Two months later...

Friday, May 11th, 2018

Central Glasgow
Scotland

The man was running, running for his life.

He ran down Renfield Street, his trainers gripping the tarmac beneath his feet as he dodged around the drunk and sober alike. He collided with a pair of men walking up the street and all three crashed into a heap. But before either of the accosted men could challenge the man who had sent them flying, he was up and running down the street. As he raced across St Vincent Street, horns blared as cars slammed on their brakes to avoid the runner who continued down Renfield Street. As the drivers made to move off again, the reason for the man running became evident and they stopped dead when the slim female figure paused for half a second to check the road was safe to cross before breaking into a run to continue her pursuit. Normally, a woman crossing the street would not be an issue, even a slim one with curves to die for. Only, this woman wore a combat suit which hugged her feminine curves. The dark grey combat suit carried dull yellow and dark grey body armour all the way to the dull yellow mask.

Her dark grey lightweight boots came down on the tarmac almost silently as she ran after her quarry.

..._...

Earlier that same evening...

The dark grey KTM 1290 Super Duke GT pulled up outside the nightclub on West George Street.

Normally, on a busy Friday evening, nobody would pay much attention to the rider or machine, but the motorcycle bore the distinctive registration plate N3 SIS and the rider was clad in a body-hugging combat suit which accentuated her curves. The imposing form of Nemesis climbed off the motorcycle, the 42-inch katana extending up over her right shoulder very visible as were her other weapons. Despite their absence for a number of months, the vigilantes known simply as Vengeance were making themselves known in the criminal fraternity by both direct and indirect action. The direct action meant that drug dealers had their doors kicked down by armour-clad vigilantes who cared little for giving quarter as they took down those seen as their enemies. The indirect action involved the vigilantes intermingling with the general public on most nights in Scotland's largest city. Petty crime would not be allowed and while the average police officer could not respond like they might like to, a Vengeance vigilante thought nothing of giving a would-be mugger something to remind them to behave in future.

The two doormen on the door of the nightclub were used to the presence of Vengeance and as such simply nodded and stepped back as Nemesis climbed the stone steps towards them and strode on past into the building.

..._...

Inside the club, music pounded loud enough to block out the majority of sound and chatter and Nemesis grinned beneath her mask as she recognised the guitar riff starting up.

Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah
Thunder, ah

Nemesis moved between the tables and massed drinkers, many of whom were decidedly tipsy if not completely sodden with alcohol. Women stumbled from table to table, giggling uncontrollably on their totally inappropriate high heels, their makeup already smeared. Nemesis had to dodge the drinkers as they spilled liquid on the carpet below which had to be more alcohol sodden than the livers of those present.

I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)
I looked 'round
And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)
My mind raced
And I thought, what could I do? (Thunder)
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you (Thunder)
Sound of the drums
Beating in my heart
The thunder of guns
Tore me apart

The lights were dimmed preventing an easy look at the patrons drinking themselves into an alcoholic stupor. Each booth and group had to be studied. Heads turned to check out the observer but swiftly turned away telling Nemesis that there were quite a few who must have been up to something dodgy, or they would not be avoiding her eyes. None matched her quarry, but her intelligence was rarely wrong.

You've been - thunderstruck

The barman looked up momentarily as the imposing form passed behind his patrons as they queued for pints and shots but as he had no desire to get involved simply went about his business.

Went down the highway
Broke the limit, we hit the town
Went through to Texas
Yeah, Texas, and we had some fun
We met some girls
Some dancers who gave a good time
Broke all the rules, played all the fools
Yeah-yeah, they, they, they blew our minds

I was shaking at the knees
Could I come again please?
Yeah, the ladies were too kind

Then Nemesis stopped and she turned her head to peer into a booth. Her yellow eyes bore into each person seated there before they paused on the man in the corner and then looked down at an empty space.

"Where is he?"

The man in the corner shook his head for moment before wilting beneath the empty stare.

"Toilets," the man stated.

You've been - thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Yeah-yeah-yeah, thunderstruck
Oh, thunderstruck
Yeah

In that nightclub, the toilets were in the basement and Nemesis soon found the door past the bar and she pulled it open and descended the staircase beyond.

I was shaking at the knees
Could I come again please?
Yow

Bodies moved out of her way as she descended but she was facing away from the door marked 'Men' when the man emerged from draining his bladder and he saw the vigilante standing just feet away. He bolted for the stairs, the movement catching Nemesis' attention, and she turned as her eyes focussed on the man as he leapt up the staircase encouraged by the sight of death incarnate and knowing his life was over.

Thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Yeah-yeah-yeah, thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
Said

As the man emerged on the main floor from the basement, he sent two women flying along with their drinks.

Before anybody could challenge the man, an obviously pissed off vigilante appeared whose body language was impossible to miss and those able to moved out of her way as she moved swiftly after her unfortunate quarry who was blundering into patron and table alike, sending liquid, bottles, and glasses flying as he quite literally ran for his very life.

Yeah, it's alright
We're doing fine
Yeah, it's alright
We're doing fine, so fine

Normally, nobody intervened when Vengeance was working – it was not worth the pain and aggravation.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but a glass of lager smashed against the side of Nemesis' head, the impact having little effect on the armour which protected her head. The momentary distraction allowed her quarry to run while the piercing yellow eyes studied the assailant for just half a second before turning and making for the exit leaving the assailant shaking with fear as he collapsed back into his seat suddenly quite sober and understanding fully the folly of his strike and how lucky he was to be still breathing.

