Chapter 3: Fight Another Day
Team Two consisted only of Eric Black and Gideon Wexler who were stationed neither too far nor too close to the meeting with General Oda Nobunaga. The magical might of F.A.T.E. was consolidated in this barren warehouse with boarded up windows and a heavy musk in the air, dust covered cloth covered the skeletal remains of long abandoned industrial equipment. The two agents were set up in the corner of the cat walk which lined the perimeter of the building near the windows that bordered the roof line. Most of the support structure had rusted away, but Wex had welded some additional braces into place prior to the meeting and their corner was well supported and provided convenient roof access. A holo-projector on the floor was broadcasting the meeting so that both agents could watch and listen in without any essence reducing implants, or distracting overlays on glasses or contacts. Both men stood rigidly with their arms crossed as the meeting unfolded, the calmness of the meeting was not cutting the tension that the agents felt as they watched. Eric looked over at Wex who was leaning against the rail of the walk next to his long barreled assault rifle, they had picked this location because the General's compound was just within range of a shot from the rooftop.
The transmission from Barrington Stearns cut dead without warning, a total blackout to all recipients without warning or explanation.
Eric immediately turned to Wex, who grabbed the sniper rifle from the wall with one hand and started towards the nearby ladder without hesitation, after a quick look across the empty warehouse Eric activated his astral perception. A number of summoned spirits had been in charge of monitoring the astral plane so that both agents would be able to watch the meeting, they'd sent no warning but Eric wanted to see for himself. Wex took the first few steps up the ladder quickly before the steel door up above slammed shut and brought him to a halt. A bright light flashed at the four seams of the shut door, sparks tumbling down from the metal roof towards the agents below. Wex released his hold on the ladder and shrugged the rifle from his shoulder as he did, landing in a crouch he shouldered the rifle and squeezed the trigger twice.
Booming gunshots brought Eric out of astral space and back into the real world, calm scrutinizing eyes fell on his fellow agent. Sparks still fell from the ceiling and splashed on the grated catwalk before falling towards the concrete below.
"What was that?"
"They flash welded the door. No more escape route." Wex replied in a slightly hushed tone, spinning his aim with the rifle away from the door above and across the warehouse floor to the main entrance below.
Eric started to move towards the stairs that led off the catwalk, suddenly feeling exposed in their current location. However, before he reached them he was cut off by an electronically amplified voice from outside.
"Don't move! Lower the weapons!"
The voice was a familiar female tone, her message delivered with equal parts authority and urgency. Eric stopped at the top of the stairs, it took a moment for him to register the familiar tone. On cue a small, partially transparent watcher spirit materialized beside Eric's ear. His summoned spirits were under heavy attack on the astral plane. The appearance of the spirit, even a harmless watcher spirit, elicited an immediate response. Eric and Wex were both suddenly greeted by no less than a dozen floating red dots visible on their chests and heads, laser sights more than likely in use as a warning than out of necessity. They'd lost the advantage of high ground, they were outnumbered and outflanked, reinforcements from the spirit world were already under attack, and who knew what the status of the other agents was.
The familiar voice returned, "This doesn't have to be violent. If you don't resist no harm will come to any of you! Let us put an end to this!"
Wex looked over at Eric, who was clearly in deep thought at the situation and how they might be able to get out of it. Were they willing to go down in a blaze of glory? Was there any glory in being gunned down in a old, dusty abandoned warehouse?
The front door opened and in walked the familiar figure with whom the voice belonged, Anastasia Ellison entered the warehouse with her hands harmlessly raised. She was unarmed, or at least appeared to be. A heavy Kevlar vest offered some protection, as did the reinforcements who moved in behind her. Two special forces soldiers in polished black tactical armor, mirror-shaded face masks, and assault rifles aimed towards the rogue F.A.T.E. agents moved in on either side of their former companion. Last to enter were two more soldiers, equipped with a riot shield, heavy pistols, and less restrictive armor. Eric and Wex had no difficulty recognizing the typical armament of military combat mages.
Eric returned the grave look to Wex, he squinted a bit as if burying some deeper pain. A small shake of his head was all the sign that was needed and Wex laid the sniper rifle to the ground and slowly rose to his feet with his hands harmlessly outstretched. The two F.A.T.E. agents had an unspoken understanding that develops from months in tight quarters on the run, just trying to survive.
The two F.A.T.E. agents put their hands up in a disarming and nonthreatening manner and started towards the stairs in unison. The cat walk and stairs was wide enough for them to walk side by side and they fell into step at the top of the stairs. A look was exchanged between the two, a moment of understanding that they had both seen the same thing. As they passed down the stairs, a bit more than halfway, their view from the front of the warehouse would be obstructed by a large piece of abandoned industrial equipment. If there was going to be an opening it was then, the two combat mages wouldn't be able to target the agents with spells for a brief moment at least. Then again the dozen or more snipers would all still have clear shots from the rooftop, and if the combat mages didn't have a clear shot neither did they. Eric gave a definitive shake of his head, they weren't going to be gunned down for nothing.
The walk across the long abandoned warehouse felt longer than it was for the two F.A.T.E. agents, there was a distinct feeling of being watched as the laser sights followed them along the walk. When they reached Anna on the other side of the warehouse there was a brief moment of silence and heavy tension between the three former comrades. None the less, it was clear pretty quickly that Anna wasn't the one running the show.
"Thank you for your cooperation, you'll understand our precaution." The combat mage to Anna's right had stepped forward and taken control, motioning to the troops flanking them.
A full armored trooper from each side stepped forward, swung his rifle over his should, and pulled black zip-cuffs from their utility belts to bind their hands. Taking their cue, Eric and Wex extended their arms and allowed the troops to bind their wrists with the tight polymer shackles. Once bound the troops checked the F.A.T.E. agents for weapons, taking Wex's katana first and moving on to the less obvious weapons.
"So, how's this going down?" Wex managed to stay remarkably relaxed considering he was in the midst of being frisked and arrested.
Anna was about to answer, but was cut short by the same combat mage who had spoken earlier. "This is going down without your questions. Don't make any trouble."
Clear now that Anna's role in this was no more than to ensure a peaceful surrender by the F.A.T.E. agents Eric remained silent, glaring disdainfully at Anna who had a complicated expression of pain and regret she was trying to hold back. Rather than prolong the moment Anna turned and exited the warehouse, both F.A.T.E. agents detected a hint of satisfaction from the troops left inside before they began to usher them out as well.
"What of the others?" Wex was less inclined to keep his mouth shut and couldn't resist prying for more information on the other rogue members of F.A.T.E.
As expected they didn't receive a response as they exited the warehouse led by the armed guards, outside it was clear that the force that had stormed the warehouse was probably only the beginning. Reinforcements had moved in and surrounded the area, at least three stealth helicopters were circling in the air and no less than half a dozen SWAT vans and more than twice that many police sedans had encircled the hideout. Wex hung his head as they were loaded into the back of a SWAT van, Eric kept his head up and made a mental note of as many details of the operation that brought them down as he could in the short time before the heavy metal doors of the van slammed shut.