spin_kick_snap | The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles, Saturday Afternoon

With Freedom in charge of the Mount's police force - such as it was - he took it upon himself to patrol the inside of the Wall several times a day. Now that basic survival was no longer an issue and the population of the Mount so so large that it was impossible to recognize every person within the walls, petty crime was on the rise. It had increased over ten percent in the past few months alone.

He looked down at the kids in from of him. Two boys and a girl, barely in their teens. All three of them sat on the curb with their hands zip-tied together behind their backs. They'd been trying to steal a car for a quick joyride when he'd found them. They'd been cowed by his appearance and surrendered without a fuss. He was in the process of giving them a stern lecture when he heard a faint noise over the echo of teeth. He'd heard it before, in Afghanistan. A series of sharp pops echoing back and forth between the buildings. The sound of gunfire in a quiet city. There was nothing quite like it.

He reached for his radio. "This is Six," he said to the open channel. "Report. I hear shots fired?" The kids' heads swiveled back and forth, from Freedom's face towards the direction of the sound. One of the boys had grown wide-eyed with terror. They knew what the shots meant. They were aware of how vulnerable they were, tied up on the ground.

"You'll be fine," Freedom told you. "There's a deputy on the way to take charge of you." Or, if it came to it, he'd cut them free himself. He'd never leave anyone to get attacked by Legion's invading exes.

Or whatever the fresh hell this was.

