Hunter (13 page)

"Nova, glad you could make it," Inspector
Briggles said. His shoulders visibly relaxed when he saw her and he
let out a long breath.

Nova nodded
to him and then looked at the building where the lecheons were
holed up.

"We've got
some schematics. According to our intel, they went for one of the
underground rooms," Briggles said.

"Why in
Saturn's Satellites would they have underground rooms?" Nova asked.
Her heart beat a little faster. Above ground was easy; throw open
the curtains and all the lecheons would be disabled. Underground?
What could they do underground?

"I told you,
this building is for diplomatic relations. They have rooms
specifically designed for lecheons."

"Fine. So,
what's our plan?"

"The lecheon
wing is cut off. According to management, Corvus's coven are the
only ones staying there. We'll have free reign to move in. We're
taking UV spotlights, as well as all the wooden weapons we can
find. There's not much else we can do."

"What about
the dogs?"

"No good. The
canine unit is terrified of the lecheons. They won't even go near
the entrance to this place."

"Shame. Okay,
I'm ready when you are," Nova said. She patted the gun at her side.
It was older than the one she usually carried, and had been
specially fitted with wooden bullets.

"Alright,
let's move out," Briggles said and gestured to his men.

***

Nova crept
forward with her gun held out in front, a strong torch attached to
the top, shining a steady light out before her. The dark tunnel was
lined on the floor, walls and ceiling with steel to avoid any specs
of wood. The metal reflected her flashlight and echoed with her
clanging footsteps.

To the right
and just in front of Nova was Briggles. A senior officer, Johnny,
followed close behind. The information from the hotel had led them
here, to a diplomatic building with a lecheon wing. Based on the
schematics, they had broken into groups of three that would sweep
through each room until they found the coven.

Nova's back
tingled. They were in lecheon territory, without a doubt. Even the
occasional painting decorating the walls was from the lecheon
home-world. They showed people and animals being sucked dry and
lecheons rising up above the other creatures.

Nova's
quickened breath matched that of her companions. She tried to level
it, to take the shake out of each of her gasps but it was useless.
Her heart and lungs were out of control. Her entire body was
poised, ready to run or fight.

The pool of
light cast by her torch and those of her two companions glimmered,
but beyond that there was just darkness. It came in close to the
light, consuming it, eating away at it. Nova's mind raced as her
imagination filled the darkness with monsters. Perhaps the lecheons
were lying in wait right now, just outside her circle of light. Her
neck tingled as she imagined them sizing her up from the
shadows.

Nova shook
her head and her torch quivered in response. She couldn't get
distracted. Her very life might depend on her staying focused. Now
was not the time to be overcome with fear. She steeled herself
against the possibilities and focused on what was actually real. It
was only then, when she gave herself a job to do, that she managed
to reign in her racing heart.

"They've been
here," Nova whispered. She nodded down to the floor. Spaced every
few feet across the metal were bloody footsteps. It looked as if
someone with bare feet had stepped into a vat of red paint and then
walked the dark corridors.

"They're
injured," Briggles said with certainty.

Nova nodded
slowly, she didn't voice the other possibility; that they'd
fed.

They followed
the bloodied footsteps further into the labyrinth.

"Team one
through six, do you copy? Has there been any contact? Over,"
Briggles spoke into his communicator. They hadn't heard anything
from the other teams. It could mean that they hadn't encountered
anything, or it could mean they were all dead.

The silence
dragged on for what felt like a lifetime. Nova found herself
holding her breath, begging for a voice to answer from the other
end of the line. If all the other teams were dead, it would only
mean that she was next.

"Copy that
Inspector. We're all clear on our end. Team One out."

"Same here.
Team Two out."

Nova breathed
a sigh of relief. The teams continued to respond to the roll call.
They were all there and yet none of them had seen anything. They
hadn't even seen bloody footsteps. Nova kept walking. She stayed in
a perpetual semi-crouch, ready to duck, jump or dive in any
direction at a moment's notice.

"How much
further do you think?" she asked. It was impossible to tell
distance in this damned place.

"Not much
further and we'll be in the real living quarters," Briggles
whispered. "Weapons at the ready."

He was right.
Not twenty metres later they stepped out of the tunnel and into a
wider common room. Nova's torch lit up furniture, a plush couch sat
in one corner, and a computer terminal set into one wall. A food
generator sat near the kitchen. The footprints traced through the
room, weaving amongst the furniture and going deeper into the
darkness.

Tanks and
cages lined the walls. Nova's torch lit up long-dead carcasses in
the bottom of the cages. Her face scrunched up at the
sight.

"What the
hell?" she asked, appalled.

"Live food,"
Briggles replied.

"That's
disgusting. How can that be allowed?"

"Diplomatic
immunity." Briggles shrugged. "Politicians always get away with
more than they should."

The empty
sockets of a dog's skull stared at Nova from the nearest cage. The
rest of its bones lay in a heap as if the creature had died
cowering.

Nova shook
the horror from her mind and followed the footprints. Briggles and
Johnny did the same. The metal floor turned into carpet and masked
their footsteps. They were wrapped in silence, overpowered only by
the complete darkness.

The footsteps
disappeared.

Nova came to
a halt at the last footprint and scanned around with her torch.
There were no more to be seen. The corridor forked into two and
there was no way to tell which path to take. She looked over her
shoulder and her heart stopped. Briggles and the officer weren't
there.

Her heart
burst in her chest and pounded into overdrive. Her breath came
faster and adrenalin shot up from her heart into her neck and face.
Her ears pounded with the blood pumping through them and her vision
became narrowed, focused.

