Wolves
Assassination

Traw, Clayton, Aveer, Sanchez and Moore stood in anorderly file at attention, wearing their formal uniforms. Before themwas a crowd of reporters and GAM top brass, as well as a fewrepresentatives from the Intelligence and Inquisitor Division mingledamongst the audience. On an elevated platform with the Death Squad,Commander General Venko presented a small box lined with five medalsthat glinted in the dusk sun.

“Citizens of the State: today signifies amomentous occasion concerning the Nektro War. The men you see beforeyou, known as the Death Squad, are about to embark on their firstofficial mission. For the welfare of the State, they will succeed. Ican assure you of that. Gentlemen, I put my faith in you on behalf ofthis entire country. Hence I present you with these medals of honorfor joining the Galactic Armored Marines in our Special Forces group.Please accept these as a token of our appreciation.”

Traw hesitated, as he pondered whether or not hedeserved it. He picked up one of the medals anyways and nodded inpolite gratitude. As the rest of the men were handed their medals,Traw looked out to the edge of the city, where the resorts lay. Heknew his wife and daughter were there somewhere. For a moment healmost lost touch with the situation at hand. He zoned back in, tohear the generated applause from the audience. The Death Squad wasreceiving a standing ovation. Traw noticed each of the IID agents didnot clap: in fact, they were all looking directly at him.

Venkopaced back to his original spot behind the podium, and whispered ashe passed Traw, “You will succeed.”From his tone Traw could distinguish that it was not a word ofencouragement. The way it was said, Traw could not help but wonder ifit had a threat tucked in there.

Trawunpacked his one bag in his room aboard the Indefatigable.He found it almost humorous how much of a contrast there was betweenit and the suite he had been accommodated to during his time boardwith his family. It was a small, dark room with a rectangular windowopposite of the door that provided a view into the void of spacebeyond. There was a slight crease set into the metal wall that hesuspected would reveal his suit of armor: granted the command bridgewould allow it, of course.

His rugged hands adhered a picture of Luella and Louiseto the wall, which was torn at the edges and a bit sun-bleached. Trawleaned against the cold wall and peered down to the planet below.“You'd better keep them safe, Venko...”

Interrupting his pensive moment was a knock on thedoor. “Enter,” he told the computer, and the door slid open witha smooth sound. Twelve the manservant stood in the doorframe, andwhen Traw identified him, the clone's lean frame looked somewhatthicker and harder. “Master Traw, so good to see you again. Iwasn't interrupting, was I?”

“No, no, you weren't,” Traw answered, looking backout the window. “What's the matter?”

“Captain Vault has summoned you and the other teammembers to his office at once. He needs to brief you on the mission.So he sent me to alert you.”

Traw stood erect once more and buttoned up his uniform.He paused, looking down at the top button. Looking back up, he asked,“Twelve, you wouldn't happen to know how to fight, would you?”

“No, sir. Even if I did in my memory, it would bephysically impossible, as all clones are built to be incapable ofviolence. That is, until the next wave of..”

“That's enough. Thank you, Twelve.”

“Of course, sir. Would you like me to accompany youto Captain Vault's office?”

“I'll be fine, Twelve. Just go...do, whatever you doin your free time.”

As Traw left the room, Twelve notified, “I will be atattention here, sir.”

Traw entered the office, taking a deep breath. Everyoneelse was there except Moore. “Sit down, Traw,” Vault beckoned,motioning to one of the two remaining seats arranged around his desk.“Now we're just waiting on Moore.”

Traw settled into his seat and waited. Two minutespassed. Fingers tapped and glances were exchanged. Finally, just asVault reached for the intercom on his desk, Moore signaled at thedoor. “Enter,” Vault sighed. “Where were you?”

“Tryin' to get a little pinch from one of your girlyofficers a couple decks back,” Moore explained, slumping into thelast chair left. “You got some real hot chicks here, Cap. Surprisedyou don't try to hit 'em up. You can get some real action.”

Vault bit his tongue and blinked rapidly as Moore slidinto his seat. Any awkwardness from the preceding two minutes weremultiplied sevenfold. “Assuming you're done bragging about how youtried to seduce one of my female officers, we can get to business,”Vault began. He brought up an image on the blank wall and the lightsfaded out. “Kentus System, heart of the criminal syndicates.Fortunately for the State, it's located far on the borders of ourdominion. Unfortunately for us, we have to go there and clear outsome of the criminals that would deter most of the GAM.”

