|
Somewhere in the Czech Republic. Early September 2001.
All reports indicate that something is very out of hand. The Virus is spreading like a plague and is totally out of my control. If these are true and my people are not totally off the mark then it is beyond the scope of what I can handle. Lets see if I can draw the attention of somebody who I can get to help me. It must be someone with expansive resources and they must do it very covertly. Maybe the Men In Black? If I knew more about them it would be easier, but I think I can do it if I'm a little messy.
Western Hemisphere, September 2001.
The Agents of Team 203 had been reassigned in the weeks following the New Mexico Incident. Optics was placed in charge of a team of agents to recover Gray technology devices that were being used at Gentech Laboratories. Ian worked around the clock with members of Combat Department to recover Nuclear weapons from third world countries. Up too ten kilograms he set aside for himself. Masque worked for a short while in recruiting, traveling around the world, and expanding his horizons. Petyr had the least glamorous mission: baby-sit new teams of Combat Ops. Only one of the cocky newbies ended up dead despite all of Petyr's warnings and attempts. It was about this time of year that they all received an Omicron call: that incessant buzzing in the back of their neck. It also contained a pattern: Morse Code. MEET SPECTRE IN PRAGUE LOCATION NOVEMBER-XRAY-THREE ON OR BEFORE 010825 0000L break. FLIGHT LEAVING FROM ZOO 010824 1800L break. ARRANGE OWN TRANSPORT ELSEWISE break. END MESSAGE break.
And so it was they were together again. Ian and Optics hitched a ride on the Concord leaving New York bound for Berlin, then caught a connecting train to Prague and were in a pub throwing back Budveisers (Ian with one in each hand) by 2300L (Local time.) Masque and Petyr went immediately to the Zoo to meet up with their old friend the good Doctor. Arriving as usual through the clamshell submersible hanger they stepped off the VTOL Lear Jets that the company used. As the doors were closing above them and the hangar began to descend to the depths of the Zoo both were met at the stairs down by Otter. "How's it goin' What you been up to?" Otter had never spoken this much in nearly all the time they'd known him, and certainly not about personal things. Both were shocked into silence. "Well I've been shootin' shit up. First I was in Cairo hunting down some Lodge members with Sally and Glover, then I got a first class ticket to northern China and hunting down some crazy Oni with Omni-Team 320. You guys have never heard of them, they're new. And guess what? I was Team leader." Otter beamed with the broad smile and enthusiasm of a teenager after his first drive in Dad's car.
"Well that's outstanding Otter, now how about you taking us to see Dr. Payne?" Masque threw his arm around Otter's shoulder and squeezed in a friendly manner.
"Oh he's in the middle of a big experiment and won't be joining us, but I will take you down three decks to the lounge where Kham, Beggay, and Dodgers dumb terminal are waiting for us." He reversed out of Masque's hold and had him in an arm bar before Masque could say 'Screw me.'
"Dat iz enuf children," Petyr said holding the eff's and the zzz longer than required by English. "Let uz go see hour oold friendz."
Down three decks of stairs they went. The bright white and stainless steel of the Zoo was always cold and lifeless. Not to mention devoid of all forms of life. It was unusual to see anyone walking the hall this far out once you got away from the hangers and the flight crews. Not until you got well into the heart of the Research Wing and the Specimen Containment Wing would you even see a Sec Op guarding a door. After their long walk they came to the cool gray, linoleum and Styrofoam padded chairs of the lounge. Fifty tables and thirty or forty sofas ringed the room. A jogging track around the open second level (like in athletic clubs) was unused as usual. This was the Agent Waiting Area, not that Agents ever waited here, Team 203 had been here four or five times and never seen another team. Everyone was so busy they guessed.
Petyr got down to business. "As soon as our flight gets here, we leave." No one commented or spoke up, they just went back to what they were doing. Roughly thirty minutes later their radios crackled to life, "Chkkk. Come in Team 203 on all channels, come back. chhhk." They all looked at each other, Could it be??
Masque answered for all of them, "Blueduck over, is that you?" -- "Chhhk. Affirmative. I'll be your eye in the sky, your six, and your fast flight to Prague. Chhhk." Petyr rolled his eyes at the Geek's damn static crackles.
"Where are you?" Masque asked again.
"Chhhk. I'm in Sub-dock ten, meet me here as soon as you can. Out. Chhhk." They all shared a few laughs and sat for another second to cherish the rest they had just been given. Then they all walked out, not knowing how long it would be until they had another.
Prague, Czech Republic. 0000L 010925.
In the cellar beneath the St. Cathedral in Downtown Prague, shadows gathered. In the candlelight they gathered around their controller. The dark haired old man with a beard had brought them here. His broad round face and dark eyes gave little sign to his obvious age; He seemed as impenetrable as the stone walls that surrounded them. This location lacked all the trappings of a normal Controllers base; no phones, computers, guns, security. Was it there and they couldn't see it, or was he just operating away from his base. Hopefully that latter, otherwise he would be a Psi.
"Troops, I'll keep this brief. My name is Spectre, I am your Controller, and I am very busy," he said as he looked over the seven collected agents with little regard. "Ten days ago I lost the seven members of a Science Team in the city. They were conducting research on a series of disappearing bodies from Morgues and Hospitals. The team leader got out one message to me before he was terminated. Evidently he was experiencing jamming and had to send email to the Science Department front organization NASA on their home page comments CGI. Here is his final message." He then handed Petyr a printout, who read it and passed it around to the rest of the team.
- STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT
- PRAGUE TEEMING W/ SPECIMENS
- VIRUS DRINK BLOD
- PACKS HUNT AT NIGHT
- LOCATE SORCE. SPREADS BY BITE. HARD 2 KILL. FINAL MES
"The building he sent it from was burned to the ground and I found evidence of upwards of sixty hostiles, though they were ashes. I expect you to find the source, destroy it, and recover any of the missing agents if you can. Top priority is given to maintaining the conspiracy and control of your weapons and technology. The Czech republic is out of the way and you can expect little support from other assets in this part of Europe, so you are pretty much on your own." He looked them all over again as if something was wrong with them, doubt heavy in his eyes. "Any questions? No. Ok, Petyr, command is yours. Get going." Then showed them to the door.
