NINE
Note: This chapter contains graphic violence. Reader's discretion is advised.
Thor's Shieldhall, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
July 29, 3063
"He's always late, that sonofabitch."
Kyle reclined in his chair, playing with his semi-empty beer bottle. It was his second bottle, and I could tell he drank that much just to soothe his anxiety. I was on my second bottle myself, but it was because I grew fond of Solaris beer. The deadline for Captain Morton to meet us had passed half an hour ago, but he had not showed up, and I was afraid if he did not come soon, we would be too drunk to talk about what he found about Kid Gordo. Inner Sphere's bad habits colonized me one at a time, and I was afraid I would turn into an addict like some mechwarriors on the neighboring tables. Damn Spheroids!
"He'll come. He always does." Natalie tapped Kyle's shoulder. She was the only one who kept her alcohol consumption under control.
"Sorry I'm late," Captain Morton finally appeared with two of his lieutenants. "Got stuck at the office."
"I've never met anybody who disregards punctuality as bad as you, Morton," Kyle grumbled. "You are just the worst of your kind."
"Hey, cool off!" Morton snapped. "I'm here, so let's get down to business." He ordered beers and drew some pieces of paper. "That Gordo kid wasn't supposed to be in the game with Parker. The real mechwarrior was 'Bolo' Bob, a new recruit. Bob went AWOL an hour before the fight, and the only available seatfiller at such a short time was Gordo."
"Wait a minute," I tuned in. "He came to me 3 days before the fight, saying he would be in a Daedalus. Bolo Bob had not been missing by then, had he?"
"No, and that's exactly my point," Morton continued. "Somebody really wanted Gordo to be in the match. I checked Gordo's bank account. He was broke. Not a single c-bill left in his bank account. But here's where it gets interesting… he got thousands of online debts betting on Thunder Thorley."
"So he's in it deep, really deep," Kyle surmised. "Then what? Was somebody on his tail?"
"Exactly. Guess whom he'd been calling 10 times a day lately… Fist Difalco!"
I never thought I would hear the name again. He disappeared after I beat him in lightweight circuit last year, and I wondered what he was doing lately. It turned out he was taking care of other business. I felt sorry for Kid Gordo for having to deal with Fist Difalco.
"You want to know what I think? I think Kid was in a dire need of money. The bank was gnawing on him, days and nights, and he just had to escape. Difalco knew about this and used it to settle a score with Parker. He offered Kid an easy escape if Kid set up an ambush for Parker. Kid was supposed to feed Parket to the Nighthawk, Hatchetman, and Huron Warrior. But something went wrong. Maybe Kid got greedy. Maybe Kid talked too much. Or maybe Kid listened to his conscience, so he took matters into his own hand. Then Difalco turned his diabolical scheme to Kid; he sabotaged Kid's mech and assigned his cohorts to maul Kid on the arena before he blew the whistle. Then he went back to his dungeon, lurking for another chance to strike Parker."
I listened to Morton's justification with much interest. It was a logical theory. I knew that some Solaris players regarded the games as life and death. But never I would think somebody would take it as far as Fist Difalco. It reminded me of Jerome Helmer, and it seemed that I continuously crossed path with maniacs. Perhaps I had a knack of irritating people to the point of insanity.
"Interesting theory," Kyle stated. "So what will be our next step?"
"You'll love me for this, Garret!" Morton sniggered. "I traced Kid's phone calls using the satellite overhead link. Six times out of ten, Difalco was in Cathay, sector D17. I confirmed it with Cathay District. The entire area was a mid-class residential complex, but this particular sector was leased to Norbert Liao. I don't know who this Norbert guy is, but I bet my own head, he's got a tight relationship with Chancellor Sun Tzu."
"That means you found the Grey Wolves' den," Natalie concluded.
"Something that I've been working on for years," Morton knocked on the paper repeatedly. "If we whip D17 hard and fast, we'll wipe out the Grey Wolves out of commission. Then Davion loyalists can return to the arenas without fear of getting slammed by Liao partisans. Then I can sit back and watch commendations crawling to my desk, hopefully handed to me by Prince Victor himself."
