Mammon (29 page)

MID-AFTERNOON, THE MERCENARIES
began to assemble outside the Residence, each joining his or her own squad. They sat or crouched on the grass, many shielding their eyes against the sunlight that beamed at them just over the roof. Two distinct colours marked the separation between the orders: the Renfield troops were in black, the visiting battalion in khaki. On the steps, Diana, Ivan and the visiting leader, Jorge, were deep in conversation.

Lucius's voice boomed out through two large speakers, calling out each mercenary's name.

‘Here,' the voices responded.

Grace wound her hair around her fingers, securing it with a hair net. She drew two bobby pins from her pocket and slid them in.

‘You'll need a tighter bun than that. Don't want anyone grabbing your hair, do you?' Sarah sat down next to Grace, her face pale. ‘You really should cut it.'

Grace gave her a close look. ‘You okay?'

Sarah returned a jittery, restless nod. ‘I'm off the meds.'

‘Oh, right. Of course. For the mission.'

Sarah closed her eyes and tilted her head back. ‘Trying to tune Anna out. She's so agitated!' Sarah bit her lip and stared in the direction of the asylum. ‘Lots of strangers in the place.'

‘Does she sound . . . different, now that she's degen . . .' Grace paused as Sarah gave her a hard look.

‘Now that she's become a demon? Is that what you wanted to say?'

‘I didn't mean . . .'

‘It's not your fault.' Sarah folded her arms and shrugged. ‘I have to face it. But she's still my sister.'

‘Of course she is.' There was a tense silence. Grace scanned the crowd. ‘I haven't seen Joe yet.'

‘He's there.' Sarah pointed to the steps. Joe had joined Ivan, and was looking out over the crowd. Grace waited for the customary smirk, but to her surprise, Joe had a serious, almost humble expression.

‘Hello,' a voice said.

Maya sank on to the grass next to them. She gave Sarah a sharp nod.

‘Hi . . . how are you?' Grace scanned Maya's face. ‘I didn't think you'd be coming.'

Maya just gave her a grim smile. ‘I need to apologise to you, Grace. I blamed you for Armin's death. That was not fair of me.'

‘It's okay. I don't blame you for feeling like that.'

‘Anyway,' said Maya. ‘Shall we make a fresh start?'

‘Sure.'

‘When this is all over, we're going to track down the thing that killed Armin.'

‘We'll help you,' Grace gave her a firm nod. ‘Me and Joe, I mean.'

‘Thank you.'

‘All right! Listen up!' Lucius stood back, hands clasped behind his back. An eerie hush fell over the crowd.

‘You've all had your squad briefing today, and I expect that you all committed your orders to memory. That's the easy part. What you must do now is commit yourselves to this mission, knowing that there will be sacrifices to be made.' Lucius looked around the crowd with a firm eye. ‘Failure to act on our part will mean a catastrophic outcome for the human race. Remember, you are
sarsareh.
Your role is to be a vigilant defender, to take action when no-one else will. You will be going up against a vast number of demons, and you must be prepared for surprises. They will have powers that we cannot anticipate. We know that they are ever- evolving, and when in the company of a high demon, they are more powerful than ever.'

A nervous rumble ran through the crowd. ‘Jesus,' someone muttered. ‘We're in for a slaughter.'

Lucius raised his hand; the murmuring stopped. ‘But we have our own secret weapon.' He looked sideways at Joe and then turned back to the crowd. ‘This will not be an ordinary fight. We have the advantage. Follow your orders and have faith.'

Lucius leaned in close to Joe. ‘Sorry to put the pressure on you, son.'

Joe shrugged. ‘No problem.'

‘Assemble in your squads.' Lucius nodded out at the crowd. ‘And good luck to you all.'

THE TRANSPORTS MOVED
in a convoy – a long, black procession that snaked past the farmlands and into the city limits. Grace stared out at the old houses, remembering them from the night she and Joe escaped Renfield. Tonight, no-one sat on rocking chairs, no children ran the streets. The houses seemed to be surrounded by a blue-grey haze. Was their absence an omen?

‘Focus,' Ivan had taken her aside today, his eyes serious. ‘Don't let anyone or anything distract you. If we can't take him from a distance, you must get to Malcolm and stop him. No matter what else is going on around you – even if the worst happens, you must get to Malcolm.'

‘The worst,' she
whispered to herself as she stared at the back of Ivan's head, ‘would be to live without you.'

He was so still, so calm – as always. Then he turned his head to look at her. His eyes told her of his love in the soft, open way he gazed at her. Then he dipped his chin in a warm, reassuring nod.

Grace looked at the others. Joe presented a calm face, but the sliver of sweat on his forehead told her he was nervous. Sarah was leaning back, eyes closed. Maya was staring out at the river, her face hard.

