Dethroned 2 Page 2

  Frederik turned to leave before the slow cadence of sawing wood got on his nerves.

  I suppose his little act of heroism with that legless little lowborn girl warrants another thirty minutes of sleep. But heroism doesn't excuse not minding your surroundings. Frederik gave a quick nod and went on his way. Twenty-five minutes, then.

  Jens, Seth, and Richard were probably still in what Jens insisted on calling the Command Tent. Frederik could move on to Victoria for the time being and check on them later. His role in the next phase of their operation was minor, and the last thing he wanted to deal with was another one of Jens's over-inflated attempts at giving a briefing.

  Has she been working this whole time? Frederik cracked the door into the room Victoria had set up in. She acknowledged his presence with a quick nod but refused to pry her eyes away from the vidscreen in front of her.

  “Find anything useful yet?” Frederik came up beside her, staring at the screen.

  Victoria squeezed her eyes shut, yawned, and stretched.

  “Oh, plenty.” She looked up at him. “But most of it isn't usable.”

  Frederik raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

  “There are hundreds of dead-end projects mixed in with the logs.” She lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Don’t tell Seth, but some of the stuff they were doing down there was actually pretty groundbreaking work. But, it looks like this facility was just the smash-lab. One of several, actually.”

  “Huh?” His other eyebrow climbed up to match its neighbor's position.

  “You know, the place where new products get sent to be stress-tested and possibly blown up?” She waved her hand at the vidscreen before her. “Right. Well, this is the same thing, except they were testing their formulas on people.”

  “So, initial development and testing didn’t happen in Shanghai? Where, then?”

  “Correct.” Victoria nodded, somewhat sluggishly. “The logs point to a lab they’ve set up somewhere on Luna that primarily focuses on the first stages of research and development.”

  That can't be right. Frederik furrowed his brow, looking from the screen to Victoria’s drooping eyes and wondering if what she’d just claimed had anything to do with a desperate lack of sleep. “I thought we-” He paused, correcting himself. “Outside of a few mining operations, I thought the EGI shied away from involving itself with things on the moon? Now you’re saying they’ve got a super-secret base up there where they conduct all sorts of crazy research, and experiments, and stuff?”

  “That’s what it says.” Victoria yawned again, turning the terminal so he could see it more clearly and pointing to a few different spots. “I'm not so sure about the 'and stuff' part, but they've certainly got something going on up there.”

  Sure enough, several reports on the screen were tagged as originating somewhere called Flagstand. He expanded a few at random, scanning them. Just as Victoria said, it seemed like the Shanghai facility's task was to replicate and push the boundaries of the results initially achieved on the moon.

  After a few minutes, Frederik took a step back and let out a low whistle. “Well, ain't that something.” He glanced at Victoria and smirked. “Think we should blow that one up, too?”

  She clenched her eyes shut again in what looked like an effort to force them to tear up, but she met his smirk with her own a moment later. “As enticing as that sounds, I don't see how we could pull that off without getting shot into space trying to escape the blast.”

  With that, Victoria wrenched herself up from her stool, and strode over to a small case mixed in with her things. She retrieved a small vial and upended its contents into the half-finished glass of water on the crate the vidscreen sat on.

  Some kind of stimulant, maybe? Frederik watched Victoria cast the empty vial aside. The last thing we need is another addict. Marcus's drinking is bad enough.

  “Unless Jens is able to set something up or make a working dropcraft appear out of thin air, I don’t see us getting up there any time soon.” She swirled the mixture into the water with a finger and proceeded to gulp down its contents. “Granted, I wouldn’t be surprised if he snapped his fingers one day and one landed behind him, considering the way things have been going.”

  He watched as all previous signs of fatigue – save the bags under her eyes – disappeared from Victoria's expression. Definitely a stimulant. I just hope she doesn't try to use it to replace real sleep. Frederik checked the time on his tab. “I think it might be worth running it by our fearless handler once we're back at base. Speaking of, you should probably take a break before getting geared up. We're supposed to be heading out in two hours.”

