ABC - Penance

Preston Gang Camp, Wasteland Area

It was late in the day, with the sun hanging low on the horizon. The weather had been hot as usual, with minimal cloud cover and no wind to speak of. Dust clouds got kicked up with every careless step and took minutes to settle once more back to the dry earth. It meant we had to watch where we put every foot to avoid sending up tell-tale clouds to any observers in the camp.

Our teams were in a loose encirclement of Sam’s camp, the collection of shanties and shipping containers that served as homes for her people starting to show some lights as darkness crept across the land. Small drones had already scouted the perimeter, staying low to the mounds of old junk that surrounded the camp.

We hadn’t spotted any drones or remotes that belonged to the camp and the only sensors were found on the one dirt track that led in from the closest road. Those had been carefully hacked and fed dummy signals by a Police Auxiliary Tech, now sitting in her air-conditioned van about two hundred meters to our rear.

My team comprised two Guards in Tactical Armour, a pair of Sentinels and Ghost. For once he was not willing to stay on Overwatch with his rifle, but insisted on coming in with me. I think he felt guilty about letting me get captured and tortured by Victor and this was his way of apologising.

The second team were coming in from directly opposite our position, with Trixie leading two Guards and four Sentinels. Our final team were a Police Auxiliary driver and gunner in a Guard Carrier, with six Sentinels in the rear section ready to deploy.

Other than the machine gun on the Carrier, everyone was loaded with Civilian Suppression rounds only. If the Jacker took control of any of the Organics, our armour should save us from ‘friendly fire’. We also carried Stun Batons plus Trixie, Ghost and I had a PCD, or Jangler, ready to lock around Victor’s neck if we got him subdued.

Trixie had wanted to bring Stun Gas grenades, but I had vetoed the suggestion. The gas was designed to leave Guard clones unaffected, which was great for them. Problem was the gas took a while to disperse and it could render the rest of us, particularly me, out for the count.

Even standard respirators could not filter all of the gas out and there was no way I was going into this mission wearing a Haz-Mat suit!

The big red ball of the sun was dropping below the hills now, throwing long shadows across the broken terrain. I settled my Smart Goggles over my face and activated the low light function. A world of shaded greys leapt into view, overlaid with targeting data from the machine pistol I had linked to the goggles.

“Team Two, begin your approach” I signalled over the comm links to Trixie.

“Copy that” she replied and I checked her team’s movement on a display in the corner of my visor. Once she had gotten close to the edge of the camp, I lifted my arm and signalled my team, One, to begin moving.

Ghost ranged ahead, as silent and invisible as his name suggested. I followed with the Guards and Sentinels, the mechanicals being as quiet as their programming allowed. The smell of cooking and hum of air-conditioners intensified as we got closer. Someone near the centre of the camp was playing Sou-Kor Pop over a loudspeaker, the synthesised music and AI written lyrics at once familiar yet alien.

“Team Three, begin your approach” I spoke softly into my throat mike as we reached the outer buildings. I got a confirmation in my ear and saw the vehicle begin to move on my display. A solitary dog barked somewhere to my left, not in alarm but one of those ‘Hey, I’m a dog and I’m lonely’ kind of barks. No other dogs answered and nobody yelled so we crept closer.

Somebody came out of a pair of joined shipping containers, a young guy wearing torn jeans and a stained T-shirt. He took one look at me and my escort, framed in the light from his open doorway and spread his mouth wide to yell.

Ghost appeared behind him and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth, pushing a stun baton into his side and triggering a charge. The guy danced the electrocution jig until he fell unconscious, then Ghost laid him gently in a dark space against the nearest wall.

Without a word, Ghost turned back the way he had come and disappeared. Literally, like he had vanished from this world. Only the fact I could see his transponder signal moving ahead of my team convinced me he didn’t have supernatural powers.

Horns blared at the edge of the camp, followed by the whooping of sirens. The Carrier had arrived, drawing every person’s attention to it and the centre of the camp as it roared in. People started shouting in alarm, that dog was barking for real now and in the panic we headed to our objective.

Orbital photos only three days old showed us two likely locations for Sam and Victor to reside in the camp. Two equally big structures, formed from old buses, shipping containers and scrap factory roofs sat either side of the central common space where they had their home-made Arena.

Both shanty-mansions had roofs laden with salvaged solar collectors, air-conditioning stacks and satellite antennas. A few vehicles were strewn around each of the structures, so it was a fifty-fifty bet our target was living in one or the other.

Trixie was going for Building Two at the North end and my team was aimed at Building One in the South. I crossed my fingers and prayed to my Old Testament god that Victor was in Building One, preferably passed out on a bed and ripe for capture.

Like I have stated before, never make your desires known to the Universe. It hears our thoughts and likes to fuck with us as long and hard as it can. My team were nearly at the back door into our target building when Robbie came running out of the very door in question. He saw me, my team of Guards and Sentinels, and did what any insane person would do in that kind of situation.

Robbie screamed like a fucking Banshee and charged right into me, swinging a bag of Chem sticks and ampoules as if it were a stun baton. The cheap plastic bag exploded on impact, showering me with his stash of illegal narcotics before Robbie hurled himself against me.

