Saturday, December 31st
Central Los Angeles
20:05
There was a pause of almost two seconds before everything kicked off.
There was the scampering of patrons as many grasped their winnings, dozens of chips of many denominations and a few high-value plaques were sent flying in the ensuing panic. Tables were uprooted and their contents scattered across the floor. Due to the close proximity of their protectees, the protectors opted for melee weapons such as ASPs and knives. They were at an instant disadvantage as they wore less body armour and they were carrying defensive weapons best used when you were being mugged out on the street.
Mist's chain whip was causing confusion as the armoured tip dug into chip trays and card dealers, exploding said trays and devices. Every dealer was armed, all with at least a pistol and some with baseball bats. Trauma grasped hold of an inbound baseball bat, yanking the holder across a Blackjack table. Lilith was a few feet away, her new Katana blade severing any ASPs which came her way. Then she found herself facing a large man armed with a massive combat knife.
"Bit dinky, mate," Lilith growled as she brought up her Katana.
"Fuck off!" came the response as the man attempted to deflect Lilith's blade.
About thirty seconds later, another security guard slipped on the big bastard's blood and fell backwards, looking up to see Lilith above him.
"It's too easy!" the vigilante complained as she stabbed the man through the heart, the exquisitely sharp blade severing the organ in two so neatly that it continued to beat for another ten seconds before coming apart.
As the patrons thinned, the fighting men were able to take the risk of using firearms. Bullets began to zip around the casino – some finding own goals while others struck the vigilante's body armour. Trauma was not amused to have bullets striking his armour and he let loose with his Glock 19 Gen4 pistol, immediately dropping one and then two of the security guards. The girls made good use of their manoeuvrability as they opted to leap and dive from table to table, navigating the room using unpredictable movements, slicing and dicing as they went. Yes, Lilim was the proud owner of her own Ko-Wakizashi – more on that and Lilith's Katana later on. Both girls were still learning to master their new precision weapons, but they had no problem soaking the plush casino carpet in blood and other bodily fluids. Lilim had truly learnt where bloodlust came from. She was becoming intoxicated on the metallic copper smell which lingered in the air as a result of so much blood being spilt. The blades were sharp enough to cut through just about anything and Lilim paused momentarily as she watched a man's entire shoulder, complete with arm slide off his body and flop to the ground.
"Cool!" the youngster announced as the man in question began to scream as he took in the massive wound.
..._...
Riptide was enjoying himself.
He had armour and he was using it to maximum advantage as he used his muscular bulk to smash his opponents to one side, hacking them down with a combat machete as he passed – using the flat of the blade or the blade itself. It was obvious to him that the security guards thought they were onto a winner with a cushy number where nothing bad would happen. Shock was evident in many faces – even a resigned fate was visible. Above all, Riptide kept a wary eye open for Lilim – just in case she should need him. The he was blindsided by a big bastard who punched Riptide in the side. His armour absorbed much of the strike, but damn if it did not hurt. Riptide brought his left elbow around and caught his assailant, but he was big and really, really ugly. However, a couple of well-placed kicks and the man landed on a craps table, crushing it flat.
"Hi!" Lilim announced as she took the Kashira (hilt) of her sword across the man's forehead, putting him out cold.
"Hi, yourself," Riptide chuckled as he headed back into the throng to where he could see Trauma knee deep in cunts.
Trauma was putting his armoured fists to good use as he came across guard after guard. They all went down hard. Every now and then, a bullet would whiz past attracting a snapshot from Trauma's Glock or even a personal strike from his own combat machete. As he kept an eye on Lilith, he noticed how well the two girls complemented one another. They were amazing with their new swords and Lilith looked so awesome as she twisted amongst the destroyed furniture and fighting men. They were not alone as the twins, Venom and Bane, took turns distracting and then taking down anyone who crossed their path. Bane's chain whip would lash out while Venom's Dragon Guandao caused many a fatal injury as she used the nasty weapon to vault over entire craps tables. Mist was not to be outdone as she made her way towards the boss - Jeremiah Ret. The man had rapidly put in a call for help from his own boss.
