Codename: Freedom- Book 5 - Chapter 34

“Lethal Accord, takes the lead!” Mr. Rachet proclaims.

“It’s coming down to the wire,” Bolt replied, looking at the timer.

Countdown

1:11:59

Giving Mia an apologetic look, Mr. Rachet continued, “It’s due to the long-term strategy of Lethal Accord. They have more rank D users, so they’ve been able to field more people while allowing others to rest. They’ve been doing it systematically from the beginning. The Burden Bearers, who were keeping them in check, didn’t have the same luxury. I’m surprised they lasted this long. They’re running out of energy. The Real Major is showing us why slow and steady is often the best strategy.”

The score was being kept up in a smaller window below the others.

Scoreboard

First Place – 17 Points

Ø  Lethal Accord

Second Place – 16 Points

Ø  Prodos

Third Place – 15 Points

Ø  Forefathers

Fourth Place – 13 Point

Ø  The Burden Bearers

They’d watched The Burden Bearers pull back for the first time since the event began. Over the last couple hours, they’d anticipated it. Lethal Accord had made their move, scoring three points in the last hour. The last two had gone unanswered. As soon as their capturer reached their base, another soldier grabbed a flag and took off at a sprint.

“The Forefathers look like they’re trying to flank them from atop the maze walls,” LeLisa said, showing the roguish twenty rank D users led by Brendon Black.

They’d entered the maze hundreds of yards to the west and were jumping from one wall to the next as they sped toward Lethal Accord.

“They’re going to try and intercept their runner,” Mia suggested.

The four metacasters were on the edge of their seats. An event that lasted forty-eight hours was not normal for them, but they’d eaten on stream and taken the best stimulants so that they could make it the distance.

“I can’t imagine how tired they are,” Bolt said, yawning. “It’s got to be slowing them down mentally even if it isn’t physically.”

Mr. Rachet cuffed his friend on the shoulder. “You’re saying Lethal Accord won’t see this coming?”

“I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m tired.”

The girls giggled. It wasn’t even that funny, but they were feeling it too.

Then they saw Lethal Accord react by pulling back from the central flag array for the first time since the event started. They hadn’t missed what was happening, but those at the center of the arena weren’t close enough to stop it. The Forefathers wreaked havoc amongst the rank E users and caught the rank D runner, killing him and taking his flag.

The chase began.

***

“This is it,” Hwan said, turning over onto his knees while allowing the blood to flow back into his lower regions as it should. “We’re not going to get a better chance.”

“I’m right behind you,” Handshake swore. “Thankfully there’s any flags left at all.”

“It’s certainly kind of them to leave us one. Sure you don’t want to hang out and maybe try to sneak up on the Real Major?”

“Tempting.”

“Crap. There’s a group coming from our part of the maze,” Hwan pointed out. “Still. I’m going.”

Without another word, he jumped out of his hiding spot for the first time in two days and ran down the line until he grabbed one of the last flags in play. All of the major players were busy. They weren’t the only ones looking to take advantage, though.

It was then that he called out to an old friend. “Destiny, I need a clear heading.”

His psionics had only reached rank F, so he ran as fast as his strengthening aura could take him. He wasn’t a speed demon like Lucius was in the first place.

A beacon lit up in the west. It was between the incoming battalion hoping to get their first flag and the retreating Forefathers.

He headed right for it. It’s not like he had any other choice.

“The fighting between the Real Major and Brendon Black in intense. They’re both losing men,” Destiny reassured. “Find a place to hide. I’m sending Mel and Lucius your way.”

The run from the central array to the entrance to the maze was the longest of his life. It’s like his nerves took that few minutes by the edges and pulled to stretch it out. When he made it, he felt a moment’s relief before realizing that anyone after his flag would’ve seen him run in here.

He kept running until he passed the corridor where the paths to main battalions’ bases met and dared to choose one at random that Destiny didn’t object to. Not every battalion had even defeated their manticore. As for those that did, only maybe a hundred in total had even tried to capture a flag. There were many maze exits into the arena that hadn’t shown any activity since the beginning of the event. As far as he knew, this was one of them.

The maze was called that because the passages between its walls had sharp and winding turns. They weren’t designed to cause a person to get lost, however. They existed to make the battlefield that much more interesting.

Hwan had had a lot of time to consider what he might do in any given situation. Once he found he most out of the way corner he could, he tossed the flag he’d captured to the ground and pulled back, relying on his stealth gear to hide him. There was no way they were going to make it back to their part of the maze.

The flag glowed with its own aura, but it couldn’t be seen through walls. It was possible that no one would ever find it here. If they did, he and Handshake would be waiting. So they got into position and waited for help to come.

***

As soon as Hwan grabbed his flag, Victoria reached out to me. “A flag is in play,” she cried.

