Sword of Mercy (25 page)

“Hmmm, you make a good point. Did you tell
Gordon?”

“Yes,” he lied.

“Let me know how things progress.”

Boris hung up and placed his hands beneath his
head. In less than thirty minutes he would be in the air away from
this area when the explosives in the underground tunnel detonated.
It would take Hawke and the others much longer to get through all
the rooms and bypass the traps he left specifically for Hawke in
their private game of chess. He glanced at his watch and smiled at
the small surprise for Gordon and his pet dog as well.

“Checkmate bitches.”

Chapter 25

Asia wondered if Lancaster would allow them to
simply ring the doorbell and invite them inside. She shifted into
her hybrid and jumped aside as a group of hybrids rushed out the
entrance. With a hard swing of her sword she took the head of the
hybrid nearest her and swung to meet the next one. This one dropped
low, she missed which caused her to spin and stumble. He tackled
her to the ground. She managed to roll him over and tried the
skewer him with her blade. He held her arms and a battle of
strength ensued. Slowly, her metal right arm won and she pierced
his eye socket, killing his chip. He screamed and bucked her off,
sending her into the path of the fist from another hybrid. The
punch to her jaw sent her flying. She landed with a thump, and
shook it off. Another hybrid charged toward her as she stood. They
always charged. Waiting for the last possible moment she stepped
aside and hit him beneath his chin with her right fist, sending him
flying backward.

Another hybrid took his place. Her sword lay
across the field beneath a hybrid. It swung, the air of the missed
hit brushed against her cheek. The hybrid’s continued momentum left
his side open. Asia plowed her right fist into his stomach stealing
his breath and then clipped him beneath the chin sending him
backward.

She ran toward her sword, grabbed it just in
time to avoid being mowed down by a charging hybrid. He fell over
another downed hybrid and Byte attacked him. The hybrid tried to
dislodge the beast, but Byte’s long claws and fangs sank deep.
Seconds later Angus appeared and separated the head.

Asia looked around for Hawke and saw him
battling the guy from the side of the road. She glanced over her
shoulder, between Angus, Ulric and his remaining pack members the
hybrids were losing this fight. There was something different about
the one fighting Hawke.

“He’s good
,” she said through their
link.

“Maybe. Are you done playing with the
hybrids
?”

“Things seem to be under control. Are you
playing with the pretty boy
?” Holding her sword loosely she
watched the two battle. Since she had seen her mate fight many
times, she recognized he wasn’t trying to destroy his opponent
which surprised her. They didn’t have time for this, Gordon and
Lancaster could be leaving while Hawke wasted time.

“No. I’m hesitant to destroy him for some
reason
.” He blocked a move and knocked the guy back a few feet
into the building creating a loud booming sound. His opponent
jumped up and came at Hawke again. Hawke sidestepped him, but the
guy changed directions and hit Hawke in the stomach, causing him to
stumble two steps.

“Metal arms, legs. Probably got a chip and
camera
to record this
.” Hawke said as if dissecting an
experiment.

“I’m going inside to find Lancaster or
Gordon while you continue dancing with your toy
.” She sheathed
her sword, pushed the hybrid filling the door on his ass and ran
down the corridor. Opening her senses she tried to locate either
man or both, but something dampened her senses. Damn it. She came
to a point where the corridors split four ways and seem to go on
forever. Inhaling, she searched for a human scent and found
nothing. She started down the corridor to her right.

“Asia?
!”

“I’m here.”
She stopped, looked over
her shoulder and caught the tail of something flying down a
different hall. Backtracking she ran toward the blur and saw Hawke
in pursuit. Ulric and his pack ran down each hall, opening doors
and taking anything of value. She had wondered what purpose the
large trucks they’d arrived in served, now she knew.

“What’s going on
?” she asked
Hawke.

“The guy took off after I stomped his
chest, came inside. I’m following him. Hopefully he’s headed toward
one of the two men we need
.”

“Good thinking
.” She kept pace behind
him and continued to scan the area, hoping to gather a clue where
Lancaster hid. The doors in front of them opened. Hawke ran in
first. She ducked as he flew back over her head and slammed into
the wall.

A hybrid leapt forward with some type of long
spear aimed at Hawke. Asia jumped forward, kicked it sideways
intercepting the beast and sending it crashing into the opposite
wall. She moved just as the black hair guy Hawke had played with
outside attacked her.

After blocking his moves, she knocked him
backward into the wall and leapt on top of him. Arm upraised, she
punched him in the throat, listening for the snap of his bones. He
pushed, but couldn’t dislodge her. She punched him in the face and
head repeatedly without allowing him to return a punch. As far as
she was concerned, he was the same as any other hybrid. When his
hands dropped to the side, his face a bloody mess and she saw bone,
she grabbed her sword to take his head.

“Wait
,” Hawke said, drawing her
attention.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “
We
don’t have time to wait, Lancaster and Gordon could be leaving and
he’s a delay tactic.
” She raised her sword and looked into the
eyes of the hybrid beneath her. The skin on his face re-knitted,
healing.

“Don’t… don’t do that
.” Hawke said,
walking to her.

Asia looked at the hybrid and then at Hawke.
“
What’s going on
?”

“Just
a strong feeling you shouldn’t
take his head. Talk to him, ask him his name or
something?”