Guards	Another squelch of voices stepped over one another before a voice stood out. A man shouted into his radio loud enough to make Freedom wince. "It's out," the man yelled. "It got out!" "This is Six," Freedom said. "Calm down." "It got out," repeated the man. "I think Katie's dead. It was so fast and the bullets didn't stop it. They didn't even slow it down!"
First Sergeant Kennedy	"Twenty-Four, this is Seven," said First Sergeant Kennedy, his reluctant second in command. Freedom sent up a prayer to the sky in thanks. She'd identified the man's voice and given Freedom his location. Twenty-Four was shorthand for second platoon, fourth squad. And squad four was...Freedom pictured a map of the Mount and blanched; dark skin going a sickly gray for a moment. Squad four was inside the studio walls, well within the confines of the original Mount, inside what everyone considered the Safety Zone. "Stand by, units are coming to your position."
Freedom	A deputy arrived to take possession of the kids and Freedom gave her an absent nod, all his attention on the information coming from his radio. He wasn't entirely sure he could name her if anyone asked which deputy it was. As soon as the handoff was complete, Freedom took off running. The captain had been quick for his size even before joining the Army's super-soldier project. Now he could run a three-minute mile without breaking a sweat, and do five of those before he started to feel winded. Which was for the best, because he was three blocks from the studio, over on Larchmont--the long, north-south blocks of Hollywood, too. "Twenty-Four, this is Six," he said. "Coming to you."
Guards	Another voice crackled over the radio. "This is Danny - uhhh, Twenty-One? - on the wall," he said, referring to the wall that had been one of the original borders of the Mount, before the expansion. "It just went over, right by the Melrose Gate."
Freedom	Too much chatter and not enough information. He still didn't know who or what they were fighting. It didn't sound like exes, but Twenty-Four had mentioned that he thought Katie was dead. Sure, petty crime was spiking, but surely not murder. Whatever it was, though, it was still inside the Mount. As Freedom passed an intersection, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A figure dashed across the road parallel to him, two blocks over and heading south. He saw the pallid skin and had a heart-stopping moment when he thought their worst fears had come true and there was an ex inside the walls, but no ex moved that fast, not even the ones Legion controlled. The captain turned his head and got a quick glimpse of the figure--a blood-spattered man wearing khakis and a white doctor's coat. He made a snap call. He pivoted and went after the man. "Six to Seven," he called, keying his radio on again. "Target engaged."
Stealth	A new voice cut over the chatter, silencing it immediately. "Freedom, this is Stealth," she said. "St. George is moving to join you. Stop the prisoner at all costs. Use lethal force, nothing less."
Freedom	The word prisoner stood out. So did lethal force. And so did the tone in Stealth's voice. Freedom had never heard it before, not in all the months he'd known the woman, even when he'd been convinced that Stealth had killed his commanding officer and had held her at gunpoint. She sounded worried. Maybe even scared. And Freedom had enough sense to know that anything that scared Stealth was something he shouldn't be second-guessing. Drawing up inner reserves of speed, he closed the gap with the prisoner. The man was a few yards ahead and he was running out of road. Freedom stopped in a shooting stance, pulled out Lady Liberty, and fired off three quick bursts with the massive handgun.
The Prisoner	A handful of red carnations blossomed across the man's back and thighs. One grew out of his shoulder. He stumbled and flew through the air, carried by his own momentum and the impact of several twelve-gauge slugs at short range. His body crashed onto the pavement, rolled a few yards, and came to rest. It twitched twice.
Freedom	Freedom walked over to the crumpled figure. Blood soaked the man's clothes and his gray eyes stared up at the sky. One of his hands looked withered and bony, like a corpse. His shoulder was a tangle of red sinews. Taking a slow breath, Freedom once again keyed his radio. "Seven, this is Six," he said. "Be advised, target has been neutrali--"
Josh	The man rolled to his feet. He locked eyes with Freedom and hurled something. It struck the huge captain in the shoulder, just past his body armor. It cut fabric and broke the skin, but even at the joints, Freedom's muscle was too dense for it to penetrate far. He brushed it away and it clattered to the ground with a sound like wood, but the prisoner had already turned and fled by then, a half block away and still on the move, sprinting like he'd caught his second wind. Freedom fired again; the prisoner staggered but kept moving.
Guards	He raced out onto Beverly, heading straight for the Big Wall. The guards had heard Lady Liberty and were waiting for him. None of them were professional soldiers, but they still didn't hesitate. All five of them opened fire. Many of the shots sparked on the pavement - they weren't used to a fast target - but a good number hit.
Josh	The prisoner's limbs jerked and trembled, but he never broke stride. Something uncoiled from his shoulder like a snake and he swung his arm up at the guards. A long cord lashed out and wrapped around the neck of one of them. The man let out a wet cough. His companions stopped firing and leaped to help him, grabbing at the line. The prisoner jumped. He went hand over hand up the thick cord to the top of the wall, his weight dragging the choking man to his knees. The other guards didn't even realize they were helping by pulling on the line until he was up on the platform with them, a dozen feet climbed in seconds. He lashed out and a guard staggered. Another one opened fire. The man and the second injured guard both stumbled back, but only the guard dropped.
Freedom	Freedom was about ten yards from the Wall. He flexed his legs and hurled himself into the air. The guards were too close to the prisoner for him to use Lady Liberty again. He landed on the Big wall, two-by-fours cracking under his weight. The platform trembled, and the stack of cars groaned beneath him. For a brief, sickening moment, the whole structure tilted. "On your knees!" he bellowed. "Get on your knees with your hands on your head!" Even as the words left his lips, he remembered Stealth's insistence on lethal force and realized nothing had stopped the man yet.