"You wish!" Kyle smiled. "But good job nonetheless. So when will you hit the Grey Wolves?"
"Tonight," Morton grinned. "Cathay District had given me authority to send two APCs to D17. They will support us with another squad of cops. There will be enough personnel to choke the Grey Wolves from every direction. By the way, what are you up to tonight? I heard that your wife is an excellent tac-op officer."
"Best in AFFC," Kyle winked at Natalie.
"Natalie Gibson-Garret, reporting to duty!" Natalie responded with a coy salute.
"Good! We need a dependable tactical operation officer to monitor the attack."
"Is there anything I can do?" I felt a little left out.
"Ah, you get the best part in this mission, Parker!" Morton chuckled. "You'll get to watch it on TV, from your room, beer in your left hand, chick in your right! How nice is that?"
"Wait, wait, Morton," Kyle shifted on his chair. "We got this far because of him. We can't just leave him out. Are you going to take the credit of unveiling the Grey Wolves' nest for yourself?"
Morton shot a disgruntled stare at me, then at Kyle, and finally back at me. "I guess we have a room for another. Can you handle a needler?" Morton drew his needler gun and put it in front of me.
"A needler? Why do we want to hit the Grey Wolves with needler guns?" I protested.
"We don't want to kill them, Parker," Natalie explained. "We want to get them alive for questioning. Information puts us one step ahead of them, and in urban warfare like this, information is winning half of the battle. I hope you haven't forgotten about your basic training."
"No, I have not," I receded in a small fib. "I can handle a needler."
"Stay close to Natalie all the time," Morton snorted. "If you can't handle such a simple command, then maybe you don't need to be in this mission at all."
"I will do that," I nodded and emptied my bottle.
Sector D17, Cathay,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
July 29, 3063
The night was still young, but numerous shadows dove into the dark alleys, cowering under the silhouettes of buildings and vehicles that were carelessly parked on the streets. Three black-painted APCs crawled on the street with low hum as more and more SCPD agents jumped out of the vehicles, covering as many grounds as possible.
Natalie sat beside me inside one of the APCs, facing two monitors that showed the overhead of the district. The satellite link gave her unprecedented real-time view of the entire district, which helped her synchronized the assault. Kyle sat in the front row with Morton, just behind the driver. Another cop sat behind me, manning the twin .50 caliber machine guns of the APC, but his instruction was to hold fire unless the situation became out of control.
The APC stopped, and Morton exited, followed by Kyle. I took the liberty to follow them meeting a woman from another APC. She wore black flak vest with SCPD crest on one side and Liao green badge on the other. It was weird to see Kyle and Morton wearing flak vest with FedCom emblems on their chest. Davion and Liao had been both uneasy allies and bitter rivals, and seeing these individuals working together was eerie.
"Captain Wang, this is Captain Garret from 160th Davion Guards," Morton opened the briefing. "Captain Wang provides us with a squad of personnel from Cathay District."
"My gratitude for assisting us in this excursion, Captain Wang," Kyle shook her hands.
"Let's not get carried away, Captain," Wang replied coldly. "Cathay District is not helping the Davions. We are doing this because the Grey Wolves give us a bad name. In the spirit of fair play, let's get this done. My unit will sweep the north sector, building by building. Spread your unit to cover all areas, and get everybody out on the street for identification. Expect heavy resistance, but minimize damage. If we move fast, we should be able to hit them before they know it." Then Wang spotted me. "Who's he? Civilian?"
"His information brought us here," Kyle explained. "He's staying with me unless needed."
"Good!" Morton concluded. "Red Team, to the west! Blue, to the east. I'll cover the south!"
As the cops assumed their positions, Kyle handed me a flak vest, an earpiece, and a needler gun. I donned the flak vest and slipped in the earpiece behind my ear. I could clearly hear Morton giving orders to his troops. Wang was also busy spreading words, although not as enthusiastic as Morton. Natalie adjusted the tone of the screens so everybody could see clearly the overhead image of sector D17, with the cops running around the street, ready to attack the houses.
