Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1) (33 page)

Valerie drew her left hand pistol and stepped round the corner.  She could instantly see that none of them were any danger to her.  She took care of the two cameras quickly, before waving to Hobbs by the stairs.  He copied her signal behind him and jogged up beside her.  Sneaker and Rush appeared at the top of the stairs and took up position there.  Rush covering the way they had come and Sneaker the stairs coming down from the next level.  Valerie nodded to Hobbs and moved down the corridor, her pistols at the ready. 

As she approached the doorway the man had been in, she heard confused shouting from inside.  A man’s voice called out.  “Bella?  What happened?  Did you get the bitch?”  She approached stealthily, staying close to the wall on the left.  “Shit, that’s Geary.”  The voice continued.   “What happened to him?”  It sounded closer, not far inside the doorway.  “Stanger, Megdiche.  Cover me.  I’m going out there.”  Valerie moved up next to the doorway, her back pressed against the wall and her left pistol pointed at head height. 

A Pulse rifle barrel came out slowly and then he leaned out, his head right in front of Valerie’s pistol.  He would have a perfect view of the Mag round heading straight between his eyes.  The round didn’t have the distance to create a wobble and cause the devastation to soft targets that was its signature, it went through his skull cleanly and out the other side.  For those behind him there was only a puff of red and grey mist out of the back of his head before he folded to the floor as though he were a puppet with its strings cut.

“Fuck!” A woman inside exclaimed and rapid fire Mag rounds sprayed the entire doorway.

Valerie stayed in position and listened to two Mag rifles on full auto, waiting patiently.  A Mag rifle is an extremely deadly weapon particularly in the right hands.  A single round can cause horrendous damage to the human body.  As Valerie heard Troll explain to Hanna a week ago, the danger was that you used all your ammo in one go.

This is exactly what Stanger and Megdiche did.  As soon as Valerie heard them run dry, she calmly stepped round into the doorway.  A woman and a man stood there close together.  The woman was desperately reloading.  She already had the old clip out, it lay on the ground in front of her, where she discarded it, and was reaching for a fresh one.  The man, a boy really in his late teens only just coming into manhood, was staring dumbfounded at his weapon, surprised that it was no longer firing.  He didn’t even see Valerie before she shot him with a double tap to the chest.

The woman’s expression was one of fury, her mouth half way through a curse when her jaw was ripped apart.  The second shot entered her nose and left nothing recognisable about her face.

This room was unlike any of the others they had yet encountered in the building.  It took up an entire quarter of the floor.  The two outer walls were in front and to the right of Valerie.  Apartment walls had been cleared away and replaced with supports.  Long tables were set up over the left half of it, with what looked like some sort of chemical production facility taking up the right.  On the tables were various powders and liquids in different stages of assembly, with cameras set in the ceiling all along them.  Among all of this were people, a lot of people, and all wearing bright blue overalls.

This is where the confused voices came from.  They were quiet now.  Men and woman were crouched down beside the tables.  Some muttering to themselves or crying softly, others stood where they were, staring at her and some continued with their work without looking up.

Valerie walked in slowly, her gaze roving around the room, taking in all the people.  Seeing no threat she slowly lowered her pistols.  “Bloody hades.”  Hobbs said from behind her.  “This must be Tumblers main manufacturing site.”

“So it seems.”  Valerie replied, noting distantly to herself the similarity to the one on Gomez.  She raised her voice and pointed to the left wall with two doors for the disabled loading lifts.  “Everyone stop what you are doing and get over there.”  None moved.  “I said now!”  To emphasise her point, she opened fire on the cameras, working her way steadily down the table nearest to her.  People screamed and ran from this mad woman who was causing all the carnage.

Hobbs came in behind her and started shooting the cameras on the right hand side of the room.  Valerie saw what he was doing and systematically destroyed those on the left.  Driving the hapless workers away from her, to where she wanted them .

“Valerie,” Sneaker called as she shot the last camera.  She turned to see he had caught up with them and Rush was in the doorway, his weapon trained down the corridor, just as those she killed only a minute ago had done.  “There’s movement in the stairwell.  I don’t think Tumbler is very happy we’re in here.”

