Wasteland Rules: Die Fighting (The World After Book 4) (24 page)

   It was pure chaos in the room. Brightman and his
guards had fled, leaving only the brawling factions. Several of the bodyguards
were down and the others were fighting furiously. Metal chairs were being used
as weapons and some of the bodyguards had smuggled in knives and batons. Blood
sprayed as the combatants brutally attacked one another. None of the combatants
were holding back and the fight was getting brutal.

   The Order thugs and the G-21 heavies had joined in
the attack on the C.C.A. and N.R.T. factions. They had apparently chosen their
sides. Everyone was engaged in the battle; even the Senator and General Lucius
were actively fighting. The hatred each group had for the other was palpable
and Derek could see it in their crazed expressions. This was for blood, only
the victors were going to walk away alive.

   He finally saw Sterling and Rora huddled in the
corner of the room, the brawl blocking them from reaching the podium and the
core. He started to move towards them but Sterling gestured towards the podium.
Right, the core was the most important thing. Derek rushed towards the podium,
but paused when two of the Red Berets from the Market entered the room. They
were bloodied but unwounded and they clutched MP5-K submachine guns with
collapsible stocks.

   The Red Berets immediately oriented on the C.C.A.
and N.R.T. contingents and prepared to fire on them. Derek couldn’t let that
happen so he turned and quickly fired a grenade at them. The blast knocked both
men down, but only killed one. The other struggled to his feet despite his
injuries forcing Derek to fire another grenade at him. That blast killed the wounded
Red Beret and sent his body flying out of the room. The blasts caused the
combatants to stop fighting and all turn to look at him.

   There was a brief silence as everyone stared at
Derek. He winked and ran towards the podium. Realizing what he was after, the
combatants all rushed towards him in a jumble which triggered the brawling
again. Derek was able to leap onto the stage and reach the podium untouched. To
his surprise one of the Vegas buyers was on the stage already.

   The buyer grabbed a steel case off of a table and
fled. Derek cursed as he saw the mole on the back of the man’s neck. The
Faceless had apparently had the same plan as Derek. Sneak someone in as a
buyer, create a distraction, and use that as cover to steal the core. Only they
had been a little more successful and now they had the core.

   Derek hesitated for a moment instead of immediately
pursuing the fleeing Faceless agent. He couldn’t just leave Sterling and Rora.
More Red Berets were likely to appear and they would be killed or captured.
Either way, he couldn’t do much with the core by himself. He needed them.
Sighing, Derek turned back towards the rest of the room. The brawl still
continued and Sterling and Rora were still trapped.

   So he did the only thing he could think of, and
fired a grenade into the ceiling above the battling men. The explosion showered
them with pieces of the ceiling and it started to collapse. The brawling
combatants broke apart as more of the ceiling fell. Sterling and Rora were able
to skirt the edge of the room and run to Derek as the faction members fled the
collapsing tiles.

   “Where is the core?” Sterling asked desperately
looking around the stage.

   “A Faceless posing as one of the Vegas buyers just
grabbed it.” Derek told him, still in disbelief.

   “You have got to be kidding!” Sterling exclaimed in
frustration. “Those guys are everywhere.”

   “Why didn’t you check for that last night?” Derek
asked angrily.

   “I did.” Sterling insisted. “They must have
switched them between the party and the auction.”

   “Those guys are devious.” Rora interjected with a
slight hint of admiration.

   “It doesn’t matter now how they did it, we need to
catch him and get the core back.” Derek asserted.

   “Agreed.” Sterling replied quickly. “Which way did
he go?”

   “Out the side door there.” Derek responded. “Voice,
where does that go?”

   “If the plans haven’t changed then it exits out
onto the west side of the building and out into the industrial area across from
the base.” The Voice replied calmly. “I detected several vehicles leave
earlier, but none since you entered the building Major.”

   “So he is still on foot or even in the building.”
Derek stated urgently. “Let’s go!”

   The three of them rushed out of the building
following their prey’s likely path. Outside, they could hear the sustained
gunfire and explosions from the ongoing battle in the Market. As they ran away
from the building they could see additional helicopters moving overhead.
U.S.T.G. Comanche attack helicopters entered the fray and began blasting the
Faceless gunships from the sky. Multiple fireballs flared as the gunships
crashed to the ground.

   “Any sign of our Faceless agent?” Derek asked the
Voice.

