Olympus: The Agency (Book One)

4. Cramped Thoughts

'You can't be serious!' Apollo said, glancing at the vent. He could do it, but it was the audacity of the plan that made him hate it.

'Apollo, it has to be you,' Anemoi began, walking over to the vent. 'It takes time to remove this armour, and yours is already gone. You can fight, so anything in your way can be beaten. And finally-'

'I get it!' Apollo growled, kneeling beside the vent. Enyo strode over and loosened the bolts with her omni-tool and backed off. Apollo pushed the vent covering to the side and shone his flashlight inside.

'I hate you, Tartarus.'

Inside the vent were more of the little Klisk, but they could only come in single file. They would have to get them out of the vent first.

Tartarus peered inside, scoffing. 'Good luck.'

Apollo snatched the grenade back from Tartarus, and looked through the door to see the Biomancer, still churning bile in its guts. He pulled the pin.

'Apollo, that won't work,' Thanatos said quickly.

Apollo threw the grenade into the room. It arced over the Biomancer, bounced twice, then spun and rested at the vent on the other side. It exploded, shrapnel shredding through the metal.

'You missed,' Tartarus quipped.

The effect was instant. Every Klisk in the shaft poured into the room to examine the source of the commotion. The Biomancer, despite having no face, also seemed interested in the explosion site.

As the Klisk pawed at the explosion point, Apollo slid into the vent and crawled through slowly. His gun was raised as he crawled in case he needed to defend himself.

'Don't think about the smell,' Apollo muttered to himself, and stopped at the turn in the vent. He flashed his light down to Anemoi. Despite no plan on Apollo's part, Anemoi had pieced it together. The Klisk were still an issue and needed to be moved for Apollo to start the vacuum.

Anemoi stood in the doorway, and fired his rifle into the Biomancer, popping a blister and sending a torrent of oozing acid to the floor. The Klisk barrelled over the room to the source of noise, just as Anemoi closed the door. A talon sliced through the steel door, but otherwise had no effect on the metal.

Apollo rolled out of the vent, sparing a glance at the other side of the room. They were all busy trying to open a door. The Klisk were little more than beasts it seemed. Apollo walked over to the control panel and started typing on the holographic interface.

A blue holographic woman in a crisp business suit appeared, with horn-rimmed spectacles and her hair tied into a bun. 'It appears you are trying to access the station's venting procedures.'

'Crap, a pop-up,' Apollo groaned.

'My name is Belle, and I am the installation artificial intelligence interface.'

Apollo glanced over to the Klisk. They had not heard the exchange.

'Okay, lower your volume, computer thing,' Apollo whispered. 'I need you to start a venting thing for this room only as soon as the vent locks behind me, then un-vent it once the thing there is gone.'

Belle processed what Apollo had said, complying with his wishes of volume. 'You wish for me to vent the room once you leave, then re-pressurise it once the Biomancer is gone?'

'Yes, that. Do that'

'Please enter your authorization code'

'Dammit!' Apollo yelled, then blanched. He glanced over to the Klisk, who had heard his exclamation. They were trying to decide if one man who was easier to get was better than a team through a door. It would not take long.