The Hypogeum Ch. 06-07

At the same time, Burt was using a lock-picking device on the front door, he turned it with a tiny click and the door opened a small amount, he paused a moment to listen and then pushed the door open wider to make his way inside at the same time reaching inside his jacket. A huge pair of arms appeared from out of nowhere as Aloysius, who had been stood behind the front door, grabbed him and dragged him into the house. The door then slammed shut and there was a sound of a brief scuffle that ended in a loud crack and a groan. Ranulf dropped from the tree and fell onto Tom's shoulders quickly forcing him to the ground; he threw his hand over Tom's mouth to stifle any shouts and rammed his dagger straight into Tom's heart. The would-be killer stiffened and his eyes shot wide open, before his dead body relaxed and his expression of shock and pain, became a dull stare, his Uzi fell from his limp fingers and he was dead.

Simultaneously, Loki threw three or four silver balls into the kitchen and then retreated back into the living room. Bill stared at the silver balls as they flew onto the floor and then bounce up, they started to spin and circle each other in three dimensions as they bounced around, getting faster and faster as they flew. They were silent when they hit the walls and surfaces but in just a second or two were already moving faster than Bill's eyes could follow. By the time he had recognised the danger it was too late. The three silver balls careered around the room smashing through work surfaces and the thin cupboard doors like they weren't even there, which is much the same effect they had on Bill's body when they came into contact with it. Bones cracked and massive welts appeared wherever the balls flew into him, only to bounce away, hit a substantial surface of the interior brick walls and fly off again at a strange angle. Before he had time to react, Bill had received several broken bones and blood was flowing freely from gashes and wounds where the balls had simply driven their way through his soft flesh. The last thing he felt was the balls now travelling at a blistering speed to drive a hole straight through his head from just below the left ear and come out where his right eye used to be.

When Loki heard the thud of a body hitting the floor, he whistled in a low tone. The silver balls slowed down stopped in the air, then they floated across the kitchen and landed gently in his outstretched hand. He buffed them with his sleeve and placed them in his pocket.

Ranulf gazed down at the dead body at his feet. Although an observer might have considered his actions were the natural product of experience in fighting, truth be told, he had never killed anyone before. He retreated behind the tree and was noisily sick. Ranulf finished retching, wiped his mouth and breathed deeply once or twice to regain some measure of composure, before he entered the kitchen door.

The driver watched with shock as the massive arms had dragged his associate in through the front door. He couldn't raise any of them on their earpiece radios, so he knew all three of his associates were either dead or unconscious. Men he knew that were dangerous in the extreme, all ex soldiers who had seen action all over the world. Dammit! Tom was even a veteran of the Special Air Service. And they had been taken out in seconds. He knew that he was overmatched, especially now that he was on his own, so he gunned the engine and drove madly away from the house, desperate to survive where his partners had not.

Back in the house, Ranulf, Loki and Aloysius, took stock of the situation, Aloysius who had been watching out of the glass portion of the front door said, "The car's gone."

Loki reached into his backpack and removed what looked like a pocket television, he flicked a switch on the side and extended the small antenna, a quick glimpse of the screen which showed a small black arrowhead travelling along a representation of the local roads, "GPS tracker's doing its job."

Ranulf nodded and then said, "Good. Well he can wait for now," he pointed with his thumb at the dead mercenary sprawled on the stairs with his head at a strange angle, "We need to clean up this mess. Aloysius, you get rid of the bodies. Loki, you clean up the kitchen."

Loki groaned and asked, "Why do I get the kitchen?"

"You like using those Dancers that Taika made, so you get to clean up after them. Especially as the Lady may want to move back here when we've done what needs doing."

It was true, whilst Loki had a love of all things electronic, especially electronics that involved bangs and booms, he was also much enamoured of the magical creations of the old woman who, even though would never admit it, was the leader of their tiny army. He made no further comment, but simply made his way back into the kitchen and filled the sink with soapy water whilst he searched in the cupboards for a cleaning cloth.

Aloysius simply grabbed a hold of the body and disappeared, only to pop back a minute or so later and do the same with the other two dead mercenaries. Meanwhile, Ranulf had picked up the GPS tracker and watched the screen. He couldn't wait to see where the car ended its journey.