Rogue Rampage (Rogue Agents of Magic Book 6) Read online

  ROGUE RAMPAGE

  ROGUE AGENTS OF MAGIC™ BOOK 6

  TR CAMERON

  MICHAEL ANDERLE

  MARTHA CARR

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  Cover by Fantasy Book Design

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  Version 1.00, February, 2022

  ebook ISBN: 979-8-88541-118-9

  Print ISBN: 979-8-88541-119-6

  The Oriceran Universe (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are Copyright (c) 2017-22 by Martha Carr and LMBPN Publishing.

  THE ROGUE RAMPAGE TEAM

  Thanks to our JIT Readers:

  Wendy L Bonell

  Jackey Hankard-Brodie

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Dave Hicks

  Zacc Pelter

  Diane L. Smith

  If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!

  Editor

  Skyhunter Editing Team

  DEDICATION

  For those who seek wonder around every corner and in each turning page. Thank you choosing to share the adventure with me. And, as always, for Dylan and Laurel, my reasons for existing.

  — TR Cameron

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Author Notes - TR Cameron

  Author Notes - Martha Carr

  Other series in the Oriceran Universe:

  Connect with The Authors

  Books By Michael Anderle

  CHAPTER ONE

  Diana Sheen scowled at the fortress-like structure ahead of her and her team. The moonless night was perfect for the infiltration, but the residue of snow and rain was less than optimal. Wet grass squished underfoot as they crossed the expansive green space toward their target. “Damn place is built like a castle.”

  Cara, who was currently off to her left with Tony in tow, replied, “Well, it is an armory. They tend to construct them specifically to be secure facilities.”

  Hank gave a low chuckle. He was on the far side of her second-in-command, partnered with Anik as they advanced on the building. “Just be glad that ancient tank in the front isn’t functional.”

  Diana’s scowl deepened. “Given our luck lately, it’ll probably turn out to be both operational and programmed to seek out and destroy magicals.”

  Tony replied, “It could be worse. If that’s true, at least Khan and I will be fine.”

  Kayleigh's voice came through the comms in Diana’s ears. “Drones still show no sign of unexpected activity in the area.”

  Deacon, the team’s infomancer, added, “Which means our anti-sensor packages are working as intended. They have a detection field up, but they’re not reacting to the drones when they swing inside it.”

  The blonde tech countered, “Of course, they’re working. I designed them.”

  Deacon snorted. “As if everything you make works like it’s supposed to.”

  “It does until you screw it up somehow.”

  Rath the troll, who was acting as backup for this run and holding position with the bus a couple of blocks away, suggested, “Or they’ve detected you and are letting you wander deeper into a trap.”

  Diana replied, “No more spy movies for you. They’re turning you paranoid.”

  He giggled, the sound as carefree as ever, then sang, “I always feel like somebody’s watching meeeeee.”

  She knew he was less than excited about playing a support role, but she had an uncomfortable feeling about their mission against the armory. Whether she was worried about him getting hurt or believed they might need him outside the building, she didn’t know. Long experience had taught her to trust her instincts so he wasn’t part of the infiltration team.

  She said, “Okay, final ready checks.” Everyone reported they were good to go, and she nodded in satisfaction. “Primary insertion point still look optimal?”

  Kayleigh replied, “Yes. Affirmative. Totally.”

  Diana’s lips twitched into a grin. “Croft, you don’t fly all that well to begin with. Sure you’re up to it?”

  After replying with a few colorful words involving Diana’s parentage, her second-in-command answered, “It’ll be fine. Tony’s not even nervous.”

  The team’s best pistol marksman commented, “Technically, that’s not completely accurate.”

  Diana chuckled, then focused her mind on what was to come. “Game faces. See you on the roof.” Maintaining her veil while launching herself on a blast of force to the top of the building was mentally challenging, but not physically so. She’d done such things often enough that it was now more or less automatic.

  She landed cleanly and peered around from her improved vantage point. Located in Utica, New York, the National Guard Armory was surrounded by an expanse of flat space. In front of the main entrance was the huge green area they’d crossed, with the aforementioned World War I-era tank resting on a concrete slab near the street.

  Personal vehicles and stacks of empty pallets cluttered the building’s rear. The facility didn’t appear to have undergone any substantial renovations since its original construction in 1930, except for the ambient electronic surveillance Deacon and Kayleigh had evaded and a modern-day internal alarm system.

