Time War: Invasion (2 page)

"Guess we came to the right place?" he asked them.

But his humour was lost on the highly intelligent, but very dry Dalton, who simply replied, "We are on top of the coordinates I set out, as planned."

"Not sure this was exactly to plan," added Nylund, stepping to the front and centre opposite Corwin. He was cleaner than all the others and looked modelesque in comparison to them.

Corwin looked back over the edge cautiously.

"Anyone got any ideas?"

"Let me go in, quiet and easy," replied Frasi.

"Fuck that," replied Rane. The hulking soldier pushed past the nimble Frasi. He stood almost seven feet tall and was bulging with muscle. His head was shaved clean, and he grinned like an idiot. "No time, let's go straight down there, take 'em head on."

Rane sounded simple, but he was an imposing figure of a man.

"Let's jump in there and fuck some shit up," he added.

It brought a smile to Corwin's face.

"The dog has got a point," added Porter.

"You want to get down to this here!" snapped Rane, taking a few paces towards Porter. But Corwin soon got in the way.

"Fucking hell, get your heads together, you goddamn rejects. We have one shot at this, so let's not fuck it up, okay?"

They all nodded in approval. He finally looked down at his watch and realised how little time they had left.

"All right, fuck it. We don't have time for any subtlety. Load up. We're going right down this hole, and we do not stop till we find Villiers and end his life, you got it?"

"Hell, yes!" Rane growled.

"Load up and move out!"

They piled onto the three remaining vehicles. Corwin jumped on behind Lecia. As he sat, he felt her writhe slightly and thrust back into him, her hand running up his thigh. He enjoyed it for just a second before getting his head back on task.

"Punch it!" he ordered.

She fired the rotors up and tipped them over the edge and into the cavernous entrance. As they began their descent, they could see flight crews scrambling to two of the small fighter craft below. Lecia flicked a switch on the handlebars, and a trigger sprung out beside her left hand. She squeezed, and two gun barrels on the front of the vehicle flashed into life as a hail of fire struck the cockpit of one of the craft. Corwin leaned to one side and took aim with his rifle, firing at the pilot heading for the other. Several shots forced him to back up before finally he was struck by a burst in the neck and chest.

They were plummeting towards the landing area at breakneck speeds.

"Pull up!"

But Lecia ignored him, keeping the throttle on and showing no signs of hesitation. They were approaching the deck rapidly when she pulled up and tilted the rotors forwards slightly. They dropped completely vertically and came to a perfect stop a few centimetres from the ground. Gunfire was hitting positions all around them, but the rest of the team laid down fire on their approach.

Corwin jumped from the back of the vehicle and cleared two metres, activating a shield on his forearm as he landed. An oval, pale blue energy shield materialised in time to absorb two shots heading for his face. He rushed onwards and ducked down beside the wreck of one of the aircraft. As he did so, a tiny fibre optic camera rose out from the back of his armour and projected the view over onto the screen attached to his forearm. He could make out three combat drones.

They stood two metres tall and carried a heavy sustained fire weapon on each arm. They were firing erratically at all movement before them. They were clumsy and awkward looking machines that could not move with any of the finesse of a human. He tapped a key on his pad and a short, but broad barrelled weapon rose out from the encased pack on his back. He tapped to target each of the drones and hit the fire button. The stubby little gun fired three shots in quick succession with barely any noise or recoil at all. He watched on the screen. The three shots traversed the cover and soared towards their targets, adjusting slightly as the drones moved. They were low velocity, but each found their targets.

Explosions rang out from the charges blowing on impact in a perfect sequence. Debris from the drones was blasted out across the hangar bay, smashing into the cover Corwin was sheltering behind. As soon as the blast had dissipated, he leapt out from behind the craft towards the targets; one was still thrashing about. It had lost both its legs and was flat on its back, still trying to find a target. As he approached, he took aim and fired a burst of five shots into its head. It was finally immobilised.

Corwin turned to see the last few shots fired from his team, and all went quiet. All they could hear now was the security alarm sounding off in every room of the structure.

"Vi, Frasi, work out whatever alternative ways out of this place there are. We cannot let Villiers make it out alive. Nylund, you take Beyett and Tano. Try and shut down any defence systems and seal all access points. Rest of you are on me. Let's go through this place like a wrecking ball."

"Hell, yes," replied Rane.

Corwin turned and led the way as the group separated.

"Should it be this easy to get to Villiers?" Hunter asked.

Corwin laughed.

"Don't worry kid," replied Porter, "There'll be a shit storm yet."

Corwin continued on at a light jogging pace and weighed in.

"Element of surprise got us in here, but there is no room left for subtlety. You see someone you don't recognise; you kill them. You see something you don't understand, you destroy it. We're here to fuck shit up, are you ready?"

Hunter nodded agreement, as they carried on down a large corridor that was seemingly the main entrance into the facility. The six of them were spread across the space and took the bend, to find a hasty barricade setup at the far end at the entrance to an escalator. Not one of them broke stride, firing their shields as the corridor lit up from a volley of fire coming their way. None of them made any attempt to seek cover, but advanced with their rifles firing beside their shields. Sparks flew from bullets ricocheting off them and their armour, hitting the walls around them.

