Countdown to apocalypse, p.12
Countdown to Apocalypse, page 12
*****
Kowloon Tsai Park, Honk Kong
Alex slowed over the playing field the dragon had crashed into, wincing as he noted the charring on the field.
Some soccer fans are going to hate my guts for this, I just know it.
He scanned the area before descending, already putting together a plan as he landed on the scorched remnants of the grass field where the young man draped in flames was slowly getting to his feet.
The police had already started evacuating people, thankfully, which was damn fast work. It would limit the collateral damage, at least, which Alex figured was probably the best he could hope for given the current situation.
“Alright, now you need to calm the hell…” Alex started, one hand extended in a stop gesture.
He was cut off by a snake-like whip of flame, three solid feet across, smashing into him from the side at a speed he hadn’t expected. The sizzling crash lifted him off the ground and flung him hard through the fencing around the nearby tennis courts and into the stands beyond.
The stands collapsed as he hit the back wall, and everything fell in a heap on top of him.
“Ow,” Alex said dryly as he shifted the remains of the stands off himself and crawled back out of the debris.
He climbed over the wreckage, glowering at the dragon that had rose up in front of him, howling to the skies, rubbing the back of his hand along his jaw.
“Alright, Puff, if that’s the way you want to play it…” He growled, “I’m going to beat on you like you walked into a Marine bar wearing Army green.”
He accelerated away from the rubble, a crack of thunder and a circular cloud of condensate the only trace that he’d been there as Alex charged the dragon head on.
*****
Explosions tore through the air of the city, the eyes of tens of thousands turned toward the park in the central section of the city.
Hong Kong was perhaps one of the most technologically advanced cities on the face of the planet. A city in which technology wasn’t merely everyday conveniences, but almost a social obsession in some ways. Even with the central government having stepped, hard, on the massive high speed fiberoptic networks that linked the city to the rest of the world, that did nothing to stop the millions of cameras in private hands throughout the population.
High definition imagery from every conceivable angle was recorded as the flying man slammed into the fiery coils of the dragon and the two began to slug it out in mid-air over the soccer fields of Kowloon Tsai Park.
Not all of it was instantly available outside of Hong Kong, but enough slipped through the Chinese Government’s ‘Great Firewall’ as to make very little difference. What didn’t make it out right away would be excellent B-Roll in future news reports for those who didn’t want to be showing the same footage over and over again.
The sight of a man in mid-air, fighting a dragon composed entirely of what appeared to be living flame was, and would be, broadcast and viewed across the world in every language for a long time to come.
Within the city itself, however, one did not need to tune into any broadcast.
Even in the bright sub-tropical sun, the blazing dragon was visible in almost ever corner of the city. All one had to do, at most, was step out of the shadow of whatever building was blocking one’s sight, and there it would be… hundreds of feet tall, blazing with divine… or demonic light, depending on your interpretation. Most were too far to see the man at the center of the coils of flame, at least with unaided eyes, but even miles away one could not easily miss the occasional flashes of light that would erupt as the two forces clashed.
For those who were closer, the raging firestorm was a warning to stay well clear… or an invitation that was impossible to resist.
*****
The heat was searing as the dragon wrapped around Alex’ arm while he pulled back to hammer at it with his free hand. He could see the dress shirt he wore scorching, but the heat felt like an intense but radiated heat rather than something burning him directly.
He wrenched his arm loose, pulling back enough to get clear, and made to rush past the sinewy twists of flame to get to the source, but the fires instantly shifted to block his path.
Damn it. He’s fast. Is he even awake? Alex dodged a few swings of the dragon’s claws, eyes never leaving the man at the center of the inferno.
The man’s eyes were open, but he looked almost entranced.
I’m going to have to get through the dragon to take out the source, but how the hell am I supposed to pull that off?
While focusing on the man that was the source of the fiery dragon, Alex missed one of the coils as it looped around, and paid for the lapse when it slammed him from above and sent him hammering in the soccer field hard enough to crater the dirt and pretty much destroy the carefully tended grounds.
“Ow,” He grumbled, picking himself out of the dirt and examining his completely ruined outfit.
The white shirt was basically burned off him, just tattered rags still clinging to his frame… some of the edges smouldering from the last hit, but he wasn’t in bad shape overall. He felt like he might have mild burns, more like sunburns than anything, but that was about it.
Alex got to his feet, glaring at the man who was standing maybe thirty yards away, not even looking in his direction any longer.
What’s got his attention? Alex followed the man’s near blank gaze and grimaced as he spotted a bunch of men burst through the gates of the sports field, pointing and yelling in their direction. Cops, PLA, or… Ah shit!
It turned out to be the ‘or’, unfortunately, as some of the leads launched energy and fireblasts in his direction from their bare hands.
Triads.
Alex thought that he even recognized the leader, who was screaming something at the top of his lungs as he raced forward.
“I do not need this shit,” Alex growled, debating whether or not to retreat.
He had no particular desire to get into some kind of superhuman beatdown in the middle of Honk Kong, but at the same time he’d rather not turn his back on all the innocent people who’d certainly suffer, or worse, in the aftermath.
