Fic, Silk and Steel, Part 34

[fredbassett]

Title : Silk and Steel, Part 34
Authors : fredbassett & munchkinofdoom
Fandom : Primeval
Characters : Leek, Lyle, Ditzy, Abby, Connor, Lacey, Wilkes, Blade
Rating : 18
Disclaimer : Not ours, no money made, don’t sue
Spoilers : None.
Summary : Written for the primeval_denial  siege fic challenge.
Warning : Slave!fic!
A/N : This section of the story can probably be read as a standalone section if you haven’t been following the series as a whole, but still want to read the challenge fic. Tanya Lacey and Chris Wilkes appear by kind permission of reggietate. The remainder of the series can be found here

Abby watched nervously as a war council was quickly convened in the infirmary. Almost everyone assembled around Norman's bed, where the cantankerous maintenance supervisor was blithely ignoring Ditzy's admonitions to behave. He was hunched over, his blanket-covered lap strewn with all the radios they had available. Annie and Connor leaned in attentively, watching as the old man showed them how to modify the radios to 'killing frequency' as Connor had named it.

Directing another baleful glare at his recalcitrant patient, Ditzy beckoned Blade and Wilkes over, and ordered Lacey outside to stand guard. "Abby," he called, "Miss Lewis too, you might want to listen in on this."

Blade opened the conversation, "They'll have the radios ready to go in ten minutes at most. So, what then?"

"We still can't move our patients," said Wilkes, looking pensively over Jenny's shoulder at the unconscious cleaner in the bed behind her.

Ditzy nodded. "Not without an ambulance."

"So we hole up here, protect the wounded and civilians, and wait for the reinforcements to clear the ARC?" Wilkes asked.

Blade didn't look too keen on that idea, and Ditzy grinned at him. "No. We've got the radios, so I say we take the fight to the bastards and get this place secured. We're in a better position than any outsiders, now that we've got a weapon."

"The lot in the bio lab isn't going anywhere," Blade said. "So what's your plan, boss?"

Ditzy rolled his eyes at the other soldier and then got down to business. Grabbing a notebook, he quickly sketched a map of the ARC, marking out the internal stairways and the ramp from the first floor front offices down to the atrium. "This area," he stabbed the pen into the atrium, "is going to be the most dangerous. We can handle anything that comes at us from the stairwells or corridors, either with conventional weapons or the radios, but the atrium is a fucking big area to cover. Blade, how many radios are we going to need, to neutralise any of the bastards down there?"

Blade looked closely at the mudmap, "At a minimum, I'd say one at the top of the ramp, another to cover the doors to the garage and those leading into the ground floor corridor," his finger stabbed the two entrances nearly adjoining each other on the map, "and – if we can get away with it – another one against the far wall of the atrium, under the external windows."

"That one's going to be tough to place," commented Ditzy.

"Whoever takes the ground floor could probably slide it along the floor. Especially since the bastards seem to like heights. Slide it right under their noses."

Ditzy nodded agreement. "We're going to need to leave someone here with the wounded. Wilkes, that’ll be you. We're going to need one team to take the first floor corridor to the ramp, and another to go down the back stairwell to the ground floor and into the atrium from that corridor."

"How are you going to co-ordinate your attack time without the radios?" Wilkes asked.

"The old-fashioned way,” grinned the medic. “We’ll have to set our watches. Blade, the stairwell is going to be the most dangerous route, so I'm sending Lacey with you. I'll take the first floor corridor and come out at the ramp."

"I'm not keen on you going alone, boss," Blade said.

"I could use the radio for you," Abby said quietly, and the small group turned suddenly to look at her. "You're going to need both hands for your guns if you're attacked."

"Abby –" Jenny started.

"I'll be fine," Abby said quietly but firmly. "I'll have my pistol if I need it, and really, I am the best civilian to take along. I've had the most experience with living animals, and I can protect myself if necessary."

Jenny held the younger woman’s eyes for a moment, then simply nodded.

The three soldiers looked from one to the other and then Ditzy nodded as well. "Norman," he called over his shoulder, "how are you doing with those radios?"

The maintenance supervisor grunted and Connor's head lifted enthusiastically, his hair whipping in his eyes as he grinned at Ditzy, waving a radio in one hand. "Last one!"

"That's good, mate, because we’ve got to get a move on," Ditzy told him.

The two groups combined around Norman's bed, and Abby watched as Ditzy checked the old man's condition, all the while glaring. Norman just scowled, especially when the medic began to sweep mechanical detritus from the bed and into Connor's hands.

In a few short sentences, the medic outlined his plan.

