Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (49 page)

Valentin made his way awkwardly through the throng toward Scott as he spoke.

“Before we destroy this facility, we need to get inside it and download some kind of codes—Boris, do you know what I’m talking about?”

The technician nodded. “Access codes for all of EDEN’s satellite hubs!”

That sounded like it. “The instant we get those codes, we’re falling back and destroying the base on our way out!”

“We have high explosives on board,” Valentin said. “Demolition teams will set them in place on the satellites while your technician gets the codes.”

“Can you lead that effort?” Scott asked. “I don’t trust this banged up leg on the battlefield.”

Valentin answered without hesitation, “Da.”

“Boris, you’re going to go in with him. Dave, I want you in there, too.” The former NYPD officer gave Scott a thumbs-up. “I want two other guys with you, but that’s all we can spare. We’re going to need some heavy-hitters waiting outside when people find out what we’re doing.”

Raising his hand, Javon Quinton spoke up. “I can go with them!”

“Good man,” said Scott.
Let’s get your hands dirty, Falcons.
“You’re in.”

“I will also go!” This time, it was Pyotr who spoke up.

Now that, Scott wasn’t so sure about. Before he could put up an argument, though, the young slayer went on.

“I have done things like this many times before!”

I bet you have
. “Fine, you’re on.” The slayer thrust a fist into the air. So that put Valentin leading an infiltration team consisting of David, Boris, Javon, and Pyotr. This was going to be interesting, to say the least. “Outside team, that’s going to be Colonel Lilan, William, Donald, Tom, Feliks, Becan, and Jayden. I’ll coordinate things on board the
Pariah
with Travis.” With his bum leg, he would only make things worse on the ground. For this mission, he needed to trust his team.

Ahead of the
Pariah
, Tiffany’s Superwolf drifted out of the hangar then took off into the mountain valley. The
Pariah
moved out right behind it. Closing his eyes, Scott whispered a prayer behind the privacy of his helmet.

Back in the main corridor of
Northern Forge
, Esther watched as the massive mountainside doors sealed the hangar back in. They closed with a metallic clunk that reverberated throughout the hangar. All at once, the whipping wind of the mountains outside melted into a muffled howl. The Fourteenth was gone without her.

Exhaling in frustration, Esther ran her hand through her hair. The scout looked at her left shoulder—the one that was keeping her from the battlefield. It didn’t hurt now. She didn’t feel anything there at all. Holding her breath, she raised that arm up.

The pain was immediate. Esther grimaced, closing her eyes as they watered. She put her arm back down. When her eyes opened again, the defiance in them was gone. It was what it was.

Turning around, silent and alone, Esther wandered down the hallway with no particular place to go and no way to monitor the progress of her comrades. She would find out what happened when they returned.
If
they returned.

Shoulders sagging, the scout wandered away.

*
      
*
      
*

Two hours later

THE
PARIAH
’S TROOP bay was silent. The rush of the callout and the haste at which the operatives had gathered in the hangar to disembark had long since passed as the minutes, then hours ticked on. The Fourteenth had no contact with Antipov—the eidola chief went radio dark shortly after the
Pariah
left
Northern Forge
. There was only the rumble of the transport’s engines as it soared low over the landscape of Krasnoyarsk Krai, then Mongolia, as it continued on its journey to
Hami Station
. With their speed reduced and their typically smooth ride slightly less smooth by the inability to raise their landing gear, the crew of the Fourteenth was experiencing a ride unlike any they’d had in the cursed transport. It was as physically uncomfortable as it was generally unsettling.

As had been the case leaving the city of Krasnoyarsk, the only chatter that persevered was the occasional back-and-forth communication of Travis and Tiffany, the latter of whose Superwolf was flying directly in front of the
Pariah
, leading the way to
Hami Station
and acting as lookout for the internally-stripped Vulture.

The two ground teams had segregated to different sides of the troop bay, though their initial “huddling up” and discussing their tasks had long given way to the uneasy silence of anticipation. There was nothing left for them to do but arrive.

“ETA fifteen minutes,” said Travis from the cockpit.

