about it and whatever weirdass electrical ghost thing you’ve got goes on the PUFF list tomorrow,” Foster snapped back. “Now make sure you tweak the time stamp on that murder so it coincides with their exit.”
The others were already waiting at the correct elevator. Kurst joined them. The door closed behind them. The Spider pointed at the hidden panel. Kurst went to it and spoke. “Franks. One.”
“Forcing voice pattern recognition.” A glowing ball of light appeared in the elevator car with them. The will-o’-the-wisp bounced about wildly as Renfroe’s voice come from inside of it. “Adjusting scanners. Changing weights. Damn. The Spider is ugly as hell on the X-ray . . . What is she? Okay, okay, never mind. That’s gone. And now it’s just Franks in here. All records match. Changing the logs so he’s going rather than coming . . . Okay. You’re good. Camera on the other side is live.”
“I give them good show,” the Spider said. Then she covered her mouth with both hands and blushed, as if she was jealous of all the attention.
The blast door rolled open. Two tired MCB guards were on the other side. To their eyes and to the camera above them it was the hulking form of Agent Franks that entered the security room.
“Evening, er, morning, Agent Franks. I hadn’t been told you’d left the building.”
Kurst ignored them, walked to the lockers, and picked out the number Stricken had supplied him with. He balled up one fist and slammed it through the sheet metal. Kurst yanked the door off the hinges, then reached back inside and pulled out a Glock 20. The guards were surprised, briefly, then he shot them dead with a single well-placed round each.
“And cut,” Foster said. “Beautiful. That’s the opening scene of our masterpiece. I call it Franks goes on a rampage. ”
The metal detector buzzed as Kurst went through it. He’d sensed more heartbeats on the other side of a partition. There were two more guards there and he intercepted them as they came out. They had their sidearms drawn, but their human reactions were far too slow to keep up with his movements. He shot the one who was further away in the throat, then took hold of the closer of the two and hurled him into the nearest concrete wall hard enough to break half the bones in his body. Kurst took a moment to take the guard’s spare magazines of MCB-issued silver 10mm, while Four and Nine entered and took the other two pistols and all the magazines from the locker. Ballistic testing would show that the bullets pulled from the victims’ bodies came from Franks’ issue weapons.
You know what to do.
The four of them went to the real elevator. “Cameras show your primary target is in his office,” Foster told them over the radio. Kurst pushed the button for the ninth floor. “Secondary target stopped at the cafeteria on the third floor.” Kurst pushed that button as well. “Spider, can you disguise multiple assets at the same time across that much distance?”
“Yes, Mr. Foster. I do my best for you!”
“Okay, Renfroe, you’ve got some editing to do. Make it seamless.”
The three Nemesis prototypes waited patiently while the Tsuchigumo hid in the back. Two of them were wearing heavy backpacks. One pack had already been left at the security checkpoint. They rode in silence. Kurst did not need to give the order. At the third floor, Nine stepped out and walked away silently. She would take care of their secondary target. They continued upward.
The door slid open. The ninth floor was a maze of cubicles and offices. This was the administrative center of the Monster Control Bureau. There were a handful of people there, a few MCB employees, and some janitors vacuuming and dumping trash baskets. Franks would be on the far side of the space.
Kurst lifted the stolen 10mm and shot a janitor in the spine.
* * *
Gunshot.
Franks unconsciously reached for a pistol, only to find his holsters empty. Fucking Stark.
“We’re under
The others were already waiting at the correct elevator. Kurst joined them. The door closed behind them. The Spider pointed at the hidden panel. Kurst went to it and spoke. “Franks. One.”
“Forcing voice pattern recognition.” A glowing ball of light appeared in the elevator car with them. The will-o’-the-wisp bounced about wildly as Renfroe’s voice come from inside of it. “Adjusting scanners. Changing weights. Damn. The Spider is ugly as hell on the X-ray . . . What is she? Okay, okay, never mind. That’s gone. And now it’s just Franks in here. All records match. Changing the logs so he’s going rather than coming . . . Okay. You’re good. Camera on the other side is live.”
“I give them good show,” the Spider said. Then she covered her mouth with both hands and blushed, as if she was jealous of all the attention.
The blast door rolled open. Two tired MCB guards were on the other side. To their eyes and to the camera above them it was the hulking form of Agent Franks that entered the security room.
“Evening, er, morning, Agent Franks. I hadn’t been told you’d left the building.”
Kurst ignored them, walked to the lockers, and picked out the number Stricken had supplied him with. He balled up one fist and slammed it through the sheet metal. Kurst yanked the door off the hinges, then reached back inside and pulled out a Glock 20. The guards were surprised, briefly, then he shot them dead with a single well-placed round each.
“And cut,” Foster said. “Beautiful. That’s the opening scene of our masterpiece. I call it Franks goes on a rampage. ”
The metal detector buzzed as Kurst went through it. He’d sensed more heartbeats on the other side of a partition. There were two more guards there and he intercepted them as they came out. They had their sidearms drawn, but their human reactions were far too slow to keep up with his movements. He shot the one who was further away in the throat, then took hold of the closer of the two and hurled him into the nearest concrete wall hard enough to break half the bones in his body. Kurst took a moment to take the guard’s spare magazines of MCB-issued silver 10mm, while Four and Nine entered and took the other two pistols and all the magazines from the locker. Ballistic testing would show that the bullets pulled from the victims’ bodies came from Franks’ issue weapons.
You know what to do.
The four of them went to the real elevator. “Cameras show your primary target is in his office,” Foster told them over the radio. Kurst pushed the button for the ninth floor. “Secondary target stopped at the cafeteria on the third floor.” Kurst pushed that button as well. “Spider, can you disguise multiple assets at the same time across that much distance?”
“Yes, Mr. Foster. I do my best for you!”
“Okay, Renfroe, you’ve got some editing to do. Make it seamless.”
The three Nemesis prototypes waited patiently while the Tsuchigumo hid in the back. Two of them were wearing heavy backpacks. One pack had already been left at the security checkpoint. They rode in silence. Kurst did not need to give the order. At the third floor, Nine stepped out and walked away silently. She would take care of their secondary target. They continued upward.
The door slid open. The ninth floor was a maze of cubicles and offices. This was the administrative center of the Monster Control Bureau. There were a handful of people there, a few MCB employees, and some janitors vacuuming and dumping trash baskets. Franks would be on the far side of the space.
Kurst lifted the stolen 10mm and shot a janitor in the spine.
* * *
Gunshot.
Franks unconsciously reached for a pistol, only to find his holsters empty. Fucking Stark.
“We’re under
Similar Books
