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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
They took the stairs.<\/p>\n
There was one place in the arcology guaranteed to be nonsecure by design. No RFID readers, no cameras, no drones. No way to jam it either.<\/p>\n
The emergency stairs.<\/p>\n
The moment Tan shoved the door open, a fire alarm rang. But only on the lower floors. The bottom third of the Golden Mile. From the upper floors there was only silence.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t right. But they had no time to wonder why.<\/p>\n
From down below, through the scream of sirens reverberating crazily in the narrow shaft, Tan heard the distant pounding of heavy boots. He stole a glance at his argees; the QRF was still trapped in the elevators, halfway between floors, calmly breaking out equipment and preparing to extricate themselves. That meant the regular guards were coming up.<\/p>\n
It was a cold comfort.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto leading the way, they raced up the stairs. On the thirty-ninth floor, Tan peeked down the stairwell, keeping tabs of the guards hot on their heels. He saw flashes of black and white and gunmetal, but that was all. The security team were sticking to the outer walls, minimizing their exposure.<\/p>\n
And aiming their guns high.<\/p>\n
Tan ducked. Handguns barked, the narrow walls amplifying their thunder. Bullets whined and ricocheted off metal and concrete. Yamamoto continued his headlong charge upstairs. Marcie yelped and leapt for a corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to move!\u201d Tan yelled.<\/p>\n
He grabbed her, forced her to her feet, and pushed her up the stairs. With one hand he held on to her left shoulder, tracking her progress; with the other he aimed the pistol down the narrow gap in the stairwell and blasted away at every target of opportunity.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t think he hit anyone. Long-range pistolcraft was not his strong suit, and firing down thirty-odd stories would tax the abilities of\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0handgun. But the muzzle flash, the thunder and the high-velocity bullets would give the enemy pause.<\/p>\n Or so the theory went.<\/p>\n The guards simply redoubled their fire. A bullet bounced off the guardrail an inch from his arm, whined past his ear and smacked into the concrete wall. Tan flinched away, but kept running.<\/p>\n Yamamoto halted on the fortieth floor landing and stacked on the door.<\/p>\n \u201cCheck what\u2019s outside,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cRoger,\u201d Tan agreed.<\/p>\n He called up the GuardNet console on his argees. With his free hand he manipulated the virtual haptic interface, holding it high to let the argees\u2019 camera observe the motions of his fingers. His eyes flew to the list of security assets on the 40th floor.<\/p>\n Eight guards. Sixteen drones.<\/p>\n He checked the floor map. Twenty-four blue dots clustered near the lobby, arranged in a half-moon, most of them safely ensconced behind cover.<\/p>\n The team was caught between a hammer and an anvil. Rush out into the sky lobby and be gunned down, or stay here and be overwhelmed by the guards nipping at their heels.<\/p>\n But the Black Watch had a third option.<\/p>\n On his phone, Tan brought the team into a conference call.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got twenty-four Tangos waiting outside the door to the sky garden,\u201d Tan said. \u201cThey\u2019re all behind hard cover.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s way too many to take out, even for me,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can thin them out. Once I get the party started, fire at will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoger that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFarmer, get the gravcar warmed up,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cThey\u2019re catching up. Fast. As soon as we\u2019re done here, we need to get the hell out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEngine\u2019s hot,\u201d Wood reported. \u201cGive the word and we\u2019ll be there in five.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCopy that.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan inspected the blue dots on the map. All of them were labeled. Again, the same alphanumeric jumble the Void preferred. But eight of them had longer names than the rest. He accessed one at random.<\/p>\n A Wolf drone. The feed from its sensors and computer streamed into his argees. Crouching behind a bench, it had a clean line of sight at a trio of guards. A crosshair aimed at the door to the emergency stairs.<\/p>\n The HUD reported it was armed with an M99 personal defense weapon.<\/p>\n And the drone was set to semi-autonomous mode.<\/p>\n Tan grinned.<\/p>\n He selected all sixteen drones and checked the dashboard. A list of commands and status reports popped up. He scrolled down until he found the mode setting and switched it to manual. Now they wouldn\u2019t move without his say-so.