Her nightfalcon swooped in to land on Bedford Street at the entrance to the site’s parking lot. The street lights had come on with the onset of twilight and they gleamed off the helicopter’s black skin. The cabin door opened. The six praetorians stepped down from the machine, making two lines to the left and right. Chloe was the last to emerge, walking between the praetorians as they waited for her.

  James Haley and Louise Wesson stood twenty yards in front of her. Beyond them, the men of the cordon stood watch over the warehouse while the two nightfalcons circled slowly a thousand yards above the site.

  Chloe pivoted, addressing her praetorians in quiet tones, “When you assault the warehouse, flush the Order to the dock where I will be waiting.” She tapped a tall redhead and a lithe African-American on their chests and commanded, “Hendricks and Smithson, your target is Gang Wu - kill him. Li Wu and Anton Slayne must be run out onto the dock where I will complete the engagement. Be aware that the Mirovar force team is in the vicinity, we expect to draw them out with this battle. They will not be able to resist saving their own. Is that clear?”

  The praetorians nodded their assent.

  Chloe’s eyes narrowed for a long moment as she weighed the foreseeable outcomes. I must risk Anton’s life, if he falls here, he would never have defeated Crane and I must plan anew, else I will continue with this scheme. She turned from the praetorians, striding to where James Haley stood, she ignored Louise Wesson and took a position a yard in front of Haley.

  She stared hard into his face and declared, “You disobeyed my orders!”

  “We were fired upon, our standing orders -”

  “Are preempted by my orders.”

  James stood straighter and answered, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “My orders were explicit. You stated that they were, ‘Crystal clear,’ - did you not say that this morning.”

  “… Yes, Ma’am, I did say that.”

  “Did you understand my orders?”

  James frowned briefly and then conceded, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Then please explain to me which part of, ‘The mission is to identify them, track them, and if they go to ground, put a cordon around the site and stop them escaping again.’, implies a frontal assault on a well-defended position?”

  James’ face paled in the street lights. “When they attacked it could have been a prelude to escape.”

  “Did they try to escape at any time today?”

  “… No, Ma’am”

  “Correct, they did not try to escape, and you had no justification to lead your men to be slaughtered.”

  “Ma’am, no one could have known that they would have been so effective against us.”

  Chloe stepped forward. Leaning in close, she whispered tightly, “You saw the Triad attack on the Noodle House, did you not learn anything from that?”

  “Ma’am? … Yes, Ma’am.”

  Chloe stepped back, staring at James for a long moment, everyone within earshot stood still and waited for her words. “You underestimated your opponents. You set the cordon too close to the warehouse within the range of man-portable weapons. That resulted in the loss of two nightfalcons and eight of your men. You then compounded that error by launching an ill-considered attack versus a prepared defensive position that has decimated three spectrum teams.”

  Chloe stared at James with her hands on her hips and declared flatly, “Given your choices and your lack of effective preparation that result was predictable.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “What you should have done after the destruction of the nightfalcons, was pull back and reset your cordon out of range of their weapons.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Chloe looked past James at the warehouse beyond and observed quietly, “You are most fortunate that tonight’s mission is not yet concluded, and I still need you and your men.”

  “Ma’am?”

  “I’m a forgiving soul,” Chloe offered with a sardonic smile. “I will forgo punishing you for your errors of judgment today, pending your discretion and diligence to your duty tonight.”

  Chloe leaned in close and whispered for his ears alone, “Your redemption is still possible - make sure that you do everything necessary.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. I will.”

  Chloe smiled icily. “Of that I’m sure.”

  Now he is correctly motivated, time to move forward with the main plan for tonight.

  * * *

  James watched as General Armitage turned and strode back to her waiting special forces troops.

  They made a huddle; she gave quick sharp orders beyond his power to hear. She gave a final command and they split past her like a wave going around a lighthouse. They passed James in a quick walk, exuding confidence, purpose, and power. He turned, watching as they took up a position in a loose line a hundred yards before the front of the warehouse.

  James wondered why they carried swords and battle axes, and why were they all armed with light machine guns? What were they going to do - hose the place down with lead?

  He felt his skin crawl over his back. He twisted around; General Armitage stood before him again.

  “I have fresh orders for you and your men.”

  James stood to attention and barked, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Assemble all the remaining operatives on land. When my special forces move, follow them immediately into the warehouse. Do not hesitate, the Order will fall before them or run. We will flush the game to the docks and I will kill them there.”

  James was shocked. Did she just say that she would kill them?

  “Ma’am, we have the RHIB and now three nightfalcons to guard the -”

  “Unnecessary - I will be there.”

  James felt adrift and offered candidly, “They just killed twenty-six of my men, how will you kill them? It’s not possi-”

  A shining blade appeared an inch before his nose, gleaming in the streetlights. For the first time in his life, James felt his guts freeze in a moment of existential terror as the hairs rose up on the back of his thick neck. Who is she? She’s faster than the eye can follow.

  General Armitage moved the Red Dragon a hands width aside. Leaning in toward James, she declared softly with supreme confidence, “I will be there.” She raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Do you understand your orders this time?”

  James answered, “Yes, Ma’am. Understood.”

