Murder Genes (43 page)

"FUCK!" Paul screamed.

"Get the hell out of there!" Jay yelled, searching for where the shot had come from.
 
The Beaters scrambled out as his three Eyes scattered.
 
"Someone tell me where that came from!"

One of the Eyes gave the All Clear sign from above.
 
Then he blew up too.

"I want everybody after that..." Jay stopped, realizing his error.
 
Chasing blindly into a trap would only get them killed.
 
"Bitch!
 
Do your magic.
 
I want to know who is sniping our men with a slagger!"
 
Jay swung around.
 
"Xiaos, just find a way out of here!"

Xiaos spirited away and Jay charged the hill where the last man had blown up.
 
"Follow Xiaos!" Jay ordered to Paul as he crested the hill.
 
He found the body of the Eye that had made the fatal error.
 
The body was blown from mid-chest to mid-face on one side.
 
Jay spotted a Tag's remains.
 
"Shit," he whispered.

"Spread out!" he yelled over the hill, hoping they'd hear.
 
Tags, little spiky balls, were shot onto equipment, stuck, and exploded after a timer or trigger was tripped in hopes of blowing out several enemies with one will placed shot.
 
The Game had changed when the DPRK had arrived with new weapons.

Jay charged back over the hill.
 
As soon as he crested it, he saw his men still there and Xiaos no where to be seen.
 
The frightened looks on the faces of his men burned into Jay as his men, spread apart and everything, blew up.
 
Only Paul had managed to remain whole, he laid crumpled on the ground, surrounded and covered in gore.
 
Jay gagged and turned away.

His miniature army, hard recruited, gone in a second.
 
Esperanza came back at Jay in a rush.
 
Where was Xiaos?

Jay raised his arms.
 
"All right!" Jay yelled to the air.
 
"You've made your point.
 
We're yours, you sadist!"
 
He heard a swift thhhhthp and looked down.
 
A yellow Tag blinked on his chest.
 
Jay tracked where the bullet came from, and out walked Hunter with a happy grin on his face.

And there was Xiaos, poised like he'd been caught in mid-air, poised as if he'd been about to smash Hunter dead into the earth.
 
What the hell Xiaos?
 
What the HELL.
 
I told you to find a way out, not attack the bastard.

Xiaos didn't look at Jay, his eyes fixated on Hunter with the most bestially enraged look on his face.

"I win," Hunter said.
 
"Wasn't as much fun as I would've expected, I thought you'd fight a bit more.
 
Since when did your men matter so much to you?"

"The DPRK is running Morir like their shithouse and you're coming after me?"
 
Jay began walking toward Hunter until Hunter held up a finger and tapped at the little red button by his leg.

"Exactly," Hunter said.
 
"I need your help."

Jay began walking again and ignored the motherfucker as Hunter tapped at the button again.

He kept walking.

Hunter's smile drooped to an unhappy frown and he pulled out a knife.
 
Jay kept walking, pulled his own knife.
 
He ran at the bastard.
 
If you really need me, you can't kill me.
 
Hunter frowned again, then shrugged and dropped his knife.
 
He held his palms up in surrender.

"Detonator!" Jay yelled.
 
He was getting close.

Hunter nodded and pulled the detonator out and tossed it at Jay.
 
Jay caught in on his chest and into his elbow-pit.
 
He stopped long enough to drop the detonator on the ground carefully with his single arm.
 
He warily approached the Chief Enforcer.

"Well played, Jay," Hunter said.

"Your mistake," he replied.
 
He glared at Xiaos, still frozen in place.
 
"You told me you needed me," he said to Hunter.
 
Jay pointed at the detonator to Xiaos.
 
"Disarm it."
 
Pull a Tag before disarming it?
 
Kablooey.

Xiaos' eyes finally shifted off of Hunter.
 
The tension in his poise let go, just a little.
 
He bent to pick up the device.

Bitch appeared in the background and waved what looked to be another detonator before he disappeared again.
 
"You thought you'd blackmail me into helping you?" Jay said.

"No, I thought I'd show you that I'll outsmart you every time," Hunter replied.
 
He pulled out another fucking red button.
 
"This blows up the detonators and triggers every Tag at the same time."

Xiaos froze, holding the detonator like he might squeeze it to pieces any second.

"You better snap out of it before you get us all killed, Xiaos," Jay murmured.

Xiaos didn't respond, but the hand holding the detonator dropped to his side.

"You might not care about yourself that much," Hunter said, "but you sure as hell care about Bitch and that Chinaman commando.
 
Betcha Bitch has found the other detonator by now."

"It's war.
 
Why don't you just let us fight the good fight?"

"The good Game?"
 
Hunter nodded sagely.
 
"It helps to treat this as a 'war', doesn't it?
 
Makes you feel like you're worth something.
 
It's the same though, game or war.
 
You weigh lives based on value, you sacrifice and command based on numbers, you made the call to who lives and dies.
 
If only," Hunter raised an eyebrow at Xiaos, "your men would listen to you."

"We're saving our home.
 
You used to be a military man, you understand."
 
The plan had been to harass and harry Immortal Leader until he showed his face.
 
It'd been working and Immortal Leader HAD popped in once.
 