<\/p>\n He checked the IFF settings. It was impossible to turn it off; it was hardcoded into the system, and the only way to disable it was to switch off the drones. But he could upload a new IFF code.<\/p>\n He generated a fresh one on GuardNet, randomizing every variable, and updated the drones with the new IFF code. Immediately the human guards turned red on the map.<\/p>\n \u201cDeadeye, you ready?\u201d Tan whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cScope is hot,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t shoot the drones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreen light.\u201d<\/p>\n He switched the drones to autonomous mode.<\/p>\n The Wolves sprang to life. Their PDWs blazing, they ripped into the guards. Short, precise bursts stuttered in the night. Then came a sharp metallic\u00a0SWAT<\/em>\u00a0that came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Fox, working her magic with her big iron.<\/p>\n Tan dove into a drone camera, saw a guard dashing for cover, firing away with his weapon. The crosshair teleported over his head. The PDW barked. The guard\u2019s face erupted in a red cloud. The drone spun around, looking for targets, finding none.<\/p>\n A final\u00a0SWAT<\/em>.<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n On the map, all eight dots representing the guards vanished.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sky garden is clear of human threats,\u201d Fox said. \u201cBut the bots are still the move.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wolves were operating in hunter-killer mode, ready to slaughter everyone in their path that didn\u2019t have a valid IFF. The sixteen dots swarmed the lobby, ready to breach the stairwell doors.<\/p>\n Tan hit the kill switch.<\/p>\n The dots went out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bots aren\u2019t moving any more,\u201d Fox reported.<\/p>\n \u201cRoger that. Pack up and get ready to move.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan and Yamamoto burst out into the lobby, Marcie right behind them. The pack of Wolves lay completely still, blocky PDWs deployed on metal robot arms sprouting from their domes. Tan knew they were inert, but he couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that they were watching him still. Or\u00a0something<\/em>\u00a0that watched through their eyes.<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n On the map, all eight dots representing the guards vanished.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sky garden is clear of human threats,\u201d Fox said. \u201cBut the bots are still the move.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wolves were operating in hunter-killer mode, ready to slaughter everyone in their path that didn\u2019t have a valid IFF. The sixteen dots swarmed the lobby, ready to breach the stairwell doors.<\/p>\n Tan hit the kill switch.<\/p>\n The dots went out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bots aren\u2019t moving any more,\u201d Fox reported.<\/p>\n \u201cRoger that. Pack up and get ready to move.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan and Yamamoto burst out into the lobby, Marcie right behind them. The pack of Wolves lay completely still, blocky PDWs deployed on metal robot arms sprouting from their domes. Tan knew they were inert, but he couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that they were watching him still. Or something that watched through their eyes.<\/p>\n The guards were all dead. The Wolves had drilled them all in the head with precise three-round bursts. With so many Wolves and so few targets, the security team were all overkilled. By now he was long inured to the gore; Marcie turned pale and looked away.<\/p>\n The sky garden was clear. In the center was a wide plaza, wide enough to fit a squadron of gravcars. As the men took up security positions, Yamamoto entered the group call.<\/p>\n \u201cThe area is clear. There\u2019s a wide plaza in the center of the plaza. That is the LZ. Make your approach by the south, say again, south.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCopy that,\u201d Wood said. \u201cComing in from the south. ETA, five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n The guards were still rushing up the stairs. And, no doubt, there would be more coming down the upper floors. They had to hold their position until backup arrived.<\/p>\n Tan positioned himself and Ngo by a planter, facing the east lobby, then returned his attention to the console controls and reversed the kill switch. This time, he set the drones to manual mode, selected half of them, and ordered them to gather at the east sky lobby.<\/p>\n The Wolf pack silently marched across the garden. Through their cameras, he saw crosshairs flash over faces: Yamamoto\u2019s, Marcie\u2019s, his. The PDWs swiveled, locking on to all of them. Targeting carets identified the pistols in the operators\u2019 hands. The drones scanned Marcie, saw no weapons, and the crosshairs swung away.<\/p>\n A dialog box screamed two words.