  “And one final word - at the end of this, there must be no witnesses.”

  James frowned, pausing for a moment before nodding. “Yes Ma’am. I will see it done.”

  The General’s nightfalcon was already spooling up. She turned away from James, strode toward it and stepped into the cabin bay. In moments, its engines reached full power, launching the helicopter into the night sky.

  Beneath her soaring nightfalcon, James tapped his comms link and called his men in to form a loose rank behind the General’s special forces unit. The General’s men stood with a preternatural stillness. They stared at the warehouse like waiting lions with their eyes locked on a herd of nervous antelopes - just waiting for one to move before attacking with deadly effect.

  James marshaled his troops. He watched as the General’s nightfalcon hovered momentarily over the river end of the warehouse, its skin reflecting flood lights that had come on over the dock.

  The Order operatives had restored electric power.

  He saw the General’s black armored form leap with superhuman power and grace from the cabin of the helicopter and disappear from view. That’s a forty-yard drop to the dock or twenty-five to the crane - who can do that? James shook his head, whispering in sudden bewilderment, “What on Earth am I looking at here?”

  Vampires? No - of course not.

  A creeping sensation of dread slithered up his back as he led his men after the advancing special forces.

  What the hell happens next?

  Chapter Six

  Sky Roman @ SkyRoman133 - 3m

  ‘Explosions in Boston! What’s happening? #Crazy #Nightmare’

  John Smith @ JohnSmith1249 - 3m

  ‘I’m on my roof. Just saw a helicopter crash and burn. #Bombs #Terrorism’

  Trusted Reporter Boston @ TrustedReporterBoston - 3m

  ‘It’s a tragic accident. Training exercise gone wrong. #PublicSafety #Tragedy #Official #News.’

  - Consecutive Twitter posts.

  * * *

  Boston, June 11th, 20:26

  Anton sat back on his heels, resting on the maze wall on the right side of the warehouse.

  Twenty yards to his left, Gang held a similar position. They faced the front of the warehouse a hundred yards away. Above and ten yards behind them, Li rested on the maintenance walkway with her .50 caliber sniper rifle facing forward, and the white-daubed MGL holding the thermobaric grenades beside her.

  Gang fidgeted, a moment later he was reading a message on his smartphone. He glanced at Anton and Li, and reported urgently, “Francis is nearby - he says make for the dock.”

  Anton looked up at Li. Her eyes widened as she immediately ramped, swiveling the sniper rifle after a target. The rifle was already barking as Anton launched himself to the right. A stream of bullets and dull reddish tracers appeared where he’d been standing. They followed his movement like a stream of water from a fire hose. Before he’d moved three yards a second stream of fire reached out from the front of the warehouse, cutting through the air barely three feet in front of him - he was running straight into it.

  He was about to be cut in half.

  Collapsing, he rolled onto his front, the two streams of fire crossing above him. The burnt metal of the tracers reeked as the bullets ripped through the air above him. He pushed himself off the container. Leaping upward and to the right as the lines of fire started to swing back toward him. Pointing the barrel of the automatic shotgun toward the sources of the firestorms he pulled the trigger, his shotgun burst into action and a stream of spent shells filled the air to his left. Rising into the air, he caught sight of his assailants, three vampires in Shadowstone combat armor were rushing along the top of the maze in a reverse V formation, two in front and one behind. They broke formation as he fired at them, spreading out across the maze walls.

  I can only fire on one at a time and the other two will kill me. Reaching the apex of his leap, he drew the MP7 with his left hand, aimed it at the vampire on the left and pulled the trigger while he continued to direct the shotgun at the other two vampires. The vampire watched him taking aim, and darted further left as the high-velocity rounds streamed through the space he’d just vacated.

  The rearmost vampire leaped into the air, landing on the maintenance walkway. Running toward Li, the barrel of his M249 smoking as fire lanced along the length of the walkway.

  Li rolled off the walkway, dropping toward the maze wall below. She fired her MGL as she fell, thermobaric grenades streaking toward the walkway and the vampire whose line of fire was swinging toward her.

  “Li!” Anton screamed as he landed back on the maze wall.

  The vampire attacking Li, leaped off the walkway, which promptly exploded in a blinding glare. He disappeared from sight, dropping the full distance onto the floor of the maze.

  Anton started zig-zagging his way toward Li and the river, while emptying his magazines at the pursuing vampires.

  A second later the fallen vampire appeared back up on the maze wall, joining with the lead vampire running forward on Anton’s left, firing their M249s as they blurred along the maze wall.

  “There are too many,” Anton yelled, dodging violently aside as bullets and tracers whipped past him.

  Gang called out, “Fall back!”

  Suddenly the warehouse was enveloped in another set of pyrotechnics.

  Li! Giving us cover.

  The nearest vampire, now only ten yards away on Anton’s right, put his gauntleted hand up to shield his eyes. Anton pointed both of his guns at him, pulling the triggers - they both clicked on empty.

  The praetorian dropped his hand and barked a short laugh. The vampire was a heavy-set blond man with a battle axe at his hip and a sword over his shoulder. He stood an equal distance with Anton to the only section of the maze wall that gave access to the river. Anton had run past it and was in danger of being cornered against the wall of the warehouse.

