Chapter 12
Fallout
Abandoned Factory
Redmond, Seattle
April 4, 2059
9:15 pm
......drip.......drip.......drip......drip......drip......
The dripping of water on the cold basement floor. The water comes from the surface were the drizzle of rain has slowly started to strengthen.
The door leading to the basement is shattered. The old frame torn off its hinges by the force of magic. Tiny sparks fly through the air as chunks of the old metal skitter across the concrete floor. Shock troops armed with fully automatic weapons and night goggles flood through the shattered doorway. They move with precision and speed, pairing off and securing the main room. They are lead into battle by a tall oriental man in urban camouflage fatigues. A small cylinder on the cuff of his sleeve holds a monowhip. He holds a FN-HAR like it was a paperweight. His eyes hold no feeling in them. He shows no fear or concern in what he does.
"Secure this room immediately." Jagger barked his orders. "Take out all opposition and recover the subject."
The troops follow his commands without question. They entered the narrow hallway and began a search of each room. They broke down the doors with a battering ram. The soldiers left no stone unturned in their search.
"Quickly, we are on a time limit." Jagger said harshly.
The troops came to the last door on the hallway. So far they had found nothing in any of the other rooms. When they came to the last room they saw that it was heavily bolted. Many of them assumed that this must be where the subject, Michelle McVey, was being held. They started to assume that the shadowrunners had heard the strike team coming and fled, leaving their hostage undefended. Jagger was not as sure as his underlings. He stayed next to the door and waited for his troops to clear the basement out. If one of the shadowrunners proved his worth by overcoming the shock troops, then that runner would be a worthy challenge to Jagger's skill.
The battering ram slammed up against the door, forcing a huge dent in the center of it and loosening the hinges that held it in place. A second impact caused a terrible screeching sound as the metal slide against the concrete frame. A third hit and the door collapsed.
"We're through." One of the troops exclaimed as he pushed his way inside. What he found waiting for him was more of a surprise than he was prepared for.
Heat.......flame.........FIRE!
The trooper screamed in agony as the fire elemental, assigned to attack relentlessly if anyone broke into its room, roasted the flesh off the man's bones. Ammunition and weaponry exploded. The concussion tore the body into as bits of burning flesh.
"Spirit!" Another trooper reported as the rest of the group started falling back.
The Fire Elemental lumbered into the hallway and cast a fiery gaze at the retreating soldiers. They opened fire with their weapons, aiming at what appeared to be the head of the manifested spirit. The bullets had little to affect. Those that did not pass through the fiery aura were melted upon contact with the inferno that swirled around the creature's body.
"Fall back and set up barricade." Jagger ordered as he overturned a metal table to use for cover. "Green pair protect the rear, Blue flank the left."
A man screamed as the fire got too close.
"But sir!" One protested.
"Do not make me repeat myself or a rampaging spirit will be the least of your worries." Jagger warned.
Another shock trooper screamed as the intense heat engulfed him. He burst into flames and went running out the door. His ammunition cooked off as he ran This sent deadly bursts of shrapnel into the other men. Just as the burning trooper reached the base of the stairs that lead outside a magical force bolt blasted him back. He landed with a gooey sound.
"Crazy fool." Montague said as he stepped down the stairs. "Running around like a devil when he's only doing harm to his own team. He should've dropped in the hallway."
Jagger glanced at the mage as he stepped down. "No sign of the westerners. I believe they have fled, leaving the spirit as a trap to the unwary."
Montague watched the troopers pump countless bullets into the spirit which continued to advance. "Apparently these men are not the best that Renraku had to offer us."
"They were not worthy." Jagger replied.
"No, they are not." Montague admitted as he raised his hand at the Elemental. Ethereal energies began to form the Spirit Bolt around his wrist. "Neither are these shadowrunners, but they showed cunning in this cowardly trap." The spirit bolt struck the Elemental with the force of the mage's will. The spirit howled in pain, but sent a flurry of fire at the guards around it. A moment and a second bolt later, and the elemental was dispersed.
"Have your men fan out, Jagger. They could not have gotten far. They are still in the area. I will make certain that they do not leave it."
9:25 pm
"Split up." Lenny had ordered as the basement was broken into. Thanks to Shard's warning, the group had time to escape through a manhole and onto the surface. There Lenny immediately told the group to split up. He knew that it wasn't going to be a simple matter of running away. All thoughts of a quick escape had been dashed when Riggs spotted a Leyland Transport and a Citymaster outside the factory. Riggs had also picked up two Condor drones that were in the process of being deployed. It was sheer luck that the runners had gotten into hiding in the wreckage of the factory before the drones were launched. Now that the drones were in place they had a full view of the battlefield. Lenny had changed his tactics with the drones in mind. He had planned on using the Bison to take out any transport the soldiers had, then make a run for it while Shard's elemental kept them busy. With the Condor drones in place, it would be impossible to move the Bison without being seen. Lenny was willing to bet that the Citymaster had far heavier armament than the Bison had. He didn't want to risk losing it.