  They locked eyes for a long second. Frederik broke first, looking to the vial behind her and back, allowing his expression to harden. Victoria, in turn, narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head ever so slightly. So many words were exchanged without a single noise made. Frederik just hoped that his point was made. He couldn’t have a liability on his team, especially if she refused to get some rest.

  “Well, then.” Frederik turned to leave. “I’m going to go check to see if the others have everything straightened out. See you in an hour.”

  “Right.”

  Frederik left the room without another word. He couldn't say for sure, but he could almost feel the dagger glare shooting into his back as he passed the threshold of the doorway. All he could do was shake his head. At least they aren't real daggers. Yet.

  * 10 *

  “Alright, let's go over this one more time. From the top.” Jens reset the rendering of the facility where phase two would take place. Richard rubbed his eyes and stifled a groan. Seth’s delivery of the details seemed fine to him, but it appeared like Jens wasn’t convinced. Hopefully, the third time would be the charm.

  On the bright side, Richard had to admit, he was learning a lot from both of them. Seth's knowledge of EGI operational protocol certainly seemed second to none, and Jens's eye for detail or lack thereof only helped to solidify, and pave the way for a smooth operation. It was all far more proactive than he was used to.

  Before the events that got him sent to Anvil’s Fjord, his process for laying down a plan usually began with a corpse and ended with someone else being taken away in magnetic cuffs. In between that, all sorts of things could happen. It usually involved lots of research, analysis, and possibly more corpses. Ultimately, he spent more time reacting during the process than anything else.

  For the first time in recent memory, Richard felt like he was on the other side of the board, setting up the pieces and making the enemy react to him – and he was starting to enjoy it. The plan for phase two was fairly simple, but was predicated upon the EGI being too focused on their display in Shanghai to bring the hammer down on them before they could escape. Going on that assumption, all the team had to do was pull off a smooth infiltration and catch the enemy unaware.

  “Right,” Seth blew out a breath before continuing. “Atlas will bring us in from the northwest at roughly 0645 and fire a time delayed EM-disruptor that will knock out the communications array once we're safely atop the facility's roof.”

  Seth paused while the Virtual Display Emitter played out what he'd just described and zoomed in on the rooftop. “From there we'll breach the facility through-”

  “Please don't say through the ventilation ducts.” Frederik chimed from the doorway. “You and I both know full well that-”

  Seth gritted his teeth and gripped the table, visibly trying to stay calm. “-Through the hatch located on the north side of the roof.”

  “Oh,” Frederik shrugged and strode over to them. “Well that makes plenty of sense. I assume you have the codes, or at least a codebreaker?”

  “Yes...” Seth looked like he was about to scream.

  Jens jumped in. “Fred, please hold your comments until after he's done.”

  “Okay,” Frederik held his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture. “Okay.”

  “As you were, Seth.” Jens
motioned for him to continue.

  Seth went on. “Once we're past the hatch, we'll head straight to command and control, here, on the western side of the facility.”

  The rendering on the VDE shifted, switching from a view of the external dimensions of the facility to a top-down view of the interior. A line formed where the hatch would leave them and traced out their approximate route to the command center. “Once we've secured C&C, we'll initiate a lockdown which should cordon off all personnel in whatever section of the facility they're in at the time.” Seth paused while the VDE displayed closing blast doors all around the facility. “That way, we'll be able to complete our objectives with little to no resistance.”

  “Stuck in the weight room before breakfast,” Frederik muttered, shaking his head. “...such a shame.”

  Richard cracked a tiny smirk as the thought rolled around in his mind. Seth and Jens didn’t seem to or chose not to notice and kept going.

  “Once we're sure we won't be disturbed, we'll split off into two teams. Richard and Marcus will head toward the armory, and Victoria and I will head to the garage.” The line on the map played out Seth’s words. “I'll notify Atlas before we leave the C&C, and by the time we've got everything ready to go, she should have arrived with the transports that will airlift us and our haul out of there.”

