The stairwell ended with a broken door. Jett cautiously pushed it open.
"Careful."
Jett crouched at Incognito's warning, taking a stealthy approach to the guardrail. A solitary figure wandered the adjacent rooftop, barely visible through the billowing smoke.
"You have knockout darts on your g-spans. Use one on the guard. You know how?"
"No problem." The VR training protocols paid off, making the action a matter of reflex. He accessed the hologram panel and selected the k-darts. Raising his arm, he targeted with the autoscope and squeezed his fist, activating the sensor in the palm of his glove. The dart fired without a sound.
The guard's hand flew to his neck. He staggered, then toppled to the ground. Jett ran and leaped over the railing to the other building, rolling to break his fall before springing up beside the fallen man.
"Nice moves. His holoband has the doorway access codes. Wait for a minute while I clone the info and transfer it to your band."
Jett relieved the guard of his weapon. The rifle looked like a hand-held version of the railguns used on tanks and carriers in the Imperial War. He pressed the HELP button on his g-span. "Proto, I need a tutorial on this gun."
Proto's voice beeped in his helmet. "Pulling up the data." A quick vid played across the surface of Jett's visor, demonstrating the use of the railgun.
"Okay, I got it."
Incognito's voice buzzed over. "Transfer is complete. You're good to go."
Jett's holoband flashed when he approached the doorway. The sensor blinked, allowing him entry into the building. He peered down the dimly illuminated stairwell.
"Can't tell who's in here or how many."
Incognito's voice buzzed over the line. "Remember your training. Use the sweepers."
"Right." Jett tapped the panel, activating the scanning probes. Two small, pyramid-shaped sensors fired from his gauntlets, floating through the air. They zipped down the stairwell into the darkness, scanning the building as they traveled. The volumetric readings were transferred to Jett's g-span display, which projected the data into a three-dimensional model, slowly mapping out the entire complex.
Jett sat on the top stair, waiting for the sweepers to finish. "So. You must have worked with Wayne Thomas."
"I don't know who that person is."
"Okay. Vigil, then."
"That's better. Never use legal names, especially not over a com line. There are… listeners."
"Listeners?"
"Sentries. Spies in the employ of the Haven Secret Service Corp, or HSSC for short. They are everywhere, and they are nowhere. They listen, record, and report. This line is clean, but get in the practice of being careful what you say. No matter where you are."
"I… didn't know."
"You're new here. You'll learn. Haven Core tolerates the existence of Neo York, but that doesn't mean they wish us well. Remember that."
"What do they have against the city?"
"Neo York exists outside of United Havens law. You slept through the destruction, but in the aftermath, the United States weren't so united anymore. Large states like California and Texas declared their independence. Smaller states out west like New Mexico and Arizona were swallowed by the Mexican States of America. Most of the Heartland states were wiped out, leaving the territory open to new native tribes and outlaws. And the South rose again, winning their independence with little resistance. United Havens consists mostly of the colonial and Commonwealth states, governed by Haven One in DC. The UH likes to keep things insular. As far as they're concerned, civilization doesn't exist outside of their well-regulated Haven states. Ungoverned territories like Neo York remind them of their inability to control things. "
"That's not what the Havens were designed for. They were supposed to preserve the best of humanity, not imprison them."
"Things don't always go the way they're planned. Just be careful, is what I'm saying. The HSSC doesn't poke their nose in York business often, but when they do, it gets messy."
Jett glanced at his display. "Looks like the sweepers are finished." He studied the holographic diagram. "Place looks empty on the top floors, save for a few roving guards." He pointed to the red-outlined moving dots. Most of the activity is on the main warehouse floor."
"That's where Kane will be."
"Okay, I'm moving in."
Jett descended the stairs, pausing only to knock out the guards along the way with a tranquilizer or a well-timed electrical pulse from his g-spans. He made it to the main floor undetected, leaving several unconscious bodies behind. Gazing down from a guardrail on the upper level, he had a clear view of the operation.
Contraband weapons were assembled on lines, packed in boxes, and loaded onto waiting trucks. Railguns, bioguns, and standard military firearms were processed like meat in a factory by at least twenty workers. Six armed guards watched the operation at different stations. Jett caught sight of Kane, standing in front of an office door with his muscular arms folded. Green dragons sparkled on his skin.
"C'mon, speed up. Boss wants shipment yesterday. Move your sorry asses."
Jett, crept closer, careful to remain unseen.
Incognito's voice buzzed over. "This is it. Use the railgun, take the target out. You can be gone before the rest of them know what happened."
"What, and leave all these weapons? They'll be out in the streets, in the hands of killers. Can't let that happen."
"That's not what you're here for, Jett. You're not ready for this kind of a hit."
"I'm not leaving with this place still in operation. You can help, or you can sign off. Either way, I'm going in."
Incognito was silent for a moment. "Fine. Use the banshees. I've hacked into the electrical controls so I can use the lights to disorient them. Focus on the main objective and try not to get killed."
"Roger that." Jet fired sticky disks from his g-spans, aiming at columns around the warehouse. "Activate banshees."
The warehouse exploded in high-pitched shrieks. The sonic force shattered the glass on several vehicles. The workers screamed, clutching their ears and running for the exits. The guards fared no better, holding their heads as they frantically tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. After five seconds the wailing ceased, but the damage was done.
"Disco time," Incognito said.
The lights flickered rapidly, creating a disorienting effect of jerky movements between flashes of light and dark. Neither the lights nor sound affected Jett, protected by his helmet. He rose up, aiming the railgun. Clicking the auto target illuminated each vehicle, conveyor belt, and weapon stockpile in red. One pull of the trigger directed the gun to fire continuously until every target was hit. The rifle hummed with each charge, discharging shots with a sizzling sound. The rounds exploded on impact, blooming fire and debris throughout the depot.
Jett leaped over the railing, planting his boots directly into Kane's shoulders and bowling the big man over. They both tumbled down the short aluminum steps and landed a few feet away from each other. Jett sprang back up, firing a pulse blast at the nearest guard, who skidded across the slick floor several yards before hitting a wall. A second blast took down another. The rest of the security crew followed the workers out the exit.
Something like heavy punches to the back slammed into Jett, knocking him down. He stifled a groan, using the pulse blasters from his g-spans to launch himself upright. A second barrage struck where he had just been, ricocheting off the concrete. Kane knelt behind a pile of burning crates, firing volleys Jett's direction. He had donned a combat helmet with a lowered visor, protecting him from the flicker vertigo. The entire warehouse seared in flames, but Kane didn't seem to care. Shadows danced across his sweat-drenched frame as he continued firing.