Tunnels 06 - Terminal

almost transparent as they swept down from the sky at incredible speed.
    ‘Those are Armagi,’ Parry said. ‘Hundreds of them.’
    A murmur passed through the audience as someone exclaimed, ‘Bloody hell!’
    ‘But why did the Styx pick this location for a strike? What strategic value did it have to them?’ someone else posed from the rear of the cellar.
    Parry turned to the men. ‘There’s no question that the town was a carefully selected target – the Medway power station, which supplies electricity to a large area of Kent, lies just to the north. The proximity of the power station to the town meant that to do the job properly and quash any resistance, they needed to hit both targets simultaneously.’
    As if to emphasise Parry’s point, there was a huge burst of light which threw the town buildings into stark relief for a split second. ‘And there goes the power station,’ Parry said. ‘As you know, this was far from an isolated incident. We’ve received numerous reports that the Styx are methodically working their way through the home counties as they head towards the capital, cherry-picking utilities, comms hubs – anything that’ll cripple our country’s infrastructure.’
    ‘So we stake out a potential target and wait for them to show up,’ a soldier suggested. ‘Then we’ve got ourselves a duck shoot as these suckers come in to land.’
    ‘And Claymore the bejesus out of them,’ one of his comrades chirped up.
    ‘Nice idea,’ Parry said, then took a breath. ‘Look I knowyou all think you’re the toughest mothers that ever walked the earth.’ A few men chuckled as Parry continued, ‘But don’t underestimate these organisms – they’re spawned from the toughest, most ruthless mother of them all. And here she is …’
    The camera zoomed in unsteadily on a point outside the town where a small group of figures was watching the attack. ‘Here you’ve got some Limiters, but focus your attention on who’s in the middle.’ Parry leant forward so that the shadow of his extended hand fell on two particular figures. ‘The taller of that pair is likely to be one of the Styx females that eluded us at the warehouse attack. I say one of because I haven’t had the kill on the second one confirmed by my son yet, and we don’t know if more were generated.’
    As the camera zoomed in even closer, the Styx female was silhouetted against the flames, her insect legs poised above her shoulders.
    ‘So that’s the big bug?’ someone in the audience asked as the camera remained on her.
    ‘Yes, and we know from Eddie that her Topsoil name is Hermione,’ Parry replied, then he indicated the smaller figure beside her. ‘And with Hermione is the Rebecca twin. The two of them are the head honchos in the Styx hierarchy. If we had a way of neutralising that unholy couple, this war might be brought to an end, and we could all go home again.’
    Parry’s words hung in the air as the men thought of their families, from whom they’d been completely cut off for weeks. As Parry had ordered, they weren’t allowed to have any contact whatsoever with the outside world. He had made it clear that it was necessary in order for the unit to operate without any interference from the Styx.
    The wall beside Parry went dark for a moment, thenbecame so bright that it lit up the faces of all the men in the cellar. ‘This is the morning after,’ Parry said quietly. ‘You can see the results for yourself.’ The view swayed with each step that the ex-soldier took as he moved through the now deserted town, recording the aftermath of the attack. In the harsh dawn light, all the bodies could be clearly seen where they’d fallen outside the buildings, very few of which had escaped the fire.
    ‘And don’t get me wrong,’ Parry said. ‘This is a war, a war on our home turf, and a war that we’re going to lose unless we can find what the Armagi’s weaknesses are.’
    ‘Have you got any more gen on their deployment or capability?’ a soldier asked.
    ‘From sightings, we believe they hunt in pairs, whether airborne or on land. And one report raised the possibility that they might possess a highly developed sense of hearing – based on the fact that the sound of engines or gunfire draws them like moths to a flame. That’s why suppressors on all weapons are now the order of the day.’
    The pager on Parry’s belt vibrated, and he quickly held it up to read the message. He appeared to be in a hurry as he said,