Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (51 page)

Picking up where the technician left off, David said to Scott, “We’ve got to update some kind of software, man. This might be a while.”

*
      
*
      
*

Scott wanted to slam his comm against the wall. “We don’t have a while, we have Superwolves inbound!”

“Umm,” said Travis from beside Scott, reaching sideways with his hand to tap Scott on the shoulder. When Scott looked, Travis pointed to the radar. “That’s not all we’ve got inbound.”

Scanning the radar screen, Scott could clearly see multiple aircraft appearing at the far end of the
Pariah
’s detection range. “What are those?”

“Vultures,” Travis answered, “three of them, all Mark-2’s, all coming from
Novosibirsk
.”

Novosibirsk
. Fantastic. “Ground team, get ready,” he said to Lilan. “You’re about to get some company.” As soon as he was back off-comm, Scott asked Travis, “Are those V2s going to come after us in the
Pariah
?”

“I don’t know.” Travis shook his head with uncertainty. “We definitely can’t outgun them if they do.”

That wasn’t what Scott wanted to hear. “Do you think they can see us, yet?”

“I doubt it. We’re low and we don’t have a transponder. They probably won’t see us until they come within visual.”

As good as that news was, it still didn’t tell Scott what he was supposed to do next. Pulling off his helmet, he dragged his hand down his face. “Okay,” Scott said, despite having nothing to follow it up with. He was making this up as he went. “All ground teams, we’re going to take the
Pariah
into the valley on the other side of the mountains.” It felt like cowardice, but it was the only way Scott could give the
Pariah
a fighting chance. If the
Pariah
fell, every member of the ground team would be doomed to death or capture. “We’ll come back in to get you when you’re ready for extraction. Work fast!” Their only hope was that, by the time the ground team was ready to be picked up, Tiffany would be back in her Superwolf and able to cover the
Pariah
.

“That’s the right call,” said Travis.

Scott was glad to hear it. “Get us behind those mountains.”

*
      
*
      
*

MINH DANG GLANCED back from the cockpit of his Mark-2 Vulture and into the troop bay, where the collection of Vectors and Logan Marshall were armed and ready. “Coming in fast, ETA two minutes!” The Vector Vulture was at the front of the small V, two Vultures of standard operatives from the takeback of
Novosibirsk
tight in formation behind them.

Walking to the center of the troop bay, Chiumbo addressed the crew. “If any of you see Remington, he is to be taken alive!” He looked sharply at Logan, who was giving him a look of dissatisfaction. “
Alive
. Understood?”

“Alive,” Logan said with reluctance.

“It’s your show,” the Mwera lieutenant said to him.

The Australian didn’t hesitate. Stepping in front of Chiumbo, he faced the operatives before him. “These blokes are more dangerous than you think, particularly Remington and Brooking! What they did in
Cairo
wasn’t luck.” Pointing to Lisa, he said, “I want to put you somewhere you can get some height. Do you need a spotter?” Behind her visor, the sniper from Essex smirked. “Didn’t think so,” said Logan. He pointed to the overhead map of
Hami Station
that was on the troop bay monitor. “There are two entrances to this facility—the main one in the front and a smaller maintenance door in the back. Okayo,” he said, indicating to Chiumbo, “Breaux and I will approach the main entrance and draw some fire, assuming that’s where the Fourteenth breached! Between us and those other boys, we should give them a serious bloody push.” His attention shifted to Sasha and Pablo. “I want you two going into the back—see if you can cut them off. Quintana, I want you being a nuisance in that facility. Seal them off, take over whatever systems you can—give them a reason to panic.”

The technician already had his kit ready.

“Don’t underestimate what these guys can do! They’re the world’s most wanted for a reason. Any questions?” No one had any.

From the cockpit, Minh yelled, “Coming down!”

“Coming down,” Logan repeated. “Let’s catch these guys!”