The problem? I was already diving into a heavily guarded courtyard to hopefully grab another flag of my own. With one in play, that meant I wouldn’t be able to pick it up even if I wanted to.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to divert my direction, but to do so substantially would require psionics, and I was nowhere near a wall that could have helped. I’d have to rely on Wind Walk.

The timing was terrible, but it also meant someone had grabbed ahold of a sudden opportunity. That was something I could get behind.

I was able to move off target and aimed for the top of a nearby building. The moment I did, a blaring alarm sounded from below. The hundreds of men scattered about in defensive positions looked up all at once. They didn’t see me immediately, but their eyes scanned the sky.

They weren’t the first to have learned my secret. Knowing and defending again it was something else entirely. Freefalling without activating my psionics was simply that powerful.

The first silver bolt flew wide. Three more came.

I dodged without psionics.

Then several more came from multiple angles.

Usually I was doing evasive maneuvers after I’d pulled up from my collision with the ground. Not this time.

A full powered psionic push sent me wide of the roof toward a sidewalk between buildings. I used it to keep myself from going splat and darted right past the entrance to their main building where people were flooding out.

There was no straight flying. Side to side—up and down—I just kept moving. It wasn’t until I reached the wall to their base that I saw an out until a group of psionic casters poked their heads up over the wall and tired their hand at bird hunting.

I was sure that this was it. I did the closet thing to a ninety degree turn against the inside of their defensive wall which slowed me down drastically. I used it like a raceway, pushing against it and the ground as I sped toward the rear of their base, but I was too much of a sitting target.

Mel was the only thing that saved me. Doing his thing and firing off green lightning from on high, he skipped the overcharged bolts and became a human gatling gun. Those on the wall and who’d been chasing after me were forced back. Suppressive fire was nothing new, but this was not the kind of thing just anyone could do. Even his normal bolts took large chunks out of the stone wall.

Once I was mostly in the clear, I called out through my headset, “Go. I’m right behind you.”

I’d heard some of Destiny’s explanation to him the last few seconds. Hwan, that pretty faced punk had grabbed a flag from the center and ran. They were currently in a safe position, but it might not stay that way. Their flag needed an evac.

“You need me,” Mel insisted. “If you die, this battalion gets a point.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I objected. “We just can’t let Lethal Accord or the Forefathers kill me. Anyone else can have me. I’m going to try to go up the back corner. The point to tie this is waiting. Get going already. Unless all that talk about you not wanting to rely on me was nonsense.”

“Fine. I’m leaving.”

“Oh, and Mel. Don’t fall to your death while trying to get down from up there. That would be embarrassing. Especially if we lose because of it.”

“How about you step out into the clearing and let me shoot you. Do you think if I killed you it will count as our point?”

“It wouldn’t count,” Destiny replied.

We both laughed at her, which I realized a second later was a really bad idea. Even if I’d stopped between the wall and a building, it didn’t mean this battalion didn’t have people in towers looking for headshots.

He did actually leave a moment later after sending one last overcharged shot at sniper to keep them honest. Now I just had to figure out how to get out of this mess.

***

“Now of all times?” Bolt complained. “Lucius has been successful on all his other attempts. Who now?”

“This is only the third base he’s attacked that wasn’t under siege by another battalion,” Mr. Rachet reminded them. “There are too many eyes on the flag, and their AIs aren’t overwhelmed. It’s impressive that they were able to spot him before he reached it.”

LeLisa suddenly squawked in laughter, which was not like her at all.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen she was pointing at. Oren put up a replay without anyone asking. The flag the Forefathers were fighting to keep was struck by a rank D psionic bolt and disappeared from the hand of the man holding it.

“No way,” Mr. Rachet said.

Bolt slumped back in his chair.

It had easily been the deadliest skirmish between rank D users of the event. The Forefathers lost six men and Lethal Accord lost four. When Brendon Black called for a retreat, most of them stayed together, which had been one of the main reasons they’d had so much success. Not everyone could do as they wished, however. The Forefathers had tried to keep their superior position on top of the maze walls throughout the fight, but the only way to pull out was to jumped into the maze to escape Lethal Accord’s constant barrage of rank D bolts.

The majority of them remained with Brendon Black, but two smaller groups retreated into different passages. With the flag broken, Brendon’s objective was obvious. He was going to make a play to return to the central arena to try and grab it before Lethal Accord.

As for the other groups, they didn’t have the same kind of numbers. Including Brendon, there were seven rank D users in his group. Another had four, the next had three, while the remain one was the odd man out. He dove into the maze and found a corner to hide in. With so many Lethal Accord members close by, it was the only thing he could do.

As for the other two small groups, they traveled the maze as far as they could before returning to the top of the walls and bounding across them in the opposite direction.

“I can’t say I’m sad to see the Forefathers lose that fight,” Mr. Rachet said.

