Chromium

Chapter 19.2

First draft

Lightning rippled around the horizon as the AMU raced through the snow, rammed into the antiblast doors at maximum speed and only stopped when it met a wall. The collision was so brutal, Dia heard the metal joints of her exoskeleton screeching as she tried standing up.  The light tank had been built to last, but now its front was crushed, while plaster, debris, and snow were scattered across the entrance room.

Dia heard Willis puke then curse as he and the rest of the group stumbled out of the AMU. They were still groggy, trying to find their bearings, when half a dozen men came running, guns blazing. Dia and the others had no time to think, and returned fire. The gunfight that followed was short as much as it was brutal. Armed only with simple laser pistols, the guards looked more like warehousemen than trained soldiers. But although they were clearly outgunned and wore no body armor of any kind, they displayed unusual courage and resilience, resisting till the bitter end. It was all useless, of course. The low-energy guns the guards were using were utterly ineffective against their exoskeletons. Dia and the others wiped them out with methodic, ruthless efficiency. 

"Was this the last of them?" Sarah asked when the smoke faded.

Willis looked grim. "For now."

Rodriguez looked at the charred remains and shook her head. "These guys...what were they thinking? Why didn't they just surrender?"

"Maybe they had a death wish." Willis shrugged. "Who cares."

"Ok, enough talk. We have to find the Lab." Omen took charge of the situation. "Fanning..."

He started, but much to his dismay, the pirate was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, come on." Dia made an exasperated sound. "Not this again!" 

Everyone started looking around but without luck. Fanning was gone.

"That son of a..." Willis started cursing. "I knew it! I knew he'd screw us over!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now really isn't the time, Jacob." Rodriguez said.

"Yeah, Willis, calm down." Dia interjected. "I understand how you feel but..."

"Calm down?! How can I calm down?!" Willis said, still worked up. "That guy's making us look like a bunch of amateurs!"

"It's not that hard."

Willis whipped his head toward Omen, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Omen shrugged. "Nothing, really. It's just that if you are a pro, you should act like one."

Willis looked at him in resentment, but at least he stopped shouting.

Sarah, who had been silent so far, asked,  "What we do now?" 

Dia looked at Omen, leaving the decision to him.

"We have to find him." That was all he said. Dia wasn't sure he was talking about Fanning.

"How?" Willis asked. "This place is a maze."

"For starters, let's go down one level and find the elevator."

No one objected. They decided to split into two groups to cover more ground. Since Omen and Willis were like oil and water, Dia joined the mercs while Omen went with Sarah.

Dia and the others went through a doorway at the end of a long corridor that opened into a large but bare room. Six sets of bunk beds were lined up in a row, while the rest of the room was empty except for an old computer left forgotten on a dirt-cheap plastic desk.

"What is this place?" Rodriguez asked.

"The guards' quarter, probably." Dia answered.

it reminded her a bit of her dorm at the Academy, only much dirtier. A thick layer of grime and dust coated the floor, but the dust wasn't uniform.