"I can use the radio for Blade and Lacey, if you want me to," Connor ventured quietly.

"You sure, mate?" asked Ditzy.

Connor nodded, and Ditzy raised his eyebrows at Blade, who nodded back. "Okay, Connor, you're on. Wilkes, you’ve got Miss Lewis on rifle back-up and the professor on radio. OK?"

Wilkes nodded.

"Not dead yet, laddie," Norman growled, holding up a radio and scowling when Ditzy took it out of his hand.

"Behave, you stupid old bugger, or I’ll knock you out."

"What about the basement labs and the garage?" demanded Blade.

"We lock down the garage door if possible, both teams clear the basement, and then we tackle the garage together. It's too big to risk to a single team. The sodding things could come at us from anywhere."

"Blade, lad," Norman hissed.

Everyone turned to look at the old man.

Norman nodded his head in Connor and Abby's direction and pointed to the floor, waggling his eyebrows, to Blade's obvious confusion. Norman glared meaningfully. Blade shrugged, puzzled. Norman slashed his finger across his throat and Abby saw Blade's eyes widen.

"Oh fuck," breathed the soldier, attracting everyone's attention.

"Niall, dear?" Annie asked, calmly. "Do you have something you'd like to share with us?"

Norman cleared his throat, saving Blade the trouble of replying. "Gert big ugly fucker down in the basement, pardon me French, mam. Clocked me over me ‘ead, ‘e did. Then when I woke up ‘e was there wi’ ‘is neck broke.” The maintenance supervisor nodded in Blade’s direction and shrugged. “Someone done that laddie’s job fer ‘im."

"Dead?" squeaked Connor, clearly not needing a translation of Norman’s exposition of events.

"We can send the.civilians back here after securing the atrium," said Ditzy.

"No," Abby interjected, "We can handle it. Really, can't we, Connor?"

Connor swallowed audibly, but he nodded assent.

"You sure, miss?" asked Wilkes, the concern clear in his voice.

"Yes..We'll be fine, I promise."

"Abs," said Connor, and she walked around the bed to her friend.

"Don't worry, Con,' Abby said, touching his arm softly. "They'll take good care of us."

Connor still looked worried, but he nodded. Then, as Abby turned to walk away, he grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, and hugged her for all he was worth. Taking a deep breath, Abby felt Connor tense, straighten and then he pulled away from her, looking sheepish. She smiled at him and Connor smiled a little in return, then his hand shot out, startling her, as he handed her a radio. "You'll need this."

"Thank you," Abby murmured, her throat tight as she looked at the radio in her hand. Then she looked up at her friend again and impulsively leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Connor blushed and Abby felt her face heat up in return. Stepping back, she tried to smile encouragingly. "I'll see you in the atrium," she promised.

* * * * *

The underground car park appeared deserted, apart from the body of one dead predator. Leek looked down at its gaunt shape, dark blood pooled round it on the concrete floor, and failed to suppress a shudder.

“Prefer ‘em that way, personally,” grinned Lyle, obviously trying to break the tension.

Oliver Leek sighed. He only had himself to blame – in more ways than one – for his current predicament, so he did his best to muster what might pass for a smile in return. His respect for the Special Forces lieutenant had grown immeasurably in the last few hours. The man had no reason on God’s earth to be kindly disposed towards him – the blood leaking from the wreckage of Lyle’s back bore mute witness to that – but he’d saved Leek’s life on several occasions since this bloody mess had started. Gradually, and almost against his own better judgment, Leek had come to realise that he really could trust the soldier. For now, at least.

Whether the truce would last remained to be seen, but Leek guessed that was as much down to him as it was to the maverick lieutenant. But that was for the future, and right now Leek was by no means convinced that he had a future.

His hands gripped the assault rifle tightly. If he survived this, he’d get more weapons training, he swore he would. Pushing a pen was clearly not enough in this job any more.

Without needing to be told, he fell into step behind Lyle, just to one side, on the soldier’s left, acting as rear-guard in case anything still lurked in the shadows of the cavernous garage.

The double doors to the atrium were still partly open, and Leek could see predator corpses lying where they’d fallen, blood and guts spread around them like the disgorged contents of some huge and obscene party poppers, fired at random in the atrium.

The air stank of blood and shit, so much so that Leek could actually taste it when he breathed. His stomach heaved, but there was nothing left to expel. He began to wonder how the hell he’d ever found the red ruin of Lyle’s back arousing. The way he felt at the moment, he’d be happy never to see so much as a cut finger again, as long as he lived. Which, right now, might not be very long at all.