They drove past the City centre, its towers gleaming in the moonlight, and along a riverside road that connected the metropolis to its most affluent suburbs. As they stopped at an intersection, Ivan looked across at Seth in the driver's seat. ‘Drones on standby?'

Seth nodded. ‘Ready to go.'

‘Do it.'

They pulled into a grove, well-protected by large bushes, willow trees and boulders. Gradually, the other six transports pulled in behind them; each carried twenty mercenaries from both Renfield and the visiting battalion.

Seth pointed into the distance. ‘That's it.' A mammoth limestone wall, broken up by four guardhouses at the front, ran around the boundary of the property, culminating in a stone arch through which a driveway ran. Vivid lights shone from behind the walls; their exterior was also dressed in garlands of fairy lights. To the right was what looked like a hastily constructed car park, crammed with luxury vehicles. A group of drivers were sitting on a tree log, sharing cigars.

Another vehicle pulled into the grove – a large, black truck. The driver ran around and pressed a button at the rear. A ramp descended; a group of mercenaries ran up and disappeared inside the trailer. They re-emerged, driving a small fleet of quadbikes down the ramp and out into the open.

‘Cool,' said Joe.

Ivan jumped out of the car and stopped to stare at the mansion. Seth followed; the other squad leaders came across and joined them. Ivan nodded at Seth. ‘Send in the Sentinel.'

‘Yes, sir.' Seth turned away, pressed his earpiece and muttered a quiet command. Somewhere, in that dark sky, a small stealth drone was soaring over the mansion, stealing images of all that went on below.

In the car, Grace looked across at Sarah. She was sitting very still with her eyes closed, head slightly bent.

‘You okay?'

Eyes still closed, Sarah held up her hand. ‘Wait.' After a few more seconds, she opened her eyes and let out a long breath. ‘Damn it.' She shot Grace a regretful smile. ‘My telepathy doesn't seem to be working tonight.'

‘Sanderson,' Ivan called.

Sarah slid out of the car. Grace followed her; together they stood at the fringes of the group.

‘Yes, sir?'

Ivan stood aside to allow Sarah to step forward. ‘Can you give me a situation report? From the inside?'

Sarah lingered nervously at the edge. She rubbed the back of her neck. ‘No, sir. I'm sorry.' She looked away from the prickling stares of the squad leaders. ‘I can't see a thing. It's really . . . cloudy.'

‘Never mind. Do you think you can still use masking and influence?'

Sarah nodded.

‘Good.' Ivan turned away and pulled out a handheld computer tablet. ‘We're accessing the most up-to-date imaging right now. Evans, can you send a small group across to deal with those drivers? Shouldn't be hard. Remember: non-lethal fire.'

Five mercenaries armed with tranquilliser guns stole through the dark and took up their position in the bushes behind the drivers. ‘Three, two, one.'

Hands flew to necks; one of the drivers gasped, turning towards the darkened bushes. But they all slumped forward within five seconds. Sarah backed away from the group and stood close to Grace. ‘Boy, do I feel useless,' she muttered.

Grace looked at her friend. ‘What's causing it?'

Sarah shrugged. ‘I can't tune in to anyone, let alone the high demon himself. It's like trying to find a spark in a raging volcano. Really, we can't be sure of what we're dealing with.'

A fresh chill ran up Grace's back. She folded her arms and took a settling breath.

Sarah smiled. ‘I can still feel
your
thoughts, Grace. Don't worry. We'll still be able to do our thing in there.'

Grace nodded.

‘It's easier,' Sarah said. ‘With masking, you're targeting a specific area. Not as hard as trying to tune in to read one or two minds among a crowd like this.'

‘You're so calm,' Grace whispered. How Lucius had wasted Sarah's talent. How Sarah had wasted her own talent by taking those meds. What kind of rift would Joe open? What would happen in there? Her mind began to hurtle.

Ivan looked around the group of leaders. ‘Right. Let's recap on our plan. First we take the external gatehouse with sniper fire. Next, our drones will neutralise the guards in the second gatehouse. Then we move in on the bikes . . .'

Grace's stomach fluttered as she watched him speak. Mesmerising, the way he engaged each of the other leaders, how his voice held a combination of calm, authority and anticipation. She glanced towards the mansion, her heart hammering.

She'd be all right, as long as she stayed with him.

‘Sentinel imaging is in,' said Seth.

‘Excellent.' Ivan drew the group's attention to the surveillance image of the mansion on the computer. ‘Right. Several armed guards on both sides of the driveway between the first and second gates. See how many of them are patrolling the hedgerows? The first wave of bikes – snipers – will take those guards, then we'll use bikes to push through to the second gate, which we'll blast with C4.'

One of the leaders pointed to the other figures on screen who were dotted around the garden area behind the second gate. ‘Guests?'

