Generation 18 (Spook Squad 2)

The engine roared as the car accelerated. As the gates loomed close, Sam closed her eyes, braced her feet and hung on grimly to her seat belt. The car slammed through the gates, the impact smashing the front of the car and throwing her forward, then back, as the air bags popped. Gabriel swore as the car skidded sideways and came to a jarring halt. “Can you still see it?”

She couldn’t see a damn thing above the white balloon of the air bag. Sam opened the door and climbed out. The kite was still running through the trees, its white body dappled with shadows.

“I see it.”

“Good. Catch.”

She looked around in time to see him toss a laser rifle her way, then slam the trunk shut.

“Aim for its neck,” he said. “Cutting its head off is the only way to kill it.”

Just like a vampire, she thought bleakly. Maybe they were some sort of vampire offshoot.

They tracked the kite through the parking lot. The creature was running on all fours, and it was amazingly fast. She ran flat out, but she could barely keep up with Gabriel, let alone the creature.

“Listen,” he said. “Can you hear that?”

Who could hear anything past her labored breathing and pounding footsteps? But she frowned, concentrating, and after a few seconds, caught it—the soft whump, whump of rotor blades. A helicopter, approaching fast. “Sounds like someone’s coming to collect their pet.”

“Maybe we should let them, then.”

“I thought SIU policy was to kill on sight.”

“It is, but these things keep appearing. I think it’s about time we learned from where.”

The kite stopped and stared skyward. Gabriel halted behind the cover of several old elms. She stopped beside him and tried to catch her breath. So much for thinking she was fit. Maybe she’d better start heading back to the gym.

The helicopter came into sight—a long red and silver bird that gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. She shaded her eyes and stared up at it. Was that some sort of cannon hanging out the side of the helicopter?

“Fuck, they’re going to shoot it.” Fear burned through Gabriel’s voice. He flung an arm around Sam’s waist and pushed her to the ground, holding her tight as he covered her body with his.

Behind them, all hell broke loose. Asphalt and dirt fired into the air, and then a wave of heat burned over them, thick with the smell of burned flesh. Sam threw her arms over her head and cowered under the protection of Gabriel’s warm body. Another bomb exploded, closer this time. Huge clumps of black asphalt rained around them. Gabriel’s shudder ran right through her, then she gasped as a sharp twist of pain ran along her calf.

Then nothing. For several long minutes, they simply lay there. The sound of the helicopter faded into the distance. All she could hear was the crackle of flames as they licked through the trees behind them, and the thunder of her heart, beating in rapid time with Gabriel’s.

“You okay?” he whispered, his breath tickling warmth past her ear.

“I think so. You?”

“A rock has torn a hole in my jacket, but other than that, I’m fine.”

She smiled. He sounded more aggrieved about the jacket than he did about the fact that he was probably cut as well. He rolled to one side, allowing her to sit up. Obviously, beheading wasn’t the only way to kill kites. Blowing the shit out of them worked fairly well, too. Two gaping wounds now marred the parking lot—one where the kite had stood, and the other just before their row of trees. The old elms had no doubt saved their lives.

Gabriel tapped his wristcom and called in the fire brigade as well as an SIU cleanup team. When he’d finished, she motioned toward the craters.

“Someone didn’t want to risk anyone following their pet.”

He nodded. “They must have been watching with binoculars. Interesting that they chose to blow up the kite rather than us. They must have an abundant supply of them.”

“Now that’s an ominous thought!”

He rose and held out a hand and she let him pull her to her feet, her fingers almost lost within the heat of his.

“So, what happens now?” She gave his hand a light squeeze, then pulled hers away.

“Normally, we’d go back to headqu

arters and fill in the required mountain of paperwork.”