He watched Lyle press himself against the side of one of the huge metal doors, rifle held straight up against his body as he stared out into the scene of destruction in the huge open space. Whoever had designed this bloody place had given no thought to its defensibility, that much was obvious.

“Looks clear,” Lyle murmured. “Stay behind me, we’ll take it together this time.”

Leek swallowed hard and nodded, gripping the rifle even more tightly. He made a conscious effort to force himself to take slow, deep breaths. The lieutenant was right, it did help. His stomach was still a writhing mass of nerves, but it stopped the shaking in his hands.

Slowly, Lyle edged out into the opening, skirting the mangled pile of bodies. Leek wondered just how many of them were still unaccounted for. He’d had no idea that an entire army of the bastard things existed. This wasn’t quite what he’d anticipated, but he supposed, ruefully, that a double-cross was only to have been expected. He just hadn’t imagined one on quite such an epic scale.

They were half way across the atrium, without incident, when all hell seemed to break loose. The first predator hurled itself down from the upper ramp, arms and legs spread out as it flew through the air towards them.

The buckshot from Lyle’s MASS attachment took it full in the chest, knocking it to one side, where it skidded onto the body of the dead cleaning lady. Leek’s heart leapt in his chest and he stared around, eyes frantically scanning for the next threat.

Then a sub-audible noise disturbed the silence that had fallen. A noise that Leek felt rather than heard. A noise that set his teeth on edge and made him want to burrow under a duvet, hiding from the monster under the bed. The only problem was that there was no duvet handy, and the monsters weren’t under the bed, they were here in the huge, impractical foyer of the Anomaly Research Centre, staring down at him from the walkway that encircled them at first floor level.

“Oh shit,” breathed Lyle. “Sorry about this, Mr Leek. When I say go, try and make it back to the garage. I’ll cover you. I wasn’t expecting so many of the fuckers to be left alive.”

Lyle’s voice sounded spectacularly calm considering the fact that they were being stared at by at least twenty of the hideous creatures, each one with their lipless jaws drawn back, displaying reddened gums and teeth dripping unpleasantly with saliva.

“I’ll stay,” said Leek, equally quietly. “We stand a better chance together.” They actually stood no fucking chance at all, and he knew it, but somehow, considering that he was quite literally staring death in the face, he felt quite remarkably calm. From what he’d seen of the creatures, they were fast and efficient killers, so he doubted it would be a lingering death.

“We stand no fucking chance at all, sir,” muttered Lyle, careful to make no movement whatsoever. “You should have left me and gone when you had the chance.”

Oliver Leek sighed. “Yes, I should have done, shouldn’t I? Not one of my better decisions, but never mind, at least I won’t live to regret it.”

Lyle grinned and slowly brought his rifle to bear on the massed ranks of the predators poised on the safety rail above them. “On the count of three, take as many of the fuckers down as you can. If you can still move afterwards, make for the corridor. We stand more chance in a confined space.”

“Lyle, as you’ve just pointed out, we stand no fucking chance at all! Now just get on with it, lieutenant. I hate emotional goodbyes.”

Leek glanced sideways at Lyle, watching the soldier mouth the words : one …two …three …”; and then he squeezed the trigger of his rifle and the world exploded in chaos around their ears.

* * * * *

Abby tried to hold her nerve as the air around her was suddenly filled with the almost inaudible sonic hum that signalled the presence of the predators ahead of them. Peering around the solid, steady barrier of Ditzy's shoulder, she was confronted with the sight of the bony backs of massed creatures, many perched on the guard rail no more than a few metres ahead, like a flock of malevolent birds. Others threw themselves forward, catching hold of the exposed struts in the recessed ceiling and swinging one-handed over the cavernous atrium.

Her heartbeat was loud in her ears and Abby couldn't understand how the monsters had failed to notice them. Instead of turning to face the threat coming up from the rear, they all seemed intent on the atrium, the barely audible sound increasing, pounding against her sinuses and eardrums, and then one dropped, limbs splayed like some grotesque skydiver.

Gunfire sounded from below, and Abby feared, for a horrible moment, that Connor's party had entered the atrium unprotected, ahead of the planned time. Ditzy glanced quickly at his watch and shook his head, lifting his M4 in readiness.

"Thirty seconds," he whispered to Abby.

"Who?" she started, her words freezing in her throat as a lone predator turned to face them, its maw opening, an obscene clicking sound emitting as it rose on its haunches and launched itself into the air toward them.

The burst of automatic fire from Ditzy caught it right in the chest, throwing the creature backward and over the railing. Someone below swore violently, and Ditzy grinned.

