Maniacs The Krittika Conflict - By Nick S. Thomas Page 0,1

say.

"I hope so," she replied.

Screams rang out from down the corridor, and the two girls clung to the doors to try and see the cause of it. The painful cries were getting louder until one of the kidnappers passed them. He was pulling a girl down the corridor by her hair. He stopped at Erin's door.

"This one's daddy didn't feel like paying up. That's okay, more perks to this job than just the cash!" he yelled, breaking out into a horrible laugh as he carried on down the corridor.

* * *

"This is my last gig, so let's do this right," said Carter across the radio.

He looked over to the other vehicle and to his soon to be successor Mason who stood atop it. Mason nodded in acknowledgement as he turned back to the heavy calibre machine gun and slid the safety off. It was 1300 hours, and they were racing across open terrain in the clear light of day. The surface was a dusty wasteland, and the sun beat down hard without any cloud cover to save them from the fiery rays.

Mason was in his mid-thirties and was of average height but of strong build. He wore tan combat trousers and black body armour that was so dusty and faded it almost blended into the dusky landscape. A moisture wicking shirt ended at his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms. On his head was a compact and close fitting helmet, and slim line goggles kept the debris from his eyes. His armour was adorned with so many magazines of ammunition and grenades it looked like he was set for war, not a rescue operation.

A combat knife was suspended upside down on the chest of his armour ready for quick release, and a long barrelled pistol holstered on his thigh. Every part of his equipment was well worn and heavily used. He knelt forward to speak to the driver.

"Hell of a day for it!"

Ben Liu was at the wheel and wiped is sleeve around his mouth to soak up the sweat as he agreed.

"Why would anyone choose to live here?"

The metal armoured plates of the vehicle were hot enough to cook on, and their destination up ahead was a hazy blur. Mason looked over to see Josiah and Peter were standing patiently in the other vehicle, with their weapons at the ready as if they didn't even notice the heat that made the air so thick. The two old timers had been there since the beginning. He looked back and could see the target was now in sight.

The core of the kidnappers’ base was a large freight vessel that had been long abandoned. It had expanded to become a small town for the low life scum who chose to dwell there. Mason had studied the surveillance images for hours on end, and he felt like he had lived there among them. It was rare they were able to carry out such a noble mission, so he wanted to do it right.

"Feels good to be doing a good thing, doesn't it, Liu?"

"A missing kid in the hands of scum like this? It was always my worst nightmare."

He could tell Liu took it to heart more than any of them. His old detective training and experience reminding him of kidnappings he'd worked in the past. They could see the sentries at the edge of the smuggler town, but the dust their vehicles were kicking up was hiding their true firepower and intentions.

Here we go, he thought to himself.

A five metre ramshackle wall surrounded the town and seamlessly joined onto the hull of the old freighter. Two watch towers rose up from behind the walls, and they could already see a hive of activity from those stationed on them. Mason turned the gun around on its mounts and took quick aim at the tower. He turned one last time to look at the Boss, Carter, who merely gave him the nod to give the green light.

Mason was the first to pull the trigger. Killing low life scum gave him little pause for thought. The heavy weapons opened up on both vehicles as they got within a hundred metres of the walls. The laser weapons pulsated so loudly as they fired it was almost deafening. The vibrations could be felt through the frames of the trucks when the towers at the gate exploded almost in sequence, and they could hear the screams and shouts of panic as the debris smashed to the ground either side of