Welcome to the Misfits

Diversion

Chapter 16: Diversion

- 1 Hour Earlier -

M14, Owen, and Freya sat in a room towards the top of an old apartment complex built in the eighties. The room gave an excellent view of the Mayor's manor.

At least Owen thought it was a manor. It was massive with a perfectly manicured lawn, a long winding driveway, and a thoroughly breached perimeter. The bodies of guards, police officers, and Sangvis were everywhere.

Owen glassed the Manor grounds with his ELCAN and let out a low whistle. Jaegers were in place on the roof, along with a Jaguar. Mixed sentry patrols consisted of Scouts, Dinergates, Guards, Prowlers, and Rippers were inside the perimeter fence, which was a high brick wall that surrounded the property. As he shifted his focus to the building he saw a figure standing motionless on the top of the steps.

At first he thought it was a statue, until he zoomed in and...

"Motherfucker," Owen swore, "That's Lilith."

"Who?" M14 asked.

"Originally we thought she was with the group that attacked Gentiane's base," Owen leaned against the wall under the window, out of sight from anyone in the Manor, "Apparently we were wrong."

"Oh..."

He slid back in cover, and thought about his next move. His team was not equipped to deal with Lillith, but scrubbing the mission wasn't an option with friendlies trapped inside. He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled when his sat phone started buzzing. He had forgotten he had that.

He shared a confused look with M14, pulled the phone from its pouch and answered, "Owen."

"Commander Owen," Helian's voice came through, level and professional.

"Helian," Owen greeted with an equally professional tone.

"We're showing Griffin units operating in a city in Sector 12, but the Sector Commander informs me that he doesn't have anyone in the area."

Owen looked at M14, who had continued her watch of the courtyard.

"Your intel's bad, I'm with M14 right now and she's informed me that their commander in training is somewhere inside, also, Lilith is here.

A pause, "Owen listen to me very carefully."

"I'm listening."

"The manor has a safe room on the lower levels, " she began, "Inside that safe room is an…" Helian paused, "artifact."

Owen waited.

"It is imperative that you retrieve the artifact." She stressed.

"So you want us to fight our way through a massive security force, kill a ringleader, rescue the trainee and the mayor's family, and also retrieve the artifa-"

"The artifact is the primary objective," Helian cut him off, "Everything else is irrelevant. Help where you can, but you must get that artifact out of there."

"Well that simplifies things." Owen said in a neutral tone, "That artifact must be some of that nasty space hoodoo shit."

Silence.

Owen sighed, it was always the space hoodoo, "Any chance of reinforcement?" he asked.

"We're working with the Sector Commander to get more troops to you, but this is a time sensitive matter."

"We had a pretty heavy engagement getting here, any chance of a supply drop?"

"Already in the air." The sound of metallic clanging was heard from the street outside of their building, followed by a surprised yelp from M500 downstairs.