfare she waved Intrepid and Aegea back out onto the main concourse where Arbiter was waiting for them.
Team Hotel One
La Terreaur was moving through the off-limit parts of the sprawling mainline station.
Whereas most corridors were kept clean and tidy, some corridors and spaces were less so, mainly due to their lower usage. Some parts were a little grimy and dusty and La Terreaur had to resort to making use of a torch a few times to peer into a badly lit area. For a while, the ten-year-old saw nothing even remotely suspicious in the various storerooms and auxiliary machinery spaces. But then she noticed something - a lack of dust. The lack of dust indicated that someone had been there fairly recently. The girl knelt down and examined several boot prints in the dust. Her trained mind told her that the boots were of a military pattern, probably Eastern European – which told her that there might be mercenaries close by.
"Akuma, I have evidence of mercenary activity – fourth level, east side," she reported.
"Copy that, La Terreaur – stay safe."
The youngster was always determined to stay safe but there were times when no matter how much you wanted something it just was not what fate intended for you. As was the case for the young French girl as she sensed movement behind her but before she could turn around, something struck her left side, and she went down to the floor. Automatically, her mind processed the actions, and her body was told to get back onto its feet as quickly as possible. Her training kicked in and as she began to rise, she lashed out with her right foot, striking something hard which turned out to be a man's lower leg which buckled to her strike. That distraction gave the girl an edge against her attacker as she regained her feet and reached for her fighting knife.
Her attacker was an adult male wearing plain but functional clothing and a pair of lightweight combat boots. He was also several times the size of La Terreaur. Not that La Terreaur was bothered about that as she worked on the basis that 'the bigger they were, the harder they fell' and she grinned up at the man from behind her mask. The man was wary, and it was blatantly obvious that he knew not to underestimate the mere child threatening him with a combat knife. For a moment, the man was on the backfoot as he stepped away from the slashing blade which glimmered in the minimal lighting. La Terreaur kept pushing forwards, not allowing the man an edge to reattack, despite the large knife he held in his right hand. Despite her diminutive size and tender age, she was an expert at wielding a knife. She was also an expert at deception.
As they moved around the space, dodging around miscellaneous piles of crap and what seemed to be the man's personal kit. La Terreaur faked a stumble, and the man stepped forwards, inside her knife arc – a fatal mistake – as La Terreaur recovered from her 'stumble' and she launched herself forwards, meeting the man halfway, her left-hand fending off the incoming blade.
"Goûte mon acier, salaud!"
The man's eyes went wide as the knife penetrated deeply into his abdomen and then he grimaced as the blade was twisted viciously to the right.
..._...
A short distance away, La Coccinelle was having her own problems, even as she was making her way to support La Terreaur.
Behind the massive board which detailed departures and arrivals there was a perfect view across most of the main concourse. Not surprising that it had been used as a sniper perch some time ago. She had crept up upon a woman lying prone on a camping mat, a spotter's scope on a tripod aimed at the Waterloo concourse, aimed at the hundreds of people going about their business. Though a sniper rifle was not immediately evident, it was obvious that the location was intended as a key defensive location. The woman moved swiftly as she recognised a threat behind her but not as fast as she could have done, indicating to La Coccinelle that the woman had backup – and indeed she did. La Coccinelle dropped to the floor, twisting as she did so. She avoided the incoming fist of a second woman and then blocked a second inbound strike. Stepping back, she drew her twin twelve-inch tanto knives, brandishing the dangerous weapons as she gauged her two opponents.
Her opponents were also gauging her, and they were not all that impressed, considering they were both mercenaries with a dozen years of active-duty military behind them. While they both knew about Vengeance and masked vigilantes, neither of the women really believed that they would be much of a threat verses trained individuals such as themselves. They were each armed with blades of their own which while around four inches shorter, were still extremely deadly. Together, the two women moved to prevent their prey which had seemingly stepped so willingly into their web from escaping. But La Coccinelle was not having any of it as she watched every step, every muscle movement, every shift of her opponents' eyes.