It wouldn't have been long before Immortal Leader showed his face again and the next time he did, the Redeemers would have been ready to throw everything they had at the bastard.
 
Today's raid had been a simple operation.
 
They hadn't planned for Hunter.
 
Big mistake.

Hunter snorted.
 
"You mean you're killing as many yellow dick as possible.
 
Get over yourself, Morir was never yours."

"We kill as many as necessary," Jay said, letting Hunter misunderstand.

"Bit racist, aren't you?
 
Kinda turned yourself into Hitler himself."

Funny coming from mister blond hair blue eyes.
 
"Sure, I'll go for that.
 
Protecting the motherland and everything.
 
They are the invaders," Jay replied.
 
"But how much do you really think I care what you think of me?
 
Just tell me what you want, Hunter."

"What else?" Hunter said.
 
"I want you, the Chinaman and Bitch, and the last few of those 'Fuckers' you have hidden away to join me."

There were maybe eleven guys left back in Casa, holed up and holding the perimeter.
 
"Not a chance, Hunter.
 
Trigger until your fingers can't wiggle and you have to use your cock for all I care."

"You know, people keep trying to muscle you into getting their way.
 
It never works, does it?" Hunter said with a frown.
 
"Fine, you win.
 
Just hear me out."

"Not going to happen," Jay said.
 
"We're leaving.
 
You blow us up if you really want to."
 
Jay turned to leave.

"Jay!"
 
Hunter held a finger on the trigger and pointed it at Jay.
 
"Don't try me.
 
I've been patient enough.
 
But don't think I won't blow you to sky heaven in a second."

"Do not listen," Xiaos warned.
 
"He is a snake and will betray us.
 
It would be better to die now."

Jay crossed his arms--
arm
, over his chest.
 
Single hand into armpit.
 
It was still strange...
 
This is what I meant by trust, Xiaos.
 
You screwed us, you really screwed us this time.
 
Xiaos had gone for revenge instead of listening to orders.
 
Their men were all but gone now.
 
Even with Bitch and Xiaos, their chances were reduced ten men closer to nill.
 
"I'll hear you out.
 
But if I think for one second you're wasting my time, we're gone."

Hunter nodded and tossed the second detonator to Jay.
 
Jay caught it and slid it behind him away from Xiaos.

Hunter spoke.
 
"One of my men speaks enough Korean to gather a bit of information that I think will change whatever it is you're going for," he held a suspenseful pause.

Jay tapped his foot.

"The DPRK is planning on attacking America from the inside," Hunter announced.

"Oh really I didn't know I'm so scared now what do I do," Jay said.
 
"We know that.
 
Xiaos isn't bad at Korean himself."

Hunter bulled through his failed revelation.
 
"You might hate it, but we're after the same thing, Jay.
 
I don't want the DPRK out and about my homeland, not after I've sacrificed so much."

"You're going Nazi too?
 
Offering an alliance?
 
Why blow up my men and then offer me a friggin treaty?"
 
Because he doesn't care about the numbers.
 
We're sacrifice.

"I can't do it alone, Jay.
 
Not if I want to stop the motherfuckers and get Karah back."

"Karah."

"Immortal Leader has an eye for beauty.
 
My beauty.
 
I want her back."

"You want your girl and you want to save the world single-handedly," Jay summarized.
 
"I don't know what you want from me.
 
Be careful, I'm starting to think you're wasting my time."

"I need you and your men as bait."

"No way."

"I've begun to communicate with Immortal Leader.
 
I've led him to believe that I want to work something out.
 
He wants you and your men as proof.
 
I'm your inside guy."

"Oh, I've changed my mind."
 
Jay spat.
 
"Like I said, no way."

"The DPRK plan to blow up Morir as soon as they make it out.
 
If we can't find a way to kill Immortal Leader together, we're toast.
 
Every day more of his men come in than we kill, both of us combined.
 
You know it and I know it and right now there's no way we're even close to getting near the bastard."

WE were.

Hunter grimaced.
 
"As good as we both are, we aren't anything without men.
 
And every battle, even in the best case scenarios, we lose more of what valuable resources we have."
 
Hunter made a little loop with an upraised finger.
 
"I don't know about you, but I haven't found any Natives for some time."

Natives, the 'citizens' of Morir.
 
The ones like Jay who knew the Game before the DPRK had come into the picture.
 
"And what's to prevent you from abandoning us after using us as your bait?
 
Letting us rot while you find a way to run into the sunset with your lovely bride?"

"You won't rot," Hunter said.
 
"They'll incinerate Morir as soon as they are out of here."

"Fuck you, Hunter."

Hunter smiled.
 
"Think about it."

"No need, we aren't doing it."

"Think about it," Hunter said again.
 
"I'll find you soon for a second chit-chat.
 
Oh!" Hunter paused.
 
"You should know that the DPRK have help on the outside.
 
I don't know who for sure, or how, but they've got it.
 
Someone in the US government.
 
That's how they're shipping everything in and how their planning they're escape.
 
Morir's just a rally point."
 
Hunter smirked.
 
"But you probably already knew that."

Hunter turned around, and looked at Jay, and Xiaos.
 
"You going to let me go now?
 
Or are you gonna take me out in revenge for your precious Esperanza."