Kivu watched from a sniper's nest in a ruined building five hundred meters away as the humans were slaughtered. There was a loud low pressure boom like a black powder cannon as a katzen on the roof of the building where Himry and Joan were holed up fired a recoilless rifle at the approaching gunship.
The 84mm High Accuracy Improved Recoilless Ballistic Launcher or HAIRBAL was a signature weapon of the katzen. It was light weight, fired a wide range of munitions, and most importantly could not be spoofed or jammed.
The gunship couldn't evade the incoming rocket so instead it fired a wave of flares, chaff, electromagnetic noise makers and other last ditch devices as it tried to trick the rocket into changing course. But no, the HAIRBAL had a special quantum locking system that synched each round with the launcher as it was fired, allowing the operator to guide the rocket to its final destination.
There was a flash as the rocket hit the side of the gunship followed by a brief delay then a much larger explosion as the secondary charge detonated inside the aircraft. The burning wreck spiraled to the ground and disappeared behind a building.
"That was quite a show." Gershwin observed from behind to Kivu, causing her to involuntarily flinch. His familiar purring slightly germanic accent was unmistakable. "How do you feel now in this moment watching them die, knowing that it is all your fault?"
"I sometimes wonder if you would speak so boldly if we were face to face." Kivu set her binoculars down and flicked through a series of hacked surveillance feeds on her tablet. She was used to Gershwin popping up in her head and the initial excitement of it had gone stale. "It seems childish to taunt from afar. But I suppose that is your way."
"Perhaps it is." Gershwin mused, still standing in the shadows behind the kinter. "But no, I would speak the same truths if I was here or not. It's so much better seeing someone's expression in person. Tell me, have you ever watched the old human film Suspiria? Such wonderful expressions on the actor's faces. You really should look it up sometime."
There was a large explosion as the second assault team exited the building. "What a waste." Kivu shook her head. She had planned to take the human and the drekan when they exited but the clouds of dust from the explosions were making it impossible to see. She didn't want them to slip away in the confusion. Now she was going to have to go in and get them.
Gershwin watched as she began to pack up, coming in closer to get a better look. Kivu had brought a wide assortment of weapons and gadgets from claymores to micro drones. He eyed the expensive pair of binoculars that she had set down when she transitioned to the tablet. They were very close to the edge. Temptingly close to the edge. Tantalizingly close to the edge…
As Kivu reached over to retrieve her binoculars Gershwin casually swept them over the side with his right foot. She lunged after them, trying to catch the priceless piece of hardware. But it was too late and she was forced to watch powerlessly as they fell and smashed into the ground a hundred meters below.
Slowly she turned her head to look up at the grinning katzen standing over her, realizing that he was not an illusion after all.
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"Yes!" Gershwin shouted, reveling in her shock and surprise. "That is what I'm talking about! Now, if you will just stay still I will make this quick and painless!"
Kivu launched herself forward over the ledge in a desperate attempt to get distance between them. She could survive the fall, she wouldn't survive Gershwin. There was an alley below. When she landed she would break line of sight by ducking into the building across the way. She had unlocked the door earlier and it led into an underground utility tunnel where she could hole up and plan her next moves.
But as she jumped the kinter felt something brush against the backs of her knees like a spiderweb touching bare skin. She glanced back to see Gershwin standing with his right hand held out at waist height, his fingers were splayed wide like a puppeteer and there was a look of malevolent amusement on his feline face. That was when the wires he had wrapped around Kivu's legs earlier when she was distracted went taught.
There was no stopping momentum or gravity. Kivu watched in shock and horror as the monomolecular wire bit in and cut her off at the knees. A few seconds later she hit the ground hard enough to chip her teeth and break her left arm. Her severed legs landed next to her.
A normal kinter would have fainted or given up. Instead Kivu clawed her way forward on bloody stumps towards the door to the utility tunnel. She had to break line of sight. She had to get somewhere Gershwin couldn't see her.
Kivu wrenched the door open with her good arm and dove down the metal steps into the darkness below trying to keep moving at all costs. This would prove to be a fatal mistake as Gershwin had observed Kivu planning her escape route and left a surprise for her at the bottom.
She hit the invisible web of loosely woven monomolecular wire and screamed in pain and rage as it wrapped around her, cutting her to the bone as she tried to escape. But the more she struggled the tighter it seemed to get. Pieces of her were beginning to fall off as she was flayed alive by the wickedly sharp wire, her every movement and breath making it cut deeper into her.
The door at the top of the stairs opened revealing Gershwin's slim silhouette. Slowly he walked down the stairs towards her, his feet making no noise.
"You know, when a mass murderer mentions a favorite movie it's usually a good idea to look it up. He might be giving you a hint on how he intends to kill you." Gershwin drummed his fingers on the metal guard rail as he decided how he was going to finish Kivu off.
Fuck it, she thought. If she was going to die she could at least take this monster with her. Maybe take him out of commission for a hundred years. She tried to reach out mentally to the vampirzahn at her hip. But nothing happened because it wasn't there anymore.
"Looking for this?" Gershwin asked, twirling a familiar half meter long golden metal baton. "I took it from you a few minutes ago. It's nice, for a knock off But it's not as good as the originals. Perhaps I can make some improvements…."
Kivu watched the smart metal of the vampirzahn begin to shift from brilliant gold to dark black. It was as if his very touch was changing it, corrupting it. Without another word Gershwin threw the vampirzahn. It changed into a spear mid-flight and struck Kivu in the heart, pinning her to the floor like a butterfly in a collector's display case. She was dead within seconds as it disabled then consumed her wetware.
"I'm sorry to be so abrupt." Gershwin purred as the light left Kivu's eyes. "But I find that killing someone first, then monologuing, works much better than the other way around. It's actually a good deal safer. At least, for me it is."
He regarded the mutilated corpse before him coldly. "You could have been one of my best soldiers. I would have given you wealth, purpose, and a chance to help not just your own selfish people, but all beings." He sighed theatrically. "Instead you decided to be an asshole and now you are a goat kebab wrapped in chicken wire."
Gershwin winced as a phantom pain wracked his body. He swore an oath so foul that it could tarnish chrome and called his vampirzahn back to him. Something was wrong and he suspected it had to do with Himry.