第99页
Fred rebooted his tracker; it flickered, and then showed five enemy contacts moving fast in his direction.
This could get more complicated.
He heard the rumble of a diesel engine, turned, and saw the blur of an eighteen-wheel tanker crashing through the gate and guardhouse.
Will was about to make things very hot,
Fred ran, hugging the walls of the warehouse. He turned the next corner and watched a fireball envelop the fifty-five-meter-tall Scarab walker—the tanker truck crushed under one "foot."
The Scarab ignited, its board rector breached, spewing white-blue plasma down the streets, turning asphalt to flame, and melting steel-clad buildings.
Will's status light flickered green.
Fred moved toward the orbital elevator dead ahead.
Nestled in the center of the tower support, nanowire cables stretched to anchor points from a hundred meters to kilometers distant, and lines of elevator cars waited in a queue.
The cars were usually loaded by crane and rail with fiberglass cargo pods. Today however, three Brutes wrestled crates into the car, secured them with ropes, and protected them with Sty-rofoam wedges.
Fred shook his head—as if those nukes would go off if jostled. You could set a bomb off in there and their hardened cases would barely be scratched. Without the detonator codes, those older nukes were no more dangerous than paperweights.
The Brutes entered the car, and started to force the wide doors shut.
Fred flashed his green status light to Will and Linda. He
couldn't wait. He had to stop those Brutes now, before they rolled up the stalk—out of reach.
He slung his assault rifle and hefted his captured grenade launcher. He fired two projectiles arced into the elevator.
Fred sprinted for the car and its closing doors.
Detonations flashed inside.
Fred jumped—twisted sideways, scraping through the slight space between the doors.
He landed, rolled to his feet, and saw the open-mawed expressions of the three stunned Brutes. He leveled his rifle and shot one in the face.
Fred turned as the other blinked and charged him. He blasted it point-blank between the eyes.
The Brute bowled him over, and its fists came down in twin hammer blows that stunned Fred and drained his shields to a quarter charge.
Blood streamed from its snarling face… and then it finally registered the rounds that had penetrated its thick skull. It toppled upon Fred, inert.
The last Brute pulled the body off, and pointed a grenade launcher at Fred's faceplate.
Fred's rifle was missing. He tried to shake off the disorientation from the double knockout blow. His head felt like it was filled with biofoam.
The Brute seemed to grin.
Two soft puffs sounded.
The Brute stiffened and collapsed to the deck, a pair of holes spraying blood from the base of its head.
Shadows crossed the slight opening between the doors.
Will and Linda slipped inside. Will moved straight to the car's manual-override panel. Linda's sniper rifle still smoldered.