The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Time to Trigger

Easing away from the column she had been leaning against, Dee brought up her own pair of special made sunglasses, courtesy of lone gunman technology. And she grimaced as the conference hall, a massive, lozenge-shaped enclosure currently filled with tables and chairs, great chandeliers hanging from the domed ceiling to cast light over the entire chamber, fell into a strange blue light as she set the glasses on the bridge of her nose.

With a stuttered wink, the sunglasses activated a number of passive scanning modes as data streamed past the detective's left eye. And the blue-lit chamber leapt into sharp relief, first under ultraviolet then infrared light.

Finally the pair of sunglasses/scanners went through a psionic energy cycle, utilizing a passive scan quite similar to the devices that Mordecai had used to find the passive ambush devices the Brotherhood had littered the conference center grounds with. And almost she immediately found the moles, touched by Brotherhood coercion, scattered throughout the vast chamber.

The traces of psionic energy in the moles' cortices made the hidden assassins glow a soft gold against the blue in the enhanced scan mode of Dee's visors. The sight of them was enough to make the tall police detective unconsciously reach for the Shiva slung in a horizontal holster under her flak jacket.

"Alpha Two to all units inside the center: pick up your scanning," she softly subvocalized. "We have movement towards the final opportunity for the Brotherhood to strike and the moles are shifting. Pick a target and stay with it. When this goes down, it's going to happen quick. You'll only have a small window to make your counterstrike before this place is turned into a bloodbath. So make each shot count!" She glanced towards the main exit as her hand closed on her Shiva's hilt to give the powerful weapon a light tug, loosening it in the holster.

"Did you copy that, Alpha Leader? Things are about to pop in here!"

"I copy that, Alpha Two," Lash replied grimly, glancing about his security checkpoint. Outside the center things were still calm, the Normals' security forces acting as if nothing was amiss. In fact members of Lash's own unit were chatting softly amongst themselves, laughing and quipping about the cold, completely unaware of what was about to take place. The big vampire grimaced at that thought; they would know soon enough!

"All units outside the center, stand by," he commanded, feeling himself tense as his body anticipated battle.

"Trigger team members are moving into final position, Mr. Martin," Agony reported over her shoulder, her binoculars pressed to her eyes. Now with their night vision function activated, the powerful binoculars allowed her to easily pick out each member of the trigger team still outside.

"We're on the threshold of launch!"

"Excellent," the lean Inner Council member replied as he stood out of the chair he had been sitting in, reaching into his suit jacket to draw out a portable holo-communicator from an inside pocket.

The size of a walkie-talkie, the device beeped softly as Martin activated it. An instant later a holographic swirl of light appeared over the communicator's projection plate. A swirl that quick resolved into the angular features of a mature-looking man, an unruly mop of white hair topping his narrow face.

"Yes?" a tiny voice husked in time to the face's lips moving.

"Launch is imminent," Martin replied smoothly and a slight smile of satisfaction touched his lips when he saw the tiny holographic head nod in acknowledgement.

"Very good. Our time is at hand, Brother Martin. Stand by; soon the reign of the Brotherhood will begin on the face of this world!"

Mordecai grimaced tightly as he felt the probability surrounding and filling the city shift sluggishly. They were rapidly approaching the probability event's threshold. A quick look at Jeriko and Raven revealed expressions of uncertainty and anxiety on both of them, confirming that they too were feeling the approach of the event threshold. Jeriko, being only a hair less in power than he while they were both lone gunmen, looked decidedly uncomfortable. The pressure from the threshold's approaching probability shockwave must be crushing to her, if what he was feeling was any indication.