Kathy	At the tortured creak of metal, Kathy glanced out her window to see what looked like a standoff between some guards, Captain Freedom, and-- "Oh shit," she said, bouncing to her feet. "Josh?" How did he get out? It didn't matter. That one sight had her dashing to he balcony doors, previous rules about never opening them immediately discarded. She unfastened the latch, yanked them wide and then dove off the balcony, her leap transforming into a controlled bounce to get her to the Wall as quickly as possible.
Eliot	"Kathy!" Eliot shouted, rushing after her, but having to draw up short at the edge of the balcony. He'd follow his daughter anywhere she needed, but he couldn't exactly go bouncing off himself. "Kathy!"
Raven	Raven, on the other hand, had no such difficulty. She leaped off the balcony after Kathy without a word, shifting into bird-form before she had a chance to fall more than a couple feet.
Josh	The prisoner glanced at the captain, then past him to the bouncing girl racing towards them, and then down at the crowd of exes gathered below. "Tell her I'm sorry," he said softly, locking eyes with the captain for the first time. "But she's right. There's nothing I can do to make up for it." Freedom lunged forward but his fingers closed only on empty air. The prisoner threw himself over the railing and plunged into the horde outside the Big Wall.
Exes	The prisoner vanished beneath at least twenty undead. They swarmed over him and the sound of clicking teeth seemed to grow louder.
Freedom	Freedom watched the exes descend, up until the first one came back up with a bloody mouth, then turned away back to the guards on the Wall. The two who were still on their feet just stood there. He knew the look. They were frozen. The one who'd shot at the prisoner and hit the other guard kept glancing between the railing and his fallen friend. The other, a woman with cornrows, was locked in place with her mouth half-open. "You," he snapped at the shooter. He pointed to one of the bleeding guards. "Check him. Now."
Kathy	"Let me," Kathy said, landing on the top of the Wall with a handspring that flipped her around and onto her feet. She bounced a few more times, bleeding off the excess speed. "I'm an EMT. I'm trained for this." She knelt next to the man who'd been shot, hooking her fingers into the hole in his shirt and yanking until she got a decent wad of cloth to hold against the bullet wound. Under her hands, he coughed, spitting up blood, more of it pouring over his chest. "He's bleeding, but not spurting in pulses and I'm not hearing whistling," she reported. "Serious, but I don't think it'll be fatal if we get him to Connolly in time."
Raven	Raven perched on the wall behind Kathy, still bird-shaped, giving Freedom a cool, appraising look before turning to look down into the mass of exes below. She could peck their eyes out. Shift to massive proportions and snap of their heads with her beak. Armored scales didn't fly well, though. And she wasn't about to leave Kathy behind. So she perched instead. And she watched. And she day dreamed about killing every ex she could find before tearing Regenerator limb from limb.
Freedom	"Seven, this is Six," Freedom said, helping the throttled guard unwrap the coils of line from around his neck. "Emergency medical to the Big Wall south at Windsor. We have three wounded; one serious, one critical." The guard's hands were soaked in blood, as was his shirt, but there wasn't enough to suggest arterial bleeding. The rope had just slashed through the skin of his neck. Brows furrowed, Freedom crouched down to examine it after the guard tossed it off. The line was actually a crude whip. The long strands weren't leather, just sinew and tendons that had been dried and braided together. There were white barbs along the length of it, gathered in tight quartets. They gave the weapon a resemblance to a length of barbed wire. It took a long moment for Freedom to realize he was looking at close to a dozen teeth woven into the whip's lash with the roots pointing out.
Stealth	There was a slight noise and Freedom looked up to see Stealth, her cloak streaming out behind her. "Where is the prisoner?"
Freedom	Freedom nodded at the railing. "He's dead, ma'am. He threw himself off the Wall. The exes tore him apa--"
Stealth	Stealth took three quick strides to the railing. Her hands flicked and her pistols were out. There was a quick ripple of movement within her hood as she scanned the street at the base of the Big Wall. Then she fired both weapons, aiming at something across the street. She fired until they were dry, and then her fingers shifted. Empty magazines dropped from each pistol to rattle on the platform. She reloaded in seconds and fired again, fifteen shots from each gun.
Josh	The prisoner stood there, arms spread wide, flailing under the assault. His clothing had been shredded by the exes and his skin was smeared with gore, but he was smiling. A dead woman latched onto his forearm and tore a mouthful of flesh away. Another one gnawed at his calf. He didn't seem to notice. His skin ruptured and blood sprayed across the asphalt behind him. He staggered back and dropped onto the pavement. The exes chewing on him went down as well, one bullet for each.
Freedom	"If you don't mind my asking ma'am," said Freedom, rapidly losing his patience, "but what the hell was that all about?"
Kathy	Stealth ignored him and reloaded again. It was Kathy who tugged on his arm and pointed over the edge, down towards the ground, where the prisoner rolled over and scampered down the street on all fours. "That," she said, her eyes sad.
Stealth	Stealth tracked him and led her shots like a decorated marksman. She scored half a dozen hits before the man even got back to his feet. He sprinted towards the end of the block before glancing back and Stealth rewarded him with three shots to the face. His forehead burst apart and he slumped against an SUV, but was moving again before he hit the ground. He shook off the impact, rolled under the vehicle, and vanished. Stealth cursed in frustration and reholstered her pistols. "Meeting in ten in my office," she growled, then turned and jumped off the Wall with no further word to anyone.
Freedom	Freedom turned to look at Kathy, clearly still very much in the dark about what was going on. In response Kathy offered him his radio, where the panicked man from Twenty-Four still monopolized the airwaves. "Oh Jesus," moaned the man, over and over again. "The Thing got out. It got out of the Cellar."