  The infomancer had broken into the building’s systems a week before in preparation for the run. He would now intercept any signals that tried to leave the building through its regular communication channels. She crouched and waited for the rest of the team to reach the roof, which they did shortly after. The next order of business was to hold position briefly to determine if their actions generated a response.

  Rath offered a subject to fill that time. “I think we should get some tomato pie before we go.”

  Diana groaned inwardly, knowing that the troll had thrown the comment out as argument bait. Cara snapped, “Cold pizza without cheese is an abomination. No one should eat it. Ever.”

  Hank didn’t hide the mischief in his voice. “Well, you can heat it up. It’s pretty tasty that way.”

  Her second-in-command growled, “No, it isn’t, and you’re a moron for suggesting it is. An abomination, I say.”

  “You’re missing out.”

  “You’re welcome to enjoy every bite of tomato pie that exists—or has ever existed—since your taste buds are clearly defective. In fact, you’d be doing the rest of us a favor.”

  Kayleigh interrupted, “No sign of a response. You’re good to go.”

  They’d used blueprints of the place to plan their assault, and the hatch that opened onto the staircase leading into the building was right where it was supposed to be. Defeating the lock was no problem for Diana’s electronic pick, and they descended into the upper section of the three-story structure. A small lift in the corner connected it to the other two levels of the armory. This level was home to abundant supplies, some of them downright ancient.

  Cara had joked that National Guard armories were where surplus Army stuff went to die, and by the looks of the dusty stenciled crates scattered and stacked around, it was true. Couldn’t be lucky enough that they’d store what we need up here, of course. They’ll be somewhere down below, under higher security. The staircase leading down was again exactly where it was supposed to be, and they crept to the second floor, which was more or less the center of day-to-day operations for the facility.

  Offices lined the perimeter on half of the level, the rest of that section filled with battered metal desks sitting out in the open, places for the guardsmen to do the work of running the unit. The other half contained the building’s barracks, with sleeping facilities for several dozen soldiers in a bunk-bed style arrangement. They’d seen it all through the base’s cameras before arriving, thanks to Deacon’s hack.

  Even though it was three in the morning, lights were visible from under the clo
sed doors of two offices. They knew the barracks area held ten individuals and that another four were on patrol around the building’s perimeter. Entry through the roof was a blind spot in the Guard’s defensive arrangements, one they would doubtless fix after the night’s action. Diana ordered, “Croft, with me. We’ll handle the offices. Khan and Stark watch the stairs. Hercules, take out the ones in bed.”

  The big man replied, “Seems almost unfair, hitting them while they’re sleeping.”

  “At least they’ll live to learn a lesson.” Her team was primarily equipped for nonlethal action, carrying grenade launchers and far gentler munition options than they usually did. Each had at least one sidearm filled with anti-magic bullets, of course, in case things got messy. She had no desire to kill guardsmen who were only doing their job. Her team crept into position in less than half a minute. She ordered, “Now.”

  Diana turned the doorknob, stepped into the office, and blasted the shocked-looking man working at a computer with a cascade of lightning. The magical attack jangled his senses, causing him to shudder and shake in his seat for several seconds before he toppled over backward with a clatter, unconscious. She reported, “Clear,” a moment before Cara said the same. A much louder sizzle sounded from the other side of the floor, followed by a second, then Hank confirmed, “Clear. One of them woke up and scampered away from my first grenade, but the next one got him.”

  Diana replied, “You’re losing your touch. The Hercules I know would’ve had them on the first shot.”

  Rath laughed. “Rusty. Must train.”

  Hank’s voice held an echo of eternal suffering. “Et tu, Rambo?”

  Diana turned off the office light and pulled the door closed. “Okay, let’s go get what we came for.” They descended in a line to the first floor with Hank in the lead. She and Cara entered the huge, secured area that contained the unit’s equipment, easily defeating the floor-to-ceiling chain-link-filled doorway that defended it. The others stood guard in case the external patrols decided to move inside.

  The National Guard’s rifles were appropriately locked away in large gun safes, but the backpacks she and her team had come to retrieve were hanging there, right out in the open. Diana and Cara each shrugged one on, then grabbed as many others as they could carry. She nodded in satisfaction. “All right. Mission complete, five stars out of five. Let’s get out of here.”