‘Hosts,' Ivan replied. ‘High-ranking Earthborns. For Mammon's army.' He glanced down at the screen. ‘The imaging won't pick up the Shadows, but my money's on their being demons. We don't expect them to be armed with live rounds; not with so many guards around. Regardless, we will take precautions. Everything else looks as we anticipated, with a greater concentration of guards as we get closer to the mansion. There are more hosts inside as well.' Ivan pointed to the mansion. ‘My guess is Jones and his immediate crew will be at the rear of the mansion.'

One of the visiting leaders cast Sarah and Grace a critical look. ‘Isn't there a way to know that for sure? What's the point of having psychics if we can't use them?'

Sarah stared at him through narrowed eyes. ‘There's major telepathic activity in there. And there are only two of us.' She pronounced each word slowly.

He shrugged. ‘Surely you can overcome it.'

‘You don't understand! It's not that simple.'

‘Oh, yeah.' He folded his arms. ‘Here we go. Complications, the “you don't understand” bit.' He grinned at his colleague. ‘It's always like that with telepaths.'

‘How would
you
know?' Grace said. ‘I don't see any on your squad.'

‘Enough!' Ivan's sharp tone put an end to the discussion.

‘We have our plan.' He looked around the group. ‘Now, are there any questions?'

‘No, sir.'

‘Good. Five minutes. Seth – send in the Night Ravens.'

Ivan turned back to the car and reached into the back seat. ‘Here.' He slid a pair of night-vision glasses over Grace's head. ‘You need to be ready to use these if they cut the lights.' He squeezed her shoulders with tight fingers. ‘Stay close to me, remember?'

She nodded, heart racing. ‘I will.' Even at this distance, her demon ‘radar' – as Joe had begun to call it – was pinging hard; the bile threatened to spill over, her stomach tied in firm knots. Her face crumpled with fear. Doubtless, there was so many of them in there. With a shake of her head, she closed her eyes, took a breath and sampled the cool evening air. Breathe. Just breathe.

Ivan passed her a shotgun, his eyes scanning her face. They flared briefly with concern, but his tone remained businesslike. There was no time for anything else now. ‘Remember, you are to fire at will. Don't wait for my word, don't leave anything to chance. You have live rounds: use them.' He pointed to one of the quad bikes. ‘Jump on the back. I'll be with you in a minute.'

He picked up a rifle and took position with the other snipers, deep within the bushes. He stared up into the blackness where the Night Ravens – ten attack drones – were already flying across, silent killers homing in on the guards at the second gate.

Ivan's eyes drifted across to his mark: a man in the first guardhouse, who was staring out into the darkness.

On screen, the red dots flashed at a furious rate then vanished. Obliterated.

‘A direct hit.' Seth's voice was crisp in Ivan's earpiece. ‘Secondary guardhouses are down.'

‘Fire,' Ivan said. He pulled the trigger.

The guards fell instantly. Ivan put down the rifle, ran across to the bike and started the engine. ‘Hold on, Grace!'

The bikes swooped through the stone arch and along the driveway. Grace caught a glimpse of Joe riding nearby with Sarah on the back, her shotgun trained on the bushes.

Grace lifted her gun, her eyes searching for a target. Behind, a wave of riders were spreading out, following Ivan's lead into the right-hand side of the grounds.

Joe and Sarah veered left.

It was easier than she'd thought. The guards were slow to respond to their assault. When she made her first kill, it almost seemed anti-climactic.

Something nicked at her arm. She looked down to see a light scrape in the smart suit.

A guard ran alongside, barrel aimed at her head. She tensed, lifting her gun.

Ivan was faster – he blasted the guard with his shotgun, while steering the bike with his other hand.

Relief swamped her.

Ivan lowered his gun and pulled the bike up next to the gate. ‘Grace, Sarah – masking.'

Grace concentrated. She could feel the energy coming from the other side of that gate – the blend of desire, anticipation and fear emanating from the hosts in a solid wave of psychic energy.

Demons, all.

Politicians joked with actors, businessmen made propositions to celebrities. Each one truly believing it. They all believed that they would still be in control of their bodies tomorrow morning, no matter what happened tonight.

The hosts were mindful, attentive. Privileged eyes cast regular glances towards the mansion, waiting for that moment when their beloved masters would soar across to them and take possession of their bodies with their majestic power. Grace concentrated harder, feeling Sarah's energy merge with hers.

Nobody is here. There are no other people – just you, waiting for the glorious honour to take place.

Now, the hosts stood, silent as cattle in the night.

Grace gave Ivan a nod. ‘They're ready.'

‘Blast the gates.'

Three mercenaries ran forward; each slammed a shaped charge against the intricate steel weavings. They took cover just as the gate blew, bursting shards of metal inwards.

The bikes began to move around the edge of the crowd, heading for the mansion's great door.