Weapons of the Gods

CHAPTER FOUR

The old, abandoned hospital sat amid several overgrown acres near Muswell Hill. It was a timeworn Victorian villa that had once been used as a home for disturbed psychiatric patients and people with a high drug dependency. Today it sat in decay, similar to many old buildings in London, with no clear signs as to the owner and nobody paid to maintain it.

Alicia viewed it from the street, a military scope in her hand. “I don’t like it,” she said. “Looks creepy.”

“The team’s resident scaredy cat,” Mai told Luther and Molokai in the back of the transit van. “I once saw her jump into a pit to escape a spider.”

“In my defense,” Alicia said, still observing, “it had legs the size of my arms.”

Hayden’s voice crackled over the comms system, coming from the van parked in front of theirs. “You guys see anything?”

“Rundown asylum,” Alicia said. “Abandoned. You say the power’s back on?”

“According to Bennett, yes. Nothing official, it’s not like they applied to the electric company. But there’s a power surge coming from that house and all utilities are working. It’s a big ass house.”

“Correct. A dozen people could get lost in there.”

“Are we sure this is the right place?” Dahl asked from the seat beside Drake.

“You heard Bennett. CCTV cameras reverse-imaged two of these guys, from the moment they killed the soldiers guarding the sword, through London, to here. Arrived ninety minutes ago. Haven’t a clue what they’ve been doing since.”

“Playing chess?” Kinimaka suggested.

“I doubt it dude. They’re mercs.”

“Good point. I Spy, then?”

Alicia chose that moment to comment. “Well, I spy a whopper in the front window. Could be ex-military.”

Luther leaned forward. “A whopper?”

Mai grunted. “With Alicia? That could mean a number of things.”

“A goon,” Alicia confirmed. “I guess that’s enough corroboration.” She threw the scope on the dashboard in front of her. “Can we go in and talk to them now?”

“I thought you said it was creepy,” Dahl said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my eyes closed.”

Drake cracked open the door. “Dahl, she’s with you. The rest — let’s go.”

Silently, the team exited their vans under a leaden gray sky, smelling rain on the mid-afternoon air. Bennett had provided weapons and other military trappings, so Drake found himself outfitted with an HK MP5 sub machine gun, a 9mm Sig Sauer, stun grenades and tear gas canisters. They wore assault suits, fireproof knee and elbow pads and a bullet-proof armored waistcoat designed not only to stop a bullet but also to absorb its kinetic energy.

Kinimaka and Smyth carried the breaching gear. A sledgehammer and battering ram, pneumatic tools and explosives. Others carried ladders and ropes.

They were all out, ready to strike the old asylum like a bolt of thunder. Drake leapt the short wall, landed in overgrowth and ran with his head low, gun aimed carefully ahead. The team were with him, their boots swishing through shrubbery the only sound. Trees were positioned here and there, providing brief shelter, and then they resumed, running for the wall of the house.

Drake arrived in seconds, putting his back to the brick. Half the team would go around back; half around the side. Drake gave it a minute and then crept under the nearest window, heading for the side of the large house. Another window loomed and then they grouped, preparing to breach. Drake waited for the “go” from the other team before giving the signal. Instantly, Mai and Dahl raced around him, taking point. He went third and knew Alicia was at his back.

A dozen targets stood between them and the sword.

A narrow path ran down the side of the house, covered by a triangular, tiled roof. It ended at the side door. Drake signaled Smyth to come around, who then breached the entrance with a battering ram. Dahl jumped in first, backed by Mai as the thick door swung back against its hinges. They were going in loud and hard, hoping to surprise their enemy into mistakes. Drake found himself inside a narrow kitchen, consisting mostly of shelves, cupboards and sinks, and then turned left along another narrow passage and through a much larger kitchen. To the left a staircase with a red threadbare carpet led to the first floor. To the right more rotting archways ran deeper into the house.

“Split,” Dahl called.

Alicia chose the house, followed by Kenzie, Yorgi and Molokai, the last man looking beastly, clad not only in his own clothes but in the SAS get-up too. Alicia couldn’t think of a time when she’d run with anyone more imposing. They cleared one room and then another, each a small sitting room still furnished with old sofas and spiderweb-coated bookcases that reached up to the ceiling. Old paintings, covered in dust, hung on the walls.

“It’s as though someone fled very quickly,” Kenzie breathed. “Spooky.”

“If this were a horror movie the original patients would still be here,” Molokai intoned. “Not that I watch horror movies much.”

Yorgi couldn’t take his eyes off the many potential treasures, though none of them sparkled any more. The Russian thief appeared to be cataloguing an inventory for later.

Gunfire sounded somewhere in the house. Alicia didn’t waver, just swept as fast as caution allowed around the eastern wall. They were nearing the back of the old hospital now; she could see overgrown garden through the windows ahead. Alert as she’d ever been, she saw a patch of shadow spreading across the floor from the doorway in front and fired instantly through the wooden paneling that protected it. There was a grunt, followed by a thump as a body fell into her path, chest pouring blood. She hurdled the dead mass, came down and saw another figure sheltering behind an overturned refrigerator to the right.

