hellcat 05 - come hell or high water (29 page)

Gabi rose from her protective spot and raced forward, pausing to check on Fergus, who breathlessly waved her away; the injuries on his face were already closing, misshapen lumps protruding beneath his skin in some places.  The embedded bullets and shrapnel would need to be cut out later, and Gabi suppressed a shudder at the thought.  Scanning the area, her MacDart at the ready, she prepared to shoot, but the humans seemed confused, in shock, defeated.  Those still standing were holding their hands up, as though confronted by police.  She did a quick
headcount: forty-eight, oh, and another couple collapsed on the far side, fifty-two.  That wasn’t even close to the number Kyle had tallied coming in the gate.

“Julius.” She spun towards him, but her eyes were drawn upward and Julius was already moving, he’d felt the instant she made the connection.  There were humans everywhere above them, hanging from catwalks and ceiling beams, crouched on tiny metal platforms, and suspended from machinery and metal frameworks.  The sharp sound of shots assaulted her ears as more guns began firing. 

Julius wouldn’t be able to pull off his bullet-stopping trick again for a while.  That had taken a huge amount of power, even the Clan as a whole would be feeling the effects right now. 

“Shoot them,” a male voice roared, just above her head.  “Pick up your guns and shoot.”  A male form swung lithely off a raised platform, somersaulting before landing neatly on the top corner of the cage, balancing on the narrow silver struts, one hand steadying him, in a position Gabi would’ve sworn was impossible for a human to maintain.  The man didn’t even look to have broken a sweat, the tattoos down his face and neck leered and grimaced, and his smooth scalp gleamed dully in the bright lighting. 

“Well, hello, Darkstalker,” Gabi muttered.  His expression was one of exhilaration, not fear or stress or shock at the appearance of the Vampires. 

“Pick up the fucking guns and shoot them,” he repeated.  “Mastermind, keep the cameras rolling.  This is fucking amazing.”  He was yelling at the chubby, bespectacled guy still huddled in the protection of the electronic hub.  The humans were recovering from their shock, searching for their weapons, but the Vampires were quicker. Two more humans began to collapse as darts found their mark.

Outside, the storm broke, lightning flashing through nearby windows and thunder booming over the roof, rattling the rafters and catwalks.

A trio of bullets flashed past Gabi’s right ear, making her duck.  She spun and dived for cover, but quickly regained her feet, her MacDart steady and aimed.  She searched the chaos of bodies for a direct shot at Mr Glasses.  She growled as she realised her spot put a thick steel girder directly between her and her quarry.  A flash of movement caught her attention and she quickly shifted her aim for Darkstalker, who was now clear in her sights.  She flinched minutely just as she pulled the trigger, another volley of bullets had hit Julius, and the dart bounced harmlessly off the edge of Darkstalker’s thick leather vest instead of embedding in his neck.  His eyes swung instantly to find her as a handgun appeared in his hand.  She darted for another point of cover a few metres to her left, closer to Mr Glasses.  As she stuck her nose out of concealment to take aim, a bullet skimmed off the metal bracket next to her right ear, and the ricochet sliced a cut into her cheek. She hissed in pain. 

“Bastard,” she grumbled, wiping at the stinging cut.  Darkstalker was onto her, he was tracking her, and she was now too far from him for the darts’ range.  “Shit.”  She glanced around, needing a distraction.  A dark coat swished in her peripheral vision.  “Mac,” she called in relief.  Her friend’s body stiffened as he took several bullets, and then he was behind the metal contraption with her. 

“You okay?” Mac checked.

Gabi nodded. “You?”

He grinned widely.  “Better than ever.” He was actually enjoying his new, almost-unkillable status.

“You know it’s gonna hurt when they dig them out later,” she warned over the din of the fight, scooting closer to him when another zing bounced off the floor near her feet.

“That’s later’s problem,” he told her.  “What do you need?”

“Take out the human with the tattoos.” Mac poked his head out of cover and looked around.  Another round of bullets hit all around them.

“Which one?” Mac grumbled.  “They’ve all got tattoos.” 

Gabi hadn’t noticed in all the craziness, but he was probably right. “The crazy, muscular, bald one standing on top of the cage,” she specified. 

He peeked out again.  “Ah, that one.  Okay.  You got any darts to spare?  I’m almost out. We’re going to have to resort to cracking heads soon.” 

