Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book Seven by Robert J. Crane Page B

I got on the plane to come over here. What was the likelihood Omega would give me one?
    “I need a gun,” I whispered to Janus, who was only a pace or two behind me. Karthik was edging up on my shoulder and I exchanged a look between the two of them as Janus looked to Karthik. Karthik, in turn, reached to his belt and handed me a small, boxy thing with a handle and a trigger that looked like a gun, but only if I squinted really hard. And was stupid. It was lighter and felt like it was made of plastic. I held it up and noticed some yellow crosshatching on the “barrel” as I waved it. “What the hell is this?”
    “Taser,” Karthik replied.
    “Well, this will certainly help me if we run into a meta that can kill an entire village.”
    “Sorry,” Karthik said, and I could hear the notes of genuine contrition in his tone. “Guns aren’t quite as easy to procure here as in America.”
    I stared at the flimsy little shock gun in my hand and shook my head. “More’s the pity; I doubt this nine-volt battery is going to do a hell of a lot to something like Wolfe.”
    “And a pistol would?” Janus asked with a smile.
    I shrugged as I reached the top of the church steps. I continued to lead, even though Karthik had a perfectly good 9mm clenched in his hand. I let my thumb click the little handle to release the door, and I started to swing it open slowly, listening for noise from within over the sound of squeaking hinges.
    “Excellent work,” Bast hissed from behind me. “I’m certain they didn’t hear that door open in Surrey.”
    “Is that far?” I asked, not moving my eyes off the darkness within the church as a wave of air pushed out from inside. The smell was stronger now, turned loose by the opening of the door, a hint of rot and worse. I had a feeling I knew what we were going to find inside, so it came as a surprise to me when I looked down the main aisle of the church to find the entire place empty, the marble floors shining from the dim light being let in by the stained glass windows.
    “Looks clear,” Karthik said quietly, and I felt him relax, heard him reholster his pistol.
    I took another sniff, and behind me, Bast did the same. “Hardly.” The smell was thick; faint, but much stronger than it had been outside. I shot a look at her. “What do you think? Basement?” She nodded, and we veered off, opening doors to see if there was an entrance underneath either of the towers that lay to our right and left. After we found that there wasn’t, we advanced slowly down the center aisle of the church, my shoes clicking against the floor. Janus’s did as well, his leather wingtips squeaking with each step. I shot him a look; the suit and tie was hardly the right approach for what we were doing here. “Are you sensing anything?” I asked.
    He gave a slight shake of the head. “Not really. Other than the three of you, and the rather bored sensation of most of those officers outside.”
    “I have a feeling things are about to get considerably more interesting for them,” I said as we reached the far end of the church. There was a door for the pastor to enter through into the back chambers, and we headed toward it. This time, Karthik dodged ahead of me and I let him.
    We entered a small set of rooms like a dressing chamber, and sure enough, there was a stone staircase against the far wall. The rich, velvety red carpet gave with considerable softness as we crossed it. A chill crept into me as I wondered what we’d find next. The idle thought came to me that I’d actually never been inside a church, and I wondered in a detached way if my life would have been different if I had. I shrugged it off, thinking about how I lived in a world where people who used to be called gods were standing within easy reach of me right at this very moment and I tried to not give it any more thought.
    The air grew damper as we descended, the colorful carpets and rich woods of the back rooms giving way to the musty smell of