An Everdistant Horizon (Worm/Horizon Series)

[Draconis]

Missing the Threadmark but good chapter

 

[AlSmash]

This is a deleted scene from 5.2. We felt that it did not fit well with the general flow of the story, and as a result, we snipped it. However, it still can add to the story and provide additional details, so here we go.

---

Isaiah Knight
Callsign 'Reaper'
Brockton Bay, MA
May 21st, 2011
0503 Zulu Hours (GMT-5)

It seemed that despite the minor setbacks, fortune still favored them. The downpour of rain provided excellent cover and the decision to wait an additional day had allowed everyone to position themselves better just as Skidmark began to lower his guard.

Which only enhanced the belief that Skidmark was a patsy for someone else. No intelligent individual would do something as stupid as beginning to relax only a few days after effecting a mass casualty event.

Nonetheless, that was what Skidmark had done and he would pay dearly for such stupidity.

"All Wolves in position," the communication from their overwatch, a drone operator loitering a Predator overhead. It was certainly not what he wanted after reading the report of Hebert's new machine, but it still did its job and that was all that mattered.

They had all the intel that they required. The Merchants had been quite forthcoming with all of their usage of cellphones, not knowing that they were being monitored the entire time. As a result, everyone knew exactly where the Merchants had holed themselves up, but more importantly, where Skidmark and Mush were currently located. Squealer was a non-issue, according to intercepted conversations. It appeared that Skidmark had been unhappy with her.

The only missing target was Trainwreck, but from the signal interceptions, re: Skidmark's profligate usage of his cell phone, Skidmark didn't know either.

But it didn't matter. After tonight? They would have their answers, one way or another.

He pulled down his goggles, bathing his vision in series green light, before raising his rifle and patting Marian on the shoulder, receiving a slight nod before keying his mic.

"Wolf Lead to Wolves. Execute."

They then moved into the alley in silence, weapons raised. In his mental map, he knew that all eleven other members were spread amongst five teams as they approached their target, the rain and shadows serving to mask their approach.

With the rise of heroes and villains, it had also witnessed the emergence of what the cape community simply referred to as 'cape-killers'. Not in the concept of singular individuals, but groups of unpowered individuals who banded together to deal with capes. Back in the day, capes went out of their way to eliminate such groups. Nowadays, however, cape killing teams were a rarity, and those that existed were either damned good at their job.

Or they were government sponsored.

His team, however, did not specifically target capes unless their mission profile required it. If a cape did become involved, however, they were likely to just become another dead body by the time his team was done.

While cape killing was no different than killing another human being, there was an added dimension to it. You could not go after a cape half-cocked, while some amateur might get lucky, more often than not they became just another statistic. Another idiot added to the supposed "invincibility" of capes to normals.

Hunting a cape was akin to hunting big game. You need to know everything about your quarry, otherwise all it took was one underestimation, one mistake, and you ended up a statistic.

But perhaps more importantly, you never hunted alone.

That was what his Wolves were. They weren't just the team that was sent by Hexa to deal with nasty issues that their patrons didn't want to have their fingerprints on. They were professional killers who hunted the most difficult of quarries.

And right now, as they approached their target, they took advantage of a Brockton Bay urban legend revolving around the Empire Eighty Eight. One that had first been started by Kaiser in his early days suggesting that the Empire had in reserve a group of former soldiers who subscribed to their beliefs, killing and disappearing people in the middle of the night.

It was a legend steeped in some truth. Victor did have a unit of men and women who could do what was whispered, but they were rarely employed in such a way. Instead, these 'Jäger' were used more as an elite honor guard for Kaiser, and when not him, spent their time protecting Othala. Still, it was the matter that the legend existed in the first place that lent credence and provided them with a smoke screen to do this and muddle any beliefs by Taylor Hebert that Vice President Ryan had ignored her warning.

Marian Channing, his second in command, came to a stop in front of him, holding up her open hand calling him to stop.

"Three contacts," her whisper sounded in his ear, "twenty meters, surrounding a barrel."

She slowly backed, allowing him the opportunity to look over her shoulder and around the corner, sighting her contact. Sure enough, there were three Merchants huddled around an open flame in a barrel underneath and some sheet metal that provided protection from the elements.

Leaning back, he made a decision, "Engage the rightmost target, I'll handle the other two. On my mark."

"Copy."

"Mark."

They exploded into motion, whipping around the corner, Isaiah sighting down his scope as he acquired his first target. With a quick trigger pull, a soft sharp crack sounded just as another sounded from Marian's weapon. Without even waiting to confirm, he acquired the second target and pulled the trigger again.