He knew that hell was about to rain down upon the seven vigilantes who were about to very much regret assaulting his casino.
Safehouse C
Command Centre
"What's that?"
Maddie followed James' finger to where he was pointing.
"Crap!" Maddie exclaimed as she saw what was racing down Broadway.
"I count six SUVs," James offered.
"Crap!" Maddie responded as she keyed the radio. "Caution! You're about to get company – Panther Brigade – and they ain't stopping to ask directions."
"ETA?" Mist asked.
"Ninety seconds is all you got."
Central Los Angeles
"We have company!" Mist announced loudly.
With practised ease, the seven vigilantes broke off the fight and they moved to defensive positions, exchanging melee weapons for assault weapons. The remaining security guards ran the moment they saw the firepower being brought to bear. Three P90s and four G36C assault rifles was a formidable array of firepower to face, mind you, the twenty-four Panther Brigade soldiers were fully equipped for combat. They all wore black combat gear with body armour on legs, arms, and torso and they carried a variety of weapons based on the G36 assault rifle.
It was obvious that they meant business and they were sent on Dieter's orders to wipe them out.
..._...
Günther Schmidt was in direct command of his men and he was looking forward to the end when he could implement Dieter's orders.
Once the Fusion vigilantes were beaten – a simple formality - their living, dead, or dying bodies were to be paraded out on the street. They would be publicly stripped of their body armour and clothing before being unmasked before the city. The dead and the living would be paraded through the streets naked for everyone to see that they were nothing but ordinary human beings who had made a bad decision to become vigilantes. By making their fate intentionally horrific, Dieter wanted to send a message which would ensure that nobody else would choose to become a vigilante in that city.
It was a horrific end as once their parade was over, they would be coldly shot dead and their bodies burnt.
..._...
Trauma saw the first helmeted soldier enter from the main entrance.
The man was flanked by two identically-clad men on either side and the five of them moved as a phalanx, their assault rifles covering a full one-eighty-degree arc ahead of them. More men came in behind them to cover the side arcs. Trauma grimaced – they were professionals which meant that they would fight to the death, assuming Fusion could get close enough to kill them by hand or by bullet. For that task, they had a plan. Riptide pulled out a small black box with a shrouded toggle switch on the side. After a nod from Trauma, Riptide flipped down the shroud and then moved the switch downwards. For a moment, nothing happened, but somewhere deep within the building, there was a dull crump as a small explosive charge converted the intricately sophisticated main electrical fuse box into a mass of twisted copper and steel. All the lights went out with emergency lighting snapping on two seconds later. In those two seconds, several cylindrical devices flew through the air unseen in the darkness.
As the emergency lighting came up, the men of the Panther Brigade suddenly saw the devices just as they detonated. Some were flashbangs while other were high-explosive grenades. Three of the men died instantly with two more injured as grenade fragments tore through their body armour. That dropped the surviving number to eight, however, more men appeared to replace the dead and wounded. First blood had gone to Fusion. Not that they stood back to enjoy their mini victory, no, Fusion was up and running the moment the grenades detonated. Five more Panther Brigade dropped as the P90s and G36Cs chattered away firing short bursts as the fight was joined. Bullets flew in all directions through the shredded, now not so luxurious, casino. The Panther Brigade were good. Their bullets struck home within an inch of their targets. Mist was unsure how easy it would be to take down the disciplined fighters. It was rare for Fusion to be fighting such disciplined fighters and Fusion tended to ensure that they fought those they knew that they could beat. They estimated that the five of them were facing off against less than thirty men – well, a third were already down to no losses on their side.
That did not last as Trauma received two 5.56-millimetre rounds into his heavy front armour, bruising him, but not penetrating the custom-made armour. It was difficult to keep track of the fighters as they moved to outflank the vigilantes. They also used flashbang grenades to mask their movements in the semi-darkness. The gunfight had only been underway mere minutes before Trauma and Venom both came to the same amazing and very useful discovery.
"Mist – these guys fight like soldiers," Venom commented over the radio.
"So?" Mist replied.
"They're using manoeuvres directly out of any army's infantry manual for urban warfare," Venom went on.
