Part 6 (1/2)
”What do you know about it?” one of the other members asked. ”I mean, is this supposed to make you fly, chill, buzz, what?”
”From what Mr. Clean's people told me, it's supposed to turn you into Superman,” one of the men said. ”Dunno what the f.u.c.k that means, but that's what they promised me.”
”Drop in or wait?” Riley asked. ”Part of me wants to kick some a.s.s.”
I shook my head, holding up my hand. ”We need intel more than intimidation. You're recording this?”
”Of course,” Riley whispered back. ”It's automatic.”
I nodded, knowing my gear was set up the same way, but it had been a while since Riley did such a job. I turned my attention back to the conversation below.
”What if one of the masked people show up?” one of the Eighty-Eights asked. ”They've been more active recently.”
”Mr. Clean's people a.s.sure me that the Fire and Ice group won't be an issue. Apparently, one of them won't even be in action for a while soon anyway.”
The words shook me, and I looked over at Riley, who shrugged. Could there be someone that knew or suspected who we were? There was no time for discussion about it now, we had to gather information first. a.n.a.lysis would come later.
”Who's going to be occupado?” one of the Eighty-Eights asked. ”Please tell me I'm going to find Ice Princess tied up in my bed. My birthday's next week, and I could use an early present.”
What was it with street criminals having a hard-on for me? ”You wish. No, Mr. Clean's people said they are taking out Crimson Justice tonight. He was seen heading out towards the airport. They take him out, and the other two will be easy.”
My eyes widened, and I looked at Riley. Time to move. I switched my comm unit back to the main frequency, leaving Riley behind to get the gear while I put distance between the Eighty-Eights and me. ”Mom!”
”Honey, not now,” Mom's voice came back, tense. ”Carter's got a situation.”
No s.h.i.+t.
Chapter Ten.
Carter
The first sign of trouble was the fact that I was able to penetrate so deeply into the airport without any sign of security. I mean, I'm good, but I'm not that stealthy, and I should have had to work for it. Instead, I practically walked into the private cargo area of the airport without even having to look twice over my shoulder. Ever since the terror incident five years ago down in Miami, the TSA had been much stricter than before. Not enough to stop someone with my level of training, but still it made penetrating the airport a challenge.
Not that night, that was for sure. I jumped the security fence with ease, landing in the gra.s.s in between the sensors that the airport had installed, and quickly hopped again before the sweeping radar beams could pick me out. ”I'm in, Sophie.”
Sophie was working communications for us that night, and would have a hot mic for me the whole time. ”Understood, Carter. When the other two patch in, I'll tie you in too if you want.”
”Sounds good. I'm going to check out the small spots near the swamps first, then work my way toward the east.”
”Okay,” she said. ”Just remember, you get out of there as soon as you see any trouble. I don't want to send Mark after you.”
”Is he on backup?” I asked, surprised and touched. Mark had done a patrol with Riley a few days before, but he wasn't an active fighter any longer. Sure, he was in pretty good shape, but he was fifty now. He didn't need this kind of life any longer.
”He insisted,” Sophie told me. ”His comment to me was that there was no way in h.e.l.l he wasn't going to give his baby girl her wedding. So if you get yourself killed, he might just dig you up, resuscitate you, and then kill you again.”
”What's he packing?” I asked. ”He doesn't have a suit like mine.”
”That's not going to stop him,” Sophie said. ”I checked in with him, he's at the strike base now, and he's loaded for bear. Both Glocks, and his SCAR-H chambered in 7.62.”
I whistled. With the rise of more modern rounds and pistols like what I carried, warriors like Mark who'd learned on so-called 'dumb rifles' had faced a new generation of threats. On the surface, his skills were out of date. After all, any idiot with enough money could drop a couple of thousand on a high tech device like what I carried, and have something that could be recoilless and fire straight as a laser.
But there was a disadvantage to my generation of weapons, our stuff was both fueled and hamstrung by technology. A magnetic pulse or even just forgetting to charge the d.a.m.n thing could leave you with nothing more than a very expensive paperweight. Also, while I carried some weapons that could be heavy duty, the trend for over fifty years had been toward smaller and smaller rounds, which meant less penetration, less lethality at long distance.
Mark didn't have any of those problems. I'd seen the man with his Glocks on the pistol range, and knew he could d.a.m.n near out-shoot a laser guided pistol with just his instincts and his skills. Add to that the SCAR-H he carried on his back, and he was a one man walking destruction crew. Between the two of us, we'd probably be able to take on a platoon of Marines without an issue.
”Well, let's make sure the only thing he has to do is drive home and give you a back rub,” I replied with a chuckle. ”Think we can do that?”
”For sure. By the way, he's listening in, so watch things, okay?”
”Understood. So no movie lines tonight?”
”None that could be construed as being inappropriate to say to your parents,” Sophie said with a laugh. I liked it when Sophie was on comms, she could blend humor with seriousness very easily with me. That, and her use of the term parent really was true with her, she was like a second mother to me.
”Gotcha. Once more unto the breach then, dear friends.”
Sophie's chuckle caused me to smile, and I proceeded with my investigation. After checking in with Riley and Andi, I finished up the first set of warehouses. I hadn't expected much there after the explosion Mark caused years ago. Almost n.o.body used the old sites anymore; they'd acquired an unlucky reputation. Each and every business that tried to move into the old Confederation warehouses at the airport seemed to run into business trouble. It wasn't even trouble caused by Dad and Mark, either. Just bad luck.
I headed east, towards the area that I knew was more likely. Modern smugglers and drug runners didn't use a centralized warehousing system like the Confederation had, they just didn't have the power or influence any longer. However, they did still try to bring in as much of their stuff as they could by air, since it was faster and could be processed quicker.
Things stayed boring for nearly an hour, with me checking first the normal warehouses, then doing a quick sweep of the FedEx warehouse. It didn't happen often, but some criminals liked to try and slip something in through the ma.s.sive processing center, depending on an inside contact to get things out.
I was just about to give up for the night, but there was one more set of buildings to check. They actually belonged to the Air National Guard, which is the main reason why I didn't want to go over there. Sure, I may be able to take on the military, but that didn't mean I wanted to.
Sighing, I talked with Sophie. ”Hey Sophie, I'm going to check out the ANG buildings quickly, then head out. Whatever they're bringing in, it's either not tonight, or it's not coming in via air. You should talk with Mark, see if he wants us to check the rail or the trucking lines next.”
”Will do,” she replied. ”By the way, Mark told me that after tonight, the three of you are taking at least a few days off, until after the wedding. Riley can keep things under control until you two get back. Also, we'll talk to Barbara, she's flying in tomorrow too, remember.”
”I remember,” I said with a laugh. ”But Barb has never taken to this side of the family business. She's too much like Mom.”
”Which is a very good thing in my opinion,” Sophie said. It was true, Mom - Tabby - is awesome. And n.o.body could ever say she lacks for guts. But Mom and Barbara both just don't have the desire and personality to be willing to do what the rest of us did. I mean, I've seen Mom on business deals be absolutely ruthless, but at the same time she cries over a s.h.i.+vering puppy on TV. She's generous to a fault when it comes to personal pain and suffering, and could never deal with the hands-on application of violence.
Barbara is the same way. When we were kids, she'd be the one who played with dolls and had been the girly-girl, and while I know that makes me sound s.e.xist or something, I'm not trying to be. Any girl who went on to be as outgoing socially as Barb, can't be called weak or less-than in any way. But, she also wasn't blood and guts like me and Riley, or even able to segregate her feminine side from her ruthless side like Andi.