Scott blew out a nervous breath behind his helmet, which had stayed on along with everyone else’s throughout the duration of the flight. The keeping on of armor had been by design. Operatives who weren’t accustomed to wearing Nightman armor—Fourteenth’s included—needed to get used to seeing each other in it. They needed to be able to pick out the intricacies of one another beyond what they could typically see through a sky-blue EDEN visor. Heights, builds, body language. These were all things Nightmen were used to. It was imperative that the others get used to it, too, and quickly.

Looking up to the cockpit, Scott asked, “Any contacts on radar?”

“Negative,” Travis answered. “Looks like no one knows we’re coming.”

Not that they should have, but it still made Scott feel better. Rising to his feet, he stepped in front of the group. “Listen up, guys. Let me have your attention.” The group complied. “This isn’t going to be much of a pep talk. Few of us have fought side-by-side before, and we’re flying into a situation with zero intel. This is not going to be ideal.” It was the understatement of the year. “Give everyone your best, and they’ll do the same for you. Let’s get in, get what we need, then get back to
Northern Forge
in one piece.”

The acknowledgments Scott received were not vocal, rather a chorus of silent head nods.

“Get your minds right,” Scott said. “This thing’s about to begin.”

Antipov had discussed an estimated time of events during his last communication. At first notification by
Hami Station
, it would take EDEN forty minutes to arrive from their nearest locations via Vulture transport. For Superwolves, that time would be cut down to fifteen minutes, provided the aircraft were scrambling from a nearby base, such as
Hong Kong
. Tiffany was going to have her hands full, but the pilot was armed and ready.

Though the blonde had left a lasting impression on everyone with her heroics in the
Pariah
, Scott knew that an element of surprise had been in play in that case. She wouldn’t be taken lightly again. Tiffany was an ace—that much they knew. But she’d be up against pilots who were aware of that now. She was going to have to earn this one outright. At the very least, she was more prepared now. Tiffany had taken it upon herself to fly her Superwolf through the canyons of the mountain ranges that
Northern Forge
was located in. With sharp turns and undetectable in the valleys, the mountains became the perfect place to get accustomed to her new fighter. She’d taken advantage of it. Now it was time to put her new Superwolf skills to the test.

Stretching his arms, Scott waited for some kind of an update from Travis. His decision to stay in the
Pariah
and act as mission commander from the air was not one he enjoyed, but he knew it was the right call. He would slow things down too much on the ground. This was a case when pride had to be set aside. If the situation got dire enough that they needed him, he’d drop down to the ground in a second. For that reason, he decided to keep his armor on.

“
Hami Station
incoming!” Travis said, looking back into the troop bay. “Coming over the mountains now.”

“This is it!” said Scott. “We all know what we have to do. Let’s get it done!”

Once again, Travis beckoned Scott to the cockpit. “Just so you know, the moment we come over those mountains, they’re going to know we’re here—that clock starts ticking then, not when we get on the ground.”

Scott actually hadn’t known that.

“They may not know who we are or what we’re doing, but we’ll be too high to be concealed. They’ll definitely look.”

“Then get us on the ground quickly,” said Scott.

The pilot nodded. “Will do.”

Swinging back to the troop bay, Scott surveyed his rag-tag collection of operatives. The members of the Fourteenth would be fine—they knew how things operated. The Falcons were combat-ready but had never done something like this before, particularly as part of a unit led by Nightmen. Feliks would be fine. Pyotr terrified Scott, who still wasn’t entirely sure who this kid was or why he was there.
Way to pick up an orphan, Esther. What if this kid’s a nut?
There was no question about it. This was going to be one for the books.

The
Pariah
’s nose tilted skyward as it aimed for the rest of the mountain range. Scott grabbed hold of a support rail to maintain his balance.
Hami Station
would be on the other side. Once more into the fray.

“Touchdown imminent,” Scott yelled. “We’re coming down fast!” Turning around, he set his sights on the cockpit window. As the
Pariah
soared over the mountain crest, its nose angled downward. Scott’s stomach flipped as the descent vector began and the grounds of
Hami Station
came into view.