*
      
*
      
*

AS HE WATCHED the trio of Vultures from
Novosibirsk
descend, Lilan barked into his comm, “Demolition boys, take cover behind those dishes! Incoming, incoming, incoming!” He looked back at Jayden and Feliks—the only two men with him. Pointing at the blown-open hole where the front door had been, he said to Feliks, “You and I are gonna take cover on each side of this door! Timmons, fall back into the building and take shots from down the hall. Deal some damage, son!”

“Yessir,” said Jayden, dashing into the main building with his sniper rifle. Feliks got into position on one side of the doorframe, Lilan mirroring him on the other.

Signaling to Feliks, Lilan asked, “What’s your name, again?”

“Petrukhin!”

“All right, Petrukhin. Show me what makes you guys special. Let’s light ’em up!” Aiming with their E-35s, the two men waited for the Vultures to touch down.

*
      
*
      
*

“Hey, man!” said Tom, snatching his massive cousin by the shoulder guard. Donald turned around to see him. “We ’bout to get smacked in the mouth!”

Looking at the three Vultures as if becoming aware of them for the first time, Donald took cover behind the dish he’d just finished setting for detonation. The demolitionist readied his hand cannon. “Not today, we ain’t!”

“This ain’t our job, man! We done enough for these guys—we gotta run!”

“I ain’t runnin’ and neither is you.”

Focus switching rapidly between Donald and the Vultures as if panicked, Tom finally took cover on the side opposite his cousin, frantically pulling out his assault rifle as he took a lazy aim. “This is bad news, man.”

On the opposite end of the array, William and Becan had already taken cover behind the dish they’d been working on. Just like Donald and Tom, the Irishman and Southerner had their weapons ready to attack.

“Do we have anny kind o’ actual plan?” Becan asked. Approximately fifty meters in front of the main entrance to the complex, the three Vultures kicked up dust as they came down.

“I’m gonna shoot the moment the near one’s rear door comes down,” said William, already aiming. “Take out as many as I can with shot number one. You got my back for the others?”

Becan nodded. “Aye. I gotta admit, though, I’m not sure how good I feel abou’ this!”

The demolitionist’s eyes narrowed. “I feel
damn
good about it.”

*
      
*
      
*

“Installation complete!” said Boris, thrusting his fists into the air before his fingers returned to the inputs. “Restarting the system so the update will take effect.”

“What’s our time frame, man?” asked David frantically. “We’re about to get some serious company in here!”

The technician’s fingers were practically blurring as they flew from one key to the next. Hitting a final command, he set the system to reboot. “Two minutes to reboot, two minutes to connect with my kit—”

“All those ‘two minutes’ add up, Boris!”

“I know, I know!” His fingers tapped nervously as he waited for the system to cycle back on. “Seven minutes total, maybe eight!”

Turning back to the corridor, Valentin stared down the hall in both directions, stopping when he saw Jayden setting up in the intersection. Motioning to Javon and Pyotr, he pointed to the Texan. “You two, go and assist him. The rest of us will stay here to protect the technician.” The two men acknowledged and dashed toward Jayden’s intersection. Valentin got on the comm. “Seven minutes,” he said to Scott.

“Or eight!” Boris said, looking back.

Turning his head slowly to face Boris, Valentin said, “Seven.”

Boris blinked. Swallowing deeply, he turned back to his kit. “I can do seven.”

*
      
*
      
*

Jayden had just set up at the edge of the intersection when Javon and Pyotr came rushing to join him. “Hey guys! What are y’all doin’ here?” the Texan asked.

“Helpin’ you!” said Javon. The soldier looked at Pyotr and pointed in the direction behind Jayden. “Watch the six, man. Keep my boy safe.”

“There’s another way in?” Jayden asked as he watched Pyotr set up in the opposite direction.

Javon nodded. “Maintenance door all the way in the back. Nice way to get ambushed from behind. We on top of it though!”

*
      
*
      
*

“Here they come!” shouted Lilan from the facility’s front entrance. Far ahead of him, the three Vultures touched earth. The colonel looked across the hallway at Feliks. The slayer was statuesque with his E-35 raised and ready. Lilan’s steely gaze returned to the transport. All at once, the three Vultures’ rear doors opened.