  As if summoned by her words, portals opened in the empty part of the main floor, which made up half its area, and uniformed soldiers flowed out of them, firing as they came.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Rath snapped to attention at the sound of gunfire over the comm, pulling on the straps of his harness to make sure his flight suit was secure. On a private channel to him, Deacon said, “They’ve got company. Ready, Rambo?”

  “Affirmative. Troll Flight One, preparing for launch.” The bus held a heavily armed and armored combat drone, in addition to its other munitions. The craft was set into the top of the truck, guarded by the eighteen-wheeler’s toughened skin. A panel slid back, and the wide, flat-topped drone lifted slowly from its storage compartment to hover a foot above the vehicle. Rath jumped onto it, setting his weight cleanly in the center, and said, “In position.”

  Deacon replied, “Away you go.” The drone rose smoothly into the air, pivoted, and headed toward the armory. Rath’s goggles showed the surrounding area with computerized highlights illuminating important elements like the truck that had started to roll beneath him, guided directly by the infomancer or one of his systems. The familiar boxes that indicated his flight plan appeared, revealing that he needed another fifty or sixty feet of height before he could leap from the drone and be confident of reaching the armory.

  He turned carefully in a circle atop the drone to look in all directions and spotted an unexpected problem. His AI, Gwen, outlined the approaching convoy of military trucks in his display as Kayleigh said, “Inbound vehicles.”

  Rath replied, “We’ve got them,” and launched himself from the drone, his wings snapping out instantly as he banked toward the oncoming convoy.

  At the first sign of the ambush, Hank had called up shields to protect himself and Anik while they retreated into a corner of the building. The Army had come loaded for bear, at least three squads that he could see, fifteen people. Magic and metal flew as they burst onto the scene. He threw heavy crates telekinetically at the intruders, interposing them in front of the bullets that streamed in his direction.

  The burning in his shoulder and thigh signaled hits from rounds that made it through both the physical obstruction he’d created and the magic shield he’d generated. He lifted the drum-fed grenade launcher and fired it repeatedly, filling the enemies’ side of the room with smoke and lightning. Canisters sailed over his head as Anik contributed to the chaos with the same munitions. When the weapon was empty, Hank tossed it aside and charged.

  His glasses’ display had automatically switched to thermal mode and revealed enemies twisting toward him through the smoke he’d created, and probably in response to it. He went down into a slide to avoid a burst of fire from the nearest enemy and popped up at the man’s feet, channeling his rise into an uppercut that lifted his target from the floor and sent the soldier flying backward. Magic surged inside him, and he expended it on the next punch, a backfist that knocked another foe face-first onto the floor.

  More magical power flowed into him from the strike, his particular talent that generated the magic with physical contact. He spun to a third foe, launching a sidekick that propelled the man backward into one of his teammates. Then a blast of force sent Hank flying into a nearby brick wall. The rough blocks cracked from the ferocity of his body’s impact.

  He fell to the floor coughing but forced himself immediately back to his feet, lest the follow-up attacks catch him. More bricks exploded behind him as he stumbled away. His breathing was labored, and he felt a stab with each inhalation that suggested at least one broken rib. His ears registered the barking of Anik’s pistols as he provided cover to protect Hank’s repositioning.

  Hank grinned. “All right. Now we’ve got a proper fight.” He slapped the healing capsule underneath his uniform and charged at the magical who’d blasted him. When the wand-wielder tried the same tactic again, Hank summoned force magic in a wedge, splitting and deflecting his opponent’s power. The Army magical blasted himself from the floor before Hank could reach him, flying backward over the melee. With a pause to deliver a trio of punches into the torso of the nearest non-magical Army soldier, Hank dashed in pursuit.

  Cara and Tony had partnered often enough that they automatically moved in support of one another as the enemy forces appeared out of nowhere. Tony drew his pistols, the massive Desert Eagle in his right hand and the normal-sized Glock in his left, while Cara dropped the backpacks, summoned crates and boxes, and transformed them into a whirling shield in front of them both. A nudge of magic opened firing lanes for him within the spinning barrier in an oft-practiced tactic.

  The gunslinger’s bullets bounced off body armor as their foes retreated, the combination of limited attack angles and the enemy’s motion rendering his efforts moot. A wash of flame rushed toward their position, forcing Cara to drop the burning wood and protect them both with a force cylinder instead. Bullets whined past, and she tackled her partner out of the way, using another burst of force magic to send them sliding together into the secure cage, stopping in the shelter of a metal gun safe. She called, “This garbage is unsustainable. Time to get the hell out of here.”