“Who are they?” Sanchez inquired, leaning back inhis seat.

“Based in the city of Syoto, there's a crime ringknown as the Snake Kings. Very dangerous targets, and definitelybeyond any of what the regular Marines can do. That's why we're goingin. Your mission is eliminate the leaders, who will be gathered atthe Joven Hotel for a meeting in eight hours.”

“Wouldn't that be something best left to an explosiveteam? They could rig the whole suite to blow and be off the planetwhen it detonates. No one will know what happened,” Claytonsuggested.

“That was the original plan,” Vault conceded.“However...the Joven Corporation has made it public knowledge thatthey will hunt down and sue anyone who causes any sort of damage totheir property, governmental or otherwise. They're known for housingcriminal enterprises, and oftentimes those turn ugly. We've seen whatthey'll do over a totaled van. I can only imagine what they'd do ifwe planted a bomb in one of their suites. The Council decided wecan't afford that. So you are to go in, eliminate each of those menand anyone you see bearing the tattoo of the crowned snake on hisface. It's a signature among the gangs, which makes it easy todistinguish them.”

Traw wondered, “When do we start?”

“We arrive at Kentus in six hours. You have freeleave aboard this ship until then, so do as you please. But I wouldnot appreciate it if any of my crew is sexually harassed. Clear?”

“Sure,” Moore smirked, getting up from his chair.“You should really consider tryin' to get some of these gals intothe captain's quarters. I'm sure you'd get a lotta fun out of 'em.”

“I'll have you court marshaled if I get a report likethat with your name attached,” Vault dismissed.

Stirringup sand and stray trash, one of the Indefatigable'sdropshipslanded on the outskirts of Syoto, where only the wandering homelessman, shady deal or drifting trash can were to be found. Concealed intheir suits of armor, the Death Squad stepped off the platform of thedropship and into the rough sand. Staying no longer than wasnecessary, the dropship departed into the stormy sky that loomedoverhead. “Think it'll rain?” Aveer wondered, looking up.

“Just acid,” Sanchez replied. “This planet's likemy home. It only ever rains acid from the factories past the city. Nowater.”

The men walked into the city, where there was no borderwall separating civilization from wilderness. Haggard folk walked toand fro, hobbling along in ragged cloaks. Some of them wore helmetsand old, dented pieces of armor scrapped from trash heaps orskirmishes in the street. Buildings plumed smog from vents and pipes,whisking away into the darkened sky. On rooftops and in doorways,gang members stood with rifles slung over their shoulders. Each ofthem had the tattoo of the crowned dragon upon their face. If Trawdidn't know better, he would have guessed that the Snake Kings werethe true legal authority in that city.

After a dismal journey through the streets, the DeathSquad finally approached the Joven Hotel. On the edge of the innerring it stood, with the company name plastered above the archwayentrance. “Alright, Traw, this might be your time to shine,”Moore remarked, looking up at the daunting mass of the building.“Assuming these boys are at an upper level, and they probably are,we're gonna need you to snipe a few of 'em. Clayton, can you get himinto another one of those tall buildings for a good shootin' point?”

Clayton adjusted his viewer at one of the nearbyskyscrapers. “Shouldn't pose a problem. I'll also replace out whatsuite our targets are meeting in.”

Traw commented, “Last I checked, we were fightin'Nektro. Not humans.”

“I specialize in this junk, man,” Sanchez grinned.“Me and my boys used to run jobs like this all the time. You'll getused to it.”

After no small deal of sneaking about and hacking intosecurity systems, Traw was lying down in one of the adjacentskyscrapers, which was under construction, and hence desolate. Hisonly companions there were cinderblocks, equipment, and sheets ofmetal lying about. The crews weren't scheduled to work for anotherweek.

“Alright, I'm in position,” Traw notified over thecommunicators. “What's your status?”

“Limousinesare pulling in now,” Sanchez replied, crouched with the rest in analleyway with a clear view at the hotel entrance. “Clayton justwirelessly checked in with the hotel's books, and the bosses aresupposed to be on the 22nd level, at suite #324.”

“Whereis that in relation to me?” Traw asked, scanning up the buildingfor the 24thlevel.

