Maniacs The Krittika Conflict

CHAPTER 13



Mason stood over the body of the Boss. He’d had him laid out on a table downstairs. He never thought he'd see the day the Boss died, not even from old age. Erin and Andrews struggled with Hughes to get him over to one of the tables. Hughes was wincing in pain and was no longer able to use a crutch to support his legs, due to the chest injury. Mason shook his head and turned to the door, looking out at the carnage.

One of the armoured trucks was still burning from the charge the Boss had thrown on it, and bodies were strewn all around. He heard a loud crack. Across the street, a boot connected with a door that was barely held on. Vik had kicked it open, and it fell from its hinges. He stepped out with Hella in his arms. She was barely conscious and covered in as much grey soot and dust as he was. Blood poured from a head wound of Vik, but he did his best not to show the pain. He carried Hell's weight like she was a child.

"How is she?" asked Mason.

"Alive."

He stepped through into the bar and found one of the few tables still standing and placed her down carefully. She was rambling and not yet lucid.

"Building came down on our heads. F*cker's drove right through the ground floor. It just gave way."

"I know," Mason replied softly.

Vik looked surprised to see the other two casualties. They both heard a few shots ring out outside, and they knew it was Liu finishing off the enemy dead. It wasn't that he enjoyed it. He just liked to tie up loose ends. Mason was astonished to see Vik stroll over to Hughes and stand over him, resting a hand on his good shoulder in concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

Hughes was as surprised as Mason, and it was enough to make him forget the pain for a second as Andrews cut and removed his clothing to get to the wound. Erin sat down and was in shock over what had happened. She couldn't stop staring at the body of the Boss.

"Is this over?" she asked.

Mason turned to her, and the others stopped to listen.

"Not a chance. Volkov is going down."

"How, what have we got left?"

"We've got each other, Erin. We were paid to put an end to this, and that’s exactly what we'll do."

"With what?" Andrews asked. "Boss is gone. Hughes ain't going anywhere. Hella looks like she might come around with a few days’ rest."

"I don't care. You take care of them. Rest of you, gather your ammunition and be ready to move in five."

Andrews strode over and led him out of the bar through the ruins of the entrance.

"Look at it," he said, pointing at the carnage. "Haven't you done enough?"

"No, Volkov has to die. You do your job, and we'll do ours."

He stepped back into the bar to address the others.

"How we gonna do this?" asked Liu. He’d just come through from the back of the bar. "Volkov must have quite a place. Can't imagine we'd get through with Mily."

"The Boss’ new ship. We'll ram it down his throat."

"And then?"

"Then we kill everyone in sight," Viktor replied.

Mason nodded in agreement. He was liking the plan more and more.

"All the planning we've done for ops, and that's your plan?"

"I'm done planning, Liu. Volkov dies today."

There was no more room for discussion. Just ten minutes later they were aboard the Boss’ ship and lifting off. Andrews watched them from what was left of the entrance of the Digger, as they soared off east towards the Colonel's compound. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Kaper stumbling towards him, open mouthed in shock. He was close to tears as he looked at the carnage of the bar. Half the sign was gone, most of the windows were blown out, and the door barely clung to the building.

"What happened? Did we win?"

Andrews shook his head.

"Not yet, but you can be sure this will end today. Now come inside. We have casualties, and I need your help."

Mason was at the control of the ship. It was a lavish vessel, the likes of which he'd rarely ever seen up close. There was almost nothing inside the ship to identify it as Carter's, just a single photo of the team from five years before.

"It really was all that mattered to him? This team?"

"What else should matter, Erin? We're in this life together. The Boss realised he didn't want to give up this life, and why should he?"

"So he died happy?"

Mason nodded in agreement, and Erin was starting to understand it was a good death.

"Volkov must know we're coming. He'll see us coming a mile off."

He won't see this coming, Liu."

The ship soared towards Volkov's luxury mansion with lightning speed. As they approached, they could see on their display it was a walled residence, and many of the survivors of the fight in town were still unloading from their vehicles.

"No, you're not doing what I think you're doing?" asked Liu.

"Hell, yes!"

The complex was four storeys high and lavish in size. It was of square construction with a centrally enclosed courtyard and walled gates out front. Several of the enemy soldiers looked up in amazement as the ship soared towards them. A couple took shots, but it was too late. Carter's ship smashed into the wall of the compound and burst through three rooms and out into the courtyard. It was propelled into the far sidewall and struck through into the second storey. It was on the opposite side to where most of Volkov's troops were stationed.