Ten minutes later, after they had all stealthily left the large Cathedral and gotten into their three cars, the team was moving down one of the large city streets of Prague. Petyr, Masque and Optics were in the lead car. Otter and Ian were in the last car, and Beggay with Kham in the middle car. They drove a Mercedes, a Yugo, and a BMW respectively. Petyr and Masque were in the first car, discussing how to go about finding what seemed like vampires, when a drunken lady stumbled out into the middle of the road. Slamming on the brakes she was doused by their headlights. Her disheveled dress, gaudy makeup, and hair every-which-way were all ignored because of the crimson stain running down her neck and the front of her shirt. Petyr stopped the car, got out, and headed in the direction she came from. Masque followed him, and everyone else came to a stop and began exiting their vehicles. They didn't know what Petyr was doing, but he had gotten out and it would probably be worth following. Masque threw a slap patch on her neck and seated her in the backseat of the car before he took up the rear and joined the group. Beggay remained with the vehicles and parked one while circling the others around the block.
Petyr moved towards the alley she had stumbled out of, which was between a deserted looking storefront department store and a bar. This time of the night in Prague there was only one thing going on, drinking. The six bars they could see, up and down the street, were at full capacity and people roamed the streets. Music poured out as flashing neon lights tried to fight the darkness all around. Inching towards the corner he peered around and caught a ghoulish sight. One man stood wearing a trench coat, dark liquid dripping off his chin, while another crouched over a Prague-ite on the alley floor his mouth locked on the collapsed man's neck. Petyr gave the signal to wait, and everyone did at various positions of obfuscation in front of the department store. "Ok, hear iz how it vill gu down," Petyr said sub-vocalizing as he kept an eye on the two men in the alley. "Kham, gett up on da rufff width Otter and Mesque. You too Optics. Masque and Otter get to the far end of the alley and trep dem. Kham and Optics vill vertically envelope. Ian, yu ent me vill take dem head on." Everyone nodded, Ian grunted.
Petyr waved his hand in the Initiate signal and the team sprang into motion. Kham jumped onto the roof, as Otter, Optics, and Masque scurried up a drainpipe like monkeys. Kham was on the roof sitting like a stone statue as they came over one by one, protecting them at their most vulnerable point. Then once Optics was up on the roof, being the last and slowest climber, they each began moving quickly yet soundlessly towards their destination. The darkness of the roof was a stark contrast to the glitter and flash of the street, up there it was pitch black unless you poked over the edge and were hit by the light from below. After a meager thirty seconds of climbing and moving everyone was in position. Then Petyr made his move. He staggered drunkenly out into the alley towards the 'vampire' standing watch over his companion. Slurring his words and doing a perfect imitation of a trashed Russian soon the vampire had him up against the wall and a stack of crates.
As the vampire started to lower his head to Petyr's neck, he struck the Vampire in the side of the head. The blow would normally be enough to turn a head into paste, but this mearly knocked the vampire back a few steps. Before the monster could recover, Petyr delivered another power blow of inhuman strength that blasted him back into the far side of the alley and exploded the garbage dumpster he ran into. As garbage flew up into the air, Optics opened fire at the kneeling vampire with his Gattling Dinosaur Laser. The blast that is normally enough to turn small cars to vapor and armored cars to slag piles just burnt off its clothes and drew its attention. The beast stood up from it's pray as Masque and Otter doused it with bursts of suppressed gunfire, to no effect. The one in the dumpster wasn't down for a second, before it sprang back at Petyr with a vengeance. Petyr had his sonic blade out in a flash and was parrying the fiends strikes as fast as they came. They came faster than any man he had ever fought, and for a second he felt the tide shift out of his favor until he saw Kham drop to the ground as Otter and Masque reloaded (having avoided their friendly fire.) She wound up and delivered a kick just as he ducked. The monofilament blades in her heels just bounced off the monster's hide, as it fell to the ground.
On the roof above Optics was caught unaware. The shock of his Dino-Gatling laser not killing what he was shooting at was hard enough, but then he caught something in his peripheral vision. He turned but the heavy and bulky Gattling Laser slowed him down. Coming at him, full bore, was a white skinned, anemic, long finger-nailed, ghastly beast, that only vaguely appeared like a human being. It looked more like a walking corpse. But the fangs in its mouth and the glare in its eyes told Optics one thing. It was here to kill him. It moved so fast, he hardly had time to react. Using the gattling laser like a club he deflected the beast and tried to flip it off the roof. It would have worked if the thing hadn't caught him in the leg and grabbed onto the laser. Optics and the thing tumbled off the roof. They fell a full story into a pile of crates full of canned food. Ouch, damnit. Optics rolled away from the pile but felt the thing jump on him. He released the laser and began breaking its bones as fast as he could to immobilize it. Ian walked up and jammed a micro-WP grenade down its shirtfront. Ian pulled then pin, then both he and Optics ran. BAM! The small concussion popped and it burst into flame.
As Optics rounded the corner to avoid the blast of the WP grenade he was knocked to the ground with a blow from behind. They rolled into the street and Optics broke its grip and headed for the car. Ian was ahead of him and turned to see the vampire that he had engaged with the laser on the ground with him. Ian used his pump shotgun and fired point-blank into its chest, knocking it down. Five shots later he was out of ammo and it again, took off for Optics. Optics was at the trunk of one car retrieving a Tangler gun. THWUP! The sticky spider web cartridge wrapped around the beast and it lost footing. Falling to the ground, he fired at it again and stuck it in place. Soon, after he reloaded twice more, it was covered in the gooey strands unable to move.
Back in the alley, Kham and Petyr stood dumbfounded as their former prey jumped straight up into the night darkness. He didn't come down. They looked at each other and headed for the cars. A crowd was gathering as people poured out of the bars. Soon a fight broke out by one. The street was full of drunken Czechs as they piled in the cars and started rolling. In the trunk they had the Tangled vampire and in the backseat they had the drunken lady that had stumbled out into the street along with the guy who had been fed on in the alley. As they left, only Petyr's remorseless use of the bumper kept them from getting stuck there.
Somewhere in the Czech Republic. September 2001.
So the radio says that there are fights down at the bars. Perhaps it is my friends the MIB. Hopefully the work with the small advanced radio chip will pay off now. Now would be the time to mobilize the peasants and my units within the Border guards. If they won't take any more action, I'll at least give them something to look into which will get them going in the direction I want. Worst case: they destroy my enemies. Best case: they reveal themselves to me and eradicate the source of the plague.