Thunderstruck, yeah-yeah-yeah
Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Whoa, baby, baby (Thunderstruck)
You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, thunderstruck

Her quarry made it to the main doors and vanished into the darkened city.

You've been thunderstruck.

..._...

Nemesis had no problems catching up with her quarry thanks to her fitness level which of course was higher than that of her quarry who was also partially intoxicated.

Just a few yards separated the vigilante from the man who knew full well why he was being pursued. He was a member of the Stewart family. Why was that a problem for him and why should his family be a problem for Vengeance?

Well, as far as modern-day organised crime was concerned north of the border, there were two key criminal gangs who vied for primacy in Scotland. The current family in control of the central belt and the borders was the Bowman Family of who tried to kill Prowl fame from over a year previously. Despite failing to take down Prowl – completely – as revenge for Prowl having killed Robert Bowman's younger sister weeks previously, they had reduced their activities and taken extreme precautions to avoid coming face to face with Vengeance. But then Vengeance had appeared to become very busy elsewhere during mid-2017 which had allowed Bowman to come out of hibernation as it were and into the light to dominate organised crime. The other side of Scottish Organised Crime was the Stewart Criminal Gang, and they tended to keep themselves to the north of the central belt all the way to John O'Groats. The two gangs avoided contact as that tended to upset the local authorities and cause a few deaths at worst. Each criminal gang consisted of four separate families with the titular family being at the top of the tree as the brains. The other families provided certain skills such as the money, the muscle, and of course a product. In the case of the Bowman Criminal Gang, they had the monopoly for drug dealing across Scotland as well as into the North of England. The Stewart Criminal Gang would trade arms for drugs thus acting as a franchisee for the Bowman's drug dealers. The Stewart family had links to the United States of America and other countries from where they sourced clean weapons for use across the United Kingdom and in a small part, Northern Europe.

The man slowed to negotiate traffic giving Nemesis the edge as she leapt into the air and rolled across the roof of a small SUV, landing on her feet directly in front of the fleeing man who fell to the ground, his arms out in surrender. Nemesis took a step towards him, her gauntleted right hand reaching for the blade over her left shoulder. The man felt many emotions as he stared up the most amazing set of legs and thighs before his mind told him that Nemesis was no model to be ogled and that she was a stone-cold killer.

"NO!" he yelled as he sobered up very quickly and saw the perfectly formed katana blade as it glinted in the streetlights before his typical misogynistic manner took hold. "Do you know who I am?"

"Euan Stewart," Nemesis growled. "I have a message for your father."

"My father will get you; just like that little bitch got it when you messed with Bowman. Ahhhhh!"

Nemesis leaned into her blade which had pinned Euan's left hand to the tarmac.

"As I was saying, tell your father we're coming for him and his entire organisation. Now, I think the police want to speak with you about damaging their car."

"But I never..."

Nemesis withdrew her blade, wiping off the blood on Euan's top. She then grabbed the man by his collar with her left gauntlet and she drove his head into the front passenger door of a police Volvo XC90 parked up four feet away.

After dropping the unconscious man, she sheathed her katana and began to walk back to her ride, ignoring the clapping crowd.

Not too far away...

Sauchiehall Street

The street was pedestrianised and had been for decades.

Those trying to evade attention tended to stick to the sides where they could while most ambled up the central portion of the street where the lighting was better. There were many smiles of appreciation that evening as the rare appearance of a vigilante walking the streets came into view. But it was not Crimson with her armour-clad combat suit which accentuated her thighs to all, nor was it the younger but no less attractively equipped Arbiter who drew the main appreciation. No, it was the even rarer appearance of Crusader. The Gerberian Shepsky was decked out in her body armour which included a protective mask. Her name was displayed proudly on each side of her armour with the Vengeance logo visible below. The dog loved being out in public and her eyes roved constantly checking out every movement and every sound. Her head turned as her sensitive nose sought out the enemy. Then she stopped, her black snout raised high in the air as she caught the scent of something she was trained to react to. Crusader emitted a deep guttural growl which alerted her handler, Crimson who allowed Crusader more freedom on her combat leash as the hound sought her quarry.

Some tried to avoid the sniffing animal while others watched the working animal seek her target.

..._...

Drug dealing was their primary source of significant income.

The man and woman were a couple with no children selling and using Cocaine and Heroine as they needed. They had what they saw as a comfortable life, but it was not without its risks which included overdosing on their products and the risk of arrest. Though the pair were known to police for their activities, it had been difficult to make their crimes stick in a court of law due to their suppliers, the Robertson crime family, who looked after their own and often provided expensive lawyers when required. In this instance, they were about to enjoy a personal invitation to get up close and personal with Crusader. The pair had already clocked the vigilantes and were hoping to pass them with ease amongst the other member of the public however they had not allowed for the highly trained nose of the dog, otherwise enjoying her evening out. The man clocked the dog looking in his direction and he nudged his partner who reacted by turning away, the worst thing she could do. She looked over her shoulder to see that the two armour-clad vigilantes were also looking directly at her.

She bolted.

..._...

Arbiter took off, her long legs propelling her after the woman.

Crimson made for the man who seemed to hesitate for several seconds as he contemplated what was about to happen, but he bottled it, and he bolted but in the opposite direction to his partner who had chosen to run east towards Queen Street Station. Crimson ran after the man, unleashing Crusader as she did so.

"Contain!" she ordered, and Crusader took off, leaping over a bench and racing up the far side of the street, closing on the man with ease.