  Snarling, the blond vampire raised his light machine gun. Anton stared down the barrel, watching the vampire squeeze the trigger, he ramped aside. The M249 fired, spitting two rounds which whizzed past Anton’s head, and then ran dry. The vampire cursed, dropping the gun. Dragging his battle axe and sword from their scabbards, he blurred toward Anton.

  I have no time. Reaching the junction on the maze wall at the same time as the vampire; Anton wheeled around, with the Blue Dragon in his hands. He parried the blond praetorian’s attacks and stepped back along the container.

  Time slowed; his sensory awareness snapping into overdrive. He felt the way he had in the kitchen at the Noodle House when surrounded by the four Tiger Clan gangsters and their Mac-10s. Suddenly calm, the Blue Dragon arced up through the air, flicking left and right, each time it moved it deflected a slashing strike by the vampire.

  The vampire’s booted left foot slammed out, catching Anton in the gut. He found himself flying through the air, back a dozen yards before crashing down onto the containers. The landing jarred the Blue Dragon from his hand. He groaned with anguish, when the bright blade flew over the top of the maze wall, dropping to the floor below.

  The blond vampire blurred toward him again. Behind him came the other two vampires on his side of the warehouse firing bursts from their M249s which whipped past him.

  There’s a claymore mine down there, and less than three seconds before it fires.

  Li screamed, “Anton! No!”

  He dived over the side after the sword. He rolled as he hit the ground. There were still fireworks streaming across the roof of the warehouse, and the Blue Dragon gleamed on the floor. Across from it, the claymore stood on its squat tripod legs staring right at him. Snatching up the sword, he ran at the side wall of the nearest container butted up against the warehouse wall.

  I have to get higher - now!

  * * *

  Gang dropped the MP7s as they ran dry.

  The vampires sprinted forward, letting go of their empty M249s. They reformed into an A formation, one in front and two behind. The lead praetorian, a huge, powerfully-built man with flowing black hair, carried an oversized double-bladed battle axe. He swung it back and forth as easily as Gang could swing a Shinai Bamboo training stick.

  The praetorians closed. Gang flipped backward, his hands disappearing into a six-inch wide space at the end of the container. He came back up to his feet, pointed the blue-daubed MGL at the onrushing vampire, and fired from point blank range. The grenade spat from the muzzle, immediately expanding into a fist sized cloud of razor sharp, silver flechettes that carved through the chest armor of the praetorian. He froze in place as the other two vampires, a tall redhead, and an athletic African-American blurred past him. They slashed at Gang with their swords. Drawing the White Dragon free in a flash, he deflected the first blows of the vampires’ weapons.

  He blurred backward, calling out, “Li!”

  Li fired her MGL, a thermobaric grenade struck the paralyzed vampire. The heavy explosion rocked the maze wall. The praetorian, now a seven-foot-tall flaming torch, toppled over, falling off the wall.

  She’s a good girl.

  Gang’s heart swelled with pride.

  * * *

  Chloe stood poised on top of the crane gantry, accelerating her mind and extending her senses to their limits.

  A hundred yards above, her own nightfalcon hovered. The other two nightfalcons circled the warehouse, their waist miniguns manned and tracking the perimeter of the site. The RHIB stood fifty yards off the side of the dock, the men on board manning their weapons and watching all directions around the boat.

  The warehouse was full of pyrotechnics, the sounds of gunfire had ceased, and the clash of metal on metal had begun. The Shadowstone tactical comm links were thick with shouted commands as James Haley and Louise Wesson led the remaining operatives into the warehouse.

  The praetorians and Chloe maintained a separate channel that ran on their voice prints, cutting the Shadowstone operatives out of the vampires’ communications.

  “Spengler is gone,” Hendricks reported grimly.

  Chloe smirked, feeling your mortality, are you? She snapped out a quick order, “Keep pushing them toward the dock.”

  Chloe turned, scanning the perimeter, there was no sign of Francis Mirovar and his team. We left all the communications systems open around this site, surely you know that this battle is happening? If you wait too long, it will all be over. Staring into the black depths of the Mystic River, she frowned and hissed, “Where are you hiding? Are you down there in the water?”

  Her long-range plan against Crane hinged upon the prompt arrival of the Mirovar force team.

  * * *

  Anton ramped to maximum speed, racing along the side wall of the container.

  He climbed to the warehouse wall, and then to the opposite container, literally running his way up to the top of the Maze. All three vampires move onto the containers around him. A thermobaric grenade exploded within the warehouse, all of the vampires looked away, and two blurred out of sight. The blond vampire remained; his face twisted with hatred. He glared at Anton, shouting, “Come to -”

  The claymore mine detonated.

  Anton felt something pin his right foot for a moment, but he ran on gaining the final two feet up the maze wall, stepping out onto the top of the maze. He ducked to avoid losing his head, a sword slashing through the air above him. Parrying the praetorian’s second attack with the Blue Dragon, he turned aside the vampire’s battle axe, which instantly embedded itself into the warehouse wall. The vampire was momentarily slowed as he dislodged his axe.

 

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