All of this happened in less than a second, and all three targets fell to the ground, never becoming aware that they were under attack. They both moved quickly, weapons scanning around even as they moved towards the building where they knew where Skidmark was hiding.

Coming to a stop at the door, they positioned themselves to cover their backs as he keyed his mic.

"Lead, in position. Three kills. Sitrep"

He received quick responses from the rest of his team

"Two, in position. One kill."

"Three, in position. One kill."

"Four, reaching position. Two minutes."

"Five. In position. One kill."

"Copy."

Everything was going according to plan, all threats on the outside had been eliminated, and now all that remained was breaching the building and capturing Skidmark. That was what Four was doing, taking one of the ladders up to the roof so they could look in on their targets, providing final intelligence while also positioning to deal with Skidmark himself.

For that, one member of each team had an underslung attachment on their rifles. The only ordnance within it was a crystalline 'spike' that would deliver a nerve agent to their target. It had been a purchase made from Heisenberg, a chemical Tinker for Toybox. From time to time, Hexa commissioned the black market organization to provide them with tools and equipment for their missions. It was patently illegal for a governmental organization to do so, but because Hexa was considered a private company, they were not beholden to such restrictions. Even if they were basically part of the government.

Against non-brutes, it was an effective weapon, able to quickly incapacitate a target and not be restricted by things like clothing or light armor with its ability to penetrate into the target and deliver its cargo. And for Skidmark, who most certainly did not have a brute rating, it was perfect.

"Four. In position. Five hostiles. Target sighted. Ready to engage."

Once again, he wished that he had the Focus device that Hebert had provided his sister. The ability to see through walls and have targets identified and highlighted would make breaching so much easier. Instead, it was going to be done the old-fashioned way.

"Bang and Breach," he quietly commed, even as he raised his goggles back up. They would only be a hindrance once they breached into the brightly lit building, "When you're ready, Four."

"Roger, Lead. Hold tight."

He glanced over at Marian, who had likewise removed her goggles, her expression focused as they exchanged a look, in her hands a pair of stun grenades as he placed his hand on the handle, ready to wrench the door open so she had a clear path..

"On my mark, Team. Three. Two. One. Breach. Breach. Breach."

On the first 'Breach', he had already flung the door open, Marian pulling the pins and throwing her stun grenades. The cacophony of a string of explosions sounding the only signal needed as she brought her weapon up and moved in, him following her in

"Skidmark down," sounded in his ear, but it was all background noise, the cracks of subsonic gunfire reverberating off the walls as targets were engaged. His own weapon joined the din as Marian and himself swiftly eliminated a Merchant who was staggering around like a drunk from the stun grenades.

In only a few moments it was over, and he moved through the warehouse, his weapon at the ready for any possible threats. But there were none, instead, he moved towards the target as another one of his men was already taking a kneeling position, rifle shouldered as he withdrew plastic zipties and secured them around Skidmarks' wrists.

"Fucker smells bad enough without him shitting his pants," Elend muttered, as he finished securing Skidmark. It was one of the side effects of the nerve agent. It caused the target's muscles to completely relax, resulting in such unfortunate things like voiding of bowels.

Isaiah didn't say anything, instead keying his mic, "Overlord, Wolf Lead, package secured. Require extract."

"Roger, Wolf Lead. Extract in thirty."

"Copy, Overlord," he replied, watching as Elend threw Skidmark over his shoulder. He cast a glance at his other men, who silently awaited the orders for what was required next.

"Set up the scene."

Nothing else needed to be said, as they began moving, reaching into their pouches and extracting spray cans. Satisfied, he rejoined the formation as the rest of the team arranged themselves around the package. The soft hiss of spray cans being used was the only indication of the men's work as Isaiah moved with the rest of them towards their extraction. Another pair of his team broke off, reaching into their pouches and extracting long cylindrical tubes.

"Tags applied," Steve, his trusted left hand's voice sounded on the headset. The 'Tags' being carefully applied gang iconography of the Empire Eight-Eight. Just another layer to the deception, it would ensure that by the time anyone was able to put together what happened, if they were ever able to, would be lost in the rest of the noise in the next twenty-four hours. It also suited the longer term goals that Cardinal had in regards to the Brockton Bay, leaving far too many questions that couldn't be answered by any side.

"Light it up," Isaiah ordered as a pair of beat up vans pulled up. Vehicles that would easily pass for something that the Empire used. Getting into the vehicle, they secured their captive, as the rest of the team moved into their transportation. The last thing he saw before the doors slid shut was the flames quickly beginning to engulf the building, the stored drugs acting as an accelerant, and then they were on their way to their next destination..

It was time to get to the next part of the mission.