The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Chapter 40: Homecoming

Mordecai nodded in agreement as he pointed at Jeriko for a moment before returning his attention to Dee.

"That would be why, Dee."

"Fine," Dee said with a frown. "So no portals. We catch a flight back out. But our window to do that is closing quick, bub. We need a plan to make that happen."

"True," Mordecai conceded, his expression becoming thoughtful once again. "Ten minutes minimum, eh, Duffy? Not the biggest window of escape." His thoughtful expression deepened for a moment then he was looking over at Lash. "Do you think you could get your team out to the airport in under twenty minutes, commander?"

"Carrying wounded?" Lash frowned. "Perhaps thirty, if we pushed hard."

"Damn," Mordecai hissed. "I can already feel telepathic probes sweeping the city from several points all across the continent and Europe. It's a good bet that the Brotherhood knows what's happened here."

"Then they'll surely jump in reinforcements!" Lash declared tightly, his face darkening. "Our mission to eliminate Toronto as a pipeline to Calgary has failed!"

"Don't be so quick to dismiss what we've done here," Mordecai said with a frown. "They won't be jumping anything into this city for a very long time." The man in black grinned tightly. "Unless they can somehow figure out the inverted teleportation block I've planted in what's left of their offices. If they can't get past that, they won't be able to jump in or out of this city until I let them!" He glanced over at a grinning Jeriko, who had felt the teleportation interference field being put into place with her inverted psionic senses.

The blonde hardwire finished his thought as if in his head as she stood up and stepped away from the last of the wounded vampires.

"If nothing can get into the city, then our task of destroying the Brotherhood's gateway into North America has been accomplished."

"Right." Mordecai grinned at her before turning back to Lash. "Now if we can get back to Calgary in time to consolidate our gains, we've done our job. All we have to do is get back to the airport."

"You mentioned a flash port, which I can only assume was what we used to jump clear of that bloody mess at the BCE building, Jeriko. A port that can't be traced by the Brotherhood. Can't one of you just form another one of those to the airport?" Duffy asked, his face querulous. "And get us there that way?

"Not with a transport block in the way," Jeriko pointed out before giving a smile and a nod of thanks to Olira as the vampire healer also stood. "What prevents them from getting in here, also prevents us from transporting around the city."

"Shit," Dee growled, throwing her equipment vest onto the nearest bed in frustration. "How the hell are we going to get to the airport if we can't jump there before they close it up tighter than a nun's panties?"

"Good question." Mordecai tugged at the bottom of his lip, once again thoughtful. "I suppose that the combined inverted psionic energies that the four of us could generate would be enough to pound through my own dampening field."

Four? Dee looked past the frowning man in black at the two newcomers who hadn't moved from their places close to the door. Did that mean that not only was this gorgeous blonde that Mordecai had rebuilt right in front of them, but these two new women were also just as powerful as the man in black?

If the vampires were any more concerned about the appearance of two more powerful psionics than they were with Jeriko's return, this time they gave absolutely no sign. Instead, as a unit, they looked at the man in black as he began to slowly pace at the base of the two beds dominating the small hotel room, waiting for him to make a decision.