“Yeah. Explosives are obviously out of the question, and the effect of a laser would be too unpredictable. Plus it’s more likely to cut straight through the target and hit me!”

The boy’s planning was cut short by Phoenie’s authoritative tones. “Have you boys figured something out yet? Because we’ve just had a team briefing ourselves and are hopelessly out of suggestions! Even Ms Byrne is stuck for ideas,”

“Can’t be saying the tribe taught me about dealin’ with this sorta thing,” said the exhausted vagrant girl, “This fecker’s way beyond my level,”

Theseus glanced nervously at John, who was prepping his propulsion-pack for another burst of life. There wouldn’t be much margin for error with this human-missile business – John would be aiming to fly though a space no bigger than two meters wide. Better to put their faith in something physical, though. Something they could calculate.

“John’s gonna lure that thing out into the open,” he explained to the others, “Then I just hafta blast it with the plasma cannon. Total disintegration,”

“A-are you sure that will work?” asked Phoenie, “After all, that thing is a demon!”

“It’s a statue, lady,” said Theseus, “Living or otherwise. If that’s a demon, colour me unimpressed,” And really, if that was a demon, unimpressed was an understatement. Theseus expected the denizens of Hell to be hulking horned brutes wearing the pelts of skinned human faces caught in an orgasm of pain. The sort of image in horror films he, secretly, turned away from. Pointy statue men were like something from a children’s story.

“I’m all set,” said John, his propulsion-pack humming to life, “I’m going to creep forward while scanning the golem’s molecular structure. If it’s ‘living rock’ as Faye suggests, I expect to see some kind of reaction when I get within its sensor range. Stick close to me, Theseus. When I launch, you’ve got to be ready,”

Theseus opened up the back of his mobile armoury, the dome sliding apart to reveal the four main weapons lined up and ready for action – an assault rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, a laser cutter, and a plasma cannon. They weren’t the finest examples of their type, and Theseus would have preferred a railgun to the slug-propelling rifle and some form of particle cannon over the laser, but there was only so much his contacts could acquire.

“Dudes, there’s gotta be something the rest of us can do,” said Joel, “I mean, I can cut that bastard up with my blade if you want?”

“It’s rock, Gibson,”

“Yeah, well I’m metal,”

Theseus pulled the cannon under his arm and began trailing his companion. “John, get a move on before I send Blunder Bastard in your place,”

John was taking slow, deliberate steps up the embankment, one hand on the propulsion-pack controls. Numbers, tables and schematics would be flowing across his vision, updating him on every little thing, his trained eyes taking it all in subconsciously – a skill Theseus envied. Legs dripping, he emerged from the river and kept low behind John, plasma cannon powered and ready to fire on a moment’s notice.

“Got it,” whispered John, “Ten metre radius. Don’t get any closer,”

Theseus gripped the cannon tight, one hand on the trigger, the other supporting the barrel – these things packed quite the recoil for someone not expecting it. He could only hope the laser targeting was up to scratch, or else his one shot at finishing this thing would end up burying them.

John’s propulsion-pack emitted a high-pitched activation noise and the techowizard lent forward as if he were about to start a hundred metres sprint.

“Johno, just so you know, I think you’re insane,”

“I’d be hacking the Malkuthian intraweb if I wasn’t,”

Chapter 50
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