Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) (22 page)

Hanna’s breath exploded out of her in unison with Deni’s.  She had to take a moment before she could speak again.

“Not yet.  Can you get me any names or pictures of Rapaport’s people?”

“We’ve got some already.  I’ll send some over to you.  I take it you’re going to do some special Hacking stuff.  Are you out of the Workshop?”

“Yeah, I am and yes we are.  I won’t say where.”

“I understand.  Willem is on the team with all the other kids.  I’ll get them to get the pics and send them to me.  I’ll route them to you.”

“Tell them to be careful.  Anya knows what they do for us.”

“He’s aware and so are the others.  They know the risks, just as we did at that age.”

“OK.  I’ve got a location on Hopwood.  I’m going to give him a call.  Can a couple of you pick him up?”

“Yeah, we’ll sort that.  Anything else?”

“How are you for weapons?” Deni asked.

“Pretty good,” Hayley answered.  “The aircar is well stocked.”

“At least that’s going right,” Hanna said and looked across to Deni with a raised eyebrow.  Deni answered with a shake of the head.  “That’s it from our end.”

“Same here,” Hayley replied.  “We’ll get on it.  Stay safe.”

“You too,” Hanna said and cancelled the connection.

“Lucky,” Yama pointed out.  “Do you still want me out scouting?”

“If you don’t mind,” Deni said.  “You’ll see things the kids could well overlook.”

“As I said, I’m in, but it sounds like there’s queue forming for Anja’s head.”

“That’s an understatement,” Hanna agreed.

“When did the two of you last sleep?” Yama looked at them both pointedly.

Hanna glanced at the chrono on her wristcomp.  “I don’t know, forty-five hours ago?

“Right, I’m going out and you two are going to get some sleep.”

“We can’t,” Deni disagreed.  “We’ve got too much to do.”

“No, you don’t,” Yama said firmly.  “Nothing is going to happen for a while.  I’d guess you’ve got about seven to eight hours until all the info you want is in.  Both of you get your heads down for at least five of them.  If you don’t, you’re likely to get us all killed by not being on your game.  If you struggle to sleep, there are pills in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.  Nothing strong, just enough to take the edge off all the adrenaline pumping through your systems.”

“He’s right,” Hanna agreed.  “It’s exactly what Milicevic would say.

“Yeah, she would.” Deni agreed.

“Smart lady,” Yama drained the last of his beer and stood.  “You got a number for me to send the info to?”  Hanna gave him one to one of her secure sites from memory.  “Good, get some sleep.”

After he left, both of the girls took his advice and crashed out in his spare room.  Hanna even took some of the proffered pills, after she checked their side effects and how addictive they were on the datanet.

“They think they’re in a turf war,” Hanna mused.

“Are you talking to yourself again?” Deni asked.

“Oh, sorry.  Yeah.”  Hanna went back to staring at the map displayed on Yama’s table.  He had been right and the sleep did them both a lot of good.  Pictures of all Rapaport’s people were waiting for them, over half directly from Yama.  He really was very good at not being seen.  Hanna spent over an hour linking the calls from Rapaport, Orrick and Anya to those pictures.  She now had all of their coms Hacked and the hired guns locations on the map in front of her.

“Care to share?” Deni prompted.

“Look at where they are.  Four groups, the largest with Rapaport at Ripper’s old place, one at the Workshop and two on the streets being led by Anya and Orrick.  They’re securing the territory while hunting for Hayley and the others.”

“OK, so what?  Sounds normal to me.”

“Come on, Deni.  Yes, it would be normal to us two years ago.  This is exactly how the gangs operate, but it’s not how Valerie trained us.”

Her friend looked at the map again.  “Oh.”

“You see it?”

“They’ve got us on total numbers, but if we hit each group individually, it’s closer to a fair fight.”

“Not really.”  Hanna tried her best approximation of Valerie’s deadly smile.  “I know exactly where they are, all the time.  I can tell our people what’s hiding round the corner.”

“Don’t get over confident, Hanna.  You’ve never done anything like this before.  Neither of us have and please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That smile, it’s simpering, not intimidating.”

“Fine, I’ll stop,” Hanna said in a huff.  “And I’ll play it easy, no stupid risks.”

“Good,” Deni checked her wristcomp.  “It’s time for us to go and meet the others.”  She stood and paused, her expression serious.  “We’ll take it easy, but we’ll still kill these fuckers.”

“Count on it,” Hanna replied and smiled naturally.

***

“So, that’s the plan,” Hanna said as she finished her briefing.  “Any questions?”  She looked round at her Crew.  Deni, Hayley, Hopwood, Leigh, Flint, Calcutta, Layman, Barber and Willem, all stood around the table in the small warehouse Hayley commandeered for her hideout.

“What about you’re mysterious friend?”  Hayley asked.  “I see they aren’t here.”