Prague. 0230.
After the short adventure at the bars and a drive around town to get acquainted with the city, they had seen the churches, the hospitals and the major roads. Now they were at a house in the lower east side. The slums. Just to their south were the seas of refuge camps. Petyr had to kick a heroin addict out of the house to make room for them. Masque stood amongst the group, "Optics, could you answer one question for me." Masque stood beside the Geek and the headless corpse of the former new vampire.
"The Matrix holds everything. I will try, Oh leader of mine." He picked up his Cystron and jacked in.
"Tell me what you know about vampires."
After about a minute of standing there clicking away with his eyes closed he spoke up. "Well they are as varied as the Myths about them. Each culture has their own brand of nightstalker; from the Biblical era Judeans, the Indians, Native Americans, Celts, and of course our homegrown Eurotrash-Goth-pansy-vampire. There are also of course the vampires attributed to Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Tempes; Eastern European vampires or Nosferatu. In general, they are the embodiment of five of mankind's fears: Darkness, Disease, Death, Sex, and Fire. Fire really isn't a fear, but is the one friend that you always have when fighting a vampire. Sometimes they spread only by bite, other times it takes three bites on three nights, and others it takes the victim drinking the vampires own blood. They always hate sunlight; but that's an extension of fire. Sometimes they hate stakes in the heart, silver, Wolfsbane, Garlic, running water, crosses, holy water, etc. Anything else?"
He had fired it off at a rapid staccato that comes from remembering everything you read. Petyr and Masque were in a daze. Masque spoke up first, "Ok, let's interrogate the guy in the trunk. Kham, Otter, exercise all your creativity to procure firearms to fire silver ammunition. Just get it done before sundown." Kham and Otter nodded. "When is sundown?" Masque asked as he and Petyr walked to the garage where the car was parked.
Optics was tapping on his Cystron, "U.S. Atomic clock says 1830, local." He had a big nerdy grin on his little skinny face.
After forty-five minutes the interrogation had gone no where. A great deal of yelling and screaming ensued when Masque used a silver spoon to prod for answers but that generated no usable intel. Optics got hold of the spoon and killed the vampire much to Petyr's displeasure; but they knew they were very vulnerable to silver. So they went to the backup plan - watch the guy who was fed on turn. The woman was cryo-bagged and sent to the Zoo for the Doctor to experiment on.
"Do you thingk it will happen at sunset or a little after?" asked Petyr.
"Aghh. I'd betcha a pint of beer that he turns right off." Ian responded.
"You are on little man."
1830. Sundown.
As it turned out Ian would be getting a beer from Petyr the next time they were in a bar. The captured man kicked and thrashed but the bonds Ian and Optics had put him in were too tight. He merely screamed and flailed viciously. Wearing himself out like a rabid dog, Masque put him down with one of the Makarovs.
Just as Masque had ordered, Kham and Otter had been hard at work collecting a kitchen foundry, silver ingots, reloading equipment, and Soviet hardware. They had gathered ten Makarov's, five AKS-74U's, and five AKM-74's. The AKS's were stubby or carbine versions of the Soviet Assault rifle, with foldable stock and suppressor. Ian, meanwhile, had been busy making little incendiaries. These micro-grenades were little more than flash-bang grenades, but would be enough to burst a vampire into flames. He made fifty. Everyone took what they needed and the genuine leather (East Bloc nations love leather) holsters and shoulder rigs to sling them on. After getting what they needed they loaded the cars and headed for the main hospital to stake it out and see what the last team had seen.
1900. Sister Josephine City Hospital.
Optics was busy fast-talking one of the nurses in German when the Senior Doctor on duty walked up, "How may I help you sir?" He spoke is fluent German.
"I work for the WHO and you can help me by explaining how these ten patients disappeared last week." He was seated at a terminal, which was connected, to his Cystron. Jacked in he could cruise it faster than he could type, but he pretended to type to keep up the facade. He was searching databases on Interpol and at the Hospital to see if they were or had been checked in. He got nothing.
"I can tell you that is was most strange. They were checked into our ICU after being delivered to the ER by concerned friends. When they disappeared the next evening I was most concerned and notified the police immediately."
"You have been most helpful," Optics said as he stood up and walked away. The Doctor was just confused.
What had caught his eye was a man on crutches being escorted by two gentlemen in orderlies garb. That in itself wasn't so unusual. It was the fact that neither had 98 degree body temperatures that had caught his attention. Optics was called that because he loved optics. He had more cybernetic options in his eyes than most people had cybernetics period. Subvocalizing to the team he said, "Optics on the third floor ICU. Headed to the west stairwell. Following two marks." He heard the click backs from the team and followed them. When they got on an elevator going down, he took the stairs. He was fast enough that he beat them to each floor to see if they came out. "They're going down." Not a bit winded at the first floor he spotted them come out and head across the receiving area. "They're out on one. I can't pursue. Masque? Petyr?" Just then he saw Petyr walk out of the elevator well on the far side of the receiving area. The big Russian blended in with the large orderlies and Policemen. He strode across confidently and was right behind them as they walked out. "Beggay you ready to follow?"
"You betcha red rider."
Petyr cut in, "Beggay, you follow them and let us lag back about a quarter mile."
"Can do. spppt." They heard, as he no doubt launched a long shot of Red Man out the window of whatever vehicle he was in.
Somewhere in the Czech Republic
At the hospital? Very good. Going to the source just like your friends in the last group of MIB. That must be a SOP for their organization. I will send word to follow them wherever they go. Not that I expect my men to be able to keep up to them, they are very slippery. Now is definitely the time to get the Border Guards up and at them. This will definitely be amusing if nothing else.
East Castle. 2300.
Pitch-blackness surrounded them. Musty and dank air flowed in their lungs. They could taste the ages old dust in their mouths. Statistically they breathed in one molecule that belonged to Caesar with each breath. But that wasn't on their mind now; the sixteen thousand vampires in the catacombs around them were. Beneath the castle that they had followed the vampires too were scores upon scores of staked vampires. The only thing that kept them from rising from their sleep and slaying everything in sight was the stakes through their hearts. No Petyr gave the signal to pull out. Hands waved the reply and Kham at the back of the stack started out. Ian placed his last bomb in the inky darkness and fell in behind her. Wink, wink.
"Damnit Ian! Quit looking at my ass," she subvocalized.