Just about everyone on the street ahead of the man moved out of his way and made sure that they did no impede Crusader. The animal ignored everything and everyone, her eyes focussed on her target. She did not bark, nor did she growl as she pursued her prey before she raced past the man and then turned to face him, snarling viciously. The man tried to dodge past the animal, but Crusader was to quick, and she countered every move, snarling and snapping at him. He turned to run back down Sauchiehall Street but found Crimson just feet from him. Thanks to his drug addiction, he was not the fittest man out that night and he held up both hands in surrender. Crusader sat down at a wave from Crimson and the snarling stopped.

"He's all yours," Crimson said to a pair of police officers who had just emerged from Wellington Street. "Suspicion of drug possession – he set Crusader's nose off."

The man held his hands out for the handcuffs glad to be handing himself in and away from Vengeance, but he was worried about his partner.

..._...

The woman almost got herself knocked down as she ran cross Hope Street without looking but two cars were able to slam on their brakes swiftly enough.

Arbiter picked her moment and slipped between the stopped vehicles as she ran after the woman. She was fitter than her partner and had long legs like Arbiter and she was holding the gap reasonably well. After her near miss, she slowed at Renfield Street and avoided the evening's traffic. Arbiter closed on her, dodging the traffic with ease. However, the woman's luck started to run out at West Nile Street as another vigilante appeared. Intrepid took up a position blocking her escape, and she was not alone. Commando, brother of Crusader, stood beside her, eyes riveted on the approaching woman who came to a rapid halt as the dog appeared, scrambling to turn and race back up the street. But that was when everything suddenly took a nasty turn. Indeed, while all attention had been on the running woman and the Vengeance vigilantes, nobody had heard the scream of sirens nor the blaring of horns coming from further down West Nile Street but then the squeal of tyres struggling for grip could be heard and heads turned to see an Audi A3 hatchback skidding sidewise as the driver lost control.

The Audi rammed a parked car opposite before it bounced off and took out a set of traffic lights, bending the pole over as the car began to roll towards Commando who leapt to one side, clear of the vehicles path, barking at Intrepid who took a full second to understand that she was about to be taken out by a car. The girl made a split decision and dived towards the car which passed overhead and missed her by barely an inch before it crashed down and came to a halt on its left side against a three-foot-tall planter full of flowers. The wheels were still spinning, and the engine raced despite the car's orientation. Amidst the chaos, a marked Police Scotland Volvo XC90 came to a rapid halt, blue lights flashing. As Intrepid picked herself up, she confirmed that Commando and Arbiter were both uninjured but then she noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's the mark?" she demanded.

Arbiter scanned the crowd of people, ignoring the police as they sought their driver, her eyes looking past the melee and across West Nile Street.

"There!" Arbiter called out as she bolted across the road, past the stopped vehicles and bits of Audi scattered across the street. "Commando! Seek!"

The woman raced down the final section of Sauchiehall Street towards a right turn which led into the top of Buchanan Street, another pedestrianised area.

..._...

As she approached the stepped entrance into the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the woman took a moment to check if she was in the clear.

At first, she let out an audible sigh of relief as she saw the carnage which had become the perfect distraction but no pursuers. Then her eyes caught movement, and her heart skipped a beat as she spotted Commando dodging in and out of the crowds of people drawn to the accident just a hundred yards or so distant. The woman was tired, and her mind told her that she could not outrun a dog. Her eyes darted around her for hope and some means of escape, but there were none... unless she could make it to a shop, shut the door behind her and then make for an alternative exit. She opted for the doors of John Lewis which she knew had multiple floors and multiple exists. The seven curved stone steps were a chore, but she made it and ran for the doors leading into the department store even as she heard a cheer and turned to see Commando leaping up the steps, taking them in one gigantic leap. The woman scrambled for the doors, but she was too slow as she felt the hot breath on her neck and then the claws dragging her to the ground.

Finally, the teeth sunk into her right arm and held her down.

..._...

Intrepid was the first to arrive and she swiftly brought Commando under control with a single command.

"Commando! Drop!"

The dog instantly released the woman but remained close by, a guttural growl ensuring that the woman remained compliant. Arbiter caught up and pulled the woman to her feet, quickly frisking her and finding several small taped packages.

"Those aren't mine..."

"Never are!" Arbiter growled in response as three police officers ran up to take the woman into custody.

Then came the fans.

Children and youths gathered to take in the two young vigilantes – being females, they attracted the boys' attention more which was not Arbiter's cup of tea, but it as was it was, she considered. However, it was Commando who drew the most attention.

"Can we?" came the many requests.

"Commando?" Arbiter asked.

She and Intrepid grimaced behind their masks as Commando flopped onto his left side before rolling onto his back, his four legs waving pathetically in the air.

Across the city...

Drift was driving Cutlass, the dark grey 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sentinel, towards the Learning Quarter where many of the students attending the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University lived and learned.

Intelligence had pointed Vengeance towards activity near to the student accommodation on waste ground soon to be built upon. With Drift were Stripe and Ajax plus Polaris. As they turned down Hunter Street from the north and pulled up beside the kerb, they were joined by Nemesis on her motorcycle who pulled up behind them and dismounted, removing her helmet.

"I don't like the look of this," Ajax commented.

"For once, I agree with you," Polaris responded.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Stripe countered.

"Let's move," Drift commanded as he drew a Heckler & Koch G36C from the rear of Cutlass and clipped three spare magazines onto his body armour.