No fucking about today, asshole.

She hurled a grenade, then ran in the opposite direction, now following a corridor that ran parallel to the back of the house. The grenade exploded behind her, shrapnel flying everywhere, flames licking at the ceiling. A window smashed to their right, a frame buckled, but the refrigerator itself had stopped most of the blast — well, the refrigerator and the merc, to be fair.

Alicia sped along, stopping to clear rooms along the way, working in concert with Molokai and Kenzie as Yorgi searched for signs of the sword. By necessity, this was a rapid shock attack, but it would help to take at least a couple of the mercs alive.

Up ahead, there stood another closed door. Alicia saw vapor seeping through the gap along the bottom and pulled up sharply.

“Fire?”

“Doesn’t smell like fire.” Kenzie sniffed the air. “And it looks more like steam.”

Alicia readied herself, feeling a little bemused, then grabbed the brass doorknob. It turned easily, allowing her to crack it open a little. The spectacle beyond caused the corners of her mouth to curl up.

“Interesting,” she murmured. “It’s the men’s shower room.”

Kenzie shifted from foot to foot. “Is it occupied?”

“I’ll say.”

Alicia opened the door wider, an inch at a time. The noise of the three running showers and the banging rock music from someone’s phone boomed out, masking any noise they might have made. Alicia slipped in first, then Kenzie, Molokai and Yorgi. Before them lay a makeshift, open shower area — just six shower heads in a row and a sloped wet floor that led to a drain. Three naked, muscular mercs were soaping and rinsing, completely engrossed. Alicia paused for a moment at the edge of the wet area.

“Yogi, cover your eyes. You’re too young to see this.”

“I believe we should attack right away,” Molokai said, still giving Alicia the creeps in his voluminous robe-like clothes. “Whilst they are preoccupied.”

Alicia nodded. “I agree.”

“Then why are we waiting?”

“Welllll… I’m feeling quite relaxed right now.”

Yorgi approached the edge of the dry floor. “Do you see any weapons?”

Alicia glanced at him and choked. “Are you kidding me?”

Kenzie crouched. “Best show I’ve seen in a while.”

“I’m still worried about weapons,” Yorgi said, casting his eyes all around the room.

“Believe me,” Alicia still hadn’t taken her eyes away from the showers, “there’s nothing here that should worry you.”

Molokai leveled his gun. “Less talk,” he said. “More death.”

“Whoa,” Alicia reached out a hand and grabbed his cloth-covered wrist, noting the puff of dust that rose. “You can’t just shoot ’em. They’re naked.”

“You think they wouldn’t shoot us, given the same circumstances? They’re mercs — led only by money and power. They have no morals. You know this.”

“I guess.” Alicia nodded. “But don’t join them, Molokai. Rise above and be better.”

Kenzie rose now. “I’m all for killing the fuckers to be honest.”

Alicia regarded her. “And I thought you’d changed.”

“That was yesterday,” she said. “Today… I really don’t care.”

Alicia knew she was smarting badly from Dahl’s rejection. “He has a wife and children. You can’t ask him to give that up.”

“I won’t,” Kenzie said. “Soon, I won’t even be around.”

Alicia didn’t push it. She’d never liked the Israeli but grudgingly admitted she was a powerful asset to their team. Molokai moved again and Alicia strengthened her grip on his arm.

“Wait,” she said. “The guy on the right just dropped his soap.”

Seconds passed. Alicia peered harder, but then the taller of the three men wiped soap from his eyes and spotted them.

“Hey!”

Alicia set off without thinking, blocking Molokai’s aim. She couldn’t watch the bloody destruction of three unarmed men, despite their choice of occupation. An annoyed grunt sounded behind and then she was totally committed, dashing quickly toward the three naked mercs and feeling somewhat surreal.

The things I do for my job.

Kenzie was alongside, clearly wanting in on the action. The mercs lost their expressions of shock and discomfort, and took defensive positions. Alicia knew there was simply no point in bouncing off a musclebound body, so she dropped and slid in, using the water to smooth her approach. A kick upward as she neared the tallest merc, and a foot hooked behind his knee, caused him to buckle and fall forward and then she was up, at his back. She slammed an elbow down on his neck, felt him stagger.

He turned as she struck again, taking a hit to the ribs. His soaking wet body helped divert some of the power of her blow. It also helped him slip closer. She punched again, a double strike to the sternum. He staggered backward this time, head forced forward. Alicia front-kicked his stomach. The man slipped to one knee. She attacked but he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close.

“Shit, dude, this ain’t how I roll.”

“I won’t let go.” He squeezed harder, trying to crush her ribs.

“Didn’t realize you cared.”

She used his own slippery body to squeeze down through his hands, and then they were both rolling on the floor, soaked through.