“Fighting isn’t really what he does.  He’s more the sneaking type.  He promised he’ll be about and help out where he can.  He’s already given us a wealth of info.”  Hayley nodded and the others shook their heads, only Deni looked like she had something on her mind.  “What is it, Deni?”

“I was thinking that I’d join them on the ground.”

“I’ve never seen you fire a shot at someone, kid,” Flint interjected.  “This isn’t the time to start.”

“You’re right she never has,” Hanna said firmly.

“Oh, and you’re so experienced with a single kill.  That gives you the right to judge does it?”  Deni shot back.

“No, that’s why I’m not going to be anywhere near the fighting.”

Deni waved at those around them.  “We can’t expect them to fight for us, if we don’t risk our lives with them.”

“It’s what we do, Deni.” Calcutta said.  The short brunette shrugged.  “It’s what Milicevic pays us for.  No one would expect Hopwood here to charge in guns blazing.”

“Hey!” Hopwood exclaimed.

“She’s right, Boss.”  Leigh said.  “It’s my job to keep you and the girls and boys out of trouble, not yours.”

“Same goes for you, Deni,” Hayley said.  “This is going to be hard enough as it is.  We can’t take someone inexperienced in on a Job like this.  The three of you are staying in the aircar.”

Deni looked round at the group, her expression defiant.  Hanna knew it well, her friend could be stubborn when she really believed in something.  Hanna was struggling to disagree with her.  Everything Valerie showed them about being a leader was about taking the same risks as your crew.

“OK, hang on,” Deni said and strode over to the aircar and into the rear passenger compartment.  The others all looked to Hanna and she only shrugged in response, she had no idea what her friend was up to.  It didn’t take long for them to find out.  Deni returned with a massive rifle over one shoulder.

“Where did you get that?” Flint exclaimed.

“Hidden compartment,” Deni answered.  “I was going to mention it later when we started going through our gear.”

“That’s a fucking Scythe!  You don’t just find one tucked away in some smuggling bin.”

“What do you mean, Flint?” Calcutta asked the big man.

“That is high tech Legion shit.  I’ve only ever seen one once before.  Back in my army days, my unit worked with a Devil fire team, one of them were carrying it.  They put her on a treetop and she was killing insurgents at ten miles.  It uses self-propelled guided bullets that can penetrate even carbonide, let alone permacrete.”

Deni looked guiltily over to Hanna.  Valerie had never told them it was rarer than her armour.  She’d just shown them how to use it.  Hanna thought fast.

“We don’t know, Milicevic has some interesting contacts.  Maybe one of them sold it to her.”

“OK, what’s your plan then?” Hayley interrupted.

“Hopwood drives the aircar with Hanna in the back.”  Deni said calmly.  “They drop me off on a handy rooftop and I’ll be able to keep an eye on you,” she shrugged.  “If I freeze, I’m not endangering anyone as I wouldn’t be there anyway.”

Hanna looked over to Hayley.  “It’s your call.  You’re the one who’s going to be in the thick of it.”

Hayley studied Deni closely.  “Can she shoot?” she asked Hanna.

“That she can definitely do, Milicevic trained us both very well.  We’ve just never had to do it in a real live situation before.”

“OK, Deni.  You’re in.”

“Thanks, Hayley.  I won’t let any of you down.”

“Let’s get moving then,” Hanna said to everyone.  “Willem, have the kids stay in contact.  We’ll need to know the second any of the groups move in case they lose their wristcomps.  We hit Orrick’s group first.”

***

The aircar rose up the side of the building and over the lip of the rooftop.  Deni crouched by the open door, much as Valerie had the last time she saw her.  Pushing the thought from her mind, she leapt out the moment the aircar touched down.  Sprinting across the flat roof to the opposite side, she hunched down against the wall, the rifle strapped to her back.

“Checkmate in position,” she reported on her com.

“Hammer, are you ready?” Hanna asked.

“All set, Angel,” Hayley replied.

“Anvil?”

“Say the word,” Flint answered.

“Let me know what you can see, Checkmate,” Hanna said.

Deni unstrapped the rifle and carefully positioned it on the wall.  Settling herself in, she flipped up the back of the scope and searched for their targets.

“Angel, I’ve got them.  They’re coming out of Stockyard’s bar.  Seven goons, all grouped together.  Orrick is in the back.  They’re walking away from you, Hammer.”  Hayley, Layman and Calcutta were waiting in an alley on one side of the bar.  “Anvil, they’ll be with you in forty-five seconds.”

“Everyone, hold position,” Hanna said sharply.  “Orrick is on the com to Rapaport, it sounds like he’s winding up.  There, they’ve finished.  Coms are down, you are clear to go.”

Hayley and the other two slipped out of the alleyway, jogging towards Orrick’s group.  They were almost right on top of Flint’s team.

“Checkmate, take the first shot,” Hayley said.