They rocked to a halt. Mason was first on his feet to open the ramp. The mechanism was slightly jammed. He kicked it, but it didn't budge.

"Allow me!" Vik scowled.

Mason barely managed to get out of the way as he launched himself at the ramp. It burst open, and Viktor tumbled out into the wreckage and debris they had left behind. They leapt out behind him; acutely aware they were just four fighters in the lion's den.

"Let's get this f*cker," stated Mason. They advanced towards the nearest door and could hear the cries of panic from those inside. Mason hit the door switch, and the double doors quickly slid open. Three shooters were approaching, and Erin was first to fire. Her accurate shot caught the man in the middle of the face and killed him outright. The other two were riddled by bursts from Mason and Viktor.

"You got a plan?" asked Liu.

"Kill them all," he replied sternly.

They were inside a large dining room fit for forty guests, and passed either side of the table. Every element of the building was decadently decorated so that Volkov could live like a King.

"Guess we know where his money's been going," Liu said.

They passed into the next corridor and found a guard frantically trying to tap in a key code of a door that was clearly an important room. Viktor shot out his legs with two shots, and he dropped hard to the ground. Mason was on him before he could get his pistol from his holster, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and lifted his torso so he winced in pain from the pressure on his legs.

"What's in the room?" he yelled.

The man shook his head as if to say no, but he was scared to death.

Mason put his rifle down and drew his knife. He first lifted it to the man's throat, but it didn't seem to get the response he wanted. He put the knife to the man's groin and pressed just slightly.

"The code or your balls!"

"31675, 31675," he quickly stated.

"Now there's the Captain I can follow," Viktor said, smiling.

Mason reversed the blade and smashed the pommel down on the man's face, knocking him out cold.

"What if he lied about the code?"

"Erin, he gave us everything he had to give, trust me."

Mason punched in the code, and the door slid open. It was twenty centimetres thick and heavily reinforced. What lay inside brought a glint to their eyes.

"It's Volkov's armoury."

"Well how about that, Liu," said Mason.

"You just struck gold," Vik said, rushing inside like a kid in a toyshop. Mason reached for a large box magazine fed scatter laser shotgun. It was the kind of weapon rarely suited to the kind of work they did, but when maximum carnage at close range was the order of the day, it was the gun to have.

"Gather what you need, and let's go."

Viktor took an M41 heavy laser, a sustained fire weapon usually used with a bipod, but he was strong enough to wield it at the hip. They rushed out of the room and hit the door switch behind them. Mason smashed the rifle of his shotgun into the keypad, and it fizzled with sparks before going dead. Footsteps were approaching fast and in large numbers.

"They must be coming for gear."

"Then they probably don't know we’re here, Liu."

They lifted their weapons to the doorway. As it swung open, they saw the surprise on the faces of the four soldiers before them. Mason opened up on full auto with his shotgun, and the two in the middle were torn apart. The other two didn't last much longer once Viktor had started firing.

Mason noticed movement off to their side, and he turned in time to see Hunter freeze as he recognised him. He drew his pistol and fired, but was quickly pushed back behind cover when Mason's shotgun opened fire. The others were about to join in when lasers started to rush over the bodies of the enemy towards them, forcing them to cover also.

"Go for Hunter. We'll hold here!" said Liu.

"Give him a good kicking for me!" Viktor shouted.

Mason leapt out from cover and rushed towards Hunter's position; his weapon firing to keep the Sergeant down. He reached the point where he had last seen him. There was movement up ahead, and he caught sight of him falling back further. He rushed on to catch up. Common sense and training told him he shouldn't, but after Volkov, Hunter was one who needed to pay.

He took a bend and found a pistol pointed at his head. He ducked just in time for the blast to skim the armour of his shoulder. Mason lifted his gun to fire, but it was kicked out of his hands. He jumped up and grabbed Hunter's pistol, ducked under his arm, and prised it up almost taking the man's arm out of its socket. He dropped the pistol but delivered two quick kidney punches that knocked Mason back.

As he got his footing, Mason quickly drew his pistol and fired twice from the hip, but Hunter was already behind cover.

"Come out you, bastard!"

"Why, so you can shoot me where I stand?"

"Sounds pretty good to me!"

Mason approached the position where he had just fired and found nothing. A shot skimmed near by his body, and he turned quickly, seeing one of the shooters down the corridor. He responded with two quick shots and killed the man, but before he could turn back, Hunter was on him. He struck him hard with a kick to the ribs and an uppercut to the face. It launched him back and the pistol from his hands. Blood spewed from his mouth as he got back to his feet.

"Ready for another beating, Captain?"

