The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Chapter 31: Hardwired Confusion

Wheels squealing, the Xterra flew around a corner to churn forward down the next street, darting through the dimly lit darkness towards what could only be described as fire in the sky.

"Damn, the whole freakin' skyline's lit up!" Dee said anxiously, clutching the Shiva tightly in her hands as she huddled in the passenger's seat. Beside her, hands tightly holding the steering wheel, a grim Mordecai nodded savagely.

"I suspect that some of my less-than-patient comrades have decided to take the battle directly to whatever Brotherhood members they have located in the city," he growled hoarsely. "If so, the devastation could be extreme!"

"You don't have to tell me that!" Dee hissed as she ran once more over the Shiva's operating instructions, handed to her on a small tablet as the three of them had charged down to the parking garage by Mordecai. Duffy had a second weapon in his hands, eyes glued to the small screen of his tablet that explained how the Shiva worked. The small reading light that was attached the back of Dee's seat, letting him see the words, danced its light wildly across the screen with each pothole the SUV's tires caught.

"I got to see the last one, remember?" She frowned. "But I don't get it: is somebody completely ignoring the Shield to fight so obviously out in the open now?"

"I suspect that might be the case," Mordecai replied grimly, his mind churning as he considered the possibilities. Unfortunately, every thought chain came back to only one person: Katengaur.

Without the big psionic to act as a deterrent to the rogue lone gunman and her plans to strike at the Brotherhood directly, it was logical that she had somehow circumnavigated Raven to launch such an assault. At least, that's what he hoped was happening. The members of the Avalon nation should be better trained than to simply launch an unprovoked attack in full view of the Normals! 

Of course, that didn't take into account the other nations that were still in the midst of their struggle against the Brotherhood. 'Damn!' he thought darkly as he guided the streaking vehicle down the street. 'This thing could get really confusing, really fast!'

As the Xterra spun around yet another corner, the three of them tensed as they saw the roadway ahead of them alight with eldritch power and energies. Regardless of who started this mess, they were about to find out just how extensive it had become!

"Pull over right there!" Dee commanded, pointing to an alleyway that abruptly loomed just to their left. "The downed chopper should be around here somewhere!" Cutting across traffic, Mordecai complied, slamming the Xterra to a halt just inside the alley's dark embrace. Then the doors were flying open to spill the three of them out.

"Just how much recoil do these buggers have?" Duffy rasped worriedly as he held the Shiva awkwardly in his hands.

"None," Mordecai hissed in reply, pulling a third Shiva from beneath his coat. "Angle of attack?" That a question slung at Dee, who was already scanning the nearby buildings with experienced eyes, the night sky lit up with dancing oranges, blues and scarlets, her ear to the big emergency services radio in her other hand, currently turned to the police band. Normally brightly-lit streetlights were either burnt out completely, or flickering fitfully with a dull, half dead glow. Despite the lack of steady light, Dee quickly found what she was looking for.

"There!" She husked, pointing to a building close to where the seething fire in the sky danced. "The pilot says they're trapped behind that building there."  It appeared to be looking down into the next intersection where, by all appearances, it seemed this newest clash of the psionics was taking place. "If we can get to the roof, we might be able to hold the Brotherhood away from the chopper!"