Deathwatch (The Faded Earth Book 1)(70)
Beck spun her hand. “Do it now! I don’t have time for this shit.”
Reluctantly, the other woman did as she was told. Beck, still standing just inside the entrance, turned to the nearest office and repeated her trick with the main door. These interior ones weren’t meant to cope with anything but human strength.
Once inside, she opened one of her custom compartments and locked its contents onto the top of her right gauntlet. The modifications to her suit were well worth the time, doubly so if they got her out of here in one piece.
The sprayer on her wrist triggered as she aimed it, firing a dense foam that clung to the ceiling with not the slightest drip to be seen. Beck formed a wide circle with it, running the container dry. When she was done, she removed a small object from the same compartment and pushed it into the foam.
Stepping back into the hallway, she could hear fists beating on the door over the stairs. “Cover your ears!”
Remy hesitated for a fraction of a second, then did it.
Beck detonated the explosives.
One look was enough to confirm success. Every inch of this place was designed to withstand a frontal assault, but the roof was just a roof. Flight was not something in common or even uncommon use in the Protectorate. The rare transport drone existed, but resources could be better used than for something as frivolous as travel on anything other than a Loop or walking.
“Come on!” Beck said, urging Remy forward. The other woman ran up the hall, shaking her head the entire time. Getting her through the hole was laughably easy; Beck crouched and let her climb onto her splayed hands, then stood. The suit did all the work, though Remy had to scramble the last little bit since Beck could only reach so high.
The sound of screeching metal ripped through the air. A rush of bodies, a clatter of footsteps, and then five angry men stood before her. One had a clearly broken nose and several missing teeth, blond brows knitted together in fury.
All five held firearms.
“Well, haven’t you been bad boys,” Beck said. “Those are illegal.”
The blond man spat blood toward her. “What these are is armor piercing, asshole.”
Oh.
Shit.
33
“Orders are to take you alive,” the blond said. “Doesn’t mean we can’t hurt you if we have to. Get out of that armor and come with us and I won’t do more than pay you back for that cheap shot.”
Beck hesitated, though not from fear. Of the numerous upgrades she had given her armor, the threat detection system was not one of them. The idea was on the table only briefly before basic sanity reasserted itself and Beck decided it was better not to mess with critical systems that could save her life, especially considering how well they worked for the rest of the Watch.
Not that Beck hadn’t given the system a few more options.
In the time it took her to draw a breath, the guns were outlined in red on her HUD. The system picked out the gunmen and the AI determined that yes, these people were credible threats and not just your standard agitated assholes. Beck left the safeties engaged before setting out on this adventure, not wanting the defense systems to activate accidentally.
“Protect,” she muttered, giving the green light.
Projectiles fired on puffs of compressed air from a dozen hidden ports, each trailing a hair-thin filament. The targeting system was perfect; each man had at least two darts nestled in his chest on either side of his heart. Beck made a mental note to buy the boys in Deathwatch Science a round of drinks.
The shocks that hit her enemies did not stun or incapacitate. The amperage was far beyond lethal, the darts completing a circuit with each other that traveled across their hearts instantly. Every one of them dropped, two reflexively squeezing the triggers of their weapons. Shots went wild and Beck screamed as the lights on her display flared red, her right hip and side just above the waist went hot with agony.
The filaments detached as she stumbled away, moving toward the hole. The automated life support kicked in, hitting her with drugs to numb the pain and foam sealant to plug the wounds. A detached part of her grew irritated at the inconvenience. The inside of the armor would be a mess and those systems were a bitch to refill. That was ignoring the damage done to the suit, which—
The drugs, designed to take effect rapidly, hit her brain and Beck felt like she was waking up for the first time in her life. The world gained an almost painful clarity, brightening and sharpening, colors becoming radiant in their brightness. That same detached part of her brain was quietly thankful this hadn’t happened during the day when the sensory information would have rolled over her like an ocean wave.
Without another thought for the dead men, Beck dragged a desk over to the hole, climbed it as carefully as she could, and raised her arms. The desk creaked ominously, but she took her time aiming for the opposite side of the hole Remy had used.
The trusty cable and piton all Watchmen used did its work nicely, firing into the side of the hole and attaching in the foot-thick roof deeply. Then it was a matter of climbing the short distance, letting the suit do the hard work of hauling itself up. Her gauntleted fingers dug into the stone as she crested the hole and flopped onto the roof with a clang.
“Are you okay?” Remy asked, skirting the gap as she ran for Beck. “Oh, holy shit. You’re bleeding.”
“Shot,” Beck said through clenched teeth. “Not very fun.”