"Release the hounds."Captain Reed issued the command over the roaring blizzard. The military loudspeaker crackled with static, and the blinding white halogen spotlight pinned Malcolm and Kira in the center of the frozen commercial plaza.A cacophony of guttural roars echoed from the dark periphery of the square.The Vanguard forces did not fire a single sniper round. The military commander relied on the mutated beasts to execute the deserter and secure the billionaire. The elite soldiers manipulated the beasts of Sector Seven with ultrasonic frequencies, herding the beasts into the kill zone like obedient attack dogs.Three mutants burst from the surrounding alleyways. Thick organic bone plating covered their pale flesh, and jagged crystalline spikes protruded from their hunched spines. The monsters pounded their fists against the icy asphalt, eager to tear the isolated prey to shreds."They are closing on us," Kira warned as she raised her assault rifle. She tracked the rapid moveme

"The hydraulic fluid is crystallizing inside your ruptured armor lines."Kira pointed the bright beam of her flashlight at the jagged tear in the matte black titanium. She kept her voice steady over the roaring wind echoing down the concrete stairwell.Malcolm leaned his weight against the cracked subway tiles. The pitch black transit tunnel offered a temporary sanctuary from the blinding halogen spotlight sweeping the plaza above them. The temperature in the subterranean shaft plummeted toward lethal limits as the blizzard poured down the steps.A wave of nausea flooded Malcolm's empty stomach. A frantic erratic rhythm hammered against his ribs while cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The pressure of the mutant jaws still crushed his forearm in his mind.The exposed meat of his arm burned with a blinding white fire because the freezing air invaded the compromised titanium shell. His pristine survival ecosystem was breached."I need raw materials," Malcolm gasped through clenched teet

"The surface grid is clear."Malcolm stood at the edge of the fractured concrete shaft and looked down into the dark abyss. He lowered his armored arm while the digital tactical map on his visor updated the surrounding heat signatures.The roaring winter storm raged through the ruined streets of the dead mega city high above their heads. The Leviathan sat parked three blocks away in a frozen commercial plaza. The colossal land crawler remained secure behind a perimeter of crushed vehicles while they executed the final extraction mission on foot.Kira stepped up to the edge of the precipice and peered into the subterranean void.The maintenance tunnel descended at a steep terrifying angle into the bowels of the earth. The concrete stairs were pulverized by decades of neglect and seismic decay. Twisted pieces of rusted rebar jutted out from the crumbling walls like jagged metallic teeth."The federal military buried the experimental fusion vault deeper than any standard transit hub," Ki

"Pry the manual release latch under the collarbone."Malcolm spoke through the muffled acoustics of his sealed helmet. He lay pinned under the dead weight of the colossal mutant. The Ironcrest Exoskeleton was a dark titanium tomb resting on the dirty concrete floor of the subterranean hangar.Kira shoved her rifle sling over her shoulder. She wedged her hands into the narrow gap between the neck joint and the ruined chest plate. The jagged metal edges bit deep into her gloves."I have a grip on the steel bar," Kira strained.She leveraged her entire body weight backward. The heavy locking mechanism groaned in protest before popping loose with a sharp metallic clack.Pressurized air hissed from the suit seals. The thick front plating unlatched and folded outward.Malcolm dragged his body out of the open chassis. He collapsed onto the cold tiles.A blinding spike of white hot pain ripped through his torso. He gasped for air but his damaged lungs refused to expand.My ribs are fractured

"Military presence in a restricted vault signifies a tactical trap."Malcolm muttered the warning to his internal processor, but he ignored the flashing red text that bloomed in his peripheral vision. The Leviathan lacked the capacity to travel another fifty miles without a new power source, and his own physical form hung by a thread of biological tissue and sheer stubbornness. He reached the base of the platform.He jammed his combat blade into the seam of the main coolant line. The metal screeched as he twisted the tool with his hydraulics.If I lose this limb to a sniper in the dark I can replace it, Malcolm reasoned while the cooling fluid hissed into the stagnant air. If I return without the fusion core the entire mission is a failure. He braced his boots against the concrete and pushed against the coupling. A thick pressurized hose groaned and detached from the manifold. Bright neon liquid sprayed across his chest plate, sizzling where it touched the exposed circuitry of his sui