"Agh, I can't! Yur arse izz greaate." Walking silently through the tunnels Optics, who was right behind Ian, couldn't hear anything.
"O-Kay you two, kut it out." Petyr chimed in over the radio channel.
After skulking along the dank walls of the crypts back into the main hallway and up through the back of the Cathedral in the castle they were outside on the wall. Petyr took the rope and secured it to himself. He pointed down the wall and motioned for Otter to go first. Otter started down when Optics' ears perked up and his head jerked around to the west. "Petyr... lookat. We got a problem."
Petyr was holding the rope and Otter had just run down the wall in an Australian rappel. To the west headlights could be seen through the darkness. "Who are they?" He paused, "Kham get to the edge of the wall and spot." Kham took off, avoiding the other vampires on the wall.
A second later she came over the radio, "They're Czech border guards. About two companies, roughly 250 men; with wheeled APCs, jeeps or zills and HMGs."
"What the hell are they doing here?" Masque inquired.
"I du not know. But let us be hon our wey." And then he signaled for Ian for go over the wall, which he did with agility and speed. Then Kham waved for Petyr to look using handsignals.
Petyr looked down into the courtyard, a pair of the vampires they had seen at the hospital were headed across to the church. Not good. I cannot let them have the chance to get to the staked vampires. "Kham intercept. Masque and Optics too," he said over he implant communicator.
Then the vampires sprinted as if by precognition. They bust through the doors to the church as Kham leapt through the great stained glass windows opposite the altar. She landed on her feet and in a crouch like a feline. "Roger that Petyr, they're mine." Both looked at her, neither side could decide who was the stalker and who was the prey. She raised her AKS as one dashed straight at her. The other headed for the door to the cellar. Optics and Masque opened fire at the one headed for the door. Both stood side by side in the gaping hole in the window made by Kham unloading their AKMs. The vampire moved with an unhuman celerity even for Black Ops. The centuries old stone and plaster construction of the altar was reduced to dust as he dodged their bullets, dove and rolled into the basement stairwell. Kham sliced her charging opponent in half with her silver bullets. She waved over her head to Masque and Optics then dashed down the stairs after the other.
A second later she came running out yelling, "Get out. Get out!! Go! Go! Go!" As she popped out the door she dropped two of Ian's custom made micro-WP grenades. They burst as she jumped into the air and grabbed the railing to the upper balcony in the back of the cathedral. Optics grabbed her arm and lifted her over. She brushed her body a little to close to his, then said, "We better go. The horde is loose."
As she passed them on the way back to Petyr she extended her claws and prepared to descend the wall ala-Petyr. Petyr was in the process of lowering Beggay over the wall. Once the Rigger was on the ground and on his way to their vehicles Optics, and then Masque went over the wall. Finally Petyr tied the rope to the wall and descended himself.
Wether or not the vampires recognized their presence became immaterial as the Czech border guards began firing on the castle with their heavy machineguns. As the horde poured out in a wave of fangy, teethy, grinning death, they retaliated with incendiary rockets. The infantry poured volumes of fire into the onrushing mass, and to the agents surprise the bullets had an effect and cut down the vampires. But not enough. Soon the companies were being over run. They tried to pull back in an orderly manner, but in melee the Wild vampires had the advantage. So the second echelons of the Czechs opened fire on their former comrades. The APC's sat like islands of iron and belched fire at the onrushing demons until they climbed up on them, ripped them open, and scattered the body parts of the crews about the ground. The Team looked on in amazement as the battle petered out until just a hand full of Czechs were left. Petyr spoke up, "I'll handle them."
He walked silently through the forest until he was behind their position. Six bleeding and battered Czechs were holed up behind a shredded jeep and an APC that was in tatters. One was frantically trying to use the radio. Petyr stepped out of the shadows and immediately cowed them with the commanding aura he exuded.
"Don't move!" One guard shouted while pointing an AK-74 at Petyr, as the others went for their guns. It was in Czech, which Petyr didn't speak.
"Do not shoot, comrades. I am Petyr Alexandrevich of the KGB. I have a column of APC's from the Embassy back up the road." He spoke in fluent Russian, as he slowly withdrew the Black Card ID and brandished a legitimate KGB ID. It really was his ID in his KGB days. The fact that the KGB broke up more than five years ago was lost on them in their shell-shocked state.
"Yes, comrade. We desperately need help. There are Demons in that castle." The Sergeants voice crackled with tension and nerves. He was scared out of his wits.
Petyr took two steps towards the Sergeant holding the AK-74. "I know, I will take care of all of them." Then in a flash he disarmed his AK-74, spun it around and doused all of them with what remained in the magazine. "Everyone, return to the castle and prepare to search it top to bottom."
After thirty minutes of exhaustive searching they came up with nothing except hand-written letters giving accounts of pickups and storage of more servants at two other castles. Other notes had written reports of what appeared to be a competing or rival group of vampires that were using churches as their storehouses in downtown Prague. This all added up to 'A Very Bad Thing' when you considered that there could be a similar number of Vampires at each location...
Dodger, their hacker in exile, came over the radio, "Gentlemen. I know my greatness is not in your midst, but I thought that you like to know to tune into 100.7 MHz FM. I bid thee adieus." Then he killed it. Everyone was standing in the basement rifling through old desks of papers in what had been the Vampires HQ.
"Optics, run it through your translator." Masque said.
Optics started translating, then listened to himself. "Whew. Big trouble downtown. Mobs are rioting at three Cathedrals. The same ones that our vampire friends are stockpiling bodies at. The Mobs seem to be made up of peasants and farmers or are refugees. Both are destroying property and focusing on the churches."
"Then let us clean up here and then get there. Ve will split up. Optics and Masque will come with me to the Churches. Optics, Ian, Kham and Beggay will go to the next castle and Destroy it and any vampires there. Before meeting up with their respective groups, Kham and Otter will recquisition more firearms and munitions from wherever they can. I also want flame-throwers. Let's go."
"Agh! Too bad it's not you and me goin' une on une, eh babe?" Ian elbowed Kham in the hip playfully.
SLAP! She slapped him soundly on the cheek, but only made noise, not for effect. "What?!?! I waas talking about attakin thet castle! We'd kick it's lilly arse, but I like de way youu're thinkin'." She just glared at him.
Somewhere in the Czech Republic.