There was no doubt that this place was a hub. There were rows upon rows of massive, white radar arrays jetting out of the mountain and onto the desert grasslands below. In the center of all of it was a large, white complex. Stepping forward into the threshold of the cockpit, Scott pointed to the building. “That’s it! That’s got to be where we need to go.”

Tiffany’s voice emerged over the comm—the blond pilot’s Superwolf descended in front of the Vulture. “I’m gonna start wide orbiting the site! I’ll let you know if I get any contacts.”

“Roger that,” said Travis, reaching for the troop bay speaker. “Coming down on the target. Get ready to drop!”

Scott gripped the guard rails tighter; the
Pariah
’s downward angle straightened. Within seconds, its vertical thrusters, thankfully, engaged. The rear bay door opened as it came meters from touchdown. “Good luck, everyone,” said Scott. “Go!” The moment the
Pariah
’s jammed wheels hit sediment, the disembark began.

The first two to hit the ground were William and Donald, whose task it was to secure the landing zone and prepare to breach the facility. Right behind them came the infiltration team: Valentin, David, Boris, Javon, and Pyotr. As soon as the landing site was secured, William and Donald each took to a side of the white building’s sole door, which was locked by what looked like a digital hand sensor much like the ones EDEN used. The only way through the door would be to blow it wide open.

The layout of
Hami Station
seemed barely a “layout” at all. Besides the actual radar arrays themselves, there was only the central, white building, which looked perfectly square. There were no other buildings on the site to investigate—what they were looking for
had
to be there. Though the building was two-story, it didn’t look terribly large, all things considered. Barring some sort of odd internal layout, it was something the infiltration team would be well-equipped to explore quickly.

The job almost looked easy.

As Valentin and the infiltration team backed off, William knelt down to secure an explosive for entry. Giving the signal that it was set, he quickly rose to his feet and distanced himself along with Donald. Placing his finger over the detonator, William prepared to press the button.

This was it. The moment that explosive went off,
Hami Station
would know beyond all shadows of doubt that this was a hostile takeover. Holding his breath from the cockpit threshold, Scott whispered a prayer again.
God, keep us safe.

Boom!

The explosive detonated. The door was blown off its hinges. It was time.

Simultaneous with the explosion came the blaring sound of a klaxon, heard both outside the facility and from the halls within. As William and Donald took position outside, Valentin and the infiltration team moved inside, weapons raised as they disappeared through the door. Behind them all, Lilan and his operatives secured the perimeter.

From the cockpit, Travis looked back at Scott. “You want me up or down, sir?”

“Up,” Scott answered. “Give us some height—I want to see what’s coming before it sees us.”

As the
Pariah
’s rear bay door lifted, the Vulture rose from the ground.

Inside the station, Valentin was leading the charge. With his E-35 raised, the keeper of
Northern Forge
strode forward down pristine white walls that led to a central, four-way intersection. Despite the constant wail of the klaxons from their wall-mounted speakers, the sound of humans shouting in Chinese could be distinctly heard up ahead.

“Contacts ahead,” said Valentin through his helmet mic. A split second later, a pair of workers in white overalls appeared from around the corner. The keeper didn’t hesitate, pulling the trigger of his assault rifle and peppering the two workers across their chests. As their bodies were riddled, they were thrown back and to the ground.

Behind Valentin, David shouted,
“Hey! Those were workers!”

Ignoring the comment, Valentin stalked ahead, moving into the intersection and rotating in the two directions that’d been out of his view—the last of which was occupied by another worker, frantically running for a door. Once more, the Chinese man was cut down. The moment the others caught up to him, Valentin turned to find Boris. “What are we looking for?”

“I don’t think you heard me,” said David, grabbing Valentin by the shoulder and yanking the man to face him fully. “You’re gunning down innocent civilians!”

“I do not have time to engage in a discussion of morality with you,” Valentin said, his seething amplified by his fulcrum’s helmet. “A worker can relay information to EDEN. A worker can implement protective measures. We can afford
neither
.” The keeper returned to Boris. “Now tell me, what are we looking for?”