Blood and Stone (12 page)

Off to Phillips’ left, Victor was back on his feet as well. He began firing his M-60 at silhouettes the TTV revealed in the jungle. Several went down without firing even one return shot.

Atlas was firing back across the crater where the compound had been. A soldier had just stepped out of the treeline and received a burst of bullets from Atlas’ gun and went down hard. Jimmy was fumbling with his pistol, his M-60 nowhere to be seen. He too was firing at shapes in the jungle revealed by the TTV.

Suddenly a man stepped from the jungle in front of Jimmy, an RPG launcher on his shoulder.

Jimmy froze—he had just emptied his pistol and hadn’t even begun to reach for a spare magazine. The launcher belched out smoke and a rocket raced from it, striking Jimmy in the chest.

A red cloud of dust exploded outwards from Jimmy and the sound of an explosion erupted over the team’s visors. Then their TTVs went clear, all the silhouettes in the jungle, all the firing noises they heard, vanishing.

>>>EXERCISE OVER<<< flashed across the TTV. >>>CEASE FIRE<<<

The stone soldiers stopped shooting and relaxed. They looked around at each other. Atlas seemed very perturbed.

“Your hostage is dead,” Colonel Kenslir said loudly, setting down the RPG. He walked toward Jimmy, who was coated in red, paint-like dust.

“And you’re dead,” the Colonel said, poking Jimmy in the chest where the dummy RPG round had struck. Green light flared around the Colonel’s finger as he did so, and Jimmy could feel his stone body turn momentarily to flesh with each painful jab.

Phillips pushed his cracked TTV up onto his forehead so he could see for himself, without the augmented reality the device offered.

Dr. Olson was walking over now as well, dressed like Mark in camouflage. She pulled a hat off her head, letting her long red hair spill out.

“Sir,” Jimmy started to question.

“You are not indestructible, Kane,” Kenslir interrupted. “Your chest is hollow. A sufficient force, like an anti-tank rocket, will shatter you. Again.”

Jimmy looked down, embarrassed.

Dr. Olson was standing in front of Victor, arms crossed over her chest, frowning. “Put enough bullets in me?”

Olson ripped her shirt open, revealing multiple bullet holes in her chest and stomach and bra.

“Conservation of ammunition!” Kenslir barked, glad Olson was wearing a bra for once. “Don’t go crazy trying to kill everything. Worry more about completing your mission, and less about killing everyone who cross your path.”

“What’s with the bomb?” Phillips asked, a little angry. “I thought this was supposed to be a rescue mission.”

“It was a training mission,” Kenslir said, glaring at his old friend. “Just because you’re super soldiers doesn’t mean you always need to run in, guns blazing.”

“Well, how were we supposed to rescue anyone?” Jimmy asked.

Kenslir pointed at Victor. “Our postcog here could have used his powers to read the combination from the last person who used the lock. That would have prevented the bomb from going off.”

Victor let his stone mouth hang open in surprise. He never would have thought to do that.

“I’ve got thirty years of combat exp-“ Phillips started to say.

“Not as a man made of living stone,” Kenslir interrupted. “And these two have zero experience. You all need a lot more training.”

“What about Mexico?” Atlas asked.

Jimmy and Victor exchanged puzzled looks.

“The situation still hasn’t changed,” Kenslir said.

“Mexico?” Phillips asked. “What’s going on in Mexico?”

“The shapeshifter has set himself up there, attacking humans and apparently trying to start his own little country in the Yucatan.”

Olson glared at Kenslir. “And we’re just now finding out?”

“Mexico is a sovereign nation and one of our closest allies. We don’t go in until Washington okays it.”

“So now what?” Victor asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Back to base,” Kenslir said, walking away from the compound.

The others fell into step behind him, with Victor and Olson bringing up the rear.

The vampire put a hand on Victor’s arm. “Not so quick.”

Olson grabbed Victor by either side of the head and leaned in quick, giving him a long kiss. Blue energy crackled around their lips as the vampire quickly drained off some of the stone soldier’s lifeforce.

“Laura!” Kenslir said, having stopped to look back at her.

The vampire broke off her kiss, then stepped back and opened her shirt again. The bullet holes in her abdomen were healed. “I just had to get a little first aid.”

Victor shook his head, as if to clear it. He felt as though he’d just woken up from a deep slumber. He didn’t know anything could affect him like that in his petrified state.

“I told you no feeding on anyone,” Kenslir said sternly.

