There was a loud sigh over the line. “Boris, Why didn’t you mention the weight drop earlier? Dan will come down to pick you up. A spare pod will take Janna to Bethany Anne. Dan needs some time out of the office anyway. You and Dan will head straight to the refinery. We’ll get Janna into the medical pod and get her better. Capiche? Bethany Anne is gonna be pissed at you, again. The only reason you haven’t gotten a visit for the bunker incident is it was probably bad luck. Oh, we are keeping a pod loaded with sintered metal/silver ammo on standby for your first op. With other Weres in the opposition, your guys might need it, and there’s space for it in that container.”
Boris slumped a little, partly in relief and partly in shame. Both offers of help were something he should have considered. “Yes, Frank.” His voice was a little disconsolate. Then he perked up “But the refinery, we are just taking out their security right? Not the plant operators?”
“Of course. Bethany Anne wouldn’t consider any other way. Be ready in an hour, it’ll take me that long to find a medic to put in the pod with Janna.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The Command Container, Russia
Frank was as good as his word. Exactly an hour later two pods landed, and Dan stepped out of the first. One of the Queen Bitch’s Elite stepped out of the other and helped Boris secure Janna in the pod. They placed the banana bag, as Paul insisted on calling the nutrient IV packs, on a hook in the pod cabin. Apparently, the need for evacuation by pod had been considered. He appreciated the help and care that the man took. He bowed to him in the traditional Japanese style of showing respect before the pod left.
Boris quickly went to the doorway and grabbed his web gear and weapons. The body armor was reasonable after his recent bad luck. Dan was a bit surprised to see the mix of weapons Boris was carrying. A silenced MP5 and the pair of silenced Glocks he’d expected. The AA-12 was not on the list of ‘discrete’ weapons. The short sword instead of a knife or dagger made some sense but was an unusual choice, to say the least. He recognized a pouch for throwing knives as well, and Boris handed him another one. Dan shrugged. He wasn’t really a knife man, but he could hum the tune.
“What do you want to take that for?” Dan asked, indicating the assault shotgun.
Boris gave him the ghost of a smile and answered “It is for two reasons. I have some silver buckshot in case there are Weres among the NVG. There is no real quiet way to take out a Were. Also as TARFU insurance da? Better to have it and not need it…”
Dan grunted in agreement. After so much time hunting down Nosferatu, he wouldn’t say it was overkill. Personally, he hoped that things didn’t even reach SNAFU levels but with so many unknowns it was better to be sure. His personal weapons included a silenced pistol and MP5.
Tonight should be fun, even if it weren’t the right time to use the railgun. He deserved a night out like John, and the team had post-Colorado. He hadn’t been able to join that night.
Damned the luck.
Neither of them knew about the other two pods Bethany had on standby, just in case this favor was a trap.
The two landed about a mile away from the refinery and approached it on foot. Despite the dry weather, Boris was wearing a forest camouflage poncho over his equipment. On the approach to the installation, located a couple of miles from any sizable town, there was a pair of bunkers.
Boris raised his hand. Upwind from the bunker, he smelt one of the particularly cheap and vile cigarettes as it was being smoked. Leaving Dan behind, he slipped silently through the scrub.
Dan was close enough, with his improved vision, to see the knife flash and sink to the hilt in the guard’s neck. When he caught up with Boris, still removing the blade, he saw that it had gone through the spine and continue through vertebrae. There was a slight grating between metal and bone as the knife was pulled free.
That was a lot of force.
Boris signaled for Dan to head toward the closest bunker from the rear and loped off towards the other one. Their goal here was to make it easier for ADAM to hijack the comms. Dan had a special device that he could plug into whatever system the NVG group was using to give ADAM easy access. He just hoped he was going for the right bunker.
As Dan approached the entrance of his target, a small group of three military-style trucks pulled up. He heard the door handle as it moved and ducked around the side, hiding in the shadows. Boris softly cursed, but Dan focused on the conversation. His Russian wasn’t great, but he could get the gist of the conversation. The NVG had sent in a platoon to take over the refinery to secure fuel for their operations.
The action had hit a problem. This wasn’t at ‘it’s a trap’ level yet, though. As far as Dan was concerned, it was simply more enemies to take out. Boris seemed aggravated by something, though.
Then the wind shifted, and Dan caught the scent of werewolves. Things were fast heading towards needing TARFU insurance. Dan was glad he had a half dozen of the sintered metal/silver magazines for the MP5. It would make things simpler.
The conversation stopped, and the trucks rumbled into the base. After the sound of their passage faded, Dan approached the bunker door again, with his Glock drawn. He kicked up his speed as he entered the room. Within three seconds the four inside were dead. One bullet to the heart and two to the head for each put them down, permanently. The stink of voided bowels filled the air, but he didn’t let it bother him.
Taking a deep breath in reaction, he realized that it was strange that the Weres hadn’t alerted to Boris. Dan might smell like a normal human, but Boris was another matter.
Dan shook his head, refocused on his primary objective, and plugged one of the connections on the device he had been given into the computer system. At least he had the right bunker for that. Then Boris’s voice came quietly over the radio.
“Plans need to change. I need to capture at least one of the Weres alive. We need to know if they are lone wolves or if a pack has joined this insanity. Rush them before they have a chance to spread out to the edges, because if one of them gets away, we may be in trouble.”
Dan thought about it for a moment. “Confirmed.”
They approached the gate, and Boris started taking off his webbing and pants. He divested himself of the MP5 and Glocks, tucking them behind a rock. He kept on the body armor, though.
“Angle your attack to come in from the left, da? I will try and herd them towards you. They will definitely notice me when I enter.” Boris still had the AA12 and had hung four drum magazines from the body armor. “I will change to Pricolici before I charge.”
“You can use that,” he pointed to the shotgun, “in your other form?” Dan asked
Boris showed him the trigger mechanism. It was about three times larger than the standard size, as was the magazine release. Dan grunted. It was evident over his years Boris had put a lot of thought into things. He probably had more control over his beast-man form than the others too. He somehow couldn’t see Peter using a gun in this way.
“I will give you two minutes to get into position. I hope the guards from the perimeter come in when the ruckus starts, so watch your back.” Boris’s eyes were practically glowing at this point.
Dan headed off to take his position. He heard the soft ripping of cloth as he left. Boris was going all out on this one, that was for sure.
Almost exactly two minutes later Boris headed into the refinery. Thankfully, all of the distilling equipment was well away from the entrance area, no doubt as a safety measure. This area was mostly offices and housing. There was only the slightest hint of petrol in the air. It would be relatively safe for him to use the shotgun. That also meant it would be safe for the NVG to use their weapons, however. He was glad Alecta had designed and made this body armor for him. It had elastic sections between the plates so it still covered significant portions of his body when he changed.