Nemesis passed out additional weapons to Stripe, Ajax, and Polaris plus spare magazines. They were not going to be taking any chances. The area was dark with no functioning street lighting which simply added to the dangerous atmosphere. Then the Scottish weather added to the mix as rain began to pelt down.

"You just had to jink it, arsehole!" Ajax growled at Stripe.

Quietly, they moved down the street towards Havannah Street, spread out to prevent being taken out by a single machinegun burst. As they approached the junction of Havannah Street, they saw a man standing beside a parked car. The man was obviously on watch but not enjoying the unexpected downfall.

"Polaris, take him and we'll have a little chat," Drift ordered, and the youngster ran forwards in the darkness, darting in and out of cover, using parked vehicles and piles of rubbish to make her approach.

The man had no idea what hit him as a small form leapt from cover and dragged him to the ground where he struggled to breath as his windpipe was constrained. The shock and surprise of the attack had been total, and the man had not been able to reach for a weapon. Then, just before he passed out from lack of oxygen, the arm was released but before he could move, the muzzle of an automatic weapon appeared in his vision.

"Who do you work for?" came a disturbingly inhuman voice.

"Fuck you!"

The muzzle was prodded into his left cheek, ripping away a layer of skin and allowing blood to ooze out.

"Who do you work for?"

"Fuck you!"

The man felt his mouth covered by an armoured gauntlet just before he felt pain like he had never felt before as Polaris drove a blade into his left thigh four inches above his knee.

"Who do you work for?"

The man uttered a single word before he passed out.

"Wallace."

"Good," Nemesis announced. "The Wallace family – let's mop them up."

With the watchman down, they all moved quickly towards where they believed a meet was underway. The rain increased in intensity, the sound covering up anything which they should have been able to hear from their quarry as they approached. Nemesis kept thinking about Ajax's comment in the Discovery as she was not happy with the tactical situation. Indeed, Drift was also very concerned, and his mind rested on the watchman – why only one?

Lightning flashed and Polaris caught sight of a momentary reflection, and a cold chill ran down her backbone.

..._...

Polaris fervently hoped that she was both wrong but on time if she was right.

"Drop!" she ordered. "It's a trap!"

"See!" Ajax growled.

"Focus!" Nemesis cautioned. "I have an object four feet to my right and if I'm not mistaken, we have a trip wire, six inches off the deck."

"Claymore – I saw the lightning glisten off the wet casing," Polaris elaborated. "Do you know what one of those things does to a human body?" she asked rhetorically. "I've got enough sodding holes in me already!"

Nemesis crawled closer to the device while the others moved out of the immediate danger zone and searched for any further nasty surprises. It was a simple mechanism whereby the trip wire would yank out a pin which in turn would join a small electrical circuit that would detonate the blasting cap inserted deep into the mine's explosive core... and game over! Surprisingly, there was no anti-handling mechanism fitted, nor a command detonation wire but it was more likely that the person who had planted the device had had no proper training on the deadly device. Carefully, Nemesis followed the trip wire across the road to where the opposite end was tied to a small wooden stake driven into the grassy soil. Thirty seconds later, she reported her success to the team.

"Clear!"

"Clear!" Drift responded having checked out the far side of the road.

"Clear!" Ajax responded.

"Clear!" Polaris finished. "You bringing that with you?"

"Can't leave it there, a child could find it," Nemesis reasoned

"A child did find it!" Polaris growled.

"Let's go find these jokers," Drift suggested waving the team forwards while everyone kept their eyes peeled for any further devices.

Someone wanted someone dead, Nemesis conceded. Was the intelligence flawed? Was it a direct attempt to take out Vengeance? There were countless people who wanted Vengeance dead, and the Bowman family was overdue for a reattack not to mention the rest of that sordid organised criminal entity.

"Heads up!" Drift announced. "I have contact on the open ground ahead. Two vehicles and four men."

"Break, break! This is Q airborne with Eagle Two Alpha. Weather is disrupting flight, but I can provide support for a while."

That was good news and perfect timing on the part of Q. High above them, being battered by the rainstorm was a ScanEagle 2 Block F drone flying at forty knots in a wide orbit. The 26.5-kilogramme fixed wing unmanned flying machine was remotely controlled from the ground with a host of autonomous features and would normally fly at almost twenty-thousand feet altitude but was not at two-thousand feet for a clearer view of the area. The EO950 camera making up the nose of the drone was able to see through the rain like it was a bright summer's day.

"I have you all east of target area. FLIR shows two vehicles centre and three more fifty yards west of target area. Four men evident in target area and... sixteen concealed to the south in undergrowth along the railway."

Drift looked over at Nemesis who nodded, pleased to know that they now had the upper hand. All could see the images downloaded to the small high-definition screens set into the left wrists of their combat suits.

"Five to one," Polaris mused. "Hardly fair."

"For them," Stripe chuckled.

"I want blood," Ajax growled. She wanted retribution for almost being shredded by hundreds of steel ball bearings.

Nemesis had a plan, and after a quick briefing, Ajax and Polaris moved off in their own directions.

..._...

Nemesis stood up and joined by Drift and Stripe, the trio strode down the road and turned towards the four men and their two vehicles.

The men immediately braced up and took cover behind their vehicles with what appeared to be Heckler & Koch MP5 submachineguns evident in their hands. Nemesis did not stop moving as she closed with Stripe and Drift dropping back and moving outwards to form a vee with their weapons to their shoulders.

"Stop!" a voice called out, but Nemesis continued moving forwards.