“I bet she’s not,”, Valerie said.  “Hobbs.  You done?”

“Yep,” he answered from the other side of the room.  “I got the last one.  Nice of Tumbler to make them so obvious for us.”

“They’re obvious so the workers know someone is watching them, to discourage any stealing from her.”  Sneaker said.

“As long as it helps us, I don’t really care.  Hobbs get the charges out.”  Valerie ordered.  “Sneaker.  Find the spot we need.  I’ll keep an eye on our guests.”  While the two men carried out her instructions, Valerie turned back to the cowering workers bunched up against the lift doors. 

“I want everyone to turn around and face the wall.”  She commanded in a clear voice.  “Come on everyone.”  She pointed her pistols at the most obstinate and they quickly obeyed.  Once they were all facing away from her, she commanded.  “Good, now kneel down.  That’s it give everyone room.  Perfect, I want you to lean forward and rest your heads on the person in fronts back.  Those at the wall, rest your heads on that.”  They all complied, shuffling around to fit on the floor and doing their best to do as she had ordered.  “We are going to leave shortly but I’m placing movement charges behind you all.  If anyone stands up or moves backward, they go off and you all die.  There will be one explosion, that’s us leaving.  The movement sensors will be activated after that, so no need to panic at the first detonation.”

Satisfied, she turned and saw Sneaker staring at her with one eyebrow raised.  She just shrugged and said quietly.  “It’ll keep them out of our way.  We ready?”

Sneaker pointed at Hobbs who was jumping down from a table.  “We are when you are.”

“Excellent,” Valerie jogged over to Rush and asked him.  “What’s going on out there?”

“I think their assembling to come down here.”  Rush replied.  “Several people have dashed across the end of the corridor.  I’ve been keeping them honest and I think I may have winged one of them, but it’s damn difficult to see down there.”

Valerie looked round and saw movement as someone else ducked from one side to the other.  “Alright, you’re doing well Rush, keep it up for a sec.  I’ve got an idea.”  She went back to Sneaker.  “I’m going to toss a grenade to Tumblers forces at the end of the corridor.  Keep your eyes on me and two seconds after I throw, detonate the ceiling charges.  That’ll give us time to get up to the next floor.  If they’re frightened enough out by the stairway, we could well be into the security room before they realise what we’re up to.”

She turned to the mercenary.  “Hobbs, I need you up into that room as quick as you can.  Get it cleared, then help Sneaker up.  Sneaker.  Rush will be right behind you so you help him and I’ll follow up last.  I’ll keep them on their toes in the corridor and I won’t need any help.  I want the next set of charges placed as soon as you can, preferably before I get there.”  Hobbs slung his rifle, drew his pistol and crouched not far from the hole to be.  Sneaker crouched down next to him, watching Valerie as she went back to the doorway.

“Here’s the plan, Rush,” she said to him.  “I toss the grenade and Sneaker detonates the explosives in time with it.  As soon as they both go off, we let rip down that corridor.  Keep it to short bursts, but constant and move your shots around.  They’ll be hurt, shocked and confused, some of them will stumble into our line of fire.”  He nodded his understanding to her.  Valerie holstered her pistols, drew a grenade from her right overcoat pocket, switched it to her left and unslung her rifle with her right.  “Great, another left hander,” she muttered

“Eh?”  Rush queried.

“Don’t worry, just talking to myself.  Ready?”

Rush rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck before settling back into position.  “Ready.”

Valerie looked back at Sneaker who nodded in response.  “OK.  Fire in the Hole.”  She activated the grenade and tossed it underarm in a gentle curve.  It crested just below the ceiling before landing at the far end of the corridor on its side.  It rolled forward and bounced deceptively gently off the balcony wall before detonating.  For Valerie and her team were hit by the twin concussion waves from the two explosions.  They were ready for them, with  their eyes tightly shut and protected their ears as best they could.  Rush swung his rifle round, from where he had taken cover in the doorway to shield him from the grenade, and opened fire.  Valerie followed him and stepped past, using what was left of the barricade as cover, the hum of her rifle joining Rush’s.  Just as she predicted, blinded and confused Enforcers stumbled into their sights and were cut down unceremoniously.