<\/p>\n TARGET LOCKED.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAre they supposed to aim at us?\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t turn it off,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cBut I can control whether they shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n The drones lined up in a neat row in front of the lobby. Targeting software directed their guns to the doors. Tan switched them to autonomous defensive mode. The Wolves stayed put, guarding their arcs of fire.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve scrambled the drones\u2019 IFF transponders,\u201d Tan said. \u201cThey will fire on the guards\u2014but they\u2019ll shoot us too. Do not\u00a0step<\/em>\u00a0in front of them, especially if you\u2019re armed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre they supposed to aim at us?\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t turn it off,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cBut I can control whether they shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n The drones lined up in a neat row in front of the lobby. Targeting software directed their guns to the doors. Tan switched them to autonomous defensive mode. The Wolves stayed put, guarding their arcs of fire.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve scrambled the drones\u2019 IFF transponders,\u201d Tan said. \u201cThey will fire on the guards\u2014but they\u2019ll shoot us too. Do not step in front of them, especially if you\u2019re armed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCopy that,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n A shot rang out.<\/p>\n Tan tackled Ngo, covering her with his body.<\/p>\n More single shots rang in the air. Then a loud\u00a0SWAT<\/em>, and rapid strings of semiauto fire.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve deployed snipers on the roof!\u201d Wood called. \u201cWe\u2019re coming in hot!\u201d<\/p>\n Looking up, Tan saw a black boxy silhouette scream in from the south. The team gravcar. Shadowy figures leaned out the windows, firing away at threats high above them, illuminated in the muzzle flash of their short-barreled carbines.<\/p>\n Tan got up, pulling Ngo to her feet. Yamamoto dashed over, confiscated pistol in hand, and waved at the skycar.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you see us?\u201d Yamamoto called.<\/p>\n The car jinked sharply.<\/p>\n \u201cI have good visual,\u201d Wood said. \u201cWe\u2019re coming in! Ten seconds!\u201d<\/p>\n The lights of the Golden Mile washed over the gravcar, revealing a shattered windshield. Another shot, and the gravcar jerked.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on come on come on,\u201d Tan whispered.<\/p>\n And a black hole opened before him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n It was a perfectly round, flat circle of pure darkness. A two-dimensional portal leading to utter nothingness.<\/p>\n No. The darkness was\u00a0full<\/em>.<\/p>\n Strange shapes writhed and danced in the discs, slightly brighter than the night. Tiny motes flashed through the dark, growing larger, faster, brighter\u2014<\/p>\n A commando stepped out. Black uniform, black armor, black helmet, black carbine. A cloud of black smoke billowed off his body.<\/p>\n A second appeared.<\/p>\n A third.<\/p>\n The Void Collective\u2019s QRF was coming.<\/p>\n \u201cTAKE COVER!\u201d Yamamoto shouted.<\/p>\n Tan snapped up his pistol, aligned the sights with a face, pressed the trigger. The gun barked. The sights settled.<\/p>\n The commando was still there.<\/p>\n He fired again.<\/p>\n The commando was still there.<\/p>\n His left hand found Marcie\u2019s. He rounded the corner of the planter, dragging her with him, keeping his head low. Carbines chattered. Bullets ripped through bushes and flowers. Concrete dust and shrapnel pepped the floor. He pressed her down, keeping her away from the planter, away from rounds skimming the walls, and pressed his pistol into her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cTake my gun!\u201d he yelled. \u201cKeep them down!\u201d<\/p>\n Screaming, she poked his pistol above the planter and blindly fired at the commandos. He raised his phone and set the drones to semiautonomous offensive mode.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone! HEADS DOWN!\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n He picked six drones from the west lobby and sent them rushing for the plaza. Summoned six more from the east lobby and did the same.<\/p>\n The bots\u2019 combat AI linked as one, forming a new pack, a hive mind greater than the sum of its parts, more intelligent at hunting and killing than Tan could ever hope to be. The pack AI plotted routes for each member, navigating the planters and the trees and the benches to maximize cover and concealment and eliminate friendly fire. As one, the Wolves rushed the QRF top speed. Scanners picked up targets, PDWs swung towards them, metallic fingers closed on triggers. All they needed was Tan\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n Which he granted.