Then she struck.
Team Foxtrot Two
Waterloo Station served the London Underground as well as the usual overground trains.
Four lines are served: the Bakerloo Line, the Jubilee Line, the Northern Line, and the Waterloo & City Line. Shadow had been walking hundreds of yards of underground corridor with her team for forty minutes and they had seen nothing much to assist their operation. However, Shadow enjoyed being able to spend time with Scamp while Nox and Torment endured Rogue. After a lot of poking about and pushing past what seemed like a million people, the Northern Line platforms were cleared as were the curved Bakerloo Line platforms which meant that those of the Jubilee Line - Platforms 5 & 6 – were next.
Rogue and Scamp went on ahead of the two teenagers, behaving just like the youngsters that they were. They easily dodged in and out of the people pursuing their trains as they searched for weapons or indications of anything which might lead them to where a nuclear device might be located. Each child was armoured and masked, and each carried a suppressed sidearm as well as a backpack with something more powerful inside. After the pair had raced down a long escalator, they split up and began to reconnoitre the two platforms. From their height – around four feet – they had a different viewpoint to the adults, and they could see things which taller people might miss.
Scamp stopped in the middle of Platform 5, and she took in everything she saw. That included the overexcited young girl tugging at her mother's hand and the man in the pinstriped navy-blue suit standing a foot back from the edge of the platform, reading his buff-coloured copy of the Financial Times. A young woman, busy texting someone she did not like – according to her facial expression, a man in a cheap-looking brown suit who was talking into his mobile phone, enjoying the free 4G signal deep below the ground. Then Scamp's ears detected the increase in air pressure as the next train westbound pushed air ahead of it out of the tunnel and into the station. As the train slowed to a stop, the doors of each carriage lined up with the full height anti-suicide doors which ran along the edge of the platform. Simultaneously, the doors of the train and those at the edge of the platform slid open and masses of people surged forwards as dozens more surged out of the train carriages with Scamp's eyes moving swiftly and holding her position as the crowds of people split around her.
Rogue stood where the platforms came together, and she watched the travellers as they took a right towards the escalators. She held her own position as a train pulled into Platform 6 and disgorged a dozen men and women who surged past the young girl. Rogue frowned as her eyes caught sight of something which her mind then took a second or two to process. It was a face. A face she recognised – only she could not think where from.
"This is Rogue, I have a possible X-Ray heading for the up escalator from Platform 6. Youth, maybe seventeen, wearing blue jeans and a pale blue lightweight jacket with a baseball cap. He's avoiding the cameras, but I caught sight of his face and I know it from somewhere."
"I have him," Nox responded. "Rogue, remain in trail. Torment, move towards the Bakerloo Line exit."
Shadow kept well back, allowing Nox to run the intercept within the main underground ticketing hall. She caught sight of the youth and her eyes followed him as he moved through the massed throng of people. Rogue was right; the youth kept his head down and avoided surveillance including a very neat manoeuvre to avoid a pair of armed British Transport Police (BTP) officers. The youth was trained and probably not up to any good, and his appearance at such a sensitive time in such a sensitive location was beyond coincidental, Shadow decided. Then Nox managed to put her foot in it as she approached the youth who unexpectedly turned to face the masked girl.
"What do you want, Fusion?" the youth demanded as he grasped Nox by her top and threw her against the aluminium front of a nearby shop and glared at the mask with the glowing eyes.
"Max!?" Nox growled from behind her mask as she took in the face before her.
"Who are you?" 'Max' responded, a look of surprise on the youth's face.