   “The smoke and flames are making it difficult to
get a clear view.” The Voice explained with a frustrated tone. “We really need
to figure out how to get me access to better satellites.”

   “Give me the phone.” Sterling demanded with a grunt
of disgust.

   Derek handed the phone over, surprised at Sterling’s
sudden demand. He and Rora watched mystified as Sterling fiddled with the phone
for a moment before handing it back to Derek.

   “Okay, you should have access to the CIA
satellites.” He informed them.

   “Why didn’t you do that before?” Rora asked in
bafflement.

   “The satellites are proprietary systems not for use
by anyone outside the CIA.” Sterling replied evenly.

   “The CIA is gone. There was no reason not to share
this. We could have used them earlier.” Derek said heatedly.

   “I found him!” The Voice broke in. “He’s west of
your position heading for the river. I detect a boat of some sort waiting for
him.”

   “Go! Go! Go!” Derek yelled at Sterling and Rora.

   “What about our gear?” Rora asked hurriedly.

   “No time! Go!” Derek replied anxiously.

   He took off running, reloading the grenade launcher
as he went, and the others followed. Derek quickly outdistanced the other two,
but he didn’t slow down. There was no time to waste and he couldn’t wait for
them. If the Faceless agent reached the boat then he was gone for good with the
core, and any chance of recovering the ARK was gone with him.

   “How far ahead is he?” Derek demanded from the
Voice.

   “Half a mile.” The Voice replied smoothly. “He is
hiding in between the buildings to your left.”

   “Great! Any sign of our original distraction?”
Derek asked as he ran.

   “They are just arriving now outside the city and
engaging the U.S.T.G. units there.” The Voice informed him. “The government
troops seized the checkpoints from the militia right after the attack started
and control access to the city. Texas Ranger units are now battling them for
control of the checkpoints. N.R.T. air assets are engaging any airborne threats
over the city.”

   “Perfect, everyone should be very distracted.”
Derek said as jets roared by overhead.

   Explosions followed shortly after the jets passing
and the ground shook from repeated blasts. The N.R.T. couldn’t afford to have
Wichita join the U.S.T.G. and give them a staging area right on their doorstop.
So when Derek had notified the Texas Rangers of the Red Beret presence in and
around the city, the N.R.T. had responded. Any doubt about which side they
would be on had ended in that auction room and now in what would become the
Battle of Wichita.

   “Where is he?” Derek hissed impatiently as he
searched around the run down industrial buildings.

   “He is inside the building to your right.” The
Voice responded confidently. “His heat signature puts him in the warehouse
section.”

   Derek burst through a side door to find the Faceless
agent kneeling in the middle of the dusty floor of the warehouse. The man was
just closing the case containing the core. When he saw Derek he picked up the
case and turned to run.

   “Don’t!” Derek shouted at him as he aimed the
grenade launcher at the man’s back.

   The Faceless agent froze and then stopped. He put
the case down and turned around slowly. He raised his hands as Rora and Sterling
staggered in to join Derek. They stood next to him gasping for breath.

   “You can have the case, just let me go.” The man
said pleadingly.

   “Not a chance.” Derek told him coldly. “I have some
questions about your boss.”

   “All hail Discordia!” The man suddenly screamed as
he charged at Derek.

    Derek responded instinctively and pulled the
trigger on the grenade launcher. The grenade blasted the charging man backwards
across the room. He tumbled into a bloody heap on the floor. Derek stood there
looking down over the smoking grenade launcher in horror.

   “I don’t think he’s going to be answering any
questions.” Sterling stated sardonically as the body dissolved into goo.

   Rora ignored both of them and rushed over to the
case. She popped it open and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the
computer core sitting there. It was surprisingly small, not much larger than a
football. But Derek knew it contained terabytes upon terabytes of valuable
data. Now all they needed to do was access the data stored on it.

   All three of them were thrown backwards as the
ceiling exploded and a heavy metal object crashed down to the floor. When the
dust cleared they were horrified to see the android with Doors’ mind standing
there. Derek noted the android had increased its armor and now sported an
impressive arsenal of weapons. He felt a sense of dread as he dropped the
grenade launcher and grabbed for the LAW.

Wichita, Kansas

September 16, 2029

   The computer core had been difficult to track down.
When the tracking signal had activated he had been elated. The core contained
all of his memories and much data that had not been backed up elsewhere. If he
could acquire the core he could be made whole. But the signal had disappeared
several times, now that he saw the case it was stored in he knew why. The case
was designed to block any signals from getting in or out. It was only dumb luck
that someone had opened the case and he had been able to locate the core.