Gabi handed over one of her two spare clips and Mac was gone.  She counted to three and stuck her head out again.

The storm outside lashed the factory as a storm of a different kind raged inside it.  The tattooed man grinned like Batman’s Joker and began to fire into the melee, dodging darts with an uncanny precision.  It was almost as though he could sense them coming.  Another wild battle cry rang out, but this one didn’t sound male.  Gabi’s eyes caught movement above the cage, to Darkstalker’s left, as a leather-clad woman dropped from somewhere above to land beside him on top of the cage.

“Zap him, dimwit,” she yelled in Mr Glasses’ direction.  She held a gun in each hand, and she held them like she knew exactly how to use them.  Gabi didn’t know enough about guns to accurately identify them, but they were some kind of sub-machine gun.  A trail of bullets hung down below each one, and Gabi’s chest squeezed tight.  The Vampires had already taken heavy damage, they might be incredibly good at healing, but even they had their limits. 

Darkstalker glanced over at the woman, who could only be Lady Helsing.  She was taller than her picture had hinted, slim and muscular. Her leather outfit hugged every curve and she wore gun holsters Lara Croft style, strapped to her thighs.  Her long, silver hair hung loose, her mouth twisted in annoyance, and her eyes flashed with anger.  Darkstalker’s momentary distraction gave Gabi the gap she needed to swing the crossbow off her shoulder and take aim.  A haze of red filled her peripheral vision, narrowing her focus and steadying her arm.  She breathed out as she squeezed the trigger and felt a grim flash of victory as the pencil-thick bolt struck deep in the man’s bicep. He spun towards her, anger and pain twisting his face, but the gun hung loose in his grip.

A spray of bullets assailed her, forcing her to curl into a tiny ball.  It seemed Lady Helsing didn’t like anyone taking down her man.  Several bullets hit a steel
girder a few feet above Gabi’s head and the misshapen bullets rained down on her. They were still hot, and one stung her hand where it touched.  Gabi flicked it aside, preparing to find a new place to take cover when something about the bullet made her pause.  She picked it up and studied it, hunching over with her collar pulled up to avoid the stinging bullet rain.  Excitement bubbled up as she rechecked the bullet and she touched her ear, activating the
commlink.

“I think they’re running out of silver bullets,” she said, hoping someone would hear her over the din.  “Don’t go in blindly, some of them may still have silver left, but the ones coming my way now are tungsten.”

“Right, we’re moving in.” Kyle’s voice echoed in her head.  “Where do you need us?”  A huge rumble of thunder drowned out anything else Kyle said.

“Everywhere,” Gabi said, cursing as another bullet bounced off the concrete next to her.  She tapped the
commlink off and straightened, pondering her next move as the hail of bullets cut off.  An anguished howl pierced the air as an electric buzz prickled across her skin and the smell of burnt flesh joined the smell of gunpowder and smoke. 

“Shit.” She flattened herself to the floor and poked her head out.  Darkstalker and Lady Helsing were still atop the cage. He’d yanked the bolt from his bicep and blood was streaming down his arm, and at least four darts pierced his skin in various places, but he was still upright.  She was still peppering the pockets of Vampires with bullets, but her attention was on the young man beneath her feet.

He was writhing as electric shocks racked him, his body straining against the metal chains wrapped around him.  Tears leaked from his eyes, but he was grimly hanging onto his wolf.  Gabi started as a large, dark shape burst out of the shadows to her left.

“Come on,” Julius said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. “You’re a sitting duck here.”

“She’ll eventually run out of bullets,” Gabi groused, her teeth clenched.  Needing to be rescued in the middle of a fight wasn’t something that happened to her often.  Or ever.

“And then the two of you can have a fair fight.” Julius grinned over his shoulder, despite the two bullets he took to the shoulder.  Even when the coat protected him, the punch of them hitting was enough to knock most people over. 

“She’s mine,” Gabi agreed.  A ripping crackle of lightning and an explosion of thunder punctuated her words.

“She’s high on Vamp blood,” Julius warned her.  “I can smell it on her.  Darkstalker too, that’s why he’s still standing.  There may be others.  They’ll be stronger, faster and quicker to heal than you expect.  Don’t underestimate them.”  He tugged her into an alcove between two large and very solid pieces of machinery.  There were several places she could use to view the action while staying relatively protected.  Julius ran his tongue quickly over the ragged slice on her cheek and his eyes turned to molten gold, with a groan he turned to leave.