He told everybody to use hit and run tactics. Smiley, Gideon, and Lenny would take care of that. Lenny's group would lead the troops away from the mark. In the meantime Shard, Nightsky, and Tart would get Michelle McVey to safety. That was the plan.
To help execute it, Lenny had taken the others to the second floor. The center part of the second floor had long since collapsed and was opened to the sky, but a catwalk still stood. There was also room to retreat back into parts of the second floor that were still standing. In the opened area below was the main floor. Almost in the center of it was the door that lead to the sub-basement. Junk and debris was scattered around the old factory space. Lenny had told Gideon and Smiley to take up corner positions so they could catch the men below in a cross fire. He knew that the numbers were against him, so he hoped that his plan would work. To make matters worse it looked like the opposition was heavily armed and wearing some kind of security armor.
As soon as the first of the men stepped out of the basement, Lenny had his group draw their aim. He held fire until he thought they were all out. The troops did not stand around. It looked like they were about to break up in search parties. More men came up from the Leyland transport and joined the fray. It would not be much longer until they split up and started their search.
Lenny chambered a mini-grenade on his AK-98. "Get ready, chummers." He said into his micro-transceiver.
"Armed and dangerous." Smiley responded.
Gideon did not say anything. He had set his rifle on semi-automatic and was prepared to pick them off one at a time. His aim was already centered on the head of one of the men below.
Lenny paused before giving the order. He had an idea that what he was about to do was the stupidest move he could make. At the same time he could not think of a way around it. If he sat on his butt and watched like it was all on the trid, he'd have trouble the likes of which most of the other runners couldn't comprehend.
Across the quad Smiley was leering happily at the troopers as they started to break off into groups. The integrated smartlink that ran through his shotgun lite up a red triangle as he moved the barrel around. He had reloaded his weapon with slugs, but in the back of his mind he felt that his weapon would be less effective at long range. Unfortunately, more aggressive thoughts that ran Smiley's mind. Those thoughts told him to open up the troops and see what color their insides were.
"So many little critters all wondering around." Smiley hummed. He still had on a pair of pathetically cheap sunglasses. There was no sun. Not even a moon as it was hid by an overcast of rain clouds. Rain was already started to fall. "They look like a bunch of half trained circus midgets to me." He muttered to himself as he spared a glance at Lenny's position.
Smiley clicked his commlink. "We going to kill something today, fearless leader? Or maybe you want to see if the acid rain will do the job?"
Lenny did not reply at first. There was no stopping what was about to come. He aimed the rifle. His advanced smartlink immediately calculated the firing arc of the mini-grenade.
"Let them fly." He said calmly, depressing the trigger on the grenade launcher.
All hell erupted in the factory.
9:36 pm
The explosions were enough to shake the ground. Shard figured that there must have been at least half a dozen dull booms before they stopped. Each of the booms caused the frail structure of the old factory to groan under the punishment. The rapid succession of the explosions did not help matters either.
"Keep going!" Nightsky exclaimed as he lead the small group away from the main floor. Tart was close behind him, trying to keep up with the adept as he effortlessly scrambled over broken tables and chunks of concrete.
"Careful!" Michelle McVey complained as Shard pushed her along. The woman was severely out of shape. Tart was in better physical condition than she was.
"Stop slowing down, Michelle." Shard coaxed her over a table. "If we stop it won't be easy for us to get away."
"Why should we run?" Michelle questioned. "You people didn't having any vices about that when you broke into my apartment."
"This isn't Bellevue, woman." Nightsky scorned as he picked his way into the dull moonlight. His foot splashed down in a puddle of water. He had emerged in an alley behind the factory. The Bison was parked just near the mouth of the alley in what use to be a loading dock. They would have to cut through the adjacent building because the mouth of the alley was blocked by a high fence that was topped with barbed wire.
"That is for certain." Michelle stumbled over the broken blocks and into the alley as Tart helped Shard through. "I expected better treatment from-"
"Quiet." Nightsky snapped.
Shard glanced at the end of the alley. "The fence? I can probably burn it."
Nightsky knew that he could probably get over the fence with minimal complications, but he had to think about Michelle and Tart. He doubted they were in any condition to make the attempt. Shard could probably burn through the fence with a spell like she had used a month ago at Paratech. The only thing he worried about was the drain that it put the mage under.
