“I’ll be damned. The cavalry has arrived!”
The members of Team 13 walked up to meet the other Bureau agent. “I’m Agent Mark Johnson, this is my team,” Johnson said as he shook the hand of the dark-skinned man.
“I’m Jack Kingston,” the fit man replied. “To my left is my demolitions expert Ricorv. We’re all that’s left of Team Molotov.”
“You don’t seem so sad,” Andy remarked as he scrutinized Kingston. Andy was wary of any peculiarity.
Jack smiled. “They’ve spent their lives serving Him, and now he’s sent their souls to a happier place. That’s all I need to know.”
Agent Lemafé’s reaction to Jack was much more flattering to the man. “Well, I wasn’t aware the Bureau had any agents that excelled in looks and personality.” Her eyes lit up with the compliment.
The male agents of Team 13 blankly looked at the female and ordered something to the extent of “Shut up.” Then they moved onto business.
“Have your demolitions expert give an account of the events to Agent Andy while we discuss strategies,” Johnson ordered.
Jack didn’t take the command as overbearing. He merely answered, “Ricorv’s already told Bureau HQ everything that happened. I’ll be happy to collaborate with you, Agent Johnson.”
Johnson nodded curtly. Then he moved into a back room of the former gathering place.
The other male agents went about helping the security forces defend the building from the zombie hoard outside while Lemafé healed any injured.
***
Selena dropped from the plane at thirty thousand feet. She’d be on the ground in a little over a minute.
Just a few moments ago, her pilot had been warned that this area had been designated a “no-fly zone.” That meant that the US government was aware of her plane and, most likely, her. That meant that the MJ 12 was also aware of her plane and, most likely, her.
But at the moment, it didn’t matter. She had to get to the Apex.
Without the Apex, the Gatekeepers would have nothing to protect against the demonic hoards just beyond this world.
And right now, the Apex was sitting unguarded and ignored as the top of the Janesville Town Hall. The MJ 12 didn’t know about it (as far as Selena knew), the Freemasons kept its location a closely-guarded secret, and the Janesville residents believed it to be a neoclassical addition to a new, Industrial-style building.
The only problem it had was the inevitable jet-bombing of the Janesville area.
Out of the corner of her eye, Selena saw something silver and fast flying in the distance. As she pulled her chute, she hoped she wasn’t too late.
***
Charlie Kilo Four Six pulled off his large headphones and stood up. He put his hand to his ear and spoke clearly into his earpiece recorder. “We have an unidentified stealth craft flying over the quarantine area. We believe we have located the terrorists.”
In a few seconds, the Man in Black Victor Romeo Zero One opened the door to the black van.
The MiB in the van raised his eyebrow and asked blankly, “Where is Foxtrot Papa Eight Two?” He ignored the beeps on the assorted computer screens around him.
“An unidentified flying object was seen four miles from here. He was ordered to investigate,” VR01 answered quickly. “Our source has not verified a terrorist presence. Nonetheless, our superiors have decided not to proceed with the sterilization. We will cleanse the area personally.”
CK46 nodded in understanding and turned off one of the monitors. VR01 turned and walked toward the armored command vehicle they would use as transport.
As CK46 exited the van and closed the door, a cold voice came over his earpiece. “Make certain there is no one left to leak the incident to the press. Kill everyone but the three counterspies.”
***
“Agent Kingston is to lead twenty men into the complex. We, and the other half of the men, are to act as escorts,” Johnson informed cooly. They were all aware of the high mortality rate they would experience, but even the corporate security guards held it together well.
“Why into the complex?” Lemafé asked, nibbling some crackers she stashed for the mission. The men seemed annoyed by her questioning of orders.
“Agent Kingston was informed that the InCom researchers had developed a countervirus. The laboratories were immediately isolated from the outbreak, and local security should still be inside. If we can make it to the entrance, Agent Bionic should be able to hack into the access codes.” Johnson’s reply displayed active restraint. Even he didn’t enjoy being questioned often.
“Let’s move it!” Bionic yelled before Lemafé could ask something else.
The security force leaders in the meeting room stood up and pulled out their sidearms. They had riot shields from the police department. The Bureau agents polished their shotguns and prepared for action. In a few minutes, they were at the doorway of the town hall.
As the vanguard of Johnson’s forces pushed open the door, Kingston screamed “God Bless America!” Then everyone poured out, guns ablaze.
The first few rows of zombies were wiped out, leaving only confused stragglers. Larger and more terrifying creatures roaming the streets turned their attention to the armed convoy and decided to put up more of a fight.
Johnson ordered the five front men and the two captains to focus their fire on the undead humanoids while the rest of the troops took potshots at the more dangerous experiments. Hopefully, the scare tactics would work on supernatural creatures as well as they worked on humans.
Kingston had his troops conserve firepower as the entire contingent hustled toward the distant research complex.
Unfortunately, the escaped specimens did not frighten easily. They charged the convoy, launching spells, appendages, and things far worse at the poor security men.