I remembered Kid Gordo said about the position of people that attempted to hurt me, and wondered if he was trying to lead me to this sector. His intention was marred by his greed, and if only he came to Morton instead of blackmailing me, he would have been alive and aptly rewarded. What a waste of talent.
"All units, this is central, report status," Natalie sent her final code.
"We're in position," Wang replied.
"Red Team, in position."
"Blue Team, position."
"This is Morton, we're in position. Strike deep and fast."
"On my mark," Natalie said. "Three… two… one… Go!"
The cops jumped out in unison and quickly stormed the houses, knocking out doors and windows. Yells and screams flooded the comlink, and for a moment it looked like the operation went smoothly. But it was just a rushed expectation. Multiple gunshots echoed through the comlink, and through Natalie's screens I could see muzzle flashes blitzed from various positions. Unidentified figures, tall and small, poured out onto the streets, firing wildly toward the cop's positions.
"Shots fired! Shots fired!" somebody yelled on the comlink.
"Officer down! Repeat, officer down!" added another.
"Blue Team, you have bogeys on your six pouring out from 355 Dixie Court!" Natalie's voice was calm and firm. "Tag them before they reach the second house! Red Team, two unidentified males making a zip on Groningen Street. Cut them off on the next intersection!"
"Roger that!"
From the screen I saw four large men firing their machine guns at Red Team's position, but two cops sneaked behind their backs and mowed them down using their needler guns. At another corner, the two men Natalie mentioned tried to make their ways outside the complex, but three cops cut their path and immobilized them with well-placed shots to their limbs. In the north, Wang's force were tangled with several Grey Wolves thugs with big guns, possibly Sternsnachts. Two cops had already been taken down, lying on their pooling blood.
"Captain Wang, reinforce your men on 5600 Delasz! They won't hold long against the thugs. Morton, you have a leak on your seven. Five men are escaping."
"I'm spreading thin down here!" Morton's reply came in hot and curt. "Blue Team, split up and reinforce my rear flank!"
"No can do Cap'n! We're pinned down here!"
"We'll cover it," suddenly Kyle jumped out of the APC. "APC One, reinforce Wang and Blue Team! Two, cover the center! You…" he tapped the driver, "Stay right here! Parker, let's close the door for these runners!"
"On your six," I did not think when I jumped out of the APC and dashed as fast as I could. It was rather hard to run in flak vest, but I had to wear it. The Grey Wolves were using real bullets, and I did not want to take a chance getting hit by stray shots. We sprinted for about 200 meters down the road until we came into an intersection. Kyle made a tight turn to the left, and the 5 escaping thugs were only 50 meters in front of him.
The thugs saw us, and they raised their guns, but Kyle was close enough to ram himself at them, taking down two of the thugs. As he tumbled and struggled with the two Grey Wolves, their friends aimed their guns at Kyle. I quickly crouched and fired my needler. A burst of hypersonic flechettes leapt from my gun, castigating the torso of the thug closest to me. A giant man, he was a mountain of muscles, but the plastic flechettes shredded his chest muscles like paper. An agonizing scream escaped his mouth as his fingers curled into half fists, coping with the pain. He slumped to the hard pave of the street, moaning while rubbing his bloodied chest.
I switched target to the other two, but they already put me in their crosshairs. Their muzzle flash blinded me, then I felt two terrible twinges punching my chest. I felt my breath was taken away from me. Their bullet pushed me with such a force I had to keel over and took several steps behind. Then they fired again. One hit my shoulder, the other slammed into my stomach. I lost my vision, and next time I opened my eyes, I was lying down, staring at the dark sky, fighting for my breaths.
"Parker! Parker, you OK?" I heard Kyle's voice far away. Slowly I got up, and through my blurry eyes I saw Kyle brawled the two thugs single-handedly. One was lying on the ground, rubbing his face, the other was still swinging fists but I could tell he would soon meet the same fate as his friends. Kyle was too fast for him.