"That means that the sorry fuckers are predictable," Trauma added.
"It also means that they are not trained to fight using unorthodox techniques," Bane threw in as she understood.
"Unorthodox, like us Predators," Lilith finished.
"Got ya!" Mist said as she understood. "Get to it, then."
..._...
All return gunfire suddenly stopped.
"What's happening?" Günther Schmidt demanded.
"Lost target!"
"Lost target!"
"Lost target!"
"Lost target!"
"Lost target!"
"Find them!" Schmidt ordered.
The destroyed casino went almost silent as all gunfire ceased and the men of the Panther Brigade sought out their prey in the eerie atmosphere afforded flickering emergency lights and the drifting smoke left behind by the various grenades.
"This is eight, I think. . ."
"Eight? Report!" Schmidt called. "Eight?"
"This is nine . . . I've found eight, err, his throat's been cut."
"Nine – any sign of the vigilantes? Nine!"
"Sohn einer Hündin!" Schmidt exclaimed. "Get the bastards! Stay in groups."
There was a burst of gunfire from a dozen yards away – the bullets struck the ceiling, bringing down tiles and glass from the lighting. Then an electronically enhanced voice called out across the wrecked casino.
"Wir kommen für dich, arschgeige!"
"Küss meinen Arsch!" Schmidt retorted angrily at the particularly vulgar insult as he fired off a dozen rounds from his own G36 rifle in the direction of the voice. "Flachwichser!"
Günther Schmidt was not a happy man. He had begun the evening with thirty men and even with sixteen . . . a scream rang out as another man died . . . fifteen, remaining, he did not seem able to take out just seven supposedly lesser-skilled vigilantes. Dieter Mannheim would not be a happy man and Günther sincerely hoped that his boss, Anton Renke, would be able to smooth things over – at least enough to keep him alive and in his lucrative post. Günther quickly figured out what was going on – the vigilantes had changed to using guerrilla tactics, confusing his men in midst battle. Those damn vigilantes had gone through his men like a scythe through wheat. His men had had no time to acclimatise to the new form of battle, laying them open to the vicious vigilantes who had given no quarter as they as they had resorted to making use of knives and pistols, killing at very close range.
Günther hated to admit it, but the Fusion vigilantes were cold and decisive, two things he appreciated in a fighter.
..._...
Venom was living the dream.
She slunk through the darkness and she identified her next target. After rolling beneath a craps table, she watched a pair of boots move slowly past, then she struck, rolling out and coming up onto her feet, before taking her combat knife and reaching around the man's neck and cutting deeply enough that the air from his lungs exploded out amidst the gurgling of blood. Venom swiftly jumped away into the darkness as the man died on the way to the floor. She sought out her next target, her feral mind operating on automatic as she sought to kill.
Bane had taken down two men before they had known she was even there. To the sixteen-year-old, the killing took her back and it gave her a sexual high. The coppery smell of the blood intoxicated her, and she took great joy in causing cruel injuries. The second man had died to a knife in his groin, his life literally spilling out of the femoral artery. The man tried to staunch the flow of blood, but in an act of extreme cruelty, Bane took the man's own combat knife and she pinned his hands to the casino floor.
For Lilith, it was a form of killing which came naturally. She enjoyed the stealth and the ability to steal out of the darkness, taking a life with barely a thought. Just like the others she had trained alongside, she felt no guilt over the men she killed. She, just like Chrissy and Sky, had endured many hours of psychological manipulation to control any negative feelings which might affect their missions. The drugs had controlled that relentlessly, but since the drugs had worn off, they had retained the ability to bury their emotions, but they had gained the ability to decide when and where they should feel guilt over a kill.
Trauma had never enjoyed the killing. The females reacted differently to the mental conditioning and they appeared to channel the in-built cruelty of their sex. The males tended to be better with tactics and planning, although perfectly able to kill, just like their female counterparts. The males also provided increased strength and brawn, when required, as their own sex dictated. Trauma used his strength to kill, less concerned about bloody kills than quick kills allowing him to move on. The females enjoyed the psychological side of leaving bloody damaged corpses behind while the males tended to see that as unnecessary. Trauma's targets died of a cervical fracture to the vertebrae – a broken neck.