What a pity about the Czech Republic's Border Guards Fifth Battalion. They will go down as a Battalion on maneuvers that were destroyed by bandits. Now I just have to get some bandits out there to slaughter and make it look like there was a fight. Not hard.
The MIBs are also on the move again. I hope my riots are under way, I expect that will interest them. I wonder what they will go after first, the Cathedrals or the Castles? Either way my enemies loose and I win.
Ruska Kordiska, Prague. 0100
After leaving the first castle, Masque and Petyr headed to location of the mobs and riots at on of the cities Cathedrals. As they drove down the four lanes divided Ruska Kordiska traffic gradually slowed and then came to a complete stop. Prague was a city of industry, but it also had a thriving tourist industry and they came to the Czech Republic for the beer. Now things had come to a stop and angry tourists were out of their cars yelling. Behind them Masque and Petyr saw a fire truck come to a stop in the traffic, just blocks from the burning Cathedral it had come to save. "I have an idea," Petyr said. Masque nodded as he got out, walked over to the fire truck and threw out the driver. Now Petyr had a fire truck and waved Masque over.
Masque hopped in beside him, "Do you know how to drive this thing?"
"I know it haz an akcelerator." Petyr proceeded to stand on it. The wheels screeched and it flew through the traffic. While the fireman had been reluctant to ram his fellows, Petyr felt no such compunction. Steel groaned and glass broke as Petyr drove towards his goal.
Less than a minute later Petyr was rooted to the roof of the Fire Engine with an Immovable Stance, grasping a firehose in one hand spraying the Cathedral to douse the flames and using the Morning Star to gun down anyone who got too near the fire hydrant with the intent of cutting off his water supply. Masque was behind him on the back of the truck shooting anyone who came too near the Team leader and trying to get a handle on the situation. In front of him the Church was burning, and off to the side, the houses of the Priests and Deacons were ablaze too.
Then from out the front door a mass of crazed pale skinned figures charged into the firelit darkness. They were berserk and totally out of control, but to Petyr they were just more worthless vampires. He used the silver rounds in the Makarov expeditiously and put them down one at a time. As they came at him they gouged at his skin and tore at his flesh, but no attempt could uproot him. Masque would then shoot them off his back.
Then a stream of blazing fire exploded behind them. Otter stood amongst the crowd of Czechs and hosed down the crowd that was intermingled with Vampires. They all burned, screaming and flailing they burned. Otter waddled under the sixty-pound weight of the East Bloc flame-thrower to the other side of the fire truck. Emotionlessly, he raised the pilot flame at the end of the barrel, then squeezed the fuel flow trigger with his rear hand. Sticky petroleum flowed out in a long burning stream towards the crowd of vampires and civilians. Astride a burned car like the Colossus at Rhodes, his features were highlighted in the red-hot fire of his flame-thrower. Half a minute later there was no one left of the vampire mob or anyone around them. The civilians had spread out and gone around other sides of the Cathedral leaving the three ops in relative isolation amongst the dead bodies in the open street.
"Otter, lets go," Masque said waving the twenty-two-year-old toward the Churches front doors.
"Be kwik about it. I will make sure dere is a vay out for you, but I kannot keep the Kathedral from fallink." Petyr shouted at them as they disappeared into the flames. He then aimed the firehose at the Cathedral and tried to prevent it from burning down around his teammates.
Inside Masque and Otter walked at a brisk pace with their weapons out. Otter held a Makarov at arm length in each hand ready to 'bustacap' in anything that popped out. Masque led the way walking in a crouch with his AKS in a low ready. They swept through the Cathedral looking for any access to catacombs, until they came to the Library. All around them water dripped from the ceiling and fire could be heard crackling in the darkness. The fire lit room was expansive and carried tombs from hundreds of years ago on it's great shelves. But none of this interested them, not even the exquisite sculptures adorning the tables, it was the stairway in the center of the floor. It sloped steeply down into the basement and further darkness. No lights burned down there.
"Petyr, we've found an access to the catacombs. We're going down." Masque talked quickly into his implant communicator.
"Roger, Masque," Petyr replied.
Masque then waved for Otter to lead the way down the stairwell, which he did without a trace of hesitation at being given the most dangerous job. He walked down the stairwell and as it opened into a round topped tunnel to the catacombs, which ran north/south, he pressed his back up against the wall. The stairwell aligned with the tunnel, which ran in both directions in total darkness. Otter pointed one pistol in each direction as he tiptoed silently ahead to make room for Masque. When Masque got down the stairs both headed off at a fast pace but still in total silence. The floor was bowed and water puddled in the center. After going about a hundred feet the floor angled downwards and they could see a single lamp burning up ahead. Each stayed to one side of the tunnel and moved on.
The lamp hung above a four-way intersection of the tunnel. Ahead Masque could hear running water and to either side the tunnel looked like it dead-ended. "Search them. I'll cover you," Masque said; and Otter did with precision on ease. At the back end of the left branch (or west) he found a loose stone that slid away to reveal an opening below.
He took three steps back, trained both weapons at it, and said "Masque, I found something. A hole in the floor."
Masque rounded the corner fast, because moving through the light gave away their position 100%. As he headed for Otter he got worried, with both at a dead end like this they would be trapped if it were a trap and this weren't an entrance. "What have you got there?" he asked when he got to Otter.
"I dunno but it goes down and I don't see anything but a floor ten feet down." The apprehension and tension could be heard in his voice.
"Ok. Petyr might question the safety of this, but check it out."
Otter beamed for a second at being given the opportunity to prove himself and hopped through the hole without a word. Masque heard him hit the ground and saw him spin around searching for any danger. "All clear," Otter said. "It goes in four directions. All big tunnels like that one. It opens up into rooms like that last castle."
Masque's heart sank, "How many rooms to you see in each branch of the tunnel?"
"About twenty." Otter answered.
"Ok. I'm coming down." And with that, Masque dropped through and landed as soft as a cat just behind Otter. "Let's search it for any of the members of team 250, booby trap it, and then get out of here." Otter nodded.
After ten minutes of searching Masque found that if you cut the head off of a staked vampire it turned to ash. What was better was that if you then took the stake out of the rib cage after the rest turned to ash, it didn't regenerate. Armed with that new knowledge they went about destroying the ones after they searched any room. The whole situation wasn't as bad as Masque though, there were only about a hundred vampires in each room. So that brought the number to somewhere around 8,000; too many by far, but not as bad as 16,000.
