Jonathan Bond - The Terminus experiment

After making sure all of her hand-to-hand weapons were in place and ready, Sinunu turned her attention inward. focusing on her breathing, she let her mind wander through her body, loosening any tensions, focusing her chi into her belly to center her power.

When she was ready, she opened her eyes and looked at the world with new eyes. Everything seemed to be connected by lilting lines, and she could see how the slightest action or movement of one person or thing affected everything else. Sinunu knew instinctively how an action on her part would cause those lines to waver and snap. She felt perfectly at peace, and ultimately capable.

She knew, even before it began to happen, that the van had reached its destination and would be coming to a halt.

“Last stop. Everybody out,” said Flak, his low voice coming through the tacticom built in to Sinunu’s head gear. She was at the door, gracefully pushing it open and stepping out, before anyone else had even moved.

Dropping to a crouch, she scanned the area. The place looked like they’d suddenly been transported to the dark side of the moon. The night sky was black, and the only light came from behind her, at the front of the van. The light was orange, and cast the whole landscape into hellish relief.

Even with the air filter on, the smell of the place was overwhelming. Dry and noxious, with just the hint of spoiled eggs over the top. It was the scent of death and decay. The stench of age-old battlefields where the dead have not rested easily.

To her left, a small collection of haphazardly erected structures formed a small shanty town. She knew this was where the locals had set up camp when the compound had first opened its soup kitchen. That was, of course, before many of the occupants of the little town had began to disappear with alarming regularity.

Since then, even offers of free food had failed to bring the hungry of Hell’s Kitchen back with any regularity. Sinunu knew that some of the area’s more desperate denizens still came at odd intervals, but now the camp was deserted.

She felt Truxa’s distinctive movement behind her even before she actually landed beside her. Truxa was practically crackling with magical energy. Something Sinunu could only sense when she was completely centered.

Satisfied that their six o’clock was clear, Sinunu rounded the left side of the van as Truxa took the right. Flak, the only person on the team who could match Sinunu’s speed, was already standing in front of the van.

The big Vindicator looked like a toy in his hands. Its trigger housing and grip had been modified to fit his huge hands, as had the belt-driven ammo pack mounted on his back. The Vindicator’s six rotating barrels gleamed dully in the soft light.

They were just about to move, when an unfamiliar voice at their backs said, “Rocket, muya . Dig the party atmosphere.”

Sinunu was faster than Flak on the spin. She did a pirouette that dropped her almost prone, the H amp;K leaping into her hand like a live thing.

Reflexes jacked to the max, she put the whole picture into focus.

A small figure stood behind her, at a distance of approximately ten meters, gray duster flapping gently around her ankles, her dark skinsuit looking more like dolphin hide than synthleather, Her face was a gentle V-shape, with five data-jacks lining her right temple.

To her side, Sinunu could hear the telltale whine of Flak’s Vindicator start up as he too slipped into a defensive posture.

But before they could start the rock and roll, the little one in front held up one hand, palm outward. “Keep it chilly, compadres. I got invites to this bash.”

Then, faster than even Sinunu’s jacked reflexes could see, de Vries was standing between them and the intruder. “Stop,” he said.

There was a tableau that lasted almost two heartbeats-nearly an eternity-before Sinunu felt Flak relax his stance.

De Vries smiled. “My apologies. I should have warned you that she would be meeting us.”

Flak stood up to his full height, and even though short for a troll, he still towered over the rest. “De Vries, this is getting serious. You’re footing the bill here, but if you don’t keep us on the scan, someone’s going to get hurt.”

De Vries smiled. “Once again, I apologize. This is a companion of mine, Short Eyes. She’s been with me for almost two years. She is my personal secretary, of sorts. She’s been here throughout the day, keeping an eye out. She has become very good at what she does, and seems to have a natural skill at detecting vampires.” De Vries turned to the young woman and Sinunu caught his smile. “After all, she picked me out of a crowd, and I was actually doing a passable job at staying hidden.”

The one called Short Eyes smiled back, showing uneven, grimy teeth. “Gotcha all right. Get ‘em all if they get too close.”

Sinunu shook her head at whatever the private joke was between de Vries and his chummer. Now was not the time, nor the place.

Flak grunted, and Sinunu’s face pulled into a scowl. Short Eyes smiled at them and said, “Tension’s high. I can do without the stimuli.” Then she laughed.

“She will not accompany us inside,” de Vries continued as if Short Eyes hadn’t spoken. “Once I realized how this was going to work out, I thought it best if no harm came to your man in the Matrix. He’s a bit vulnerable out here, and there’s no else one to guard him. Without him it’s unlikely many of us would get out alive, sot figured Short Eyes could stay here with him.”

Sinunu turned to Flak, about to object, but the dark look on the trolls face stopped her.

“Listen, de Vries.” Flak said. “We got this down to a science. We got no need of, or desire for, anyone else to come along to frag this up.” He turned to Rachel. who was just stepping out of the van, “No offense, Rach, but enough’s enough.”

Rachel smiled, and said, “None taken.”

De Vries stepped close, and said something Sinunu couldn’t quite catch.

“All right.” Flak said finally. “You made your point. She stays.”

De Vries smiled again, “Excellent. Then I would suggest we get underway. As your Sandman said, we have precious little time.”

With a jerk of his head, Flak directed Sinunu back toward the wall. When they were out of earshot, Sinunu touched his arm. “You gone whack, completely?”

Flak looked at her. “No. He just asked me how many times any of us have heard him approach. He said the little one will know if any of those vamps come within a hundred meters of the van.”

Sinunu shook her head. “What, she got some special vampire sniffer? This is just over the edge, Flak.”

Flak nodded. “It’s way borderline, but de Vries says that’s something close to what she’s got. Says she can pick out vamps sometimes before he can. I got the feeling he doesn’t even know how she does it.”

Sinunu was about to say something else, but Flak raised his hand. “Let it ride, Sin. You’re wasting your breath.”

They had made their way to the front of the van again, and Sinunu pulled herself together. She would be on point for the first part of this run.

Flak looked at Sinunu, only his eyes visible now that his hood was in place, No words were needed. They had worked together too long for there to be anything but perfect communication between them. With the possible exception of Sandman, Flak was the only male Sinunu trusted. After the things that had happened to her at White Oak, that trust had not come cheap.

She turned and surveyed the scene before her. The stone and wire fence stood almost four meters high, and was topped with concertina wire. Every ten meters, she could make out the distinctive outline of chain-mounted miniguns topped with motion sensors. All of which hung low, obviously deactivated. Above each, mounted on long metal poles, were the orange floods.