As for Riptide, he favoured taking his combat knife and bisecting the heart of his victim. That wasn't so easy with body armour in play, however, an alternative play was driving his blade up under the rib cage and body armour. A quick twist and his victim would suffer catastrophic internal bleeding. Some saw Riptide to be serious in his role, but the boy was not above a little fun. He smirked beneath his mask as he came across two Panther Brigade fighters moving in parallel about twenty feet apart. With perfectly executed timing, Riptide stood up and called out to the two men.
"Hey, wankers!"
Both men turned as Riptide dropped to the floor – their G36 assault rifles spitting fire.
"That's cheating!" Lilim commented as she watched both men drop from each other's bullets.
"Why do the hard work when you can just make the bad guys kill each other," Riptide pointed out.
Lilim simply shrugged.
..._...
Mist had used the carnage to get close to the obvious leader.
Though they had never met, before, Mist had read the bastard's file. Günther Schmidt was an ex-German paratrooper of Fallschirmjägerbataillon 263. He was dishonourably discharged from the Bundeswehr in the late 1990s and he came across the radar of Anton Renke who employed him as part of Dieter Mannheim's personal guard. By 2008, Günther had found himself promoted into the Head of Security position for the entire Panther Organisation. He reported to Anton Renke who, in turn, reported directly to Dieter Mannheim. Günther controlled the security of all Panther sites as well as the Panther Brigade. He very rarely failed in his tasks, however, Mist was determined to change that aspect of Günther's life.
As she approached in the smoky darkness, she found the man surrounded by four of his Panther Brigade subordinates. The armed men appeared jumpy as they scanned every conceivable point of approach. Mist was low down in the darkness, and she timed her advance when all heads were turned away from her location. In her hands, she held her twin Walther P99C automatic pistols. Mist dove forward, putting a bullet into the heads of two of the men, dropping them to the plush carpet. The remaining pair of men paused as Mist pointed her pistols at their heads.
"Drop 'em, boys!" she hissed at the three men.
Günther threw down his assault rifle, closely followed by his subordinates' own rifles. The fight was over, Günther realised, as he counted all seven Fusion vigilantes, apparently unharmed, advancing on him, automatic weapons raised.
"Kneel!" Mist growled and the three men did so.
With all three covered by automatic weapons, Mist holstered her pistols and she lowered her masked face to within an inch of Günther's right ear.
"Go scuttle back to Dieter – let him know that we will take him down," Mist hissed. "Tonight, was just a taster of what we have in store. Each casino. Each dirty deal. We will find them. We will cut them out. Now, how about a little reminder?"
With that, Mist drew her Walther P99C and she put two bullets into Günther's left thigh. The man bellowed out in agony as he fell the short distance to the floor with both bullets embedded firmly in the meaty flesh of his thigh.
"You two," Mist indicated the two remaining Panther Brigade members. "Take this sack of shit outta here and make sure he lives to deliver my message to his boss. Oh, yeah . . . I'd also suggest a new career."
The seven vigilantes vanished into the darkness like they were never there.
Safehouse C
Command Centre
"This is Mist, we're clear and heading home."
"Copy that – see you soon," Maddie replied before she sighed with relief.
What made her do it, she had absolutely no idea. Maybe it was that obvious relief that everybody was safe. James was seated in the seat next to her and she put her arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks for your assistance, James."
"Not a problem, Maddie."
James reciprocated as she placed his own arm around Maddie's shoulders. Maddie felt something inside her body tell that her everything was fine. Everything appeared to escalate as Maddie pressed play on her music app . . . 'I Think We're Alone Now' . . . was it fate? What had come over her?
Children behave
That's what they say when we're together
And watch how you play
They don't understand
Maddie turned to her right and she gave James a kiss on his left cheek. James appeared surprised but he went with it, returning the kiss. Maddie felt his lips touching her right cheek which was rapidly warming up.