"Lyle! Keep low, mate, backup’s with you," the medic yelled, grinning at Abby triumphantly. "Ten seconds," he whispered, "be ready."

Abby nodded, consciously blocking out the sounds of gunfire around her as she transferred the radio to her left hand and cocked the Glock that Lacey had given her.

"In your own time, Ditz!" Lyle called back, his words broken by the sound of gunfire from his vicinity.

"One," counted Ditzy, "now, Abs."

Simultaneously, the high-pitched, teeth-aching screech of the modified radios erupted from both the ground and first floors, accompanied by startled swearing from Lyle and someone who sounded suspiciously, to Abby, like Oliver Leek.

Ditzy dashed forward, blasting at the predators perched on the railing as they turned to face him. Abby stayed close behind, the radio grasped in her hand like a talisman against harm. Creatures fell around them, and Abby placed a bullet in each skull just in case, until the two humans stood against the glass wall, looking out over the atrium and surveying the carnage below.

Predators, their control mechanisms smoking, lurched as they hung from the exposed girders, and then, one by one, they began to fall.

"Over here, mate," Blade's voice called out from below, and Abby leaned over the railing and watched Blade and Lacey standing guard by the open doors leading into the downstairs corridor, picking off creatures as they lurched crazily across the bloodstained tiles.

The last thing Abby saw, as Ditzy hurriedly hauled her back and pushed her behind him, was the sight of Lyle and Leek racing across the short distance to their rescuers, then Blade darted forward and slid a third radio across the floor. It made it most of the way across, before coming up short against a predator as it fell, the close proximity of the signal to the control mechanism causing it to burst into flames.

Ditzy pulled out another radio, turned it on, and placed it against the wall. Then he turned to Abby and commanded, "stay behind me." With that, the soldier moved forward and picked off the few monsters that were still hanging on to the girders, his face impassive as he watched them fall to the floor below. Then, nodding to Abby, who barely suppressed her shiver at the sudden lack of the open, laconic Ditzy that she was accustomed to, he started down the ramp, gesturing to Abby to keep to the wall.

When they reached the bottom, Abby rushed forward and hugged Connor, then, holding firmly to his arm, watched as the soldiers fanned out, checking each predator individually, shooting those who still lived.

"Are you hurt, sir?" Ditzy asked Leek, giving him a cursory look-over.

"No, lieutenant, but you might want to have a look at Lieutenant Lyle's back."

Lyle glared at Leek, transferring his ire to Ditzy when the medic pulled the equipment vest away from his back to inspect the blood seeping through his black tee-shirt.

"I thought you were going for help?" muttered Ditzy, handing his rifle to Lacey so that he could check the full extent of Lyle's injuries.

"Already done," returned Lyle. "Thought you might need some help, so we came back. And watch what you’re fucking doing, I've got little enough skin left on my back as it is."

"Ah," Blade commented. "That explains why we've just rescued you."

Lyle glared. "And you took your own sweet time about it, you idle sods. Thought for a minute back there that you were going to leave me and Mr Leek to do all the hard work."

Ditzy sighed theatrically. "Maybe if you'd phoned ahead before just dropping in unannounced?"

"Ha, ha," sneered Lyle, wincing at the medic’s ministration. "Now, would somebody mind telling me what the fuck is going on?"

"Our resident boffins invented a predator repellent, and we were just doing a spot of pest eradication when you arrived."

Lyle wryly inspected the carnage around them. "So I see. Have you left any for me?"

Blade grinned. "There's still the lot locked in the labs. And we haven't checked the rest of the basement level yet. Or the garage."

"Just came from there," Lyle said. "Didn't see any live vermin."

"Just in case the sodding things are getting sneakier let’s lock the hanger doors, clear the labs and utility rooms, and then come back and do the garage last," suggested Ditzy.

"You mean there are even more of the things?" asked Leek, looking shocked.

Lyle shrugged, exhaustion showing for a moment on his face then he started off toward the garage doors.

"Where the hell do you think you’re going?" Ditzy demanded.

"Looking for the remote for the door."

"Cover me," Blade said, shining his rifle's torch attachment around the dark interior of the garage. Grunting, he darted forward, grabbed the door mechanism, and reversed back into the light of the atrium, not turning his back on the darkness for a second.

Pressing the button on the remote, the soldiers watched warily as the door closed, alert for any last minute rush from within the murky darkness of the huge garage. Eventually, the door closed, and Lyle surveyed it for a moment before turning back to his fellow soldiers. Smiling absently at first Connor and then Abby, he finally turned to Ditzy and nodded toward the radio in his hand.

"So, how many of those little gizmos have you got?" he asked.