*
      
*
      
*

William’s hand cannon unloaded, sending three orange streaks soaring toward the Vulture nearest them, at the back corner of their triangular landing formation. Just as the first cluster of operatives emerged, the three blasts impacted them. There was a fiery explosion, and EDEN soldiers were rocketed through the air. Even from a distance, frantic shouting could be heard coming from inside the troop bay.

From the Vulture at point, three men emerged—two of whom wore the distinctive purple and white armor of Vector. His eyes widening, Becan shot a panicked look to William and pointed.
“Vector!”

The demolitionist was unfazed. Popping around the corner again, he fired another three volleys at the same Vulture he’d just bombarded. Ducking back again and without looking at the Irishman, the stoic Southerner said, “Vector bleeds like everyone else.”

Leaning out with his assault rifle, Becan took aim at the oddball who’d emerged with the two Vectors—the only one not in purple and white armor. Laying down on the trigger, he fired a sporadic volley that peppered the earth around them. As the Vector’s Vulture lifted from the ground, leaving the three men behind, they ran for the cover of the satellite dish nearest them.

“See?” asked William, reloading his hand cannon after taking several more shots. “They run for cover just like us.”

*
      
*
      
*

Lilan and Feliks were firing continuously from the corners of the corridor as several distinct groups emerged from the Vultures—a scattered and disorganized group from the Vulture William had decimated, the trio of operatives from the Vulture belonging to Vector Squad, and a nearly unaffected group of what looked like two dozen soldiers from the Vulture on the far end. All in all, the Fourteenth and Falcons were about to be faced with, at bare minimum, three dozen hostiles.

Within seconds, the return fire from the EDEN operatives began. The two men ducked behind the corners of the metal door for cover as bullets ricocheted around them, zinging past them and pinging off the metal exterior—and occasionally interior hallway—of the facility. It was a full frontal assault that suppressed Lilan and Feliks completely.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from behind them inside the building—a single, deafening
pop
that was unmistakable in its identity. The two men could almost feel the sniper rifle’s bullet flying past them, opposite the tidal wave of E-35 rounds. Glancing behind him, Lilan watched as Jayden worked the bolt-action of his weapon. “One down,” the sniper said through his comm.

“Atta boy, Timmons,” said Lilan. “Do that about three dozen more times, and we’ll call this one a day!”

*
      
*
      
*

Behind the satellite dish they were using for cover, Logan, Chiumbo, and Marty readied their weapons for first charge. Peeking his head around the satellite dish, Logan scrutinized the facility entrance, ducking back again as wild suppression fire impacted the ground around him. “Looks like the building is just being held down by two men!”

A loud whiz flew past them, and all three men instinctively ducked back. A split second later, the projectile smashed against the side of the Vulture behind and to their right—the only untouched Vulture of the two that remained on the ground. Whipping his head in the direction from which the projectile originated, Chiumbo caught sight of two operatives behind a dish in the far distance. “Two more on this end, one with a hand cannon!”

“They got some heavies wit’ ’em!” said Marty, the Cajun angling around the corner of the dish with his X-111 chaos rifle. “Well, look’a dat.” Narrowing his eyes through the scope, he took aim at the operative in fulcrum armor at the front of the facility, whose shoulder was barely discernable. “Pop goes the leader.” He squeezed off a single shot.

*
      
*
      
*

Lilan was in the midst of shouting to Feliks when the chaos round struck him in the shoulder. The shoulder guard of his armor was blown off as blood burst forth. He screamed and toppled backward, his E-35 flying from his grasp as he landed on his back. Clutching his dysfunctional right shoulder with his left hand, he rolled back into cover.

“Colonel!” Feliks moved to assist the fallen Lilan, until Lilan held out his hand to stop him.

“No!” Lilan said, waving the slayer back into cover. “Stay back, stay back!” Speaking weakly through grimaces, he said, “Keep ’em at bay or you’ll be the next one on the ground.”