All Work and No Play Makes Jane a Dull Girl

[The Brotherhood]

"Drugs," Boomer said. "It'll be liquid, probably poured into old stoppered pill bottles. The meth, the coke, that's collateral. The liquid stuff is serious."

"Don't let any of it get on you," Geryon rumbled.

Boomer led the way up the narrow stairs, taking care not to make a sound on the grimy metal. He very carefully pushed open the door at the top to reveal a dimly-lit hallway with several closed doors on each side.

Boomer swore under his breath. Any or all of those doors could be bristling with guns the moment they tipped their hand.

"Jane, with me. Geryon, cover our six. We'll start with the first door on the left and keep moving. Duck in if we get fire from the hallway."

Boomer advanced on the first door and generated a spark between his fingers. He shoved it into the keyhole, and, with a bang, the lock disintegrated and the door violently swung open. The dingy room was piled with cardboard boxes - nothing alive but the roaches.

"Clear. Next door."

The next room was cluttered with lab equipment that had seen recent use, but no one was there.

They moved to the third door, but this time the explosion came from behind. The door behind them was in splinters, and Geryon jerked, groaned, and stumbled as a large patch of blood seeped through the back of his shirt. He managed to tug Jane and Boomer out of the way before the shotgun fired a second time.

[Jane]

Jane found herself on the ground as the shotgun boomed again, and she scrambled to her feet as Geryon surged forward, one of his arms shooting out and grabbing the weapon right out of its wielder's hands. The man went down hard when the Samoan snapped the butt of the shotgun into his forehead.

She leaped over the fallen Latino, and threw an elbow at the next closest goon, breaking his nose magnificently. As he doubled over she felt a tug on her back and kicked, connecting boot to knee with someone who'd jumped out at her from behind the door. She leveled her AK-47 at the next threatening figure and unleashed a few bullets, sending the body twitching to the ground.