Erasure and Affirmation (Hypernaturals 11)

Motherload

In the pantry, there are all the facilities one could hope for. Free food and drinks. Prep areas. Microwaves. Tables and chairs to hide under. Or, like one group did, tipping them over and hide behind. It's like announcing where you are. Did not even need IR.

"Low/high." Morgan said, and then made it clear she is 'high'. She ran forward, leaped, inverted and as she traversed the top of the table upside-down, fired into the group now below her sailing self.

"Show off!" I said as I ducked down, went left to the two hiding over there, skidded on my knees, and popped the pair.

We bound the latest Siren set.

We returned to the open area to see our Crew threesome clearing the cubical area. I suppose they realized we needed them out of our backs worse than they needed to babysit us.

Morgan listened.

"Crew off that way." She pointed to our right. "Whoever is over there, they are covered. That way is a secured lab." She pointed to the left." I do not hear any Crew that way."

"Agree." I concurred, as the official sidekick.

That is agreeing to two things. No Crew there and that is her and my new target.

"Reload." Morgan told me.

We pulled out clips and inserted fresh. The clips we pulled were not empty. Morgan wanted fresh for an unknown room and opponent count. I thought it smart.

At the door to the lab, normally badge and biometrics secured, but wide open, we opened and rolled in.

Inside we found what is probably the motherlode, not counting whoever gets the data center. Take a standard high school science lab with all the tables and Bunsen burners. Set on the lab tables, some big clear glass boxes. Equip said boxes with sealed off gloves and waldos for manipulating whatever is inside of them. Ventilation hoods over them. A wall of cages down the wall to the left. Experimental animals. I stuffed down my sarcasm about them making Vampire mice and hamsters, because there is an unexpectedly large number of people in this space, and it is time to focus. The fresh clips are absolutely required.

I remember this space from the briefings. Two doors. The one we just came in and an emergency exit. Against all fire codes, there is a large visible chain across the emergency exit on the wall opposite us. A secured lab secured the cheap way. No way out except through us.

The assault plan had a team coming in that emergency exit. I am guessing they tried that door already. and found it blocked.

"I'll run along that wall." Morgan pointed right. The short axis of the room. "You run down the wall of cages. 'L' shaped Crossfire." Morgan said.

"Done." I agreed.

Morgan is shooting down much longer aisle between the tables than I am. I ignored the people in the first cross-aisle. Morgan will get them all.

When I got to the second aisle, I popped the closest people. The people on the far wall will be easier targets on the way back because the people in front of them will be on the floor.

I have four more cross aisles as this is a big lab, and as I progressed the experimenters were becoming ever more aware of their situation and reacting negatively to being hunted like this.

I can relate. You know what? If you don't want to be hunted, don't hunt us first. Also: Don't be working in a bio lab dedicated to hurting us. Vampire paybacks are a bitch. The good news for me is they know about Vampires here, so I can run and fire at full speed.

They are all wearing isolation suits in here, not unlike the ones I saw when they darted me, so the darts I am firing have to go in center mass to penetrate to the skin. That put the drugs farther from their brains. It also made the contact paralytic less effective. Cries went up, and they reacted by looking around, diving for cover behind tables, and hitting the floor.

Cry babies. I blessed them for making my job easier.

Whenever I saw someone take a hit from Morgan from all the way up her end of the cross-aisle, I shifted aim quickly to alternate targets

I am really glad we reloaded.

At the end of the aisle, I spun on my toe and returned up the way I came, firing cross-body at people still awake and up. Many with no visible darts. Some that have not taken full effect yet.

I met Morgan by the entryway.

"I'm reloading again." I told her.

"Same." Morgan agreed.

We snapped out clips and inserted fresh.

"Should we leave one of us here and have the other run the room looking for awake people?" I asked.

"Yes. If they make a break for it, I will let them come to you." Morgan said, implicitly assigning me to the door duty.

"I will start on the farthest away longest aisle, and work toward you. This will take a few minutes if I have to stop and evaluate for anyone playing possum." Morgan waved her dart rifle in the direction she is headed.

"Bring me something nice. You know what I like." I said.

"I do. Later. I will send you Screaming Sirens now instead."

"OK." I said in fake sadness.

Morgan went down the aisle I did. Occasionally firing, then once in the corner turned and went to the farthest corner of the room from me.

One clever lab lady, looking back Morgan's way, burst out of an aisle, halted when she saw me. Her terrorized eyes, easily visible behind her suit's clear hood. Those eyes closed, and she sank to the floor, a gloved hand on the dart just below her sternum. One possum player down for real now.

Good as her word, Morgan slowly and carefully flushed out environmental suited people. Some had Darts dangling from their protective garments that never penetrated to their skin. One had a dart wiggling from the air hose that curled around to the filtration unit on their back. That air filter assembly made darts useless when aimed there. If you shoot someone in the back, have to do it in the butt. As the ones flushed to me were facing me, I center-shot this set of people to get good needle penetration. Abdomen or buns: One way or the other, everyone got their own special dart.

Morgan checked the space again in a last sweep, and then she and I worked to zip-tie the people in the room. That cut seriously into our mutual supply of plastic handcuffs.

With the lab secured, Morgan and I returned to the cubicle area outside the break room and found Crew standing around, guns slung. Having a chat.

"Coffee available over there." I said and pointed with my gun to the break room.

"I looked. All crap. Single-cup brewing kaka." Valeria said.

"Sorry. That is very unwelcoming of them." I agreed. "We brought the darts for entertainment. They could have catered."

Denise and her two Co-Crew came into the space looking for targets.

"Coffee is that way." Valeria offered her boss.

"You are stealing my material." I accused her.