The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) ๐
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- Author: Frank Kennedy
Read book online ยซThe Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) ๐ยป. Author - Frank Kennedy
โHow much time will we have?โ
โNot much,โ Hans conceded. โResponse time will be damn near immediate. This is a Sanctum, after all. It means we sprint, and we donโt look back for any reason.โ
โHow far will we have to run?โ
โHundred feet. Minimum. But there are multiple factors. The terminal is L-shaped, and there are two autoloaders between it and the landing zone. Also, the zone is large enough for two Scrams or C Class commercial uplifts. As a result, the Sanctum-owned Scram is usually stationed here. So, we might have to run a little farther.โ
Michael grew ill. โAnd this is easier than going down the lifts and shooting our way out?โ
โWeโll only be exposed for a few seconds. Our odds are dubious in either case, but I believe this gives us the best chance to fight on.โ
Michael pivoted to Maya. โYou ready for this?โ
โAnother stop on a long road, Michael. I do have an idea, though. Why donโt you boys take flank this time?โ
Michael remembered her savagery at Entilles Club; yes, this was a woman who anyone should want at point. Hans did not object.
They took position, weapons chest-high, feet planted, knees bent as though waiting for the starterโs pistol. Hans signaled.
โOliverโs coming in. Now.โ
The lift opened.
The path seemed clear enough. A straight shot through the checkpoint, slight adjustment around the autoloaders, and a sprint for the twin landing lights of the uplift now visible. If they werenโt flanked, if no one came in from above and started firing, if no one shot a rocket or energy slew at them, hope might prevail.
Or so Michael thought as he and his companions made a mad dash. As they bolted through the checkpoint, green flashers and shrill klaxons filled the terminal. This was expected. What they did not foresee was that their motion would not trigger the exit doors. They remained stubbornly unpixellated.
โWhat do we โฆ?โ Michael started to ask the question before he realized the obvious answer, provided by Maya.
She fired her blast rifle into the glass, which cracked but did not relent despite the barrage of flash pegs. Michael had a theory and opened up his Ingmar pulse gun on the doors, accelerating their decimation. For an instant, as the cracks extended and deepened, they turned orange-yellow, as if on fire. And then, collapse.
The delay felt like forever to Michael, though likely no more than five seconds passed. But he knew how deadly this might be.
Though Hans was right about a Scram occupying one half of the landing zone, the inner pad closest to the terminal was empty โ until their rescuer came down before them, hovering. The port door pixelated, and an armed Solomon hurried them onboard.
They leaped to safety then followed orders to grab hold of the ceiling hooks. The uplift pulled out. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Thirty.
Was this possible? Michael dared to believe. Yet he knew it was too easy.
Thatโs when he realized their luck ran out. Perhaps it was the delay at the doors. Perhaps this maneuver was as stupid as trying to shoot their way out at ground level against superior forces.
It was as if all DayWatch rose to meet them simultaneously. F class uplifts built for three occupants โ highly adaptable in a city environment โ danced, bobbed, and weaved to form a cordon. The vehicles, half the size of Michaelโs, featured the DayWatch crest and a glowing yellow orb above the flight deck. Their spotlights illuminated the Sanctum rooftop and splashed inside the Solomon upliftโs hold, the disparate beams telling Michael they were surrounded.
โGo, Oliver,โ Hans said. โUp, up, letโs move โฆโ
โNegative,โ Oliver said. โWe move, and weโre dead.โ
Michael heard an engine of a different sound above them. He grabbed the hooks and moved to the open portal. He looked skyward. A Scram blocked their vertical escape, its Carbedyne nacelles casting a blue pall over the moment.
โWho are they?โ Michael yelled over the cacophony, pointing north. โMercs? Sanctum? More assassins?โ
โDonโt know,โ Oliver said. โBut weโre still here, and thatโs something. Means they donโt have an energy slew. Otherwise, they could have incinerated us by now.โ
โWhat are they waiting for? They expect us to sit down and surrender? That ainโt happening.โ
โWe may have no choice,โ Hans said. โWe donโt know their capability. If it was just DayWatch, Iโd say we take a chance but โฆโ
Michael wasnโt having it. โI say we go anyhow. Fight our way out. We unload on DayWatch,โ he said, pointing to the visible gauntlet. โWe knock out three of those baby-size lifts, and we can slip through. Theyโre gonna kill us if we surrender, so what the fuck we gotta lose? Am I right, people?โ
โMay be,โ Hans answered. โBut I donโt like this. Why arenโt they ordering us back to the roof?โ
Michael got a good look at the scene below. โMaybe waiting for that lot to show up.โ
Eight figures emerged from the rooftop terminal. Dark armor, helmets fully extended, faces hidden. So, Hans had been right about attempting a downward escape plan. Were the assassins already in the building when the trio agreed to try the roof?
โSame assholes that followed us from the mountains. These guys wonโt even line us up before they burn us full of laser holes. Oliver, dude, you gotta fly. If we donโt fight, itโs all been for nothing.โ
They stood on the edge of agreement. He saw their resignation, though they understood the odds. The moment they turned on DayWatch, the assassins would unload from below. If they took out a nacelle, this bucket was going down.
โNothing?โ Maya sported her disarming grin at a moment Michael least expected. โI donโt much care for the sound of that.โ She advanced across the hold and joined Michael inside the open port. โWho dies first?โ
โNot us.โ
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