Walt broke first from the group, leaving to join Joseph and the protesters. Before he took a second step, Terra pulled him into a hug, something he did not expect based on their past interactions. At first hesitant, he returned the embrace.
"Walt, I've made your life difficult," she confessed.
"True, but you've also made it interesting." He stepped back with a smile and touched two fingers to his brow in a mock salute. "Now go save the world, kiddo."
The protest march was still assembling when Walt arrived. He sought Joseph among the milling crowd at the crossroad, not difficult because of Joseph's massive frame and dark beard.
Joseph grasped Walt's hand with a tight grip and grinned. "Welcome, my friend. Terra speaks highly of you."
Walt shook his head. "I am surprised, as much angst as I've heaped on her over the years. But then again, she shovels it right back on me."
"She has a good heart."
"I know, which is why I am here. What can we expect?"
Joseph motioned to the gathering protesters, who murmured angry words among themselves like simmering hot coals in a woodpile. "We have quite a crowd, bigger than I expected, and more are coming. They are here truly to protest, legitimately I would say, and do not know the larger purpose. The plan is simple — march toward the palace and express displeasure with Dynasty policies."
"What response do you expect?" Walt asked.
"The police will show up in force, and we hope some of the palace security forces will join them. We have to walk a fine line, though. The protest needs to be forceful enough to keep them occupied, but not so much they will use lethal force. I have some people planted for crowd control, but really, their influence is limited. These things take on a life of their own. That's where you can help. If this turns bad, I am hoping you can provide some cover while the protesters retreat."
The random motions of the crowd coalesced to coordinated motion under the leadership of a few outspoken protesters. Joseph patted Walt on the back. "It is time. God be with you, my friend."
Walt silently scoffed at the mention of God, although a little divine help might just be needed. He pulled out of his thoughts and activated his tactical communicator. "The rain has begun."
Grinning, he shook his head at the corny message, but understood the need for code in the event the communications were intercepted.
Walt walked at the front of the march, but off to the side. It didn't take long before the crowd became unruly, shouting in anger and waving banners, and he feared it could get out of control in a hurry. As they turned a corner and drew closer, Walt made out the police line. Most wore full riot gear with helmets, visors, and body armor; but their numbers were far fewer than the advancing crowd. He surmised they did not expect such a large protest, and hopefully, that would force them to draw from the palace security forces.
The mass of protesters came up to the police line, and the noise escalated. The police backed up from the enormous crowd even as more police and security forces arrived. For a period of time, each side honored the tenuous gap between them.
Walt heard through his earpiece, "go for the weatherman." He knew then the pre-assault operation had begun, now to keep the Dynasty forces occupied here.
Once they reached sufficient numbers, the police pushed forward, closing the gap between themselves and the boisterous protesters. They clashed. The more radical contingent of the protesters took control of the crowd and pushed back against the police shields like a tidal wave. Rocks and trash bounced off the police line, who responded with swinging batons. The violence escalated much too quickly.
Walt shifted into the aura. He was only a moderately powerful Talent, not as powerful as Terra, but there were some things he could do. Focusing on the front lines of the police, he one-by-one pulled the batons from their hands. However, his entry into the aura would likely attract Enforcers, so he moved to another vantage point by a large sprawling tree.
Over the communicator came the messages, "forecast complete," followed in a few moments by "go for storm." Insertion into the palace had begun.
The ebb and flow between protesters and police continued as tensions escalated. The police lobbed swirling gas canisters to disperse the crowd, who responded with more rocks. Some police drew side arms and took aim at individuals in the crowd. Gritting his teeth, Walt used his Talent to knock away what guns he could.
Worse still, a group of palace security broke off from the line and began running back toward the palace. The insertion team may have been discovered! He grimaced and gathered his power to cast a telekinetic push, sending many of the running security men sprawling across the street. The others took cover.
Walt gasped as the spikes pierced his body. He cast a sideways glance at the two grim-faced Enforcers who launched them. Sinking to his knees, he gazed up at the sky as his life poured out.
*****
Hex joined the assault teams gathered at their assigned places as they awaited the go-ahead. A com message came from Walt, "the rain has begun," signaling that the protest diversion was underway.
The first group to enter would be Hex, Haze, and Harm, the latter a fierce woman with short chopped hair who lived up to her nickname. Their primary purpose was to find a hub that would allow Hex to take down the palace security and communication network.
Will broke the tension by chuckling. Haze turned to him, wrinkling his brow. "What?"
"Your names — Hex, Haze, and Harm. That alone should strike fear into the Dynasty."
Laughs spread across the group until Neige growled. "Cut the chatter! Get to your positions."
Several minutes later came the message from Neige, "go for the weatherman."
Hex chuckled to himself. Long ago at the university, he considered meteorology before deciding on computer programming. Haze and Harm broke the memory as they fired their silenced rifles nearly simultaneously, taking down two guards near a palace side entrance. Another precise shot took out a security camera above the door.
Rushing to the door, Hex inserted electrical leads into the lock mechanism while Haze and Harm surveyed the area with rifles shouldered. Sparks flew from the lock as Hex activated an electrical surge. He knew he could hack the door lock, but the power surge was quicker and more fun. Haze finished the process by wrenching open the door with a pry bar. Silently, they entered.
At the first bend, Harm put down a startled guard with a single shot. The three then advanced down an empty dark hallway towards a communications hub room, as shown on the palace diagrams. Haze pulled out his pry bar, but withdrew it when he found the door already unlocked. Entering first, Harm fired another single shot, dropping the shocked worker she encountered. Hex made a mental note to never mess with this woman.
Shrugging off his backpack, Hex pulled out a tablet viewer within the small dank room and plugged it into a hub slot on. Haze looked on while Harm stood watch on the door. After a flurry of keystrokes, Hex clapped his hands.
"Okay, I'm in," he said. "So far, so good, no alarms have triggered."
Hex launched previously prepared software routines and waited as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Haze leaned in and asked, "So?"
"Still running. We will know if it works in a moment."
Hex clapped his hands again and grinned. "Okay. The internal communication relays are now down. To them, it will look like a software error."
After another nervous minute, Hex pumped his fists into the air. "Yes! It worked!"
Haze's eyes shot up. "Wait. You thought it might not?"
Hex smiled with pride. "Well, I could always just fry the system, but that would alert them. Instead, I took down the cameras but froze the current image on all the monitors. And I redirected all the manual alarms on this side of the palace so it looks like they come from the other side. They really need to update their firewall."
Haze smiled back. "Awesome!" Standing upright, he announced over his com, "Forecast complete".
*****
Will grasped Terra's hand and pulled her to him, placing his lips on hers. "Mmm," she whispered in his ear once lips separated. "I love you."
"I love you too," Will replied. "Remember, we promised our little girl that we would kick Dynasty butt. We wouldn't want to disappoint her."
With body tingling from both her husband's embrace and anticipation of action, Terra glanced at Neige and nodded. He spoke into his com, "Go for storm."