"I am fine," I slowly rose to my feet, fighting the pain in my shoulder. The flak vest stopped the bullet from doing harm, but the last blast to my shoulder felt like a Sternsnacht shell. My ears rang just because of that shot. "Possible ruptures on my shoulder, but otherwise fine. Natalie, where did they go?"
"North, half block away from your position. Wait for back up, Parker! You can't fight them alone!"
"There is no time," I jogged, wincing in pain as terrible pain gnawed my shoulder. My breaths still came in short gasp, but I pushed myself to run faster. I just could not let these two punks get away. The dark of night obscured my eyes further, but I knew I could rely on Natalie's sharp report on the field.
"Parker, Morton's force clipped them from the north. They're turning back."
That was the advantage I had been waiting for. They thought they must have killed me, so they turned back to the place they thought safe. I quickly hid behind a bush, waiting for them to arrive. Natalie saw what I was doing, and she guided me with the position of the thugs. They were not running fast, probably confident enough in their powerful guns that took me out a moment ago.
Soon, I heard their breaths and their steps. Just as they passed my position, I slid my foot out of the bush and tapped one of their feet. My ankle hooked the foot, and one thug lurched and thudded to the ground, rolling in the pavement. The other halted his dash and turned around to shot me, but I was ready with my needler. The situation was a complete reversal from our earlier encounter. The flechette bursts peeled his skin and castigated his flesh, first on his arm, then on his abs. I could see his mouth gaped, followed by a rasp scream that echoed through the night. He rose his bloody arm as a last attempt to shoot me, but I let loose a burst to his side. He twisted and slumped, writhing in pain.
The thug that fell earlier came back with his gun. I rolled under the bush as he blindly hurled his ammunitions. High-charged ballistics ricocheted on the ground, and he kept on his pressure until he ran out of ammunition. I got up and fired my needler, but I too ran out of flechettes. He bolted, but I was not about to let him escape. It was easier if I could just kill him, but I remembered what Natalie said about getting information.
I sprinted as fast as I could, ignoring the pain on my shoulder. When I was close, I leapt and rammed myself on his back. We tumbled down together, and the pain almost took my consciousness away for the second time that evening. Slowly I rose, but the thug's boot sunk into my ribs, adding another surge of twinge. I went back to the ground, heaving labored breaths, when another strike slammed into my stomach. My eyes felt hot, and I could hear my heart beating on my ears. Once again the foot hit my stomach, and I lied there crushed and broken.
The thug moved to my head, ready to smash my face with his boot. This time, I mustered everything I had left and blocked his foot. Then I clenched his toes with my left hand, his heel with my right, then twisted his foot as hard as I could. It swiveled 90 degree with a loud crack, and two splintered bones busted up from his ankle, jutting out of his skin. He wailed and lost his balance, then fell flat on his back, crying.
"Natalie…" I wheezed into the comlink. "I got the last thug. Get Morton here to collect him."
"I'll send in the paramedics also," Natalie responded. "Looks like they need it more than you do."
After a while, half a dozen ambulances flooded the sector. Two paramedics assisted me getting back to the APC, where Kyle, Natalie, Captain Morton and Captain Wang waited. More than a hundred Grey Wolves member had been apprehended, but from the look of Morton and Wang, I knew that they were not happy with the result.
"We got their nest alright," Wang debriefed me. "This bust will severely weaken their operation. However, most of their mechwarriors are not present. I was hoping to see Fist Difalco, but my expectation precedes the fact."
"They know they can't hurt you out here," Morton added. "So they'll gonna get you again inside the arena. My jurisdiction can only go this far. Once you get into the arena, you're on your own."
"We're it, Parker," Kyle said, bruised but otherwise in a better shape than I was. "It's up to us to beat them inside the arena."
"We are mechwarriors," I replied. "Our specialty is mech fighting. Let them try."