The rain was increasing in strength, and it was difficult to see more than a dozen yards clearly. All attention was on Nemesis as it should be.

"Stop right there!"

Nemesis did so.

"Who are you?" Nemesis called out.

"We have a message from the Wallace Family on behalf of the Bowmans."

"And what might that message be?"

"That you're all dead!"

"Is that so?" Nemesis responded rhetorically. "In which case, before I die, please accept your property back."

"Huh?"

Nemesis pointed to the right of the men and their vehicles to where Polaris crouched. The four men looked at Polaris for a moment, incredulous that the bitch could have come so close but then four sets of eyes focussed on their 'property'.

"Shit!" all four exclaimed as they saw the Claymore mine which one of their number had placed up the road not an hour earlier.

Then their eyes followed the trip wire as Polaris pushed up on her powerful thighs and threw herself away from the mine, yanking the trip wire as she did so. Four men tried to move but it was impossible as the device detonated and within three milliseconds, all four men were legally dead, their clothing, skin, and internal organs shredded. Every bone in their body was splintered and in three cases, their faces and the front of their skulls was ripped asunder by the shockwave, along with the entire head in two cases. A cloud of blood, human remains, and ball bearings struck the first car along with the shockwave which shattered every window and brutally smashed the bodywork, plastering the car with bits of bone embedding deep into the steel.

At the signal from Polaris, Nemesis, Stripe, and Drift had dived to the ground to escape any errant shrapnel from the detonation.

..._...

Pandemonium ensued as the shockwave echoed around the site, waking everyone within three miles and shattering windows within two hundred metres.

The sixteen men in the undergrowth had all fallen as they tried to escape the ensuing explosion with many receiving injuries from the shrapnel and shockwave, but all were alive as they struggled to gather their wits knowing that Vengeance may still be alive. As heads appeared, Ajax began targeting them with single shots. To her right, Nemesis, Drift, and Stripe were up and running to provide support. Polaris too was regaining her feet. The eleven-year-old was laughing as she dodged around the shattered corpses and other human remains having received a massive dose of adrenalin as the device had detonated and she had felt the blast wave pass above her. She raced to join the firefight which had begun as the night was lit up by the muzzle flashes of over a dozen weapons.

Though they may not have known much about operating mines they seemed to know how to shoot. Nemesis and Drift were covering Stripe as he closed on Ajax from her right. The sounds of gunfire echoed across northern Glasgow intermixed with the screams of men and women as they died. Not to say that the battle was one sided as Nemesis and Drift had received their fair share of bullets striking their battle armour. Stripe joined up with Ajax and the pair moved closer to the enemy, cutting down anybody that came before their sights. Polaris, meanwhile, opted to flank the enemy and she used the weather to move through the darkness, only opening fire when required to keep her movements concealed. She found a gate which blocked access to the track and vaulted over it. She found two men firing on her colleagues and gently squeezed the trigger of her G36C, sending a single bullet into the head of the first man who had never even noticed her arrival but the blood spattering across the face of the next man caused him to turn in time to receive a nine-millimetre round dead centre between the eyes. The next man along turned and fired off a burst from his MP5 at Polaris who dived out of the way. The man ran after the girl, but he had neglected to check his weapon and as he fired the final round from his magazine, he moved to reload, opting to run across the train track to give him time to insert a fresh magazine.

However, the man had not accounted for the 21:45 to Edinburgh, calling at nineteen stations along the route. The squelching sound was all but covered up by the screeching of the train's brakes and the blasts of the air horns. Unsurprisingly, the man was torn asunder between the steel wheels and steel tracks. Polaris stared at the gory display as the train screeched to an emergency stop. She was joined by Ajax and Stripe as the man was the last to die.

"That must have hurt," Ajax commented.

"Duct Tape," Stripe responded. "Lots of Duct Tape and he'll be good as new."

"And people say I'm fucked up!" Polaris grumbled.

Ajax ran up the track to check on the train driver.

That same evening...

Northwest of Stirling

Jasper was cornered and he knew that death was mere seconds away.

He had fought harder than he had fought in a long time, but his skills were just not up to his opponent who seemed to outthink him at every move and just minutes had passed before he was being checked at almost every move until he made a fatal mistake which he knew would be his downfall. Never had he ever found himself defeated by someone so fast. There was no hope for him, none. His death was inevitable and the more he drew it out, the worse his humiliation at the hands of someone so young. Then it happened. His opponent took that final decision, and he watched death approach, sliding elegantly towards him and then stopping directly in front of him. Jasper looked left and he looked right but he could go nowhere, not left, not right, not back, and he could not attack; he was well and truly cornered, so he capitulated.

With that the black king fell to the board, never to rise again.

..._...

Anastasia grinned from ear to ear as she watched Jasper sag despondently in his chair.

Several weeks had passed since her escape from Russia. Her wounds were almost healed, and she had enjoyed sampling a new country with new foods, new sights, new culture. For the most part, she had stayed inside for fear of being taken out by a Russian hit squad. She was a traitor for helping Charlotte and Jake to escape as well as for sneaking out classified files but since then she had divulged most of what she knew about anything she could remember. Overall, she had never felt happier and the few people she had been in contact with were so friendly. Charlotte would visit regularly as would Jasper and both would play chess with her for hours. Jake had appeared a couple of times, but the boy was still struggling to get his muddled mind in order. She lived in a house which shared the plot with another house, both of which appeared to be in the middle of nowhere which for the girl was amazing as she loved to be with nature and out of big cities in general.

Anastasia had no idea that the other house was the refuge for two more disassociated Russian citizens concerned for their very lives.

