meat grinder. I hope the Inru aren’t as smart as we think they are.”
“We’re about to find out.”
Everyone crowded in and around the guard booth, using the shadows to conceal their positions. Lea conveyed her plan to them using hand signals, then headed into the street with Tiernan. The two of them sprinted toward a nearby building, then inched along with their backs against the wall, staying in the shadows as much as possible. When they reached the first alley, Lea tried to use her sensors to peek around the corner, but thermal interference rendered them useless. Tiernan tapped the side of his visor and made a slashing motion across his throat, indicating that he had the same problem.
Looks like we’re doing this the old-fashioned way, Lea thought, and poked her head past the edge of the wall. When nothing jumped out at her, she leaned into the alleyway and pointed her rifle into that narrow gauntlet. Tiernan leaped to the other side and did the same. Lea’s visor cut the opaque darkness, revealing a scattered array of latent heat and random shapes—dumping bins mostly, along with other assorted junk, most of it collapsing under the weight of ancient rust. She probed the alley while Tiernan covered her, just long enough to be sure it was free of Inru jihadis and the booby traps they liked to leave behind.
Lea turned back toward Tiernan and gave him the all clear.
Tiernan did the same for the next pair, who advanced farther down the street and swept the next danger zone. The team picked up the pace as they went along, jumping from alley to alley with increased confidence. Within minutes, they reached the end of the block and found themselves staring down a clear path to their target.
The apartment building dominated the meager cityscape, a cement-gray edifice, long since leached of paint, that rose sixteen floors into the sky. Not far beyond that, the slim outline of a cooling tower gave them their first close-up glimpse of the nuclear plant. A halo of invisible light hovered there, bathing the immediate area in an infrared glow.
“Nice and peaceful,” Lea said to Tiernan as they studied their objective.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “That’s what scares me.”
Lea grimaced. Her senses prickled as well, mostly because they had advanced so quickly. Getting this deep and finding nothing to shoot at was enough to put everyone on edge. On top of that, there were no signs that anyone had even been here lately—no tire marks, no disturbed wreckage, not a single clue that pointed to any recent activity. Either the Inru had done an incredible job covering their tracks…
Or Avalon is leading me into a trap.
“Keep it tight,” Lea said.
She took point with Tiernan again, while the others clustered together and followed closely behind. Everyone held rifles at the ready, their sights continuously searching for any potential threat. Tiernan moved ahead to check the corroded remains of an old fire truck, one of many abandoned vehicles that lined the street. Lea directed half of her people to fan out and inspect the others, while she and the rest of the team focused on the adjacent buildings. Some of them had collected intense pockets of radiation, which beat against closed doors and crumbling bricks, causing Lea’s dosimeter to jump whenever she got too close.
Up ahead, Tiernan signaled. The block was secure. Nothing stood in their way.
They marched toward the target.
A flicker of movement, more blur than substance, fluttered at the periphery of Lea’s visor. With an urgent gesture, she ordered her team to scatter across the overgrown courtyard in front of the apartment building. The commandos melted into a thicket of weeds and hedges while she and Tiernan dropped down and crawled to a position closer to the main entrance. As they took cover in the contorted shadow of a dead tree, Lea motioned for the others to wait. Tiernan, meanwhile, tightened the rifle strap around his arm, locking himself into a
“We’re about to find out.”
Everyone crowded in and around the guard booth, using the shadows to conceal their positions. Lea conveyed her plan to them using hand signals, then headed into the street with Tiernan. The two of them sprinted toward a nearby building, then inched along with their backs against the wall, staying in the shadows as much as possible. When they reached the first alley, Lea tried to use her sensors to peek around the corner, but thermal interference rendered them useless. Tiernan tapped the side of his visor and made a slashing motion across his throat, indicating that he had the same problem.
Looks like we’re doing this the old-fashioned way, Lea thought, and poked her head past the edge of the wall. When nothing jumped out at her, she leaned into the alleyway and pointed her rifle into that narrow gauntlet. Tiernan leaped to the other side and did the same. Lea’s visor cut the opaque darkness, revealing a scattered array of latent heat and random shapes—dumping bins mostly, along with other assorted junk, most of it collapsing under the weight of ancient rust. She probed the alley while Tiernan covered her, just long enough to be sure it was free of Inru jihadis and the booby traps they liked to leave behind.
Lea turned back toward Tiernan and gave him the all clear.
Tiernan did the same for the next pair, who advanced farther down the street and swept the next danger zone. The team picked up the pace as they went along, jumping from alley to alley with increased confidence. Within minutes, they reached the end of the block and found themselves staring down a clear path to their target.
The apartment building dominated the meager cityscape, a cement-gray edifice, long since leached of paint, that rose sixteen floors into the sky. Not far beyond that, the slim outline of a cooling tower gave them their first close-up glimpse of the nuclear plant. A halo of invisible light hovered there, bathing the immediate area in an infrared glow.
“Nice and peaceful,” Lea said to Tiernan as they studied their objective.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “That’s what scares me.”
Lea grimaced. Her senses prickled as well, mostly because they had advanced so quickly. Getting this deep and finding nothing to shoot at was enough to put everyone on edge. On top of that, there were no signs that anyone had even been here lately—no tire marks, no disturbed wreckage, not a single clue that pointed to any recent activity. Either the Inru had done an incredible job covering their tracks…
Or Avalon is leading me into a trap.
“Keep it tight,” Lea said.
She took point with Tiernan again, while the others clustered together and followed closely behind. Everyone held rifles at the ready, their sights continuously searching for any potential threat. Tiernan moved ahead to check the corroded remains of an old fire truck, one of many abandoned vehicles that lined the street. Lea directed half of her people to fan out and inspect the others, while she and the rest of the team focused on the adjacent buildings. Some of them had collected intense pockets of radiation, which beat against closed doors and crumbling bricks, causing Lea’s dosimeter to jump whenever she got too close.
Up ahead, Tiernan signaled. The block was secure. Nothing stood in their way.
They marched toward the target.
A flicker of movement, more blur than substance, fluttered at the periphery of Lea’s visor. With an urgent gesture, she ordered her team to scatter across the overgrown courtyard in front of the apartment building. The commandos melted into a thicket of weeds and hedges while she and Tiernan dropped down and crawled to a position closer to the main entrance. As they took cover in the contorted shadow of a dead tree, Lea motioned for the others to wait. Tiernan, meanwhile, tightened the rifle strap around his arm, locking himself into a
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