“What the fuck? I don’t have time for this.
You want to know his name, ask him yourself.”
She re-sheathed
her sword, stepped over the hybrid and headed for the door. The
hybrid grabbed her leg, tripping her and then twisted to break it.
“
See, this is why you don’t play with them or try to be nice.
They’re programmed to complete a damn job
.” She lifted her leg,
along with his arm and rolled onto her back. Before he could move,
Hawke grabbed him by the shirt and shook him several times before
backhanding him leaving a mark on the hybrid’s face.

“Never, ever touch my mate. I will destroy you
if you do. What is your name?”

“Fuck you.”

“No you won’t.” Hawke shook him again. “What
is your name?”

“Fuck you.”

Hawke threw him against the wall, causing his
head to bounce and him to stand slowly. Hawke grabbed him. The
hybrid kicked him in the chest. Hawke threw him against the wall
again.

Asia watched the brutal beat-down for a few
minutes and exhaled. “
We need to find the Liege.”

“This one will take us to one of them.
Didn’t you pick up the human scent on him
?” Hawke punched they
hybrid in the face, the sound of bones cracking filled the
room.

She hadn’t smelled the scent until he
mentioned it. Now that she focused on the hybrid she noticed the
difference. “
How can he lead us if he is beaten to a
pulp?”

“The human smell is strong on him, he will
either go to him or he will find this one. We will follow, watch or
wait. This hybrid is different from the others, more valuable.
Someone is watching and will come for him
.”

“Or push the kill chip.” She
reminded him.

“Possibly
.” He threw the guy on the
ground and stomped on one of his legs. The knee popped and the
metal twisted for a moment before correcting. “
See, they have
invested much in him.”
Hawke placed his booted foot on the
other leg. “What is your name?”

The hybrid gritted his teeth while holding the
opposite leg as it healed. Asia had gone through several
regeneration processes and knew the enormous amount of pain the
hybrid suffered.

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe his language is limited to those two
words. He looks ignorant, why are you wasting time with the Liege’s
trash. They never spend a lot of time or energy on their toys,
twist his head off like the rest and let’s find Gordon and
Lancaster,” Asia said in a mocking tone.

“He tensed when you called the names. Say
each one again to determine which is his master
.”

Asia went back over her sentence in her mind.
“I’m going to track down Lancaster and take his head.”

“Gordon. He blinked at Lancaster but no
real response
.”

“That’s a surprise. Given your history I
thought it was Lancaster
.”

Hawke stepped on the hybrid’s hand and ground
his boot onto it. “Remember this while I snap Gordon’s head from
his body. I asked you nicely, but you want to fuck
around.”

The hybrid jerked and tried to get free, but
couldn’t dislodge Hawke, not with his legs healing and a smashed
hand. But his efforts were those of a man possessed.

“Based on his actions, Gordon must still be
here somewhere
.” Asia walked toward them and stood a few feet
behind Hawke. “What’s your name? Tell us your name and Gordon’s
death will be quick, he won’t suffer.”

“No. No. No.” With a strong shove from his
other hand, he moved Hawke’s feet enough to free his hand, rolled
to the side and stood. “You will not.” He ran from the room. Hawke
looked at Asia for a few seconds and then they followed his
scent.

Hawke led the way out and stopped in the hall.
He laughed. “
Seems he is running in circles to confuse us, not a
bad strategy. Wait here for a few moments, and when he rescues
Gordon we’ll go after them. I’ll check with Angus to see how things
are going.”

“Just as you know his scent, he
knows yours. He may not go to Gordon until he thinks it’s
safe.”

“True, but we are not the only ones
searching, he will know the place is flooded with pack and will
need to move his master
.” He paused. “
Angus took an elevator
below and is searching. Someone left already by water, since Gordon
is still here, my guess is Lancaster is on his way to the hotel or
air strip. Ulric has men watching the hotel and the roads. No one
thought to watch the river.”

“That’s because it’s long and
winding through the damn country, without Lancaster’s scent to
track it would be impossible to locate him along the
banks.”

“But he is in some type of pod,
Angus says. There is another one and he is following to see where
it lands to see if he can catch Lancaster.”

“Waste of time. Lancaster is gone.
We need to concentrate on getting Gordon to Radoff to break the
contract which will weaken Lancaster and the other Lords. They
won’t be able to heal and they will age and die.”

“I agree. Angus does not have the
code to make the elevator return to this level and will join us as
soon as he can.”

“Tell him to send Byte to search, I bet he
can find anything
,” Asia said watching the corridor for
hybrids.

“Told him. Let’s go
.” Hawke took off
down one of the corridors and ran through what seemed like a maze
of hallways before stopping in front of a pair of steel sliding
doors. “
They are in here.”

Asia stepped to the side and stared at the
control panel. “
This is similar to the ones in Lancaster castle.
At least they’re consistent.
” She typed in a few codes from her
time in the castle, but wasn’t surprised that none of them
worked.

Hawke stared at the keypad. “
Lancaster
would’ve keyed the pad for Lords only which means it would start
with these two letters
.” He tapped those keys. “
Hmm, let’s
try this one. He used it in the castle
.” Nothing happened.
Hawke tried a series of combinations with no success.