The previous week...

Whitehall, London

The recent influx of Russians and the potential for further conflict with Russia and her security forces had given Jasper reason to bring aboard some Russian specialists.

That morning Lance Corporal Joanna Regis arrived at the Ministry of Defence building in London and headed for what was colloquially known as the 'Clandestine Services Wing' but was originally the base of operations for the Directorate of Military Intelligence until that ceased to exist in 1965 when it was absorbed into the Defence Intelligence Staff. That part of the building housed various secretive organisations directly focused on the security of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. One of those was MI18, or Military Intelligence, Section 18 which was also known, unofficially, as 'Vigilante Liaison' but was responsible for the direction of Vengeance as well as for the coordination with Fusion, Honneur, and Concord. The head of MI18 was the newly promoted Captain Craig Lawrence, Royal Navy.

The Captain had never expected to receive a fourth stripe, but it appeared that he had friends in high places. It was rare to receive said forth stripe without significant sea time, but their Lordships had decided that he was an asset who deserved promotion to demonstrate their trust in what he was doing. The promotion had energised his adopted daughters who had not been able to stop talking about how proud they were of him. His life had definitely turned around since returning from Cambodia and he could not have asked for a better job, or a better family to come home to each evening.

"Morning, sir!"

"Good morning, Menston," the Captain replied to Able Rate Samantha Menston who, along with Petty Officer Robert Caldwell, ran the administration part of the office.

"Coffee is on your desk along with some classified mail, sir."

"Thank you, Menston," he responded as he stepped past the two desks of the outer office and into his own office with a window view of the northern inner atrium.

After hanging up his greatcoat and cap, he took a sip of hot coffee and then proceeded to dive into the eight-inch pile of classified mail awaiting his attention.

..._...

Lance Corporal Regis entered the outer office barely a minute later.

"Morning, Samantha."

"Morning, Jo."

"The Wing Commander is on his way up – saw him getting into the east lift on my way up the stairs."

"The only building in London where its quicker to use the stairs than the lift!" Samantha Menston grinned. "You have two interviewees this morning who will need escorted to the conference room."

"I'll be ready," Regis assured her colleague before she braced up. "Morning, sir!"

Wing Commander Pat Calder stepped into the office with a broad smile concealing the pain in his injured right leg as he put his weight on the wooden cane he held in his right hand. The two women's eyes were instantly drawn to the wine-red ribbon which took precedence over even the man's DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross). It was the VC or Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious decoration which can be awarded to a member of the British Armed Forces. Exactly how the decoration was awarded was not openly known but the mere presence added an air of mystery to the injured officer.

"Morning, morning," the wing commander replied as he limped through to his office adjacent to that of Captain Lawrence.

Wing Commander Calder had expected to be retired as he was no longer fit to fly but convalescence had driven him bonkers and he needed to work, so he had all but begged for a new posting. The posting had appeared routine when he had received the letter delivered by courier just six weeks previously but then he had also received an unexpected promotion along with his Victoria Cross both handed to him by Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace the previous month. The weight of the added rank stripe and the small medal ribbon could almost be felt as he pulled on his jacket each morning. Neither rank nor medal had ever been considered as part of his future when he had joined the Royal Air Force some twenty or so years previously.

The posting had come with its own surprises – mostly that there was such a department but also that he was to the be the executive officer of said department. However, he had long known that the Government and especially the Ministry of Defence operated in the belief that they were infallible despite the reality, but nothing much changed in the dusty wood panelled corridors of the centre of British Government which had seen an empire come and go over a few hundred years of recent history.

Nevertheless, it was a posting which gave him something to do which could benefit the entire country and he liked the very idea of Vengeance.

Saturday, May 12th

Ashley House, Edinburgh
Vengeance Command Centre

The orangery was busy that morning.

Jasper was studying the after-action reports from the previous night and while there was some partial success there had also been some issues, not least that a train of innocent civilians had been put at risk. Jasper studied the fifteen-year-old Olivia Kensington who had grown in maturity and stature since her first outing as Ajax some eighteen months or so previously.

"Ajax: 'Congratulations, you've just got a kill in a Vengeance operation'. Just what the poor chap driving that train needed after his train turned a man into Pedigree Chum. Eh?"

Olivia grimaced. "Just trying to lighten the mood..."

"Polaris: Four men reduced to lumpy tomato soup and several students hospitalised as a result of their accommodation windows shattering."

"I was just returning their property," Harper responded. "Besides, they were going to use it on us. Would you have preferred us being turned into lumpy tomato soup?"

"Don't tempt me, Harper, don't tempt me," Jasper replied tartly. "Crimson, Arbiter, Intrepid – well done!"

There were two barks and Jasper chuckled, "Nika and Sasha – well done! Nemesis – you had some fun with Euan Stewart, I understand."

"I think he got my message," Cassie stated.

"Are the crime families declaring war on Vengeance?" Craig asked to general approval.

"Lynn?"

"Thank you, Jasper," Lynn said as she stood up. "It appears so. The last time this occurred, Naomi was injured as a result of her killing Bowman's sister, and we are certain that Bowman will never forget or forgive."

Naomi scowled at the recollection of past events.

"However," Lynn continued. "Bowman was also receiving instructions from Dieter Mannheim whom some of you may know."

There were numerous derisive comments at the mention of that bastard's name.