  While the VDE played out the remainder of the plan, Seth took a step back from the table, stretching and looking visibly relieved to be finished. After a moment's silence, he looked around the table – stopping at Frederik – and asked, “Any questions?”

  Richard shook his head, but Frederik raised a hand. “Yes. Two.”

  “Go ahead.” Jens nodded at his brother, giving him a look that was filled with both curiosity and annoyance. “What did we miss?”

  “First,” Frederik went up to the VDE and repositioned the rendering back to the top-down view of the facility before looking up at the others. “Is this the final briefing? Because, we're supposed to deploy in an hour.”

  “Well,” Jens cocked his head to the side. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

  “Okay,” Frederik took in a breath through his nose. “Then why isn't the entire team present for it?”

  Richard watched as Jens's normally calm, imperious composure faltered as he failed to come up with the right words. Seth seemed to see the same thing and jumped in to answer Frederik's question. “We figured that I could catch you all up once we were en route.”

  Frederik closed his eyes and smiled for just a second. “Got it.”

  “Question two.” Frederik set the rendered facility into lockdown and highlighted the hallways. “What's your plan for any personnel in between rooms when the lockdown happens? Lethal or less than? Because if you're not prepared to kill or tie them up, then this might not go down as smoothly as you seem to expect – especially if certain elements of our team aren't informed beforehand.”

  It was a good point, Richard had to admit. Not once in the three times he'd heard Seth go over the plan had he mentioned what their protocol for opposition would be. He had no qualms with killing if it couldn't be avoided, but the question was, should they avoid it at all? If the installation’s personnel survived, then they could tell others about what they saw that day. Even if the Invisible Hand lost the element of stealth, they shouldn’t be leaving loose ends. Well, that settles that then, doesn't it? Richard nodded to himself, before speaking up. “Why don’t we shoot for less than lethal but respond to force with force if anyone attempts to interfere.”

  “Agreed.” Jens nodded and looked to Seth.

  Richard spotted a tiny grimace form and leave the man's face before he nodded, as well. "You're right. We can't allow this to turn into another fiasco like the Anvil. We go in quiet and keep it that way, unless bullets start flying."

  “Good,” Frederik glanced around the table once more. “Now that we've settled that, I think it's time we all got geared up. Don't you?”

  “Yes.” Jens clapped his hands. “You all go on your way. I'm going to go inform the pilots of what their timetables will be.”

  As they all filed out of the room, Richard started to feel annoyed that Jens just let Frederik roll over the entire briefing. He’d been feeling like that a lot lately, annoyed at everything. Occasionally anxious, too. He usually found some way to take his mind off it, either at the weight room or at the range. But from time to time, he found himself wanting to snap at anyone who even slightly annoyed him.

  Set it aside for now. Maybe they’ll put up more of a fight than we’re expecting. Then we’ll have to kill them all… Richard shrugged it off, following Frederik and Seth over to the collection of crates on the abandoned factory floor to gear up.

  * 10 *

  “... to the armory, and Shrike and I will – Shrike!” Seth yelled loud enough to almost make her drop her knife. “Are you paying attention?” Victoria perked up, meeting Seth's glare with a series of quick nods before going back to flitting her knife between her fingers. Why is he even bothering with this? We should all know the plan back and forth by now. I bet this is Jens's fault.

  It was true. They'd been planning the successive strikes for several months, already. And it wasn't like everyone hadn't been present for each meeting where each piece of the plan was laid out. Clinging to procedure like this just seemed wholly unnecessary, but Jens wanted to play Generalissimo, and everything just had to be done by the book.

  The only part of Jens’s self-indulgence she agreed with was making sure they looked the part if they were to pose as Wastelanders. Their armor even smelled like Wastelander. Some small part of Victoria felt like she should feel nostalgic for that one job, but the rest of her drowned the sentiment as quickly as it popped up. It was better to not think of such things, especially right then.