Then the situation did get bad. Masque heard the scuff of a boot outside in the hall, "Freeze!" he hissed into his implant communicator. They were in the last room that had staked vampires in it, needless to say whoever was out there probably put the bodies here and wouldn't like the condition the rest were in...
Otter moved over to the opposite side of the doorframe that Masque was on, both looked at each other. Masque subvocalized first, "We rush them on three." Then held up one finger, two, three, and Otter went first. With the brash and flare of youth he walked out into the middle of the hallway. In less than a second he had seen that there were over thirty, all between them and where they came in through the floor above. The Makarovs popped in each of his hands as the silver bullets flew through the air. Each pierced the heart of its target, which then turned to ash. Masque stepped up into the doorframe as cover and unloaded the magazine of the AKS on full auto into the group of vampires. His fire was out of control compared to normal; he didn't have the smart sights attached to the AKSs so some of his bullets missed.
For a second it looked like they had won, but then the vampires retaliated. Half-and-half they split and attacked each. Six swarmed Masque, four turned to ash, but the last two got close enough to do damage. One swung a scimitar at him, while the other swung at his head with its claws. Valuing his head more than a thigh, Masque blocked it with the hand he released the AKS with. He then used the AKS to block the scimitar one handed. But the blow was too strong and it carried through, gashing his thigh and disarming him. As the vampire withdrew the scimitar and began to start a thrust, the other punched a hand in at his chest. Masque quick drew a pair of silver Stilettos and gave each vampire a slash across the chest. The blow to the chest threw him back into the wall, and the vampire hung on, digging his long claws into Masque's pectoral muscles. Pain flared through his chest and blood run beneath his armor. The scimitar sunk into his thigh, penetrating the fiber weave armor which wasn't made to stop impaling weapons. The vampire that had his chest started a head smash with its other arm, as the one with the scimitar grabbed for his left arm. So this is how it could end. The Drill Instructor said you'd never expect it when it came for you... Just one more chance. Masque stepped into the head smash and cut off his leverage, swept the vampires legs out from under him and used his right arm to slash the throat out of the vampire with the scimitar. As it collapsed to ashes, Masque whirled, dropped his center of gravity, and sunk the blade in his left hand into the chest of the vampire on the ground.
Otter walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "Nice work." Both were covered in dust, blood, water, and ashes from outside in the fire and down here. "Let's get out of here."
Having destroyed all the vampires they could find, they searched the other dead end passage up above, and then followed the downward sloping tunnel until it opened into the river. After their search they went back out and met up with Petyr.
0200
Driving towards the second Cathedral in the city noted in the papers found at the Castle the Ops radios came to life, "Petyr Come in!! Come in!" It was dodger.
"Vhat is it Dodger?"
"Where are you? Exactly." Petyr read off the coordinates from the GPS Masque pulled out of a bag. "Ah. Got it. You haven't heard any of the messages I sent??" The fact he was speaking plain English suddenly unnerved them.
Petyr looked at Masque as he spoke to the radio, "Vhat messages? Ve hav got nu messages."
"Then the jamming has been very good. Good enough I'm having trouble pinpointing it. Check out this address and be careful."
"Yu kan kount on dat." Petyr looked at the map coming off of the mini-fax and took the next right towards it. "A Koffee shop? If dis is a joke Dodger, I will mak your legh hurt much worse dan the doktor did."
"I swear on my honor good sir, it is the straight up truth."
Somewhere in the Czech Republic.
Good, good. The jamming had cut off several messages from the signal displays. Where ever they were getting their messages from was good. Better than me. It came from everywhere and it changed from minute to minute. Some super-hacker no doubt. Just one more reason not to put all my eggs in the electronic basket...
0215
Petyr pulled in behind the Chocolate and Coffee shop, and at the roll, Otter got out and headed for the back door. Rolling around front he killed the lights at the corner and coasted up to a stop by the entrance. He and Masque got out and walked to the door, which Masque had picked without breaking stride. Inside the first floor was crowded with chairs turned up on tables. They headed in back with their weapons drawn.
"Nothing in the office, upstairs." Masque spoke and Petyr lead the way. Taking the stairs two at a time he reached the upstairs which seemed like rented out apartments. Masque took out a fiber-optic door probe and slid it under the first door. It looked like a regular apartment; so did the next two. The last one though was empty. Totally bare, just a table from what he could see. He waved to Petyr the hand signal for 'Enter. Clear. No traps.'
Petyr stood back while Masque picked the door lock and then turned the handle. Both swept in through the door like specters in total silence. They moved into the back room in perfect tandem and then the bathroom. Nothing.
Heading for the door to leave Masque looked at the table. A smoking cigar butt sat in the middle of a full ashtray. Great, amateurs are ahead of us.
Outside they got back in the car and picked up Otter. Masque opened the radio up to Dodger, "Get that overhead of yours and see who left that chocolate shop."
"I will do my best good sir." Ten minutes later he started Masques napkin computer and opened a video display. "You will see a pair of Lexus' leaving the building approximately ten minutes before you arrived. Each goes to a separate location: a parking lot by a subway and a police impound lot. The ones at the subway station are lost. The ones at the police station stay inside for ten minutes and don't come out. There is a lot of traffic there tonight given the riots, the mobs, the fires and the mass immolation. They're gone given my assets now."
"Shit! Great!! F&#@!!!" Masque was not pleased, nor was Petyr, but he didn't speak.
"Ve mite as vell check the next Cathedral."
Somewhere in the Czech Republic.
Outstanding! They had followed my men. Now I had their faces. What luck!
And look at this. The second group of theirs has done very well. Demolition experts too... how nice. Evidently my man thinks their leader is a talker and quite a diplomat. Note to self: kill that lacky for falling under the spell of the MIB.
West of Prague, Castle #2. 0300
"I dunno abuut that guy, babe." Ian spoke silently to Kham who layed beside him. "I kun smell thirty Czech manufactured magnesium flares on him and he's a hundred yards away."
"Great, you drunk freak. I'm going to get Beggay to bug his horse." Kham didn't even look at Ian as she got on the radio, "Beggay, bug his horse." Her cold manner still endeared her to all the men around her although she rated only seventh on the Tech Op Department's 'Most Beautiful Woman in The Company.'
"You betcha hunnie. spppt."
WACK!!! "See what you started."