He twisted around as the dragon screamed to the heavens and lashed out at the charging men, now largely ignoring him. Interesting. The beast seems to be guided by the man’s anger, and he does not seem to be happy with the Triads.
A rumbling sound, a rather familiar one at that, prevented Alex from making any moves as he turned the other way and spotted a sight that was both familiar and utterly unique.
The Chinese PLA Type 99 main battle tank tore through the light trees to the North, having apparently charged in through what Alex thought he’d recognized as tennis courts.
Well, at least I’m not the only one messing up the local sports infrastructure.
As the one hundred and twenty five millimeter cannon swung in his general direction, Alex decided to not be where the main battle tank was aiming. He launched himself straight up, just as the big gun roared and the coils of the dragon tightened instantly around the man below. The explosive shell detonated less than ten yards from the man, blowing smoke and dirt in all directions as the shockwave propagated outwards from the center of the blast.
All directions except toward the target.
The explosion was deflected around the man standing at the center of the fiery tornado of destruction. He, in fact, ignored the tank as the coils of flame unraveled and lashed out at the charging Triad members.
Well, there’s no way I’m engaging the PLA in a fight. They’re just doing their jobs.
He wasn’t sure what he was doing at all, at this point, if he were honest with himself. He didn’t need to be in this middle of this fight, it wasn’t any of his business. The PLA were there, as well as the local cops. Until, and unless, the Chinese asked for help even, he was quite possibly risking war if he were identified as an American military officer, former or not.
A chattering machine opened fire, the cupola of the tank swiveling into action as it continued to target the dragon. Alex rather thought that the crew might regret it if they actually managed to catch the dragon’s attention, but for the moment that didn’t seem likely.
The sinews of twisting flame roared and struck out at the Triads, sending most of them scattering. Only a handful stayed standing, including the one Alex recognized as the leader he’d hammered through a building earlier.
I’m impressed, and concerned, that he got up from that so quickly… or at all.
Alex twisted slowly in the air, watching the fighting beneath him. At the moment it was the Triads and the PLA versus the Dragon, but the Dragon barely seemed to notice the PLA contingent in it’s one sided rage against the Triads.
The Triads themselves were putting up a decent fight, now that the chaff had been taken out of the running. Those who were able to remain standing after the attack were more than capable of giving as good as they got as the battle raged below him.
The Dragon, however, was wreaking total havoc with it’s attacks. Undirected, enraged, and powerful as all hell. It was a terrifying mixture.
The tank’s main cannon roared again, the shell once more exploding in air as the coils of the dragon moved to protect the man at the center of the flames. Another Triad rushed forward, only to be caught in the coils of the dragon and begin screaming as the sheer heat overwhelmed whatever protections had kept him standing.
Alex grimaced as the man burned alive, but he’d seen worse in his day.
The man was following a lunatic who started open fighting in a hospital of all things, so Alex wasn’t going to spare him any pity.
The Tank rumbled closer, main cannon firing again as the Dragon swirled around the battle like the living thing it’s image represented. The shell exploded, closer to the target but to one side. The shockwave deflected on a more oblique angle, slamming into two of the Triads who had gotten close.
As they were thrown wide, the others seemed to notice the main battle tank for the first time.
“Oh shit.”
******
NRO Headquarters, Chantilly VA
“Jesus, look at that damage.”
“The civilians are lucky Hale managed to get that thing away from the hospital.”
Kane was barely listening, his attention redirected to the Secret Service Agents who were pouring into the room. Behind them, the President entered, not looking happy in the least.
“George, you’d better have a damn good reason why you had me hustled out here,” The President growled, “It’s a quick flight, but Marine One catches a hell of a lot of attention when it lands at the House without warning.”
“You need to see this, Sir.” Kane said by way of reply, ignoring the SecDef and other people who’d arrived with the President as he gestured to a side monitor.
The President turned away from the battle on the main screen, scowling at the heads-up display that was overlaid over an aerial view of Hong Kong.
“What the hell is that?” He asked as he stared at the almost squid like form that appeared to be floating over the city.
“That is the source of the jamming, Mr President,” Kane told him, “Whatever it is, it’s using incredible stealth. We’re only able to pick up traces even using full spectrum imaging, most of those are thermal shifts in the air around it.”
“It’s huge…”
“Maybe,” Kane shrugged, “It might be a lot smaller. Remember, Sir, we’re not seeing it directly. We’re seeing the effects it has on the environment, so it could be significantly smaller.”
“Who could do this?” The President demanded, eyes boring into the screen with the overlay.
“The jamming? I could name a couple dozen groups that might be able to pull it off,” Kane answered readily, “the stealth system, however? That’s another game entirely. It’s not Russian, it’s not Chinese. We’d know if it were.”
He looked at some of the President’s travelling companions, noting the DARPA head as well as the SecDef.
“I doubt I need to check, but I’m pretty certain it isn’t ours either?” He asked, glancing at them.