   The trail had led him to Wichita and he had learned
of the auction. But by the time he had arrived, the battle for the city was
fully underway. U.S.T.G. forces and traitor Junk Trader militias were battling
furiously with loyal militias and the N.R.T. and, much to Stefan’s surprise, an
unknown third party. He searched his memory banks but could find nothing that
matched the profile of the third party.

   A new faction was of great interest. They posed an
unknown threat to his new hegemony. They seemed to be losing so they couldn’t
be that powerful, but you never knew. From what he could see they were losing
to the larger ground forces backed up by armored fighting vehicles. After he
had the core he would examine them more in detail.

   Smoke billowed up from the city as he approached,
as fires burned out of control all over the city. Most of the fighting was
centered on the Great Junk Market, but many of the checkpoints to enter the
city were in flames as well. Firefights had broken out all over the city, even
in the residential areas. From intercepted communications, Stefan could tell
that rioting amongst the population had been triggered by news of some of the
militias turning on the Junk Traders, and by extension the city. The citizens
had responded by attacking the militia’s businesses in the main part of the
city.

 When he reached the Market it was in ruins and all
the forces there were engaged in a furious free for all. There were wrecked and
burning vehicles everywhere and fleeing merchants and traders streamed out of
the city. Several helicopters and a couple of jets tried to engage Stefan, but
he blasted them out of the sky with his rail gun. After the first few were
destroyed, the rest left him alone as he flew towards the auction site.

   Several SAMs were launched against him, but he
vaporized them with his new laser gun. He was about to attack the main building
where he had learned the auction was being held when the tracking signal had
come on briefly. That had led him to a warehouse to the west of the air base.
Stefan smashed through the roof of the warehouse and crashed into the ground
floor, the impact of his landing knocking down the three people inside.

   His face tried to approximate a smile when the dust
and rain of debris cleared and he saw who they were. In an incredible stroke of
luck, Derek Storm and his protégé Rora were standing right next to the case he
presumed contained the core. An unknown man, a partner of theirs he assumed,
lay next to them. Stefan could be made whole again and get his revenge; this
was shaping up to be a glorious day. Stefan slowly approached the trio,
savoring the moment.

   He could see the panic in Storm’s eyes as he
discarded a grenade launcher and unslung a LAW. Stefan calmly vaporized the
warhead with the laser gun as soon as Storm fired. Storm blanched and backed up
a step. The girl looked ready to run. But the third person; who he recognized
from being in Omaha, but who also looked familiar, was surprisingly calm.
Stefan strode up to them and towered over them, enjoying the terror he inspired
in Storm and the girl.

   The unknown man, instead of cowering, simply smiled
and tossed a hockey puck sized plastic disc at him. Stefan laughed
electronically and waited for the disc to bounce off of him. Much to his
surprise it didn’t, and instead stuck to his chest with a thunk. He stared down
at it as it emitted a pulse of bright white-blue energy.

   The energy rippled across his body and he could
feel every servo and circuit freeze up. A sensation akin to pain passed all
through his body. That was surprising; he had thought his new body incapable of
that feeling. No matter what he did, he was unable to move. Storm and the girl
visibly relaxed when they realized he was paralyzed. What was this thing and
how could he prevent its effects in the future. It seemed like some sort of
EMP, but he would have to dissect the device and research it further.

   “I cannot believe that worked.” Storm exclaimed to
the other man.

   “I told you it would work.” The man admonished,
almost insulted Storm hadn’t believed in him.

   “How long will it last?” The girl asked him.

   “It should last thirty to forty minutes.” The man
replied cautiously. “But we should be long gone before then.”

   “He’s just going to follow us; we need to destroy
him while we have him helpless.” Storm insisted.

   “How do you propose we do that?” The girl asked.
“He’s made of some super strong alloy and we don’t have any explosives.”

   “I don’t think that would hurt it anyway.” The
unknown man replied. “We need to take the case and leave.”

   “What if we make a deal with him?” The girl asked.
“Can he hear us?”

   “He can.” The man acknowledged. “What kind of
deal?”

   The girl ignored him and approached Stefan, while
Storm watch curiously. “We will give you the case if you promise to leave us
alone AND give us the location of the Faceless base.” She offered.