And so we're
Running just as fast as we can
Holdin' onto one another's hand
Tryin' to get away into the night
It had to have been the song which was playing:
And then you put your arms around me
And we tumble to the ground
And then you say, I think we're alone now
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we are alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
Look at the way
We gotta hide what we're doin'
Whatever, they had begun to hug – perfectly innocent . . . or so Maddie had thought. She quickly found her groin taking control and she felt something 'down there' which she had never felt before . . . no, that was not true. She had felt something like it that time when she had found James lying atop her on his bed. It had been perfectly simple; the operation was all but over, and the team were coming home. Her arm had wrapped around James' shoulders and she had squeezed and thanked the boy. Then his arm had wrapped around her shoulders and her heart had begun to beat at something like a million beats per minute, totally out of control. The rest of the music track went into a blur until the final chorus as they both somehow found themselves on the couch which sat along one wall:
I think we are alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
I think we are alone now
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we are alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
I think we are alone now
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we are alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
They had begun to kiss – it was the first time for Maddie, and she found the experience to be very wet, but her lips tingled as James' lips touched her own. As they lay together, she could feel his heart pounding and she placed a hand on his chest, feeling the thunder of his most important organ as it pumped life-giving blood around his body. Then Maddie jumped as James placed his own hand over her own heart and one of his fingers touched an already hard nipple which simply hardened even further as it became fully erect. That wasn't all that was becoming fully erect as Maddie felt James shifting and then she felt something poking at her thigh. She thought nothing of it – at first – until she considered where the blood was going that his heart was pumping furiously to provide. She felt her face turning red and she suddenly felt very hot. She knew what a boy had between his legs – she had a younger brother . . . but she had also ventured onto some sites online and she knew what a real dick looked like, not to mention what it was for.
Maddie felt her groin behaving in a very strange way that she had never encountered before and without realising it, she had shed her blouse and she was showing off her plain white bra to James. As James' hands touched the skin of her stomach, Maddie giggled, and her groin screamed out in . . . happiness? She had absolutely no idea what she was doing, nor how to control the urges which appeared to be guiding her actions. James was being a perfect gentleman about everything, and his touch was simply amazing. Each touch would trigger sensations which surged around her body like nothing she had ever felt before. Her hands began to wander, and she pulled off James' T-shirt, her eyes wandering across his upper body. She had seen it often enough in the pool and around the house, but somehow, that moment was very different, and she loved the sight of his skin, his muscles . . . she wanted to see more.
"We're twenty minutes out," Mist radioed.
..._...
Maddie jumped up off the couch, almost sending the bare-chested James flying as she did so, and she grabbed the microphone.
"Copy that, out!"
They need to move things along – whatever those things happened to be – Maddie thought. Without conscious thought, Maddie toed off her sneakers and she slipped out of her jeans. As she stood before James in nothing but her underwear, she felt his eyes tracking over her body from head to toe. Maddie hated her body – she had no idea why, but she hated it. Puberty had turned it into something she just hated.
James, on the other hand, he had loved Maddie's body ever since he had first laid eyes on her long legs and gorgeous thighs. As for her chest . . . well, he was a boy, and Maddie was just perfect as far as he was concerned. He was trying to be a gentleman and he was letting Maddie lead things. With the girl down to just her underwear, James pushed down his own jeans and he kicked them off. He felt his face heating up and he could see where Maddie's eyes had drifted. As he too looked down, he saw that his boxer shorts were doing nothing to cover up the fact that he had a raging erection.
Maddie was grinning as she saw his tented boxer shorts and suddenly realised what was causing it. That was when the music track changed:
Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go
Maddie found her fingers shaking as she reached behind her back for her bra strap. It took three attempts for her fingers to fumble the clasp apart and she squealed as she allowed the garment to tumble to the floor. She saw James' eyes go as big as dinner plates when she took her hands away from her chest, exposing her breasts. She saw his throat moving like he was gulping.
Highway to the danger zone
Ride into the danger zone
Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the deck
And shovin' into overdrive
"Together?" Maddie said as she stuck her thumbs into the waistband of her panties.
"Together," James replied as he took a deep breath and he shoved his boxer shorts down his legs and stepped out of them.
