Give me a minute.
Sean kept his eyes on the anchor platform behind the crowd of fighters, running straight toward it. The bullets, the energy bolts, the goddamn RPG shell that exploded around him wouldn’t deter him from his target. He kept expecting mental interference from the enemy to kick in at some point, but it never did. Katie’s promise to keep his mind clear and safe never broke during his mad-dash run toward the anchor platform.
People were yelling and still shooting, still wasting ammunition, which was fine with Sean. They couldn’t stop him, and he ran through the enemy at full speed, careening straight for the heavy anchor platform of the energy shield. The machine had a round base resting on a tripod, with nanotech filaments fanning out over a flat surface at whatever angle the shield required to hold its shape.
Sean didn’t hesitate as he ran right through it, arms outstretched and dipping down to catch as much of the machine in his body and phase power as he could. Bright explosive sparks erupted around him, nearly blinding him as he came out on the other side. As in Montana last summer, the backlash of his power through the machinery was more than enough to destroy it, the cascading failure something not even an external override could reverse.
When it exploded, Sean looked up at the sky, watching as part of the energy shield began to disintegrate. One section was down, but that didn’t mean the Sons of Adam wouldn’t try to rebuild it.
Show me the next one, Viper,Sean said.
In his mind, the map appeared again, his second target glowing brightly. Sean pointed himself in that direction and started running.
15
Memories Left By the Wayside
Kyle lookedup from the tactical pistol he’d just finished loading as the sound of a distant explosion reached his ears. He got to his feet, ignoring the news stream on the television in favor of his comms.
“Reaper to base, how copy?” Kyle said as he holstered the handgun on his hip.
The director came on the line seconds later. “All teams, gear up.”
Kyle reached for his Barrett M293A sniper rifle lying on the coffee table at the same time the condo’s security alarm began to shriek. His head snapped up as the dull thrum of a jet’s engines easily reached his ears since he’d disabled the condo’s soundproofing. Kyle wrapped his fingers around the body of the rifle right as the stealth skin on a compact troop transport jet hovering outside the living area’s window-wall melted away.
Kyle saw the heavy-caliber machine gun mounted at the jet’s nose aimed directly at the condo and he moved without thinking.
The front door was closer, but the emergency stairwell exit was located on the side of the building the transport jet was hovering near. Kyle’s mind calculated the angle of the machine gun in a split second and he didn’t hesitate in launching himself over the couch as the first line of bullets ripped through the condo with devastating speed and force.
Kyle ran for his life out of the living area and down the hallway, the deafening sound of the machine gun nearly making his ears pop as the plas-glass window walls on both sides of the condo shattered beneath the attack.
“Reaper to base, do you copy? I’m under attack!” Kyle yelled as he skidded into Jamie’s office.
The static whine in his ears told him whoever was on that transport jet was deploying targeted, military-grade electronic jammers, ones powerful enough to interfere with personal bioware.
Kyle swore as he slammed his hand on a sensor panel embedded in the wall. The computer read his print and two panels slid apart, revealing racked weapons ranging from long guns to hand grenades with portable detonators. Kyle dropped his sniper rifle on Jamie’s desk and grabbed an AKR-75 assault rifle from the weapons closet along with a combat knife, extra magazines, and two hand grenades.
He positioned himself by the office door for cover, ignoring the pounding of his heart with long practice. He didn’t bother barricading himself inside the office since there was no viable exit out of the condo now that the enemy had control of half his home.
Kyle was only half-dressed for a fight in his combat uniform, tactical body armor left behind in the living area. He’d swapped out his sniper rifle for the AKR-75 because it was a better weapon for close-quarters combat.
“You got nowhere to run, Brannigan,” someone said in a voice Kyle recognized from briefing files and one heart-stopping moment on a Boston street last November.
Viper, Declan is at the condo. My position is compromised,Kyle thought, trying desperately to be heard.
No response.
Cold sweat broke out along his spine. He really fucking hoped a telepath wasn’t in his head.
Kyle armed the grenade in his hand and didn’t hesitate to throw it down the hallway. The resulting explosion reverberated through the entire condo, heat from the blast blowing down the hallway. Kyle braced his weapon against his shoulder and ducked out of the office, staying crouched low to the ground as he squinted through the smoke and dim emergency lighting. The smoke stung his nose and made his eyes water a little, but it wasn’t enough to deter Kyle from attacking.
He saw a figure coming down the hallway, half their body obscured by smoke. Kyle took aim and fired, taking the man down with a headshot that his facemask and tactical goggles couldn’t protect against. He went down, and Kyle darted forward to the next doorway, taking cover just inside one of the condo’s guest rooms.
Bullets cut through the air where he’d just been, and Kyle listened hard for movement in the damaged condo. The fact that the transport jet was no longer targeting the condo left a cold knot in his belly. Being hunted always left a sour taste in his mouth.
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Personally, I hope you put up a fight.”
Declan sounded as if he were standing near the kitchen and dining area rather than closer to Kyle’s position. How many fighters were between them was the more pressing problem. Kyle soundlessly moved away from the doorway, giving himself room to maneuver. Space was a luxury Jamie could easily afford, and every room in the condo was built to show off the dimensions of the home. Kyle mentally placed every piece of furniture in the room as he listened to the enemy’s approach.