  Seth finished his rundown and plopped down in the seat next to her, cycling a few breaths in and out like some kind of exercise. He seemed tense, maybe even a little worried. It was a far cry from the Seth she'd seen the previous morning, who was so sure of everything he was doing and so methodical in doing it that he seemed almost like a caricature of a great leader.

  He'll be fine. Victoria put the comms device into her ear just in time to hear Frederik say. “Watcher in position. Base is dark, and the drop point is clear. Begin your approach, Atlas.”

  “Affirmative, Watcher. Adjusting course, and going dark in three...”

  Two seconds later, the lights in the rear of the heliplane switched from incandescent to a deep red. Victoria even felt a slight tingle when the EM shield went up. She stood, checked her combat braid, her blade, and her pistol before taking up position with Richard and Marcus by the ramp.

  At least the cops seem more confident than the spook. Victoria observed. Richard had a steely look about him, like he was trying to suppress the urge to murder everyone he saw. Marcus, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Ever since the prison, he kept wearing this whimpering expression from time to time – like the thought of what they might have to do was about to make him puke. Now, he kept looking between Richard and his weapon wearing the same face until he finally settled on looking prepared. Or maybe he's about to piss himself. She allowed herself to crack a smile. Who's to know?

  “Beginning final approach. Arrival at drop point in thirty seconds. Firing disruptor.” Victoria heard Atlas say over the comms. She looked over to see Seth blow out a breath, shoulder his weapon, and take up position next to her. Any worry he'd harbored previously had been replaced by a flat, empty look.

  “Just remember,” she said to no one in particular. “No killing.”

  The hatch opened, the heliplane came to a hover, and a line lowered to the facility’s roof. Richard clipped on and slid down first, followed by Marcus. Victoria clipped onto the line and turned back to Seth.

  “Don't worry.” She grinned. “We'll be fine.”

  And she jumped.

  * 10 *

  “Watcher! Status report.” Jens's voice rang in Frederik's ear.

/>   Frederik pried his eyes away from the story on his tab. “...And I was just getting to the action scene.”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing, Anubis. No change since my last update, five minutes ago.”

  “They've been in there for forty minutes, and the lockdown hasn't been initiated.” He could hear the irritation in his brother's voice. “I need to know what's going on in there.”

  “Their comms units probably got knocked out when the EM pulse went off. I'm sure they're doing fine.” Frederik disengaged his comms, muttering. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some reading to catch up on.”

  Another fifteen minutes went by before Jens was ringing in Frederik's ear again. “What are you doing, Watcher?”

  “Not now. Gotta finish this scene.”

  “Scene?” He thought he felt Jens fuming in his ear. Maybe it was just a hot gust of wind. “Are you reading? Right now?”

  “Why yes, Anubis. I am.” Frederik grinned. “It's a very nice story about a Necromancer who abducts a hero, prompting his comrades to search for, and rescue him.”

  “This is what I have to deal with. These people...” Jens muttered, but Frederik heard it loud and clear. He'd just settled back into his story, when Jens said. “Watcher, I want you to go and see what's going on in there.”

  “And abandon my post?” Frederik was legitimately taken aback. “What if the cavalry shows up? Who'll be here to warn you about it?”

  “I'll manage.” Jens sounded certain of his decision. “Leave your rifle behind, the stream will do just fine in your place.”

  “And leave my weapon, too…” Frederik mouthed out. It was bad form if he’d ever seen it. One of the first things they drilled into you at Septurra was that the only way your primary weapon gets relinquished in the field is if you lose the arm carrying it – but orders were orders. He looked to Illana, frowned, and nodded. “Acknowledged, Anubis.”

  “I assume you've got everything you need to infiltrate the facility, alone?”

  “You do realize who you're talking to?” Frederik figuratively put his hands on his hips. “Do you have a point of entry?”