Trevor Jones, the Darpa Chief shook his head instantly, “No chance.”
The SecDef just nodded in agreement.
“Well, then it might be allied, there are some very sophisticated systems coming out of Germany, Sweden, and the UK,” Kane allowed, “but it could also be domestic.”
“I thought they just said it wasn’t ours,” The President snapped around.
“It’s not, but we have a lot of private firms who work on their own projects before coming to us,” Kane answered, taking a deep breath, “We’ll have to cross reference any we’re aware of working in advanced stealth with groups that could potentially handle this level of jamming.”
“I can run with that,” Jones said, “No way it’s a long list.”
“The problem is, that we then have to cross reference with groups that might be capable of CRISPR gene editing,” Kane finished, “and I’d be shocked if that doesn’t eliminate every candidate left.”
“Where does that leave us, then?”
Kane snorted at the President’s question, shaking his head in near disgust, “I don’t know, Sir. Alien invasion? The Area 51 aliens come back for revenge?”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the President almost cracked a smile.
“Sorry to disappoint you, George,” He said, “but I’ve read the actual brief on Roswell. No aliens there, I’m afraid.”
“Oh? I must have missed that one,” Kane said lightly. “What was it, if it’s not too classified?”
“You have clearance,” The President shrugged, “It wasn’t a big deal, really… well, it was at the time. One of our early prototype Stealth bombers went down, way off course. The pilots were geared up in Mercury era flightsuits, the silver ones if you recall?”
Kane nodded.
“The first responders had no clue what they were looking at, not even the representatives from the closest base,” The President told him, “which is how the rumors got started. Once someone arrived who was in the loop, of course they had to cover it up because the Russians were snooping around. In the scramble to come up with a cover story… well, things got out of hand.”
Kane half grimaced, half laughed, “That sounds about right for government work. So, no alien technology in a mountain base somewhere?”
“Afraid not, George.”
“Damn, it might have come in handy.”
The President smiled sardonically, “I suppose it might, but this doesn’t get us anywhere in identifying the perpetrators behind this mess.”
“No,” Kane agreed, “No it doesn’t.”
*****
Chapter 11
Hong Kong Park
Alex threw himself to one side, avoiding the sudden barrage of fire from both sides as the Triads turned their acquired powers against the PLA, who responded in kind with the 12.7mm machine gun mounted on the tank’s cupola. The staccato beat of the gun was just audible about the roar of burning fires, and pulsing reports of the various energy expenditures from the Triads.
Alex was eating dirt, not wanting to test his toughness against either side, and marveling that everyone had somehow forgotten about the goddamn fifty-foot dragon that was still centering the park while the battle raged in all directions.
This is getting out of hand, Alex decided, honestly not for first time since this all kicked off, but at least we’re not fighting in a freaking hospital anymore.
He looked around, starting to think that it was time for him to get the hell out of this mess. The PLA was on scene, the fighting was now somewhere at least partially containable, and more importantly… he still had his actual job to finish.
Alex worked out the path of least resistance and was getting to his feet when another Type 99 appeared right in his chosen route, smashing through smaller trees and dropping down into the park with a thud and a rooster tail of dirt and sod that would shortly be making the groundskeeper weep.
Alex looked another direction, the sound tipping him off, as a third heavy main battle tank entered the melee with a fury. The three chugging machine guns roaring and sending 12.7mm rounds in all directions as they each brought their main guns to bear.
The PLA arriving in force quickly tipped the balance of power in the park, and the Triads responded in kind by throwing their full fury into the tanks closest to them.
Alex mentally cataloged the types of powers he was seeing, comparing them to the bikers back home as he kept low and tried to avoid anyone’s attention for the moment.
I see lots of energy types, but they seem to be close in. More glowing blades of some type than long range strikers.
He was also seeing a lot fewer power types, like himself or the slugging bastard he’d dealt with in Houston.
Alex thank God that he hadn’t seen any speed types yet. The last thing he ever wanted to be forced to fight was someone with Jeremy’s power. That kid flat out scared him.
The power of the close in energy looked shockingly effective, however, as he spotted one of the tanks getting its armor sliced up. Alex winced automatically, If they’re not careful they’re going to…
The reactive armor shook the park as it exploded in the face of one of the Triad members who’d decided to try and take the tank apart piecemeal at close range.
Yeah, that.
Modern main battle tanks used reactive armor that was basically a sandwich of composite armor plating, steel, and high explosives in shaped containment. Piercing the armor with something like those energy blasts would have results much the same as if they’d be struck by anti-tank missiles.
That was to say, they would explode to disrupt the shaped explosive of the missile with shaped explosives of their own.
Very effective at stopping a missile strike, but even more so when it went off in the face of someone swinging an energy blade.
Ouch.
That said, the tanks were taking enough hits that they were getting pretty badly battered.
A shocking explosion, dull and deep with power that he could feel in his chest, swung Alex around in time to see black smoke pour from one of the Type 99’s, the leader of the Triad’s standing on the Cupola and rallying his forces against the remaining armor.