Many of the unarmored officers experienced much pain in the first few minutes of the slaughter. Those that were lucky enough to avoid the paranormal horrors. lost any control they were trained to have and went insane.
When the initial killing was done, Johnson had about four and a half men left. Kingston’s men had all gone for cover, leaving the Bureau agents and the security captains to fend for themselves. Lemafé couldn’t begin to heal all the wounded.
Kingston’s sidekick Ricorv launched a grenade at a multi-armed goblinoid, destroying it. Unfortunately, its blood was apparently acidic and Ricorv lost much of his skin.
A vampire-like being launched itself at Andy, knocking into him and flaying his skin with long claws. Bionic was having a hard time avoiding a group of biting zombies, and Lemafé was back-to-back with Johnson, firing madly at anything close. The female had summoned her grenade and used it on a rampaging, multi-headed boar. That meant her abilities were expended.
Jack Kingston, still amazingly composed, barked orders at the security captains, who were losing their ground to some dark creature that took the form of a little girl and bent reality to her will.
More men were sliced and diced, and blood was everywhere. Johnson had to wipe the meaty remains of a former security guard off his shoulder. Andy, after downing the vampire-thing, put a limbless, dying man out of his misery with a bullet. Andy wondered how that man’s family would feel when they learned of his death. If they learned of it.
By this time, a massive population of zombies had swarmed around the action, killing Kingston’s surviving men mercilessly. Gunfire went off in every direction, a few strays hitting the injured Bionic in the back. That sent him down, prey for any scavenging horrors.
A living tornado (probably some wind janni) came down on Johnson and Lemafé, separating the two. The remaining agents realized they couldn’t win the fight, and dived for cover.
As the surviving agents converged, Johnson ordered them back to the town hall. He knew Bionic was out for the count, but the crazed agent always had a way of getting back on his feet.
As they stealthily moved back to the town center, lost in the confusion of a dying herd, Andy was almost transfixed by the carnage. Security forces were dying extraordinary deaths until none were left. One man’s head was ripped off, another’s stomach exploded from some dark spell, while another was eaten alive by a hoard of slobbering undead. This would scar any normal human for life.
Once all were inside and the doors were successfully closed, the agents went straight to plotting an escape. All except Lemafé, that is. She seemed so terrified, that Kingston had to hold her in his protective grasp for the duration of the discussion.
“The only way out is to use our contact,” Andy said. Johnson glared, but understood the reasons for the outburst.
“They will destroy this town if we relate any of the information here without rescuing us. It is too high-risk,” Johnson replied.
“We could call the Bureau for a helicopter,” Kingston offered.
Before wither of the other two could respond, something came out of the shadows right behind Kingston. Something large. Something with jointed, sharp appendages.
Jack dropped Lemafé gently. He pulled out a holy symbol and whipped around, only to face a razor-sharp extremity flying at his head.
Jack Kingston’s dying words were, “Tell my little brother that I love him.” After he rapidly yelled out the phrase, his head was dislodged from his shoulders. A small spray of blood hit Lemafé in the face. Then Jack’s head landed next to her crumpled body. She screamed.
Johnson and Andy pulled out their guns, but a portal in a mirror on the wall startled everyone. Agent Bionic came out, yelling, “I’m baaa-aack!”
The grayish-tan creature spun around on four “legs,” throwing out another razor-sharp appendage at Bionic. The thing hit the crazed agent square in the chest, barely cutting through his thick metallic armor. It gave him only a surface wound, which healing at an amazingly fast rate when the appendage was drawn back.
In any case, the blow knocked Bionic back into the mirror. The portal had closed, so he shattered it and was once again unconscious.
But Bionic was all the distraction the other two agents needed. They split up and took the monster from both sides. Unfortunately for them, the creature had more than one sharp extremity, and it launched two jointed arms toward the men.
But a shatter of glass and the familiar metal sound of a grenade pin being pulled stopped the beast before it could reach them.
A small black object flew at the monster’s head area and landed square in between the eyes. Before the thing could react, the grenade exploded, ripping through the natural armor of the creature’s top.
The thing skewed to the left, then the right, wildly swinging its members about. Johnson was hit by one of the blades, but he and Andy managed to hit the exposed top numerous times with their Berretas. Finally, the creature gave up and died.
When the battle was done, their savior came out of the shadows to greet the agents.
“Hi,” the vested, leather-wearing woman said. “I’m, err . . . Agent . . . Selena.”
Johnson and Andy saw a shambling zombie walk up behind the obviously French woman, but she threw her fist backward before they could say anything. Her blow destroyed the undead humanoid’s skull, killing it instantly.
“Well, she’s better than Agent Lemafé,” Andy said dryly. He looked back at the other agent’s curled body. She was rocking back and forth on the floor, obviously traumatized.
“Well, what do you say we start to pick up, eh?” the French woman calling herself Selena asked. She looked over at Bionic’s exposed midsection and gestured to it. “And boy, I wouldn’t mind picking that up.”
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