She moved in
a very slow circle. She took the time to study every piece of
furniture and every centimetre of carpet. A sudden reaction could
be fatal. She just had to keep calm. There was nothing, could see
nothing –

"Boo."

Nova's scream
was choked off by a hand around her neck and another clamped over
her mouth. A strong body stepped up behind her, pressing against
her back.

She lifted
her gun, meaning to shoot it over her shoulder, but before she
could pull the trigger her attacker's fist bashed her forearm. The
force of it made her arm seize. Her fingers clenched in and then
flexed out, her gun dropping to the ground. Her eyes flew wide and
she struggled against her captor.

"You smell
even better than last time," Corvus whispered in her ear. She'd
recognise his voice anywhere. Dammit! Where was Briggles? She
writhed against his tight hold but couldn't get free.

Corvus's
breath tickled in her ear. His moist breath floated over her cheek
and into her nose. It smelt of blood, but something else as well.
Rocks. That's what it was, his breath tasted like stone.

"You're going
to make quite the tasty treat. Much nicer than those fatty officers
anyway," Corvus said. His leach-tongue came out and slid along
Nova's collar-bone.

She shivered
and her stomach heaved at the gross invasion. The cool air of the
underground complex wafted over the wet trail, leaving a chill.
Nova forced her mind to concentrate, willing herself to focus. Her
arms were mostly free to move; there had to be a way to break free
from him.

Nova breathed
in through her nostrils. She filled her chest with as much air as
it would hold and then opened her mouth and bit down. Corvus's
finger caught between her teeth and she gnashed down.

He cried out
with pain and his grip loosened.

It was just
enough.

Nova ducked
down and forward, breaking free of his hold. She scrambled on the
ground for her gun, but couldn't find it. She leapt to her feet and
ran through the pitch darkness, one hand tracing along the wall.
Her heart pounded. She knew that Corvus would be able to see her as
if they were standing under the brightest sun.

Nova reached
into her left sleeve and pulled out a sharpened wooden stick with a
deadly point. She was careful to hold it directly in front of her
body, where Corvus wouldn't be able to see it.

She could
hear him pounding after her.

"You little
bitch. I'll make you pay for everything you've done," he roared,
his footsteps pounding closer.

Nova felt a
whoosh of air and ducked to her right. Corvus flew past her, his
fingers bent like claws and his mouth wide open. As he sailed past,
Nova thrust out with the sharpened stick and plunged it into his
ribs. The wood sunk in with a fountain of blood.

Corvus cried
out and stopped his mad dash. He clutched his left hand to his
chest and ripped out the wooden spike. He wrapped his other hand
around the wound but blood leaked from between his fingers. He
glared at the wound with his mouth open.

Nova didn't
wait a second longer. She sprinted down the corridor, following the
barest glimmer of sunshine. It gave off just enough light for her
to see Corvus's body slide down the wall to the floor.

She
ran.

She pelted
faster until her breath was nothing more than exhausted gasps. It
felt like she'd been running forever and yet there was still no
sign of Briggles or the others. She sprinted through the rooms and
corridors; always going towards the glimmer of light which got
brighter the closer she got.

She reached a
set of stairs. They led up towards the surface and at the very top
was a glowing rectangle of light. She didn't hesitate and rushed up
the stairs, bursting out of the doorway and into the open air. She
stumbled to a stop and leant forward, allowing her lungs to catch
up with her breathing.

There were
people all around. They were police officers, the same ones who had
gone down into the lecheon hideout. They looked exhausted. Their
eyes were wide open, haunted.

"Nova! Nova,
thank goodness!"

Nova glanced
up in time to see Inspector Briggles running through the press of
people. His stomach bobbed up and down with his movement. He was
red-faced and puffing frantically. He got to her side and heaved in
and out, his chest wheezing.

"What the
hell happened down there?" Nova demanded, furious that she'd been
left behind.

"An ambush.
They were ready for us. I think the phone number was left at the
Helliot on purpose," Briggles said, rubbing his temples.

"I meant
where the hell were you? I turned around and suddenly you're gone,"
Nova panted.

"We didn't
have a choice. One of those things jumped down in front of us. We
lost Johnny," Briggles looked down at his feet.

Some of
Nova's anger melted away. The officer, Johnny, had been an
honourable veteran. Now he was just a bloodless meat-bag. She
sighed and slammed her fist against her empty holster.

"We lost six
good men. The others at least were able to get out," Briggles said,
his voice catching in his throat.

Nova
nodded.

"Damn
lecheons!" Briggles hands curled into fists. "You know if the Human
Confederacy would get off their arses and actually monitor them, we
wouldn't have these problems."

"Well the
Confederacy isn't going to help us now," Nova said.

"You've got
that damn right." Briggles nodded, some of the air returning to his
body. "Four reports I've sent them. Recommendations on how to track
lecheon activity, provisions for offenders, everything they needed
to fix the problem. You know what they did with it?"

Nova shook
her head, but could guess.

"They filed
it away never to be seen again. Worried about appearing 'speciest'
or something. Well, I'd like to let a few lecheons loose in the
inner galaxy, then see how quick they change the
policy."

"Inspector."
Briggles's tirade was stopped by Doctor Dunwood. He shambled over
to them, the book tucked under his arm and a furrow splitting his
brow.

"Doctor, I
really don't have time for lecheon trivia. If something doesn't
happen soon, we're going to have a real situation on our
hands."