<\/p>\n But only to the bots targeting the VC commandos.<\/p>\n PDW chattered. Bullets screamed all around. Ngo screamed too.<\/p>\n \u201cNO MORE AMMO!\u201d<\/p>\n He fumbled through his pockets with his free hand, pulling out a spare magazine, his attention still focused on the screen. The QRF, all twenty of them, had assembled in the plaza, standing tall in the metal storm, forming a wide circle. None had gone down.<\/p>\n Why the hell not?<\/p>\n He dove into the nearest Wolf and saw through its eyes.<\/p>\n It was advancing on a black-clad commando. The VC operative just stared at it, his eyes wide open, his posture completely loose and relaxed. The drone\u2019s crosshairs were centered on its face, right between the eyes.<\/p>\n The Wolf fired.<\/p>\n The space in front of the commando\u2019s face twisted. Subtle spirals cut through the air. Fast, tiny objects spun off.<\/p>\n \u201cSamurai! They\u2019re using magic!\u201d Tan shouted.<\/p>\n Blackness rushed across the screen. A great ripping sound tore through the world, like the tearing of a gigantic canvas.<\/p>\n CONNECTION LOST<\/em><\/p>\n Debris sailed over Tan\u2019s head. The ruins of a Wolf drone, shattered and fragmented by some incomprehensible power, separated into multiple parts, flying through the air.<\/p>\n Half the blue dots disappeared from the screen.<\/p>\n The world darkened.<\/p>\n \u201cThe LZ is too hot! We can\u2019t land!\u201d Wood reported.<\/p>\n \u201cOh shit,\u201d Ngo whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cAUM!\u201d<\/p>\n The tearing sound halted. Light flooded back into the world.<\/p>\n And, off to Tan\u2019s right, a bluish-white light glowed.<\/p>\n \u201cAUM!\u201d Yamamoto intoned again.<\/p>\n The commandos stood stock-still for an instant.<\/p>\n Long enough for Tan to order the other drones to attack them.<\/p>\n The second wave of Wolves swarmed the commandos, PDWs blazing. This time, they went down, red dots vanishing from the feed. Fox fired her suppressed sniper rifle, and the other Black Watch added their weapons to the weight of fire.<\/p>\n And a voice rose above the chatter of guns.<\/p>\n \u201cAUM!\u201d<\/p>\n The commandos reacted instantly. Their carbines blasting, they raced to cover. Bullets smacked everywhere. Tan commanded the Wolves to prioritize the commandos closest to Ngo. They shifted formations immediately, charging the commandos in a headlong burst of glory.<\/p>\n \u201cAU\u2014Ack!\u201d<\/p>\n The light winked out.<\/p>\n Darkness descended on the world. Unseen hands ripped the cosmos apart. The sound threatened to split Tan\u2019s brain. Metal screamed and disintegrated. The last of the Wolves crumpled.<\/p>\n And the commandos disappeared from the map.<\/p>\n And a flat black disc appeared in front of Tan.<\/p>\n He blinked.<\/p>\n Two black-clad commandos burst forth, aiming their weapons at him.<\/p>\n \u201cRAAAAAAAAAAAH!\u201d he screamed, springing to his feet, arms spearing at the right-hand commando.<\/p>\n The commandos fired.<\/p>\n His left arm smashed away a carbine. Bullets smacked into the concrete behind him. His right palm smashed into a helmeted head. Immediately he pivoted into the enemy, his palm whipping around to smack his spine. The enemy bent backwards, exposing his neck. With a savage shout, Tan drove his phone into his throat.<\/p>\n Cartilage crunched. The commando gagged. The blow sent him straight down. Tan oriented on the other threat\u2014<\/p>\n He was gone.<\/p>\n \u201cBehind you!\u201d Ngo shouted.<\/p>\n Tan spun around\u2014<\/p>\n A boot slammed into his ass, knocking him down.<\/p>\n Tan twisted with the blow, curling his spine, landing flat on his back, slapping the floor to break his fall.<\/p>\n The commando loomed over him.<\/p>\n Raised his carbine.<\/p>\n SWAT<\/em><\/p>\n THWOCK<\/em><\/p>\n Blood and brains and bone jetted out of the commando\u2019s temple.<\/p>\n He went limp instantly, falling on Tan. Tan wrestled the body off him and got up on his knees.<\/p>\n \u201cGive me the gun,\u201d Tan ordered.<\/p>\n Ngo complied, handing it over butt first.<\/p>\n Tan pressed the muzzle against the other commando\u2019s face, right between the eyes, and fired. Twice. Overkill for a human, par the course when dealing with the Elect of the New Gods.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you have to do that?\u201d Ngo whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want him getting back up?\u201d Tan asked.<\/p>\n The gravcar hovered above the plaza, slowly descending on a clear patch of ground. Fox poked out of the rear window, lowering her rifle.<\/p>\n Tan gave her a thumbs-up.<\/p>\n She nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIs the area clear?\u201d Tan asked over the phone.<\/p>\n \u201cRoger that,\u201d Wood said. \u201cDon\u2019t see any more active hostiles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSamurai, are you okay?