Page 120 of Jump or Fall
“Yeah.” She exhaled sharply. “Did you check your power level?”
She couldn’t see it, but she had a feeling he was smiling. “Ninety-eight percent. Logan’s carrying extra lithpacks too.” He reached out a hand. “Stay close to me.”
She reached for his gloved hand.
“Always.”
They turned a corner, revealing a wall of Silvers stationed in front of Dawson’s house. So far, their incoming assault had gone unnoticed, but the mech’s heavy footfalls would give them away soon enough. It separated from the by turning down a side street.
Silva threw up an arm, halting the group. “Everyone take cover. Send out our army of undead as decoys. We should be close enough not to fall out of range until they get knocked. While they’re distracted, our big boy will really get things going.”
Everyone tapped their helmets to acknowledge. Mara ducked behind a low stone wall with Gordon, settling into a position outside a stranger’s house. She issued a command and watched on the screen as her three suits shambled forward.
On Gordon’s gauntlet display, the aerial feed showed their advance from above. One of the birds perched in a tree, its mechanical gaze fixed on the battle that was about to unfold, while the other circled high.
It didn’t take long. The Silvers spotted their army of the dead and opened fire. Suits jerked and contorted as bullets tore through them. The one missing an arm staggered until it lost connection, crumpling into a heap of gore and shattered plates.
Beyond, the mech lurked at the edge of the fight, unnoticed. The remaining suits pressed on, some still clutching weapons, firing in wild, erratic bursts.
Then, the mech’s eyes brightened—a cold, glowing blue that gradually darkened into the hellish red they had seen before.
It raised an arm, targeting a cluster of Silvers crouched behind a car. The end of its hand pulsed orange-hot before it unleashed a massive blast.
The explosion sent bodies flying, the car flipping onto its roof in a shriek of twisting metal. They hit the ground hard, their suits punctured and igniting from their lithpacks.
Their screams cut through the air, high and raw. One rolled frantically, but the flames only grew. Another crawled toward his comrade and reached out in a pleading gesture but there was nothing they could do.
Mara flinched. Silver or not, the sounds of their distressed cries sent an icy chill down her spine.
I wish I could make them stop.
The Silvers pivoted, aiming for the mech’s head. Their bullets pelted its metal body, but it barely flinched. Another blast erupted from its hand while a hail of gunfire spewed from the other. Mara’s last suit lost connection, vanishing into the storm of fire and bodies.
Silva’s voice came through the comms. “Let’s join the party.”
Keeping low, they opened fire. Mara unloaded on them with the Basilisk, the bullets slicing through the chaos. One of Millon’s guards set up a Titan-HM6, a heavy machine gun mounted on a tripod. The rounds burst through Dawson’s stone wall, but not enough to break it down.
A heavy went off nearby, the explosion launching a Silver backward and crashing into the mech.
The mech’s glowing eyes flickered downward and it aimed.
The Silver yanked a heavy from his belt and detonated it in a final, desperate act.
The blast rocked the mech and sent it reeling under the onslaught of enemy fire.
“I'm going to draw them away from the gate,” Silva said. “Get ready to move.”
The mech retreated, firing sporadically to hold their attention. Mara and the others crept forward, staying low.
Gordon checked the perimeter with a bird. “Only a handful inside the gate.”
The heads-up display showed a response coming from someone named Viktor. “Throwing heavies. Logan will aim for the front door.”
A deafening boom erupted where the mech had lured the guards, followed by a chain of smaller explosions behind the gate. Mara scanned the neighboring houses. There were no signs of movement.
“What’s the situation with the neighbors?” she asked over the channel. “Anyone we need to worry about?”
Millon answered, “They cleared out once hands and bodies started showing up.”