"Now, Q has been building up intelligence on the families and that brought us to last night's operation. If they want a war then we will give them a war, but we must all be careful as we are still a small organisation and until Nightshade is replaced, we have limited airborne assets available to us. Do not take unnecessary risks out there as we are certain there may be more threats to our operations," Lynn finished.

Nobody wanted a repeat of the Naomi incident, but she had brought that upon herself by killing Anna Bowman when specifically ordered not to. Organised crime only recognised violence akin to what they themselves dished out and that meant that violence had to be used to put them down as that was all they understood.

Dangerous times were a foot.

That Night...

Leeds
West Yorkshire

As the largest city in Yorkshire, the city had its own problems with crime.

It was also supremely placed on the British mainland motorway network so criminals could race in and race out as they transported weapons, drugs, even human-beings, and other illegal items across county lines where they hoped that by crossing police jurisdictions, they could avoid capture or simply muddy a prosecution. The National Crime Agency ensured that police forces could coordinate across country lines and take down the criminals as they raced up and down the M1 motorway and along the M62 motorway. Police interceptors would take down the high-speed drivers distributing the cash and drugs while armed police would take down the targets at their homes or places of 'work' such as a house turned into a massive weed factory.

For Rachel Clarkson it was a little surreal. If life had been kinder, she would have been dropping off her young daughter at the cinema, or the swimming pool, or some other normal event. Instead, her daughter who would turn thirteen in seven days' time was sitting in the back of an armoured 4x4 covered in body armour from head to toe and toting an assault rifle amongst other dangerous weapons. The same applied to her two friends, Simon and Tanya. Never would she ever have expected to be transporting and dropping off her daughter and her friends to combat crime as if they were going out to the shops. Rachel turned the big black-painted Land Rover Discovery Sentinel into Bank Street and pulled up in the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

"Have fun, guys," Rachel said as she turned in her seat. "I'd say stay out of trouble, but you have Rylee with you."

Simon and Tanya laughed.

"Thanks, mother!" Rylee grumbled as she pulled on her mask to become Noxa.

"We'll keep an eye on her," Simon said as he became Custos.

"What he said," Tanya AKA Necis added.

At that point, Rachel pulled on her own mask to become Doctrina and indicated that the fifth person in the car should do the same. Wondering for the umpteenth time why she had pushed to see how her friends operated, Georgia Watson pulled on a modified blue and gold domino mask which covered the area around her eyes as well as her forehead and cheekbones. Her shoulder length light brown hair was tied up in a single ponytail a style which she had never used before. Turning in her seat she initially felt fear as she laid eyes on three Vengeance vigilantes in full body armour and with disturbingly glowing eyes.

"Do what you do, guys," Curio said to her friends.

With that, Noxa, Necis, and Custos slipped out of the vehicle into the night.

..._...

Despite her briefing the previous year when she had learned all about Predators, it had still come as a major surprise that her friends were also vigilantes flying the banner of Vengeance.

Even more astounding was the fact that they had trusted Georgia with their secret. Georgia would not be an operator fighting in a combat suit, but she would provide technical support via the most amazing laptop she had ever laid hands upon. As she sat in the front seat of the Land Rover, she was able to monitor the exact locations of each of her friends. She was very nervous, but she knew that she had inches of high-quality armour and many layers of Kevlar between her and the outside world. The mask was uncomfortable, but she knew that it was essential despite the blacked-out windows. Being a few months short of turning thirteen, she still had a lot to learn in life, but she also knew that her best friend Rylee needed help when it came to learning how to be normal – at least in Yorkshire.

As a group, the trio kept to the back streets and alleyways, peeking out into the main pedestrianised thoroughfare of Albion Street and often darting across to the similarly pedestrianised Briggate. Men, women, and children of varying ages from young to teen were out, enjoying their evening making good use of the shops, pubs, and eating establishments. Though they were small in stature – literally – and often received gibes about their obvious youth, they did receive respect as they carried the mark of Vengeance on their combat suits. It was also well known that an adult vigilante may 'drop-in' from time to time and some had already suffered the rath of Nemesis or Scorpion as a direct result of not showing the younger vigilante's due respect. However, intervention was kept to a minimum to allow their mere presence to instil a level of fear in the criminal fraternity. Indeed, it was soon discovered by said criminal fraternity that the younger members of Vengeance had a cruel streak a mile wide and due to their smaller statures could advance and intercede more rapidly and with superior stealth than their adult compatriots.

That night, they had a tasking which was to find, identify, and secure drug dealers for West Yorkshire Police to handle.

..._...

Just off Duncan Street, Necis stopped and sniffed the air.

Amidst the smells of fried food, Chinese takeaways, pizza, and many other food-related smells, some good and some bad, she identified something which did not belong. Then the smell faded as she heard a door slam.

"I smell weed," she stated.

Custos and Noxa sniffed the air.

"I got nothing," Custos stated.

"Me neither," Noxa added.

However, the pair knew that their friend had an amazing sense of smell, so they followed her lead. Having a pot house so close to the city centre was not smart but what made it genius was having it in a place which the police would see as being borderline insane so would not treat it as genuine. Even more genius was the fact that the suspected pot house was based above two eastern takeaways and the curry smells easily mixed with any other dubious smell close by creating a perfect cover. Only, they had not taken into account the very sensitive nose of the soon to turn thirteen, Necis.

Custos studied a security gate leading to the private properties from the back. Necis jumped up and pulled herself onto the top of the barrier, cutting four sections of barbed wire to allow herself to drop behind. She triggered the magnetic door lock and Custos heaved open the heavy door to allow himself and Noxa access. There were eight flats above the shops all with their own access doors reached by shared steel steps. The questions was which was the target property. Noxa pulled a set of NVGs into place over her eyes and flipped them to the infrared setting.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as heat blooms filled her vision. "Number two and three look like they have nuclear reactors installed."