Kenzie certainly didn’t stand on ceremony, using her opponent’s nakedness to help herself. The blows she struck were telling, and well placed. In his desperation though, the merc grabbed her knees and forced her to the floor, so that she also was grappling through the sloshing waters. The third merc ducked behind the wrestlers too as Molokai lined him up in his sights.

“Typical mercenary,” Molokai intoned. “Yorgi, my friend, go get him.”

The Russian thief stared. “Why can’t you?”

“I don’t want to get my feet wet.”

“Oh, sorry, is that a leper thing?”

“No, it’s a sanity thing. Just lift his head up a little and I’ll do the rest.”

“I remember now. You feel the cold quite badly, yes? Well, so do I. And I don’t want to feel anything else, thank you. Those guys are naked.”

“It doesn’t seem to bother the women!”

Yorgi shook his head at the huge man. “You have a lot to learn about Alicia Myles.”

The showers still surged and the banging sound of guitars screamed from the cellphone. Alicia lifted her man by the ankles, knowing she didn’t have to do too much to set him down hard on his spine. It worked, but she fell onto his midriff, getting a bit closer than she’d bargained for. It was impossible to lay down the power and the telling blows amid such slick mayhem. Her clothing was soaked, her boots filled with water. Maybe this idea hadn’t been such a good one after all.

She used the slick surface to crawl up his top half, grabbed hold of his head and forced it beneath the shower’s pounding flow. He gurgled and struggled; Alicia using her knee to force the breath from his body. To her right Kenzie struggled with her merc and now Alicia saw the third crouching behind her and looking scared.

Molokai?

The man should come with a fucking leash, never mind the enigmatic robes. Alicia held her opponent in place and then heard the sloshing of boots as another attacker came from her right. It was Yorgi, and he launched himself at the third merc with what looked like a broken piece of tile in his hand. Despite all the incredible, witty one-liners this opportunity offered Alicia she couldn’t help but feel a shiver of fear for the Russian.

He was no fighter, and clearly wanted to knock the third merc into unconsciousness rather than kill him. Alicia was forced to wait extra seconds as she saw Yorgi smash the merc across the temple, draw blood, and then slip heavily onto his own tailbone. The air rushed out of him; his face turned white. The merc rebounded and kicked him in the face. The tile went skimming away.

Alicia hammered her merc hard until he moved no more, then pulled him so that his face was clear of the water. She saw Kenzie employing an interesting handhold with her opponent, one arm passing under his groin and half way up his back whilst the other choked him into unconsciousness. Clearly, the girl had a few cool tricks in her arsenal. Alicia met the third merc boot-first, making sure it contacted heavily with his right cheek. Then she rose cautiously and moved in as he fell away. By the time he looked up she was standing over him.

Yorgi scrambled up to her. “Hurry.”

“You sure you don’t want get it on with this mammoth?”

“No. I was just saving his life.”

“You hear that?” Alicia bent down and smashed the merc in the face. “He… was… just—” each word signaled a punch “—saving… your… life.”

The man bellowed loudly and rose up, shedding water. He came at Alicia. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him away, but he somehow arrested the slide with a solidly planted back foot and then came again. Alicia smashed an elbow into his nose, stunning him, then proceeded to lash out half a dozen more times. The merc fell back every time, bleeding profusely from the nose and forehead.

He put his head down and attacked once more, a bull in a shower stall. She stepped smartly aside as he reached her, caught hold of his head, and added some momentum of her own. Unable to stop, he smashed skull first into the concrete wall where the showers were set, then groaned as he leaned there, trying not to slip to the floor. Alicia allowed him no dignity, planting her foot against his ass and pushing until he lost balance, falling among the flowing waters.

She whipped her head around. Kenzie had choked her opponent out and now rose, dripping water and soaked to the bone. Alicia stared at her, feeling the liquid sluicing off her own body in waves.

“Still think that was a good idea?” Kenzie asked.

“It wasn’t my best,” Alicia admitted. “I guess the sight of man-sausage just confuses my brain.”

Molokai met them as they exited the shower area, trying to shake the worst of the water away. Alicia squeezed her hair and Kenzie smoothed her clothes. Yorgi emptied his boots. They turned for a last glance back at the showers.

“Surreal,” Alicia commented.

“Waste of time,” Molokai said. “Five seconds and I’d have ended them.”

“Sometimes,” Alicia said, “you just have to try harder.”

“And now we leave live, capable enemies at our backs.”

Alicia hadn’t failed to notice. She’d taken their cellphones, clothes and discarded weapons. “I doubt that, my friend.”

Molokai ignored her and headed for the exit door, taking a moment to peer up and down the corridor. The coast was clear, and gunfire raged from a distant corner of the house.

“We have to go.”

“Lead the way.”

Leaving the mercs and that area of the extensive asylum behind, the foursome raced for the side where the other teams were engaged in battle.