Shard stopped in her tracks. Her eyes had a sense of amazement about them. "Oh, god, no." She said in a whisper.
Tart tilted her head. "What is it?"
"They've got a magician." Shard replied, looking back at where they had been. "A strong one at that. I should've known."
"You sure about that?" Nightsky wondered.
"I'm sure." In the corner of her mind Shard felt an emptiness that wasn't there before. "Spire is gone. My spirit is gone."
"All the more reason for us to get gone." Nightsky frowned, but he shook the feeling off as he came up to an old door on the adjacent building. Under normal circumstances he would take time out to pick the lock and enter with maximum stealth. These were not normal circumstances. He lifted the barrel of his submachine gun and shot the ancient lock off. The sound suppressor hardly let a noise escape.
"I can't leave." Shard said. "I've got to go back. Lenny's going to need help against that magic user. They won't stand a chance without me."
"Shard, they'll be splitting up and combing this block any second now. Once they recover from Lenny's assault anyway." Nightsky was insistent. He wanted to get moving.
"I can't leave them alone them to face the mage alone."
"Guys," Tart said in a disarmingly quiet voice. Both Nightsky and Shard stopped and stared at her. "Do we have to stand out here like this?"
At that moment a silvery drone appeared overhead. Nightsky glanced at it and immediately felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The little mechanical construct whirled at their presence. A sensor pod, or at least that's what Nightsky thought it was, seemed to be locked on them.
"Drek!" Nightsky exclaimed as he dropped to his knee and flipped his weapon on full auto. "We've been pegged." He let loose a prolonged burst at the drone. Most of the bullets bounced off the armored frame, but a few found their way to more sensitive components.
The drone responded by showing a long barrel and a brief flash of light. White-hot lead peppered the alley. Shard ducked back into the factory. Nightsky grabbed Tart with his free hand and pushed against Michelle with his shoulder. He was so quick that he forced Michelle through the door where he had shot the lock off. Michelle tumbled through to the other side, letting out a mouthful of curses in the process. Nightsky managed to swing Tart inside just as a burst tore up the doorframe.
"Nightsky!" Shard yelled from across the alley.
"What?!" Nightsky didn't look at her. He nudged the barrel of his gun around the doorway and fire a suppressive burst at where he had last seen the drone. Unfortunately the drone had moved and Nightsky ended up shooting at nothing.
"I'm going to help Lenny." She said. "Take care of Michelle."
"What am I suppose to do? Take her to a movie or something?"
"Get her and Tart to Riggs." Shard's voice was strained. "I'll get Lenny and the others and meet you out front."
"Have you got any idea-"
"Just do it!" She shot back and disappeared into the factory.
Nightsky spent a moment looking for her before a burst from the drone forced him inside. He pulled his weapon up next to him and cursed silently.
"Frag, don't this suck?" He said.
Michelle's features were a mix of fear and contempt. At one level she resented being held against her will and was angry for the treatment that she was receiving. At the moment, Nightsky couldn't care less.
"Michael?" Tart said to him.
Nightsky shook his head again, trying to clear his thoughts. "Get away from the door!" He barked as he glanced up. "That drone is still out there and it looks small enough to get inside."
"Where?" Tart asked.
"Take Michelle." Nightsky motioned at her with the barrel of his gun. "Get her to the Bison if you can. You'll have to cut through that loading dock to get there, so be careful. With that drone out there they know we're in here. So I'm going to stay behind and if I can slow them down."
"But-"
Tart's words were cut short by the low whine of a fan-engine. A small engine that would supply lift for a drone. To Tart's credit she pulled Michelle by the arm and lead her behind a wall. This got the two of them out of sight. Nightsky took a moment to look his surroundings over. He was particularly interested in what was above his head. The ceiling was a drop-in one, but the tiles had long since been removed. This left the old, metal skeletal work still in place. He only hoped that he was light enough to make use of it. He used an old chair to boost himself into the framework and quickly crawled to a point directly above the door.
In a few moments the little drone poked through. Nightsky thought it looked like something Riggs had, but it was a little larger and more circular. At the same time he remembered how his bullet seemed to bounce off it. Maybe that was because he just wasn't hitting the little mechanical devil in the right places.
When the drone was hovering just below him, he was able to make out the intakes vents for the engine. That looked vulnerable enough. He pointed his gun and emptied the rest of the clip into the vents. The drone sputtered and broke into a dull flame. It crashed to the ground with an audible thunk of broken metal.
"So much for technology." Nightsky dropped from the ceiling, landing perfectly on his feet. He tore the empty clip from his gun just as Tart peaked her head around the wall.
"You got it?" She said with wonderment.
Michelle stuck her head around as Tart spoke.