Cannabis (also known as weed and marijuana) had several key requirements to ensure successful growth. They are daylight, water, humidity, temperature, airflow, soil, and nutrients. Of these daylight, humidity, and temperature all required the use of electricity to produce the correct combination of lighting, humidity, and temperature. The humidity and temperature requirements dictated that the property be hotter than was usual for the United Kingdom hence an unfortunate side effect were heat blooms often used by the police to identify drug dens from the ground or via the FLIR systems aboard a police helicopter. The shrewd location of the drug den they had discovered was that any helicopter flying over would see the heat bloom as belonging to the takeaways located close by.

"I'll take number three and you two take number two," Custos directed, and the two girls nodded and ran up the steel steps to the wooden door of number two while Custos made for number three.

Due to the lack of what the U.K. police referred to as 'the big red key' (a two-handed steel battering ram painted red) they placed discrete quantities of C4 around the door frames and connected each charge with PETN detonating cord and an electronic detonator for each door. Once placed, all three took cover to the side of each doorway.

"Ready!" Noxa announced.

"Ready!" Custos responded. "We go in three – two – one... Go!"

Noxa and Custos both triggered their detonators and milliseconds later the C4 detonated.

..._...

Each doorframe was shattered and the doors themselves blasted inwards.

Noxa and Necis rushed through the billowing cloud of smoke and dust and entered the property. Their Heckler & Koch G36C assault rifles were raised to their shoulders, and they searched for movement. The property had two floors, and they were on the lower. They reached a staircase and Noxa headed upwards while Necis remained on the lower level. Almost immediately, both girls came across rooms full of plants with high intensity lighting fitted with heat lamps which made the humidity borderline oppressive. The property was no longer a home, it was a true weed factory. Holes had been punched through walls and ceilings to allow for power cables and air ventilation. The place was truly trashed and an unfortunate side effect, The drug growers would rent the properties from random landlords and then turn them into greenhouses for plant cultivation.

Noxa found a room with a door which had 'living room' written on in black marker pen. She kicked the door open and found a man who was suffering a bit from the explosion. He was easily subdued with a kick to the face which knocked him senseless. She checked the remaining room of the three on the lower floor to find a kitchen which doubled as another growing area.

"Lower level clear!" Noxa announced. "Coming up to you, Necis."

Noxa found Necis pushing through masses of cannabis plants. All doors had been removed and the plants swept like a raised carpet from room to room. Then Necis stopped.

"I have a massive hole in the wall leading into number two," Necis reported.

Indeed, a large hole had been cut to allow access between the two properties. Just before Necis ducked through, the sound of a three-round burst could be heard from the other side of the whole.

"Contact! Contact!" Custos announced.

Necis and Noxa ran through into the next building and found themselves in another field of cannabis. They pushed through to the next room where they found a body collapsed into the cannabis plants with three bullet holes in his chest. Beside the body was a .38-calibre revolver.

"Two men heading downstairs," Custos called. "In pursuit."

Noxa dived back into the other property and raced back down the stairs to intercept while Necis ran after Custos. Necis found Custos on the lower floor taking cover behind a doorframe.

"Custos. Necis behind you."

Custos nodded as two bullets tore into the doorframe above his head.

"Found three bastards – two of them armed. I got one but the other two escaped."

Custos fired off a three-round burst in response and saw the two men turn and race for the flattened front door.

..._...

Meanwhile...

The marked West Yorkshire Police BMW 5-series saloon pulled up to the kerb behind a blue Ford C-MAX, blue lights flashing.

The constable in the left seat climbed out leaving his colleague behind the wheel. He walked over to the passenger side of the C-MAX accompanied by a cameraman holding his camera high on his right shoulder.

"Hello, mate," the constable said to the driver. "Come and join us, bring your I.D. if you've got some on you."

The driver left the car and walked to the police car as the cameraman filmed his walk to the police car and into the back seat for a chat with the driver. Meanwhile, the first police constable was onto something.

"Who's had cannabis?" he asked. "Car stinks of it!"

"Are you allowed to root through car?" the passenger demanded.

"Section 23 of misuse of drugs act – grinders and such give us cause to search the car, especially when the car smells of recent use of it," the constable responded. "What the bloody hell!"

The constable looked up from the C-MAX to see a man racing out of a side-street with a pistol in his hand. But before the constable could shout out a warning, another person emerged from the side-street. The man with the pistol was momentarily distracted by the sight of a police car, police officers, a cameraman, and many lights. The distraction was enough for the second person to ram the breech of her assault rifle into the man's face as he turned to run up the road. The pistol clattered to the floor as Noxa seized the man and rammed his head into, and through the side rear window of the BMW.

"You getting all this?" the constable demanded of the cameraman who simply stood flabbergasted as he recorded everything in full high-definition colour.

As the man slid to the pavement, the armour-clad vigilante turned to the constable.

"Sorry about t' car but this bastard needs banged up for cannabis possession – number two and three off Duncan Street. Nice little setup they had. One's dead and two more are secured pending arrest. Also, possession of firearms with intent to commit serious bodily harm. Bloody muppets!"

The constable had never heard a Vengeance vigilante speak before – never met one in fact – but to hear one speaking with a strong Yorkshire accent, despite an electronic one, was interesting.