“Your side, about...what's that, Clayton? Okay. Hesays it's three rooms right from the exact middle.”

Traw scanned according to the directions. “Alright,got it. What's your plan down there?”

Clayton interrupted, “I've actually formulated aplan, if none of you have a fully developed one yet.”

“Let's hear it,” Aveer granted.

“Alright. So Traw will obviously be sniping, and thesequence of the break team will go as follows: Moore, Aveer, Sanchez.Traw will fire a sequence of shots into the suite, inciting havoc.Moore, having both the shotgun and skill in hand-to-hand combat, willbe the entry. Once he's entered and fired a couple of shots to thinthe herd with Traw's long-range support, he'll step to the side andAveer will eliminate the rest of the targets. Sanchez's job is toprovide backup and defend the door during this skirmish, as well asmake certain none of our targets escape. Is that clear?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Moore agreed. “I mayfire more than a couple shots, though. What do we do once this isover? And how are we gonna get into that hotel in our full armor andguns and the whole do-dah. Not gonna go over so well with security.Wait, what are you gonna be doin', little man?”

“Making sure you don't get blown to pieces. I'll beright here. For the next thirty minutes, all security tapes will beplaying a false recording, and all security drones will be in 'docilemode.' As for our entry, according to these schematics, there's aback entrance used for trash disposal. We can slip in through thereundetected and go about the unused hallways until we get to the suitewhere the targets will be.”

“Alright, let's get goin',” Sanchez urged, makinghis excitement obvious. From the tone in his voice, Traw would almosthave called his attitude sinister.

Slipping between alleys and behind trash cans, thethree men advanced toward the designated entry point. To theirknowledge, no one took note of them. Moore was the first to climb upthe chute, activating a magnetic function on the gloves and boots ofthe suit.

He poked his head up the dark entrance shaft andscanned the back room. One of the bellhops was walking in during hisbreak, a lunchbag in hand. “Yeah, we got a worker here. It lookslike he'll be here for a while,” he told the rest over thecommunication link. “I'm gonna have to snap that head.”

“No, Moore, just wait!” urged Traw; but Moore hadalready slipped out of the shaft and was rushing the bellhop, whoseback was turned to him. Shotgun strapped across his back, Mooregrabbed the man's neck from both sides and snapped it in a quick,crunching motion. The man didn't make a sound before his death.

“Aveer, Clayton, get up here,” Moore told them. Theexternal speakers on their helmets were turned off, so anything theysaid could only be heard by each other. Aveer struggled up the chutewith the machine gun attached to his back. He heaved himself up onthe outlet and tumbled out onto the floor.

“You tryin' to tell the whole city we're here?”Moore scorned, keeping his eyes locked on the door. “Sanchez, let'shurry it up. I think I hear someone coming.” In a few shortseconds, Sanchez slipped out of the chute and was ready for combat.

The three men crept through a back hallway that wasilluminated by a single flickering light overhead that radiated aneery glow. Moore stopped when he found an elevator. He tore open therusty, diamond-pattern grate that stood between them and the elevatorcabin. “Clayton, we found an elevator. We're gonna try and climb upthrough the shaft. We can't risk someone else seein' us,” Mooretold him.

“No, you'll be fine. I can make your elevatorinaccessible to anyone else, provided you get into one that isfunctioning.”

“Screw it, we're taking this one. I'm not riskingit,” Moore argued. He wedged his fingers between the sliding doorsand pried them open. The interior of the elevator cabin was dusty anddecaying, like a corpse left to rot and never buried. Moore steppedinside and looked toward the ceiling. There was a rectangular exit inthe ceiling, covered by a light fixture. He leaped up and yanked itdown to the floor, shattering it onto the grungy, mold-infestedcarpet.

After each of them had shimmied up through the hole,they began ascending the tall, dark shaft, activating their magneticgloves and boots once more.

Their pace was slow: Clayton and Traw could tell. “Whatlevel're you boys at?” Traw wondered. “The meeting's started, andI don't know how long these fellas are gonna stick around.”

Moore took a few more steps up and faced a paintednumber five on the inside of the giant shaft. He sighed, “We're atlevel five, Traw.”

“Decade drought,” Traw cursed. “You gotta replace aquicker way up.”