However, he swiftly recovered from his surprise as he noticed Shadow a few yards off and Rogue coming in close. He had clocked Torment who was a few yards behind Rogue the moment he had stepped off the escalator into the ticketing hall and too far away to be much of a threat. Then 'Max' looked over the heads of the other passengers and he noticed the two BTP officers turning in his direction. He made a swift strategic decision and he kicked out with his left leg, his left foot connecting with Rogue's chest and sending the unfortunate nine-year-old flying into several members of the public and causing Torment to be cut off from Rogue by the crowd. Nox reacted with a punch which was blocked and then 'Max' drew a pistol – a SIG Sauer P229 Nitron Compact fitted with a stubby suppressor - and he put a bullet into Nox's chest, dropping the girl. Then, before either police officer could raise their Heckler & Koch G36 weapons, make a radio call, or call out a warning, 'Max' put a bullet into the chest armour of each police officer. Then all hell broke loose as random members of the public began to scatter, knocking over other people as they ran for safety after witnessing the brutal gunning down of two police officers and an apparent youngster.
At that same moment, several levels above on the main station concourse, the CTSF officers burst out onto the concourse behind Crimson and her team causing further commotion.
SCOURGE
High above, Rampart and Obsidian watched sixteen CTSF officers move over the tracks between slowly moving trains as they advanced into the station from the south.
Rampart banked the helicopter to the left, curving around the station as they kept control of the immediate air space around the railway station. Rampart ignored the stares that she and her aircraft were receiving from the gondolas of the nearby London Eye where anybody who cared to look could see a black helicopter, armed to the teeth, being crewed by a pair of pilots wearing black flight suits and black flight helmets.
Mind you, London was starting to come apart and the fight was soon to become very, very public.
Four miles to the east...
One Canada Square,
Canary Wharf, City of London
20:01 GMT+1 (19:00 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 2 hours 59 minutes
Team Victor Echo, Team Foxtrot Three
Charlie Tango Zero-Five/Zero-Nine
Team Foxtrot Three
They stood at the base of the one-hundred-ton forty-metre-tall pyramid which topped off the building, some 195-metres above the ground, and at the northeast corner.
Below them was simply nothing until you reached the road. One slip and they were history. To prevent such a fall, Piranha and her team were equipped with assault harnesses built into their combat suits onto which were attached individual black half-inch ropes which were carried in rope bags attached to the right hip of those harnesses. Despite the heat of the evening, there was a cool breeze at that height, but nobody felt it very much as all their skin was covered by body armour or mask. Also attached to the harnesses were weapons of various types and various levels of deadliness. Piranha and Wolf checked each of their team members to ensure that every harness was fitted correctly – a task which had Foxtail rolling her eyes beneath her mask.
"We go down nineteen stories," Wolf reminded Wildcat and Trojan.
"Thanks," Wildcat responded. "I'd hate to get off at the wrong stop!"
"Look, Kitty-Cat," Wolf growled, "I've heard everything about you and if you put one kitty paw out of place, I will skin you alive so I can get a new rug for the fireplace – you understand me?"
"I got you, Wolfy!"
Piranha chuckled.
"Laugh it up, fish girl!" Wolf said as he took his position on the edge of the roof.
"Going down!" Trojan said as he stepped off the roof.
Half a second later, Wildcat stepped off and she plunged down, down, down, zipping past floor after floor. Forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six, forty-five, forty-four, forty-three, forty-two, forty-one, forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five, thirty-four, thirty-three, thirty-two, . . . and then after just seconds of adrenalin-producing free-fall, it was over in an instant as the hi-tech mechanism built-into the harness slowed the rapid descent at exactly the right place alongside the thickly multi-glazed windows of the thirty-first floor. Swiftly, before their presence where people were not normally seen was observed, Wildcat and Trojan went to work. The nineteen-storey plunge had given Wildcat an amazing rush which she then directed into her task. Together, the pair produced several one-foot sections of plastic, each of which was backed with a strip of C4 explosives and a strip of adhesive. Wildcat pulled off the paper strips covering the adhesive and allowed them to flutter to the ground below.
"Litter bug!" Trojan commented as he pocketed his strips of paper.
"Considering we're about to scatter glass all over the street below, a few scraps of paper ain't gonna change much, right?" Wildcat responded as she slapped her third section of explosive-backed-plastic against the glass.