"Barely." Nightsky admitted. "But I don't think it was looking to distinguish targets." He spared a glance at Michelle. "If you know what I mean." He pulled out a new clip from a pouch on his belt and slid it into place.
A single gunshot rang out. Nightsky felt a slug hit him square in the back and put his face down on the floor. A deafening pain spread out from between his shoulder blades. He was afraid to move, fearing to bullet had done some serious damage. Fear of getting shot again forced him into action. He rolled over just as another bullet impacted in the wall next to Michelle's head. She promptly pulled herself back. Nightsky chambered a bullet into his weapon and fired into the hole in the factory's wall. He kept up a full auto burst as he scampered to the wall that Tart and Michelle were hiding behind. His bullets racked the hole in every possible location. By the time he made it to the wall, he had an empty gun once again.
"You're shot?!" Tart exclaimed, seeing a hole in his long coat.
Nightsky moved his shoulders around a little. He was sore, but nothing else. "I think the armor caught it, but it went through the coat."
"Who's out there?" Michelle exclaimed. "They're going to kill us!"
"Calm down, McVey." Nightsky said.
"I thought Lenny had all the men tied up." Tart said with sorrowful eyes.
"I guess he missed one." Nightsky reloaded his weapon, dropping the empty clip. As he stuck the barrel around the wall, he took fire. This time it was fully automatic and had the sound of an assault rifle. Nightsky pulled his gun back again. "This doesn't look good."
"What about Shard?" Tart spoke as she worked her small pistol out of an oversized pocket.
"I'm pretty sure she can handle herself, Tart."
"What about us?" Michelle was starting to sound worried now.
"If we can get to the Bison we'll be okay." Tart said, then looked at Michael. "Right?"
"That's the plan, but getting there might be a problem." He fumbled a concussion grenade out of his coat pocket.
"What about them." Tart referred to the gunmen that would no doubt charge them if they left the door unguarded.
"Don't worry about them, I got it covered." Nightsky raised his weapon. "Tart?"
"Yes?"
"Get Michelle to the Bison. I'll make sure you've got a clear back." He didn't wait for a response. He stuck the barrel of his gun over and fired a burst. There was a faint scream, but the scream was drowned out as Nightsky tossed the grenade.
Tart took her prompt and grabbed Michelle by the wrist. She lead the woman down into the loading dock. She ran as fast as her little legs would carry her for she did not know how long Nightsky could hold his own position.
After the grenade went off, Nightsky loosed most of his clip into the doorway and the alley. He saw some traces of blood by the door. It was enough to convince him that there was still somebody there. As an afterthought he sent a burst into the ceiling where he had hidden just incase.
He fell back down the wall and stopped as he walked out onto a catwalk. Below him was the end of the loading dock. At the far end of the dock, more than eighty meters away, the Bison was parked in one of the truck sights. The door to the sight was closed, but there was a man-sized door that Tart and Michelle could use.
Nightsky made it halfway down the catwalk before he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around and trigger the HK227. A man in urban fatigues sputtered an collapsed under the fire. A second, more menacing foe loomed by the door. Nightsky was about to drop him too, but his gun clicked empty again.
"Damnit!" Nightsky cursed and went for his backup pistol.
The other man was quicker than he looked. He bounded down the catwalk and planted a fly kick right into Nightsky's chest. Nightsky was able to get his HK227 in between the kick and his chest, but the impact sent him flying down the catwalk and successfully knocked the sense out of him.
As Nightsky looked up, he saw that the man had an assault rifle leveled at him. Yet he didn't fire. Instead he seemed just to stare blankly for a moment. Nightsky didn't know what to do. If he made a move for a gun he would probably get shot and he was too far away for draw his monosword. His flash grenade was stuffed into the inside of his long coat and would be difficult to get out without the man noticing. So Nightsky just froze like a rabbit caught in someone's headlights.
"You have talent." The man spoke. The hilt of a sword was visible over his shoulder. "You have the gift."
Gift? Nightsky did not understand. What was this guy talking about?
The man dropped his rifle on the ground. "You show brilliant light in your chi. You may prove worthy among your rabble."
To Nightsky, the man's English seemed strained.
"I am Jagger or the Swordfish Clan." The man identified himself. "I challenge you to honorable combat." He pulled an ancient looking Katana from its sacred scabbard. He lay the scabbard carefully on the ground in front of him.
Nightsky considered it. It was certainly better than being shot, but that kick the man had delivered? He forced himself to his feet. As a sign of trust, at least Michael hoped it was a sign of trust, he dropped the HK227 on the floor next to him. He unhooked the monosword, drawing out the blade and tossing the scabbard aside as the man did.
"Jagger is it?" Nightsky held his sword loosely. "Let's see what you got?"
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