The main force, led by Calista, Carver, and Leah, chose the D-4 maintenance workshop as their primary battleground. It was located near the D-7 laboratory and still within range of the surveillance system.
Daryl, Jenson, and Ethan established sniper positions on the platform above the central ventilation shaft.
From there, they had a clear view of the entire atrium and the junction where three main corridors converged.
Calista spoke quietly into her headset. "Jenson, are you in position?"
After a brief burst of static, Jenson's voice came through. "In position. We can see three targets wandering along the eastern side of the atrium, about eighty meters from you. They haven't noticed us yet."
"Mike?"
In the monitoring room, Mike stared intently at the screen. "Three Predators at the junction between the corridor and the atrium. Also... wait. Thermal imaging shows two Claw mutants entering the workshop through the northern passage. They're near the second-floor maintenance platform."
Calista looked up.
Through the crisscrossing steel framework, she could just make out figures moving along the edge of the second-floor platform.
"Take out the Claw mutants first."
Leah and Carver exchanged a glance, drew their suppressed pistols and melee weapons, then moved toward the stairs under cover of the shelving and abandoned equipment.
The others remained alert, their weapons aimed toward the workshop entrance.
Calista moved behind a heavy machine tool and suddenly noticed a circular structure in the center of the workshop, half buried in the floor.
She narrowed her eyes as she studied the hydraulic test pool, and an idea came to her.
The pool was roughly five meters across. Rusted metal railings surrounded its edge, though most had already collapsed. The interior was pitch black, making it impossible to tell how deep it was.
Before long, Carver and Leah eliminated the two Claw mutants.
Almost simultaneously, Jenson's urgent voice came through the radio.
"Watch out. The three Predators are moving toward the workshop. They seem to be searching for something."
Mike's warning followed immediately. "One is sniffing the floor, while the other two are examining the walls. They may have detected the traces you left behind."
Damn it.
Calista's heart sank.
The Predators' senses were sharper than expected. Even with their pheromone network disrupted, their instincts remained deadly.
She immediately altered the original plan. "Jenson, once they enter the workshop, target the leg joint of the one in the rear. We need to separate them."
"Copy."
The three Predators entered the workshop.
The first stopped at the entrance and raised its head. The grooves in its brain growth opened as it listened and sampled the air.
The second leaped onto a shelf two meters high and surveyed the entire workshop from above.
The third, the largest of them, moved slowly along the workshop's perimeter.
"The one at the back," Calista whispered. "Hit it first."
A short, muffled shot rang out.
Dark fluid burst from the vulnerable crystalline joint of the third Predator's left hind leg.
It released a piercing shriek, lost its balance, and stumbled into a nearby equipment rack, knocking it over with a thunderous crash.
The two Predators ahead of it instantly turned toward the noise.
"Now!" Calista shouted. "Drop the shutters!"
Turner, Wells, and the others stationed at the remaining entrances began operating the controls manually. Several heavy fire shutters rumbled downward.
The Predator at the entrance reacted with startling speed and darted outside while the shutter was only halfway down. The one on the shelf and the wounded third Predator, however, were trapped inside.
"One got out!" Mike reported from the monitoring room. "It stopped outside and appears to be trying to break through the shutter."
"Sniper team, take it down."
A second shot rang out.
This time, the bullet struck the point where the brain growth connected to the creature's body. It recoiled in pain and disappeared from the surveillance feed.
Inside the workshop, the two remaining Predators realized they were trapped.
The wounded one forced itself upright on three legs, but its speed had clearly been reduced.
The one on the shelf jumped down and landed in the open space at the center of the workshop, less than twenty meters from the machine where Calista and Carver were hiding.
Every groove in its brain growth opened.
It had sensed them.
The Predator charged.
Carver opened fire first, emptying an entire magazine into its chest. Its crystalline armor deflected most of the rounds, but the force of the impacts slowed its charge for a fraction of a second.
That brief hesitation was all Calista needed.
She raised her weapon and fired repeatedly at a heavy pulley assembly suspended above the Predator.
The rusted steel cable snapped, sending hundreds of kilograms of metal crashing down.
The Predator lifted its brain growth and twisted aside at the last possible moment. Even so, a steel plate grazed its flank and tore open a deep wound.
"Lure it toward the test pool!" Calista shouted as she changed magazines.
She and Carver retreated in turns, covering each other as they moved. Enraged by its injury, the Predator pursued them relentlessly.
The three-legged Predator joined the chase, but its wound slowed it enough that it fell behind.
After a running battle through the workshop, Calista and Carver finally reached the edge of the test pool.
The leading Predator was only ten meters away.
They exchanged a glance and dove in opposite directions at the same moment.
Unable to stop in time, the Predator's forelimbs slipped on the wet floor near the edge, pitching its entire body forward.
But it did not fall.
Its hind claws dug violently into the ground, bringing it to a halt at the very edge of the pool.
The Predator hung over the darkness, its forelimbs flailing as it tried to pull itself back up.
Carver started forward to finish it, but Calista grabbed him.
"Wait, Carver!"
Before she had finished speaking, the second, three-legged Predator lunged from the side, aiming directly at Carver's back.
Carver dropped into a roll and narrowly avoided the attack.
Then, as the first Predator shrieked in panic, the second slammed into its dangling companion and knocked it into the black depths of the test pool.
Splash!
A heavy body struck the water, followed by frantic thrashing. The pool's walls were smooth and vertical, leaving the creature no way to climb out.
"ROAR!"
The three-legged Predator released a furious shriek. Its brain growth snapped toward Calista and Carver, every groove opening as it prepared to attack.
A crossbow bolt suddenly descended from above and buried itself precisely in one of the open grooves.
An armor-piercing round followed immediately, driving through the opening created by the bolt.
The sniper team took it down.
"That leaves you," Calista said coldly, aiming at the purplish-black brain growth that repeatedly appeared above the surface of the test pool.
...
The mop-up operation proceeded smoothly.
The fighting in the maintenance workshop created a great deal of noise. The Predator that had escaped soon returned with two more of its kind, apparently seeking revenge.
After the main force killed five Predators in direct combat, Maya's mobile unit eliminated another two that had been wandering alone.
Only three remained.
According to the surveillance footage, all three had positioned themselves near the entrance to the D-7 Core Laboratory.
The corridor leading there was fifty meters long and only wide enough for three people to stand side by side. Its walls were smooth, with no cover anywhere along its length.
At the far end was the laboratory where the Black Fire experiment had been conducted.
One Predator crouched on each side of the laboratory door. The third and largest sat directly in front of the entrance, its brain growth lowered.
"Those three look like the strongest," someone said as the group watched the feed, their expressions grave.
Calista rubbed her chin, her gaze narrowing.
She glanced at the oxygen reserves on Leah's back. The task force had been inside for a long time and had less than ten hours of oxygen remaining. Although the contamination level in the air had fallen, chemical exposure still posed a risk.
"Everyone, get some rest," Calista said. "We're killing the rest today."
...
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