Pen took point down the stairwell and Lei come up along side her. While Pen held her attention forward, focused for any sign of movement, Lei consulted the screen on her wrist.

“No automated defenses on our route to the other rooftop. Cameras will go dark as we pass. Let’s hope whoever’s watching takes their time noticing.”

She tapped Pen shoulder and the group started to move. They were in perfect sync with each other; a well-oiled machine. Cerberus’s movements were smooth and deliberate. So well-practiced, well-tested, were they that little if any communication was necessary as they moved. Four more enemies found themselves in Cerberus’s way and four more were dropped without issue. Silent efficiency brought them to the access door of the lowest rooftop.

Lei held up a fist to the others and placed a hand on Pen’s shoulder. The group came to a halt.

The tech specialist placed a device on the stark metal door and consulted her wrist.

“Nothing you can make that I can’t break.” She whispered to herself with a tut tut.

After a few seconds the sound of acute whirring came through the door. It was followed by pops and then silence. Lei looked back, pleased, not that any of them could see it through her visor. None of them needed to see it, though. Hinakari always had a smug air about her when she did something she found particularly impressive. This was one of those instances.

She swung the door wide to reveal four shorted defense turrets sparking and sputtering. After a celebratory pause, she pulled the device from the door, stowed it, and moved onto the open rooftop. Mac and Penelope followed close and posted up near the generator while she got to work. The other three covered the door.

A few minutes passed as the sly technician opened the cover-panel from a main unit and got to it. A few minutes longer found her cursing to herself.

“Alternative solutions needed?” Mac asked with a grin.

He slowly shook one half of a cylindrical explosive. Inert on its own but imolative when combined with its other half and primed.

“No, no, no. I’m fine. I just can’t trick an overload from the control panel here. Which is fine, we just have to get hands on. I can just cause some faults with these,” She held up some small emp devices mainly used to short locked automatic doors and the like, “and also force an overspeed.”

“Or… we could blow it the fuck up?”

“And let the entire place know were here?”

She pulled off more panels and placed the emp devices in various locations.

“Pretty sure they’re gonna notice either way. You know, with the power gone.”

“You just want to blow something up.”

“Yes.” he said with pride.

Lei only rolled her eyes and shook her head as she finished her work. With each passing minute the generator seemed to be working harder and harder. High pitched whining emanated from each unit and built until smoke started to pour out. This all built until the strain was too much. Cerberus had moved back into the building but watched from the doorway. Like a domino of light and sound each unit popped and shorted with a violent frying sound.

Darkness.

What was a bright beacon in a sea of lights against the night became a singular spot of black as the three connected buildings lost all power.

Slowly, emergency lights kicked on as backup generators engaged. Still, red emergency lights were a far cry from the buildings previous state.

The Captain spoke.

“Nice work. Now for the backups. I doubt we’ll get to the basement levels without going live so stay sharp.”

He did not wait for a reply before starting the groups steady path further down the stairwell.

Cerberus managed to get halfway down before their presence was finally discovered in full. The third enemy they encountered managed to cry out as he was dropped. He had an ally on the other side of the door he’d come into the stairwell from who’d slammed the door shut and called over a communicator.

A hatchet found its way into her shoulder and a knife into her neck but not before she’d revealed their location. A sixth sense told each of them that the building was suddenly abuzz and they wouldn’t be coasting any longer. Several sets of stomping boots from down the hall confirmed this.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Nothing changes Cerberus. We move. Now.”

The group still moved methodically and with focus. Now, however, they made little effort to quiet their steps and favored a certain amount of haste. At pace they pushed further down through mounting resistance. Pen and the Captain spearheaded their move downward while Mac rejoiced in opening up his machine gun to ward off any contact from their rear. Ash took any chance to make use of her advantage in the stairwell and put shots further down.

Steadily they made it to the basement and quickly pushed out of the stairwell and into a long stark concrete hallway. At regular intervals were wide double doors into unknown rooms and scattered about the hallway were various crates and boxes.

Shots immediately began flying down the hall from a small group of enemies using the crates as cover. They attempted to force Cerberus back into the stairwell.

“Push forward. Take cover!” Alvarez yelled pointing at the closer stacks.

He was well aware how poor a position the stairwell would quickly become. Retreating back into it would be lethal.

Mac provided some cover, forcing the opposing position to duck in cover with his LMG. One unfortunate contact found his crate to be insufficient as a heavy round tore through it and buried itself into his chest.

“Watch it! Some of these aren’t more than wood!” he yelled as he took a knee behind what he hoped was a good one.