Valerie counted slowly in her head, not being able to look to see if the others had done their part.  After the amount of time she mentally allowed, she tapped Rush on his left shoulder.  He quickly ducked back into the room.  Valerie scooted over to take over Rush’s position and continued firing.  No one was now coming openly into her arc of fire, but they were occasionally trying to look round the corner.  It would have been almost impossible for Rush to see them doing that, just as it had been for Bella, Geary and the other to see Valerie.  The goggles they wore were not sophisticated enough.  There Valerie had the advantage, her eyesight included the same level of genetic enhancement over the average human as the rest of her.  Her night vision allowed her to see even into that dim shadow and her reflexes were fast enough to pick off those curious souls.

She glanced to the right and Rush was no longer visible in the room.  Valerie gave it a slow count of ten, sprayed both sides of the end of the corridor, to keep Tumblers people on their toes.  She grabbed another grenade from her left pocket.  With one hand she set it to a two second fuse, hit the button and slung it straight down the corridor to explode, just as it entered the stairwell.  Using the distraction, she sprinted towards the hole in the ceiling, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder.  The table was still below the hole and she took a running leap.  Her foot landed squarely on the table, right underneath the hole and she pushed straight up.  Jumping into the hole and grabbing the side with both hands.  In one smooth movement she pulled herself up and clear of the drug factory.

The room above was some sort of squat, with a couple of mattresses and clothes strewn about.  Hobbs was by the only door, Rush was covering the hole and Sneaker was getting down off a chair.

“Charges set,” he simply said.  “Everyone get clear.”

Valerie rolled to her feet and dashed to the side of the room as far away from the new set of ceiling charges as she could and the others did the same.

“I’m the Forlorn Hope,” she called.  They all looked at her blankly.  “Never mind,” she shook her head.  “I’m going in first.  Do it, Sneaker.”

The charges were designed to be directional.  Sneaker shaped them to aim their force directly up into the ceiling and the security room.  The concussion and noise in such an enclosed space was still deafening and disorientating.  Valerie could not allow those above time to react and fought through the confusion in her head.  She staggered to her feet pulling a grenade from her coats right pocket. 
At least this time I get to use my natural arm.
  The random thought skittered across her brain before, being mindful of her bewilderment, she carefully armed and tossed the grenade up through the hole.  As soon as the grenade left her hand she jumped back, almost toppling into the hole in the floor she came through moments before.

She narrowly avoided it, but couldn’t stop herself losing her balance, crashing to the floor as the grenade went off in the room above.  With a growl, she rolled to her feet and launched herself at the brand new entrance Sneaker had blown open into the Security Room.  Catching hold of the edge of the hole, the momentum of her lunge swung her feet forward, pivoting on her hands.  She used that motion to bring her feet up against the ceiling, dug in her boot toes and pushed off.  With this extra drive, she pulled herself up with her powerful arms, flipped herself into a roll and came up onto her feet, drawing both her pistols.

There was no need.  The room wasn’t large and the grenade had done its job extremely well.  Three complete walls of VI screens surrounded her, each with two chairs.  All six seats were turned towards her and each contained a dead body.  It was apparent the initial explosion caused everyone to turn towards it, only for the grenade to explode directly in front of them, killing them instantly.  The metal shards embedded around the explosive core, did the work they were designed to do effectively.

The staff weren’t the only thing affected, many of the screens and consoles were perforated by the grenade.  Most of screens were dark, only a few were still showing images.  Valerie holstered her guns and called down the hole.

“All clear.  Sneaker, you’re first.”  She lay on the floor and reached down into the hole.  Sneaker jumped, grabbing her wrist as and she pulled him up so he could seize the hole with his other hand.  She moved up to her knees, continuing to pull him and further helped him, by clasping the back of his belt, heaving him into the room.