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n Yamamoto coughed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure? You don\u2019t look so good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCaught some frag. I\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamamoto stepped out from behind a bench, holding his left hand to his forehead.<\/p>\n \u201cHow bad is it?\u201d Tan asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSuperficial. Don\u2019t worry about it. Regroup on the car.\u201d<\/p>\n The gravcar was in bad shape. There was a wide jagged hole in the middle of the windshield. Bullet holes and scrapes marked the doors and hood. He had no idea how the hell it was still running.<\/p>\n The rest of the team stepped out the car, forming security positions around the vehicle. Yamamoto was the last to arrive, holding his left palm to his forehead.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure you\u2019re okay?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n Yamamoto lowered his hand. An ugly gash ran across his forehead, slowly dripping blood.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you see bone?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen I\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n Fox glanced at Ngo. \u201cYou\u2019re the woman we\u2019re here to extract?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Ngo replied. \u201cThank you for your help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll in a night\u2019s work. Are you injured?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCheck anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe should all check,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n As one, the operators patted themselves down. When Tan touched his left cheek, pain flared across his face.<\/p>\n \u201cHow does my face look?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNot too bad,\u201d Ngo said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long cut, but shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan poked around his inner cheek with his tongue. More pain, but only on the outside. The wound could wait until they were out of here.<\/p>\n The rest of the team was fine. Minor grazes and cuts, nothing more. Yamamoto and Tan were out of ammo, but the job was wrapping up. But there was one major problem.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gravcar\u2019s shot up,\u201d Wood reported. \u201cThe engine is busted, but the gravity mirror is still intact. She can fly, I\u00a0think<\/em>, but she won\u2019t drive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo long as we can extract from here, I\u2019m happy,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot so fast,\u201d Fox said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got snipers with large-caliber rounds on the roof. We need to get neutralize them or they\u2019ll blast us from the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDeadeye is right,\u201d Connor said. \u201cThey\u2019re good, or they have SmartShot. Their rounds missed us by a hair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll go upstairs and give them a piece of our minds,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t take the elevator,\u201d Tan said. \u201cThere\u2019s no roof access. Not even with the express elevators.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to fly up either,\u201d Wood said. \u201cToo damn risky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s only one set of stairs to the roof, and it\u2019s accessible only from the sanctum,\u201d Ngo said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s the sanctum?\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cTop floor. The east wing is the living quarters of the Hierophant. The west wing is the ritual hall. But\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an initiation ceremony going on tonight. It\u2019s bound to be heavily guarded.\u201d She paused. \u201cCan you feel it? That\u2026 weight?\u201d<\/p>\n Tan could, all right. A great alien bulk pressed against the fabric of the world, trying to come in. Skeins of tension rippled through the air, wrapping Tan in a tight web. If anything, it had grown larger, more powerful, more\u00a0insistent<\/em>. The commandos they had fought weren\u2019t just its agents; they were a part of it, irrevocably bound to it, becoming a part of it.<\/p>\n It was the thing in the Void.<\/p>\n It was a New God.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we have any other options?\u201d Yamamoto asked.<\/p>\n Tan checked GuardNet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not seeing any. There\u2019s nothing on the roof I can use against them. We\u2019ll have to clear them out ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen we\u2019re going to the sanctum,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cWait,\u201d Ngo said. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to the sanctum anyway\u2026 can you stop the ritual?