Laura walked quickly over to the Colonel and grabbed one of his arms and then leaned her head over on his shoulder. “Sorry, I’ll save all my kisses for you from now on.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Not so long ago, the city of Merida, Mexico had been declared the City of Peace. Now it was in a state of war.

Buildings burned throughout the sprawling city of nearly a million inhabitants. Churches, hospitals, government buildings—all had been ravaged by the shapeshifter Tezcahtlip in his dragon form. In broad daylight.

News correspondents had filmed the feathered dragon sweeping down, smashing into buildings, plucking citizens off the streets and eating them. The dragon had swept over and petrified whole crowds of men. Others were consumed by fire the dragon spread all over as it flew low above the streets.

Tezcahtlip waged his one-dragon war on the town for the whole day, not once attempting to issue any demand or communicate with anyone in power. He simply ravaged the city, moving from spot to spot, randomly, striking quickly and moving on.

Unlike the towns closer to Chichen Itza, Tezcahtlip did not unleash any vampires into Merida. His victims were either burned, consumed or petrified. By the thousands. The shapeshifter was not seeking lifeforces, he was spreading terror.

The police and the Army had responded. Bullets were useless, as the dragon floated swiftly over the city, propelled by his flapping wings. When missiles were deployed, he tucked his wings to his sides and flew at incredible speeds with no apparent means of propulsion.

The dragon had often landed at street level and wreaked havoc. He had flown low over neighborhoods and set them afire. He had corralled victims in areas with burning wreckage then landed and murdered them one by one, gorging himself on their hearts, or sucking the life from their bodies using his vampiric powers.

What few news reports that had escaped the Yucatan capitol told the horrifying tale around the world. The United Nations was in a panic, calling for an emergency meeting. Parahumans were being called upon to put aside personal business matters, return to vigilantism and spring to the aid of the people of the Yucatan.

The Mexican Armed Forces had responded. F-5 fighter jets of the 401
st
Air Squadron had scrambled and flown to the besieged town, unleashing missile and machine gun fire at Tezcahtlip. But the dragon was more maneuverable than the jets. He swept in close to each and petrified the pilots with his glowing yellow eyes.

By nightfall, the fighting had died down. The dragon was not that big when compared to such a huge city, and had been able to move in and around Merida with ease, striking and moving on before any forces could gather in numbers sufficient to oppose him.

It was with great regret that the Governor of the State of Yucatan, Manuel Pena Garza decided to abandon his capitol and flee to Mexico City. His security detail had rushed the Governor to the Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport and a private transport plane to whisk him out of the danger zone.

The Governor looked back at his burning city, ashamed to be leaving when his people needed him. His shame quickly turned to fear.

Tezcahtlip had easily tracked the Governor to the airport—consuming soldiers in the government offices to learn just where the region’s leader was headed. He had flown directly to the airport and located the Governor’s plane. Then he landed beside it, ignoring the gunfire from the dozen soldiers trying to protect their Governor.

With ease, Tezcahtlip froze the men in their tracks, using his telepathic abilities to shut their brains down and send them into coma-like states. They crumpled to the ground as though dead, all around the Governor.

Governor Pena cowered in fear crouching down before the dragon as it reared up on its hind legs and roared at him. Then the beast shrank, transforming into a large, red-haired man.

Tezcahtlip used his stolen sorcerer’s powers and quickly conjured a brilliant white suit and matching shoes over his natural body. Then he threw something down at the ground in front of Pena. An ID card.

Pena reached for the card with trembling hands. It was covered in blood and mangled. He held it slowly before him, wiping off the blood, then read it carefully.

“Colonel Arturo Lopez Espinoza,” Pena gulped. He knew the name instantly. It was the Colonel who had been sent to Piste with over a hundred men.

“You may leave,” Tezcahtlip said loudly to the cowering governor. Then he turned and stepped into the air, flying away in human form, transforming back into the feathered dragon as he vanished from sight.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

In Argon Tower, Colonel Kenslir and his team watched the news reports from Mexico in somber silence. The devastation was horrifying. Thousands had been killed in only the span of a few hours and the once-thriving city was in flames. The ports were filled with refugees attempting to flee.

Most disturbing though were the hundreds who were moving inland, toward Chichen Itza. They moved on foot, with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And they chanted in unison. “Kukulcan.”

“The Mexican Government has officially requested U.S. aid,” Kenslir said to the gathered stone soldiers, Josie Winters, Pam Keegan, Laura Olson and Major Campbell.

“For now, that means the Army and Air Force are mobilizing forces in Texas and Arizona, sufficient to mount an invasion of the country.”