“You’re going after the Lieutenant?” she asked. 

He glanced back and nodded.  “I’ll be back soon. Don’t get yourself killed in the meanwhile.” 

She glared at his back before he vanished from sight.  A moment later a Razor-sized shadow appeared at her feet.  He purred and rubbed against her, reassuring himself that she was okay. When she knelt to get a view of the action, he stood on his hind legs with his paws on her thigh to see what was happening. 

Julius had taken her much closer to the action.  She was in darting distance of Mr Glasses, and she could clearly see the agony on the young Werewolf’s face as he fought not to Change.  She swung the crossbow back onto her shoulder and pulled out the MacDart. A quick check made her drop the empty clip and slide her last one into position.  Calling on the Red Rage again, she poked her face out of cover and aimed for the chubby man.  There was a lot of him to aim for now that she was behind him.  Hunched over a sparking box, she would later claim that she simply didn’t aim properly as she shot him right in the ass. 

He jerked as the dart jabbed into the fleshy bit of his butt, arms immediately flailing to remove the offending dart, but it was too late.  Gabi just hoped the dose was enough to deal with a man of his weight.  And that he wasn’t amped on Vamp blood.  She glanced into the cage; the Werewolf was no longer spasming, but he was hunched forward as much as he could manage.  His Change was now inevitable.

Or was it.  Setting aside the fact that his Change may well be recorded and sent around the world, a forced Change was a hundredfold more painful than a normal Change, especially if the human side was fighting it.  On top of that, the position the Kresniks had tied him in was all wrong for his wolf shape, and most wolves were bigger than their human forms, so the chains, already tight on the human, would crush the wolf.

“Bugger, bugger, bugger,” Gabi hissed between gritted teeth.  She pressed a cautioning hand onto Razor’s head and, before she could contemplate the pain of another gunshot, she plunged out of hiding and rushed for the cage.

Dodging crumpled human forms and Vampires struggling to subdue others without seriously injuring them, she threw herself towards the cage, hoping the wire would provide a small amount of cover.

“Hellcat,” Mac’s voice shouted, “what in Hades name are you doing?”  He was away to the left, binding a tall man’s hands and ankles with zip-ties. 

Gabi grimaced as his shout alerted the Kresnik leaders to her intentions, and a spray of bullets stuttered around her.  She lifted her protective jacket up to cover her face and head and prayed.  A moment later she heard a loud grunt and peeked up to see Darkstalker tumble off the edge of the cage onto the ground, Mac’s crossbow tumbling with him, and a bleeding egg on his temple.  A second later Razor erupted from his hiding place and latched onto the Kresnik leader’s gun hand, sinking teeth into flesh and bringing a roar of pain.  With no time to waste, Gabi flung her power towards the rocking, howling Werewolf.  His wolf was crazed with anger and pain, throwing himself against the wall. His human side was desperately trying to keep strong.  “Calm, calm, the hurt is gone.  I’ll free him soon.  Calm…” Gabi whispered, desperately throwing the sentiment of the words into the power she projected. 

The human dragged his gaze upward;
bloodshot eyes found hers, pleading.

“You bitch,” Lady Helsing screamed.  She’d stilled momentarily as she watched her lover fall, but now she brought one of the guns up, aiming directly for Gabi’s head.  “Say
bye-bye, whatever the Hell kind of creature you are.”

Gabi braced herself. She knew the jacket wouldn’t hold up to those bullets at this distance. 

Click.  Click, click, click.
“Oh, for the love of…” the woman growled.

Gabi exhaled with a gasp as she thanked whatever deity or guardian angel was watching over her.  Somehow she’d maintained a thread of calming influence over the wolf, and she immediately strengthened it.  He was backing down, retreating.  Still snapping and snarling, but no longer fighting for control. 

“Thank you, thank you,” the young man whispered hoarsely. 

“I’ll get you out in a minute,” she vowed, already looking for something to cut the silver-plated wire with.  “Hang in—” Her words were cut off when the woman flung herself off the top of the cage, somersaulting and landing just feet from Gabi.  Fury twisted her features, narrowing her eyes and pulling her mouth into a pout.

“I don’t need bullets,” she sneered.  “I’ll take you like this.”  She darted forward, swinging the empty machine gun for Gabi’s head.