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiss, there\u2019s only six of us here. We\u2019ll need an army to stop the initiation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut those people\u2026 you\u2019re just going to abandon them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission was to get you out. Not to throw our lives away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll let the Void take them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey made their choice when they joined the Collective. We can\u2019t save everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n The conviction bled from Yamamoto\u2019s voice, ending in a note of barely suppressed pain.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you\u2019re STS! Isn\u2019t this your job?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMarcie,\u201d Tan said, \u201cwe\u2019re STS, but we\u2019re only human. We can\u2019t stand against the New God.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI heard Yuri\u2019s chant!\u201d Ngo said. \u201cHe stopped the magic! He can do something, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was not me. I merely allowed God to act through me,\u201d Yamamoto said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen you can fight the Void!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. You saw what happened just now. But for the grace of God, we would all be dead. We are not going to pick a fight we don\u2019t have to. We clear the roof and we go. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you kidding me? We have a chance to take down the Void Collective once and for all, and you\u2019re just going to walk away?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe job of the STS isn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hierophant lives in the sanctum! If you search his quarters, you can dig up all kinds of dirt on the Collective! You can take it to the STS and bring down the VC once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure have a mad-on for the VC, huh?\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I saw\u2026 I saw what was in the Void.\u201d She gripped her arms, withdrawing into herself. \u201cYou saw it, didn\u2019t you? Inside the portal? That\u2026\u00a0thing<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever it was, it almost killed us. It\u2019s not something mere mortals can fight,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n Ngo whirled on a foot, staring daggers at Tan.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore you went for STS Selection, you told me you wanted to protect people from monsters. What the hell happened to you?\u201d<\/p>\n Tan inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinking Husks. Not a god.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a god. It\u2019s\u2026 whatever it is, it\u2019s no god.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a demon,\u201d Yamamoto said. \u201cFighting it is not our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Ngo turned to him. \u201cI know who you are. Yuri Yamamoto. Everyone calls you Samurai, but you\u2019re more like a priest. You don\u2019t just kill Husks; you exorcise them too. Word is, you banished a Dark Power all by yourself. If you\u2019re half the man I think you are, this is the mission you were born to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are only six of us,\u201d he repeated. \u201cThere are thousands of VC.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBoss,\u201d Woods said quietly, \u201cWe can\u2019t just settle for clearing out the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeep quiet and listen for a second.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone shut up. In the night, distant sirens howled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cops are on the way,\u201d Woods said. \u201cSo is STS. And we just slaughtered our way through two dozen Elect of the VC. They won\u2019t stand for it, and neither will Public Security. Even if we get away clean, even if the VC won\u2019t call the PSB, it won\u2019t be long before the VC catches up to us.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a bargaining chip. Something we can use to cut a deal with Public Security, the Commandant and the Attorney General. Otherwise, they\u2019ll just hand us over to the VC in the name of \u2018preserving the balance\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cEither we raid the Hierophant\u2019s home and lift what dirt we can, or we stop the ritual and find out what the hell they\u2019re doing up there. Or both. No matter what, we need leverage, or we\u2019re just swinging in the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuck,\u201d Yamamoto breathed.<\/p>\n It was, Tan realized, the first time he\u2019d heard Yamamoto swear.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the call?\u201d Fox asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe go up. May God help us all.\u201d<\/p>\n — If action, adventure and horror are right up your alley, check out my latest novel\u00a0DUNGEON SAMURAI VOL. 1: KAMIKAZE<\/a>!<\/p>\n
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