Page 22 (1/2)
But Brutes weren't Elites
"Estimate ten minutes before that ascent car is loaded to capacity," Linda said
Fred had to think fast, or failing that, just act No, he resisted that iure this out, at least tactically, before he had his team rush in
"We could take a dozen Brutes," Will said "Linda could snipe thee one at a time"
"Too slow," Fred told him "And they'd send for reinforcements The ascent car could be on its way up the stalk before we could get to it"
Linda s, trucks, APCs… a gasoline tanker truck"
Fred and Will exchanged a glance
"It's an old-school rebel," Fred murmured, "but I like it Linda, make a hole Will, you introduce that tanker to the Scarab I'll secure the ascent car You twohow tough these renade launchers," he told thee in close quarters Try for the head shot--at range"
"Roger that," Will said
Linda's green status light winked on in reply She was entering her sniper icy-cold state of Zen no-thought
Fred nodded to Will and they ran in opposite directions along the edge of the brush Fred stopped when he was a kiloreen status signal
A reen
Fred rechecked his assault rifle, his extrato run
A patrol of three Brutesto the shadows, glancing back and forth, sniffing
There were three distant coughs--three splashes of blood-- and three Brutes, each ly face, cruht froht She'd soon reposition higher to get a better view
This was Fred's opening
He sprinted to the base, and ducked around the corner of a warehouse--nearly bu toward his position
It towered over him, covered in thick slabs of muscle and dull blue rhinolike hide
Fred fired without thinking, a full-auto burst, dead center of mass
The Brute rushed hi at its thick neck with the butt of his rifle It connected
The Brute reeled back and roared
Fred unloaded the reazine into the Brute's openteeth and took two steps toward Fred… and fell
Fred reflexively reloaded his MA5B, and slowed his breathing He grabbed the Brute's blade-tipped RPG
His motion tracker should have picked the Brute up Maybe his recent saltwater dunking and ice encrustation had caused a problem in the MJOLNIR system
Fred rebooted his tracker; it flickered, and then showed five eneet ine, turned, and saw the blur of an eighteen-wheel tanker crashing through the gate and guardhouse
Will was about tothe walls of the warehouse He turned the next corner and watched a fireball envelop the fifty-five-meter-tall Scarab walker--the tanker truck crushed under one "foot"
The Scarab ignited, its board rector breached, spehite-blue plas steel-clad buildings
Will's status light flickered green
Fred moved toward the orbital elevator dead ahead
Nestled in the center of the tower support, nanowire cables stretched to anchor points from a hundred meters to kilometers distant, and lines of elevator cars waited in a queue
The cars were usually loaded by crane and rail with fiberglass cargo pods Today however, three Brutes wrestled crates into the car, secured thees
Fred shook his head--as if those nukes would go off if jostled You could set a bomb off in there and their hardened cases would barely be scratched Without the detonator codes, those older nukes were no hts
The Brutes entered the car, and started to force the wide doors shut
Fred flashed his green status light to Will and Linda He couldn't wait He had to stop those Brutes now, before they rolled up the stalk--out of reach
He slung his assault rifle and hefted his captured grenade launcher He fired two projectiles arced into the elevator
Fred sprinted for the car and its closing doors
Detonations flashed inside
Fred juht space between the doors
He landed, rolled to his feet, and saw the open-mawed expressions of the three stunned Brutes He leveled his rifle and shot one in the face
Fred turned as the other blinked and charged him He blasted it point-blank between the eyes
The Brute bowled him over, and its fists came down in twin hammer blows that stunned Fred and drained his shields to a quarter charge
Blood streaistered the rounds that had penetrated its thick skull It toppled upon Fred, inert
The last Brute pulled the body off, and pointed a grenade launcher at Fred's faceplate
Fred's rifle wasHe tried to shake off the disorientation from the double knockout blow His head felt like it was filled with biofoarin
Two soft puffs sounded
The Brute stiffened and collapsed to the deck, a pair of holes spraying blood fro between the doors
Will and Linda slipped inside Will ht to the car's manual-override panel
Linda's sniper rifle still s fast," she said and then shot each Brute once ained his senses
The inside of the car was a renades had busted every crate and punched rents into the walls A dozen conical warheads lay scattered, but intact, on the deck
Fred took up position by the door and looked out
Three Wraith tanks crushed a path through the co their way In the sky