“Guys,” Mia said, leaning forward. “They’re retreating to where Prodos’s stealth team is hiding their flag.”

Oren pulled up an overhead angle that showed the three- and four-man groups heading toward them. The maze wasn’t a small part of the map, and it seemed the four-man group would likely miss it entirely, but there was a chance the smaller of the two would jump right over the place the flag was secured. It was still possible they wouldn’t see it, so they watched intently.

It was as it seemed. The four-man group missed them entirely, but then the three-member group drew near. The flag was up against the wall facing the direction they were coming. It was in the best possible position and Hwan and Handshake didn’t try to move it.

The first two men leaped over the gap overhead without stopping. The last man did so and readied to jump over the next gap when he hesitated. Glancing back, his eyes were pulled toward the glow. The man’s face lit up.

LeLisa of all people cursed.

“Audio’s cut,” Oren replied.

The woman cringed, giving Mia’s producer a grateful look.

The rank D user called the other two guys back. They jumped from the top of the wall to the ground and approached the flag.

“Someone must have hid it here and wasn’t about to get back,” one of the men said as it took the last remaining steps before reaching down for it.

“Let’s hurry. They might be coming back. The last thing I want to do right now if face an army of rank E users.”

“Agreed,” the man said before grabbing ahold of flag’s pole. The moment he did, he froze.

A long dark dagger appeared out of nowhere. Its blade was already deep in his neck.

***

HandshakeDeath appeared where he was crouched behind the flag.

The other two men of the Forefathers summoned bolts to end the darkly dressed man. The moment they did, another man appeared behind them. He had a handgun trained one of the men and had already pulled the trigger. The small formfactor railgun was a favorite among assassins. Electronic propulsion was much quieter than more explosive methods, and the bullet used traveled at sub-sonic speeds.

Rank D shielding could block rounds many times more powerful, but a psionic user dropped their shielding when casting a bolt. Not only that, but the man had no ballistic armor covering the back of his head.

Handshake’s blade placement and twisting technique made it a sure and mostly silent kill, but Hwan’s target was dead before he even knew it.

In an instant, the Forefathers had lost two more rank D users. Hwan started firing his weapon at the last man standing. He moved behind the man’s falling comrade to give him a few last moments to try something.

Handshake had done something similar, except instead of trying to attack, he grabbed the flag from the man who’s throat he’d just slit and jumped out from under his fall. The last thing he wanted was for the man to grab and hold him until his last dying breath.

The last remaining rank D user standing turned his psionic bolt toward Hwan since he didn’t have a clear shot on the first guy. A few pathetic rounds slapped him on the ballistic suit. He held his bolt ready until the man that had been standing nearby slumped to the ground. He found his target and fired.

Hwan dove to the side, but the bolt was too fast. It slammed into his hip, crippling him.

The canister flew from Handshake’s hand.

Another rank D psionic bolt was aimed at his chest.

The canister exploded. Blinding agent billowed into the area, blanketing the world in darkness.

The only thing Hwan could manage was to roll over. Another psionic bolt nearly ripped his arm off. Maybe it had. A bloody grin came to his face. He had the right lenses to see through the gas, but moving his head wasn’t an option. Enough damage had been done that he’d bleed to death soon anyway.

After sitting on his butt for two days hiding, he’d finally got to do something. Grabbing a flag and running was certainly something, but he’d just assassinated a rank D user in the coolest way possible. Well, maybe not as cool as Handshake’s kill, but his timing had been perfect. That was something to go on his resume. He wasn’t sure if this last thing would count, but he was happy to have met so many nice people on Lucius’s Combat Development Team. One in particular had a very explosive personality.

He left the timing to Destiny. His own AI could’ve handled it, but working with Lucius’s AI gave him Gravel vibes. “Those were the days,” he thought as the explosive backpack built into his ballistic suit detonated.

***

The panel of metacaster watched as the last man remaining for the Forefathers was thrown from one side of the maze to the other only to collided headfirst with the wall. He’d been using his psionic shielding just in case the gas would mess with him, but it wasn’t enough. He’d walked right by the dying Prodos assassin when the man had self-detonated. Psionic shielding could block a lot of damage, but it couldn’t strengthen the neck.

They watched through the gas as the man’s shielding dropped. He’d died on impact.

The four meta personalities shared a look. HandshakeDeath was running as fast as he could through the maze.

LeLisa announced it as they saw it happen. “The four-man group from the Forefathers are giving chase.”

“Lucius?” Bolt asked.

“He just made it back to the top,” Mia replied. “Mel?”

“Uh…” Mr. Rachet began but stopped to watch.

Mel was standing at the ledge of the half mile high tunnel that HandshakeDeath was retreating toward. A Manticore King was curled up in the middle of the tunnel, enjoying a nap. Instead of requesting his psi-rifle from his shadow drone, Mel stepped off.