Ian rubbed his shoulder, "Aggh. It's nut my fult that everyone thinks yu're a babe. Aghhh, it's those killer legs yu got hun." WACK!!! "Aggh."
Optics was walking over with the man on the horse behind him. They had spotted this man in the trench coat at the base of the hill they were watching the second castle from. He rode a horse and carried a MAC-10. He liked stakes apparently, because he wore twenty strapped across his chest in a bandoleer. Optics had approached what looked like a vampire slayer and tried to talk to him as Kham sat on a sniper rifle ready to waste the guy if he threatened Optics.
"Here we are," he said waving to everyone and then the man on the horse. "This is Kham," she nodded. "This is Ian."
"Agh! I dig Asian chicks." WACK!!
Optics continued, "This is Devon. He's agreed to work with us on this one." Devon nodded through his riot helmet and kevlar lined neck collar. Everyone else nodded, it was like a damn nod convention.
"I've come up with a simple plan. It's a modification of Devon's. We place explosives on the wall and demolitions it. Then we detonate charges in the forest. Prevailing winds will carry the blaze inside the castle. When it burns itself out we can clean out whatever we want. Anything that comes out will burn or get shot by us. Ian, get to work building some bombs. Your job is to take down the wall."
Again, everyone nodded.
0545.
Two hours and forty-five minutes later all the explosives were in place. Ian was drenched in sweat and dirt from his two long hours of crawling past the vampire guards. He was stressed out, his nerves were frazzled, he had lost about five pounds of body weight, and needed a beer so bad he could taste it. Optics looked at him and waved his hand low over his knees to signal 'detonate.' Besides beer, explosions were Ian's second pleasure in life, right ahead of women. The fiery red balls followed so close behind the pressure waves their eyes couldn't even see it, but Ian knew he could. The trees were knocked down, but the incendiaries would not be harmed because they were underground. The castle walls took the shock and compressed exactly as Ian's calculations had predicted. But because the walls were over five hundred years old he wasn't exactly sure how much explosives to use, so he did what his mentor had taught him. "When you finish your calculations and you have a poundage to use on a target, double it. You'll never be disappointed." And Ian did double it. And he wasn't disappointed. He loved it.
Thirty minutes later, there wasn't a vampire left in the place. Twenty minutes after that, they checked the catacombs and they were devoid of life or unlife. Time to hook up with Petyr, Optics thought.
Cathedral number Two, Prague. 0300
Posing as City Health Officials, Petyr, Masque and Otter were rummaging through the ruins of the cathedral with other city health and safety workers, as well as volunteers. Petyr had stood watch as Masque and Otter went into the catacombs to look for bodies. They had found none; any Vampires here were dead or gone. "Masque get up here now." Petyr said over the radio as he looked at them load all the bodies onto a large semi-truck trailer.
"That would be one way for the vampires to recoup their losses..." Masque noticed as he crawled out of the hole in the ground and looked at Petyr was looking at.
"Let us follow it. Otter get de kar," Petyr said. Otter did.
0330.
Sitting outside the city garbage incinerator, they noted that the vampires would not be recouping these bodies. Two more identical trucks were pulled up and men were throwing bodies in the incinerator at three thirty in the a.m. "This is interesting."
"Yeah, who would want a job like that... imagine the stink." Otter rolled his head in a sad motion.
"No, I mean that Lexus. That looks similar to the car that was at the Chokolate House before us."
"You're right," Masque said as he got out and moved towards it. Otter did like wise, but headed for the rear gate. Petyr got out and caught up with Masque in a second. They were heading towards it, but would pass far in front of it as they headed to the incinerator. It was a confusion tactic.
"The men in the car are using the radio," Dodger said. "I'll patch you in."
What do you mean they're at the incinerator?
They are here with us. Head our way. What do we do?
Do not engage them, you will lose. Try to evac. Over.
"Take them," Petyr said subvocally into the mic.
"Roger," Otter said as he rolled an incendiary under the back of the car. He turned towards it and shot out the three tires he could see. Then the driver got out as did the passenger, both used the A-Post and the body as shields. Otter shot the driver in the hip as Masque unloaded a magazine of tranq darts at him to no effect. The driver fired back, but Petyr quick drew his sonic blade and deflected all of them. The gunner on the passenger side moved back and shot over the trunk at Otter, since facing one gunman instead of two was an advisable tactic. His three bullets hit Otter in the chest, but the fourth meant for his head Otter dodged. He came up out of his roll and shot him in the shoulder as Masque hit him with a tri-burst of darts.
"Otter recover your munitions and check the trunk; Masque brink our friends."
"My merry men, I have a radio call for you Petyr, it is being routed through a Company Sat now.."
Petyr's Security Op channel rang through his implant mic, "This is Kai Allard."
Lengthy identifications and verifications followed. But eventually they came to an end. "Petyr, come across the street. Go in the back of the red brick building with the boarded up windows. I've been waiting for someone like you."
"Ve are on your way." He then communicated to his team, "Follow me, that was Kai Allard on the phone. We're going to meet him."
"Woo Hoo!!!" Otter shouted into the mic.
"You don't even know them Otter," Masque said.
"I know, but I found a bundle of Assault Rifles. HK G-3KA3's with scopes, lasers, slings, and KH79 grenade launchers. Some pretty good stuff for scrubs."
"Brink all uv it," Petyr said.
The team crossed the street as Petyr kicked down the wire mesh fence to make way for them. They were entering the alley as four more sedans swerved into the lot by the incinerator and came to a stop. One man in a Gray suit with white hair got out and walked around. He looked over all of the buildings around the site. For a second he made eye contact with Otter who was looking down the scope of a new G-3K at him. But he didn't see them because he got back in the sedan. Soon they were gone leaving nothing but their tire tracks.
As they rounded the building, both Masque and Otter toted a G-3 and appreciated the lightweight and lethality of their assault carbines. They weighed less by roughly ten percent and had one third more lethality. They had point and tail as they rounded the corner wary of ambushes in back of the red brick building. Petyr carried both men they'd taken from he Lexus.
"Ok, be kareful now," Petyr said. As Masque opened the door after checking it for booby traps with a fiber-optic probe, nothing happened. Good. Masque went in, them Petyr and Otter last. The first floor was 100% bare, nothing but dust, a stairs and supports for the second floor. That left them with little options, go up the stairs. At the top there were only two doors, left and right. The Right was boarded up; so they went left. Petyr knocked while Masque looked under with the probe.