Wolf watched as the two vigilantes configured a large vertical rectangle of directed explosives. He was impressed by their professionalism and skills when they weren't being idiots, but everyone needed a few minutes off, he conceded.
"Fire in the hole!" Foxtail called out as she raised a detonator.
Everyone moved clear of the large pane of glass which measured almost three metres in height and two metres in width. Then Foxtail pressed the button and there was a brief flash followed by a dozen dull thuds as each strip of C4 detonated. Then came the sound of shattering glass and Wolf gave the pane of glass a hard kick sending what was left falling inside a tidy – well it was – meeting room, crushing three chairs and a part of the central table. Without hesitation, all five armour-clad individuals swung through the gaping hole in the glazing and their boots sunk into the plush carpet of the meeting room.
Foxtail instantly disconnected the rope and rope bag from the harness built into her combat suit and she dropped the rope and bag to the carpet, bringing up her brand-new SIG MCX Rattler SBR and moving to the closed wooden door which would lead out of the now slightly messier meeting room and onto the remainder of the 27,585 square feet which made up the 31st floor. Their target was believed to be somewhere on that floor in amongst enough office space for over 250 people. Through a small glass window set into the door, Foxtail could see consternation on the faces of the few visible office workers working late as they looked around for the source of the loud bang. Then she felt a tap on her left shoulder as Piranha came up behind her.
"Move out!" the veteran Predator directed as Wolf came up behind her.
Foxtail pulled open the door and with her SIG MCX Rattler SBR to her shoulder, she stepped into the open plan east side of the floor.
Team Victor Echo
Team Victor Echo, quite a way below Team Foxtrot Three, was in the basement of the tower.
Styx and her team were searching through some thirty rooms which made up three levels of basements, the lowest of which contained a maze of multicoloured steel pipework and dozens of aluminium electrical cabinets. The first two basements had been relatively easy to clear as they had not identified any problems or anyone who should not have been there that evening. However, that swiftly changed as they descended the concrete fire stairs into the lowest basement level.
Styx was leading with Insidious directly behind her. He was followed by Kora with Thunderstorm checking their rear and watching out for Kora to ensure that the young Lady did not get herself killed. Styx stopped at the base of the stairs, and she listened before she waved Insidious forwards. The fifteen-year-old boy stepped forwards and he pulled open the fire door. Styx moved through the fire door, and she swept the muzzle of her weapon from side to side. Behind her, Insidious covered her movements as she moved forward. Then she stopped dead as she caught some movement a dozen yards away behind a nightmare of steel pipes heading in all directions with various control protrusions and wheels making the place a health and safety vigilante nightmare. Insidious had also caught the movement and he ensured that there was eight feet between him and Styx to reduce the chances of them both being taken out from a single burst of gunfire. They were joined by Kora and Thunderstorm and all four moved forwards one step at a time, four sets of eyes searching ahead of them, left, right, up, down.
Then, just like it usually did, everything went to shit.
..._...
Light glinted on something metallic that was not a section of pipework.
Styx's eyes rapidly found the object and she realised that the object was moving, spinning, as it curved through the air in their direction. In a split second, her brain identified the device and detailed for her mind, the potential ramifications of said device arriving in their midst.
"Scatter and take cover!" Styx yelled and all four vigilantes instantly moved off in different directions before they dived behind something substantial.
While three of them may not have known what they were hiding from, they took the warning for what it was and were not overly surprised when the high-explosive hand grenade detonated two seconds later. The sound reverberated around the concrete basement closely followed by the shockwave. Dust was blasted out of various nooks and crannies resulting in reduced vision. However, the flashes of muzzle fire were easily visible and that created a target for the friendly forces. Bullets clanged against pipework and ricocheted off in different directions adding to the danger for friend and foe. While such a battle environment might sow confusion, not so for the (mostly) highly trained fighters on both sides who simply altered their tactics. The dust allowed the red light emitted by the laser sights to flicker into visibility, the lasers crisscrossing as each side sought out a target. Styx had never risen beyond her knees as she scanned the area ahead with her eyes following the muzzle and laser of her weapon, and her ears searching out the slightest sound which might betray the enemy's locations. Then came a sound, a sound which stood out and Styx turned to her right as she rose to her feet, still listening.