Deni was tempted to ask her if she was sure, but she didn’t have the time.  In seconds the group would be right in front of the alley Flint was hiding in.  If she didn’t shoot now, he, Barber and Leigh would be seen.  While watching, Deni had been moving the cross hairs of her scope from body to body.  A button on the side flipped the view from wide to focused.  A woman loomed large in front of her.

Deni squeezed the trigger gently.  The rifle bucked slightly, automatically absorbing the heavy recoil.  The woman went from laughing with the others to falling back, a massive hole in her chest, in under a second.  Deni switched the scope back to wide angle and searched for a second target.  Hayley, Calcutta and Layman were already firing into the group.  Two more went down.

Flint, Leigh and Barber stepped out of the alley, Mag pistols humming, and two more fell.  Orrick tried to run across the road, away from the ambush.  Hayley shot him cleanly in the back and his body collapsed to the ground.  Only one was left, a man hiding between two parked wheelies.

Deni could see the others had lost him.  They didn’t know where he was and were beginning to spread out.  The man started to rise up, pistol in hand.  No one was looking his way.  Hanna couldn’t direct them.  She had no way of knowing who was alive and who dead.

Deni could hear and feel her heart beating rapidly.  The cross hairs were on his back, moving with him as he stood.  Gently, she exhaled, stopping with half the breath still in her lungs and squeezed the trigger.  His back exploded.  Deni slumped down over her rifle.  Two shots, two dead.  Today she joined everyone else she knew in the galaxy.  She was a killer.

“Nice shot, Checkmate,” Hayley congratulated.  “We didn’t see him.  All clear, Angel.  Pick us up, Magpie.”

“On my way,” Hopwood answered from the aircar’s cockpit.

“Good work, everyone,” Hanna said.  “Now we know it works, let’s take back the Workshop.  That Electron cell is almost out of juice.”

Deni slung her rifle over her shoulder and checked the ammunition.  Eight shots left in the magazine and two full spare ones.  She was carrying everything they had.  Much of the rifle’s effectiveness came from the ammo itself.  They weren’t available anywhere but a Devil armoury.  Even with the general corruption in the Pantheon, they couldn’t be bought from even the best connected arms dealer.

Walking over to the centre of the roof, she waited for the aircar to return.  Hopwood would pick up Hayley and the others first.  He didn’t take long and she was soon sitting herself down next to Hanna.  She didn’t look at her friend and was surprised by a gentle squeeze of her knee.  She looked up to Hanna’s concerned face.

“Are you all right?” Hanna asked quietly.

Deni didn’t really trust her voice and nodded slightly.

“It’s not as easy as they all make us believe is it?” Hanna said gently.

“No,” Deni whispered and shook her head.  She remembered how Hanna had been after Cest.  At first it had been elation and then it sunk in what she did.  Her friend did everything to hide it from the others, but it was Deni who stayed up with her late into the night.

“You going to be OK?” Hanna asked.

Deni nodded.  “Yeah, let’s get this done first.  I’ll deal with it later.  We’ve got a Job to do first.”

Hanna nodded and turned to the others.  “Listen up everyone.  Here’s the Workshop,” she put a holo up in the middle of the crowded compartment.  All the seats were taken.  Flint and Calcutta had to stand by the door.  “Two outside and five inside.  Slight change of plans.  We land, as we discussed, here on the building across the street.  Here’s where it changes.  Hammer and Checkmate exit here.  Checkmate sets up on the roof and Hammer heads to the street.  Magpie takes the aircar in a wide circle around the Workshop. 

“When Hammer is in position, I kill the coms and Checkmate takes out the two guards outside.  Hammer, get across that street as fast as you can.  Make lots of noise.  Use the low wall around the yard for cover and get your heads down.  Checkmate, feel free to shoot anyone who sticks their heads out.”

“No problem,” to her surprise, Deni’s voice came out calmly.

“With them interested in what’s going on out front and why their coms aren’t working, Magpie lands us on the Workshop roof.  Flint, how quickly can you blow the skylight?”

“With what we’ve got..?” he mused.  “I’ll be done before they realise we’re there.”

“We’ve got two Grav-belts,” Hanna continued.  “Any volunteers?”  All three of Anvil put their hands up.  She looked over to Hayley.  “Who’s best for this?”

“Flint’s the best shot.  He should stay on top and to give cover.  It’ll be Barber and Leigh.”

“How does that all sound?” Hanna asked.

Hayley smiled back.  “That’s why I never want to be the Boss, it’s better than any plan I could come up with, Guv.”

Deni smiled at the blush blossoming on Hanna’s face.  It happened every time.  She never realised just how much smarter she was than everyone else.  She had been with Hanna in every step of Valerie’s training, but she couldn’t come up with a plan that good.

“How are we doing, Hopwood?” Deni called to take the pressure off her friend.

“Ready when you are,” he called back.  “I’ve been circling out of sight of the Workshop, for a couple of minutes.”

“Take us in,” Hayley ordered.  A minute later, Deni was running across a rooftop again with the aircar lifting off behind her.