The Colonel was once more wearing a combat uniform—woodland camouflage pants, black long sleeve shirt, and green assault vest. He was bristling with guns, knives and ammunition. The stone soldiers were all similarly dressed.

Behind Kenslir, the wall-mounted displays in the Detachment’s large briefing room switched to news reports showing military aircraft massing at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Other monitors showed Army convoys headed for the Arizona-Mexican border.

“That’s a little far away, isn’t it?” Josie asked. She’d grown up in Arizona and knew it was nowhere near the Yucatan. An overland journey would take some time.

Kenslir smiled. “It’s a diversionary operation for now. Once the threat in the Yucatan has been removed, it will become a humanitarian mission.”

“Diversionary?” Keegan asked, surprised. “Why not just go in and bomb the fuck out of Chichen Itza?”

“Human shields. He’s studied our recent history well, and knows that most governments are reluctant to engage in large scale bombing of civilians.”

“But, they’re worshiping him...” Jimmy said, surprised. “Doesn’t that make them, well,
with
him?”

“They’re still people. Confused people.”

“So why the diversion?” Laura Olson asked. “He’s building his power even now. I can feel them.”

Josie gave Olson a confused look. “Feel them?”

“All vampires can sense one another. And I sense he’s making an awful lot of vampires down there.”

“Unfortunately,” Kenslir said, continuing his briefing, “There are still a great number of willing
human
followers mixed in. At least according to thermal imaging of the region.”

One of the wall-mounted displays in the briefing room switched to an aerial view of the area around Chichen Itza. The site itself was a large black circle, but leading up to was a long procession of red dots. Scattered throughout the red dots were the occasional purple dots.

“Red are humans,” Kenslir said, turning and pointing to the satellite image. “Purple are vampires—at least, we think so, based on body temperature. They keep coming to the site, but nothing’s coming out.”

“Why can’t we see the whole area? What’s that big, black circle?” Josie asked.

“Some kind of dense cloud cover,” Kenslir responded, frowning. “First hand reports in the area describe it as a kind of stationary thundercloud. Satellites can’t see through it.”

“So what’s the plan?” Jimmy asked.

“Hold on,” Keegan said, holding up a hand. “If he has the powers of all those inmates he killed, won’t he know we’re coming?”

“Yes and no. There were some precogs at the Rock. Which means he could see visions of the future. But it’s a hit or miss power.

“When a precog sees into the future,” Kenslir explained, they see possible futures. Multiple visions. And the visions are stronger based on how many people are affected by them.”

Josie was surprised. “We have people that can see the future?”

“Possible futures.”

Jimmy frowned. “They didn’t think to tell us about these shapeshifters before they started killing people?” In particular, he was thinking about his parents—victims of the shapeshifters.

“We have a limited number of precogs, and there are a lot of things for them to see. But mostly, they see large scale events.”

“Pandora-level events,” Phillips added.

Kenslir rolled his eyes at the term. “The more people that are affected by an event, the stronger the psychic impression those events create, which precogs can then see before they happen.”

“All those people he and his brother killed out west and no one saw it coming?” Keegan asked sarcastically. She wasn’t buying it.

“Unfortunately, other world events were eclipsing those murders... and the murders happened one at a time in most cases. Not a very strong impression for the precogs.”

“So he’s going to see the Army coming?” Josie asked.

“Exactly. All those soldiers being mobilized are being told they’re going to be airlifted into the region and march on Chichen Itza to combat drug lords attempting to seize control of the region. We hope that creates a strong enough psychic impression to mask our efforts.”

“And what are those efforts going to be?” Laura asked.

“Myself and the team are going into the air in two hours. I’ll brief them in-flight.”

Josie sat up in her chair. “Your team? What about us?”

“Stone soldiers only this time.”

“Whoa, hold on their, Marky,” Laura said, standing up. “That bastard ripped out my heart and stole my memories. I’ll be damned if I’m staying behind.”

“Ditto,” Keegan said, pointing at Victor. “Where he goes, I go. I’m still technically his handler.”

Kenslir started to say something, but Campbell slid him a printout across the table.

The Colonel picked it up and read it while everyone sat looking at him—some angrily.

“I guess you are going,” Kenslir said, wadding the paper up. “One of the precogs had a vision of three women walking into Chichen Itza. A blonde, a brunette and a redhead.”

Josie sighed in relief and leaned back in her chair. Olson sat down and nodded to Keegan.

Victor spoke up. “Uh, doesn’t that mean that the shapeshifter knows we’re coming too?”