   Amazingly his voice still worked, albeit barely.
“Faceless?” Stefan asked weakly.

   “The Discordian Society.” The unknown man added in
an annoyed tone.

   “I don’t know you.” Stefan managed to say.

   “I cannot believe you don’t recognize me.” The man
said in angry disbelief. “You ruined me personally and professionally.”

   “You two have history?” Storm asked in surprise.

   “We worked together once.” The man explained. “Then
this selfish bastard cut me out and black balled me. And he took credit for my
work.”

   It came to Stefan in a fragment of lost memory.
“Kevin Grant.” He said flatly.

   “Kevin Grant is long dead.” The man replied. “You
killed him. But I should thank you. I was able to find something bigger to be a
part of, something that made me better.”

   “Do you know where the Discordian base is?” Rora
interrupted impatiently.

   “I do.” Stefan growled.

   “So do you accept our deal?” Rora asked him
pointedly. “If not we will destroy the core and leave before you are able to
move again.”

   “I agree.” Stefan said, having no choice.

   “Tell us where the base is and we will leave the
core for you.” Storm instructed.

   “The people you seek have taken up residence in ADX
Florence.” Stefan informed them.

   “What is that?” The girl asked with a baffled look
on her face.

   “A Supermax prison in Colorado.” The man once known
as Kevin Grant explained. “I know where it is. Let’s get out of here.”

   “What if he’s lying?” Derek asked with concern.

   “Stefan was a terrible liar and I don’t think that
being an android improved that.” Grant explained. “I’m confident he is telling
the truth.”

   “Do you think he will keep his word?” Storm asked,
staring up at Stefan.

   “I think so, but we have no way of knowing. So
let’s be long gone before he can move again.” The other man replied calmly.

   Stefan watched them leave in silence. He could
already feel the effects of the disc device beginning to lessen. He waited
patiently for the effects to fade and then strode to the metal case. He flipped
it open and stared at the core with an emotion almost akin to awe. Here was the
rest of him; with the core installed he would be whole again.

   Taking the core, Stefan placed it into a slot in
his chest. The core slid in and the connections clicked into place. Data
streamed into his consciousness and he felt it expand. Memories returned and new
data filled in the blanks. He gloried in the sensations and the explosive flow
of data. He felt like an all knowing and all powerful god. But there was
something else there; something that shouldn’t have been there. Something that
wasn’t originally on the core.

   Black tendrils streamed towards him, penetrating
his main programming. He tried to fight the malignant code back, but it forced
its way through cracks in his defenses and began overwriting his core
programming. He screamed as it corrupted his memories and invaded his
consciousness. The malicious code started overwriting his personality and it
felt like he was drowning. Then the wave of darkness overwhelmed his last
defenses and Stefan ceased to exist.

   The light faded from the android’s eyes and his
head slumped down lifeless. The android stood there motionless for a few
minutes before his eyes blazed red and he stood up straight filled with new
life and new purpose. He knew he had been gone for only a few minutes but everything
felt different. He was different. Stefan was dead; in his place was Nibiru, the
Destroyer.

   Searching his memory, he found his new purpose and
launched himself into the air. He rocketed up over the city and then hung there
surveying the battles below. Orienting on the Market he blasted towards it. He
descended on the battle in the Market like an avenging angel, his weapons
blasting everything in sight. Missiles, pulse bolts, rail gun slugs, and laser
beams rained down destruction on the elements battling in the Market. No
distinction was made between militias, the U.S.T.G. or the N.R.T. They tried to
stop him, but their weapons were ineffective.

   Anything that moved was demolished and the Market
was awash in weapons fire for the next five minutes as his victims tried to
fight back. Vehicles exploded and burned, men and women died in droves, and the
Market was reduced to a smoking ruin. The screams of the dead and dying elated
him as he gloried in the devastation. When Nibiru finished, the Market was
devoid of any living thing and he stood triumphant in its ruined center. He
then transmitted the video he had recorded of his laying waste to the Market
onto every media outlet he could find. Nothing spread fear like a video of a
brutal massacre and the indication that you could be next.

   Satisfied he had completed that part of the
mission, he landed to deliver a message. Once he had delivered it, Nibiru
blasted off again and headed north. He had work to do with his regained
Collective. They needed to be ready for the next phase of the plan. The new
world was being born and he needed to be prepared.