"Towel hung over the door." Masque waved his head.
From inside they heard a voice, "Who is it?"
"Petyr. Kai, let us in."
"Hold one." They heard a half-dozen dead bolts opening, then the door cracked open. Two barrels of Browning Hi-Powers greeted Petyr as he walked in.
"I assure you, I am not here to hurt you." Petyr had his weapon down, but Masque and Otter were out in the hallway ready to pounce. Kai slowly lowered his weapons and Petyr heard a shotgun, Remington 870 from the sound of it, clatter on the floor. Petyr looked over to see what looked like Deidre Lear gripping her side in bed. Kai moved over to her, set the shotgun aside, which she was using to cover the door, and examined her side wound. Petyr too, moved over, "Let me see hur, I heve med-kits you obviously do not."
"Thankyou," was all Kai said.
"While I am working, my colleagues would no doubt luv to hear your explanation for beink off-line." Petyr then took out the standard issue personal med kit and began with painkillers. She looked pretty bad; broken ribs, two or three puncture wounds, a busted arm, and a minor concussion. Kai didn't look much better, but he hadn't lost as much blood.
"Well," Kai began, "ten days ago when we were investigating the lost bodies down at the morgue things just went to hell. The door to the examiners bust open and a mob of ravaging, white skinned, animals attacked us. I know now they're vampires. Grey shouted for us to pull out as he and Nixon stood there wasting them. Jones and Candice headed out through the emergency exits, but I knew they bought it a few minutes later in the alley. All they shouted was that their bullets wouldn't hurt this one guy. I think Jones pulled a thermite grenade on them, cuz the ground was scorched and burned down a few inches when I checked it out days later. Only thermite does that. Well, the four of us were running for our lives out the back door. Lear and me made it to our car and Grey and Nixon got in theirs, but as we pulled away four pounced onto their roof. They dropped down from the ceiling as they left the underground parking. I saw Nixon get pulled from the car, but Grey was fast. He swerved, threw off two and gunned them down. Seeing Nixon bleeding from the neck, he shot him too. So Lear and I headed for the highway. She was wounded at this point from a knife wound to the gut, given to her by a Ghoul back at the morgue. Next thing I know, we're being followed. After ramming two cars full of them off the road a Jeep hits us and we roll down the embankment into a substation. Thankfully we grounded ok, and nothing started on fire cuz our gas tank wasn't breached. As we came to a stop on wheels, I grabbed lead, got out and ran. We were to the sewer tunnel in a minute and then I fired one shot into our gas tank, killing a few more of them as they searched the car for us. The whole team is dead, and I can't keep from helping that it's my fault." He looked at the two ops before him; they stared at him with something between amazement and disbelief. This guy is selling himself short, they both thought.
Petyr stood up and announced, "Dr. Lear will be fine, but you should stay here as we clean up around the city."
"Ok, but watch yourselves, those men you took are agents of a more powerful person here in Prague. He seems to be hunting vampires. I've seen them capture vampires." The team's eyes perked up at that. "But something has caused him to widen his role to extermination, I think it is the tremendous numbers of vampires here in Prague. It would upset the food-chain and the balance Lear says."
"Thankyou for the advice," Petyr said, then his radio crackled.
"Tis' I my fair lads," Dodgers voice was as clear as if he were standing behind you. "I have located the source of where the radio broadcast that those men you have inst thy possession came from hence."
"Fax it to us in the car," Petyr said walking for the door. Masque and Otter were right behind him, Masque waved bye.
Outside they rushed through the city streets as the sun was coming up to get to the police station. But once they got there, not even Masque's fast-talking the security chief there would get them any more than a video. A video of the men in question walking in, disposing of their disguises in the trash, and walking out through the front door. From there they disappeared.
Heading back to the Red Brick building they all felt deflated, despite saving two members of team 250. Masque was absolutely fuming that they couldn't track down these men who were running them around town.
Red brick building. 0430.
As Petyr pulled the car up the back entrance fear of the unknown filled his veins. The back door was kicked off the hinges. Masque and Otter were first out of the car and they headed right for the door with weapons drawn. Petyr was only a step behind with his giant Morning Star pistol.
Inside the first floor looked normal so the headed right up the stairs. At the second floor they could see bullet holes in the wall to the room, and this door was likewise kicked off the hinges. Masque rounded the corner into the room without a care in the world. As he quickly swept the room he saw only Kai on the floor, Deidre in a pool of her own blood on the bed, and a parchment not in the middle of the room. "Looks clear," he called despite Petyr and Otter being right behind him.
"Clear." "Clear," they both called. Otter stood guard at the door in case of any surprises, while Petyr moved to take care of Lear's bleeding and Masque brought Kai to consciousness.
"Do you remember what happened?" Masque asked.
"It was him, The Hunter. Nothing hurt him, but he wasn't a Vampire. Most bewildering."
Then almost as if on command, all four looked over at the letter. Then Masque, Otter, and Kai all looked at Petyr.
"I vill read it when I am finished hereee." He then rewrapped Lear's bandages and stuffed them with bandages of advanced Curlex and Blood clotting proteins. Once he was finished it and went over to the note, he examined it from many angles and with a pair of polarized nightvision glasses. After determining it was safe to handle he picked it up and read it aloud.
| To whom it may concern,
It has been a great pleasure working you for me. I have not had as much fun as this since The Archduke was in Sereavo in 1913. I had to recover what was mine. It is not that I care about them, I do not; but I have to protect the knowledge they have of me from you.
But I am saddened because I must hope we never meet face to face.
The Hunter
|
They exchanged glances and he handed it to Masque, as the phone rang. Optics' voice greeted them, "You guys done over there. We just waxed the third Castle and are ready to get the hell out of here."
So were they; there is only so much you could do against a guy that had been playing the game for at least a hundred years.
The only thing they got out of it was what Masque found by deciphering the wax seal. It belonged to a very old Noble Family from Transylvania. According to legend they were destroyed around 1755 by internal corruption, deals with unholy forces, and their own vices. The family could trace it's roots back as far a Vlad the Impaler and the Turkish Wars after the Crusades.
Somewhere in the Czech Republic.
To quote my good friend the Duke of Wellington, "Nothing is half so melancholy as a battle lost, but a battle won." Oh we go way back. Muwhahahahahaha!
|