I was taken utterly by surprise at his kamikaze attack and both of us crashed to the dirt in a tangle of legs and arms. He was battering at me with his fists, so I channelled some power into my right fist and delivered a short jab to his head.

He flew off me and landed in a dazed heap, throwing dust in a big cloud.

“Go, go, go!” I shouted to my team as I got painfully back to my feet. The Guard and Sentinels surged into the building as I used a nearby wall to stand upright. I was pretty sure my left hip was bleeding again beneath my armour, so I took a moment to kick Robbie in the guts. I must be getting soft in my old age because I only used the innate strength of my right leg and the solid boot it ended in.

Robbie grunted appreciatively and curled himself into a ball. If I had the time to spare I would have secured him but I needed to find Victor and find him fast. I followed my team into the building as the gunfire began.

“Fuck you Robbie” I snarled over my shoulder as I went to find his master.

=====

There was a firefight at one end of the main room when I got there. The place was built like a rabbit warren, with small rooms and connecting corridors running in all directions. I passed a series of doors, some kicked open and others torn off their hinges. Children and old people cowered inside, rapidly assessed then left behind as my team swept through the building.

This was not Standard Operating Procedure but we needed to find Victor fast. If any of these kids and old folk decided to join the shooting party, we could be in serious trouble. Having unsecured people at your rear was a big no-no and my instructor would be having a fit right now if she could see what I was doing.

I reached the big central room of the structure, a communal living space for the twenty or thirty people who lived here. My team, the two Guards and two Sentinels, were laying down short bursts of suppressive fire at the far end. I risked a quick glance from behind a door frame, seeing about four people armed with pistols and a shotgun blazing away from behind a long kitchen bench.

They had overturned a solid looking metal table, looted from a factory by the looks, to provide cover from the Suppression rounds. The table and bench were dented and scarred but our rounds could not penetrate.

“CB-Eleven” I called to the nearest Guard, sheltering behind a faded and now bullet riddled sofa, “We need to take them out. Send the Sentinels in to draw their fire then rush them. Your armour should withstand the hits”

“Copy that!” he acknowledged and transmitted orders to the pair of Sentinels and his fellow Jack. The four of them surged from cover and the defenders unloaded a hail of gunfire. It was over in seconds, my team barely staggering as the rounds pinged and squashed against the Ceramite plating.

I pushed into the room, covering the other exits from the communal space, when I spotted two kids hiding behind a toppled table. It was a boy and girl, maybe ten and thirteen respectively. They looked terrified out of their minds which my armoured form did little to dispel.

Behind me the gun battle was over, the shooters being restrained by my team. I knelt beside the frightened children, meaning to just give a quick word of reassurance. Then I saw the girl’s legs and arms, scarred in the way Minke’s had been.

Slinging my machine pistol to the rear, I reached into my belt pouches and drew out a pair of chocolate bars. They were something I always carried in case I needed a quick bit of energy, but they made good bribes too. Moving slowly, I held them out to the kids. They both looked half starved, with the dark circles under the eyes I had seen in so many kids living in the Hole.

The boy hesitated, then snatched both from my open palm. He handed one to the girl, who took it and examined it with dull eyes. With rapid movements he unwrapped the bar and ate it in three swift bites. He put my old partner Bingo to shame with how fast he made the chocolate disappear.

“Hey kids, I need to find someone living here” I asked them gently, “Can you help me?”

At the other end of the room were angry shouts and demands to be released, so I shifted myself to block the view. The boy eyed me speculatively, then glanced at the girl. There was a distinct family resemblance so I took a punt.

“I have more food for you and your sister” I said. I was out of chocolate bars so I grabbed a protein bar from my pouch, the last of my ready food supply. “You can have this and more later, if you help me find the man who hurt your sister”

The girl cowered away from me, tightly wrapping her arms around her legs to make a small bundle of misery.

“Will you arrest him?” the boy demanded, his eyes fierce as he moved protectively in front of his sister.

“I’m going to kill him” I answered bluntly. The child nodded grimly, satisfied with my answer. I had read him right it seemed. He stood up and led me out of the main room, moving carefully and watchfully so I did the same.

I signalled to my team to follow when they could and got an acknowledgement from the Jacks. There had been no sign yet of Ghost in the building and I was about to check his transponder when the kid stopped in a passage way, pointing to a large patterned rug laid on the floor.

“Down there” he said. I moved past him and pushed the rug back with my boot. The floor was concrete underneath with a metal maintenance hatch in the middle. They had built their shanty house over a section of the utilities network that run under the old factory district.

“All teams, this is Alvarez” I sent out on the comms link. “I have a lead on our target in Building One. There is a tunnel under the building so I am going to check it out”

“Wait for backup, Alvarez” Trixie signalled back. “We will be there in two minutes”

“Can’t wait, Trixie” I sent in reply and pulled the hatch open. A short ladder descended into a concrete lined tunnel, a single light illuminating the narrow space. I quickly climbed down and scanned left and right.

One direction lead off into darkness, the sides lined with old power and water lines. The other direction showed a door, old and rusted, with a glimmer of light coming from around the edges. I heard a short cry of pain echo from beyond the door, so my mind was made up.

I ran forwards and kicked the door open.