“Breakout at the next door and take the stairs until you get to the 24thlevel,” Clayton ordered, his voice stern. “If we want to succeed,you need to follow my advice.”

“Clayton's right,” Traw agreed.

Moore paused. “Fine,” he conceded. “There's adoorway about four meters up.”

“Glad I get a say in this,” Sanchez commentedsarcastically.

“Just speak up, dumbass,” Moore quipped.

Moore dug his fingers into the door and pried it openhalf an inch, scanning the hallway. It was desolate. He proppedhimself up and rolled onto the floor, immediately rising and scanningthe area further. Aveer scrambled up, then Sanchez. Trying to makeevery footstep silent, they crept into the stairwell. Aveer looked upthe tall, winding stairwell and took a deep breath.

Taking the steps three at a time, Aveer asked, “Thisplace is empty. Where is everyone?”

Sanchez answered, “With this kinda thing, the bossesusually get most of the guests out. They don't like other peoplebein' around to overhear things.”

“You're going to need to move faster,” Clayton toldthem. “My security tapes are only good for another twelve minutes.”

As the three men ascended the stairs, Traw had hissights fixed on the room where the bosses were seated. They allseemed relatively similar in appearance, wearing an open-collaredshirt with a slick blazer, and some arrangement of gold rings ontheir hairy fingers. There were eight of them, surrounded bywell-armed bodyguards and mistresses in an outer ring, standing by astheir employers discussed their criminal matters.

Trawglanced over at the mistresses, adjusting his scope. I'mgonna have to kill every one of them, hethought. His trigger finger suddenly felt a little looser. Iwonder how they got there. Women typically don't just give themselvesup to these kinda bastards. What kinda rough times brought them here?Would they want to escape, given the opportunity?

Histhoughts were interrupted by Moore's voice, saying, “Traw, we'rehere at the last level. You gotta start gunnin' down those bosses ifwe're gonna break and enter.”

Traw blinked himself back to the situation at hand, andshifted his crosshairs to the head of one of the bosses. “Alright,”he told the rest of the team, “I'm taking the first shot inthree...”

One of the mistresses glanced to the floor as heremployer stroked her back.

“Two...”

One of the bodyguards flipped off the safety on hispistol and fixed his gaze on his boss.

“One.”

With a silent bolt of death, Traw took the first shot,making a clean hole in the window and leaving seven kingpins alive inthe room. Chaos ensued. The bodyguards took a defensive stance, thebosses and women diving for cover. Without a second thought, Trawlanded a bullet into the head of one of the bodyguards, then another.They began firing blindly in response, none of their rounds cominganywhere close to Traw.

Then, budging through the wall of suit-clad meat, oneof the mistresses dashed for the shattered window gap and leapedthrough it, tearing the heel of her shoe on the shards of glass asshe took the final jump. Traw pulled his head back from the scope andwatched her fall twenty-four stories to her death. He covered hismouth in shock and couldn't remove his gaze from her fallen corpse.

“Go!” Moore shouted in a growl after blowing one ofthe bodyguards aside with a blast from his shotgun. Immediately hewas hit with a spray of bullets, but being impervious to theirweaponry, he only ran further into the fray, landing his armored fistinto the face of one of the bosses. Aveer took a firm stance in thedoorframe and opened fire into the crowd, mowing them down like wheatin a field.

Moore blunted one of the mistresses in the face withthe butt of his shotgun, knocking her aside, and then, after flippingit about, delivered the killing blow with a condensed spray of lead.One of the bosses tried to crawl into the bathroom for protection,but Sanchez bolted in and shot him mercilessly, then returned intothe main room to finish off a few of the crippled guards.

Thirty-seven seconds had passed. There weretwenty-eight corpses on the floor of the suite, and one on the groundoutside. Moore meandered throughout the room, checking each body tomake sure the person was thoroughly dead. He crouched over the corpseof one of the bosses, who was wearing a necklace with a gilded palmtree dangling on it. He tore it off the stiff neck of the man andslipped it into his ammunition pouch.

Traw lingered in his position for a moment, his mindmulling over the very recent events. “Traw? Traw? Are you there?”Clayton interrupted.

“What? Oh, yeah. I'm here.”

“I've been calling you for the past minute. Are youokay?”

Traw hesitated a moment. “Yeah, I'm...fine.”

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