It had sounded like a combat boot kicking a large-bore hollow steel pipe. Then she heard a crunching sound – she was being outflanked. Without hesitation, she span to her right and squeezed her trigger. A 5.56x45mm round was struck by the firing pin and the bullet exploded out of the muzzle. That round was replaced in the breech by another and then another as the action cycled. Three bullets ultimately left the barrel one after another and travelled all of eight feet before they drilled into the chest of a six-foot mercenary at around nine-hundred metres per second. The heavily built man was taken off his feet by the bullets' impact and he fell back against a steel cabinet, denting the door badly enough to cause the lock to break and the damaged doors to fall open.
As the mass of airborne dust dropped to the floor and vision began to clear, the opposing sides were able to study one another. It became immediately obvious that Styx was not alone in getting on the scoreboard. Insidious was just dropping another mercenary with a single burst from his weapon. It had also become abundantly clear that they had stumbled onto what could only be a base of operations for the opposition – a command post. They were facing upwards of eight (ten originally) and as Styx found more of the basement becoming visible, she was able to identify a collapsible table loaded with laptops and other technology. They were also, Styx surmised, the backup force for those based on the thirty-first floor. That meant each one had to be put down before any of them could respond to the attack almost three dozen floors above them and threaten the other team.
Kora and Thunderstorm had moved after the grenade had detonated, crawling together away from the perceived carnage. The gunfire had been deafening to Kora and she was keen to get out of the basement as soon as possible but she knew that they each had a task to complete before that could happen. As the pair came around a large steel cabinet, they both rose to their feet and looked around as the dust clouds dissipated.
"Looks like a command post," Thunderstorm suggested as she caught sight of the tables and laptops.
"We destroy it?" Kora queried.
"Yes," Thunderstorm responded. "If we can seize a laptop intact then we do it, otherwise we destroy it all."
Whilst gunfire rang out over to their left, the pair moved slowly towards the command post. At first, it seemed that the attention of the enemy was fixed upon their colleagues but then they were spotted as they were but ten feet from their target. Bullets flew in their direction as the pair dived for cover. Then a slim woman in combat clothing and body armour grabbed a single laptop and bolted for the exit and the concrete fire stairs beyond. Kora took off after the woman with Thunderstorm close behind.
"STOP!" Kora bellowed as she leapt up the concrete steps two at a time, but the woman stayed several yards ahead of her and did not heed her warning.
They had already reached the first basement level and the woman was close to reaching the lobby.
..._...
The lobby was filled with sixteen armed police officers much to the chagrin of the on-duty concierge.
"But, I see no signs of any trouble...," the on-duty concierge complained as the senior CTSF officer who was insisting on a building lockdown and evacuation of all floors below the thirty-first.
Then, as if on queue, the door to the lobby fire stairs flew open and what appeared to be a uniformed soldier in body armour ran into the lobby clutching what looked like a laptop in the left hand and holding a pistol out in the right hand. Two rounds were fired off by the woman in the direction of the fire stairs, the gunshots echoing around the two-storey lobby. The concierge dropped to the ground as he scrambled for his desk and the lockdown button. The men of Charlie Tango Zero-Five immediately turned their Heckler & Koch G36C assault carbines onto the threat.
"Armed police...!"
However, the woman turned her pistol onto the counter-terrorism officers and as a result, she was taken down by shots from the four closest officers just as Thunderstorm and Kora reached the fire door and they yelled out a warning to avoid a blue-on-blue engagement.
"VENGEANCE!"
The police counter-terrorism officers kept their weapons raised but then lowered them slightly as it became obvious that friendly forces were emerging, however, with the fire door open the sounds of gunfire could be heard from far below.