Maddie had done the same with her panties and James appalled himself by actually whimpering at the sight before him. It was not the first time that he had seen a naked girl . . . but to him, Maddie was better than any one of them. She was amazing and her body was just perfect.
She was mesmerised by what was pointing at her from James' hairy groin. It was a fair size – not that she had anything to compare it with. He looked amazing and he did seem to like what he saw . . . that was what caused an erection . . . right?
Highway to the danger zone
I'll take you
Ridin' into the danger zone
Maddie took a few tentative steps towards the naked boy, ignoring her own nakedness. She reached out and she stroked his erection for a moment before yanking her hand back like it had been burnt. It felt soft, very soft, and very warm. James wrapped his arms around Maddie and their bodies touched for the very first time. As they kissed, Maddie could feel something hard poking into her stomach.
You'll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You'll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go
"I want to do it," Maddie stated.
"Err, Maddie," James replied. "They'll shoot me."
"Damn it!"
Maddie pulled away from James and she reached for something on her desk. It was a small digital audio recorder. Maddie paused her music before she pressed the record button on the recorder and spoke clearly into the microphone.
"I Madeline Tyler give James Todd permission to stick his penis into my vagina!"
Maddie released the record button and she placed the device back on her desk, un-paused her music and retrieved something else.
"Happy?" she demanded, standing with her hands on her hips, legs slightly apart.
"Yeah!" James almost squeaked. "We need. . ."
"Will this do?"
Maddie handed over a foil-wrapped condom.
"Where. . .?"
"Sky's bathroom – don't ask."
James felt very self-conscious as he ripped open the packet and he rolled the contraceptive down his penis – it was a first for him and it felt strange. He watched Maddie lie down on the couch, her legs open.
'Damn!' he thought.
Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity
..._...
Maddie felt so ready.
Highway to the danger zone
Gonna take you
Right into the danger zone
That was when his penis slipped inside. . .
Highway to the danger zone
Right into the danger zone
Highway to the danger zone
Gonna take you right into the danger zone
It did not take long for either one of them.
Highway to the danger zone
Right into the danger zone
Highway to the danger zone
Gonna take you right into the danger zone
Maddie's back arched upwards as she felt an amazing explosion deep within her.
Highway to the danger zone
Right into the danger zone
Maddie crashed back down from the most intensive orgasm she had ever encountered (out of two – ever).
Highway to the danger zone
Gonna take you right into the danger zone
Safehouse C
"No Maddie to great us, I see," Chrissy commented as she stowed her helmet and pulled off her mask.
"They're probably fucking," Sky laughed.
"Please!" Chrissy retorted. "Little Maddie hasn't found that hole yet."
"Better check on her," Erika grinned.
The three girls headed down to the Command Centre and as Erika released the lock, they all stopped dead.
"What the fuck!?" Chrissy demanded.
There were clothes scattered around the floor and it took a few seconds to see the two youngsters cuddling on the couch – naked.
"I think James is about to become a girl," Sky scowled as she pulled out her combat knife.
With surprising speed, Maddie jumped up and she pulled her Glock 26 from its holster under her desk. She pointed the weapon at Sky.
"Leave him alone!" Maddie barked.
Sky struggled to take Maddie seriously. A – she was naked. B – she barely knew which end of a pistol was which. C – she was naked.
"Look, honey," Sky said in a patronising tone as she stepped towards James. "Only point a pistol at someone if you are willing to shoot them."
Maddie squeezed the trigger once and Sky screamed out as she fell to the floor.
"Nice speech, sis," Chrissy grinned. "How's that working out for you?"
"Sucks," Sky grimaced as she pulled herself to her feet, glad that she was still wearing her armour.
Erika glared at Maddie.
"You and me, we are going to talk," Erika said pointedly.
"Yes, ma'am."
Once Erika, Chrissy, and Sky were gone, James grinned at Maddie.
"I think we should get dressed, don't you think?"
Maddie suddenly felt very awkward as she stood there with a pistol in one hand and completely naked. She realised that she had just stood naked before her friends and then shot Sky.
"Yeah – I think so."