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The Sentinel\u2019s wings were clipped, but she could still drive.<\/p>\n
Karim worked the pedals with two leaden feet, breaking every traffic law and taking every turn at dangerous speeds. Dozens of voices chattered over the radio, dribbling out information piecemeal. Yamamoto sat in the shotgun seat, silently processing it all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unis have cornered the turtle inside the hypermarket,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cThey chased him into the building, and when he tried to escape out the back, another car cut him off. The cops fired at him and drove him back inside. He\u2019s somewhere in the building, but no one knows exactly where.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Wood said. \u201cHe\u2019s armored like a tank. He could bust through the cordon easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he\u2019s scared of getting shot,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr maybe he\u2019s setting up an ambush,\u201d Tan added.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of what he\u2019s doing, it\u2019s on us to flush him out,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone make contact with the subject?\u201d Karim asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNope,\u201d Yamamoto replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cRookie, you can\u2019t talk to Husks,\u201d Connor said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to listen. You just shoot them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny blues inside?\u201d Wood asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. An off-duty SWAT guy led a team of unis inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLambs to the slaughter,\u201d Connor muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they get lucky, they take him out for us, and we can all go home,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll buy the civvies time to escape. And for us to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karim shook his head. \u201cYou guys sure have a dim view of the cops\u2019 chances of survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re trained to handle human criminals,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cHusks are a different breed of bad guy. Deadlier, faster and stronger than ordinary humans. You saw how the turtle soaked up your shots. You think police-issue pistols and shotguns will scratch him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Karim admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s on us to finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if we can\u2019t? What if the thing\u2019s too well-armored or too powerful for us to neutralize?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe upgrade his threat assessment to Class A and deploy the assault armor,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no time,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cWe have to stop the killing now. It\u2019ll take too long for the AAs to arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto sighed. \u201cCode Black.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Karim asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe evacuate the area, contain the Husk, then call in the Air Force and drop a thermobaric bomb on his head.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly\u2026 Have you ever done that before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yamamoto refused to elaborate.<\/p>\n
No matter the hour or how foul the weather, there was always someone somewhere in Babylon looking to buy something, and there was always someone willing to sell it. Miranda took that concept and escalated it as only a megacorp could.<\/p>\n
The hypermarket was massive, occupying a single city block all to itself, with an equally expansive parking lot. Three stories tall, it catered to every possible need any citizen of Babylon ever had. Within legal limits, of course.<\/p>\n
Police cars and ambulances piled up outside the entrance. Cops shuttled in and out of the building, hustling civilians to waiting paramedics. A SWAT gravtruck screamed in from above, landing just past the outer perimeter.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake us next to the SWAT vehicle,\u201d Yamamoto ordered.<\/p>\n
Karim pulled up next to the vehicle, just as a dozen SWAT operators piled out of the vehicle. Yamamoto waved at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re STS!\u201d he shouted over the rain. \u201cWho\u2019s your team leader?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d a grizzled sergeant replied.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto extended his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Yamamoto. What\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRogers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men shook hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad to see you guys,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going in together?\u201d Rogers asked.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto shook his head. \u201cNo. We\u2019ll take the Husk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clock\u2019s ticking, and the hypermarket is a huge place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed, but this Husk is extremely dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogers bristled. \u201cMy team has taken down a couple of Husks without your help before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a turf thing.\u201d Yamamoto gestured at Karim. \u201cMy guy over here shot the threat multiple times and the rounds bounced right off him. If you guys don\u2019t have penetrators, you won\u2019t do squat against him. You got any?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sergeant sighed. \u201cNo. But we\u2019ve got to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you said, the hypermarket is a huge place, and there\u2019s only six operators in my team. We need trailers. Come in behind us and secure the stairs, escalators, doors, every exit you can find. We\u2019ll push any civilians we find to you. If the threat tries to escape, pin him down so we can finish him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGot it. But if this threat is as dangerous as you say he is\u2026 you sure you don\u2019t need backup?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re STS. One target, one team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The operators of Black Watch filed into the hypermarket, the SWAT team at their heels. Past the cashiers and along the aisles, cops stood guard at choke points, radios and phones close to hand. Their pistols were peashooters, their shotguns not much better, but it was all they had.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto clapped Karim\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime to earn your pay, rookie,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cWhere\u2019s the threat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Karim borrowed Galen\u2019s eyes and looked.<\/p>\n
There were only humans on the ground floor. Cops guarding the exits. More cops combing the aisles for innocents and bad guys. Civilians curled up in corners or hiding in the storeroom or racing for the doors.<\/p>\n
And a huge black soulstream cut a dark swath through the aisles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see his trail,\u201d Karim muttered. \u201cStand by.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soulstream ran up a travelator and dashed into the second floor. It wound sinuously through and around unseen obstacles, and abruptly came to a halt, resolving into the shape of a huge turtle.<\/p>\n
The Husk was crouching behind something, his head sweeping back and forth. But it wasn\u2019t the same turtle he\u2019d seen earlier. Was this one\u2026\u00a0larger<\/em>?<\/p>\n \u201cI see him,\u201d Karim said, pointing. \u201cLevel two, red four.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan pointed his bot that direction.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got him,\u201d Tan declared. \u201cBot has him locked.\u201d<\/p>\n A solid red figure appeared across Karim\u2019s eyeshields. A figure of a massive bipedal turtle, crouching behind a shelf.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get him,\u201d Karim said.<\/p>\n \u201cHold on,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cIs there a map of the place?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere,\u201d Fox said, pointing at a nearby holographic display.<\/p>\n The team gathered around the stand, studying the layout of the floor. Now and then the operators glanced up at the ceiling with their goggles, cross-referencing the turtle\u2019s position against the map.<\/p>\n Tan tapped the map. \u201cThe subject is over here.\u201d<\/p>\n The turtle was hiding near an aisle of toiletries at the right side of the floor. The elevators were to his right, and to his front he had a clean line of fire down a narrow passage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a tall sonofabitch, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Connor said. \u201cI think he could pop above the aisles, look down at us, and use his mouth beam.\u201d<\/p>\n Karim mentally kicked himself. He wasn\u2019t fighting humans any more. He\u2019d covered this in training, sure, but there was no substitute for the real thing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the plan, boss?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll hit him from two directions,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cAlpha Team will go up to level two from the green side elevator and creep up on his position. Bravo will wait by the red side elevator on level one. The bot goes with Bravo. On my mark, we deploy flash-bangs and catch him in a pincer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he runs, he\u2019ll flee up the escalator to level three. We\u2019ll bring up the SWAT guys to seal off the escalators and the stairs, then pursue and destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if he takes a swan dive out the window?\u201d Wood asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be giving his back to us,\u201d Fox said. \u201cEasy shot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if he takes the elevator?\u201d Karim asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s too damn big to fit inside, and he\u2019ll have to fight past us,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean on the third floor. He runs to the elevator, forces the doors open, squeezes himself through and jumps down the shaft. Then what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe stop him before he gets there,\u201d Yamamoto said simply. \u201cBravo will cover the elevator doors, Alpha will close and finish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe done jawing?\u201d Connor asked. \u201cOr we gonna wait for him for build a castle?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cBut be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Previous part:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a>,\u00a07<\/a><\/p>\n If you like stories that blend sci fi, fantasy, horror and authentic combat, check out my latest novel\u00a0HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmcSX4MiYdPvqUChc7eBRiaSvNLAb2vT71wFubG75cArg8\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
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