"How can you work for Volkov? He's an a*shole."

"A rich a*shole. How can I work for him? Look at this place! To work for the Colonel is to have everything you ever wanted."

"At the price of extorting everyone decent around you?"

"Tell it to someone who gives a shit."

He lunged forward with a jab. Mason avoided it and struck back with a hook, just clipping the Sergeant. He followed it up with a hard hook to his stomach and went for another when the Sergeant locked his elbow and flipped him over onto his back. Mason rolled over and quickly got back to his feet, but Hunter came at him relentlessly. He delivered a barrage of punches until he got a clinch and threw Mason over.

The wind was taken out of the Captain as he landed. As he recovered, he found Hunter stood over him with his own gun in his face.

"Game over, Captain."

As he was about to squeeze the trigger, Viktor's Griswold flew into view and struck Hunter in the face. The heavy lump of a pistol had been thrown from ten metres away and hit like a hammer. Hunter stumbled a few steps and dropped Mason's gun. Viktor strode into view with machine gun in hand. He reached down and hauled Mason to his feet.

"I'll take this punk. You get Volkov."

Mason was glad of the help, and his hulking friend looked all too keen to take over. He dropped his machine gun to the floor and gestured for Hunter to come forward. Hunter still looked confident, but as they closed, he realised the size of Viktor.

"I'm gonna enjoy this."

Mason nodded in appreciation, holstered his pistol, and picked up his shotgun.

"Don't go easy on him now."

"No worry of that."

Mason rushed onwards to find the man he really wanted to kill. He came to a stairway where a group of the militia were running up to join the fight. He ran to the top and opened up on full auto. The first man was blow apart by the first two shots. The rest smashed into his comrades; bodies and wounded collapsed down the stairway on top of those below.



* * *





Hunter kicked high, but Viktor took the kick and got a hold of his leg. He launched Hunter across the room, and he tumbled into a wall. He got back to his feet and rushed forward. Viktor threw a heavy hook that Hunter ducked under and drove a knee hard up into Viktor's stomach, forcing him to keel over slightly. But he recovered quickly and took a hold of Hunter's legs and pulled. He crashed to the ground face first. Hunter spun and kicked Vik's legs out from under him so that they were both flat on the floor.

Viktor rolled over and struck with a backfist, knelt over Hunter and punched him repeatedly to the head. He stopped half the strikes but was still taking a barrage that he couldn't last long against. He kicked up, catching Viktor to the temple with his heavy combat boots. Viktor was knocked back and rolled over, getting to his feet with a stagger.

"When fighters like you stay home and rob the locals, it’s no wonder the Alliance is losing the war."

Hunter looked down at the belt that identified Viktor. Looking at the pistol across the floor that had struck him, confirmed it.

"You aren't exactly out fighting the cause either," he spat back.

"Maybe I prefer killing punks like you."

Viktor roared as he rushed forward with the assault.



* * *





"Run!" Liu screamed.

Erin raced to where they were falling back, and he threw a grenade around the corner where she had come from. It exploded and was followed by screams of pain by those caught in the blast.

"Keep moving!"

Erin struggled to reload her rifle as they made their way to the next line of cover.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere, so as not to get overrun!"

He turned and took a knee beside the frame of an archway leading into a conference hall.

"We can't keep running forever."

"Then nail these next bastards, and let's see if we can't hold some ground."

The militia continued to advance, but the first two were cut down by fire. The next few fired as they came through, but the shots didn't find their targets, as both Erin and Liu fired from cover. As another of the militiamen was struck down, the other two grabbed him and hauled him back to safety.

"All right, they're starting to lose momentum."



* * *





Mason's gun raged as he stepped through into a hallway where militiamen were gathering up ammunition from a table. He was firing on full auto, and blood spewed out over the counter when only one managed to return fire. The shot hit the gun and hit into his armour. He jolted slightly, the broken shotgun falling from his hands. He ripped his pistol out and fired two shots from the hip, killing the man instantly.

A stairway led up beyond their position to an elevated luxury office space. He could already tell it must be Volkov's centre of operations.

"Volkov! I'm coming for you!" he roared at the top of his voice.

He heard a weapon cock inside the large room. He rushed up the steps without any form of caution.

I want blood, and I want it soon!

The entrance was completely round, leading to a wide hallway that opened out into a bar with sofas and large projection screens. It was more like a playboy's mansion than a Colonel's office.

"Volkov! Come out and fight me, you coward!"

His voice came over speakers all around the room.

"What is it you want from me, Captain? What? Money? Power? Do you want to be my new right hand and share in this wealth?"

