Legacy of a Mad Scientist by John Carrick

the knife.
    Von Kalt set down the ice he’d been holding on his
damaged hand and took the knife. He flexed the hand, but he didn’t
have the necessary mobility, as it had swollen up nicely.
    “ I guess I’ll just have to do this
with my left then,” Von Kalt said. “Too bad for you,
chum.”
    “Do your worst, Sally,” Ross taunted.
    Von Kalt set about removing Ross’s tattoo with the
knife.
     
    Lee and Buckner had already noticed a distinct lack
of response from their HQ. Several systems had gone off line,
short-circuited by the oil and flame. When the residence ignited,
the fireball confirmed their worst fears.
    The three soldiers ahead of them broke formation. The
center man turned around and began to advance, coming back
downhill, his comrades moved to the flanks. They had the high
ground, Tactics 101. Buckner and Lee had been betrayed and were now
outnumbered at least two to one, with hostile forces in front and
behind.
    Emergency fire systems kicked on in the command post,
evacuating the oxygen through a vent in the roof, producing another
bright fireball. Inside the building, the remaining flames were
extinguished with automated blasts of foam. The canyon faded into
darkness again.
    Huddled in the open area between residential
backyards, Lee gave Buckner the signal for smoke. He gestured for
Buckner to throw his to the left, while he threw to the right. The
grenades popped and further obscured the summer evening.
    The chief warrant officer told Buckner to attach his
silencer and pulled his from a pocket. Lee gestured for Buckner to
move back to a covered position, himself dashing off to the
left.
    Two mercenaries came through the smoke, first one
from the left, followed by his comrade from the right. Confused,
they met and continued downhill toward Buckner's covered
position.
    As Sergeant Buckner centered them in his sights, the
head of the man to the left exploded all over his brother in
arms.
    The second man ducked, intent on returning fire.
Instead, Sgt. Buckner’s bullet ended his intentions. The sergeant
had been aiming for the man's midsection, but when he ducked, the
round went through the mercenary's chin, slapping into the
underside of the helmet.
    Lee stepped out of the darkness and fired toward the
young sergeant.
    Buckner heard a cry from behind; Bell fell dead, just
short of the sergeant's position. He looked down at the bodyguard
and back at the smoldering residence.
    Lee dashed over to Bell, while Buckner kept an eye
out for the unexpected. He rolled the dead man onto his back. After
a cursory search of the mercenary's pockets, Lee discovered Captain
Faulkner's access card. It was the security team's only means of
access to the Fox residence, in case of an emergency.
    Lee knew the rest of his team was probably dead, but
he was relieved to know that Dr. Fox and his family were still
secure. The three commandos represented little actual danger. They
were bait. Standard devices couldn't breach the exterior of the
home. Without the inside man and Faulkner's card, there was little
real threat to the family.
    A suppressed shot rang out and slammed Buckner to the
ground.
    Lee rolled back against the garage. He snapped the
card in half, stomped on the pieces and fired on the plastic bits,
just for good measure.
    As he scanned for the remaining mercenary, Lee
wondered why they hadn't pulled out big money on this job. He'd
been afraid of facing down advanced bio-mechs, but these were just
regular guys. He felt cheated.
    Buckner groaned from the manicured lawn. Lee realized
that at least the mercs carried suppressors. He wouldn't have to
worry about curious homeowners investigating the sounds of gunfire.
He scanned the hillside again but couldn't pinpoint the
shooter.
    Lee realized he couldn't hide until daybreak, so he
leapt forward, grabbed the wounded sergeant by his belt and dragged
him to cover.
    The canyon remained quiet.
    Buckner woke. He pulled off his helmet and fingered
the burnt hole where the