Ash stowed her sub, pulled her rifle from her back, and wasted no time placing shots down the way. Each one calculated before firing. Bullets flying, popping, striking the wall behind her. Yet she looked as if nothing at all was happening. She breathed slowly, sat relaxed. She evaluated a box and put a round through it. A woman slumped to the ground. A panicked man rushed out from behind the same box. His body hit the floor with two new holes in his chest.

A contingent had made their way down the stairwell behind them but found the door a lethal prospect. Penelope, covering ash’s back, had switched to her shotgun and taken a shoulder each from the two who’d tried the door. She counted her shots as she racked another shell.

Five.

She could tell there were more at the door but none of them seemed keen on pushing through and with their rear covered Alvarez started barking orders. The terse firefight had weakened the group ahead of them and they were already giving ground.

“Pen cover the door! Mac, Nurse, and Hin push forward with me! Ash…” He didn’t need to elaborate.

“Pen!” Mac yelled.

As he moved past her he pulled something from his waist and shoved it into her midsection. Her sight never left the door nor did her shotgun, but she reached her left hand down to secure the gift. A millisecond glance was all it took to know what he’d given her. A small metal sphere. An explosive that would magnetize to the doorframe and wait for its short range sensor to trip before detonating.

As the four pushed forward they forced the closest enemies out of cover. Ash took her opportunities without hesitation and downed another three. Their ranks thinning, the defending group went into a full retreat and Cerberus continued towards their goal.

Ash tapped Pens shoulder. Her signal that it was their time to move. She quickly rolled Mac’s present towards the door and turned. It snapped to the corner of the doorframe with a magnetic twang and waited for movement. Mac was covering the two of them as they linked back up, but no one made to come in behind them yet.

The mercs had repositioned further down the hall and threw shots at the fireteam but Cerberus had made it to its second goal. Lei had the doors open in seconds and, after clearing the room with her Captain, signaled for everyone to come in. Just as soon as Pen had crossed the threshold, a loud explosion came from the stairwell. Hopefully the concussive surprise would be enough to make them hesitate in pushing soon. The longer they waited the more breathing room Cerberus would have.

“Ash and Nurse, entry point. Pen, that door.” Alvarez pointed her to a door on her right as she entered.

Lei and Mac got to work.

Seconds turned to a minute turned to two minutes, but no one pushed them.

“Seems my little presents have them really second guessing themselves.” Mac said as he moved from unit to unit.

“More than likely the main force has started the assault and they’re taking the heat off of us.” Alvarez said.

“A tad early but not unwelcome…”Lei commented.

“Which is even more reason we need to work fast. Our people can’t be dealing with automated defenses in addition to everything else. Get this done.”

“Yes Sir.” The two said in unison.

Thirty more seconds and a number of small explosives were ready to trash the backup generators.

“Set and ready, probably best not to be in the room when these go off.” Mac chuckled.

“Good. Adjacent room. Once they blow, we’ll move from there to the third objective. Pen and Ash clear the way.”

Ash moved up behind Pen, put a hand on her shoulder and readied her sub. As a unit they moved to the door. Pen carefully tried the handle. Unlocked, she pushed it down just enough to pull the latch back and leave it resting a few centimeters ajar. After a moment she smacked the door with her forearm and readied her shotgun. She would drop anything that moved but as the door swung wide it revealed an empty dimly lit room. Some sort of steam rose from grates in the ground and red lights shone weakly from a number of framed stations.

There were four in total. Circular pedestals jutting up from the floor were mirrored in the ceiling and connected by support beams. The beams sported clamps and thick cabling hung down from each station unattached to anything.

Pen went to move through the door. She’d clear left and Ash would clear right. They didn’t move, however. Ash’s left arm gripped her shoulder, a signal to stay put. A second passed and Penelope turned her head to ask what the delay was. She couldn’t see the realization slowly dawning in Ash’s eyes.

Her hunch was confirmed by the sudden, and horridly familiar, low metallic droning sound. It issued from a newly blinking red light in a shadowed section on the far side of the room.

Ash’s hand went from a grip to forcefully pushing Pen down. Pen didn’t resist it and immediately went to the ground. As her armored knee hit the floor, she heard Ash’s voice ring out through their coms.

“SENT-”

There was a single heavy crack from the far side of the room followed by the sound of breaking glass just behind her. The round shattered Ash’s visor and passed through her head with enough force to punch a hole out the back of her helmet and into the far wall.

The old woman’s grip loosened on Pen’s shoulder. Her hand passing over the armor as if followed her body to the floor with a thud.