"Flash!" Harland shouted.

He fired a shot from a small barrel mounted on a forearm brace. A golf ball sized bolt of energy soared ahead over the barricade, erupting into a blinding level of light, with only their shields protecting them. The gunfire almost completely stopped and was quickly replaced by cries of pain from the worst affected. A few stray shots still came from the cover and were fired wildly at best.

Rane managed to get a little ahead and smashed into the metre and a half high barricade as if it were made of glass. Boxes were smashed aside as the bull of a man burst through. Corwin jumped and effortlessly cleared the cover to land in among the defenders. As his feet touched the ground, he fired a burst into one who was trying to draw a side arm. Still down on one knee, he turned and kicked another in the face.

The soldier's head snapped back, and his body was launched back several metres, sliding to a lifeless halt where his neck had been snapped. It was clear these were just regular humans - 'norms' as many called them. Corwin saw Porter had his hands embedded in a soldier’s throat and proceeded to rip it out. Blood spewed out over the floor and all over Porter's hands. Several specks splashed onto his face and teeth where they bore through his wicked smile.

"What the fuck?" Hunter asked.

"You're a sick fucker," added Lecia.

Corwin wanted to say something, but he knew it was futile.

"Come on, let's move."

He looked over to the entrance to the elevator and could see both a fingerprint and retinal scanner. He grabbed the nearest body that looked intact and hauled it to the scanner as if it was weightless.

"Hey, when am I gonna get strength like that?"

"Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. Effects of our enhancements work differently on everyone," replied Lecia.

"But they promised I'd get super strength."

"And you bought that shit?" Porter asked unsympathetically.

Corwin couldn't help but laugh as he held the bloodied body up to the scanners. The doors slid open. He looked down and saw a knife on the body he was holding. He drew it out, tossing the body aside like a ragdoll. He thrust the blade deep into the outer doors of the elevator and rammed it home to keep them open. He armed the charge and placed it in the centre of the floor, hit the button for the upper of the two level choices, and jumped out; the doors slammed shut behind him.

"That should wake 'em up," he added with a smile.

They watched the elevator rapidly gain speed in its descent and finally came to a halt. As it did so, the doors opened, and all hell broke loose when dozens of automatic weapons opened fire. Corwin raised his arm and hit the trigger mechanism, smiling gleefully as they felt the rumble beneath their feet and felt the pressure of the blast rise through the shaft.

"We're in business."

* * *

“Think we can pull this off?” Nylund asked.

He seemed his usual confident self, but Beyett still answered dryly as they carried on cautiously down a dark corridor.

“Our chances of success are minimal.”

“Oh, come on, Doc, we’re the best there is.”

“The best that’s left you mean.”

“Why have you always got to put a downer on these things, Tano?”

“I’m a realist. It’s what I do."

But there was a devious and untrustworthy look in Tano’s eyes that went way beyond Nylund’s understanding.

“What are we even looking for?” asked Nylund.

“Any means of shutting this place down, just as the Sergeant asked,” added Beyett.

“Don’t be such a boy scout. You know how much potential there is here? The tech we could take away with us. Some of the stuff here could be a game changer.”

“To what exactly?”

“Money, power, all the things we want,”

“It’s not what we are here for,” replied Beyett.

“Maybe not you, but perhaps it’s time you all looked to your futures. This war is gonna be over sometime soon. Look at this. We have got to Villiers himself, us, a team of rejects. This war is over. Villiers just doesn’t know it yet. And when that time comes, I want to be on top.”

“When this war is over, it will be a time to celebrate, not take all you can get.” replied Beyett.

“Whose side are you even on?”

“My own, Nylund,” replied Tano.

“How can you…”

But he cut off as they noticed movement ahead and raised his rifle to take aim. He quickly saw it was an enemy soldier and fired a three-shot burst, carrying onwards with his rifle held on target as the enemy figure slumped to the floor. He reached the corner to find it was a solitary guard who had not been remotely aware of their presence.

“This is weird,” he said.

“What?” asked Beyett.

“Villiers, our greatest enemy, and he is here. And yet there seems so little resistance.”

Beyett nodded in agreement.

“What’s most worrying is if Villiers cares that little about us, he must be pretty damn confident on whatever he’s doing,” he added.

“So what, he thinks we can’t change whatever he is doing?” asked Nylund.

Beyett nodded.

“Whatever he is doing it must be big,” added Tano, “Without some kind of game changing wonder weapon, this war is over.”

They took a bend and came to a hidden and concealed entrance in a hallway. It was clear they were not supposed to have seen it. They look at one another for just a moment and knew it was exactly where they needed to go. Nylund went forward without a word and drew out a magnetic charge from his armour. He placed it at the opening and took a step back as it blew. He placed both hands on the small lip that had been prised apart and pulled with all his strength until it yanked open.

“After you.”

Tano stepped back and waited for Beyett to go through, although he looked far from impressed.

“Thanks,” he replied with just a hint if sarcasm, as much as he could ever manage.

They carried on along the narrow and claustrophobic passageway for a few moments and reached a sealed doorway.