"I want your head!"

It all went quiet. Mason expected to see the Colonel coming at him at any moment and turned continually with his pistol held at the ready. Instead, he was greeted by the sound of machinery firing up and doors opening high on the walls. He looked up at robotically mounted lasers articulating out from the walls. Looking back for just a second, he could see even heavier weapons at the entrance.

"Oh, shit."

He launched into a running pace further into the room as laser fire landed at his feet. One of them scorched his shoe, and he leapt over a large conference table for cover. He breathed heavily, looking around for a way out. The guns had stopped firing. He was safe for a moment.

"What is your price, Mason?" Volkov asked over the tannoy.

The fact he’s asking means he’s scared.

Gunfire still raged throughout the building. Volkov had no idea how many Mason had with him, and it was better it stayed that way.

"I'm not going to let you live, Mason. Keep this up, maybe you'll kill me, maybe you won't, but what about the price to you and your friends? How many more of them have to die before you call it enough?"

"You're really starting to bore me!"

"Then let me make your life more interesting, Captain."

Ah, shit, I'm not gonna like this!

Doors opened in the ceiling above him. He looked up, and clamps were coming off a domed device half a metre wide. He jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could as the dome dropped. As it reached the middle of the room, it erupted with a white flash of light and a blast, propelling Mason through the air. It slammed him into the far sidewall.

He just about got to his feet when a ten-metre radius around where he had previously stood had been vaporised. He tried to shake of the ringing in his ears and was just about getting his hearing back.

"I'm still standing, you bastard!"

He took pleasure in knowing Volkov was probably cursing the gods as he stood defiantly before the damage. He looked around. He was now standing beside a large ornate desk with a comfy chair behind it and a drinks cabinet at the side.

"So this is your throne? Doesn't look like much, anymore."

He scanned the area, trying to find any sign of where the Colonel could be hiding, and then he saw it; a safe room door. A display cabinet obscured it, but the blast had revealed the frame.

"Hiding like the coward you are?"

No response came.

"Unfortunately for you, Colonel, this ain't the first time I've had to deal with a safe room." He walked along the edge of the wall, tapping it with his pistol butt.

"Pretty much every one builds the air filtration system into the wall."

His pistol tapped a hollow point. "And there you have it."

He turned his pistol around and fired three shots into the area. The interior wall fragmented. He pulled the last grenade from his vest and looked up to the door for one last moment.

"Last chance, Colonel."

No reply came. He twisted the arming cap and stuffed the grenade in through the hole until it hit the metalwork of the air cleaner. He quickly rushed back and hid behind the heavy-duty desk as the explosion blew the room apart. Smoke clouded the office as he rushed to the blast area. The grenade had blown the filtration system apart, creating a hole big enough to crawl through. He peered in. It was just a few metres square inside, and there was an open door the other side.

"Goddamn it."

He crawled through into the space. Volkov couldn't have been inside when the grenade erupted. Shards of the filtration system were imbedded like shrapnel in all four walls, and yet there was no sign of blood.

"Gonna have to flush you out," he said to himself.



* * *





Erin reloaded her rifle and looked out down the corridor. It was eerily quiet.

"Where are they, Liu?" she asked.

"Maybe they've run?" he answered hopefully.

She shook her head, turning back to see a fresh wave rush through the door, screaming as they fired.

"No such luck!"

They fired back, but as they did, Erin heard a laser fire from behind them. Liu dropped to the floor, and smoke poured from his body armour where he had been struck. One of the militiamen turned the bend at their side, and she hit him with the stock of her rifle as hard as she could. It stopped him in his tracks and knocked him back a little, enough that she could turn the rifle around and fire two shots into his chest.

She looked back; Liu was still firing at the rest.

Thank God for body armour, he thought.

None of the militiamen wore the expensive ballistic armour they did, a fact that spoke volumes of their leader.

"We can't hold like this much longer!"

"Just keep firing, Erin. They haven't got infinite numbers. Many more, and they'll break!"

She looked down at the trail of bodies leading up to their position.

"When?" she asked.

They kept up the fire as lasers still shot past their heads. Erin's rifle ran out, and she reached for the dead militiaman's beside her. It was a bulky weapon compared to the one Mason had given her, but it was better than nothing.

"Give it up!" Liu shouted. "Your Colonel doesn't care for your lives! Don't die for nothing!"

They both knew the militiamen kept fighting because they were being paid handsomely to do so, and it was hard to beat that. Liu was praying Mason had found Volkov and was dealing with him, for if not, they were in serious trouble.