[ctg]

The excerpt is from second half, and I would like you guys rate on the action and clarity. Is it too lame, or does it move forward too fast? Anything else? Please comment.

[111100]

Gordon woke up to his mobile ringing on his bedside table. He opened his eyes and saw all the lights in his bedroom flashing, almost as if they were as crazy as the automated blinds that went up and down. The big screen television on opposite side of the wall flipped open, and channels in it changed in fast pace.

‘Hackers’, Gordon thought as picked up his phone, and checked the caller display that said Withheld. It could be anyone, but it also could be the hacker itself. ‘What the bloody hell they want from me?’ He pressed the green button hoping to get an answer to his question.

"Gordon I need your help,” female voice said straight away. Her voice was shattering and full of desperation. “Grandpa is d-dead, and I’m a-alone. Please help me…”

“Who is this?” Gordon frowned and checked the time from his mobile display. It was early morning hours. He had been in sleep for five hours.

“Katie,” female sobbed.

“Katie,” Gordon said. He threw aside his duvet and jumped on warm floor. “Did you say your grandfather is dead? What happened?” He walked on the window, turned off the blinds and watched outside to the dark London.

Katie didn’t stop from crying, and Gordon had to repeat the question to get an answer out from her. Finally she calmed enough to say, “S-someone came and s-shot him … h-his dead. G-George went m-mad, and r-run out-s-side … and h-his dead too. I’m s-scared.”

Gordon placed his hand against the glass, wishing to be outside there helping her. “Katie, listen. Was it a woman? Was it a black woman?”

“Y-yes,” Katie said before she burst on tears.

“Lilith,” Gordon spat out. He scratched his head as he thought what he could do. Several options came in his mind, but he need to know few things before that. “Where are you? Where are you making this call?”

“H-home, in safe-room,” Katie answered. “Who is Lilith?”

“An assassin,” Gordon answered. He set his mobile on speaker mode, put it on top the dressing table, and started to dress up. “Listen Katie, I’m coming to get you, but that is going to take a little while. Do not go out and if … if you have any weapons, then arm yourself.”

“Are you really coming?” Katie calmed down a bit more.

“Yes,” Gordon said as he pulled his belt thigh, threw his collar shirt on and plugged his feet in shoes. “I am really coming…” Then he stopped as he heard a loud bang coming from a speaker, followed by louder bang that turned Katie mental on the other end.

“She is here, I can see her from the monitors,” Katie screamed, and on background, Gordon heard her rustling with something and then dropping something metallic on the floor.

Without waiting any more Gordon turned off the speaker phone, picked up his jackets and moved out from his apartment. “Listen Katie, I am really coming and I want you to do anything that makes you feel safe. Barricade yourself in and prepare for the worst.” Gordon said as he signalled to patrolling officer outside his apartment to follow. “Can you do that?”

“Yes I can,” Katie said and Gordon heard her moving in the room. The police officer run on his side and Gordon explained quietly as he moved towards the elevators. “I need you to call in HQ and request for Rabid Assault Team to go out to deal with an assassination attempt.”

The officer acknowledged and spat in his radio, “This is patrol four twenty five. DCI Gordon reporting two eighteen in progress and requesting code eleven for outside duty, over…”

A few second later his radio rattled. “This is HQ, code eleven ready in bay three. I repeat, code eleven ready in bay three, over…”

That satisfied Gordon. He hastily saluted the officer, before run down the corridor and took first available lift to the space-dock levels. The bay three was just thirty levels directly above his apartment. In fact, every people needed in the emergency situations lived in the Baxter building. Only the CSI scientists and few high ranking senior Metropolitan Police and Royal Scotland Yard personnel lived elsewhere.

When the elevator reached the floor, Gordon saw a black glad SWAT team leader waiting for him. He pressed the mute button his phone, and said to him. “I have a witness under an assault in corner of Bayswater Road and Queensway. Tell your team to prepare to take down an assassin.”

Team leader nodded on agreement, murmured on his throat mikes while he escorted Gordon to the Metropolitan Police assault hopper. As soon as they reached the vehicle, Gordon heard banging ending and Katie saying. “She is gone. She left…”

“Are you sure?” Gordon asked, as he hastily run on the cockpit to sit down on his chair next to the acting Lieutenant. He tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around Gordon pointed his finger up and waved it around. Lieutenant nodded as he understood, and started to spat commands to his team.

“Yeah, I’m positive. I cannot see her from the monitors…”

“That might be a trick to lure you out.” Gordon said, and braced himself against the seat as the assault hopper jumped up, and blasted out from the landing bay.

“Oh my god, there is a smoke in the corridor,” Katie gasped.

“Ok Katie, there is nothing to worry about.” Gordon said at the same time as he signalled the situation to the Lieutenant. “You are in safe room. You cannot be harmed there.”

Lieutenant nodded, and then pointed at one of the monitors at front of him. The old hotel was in flames. The lower levels were completely engulfed by the flames, which were rabidly rising higher. Gordon shook his head on disbelief. Dark Lilith must have tabs in their network, and she wasn’t ready to let her prey off the hook so easily.

“There is a lot of smoke in the corridor, and it’s coming in,” Katie said, and coughed a couple of times. “You are not going to let me die Gordon, are you?”

Gordon looked at Lieutenant, who was waiting for his instructions. He nodded and said on the phone. “You are going to be safe Katie. The safe room is in the top floor, behind the glasshouse, yes?” Katie agreed. Gordon pressed the mute button on his mobile and said Lieutenant. “Blast the ceiling, and rappel down. She is in North West corner of the building. Beware of the assassin.”

Lieutenant nodded, pressed few buttons on keyboard and highlighted the old hotel ceiling in the monitor, while returned to keep Katie calm at the other end. Few moments later he watched from the monitors as two fiery streaks crossed the sky, and landed on the top of the building, blasting huge holes on the ceiling. Then the ramp opened and assault team moved there to rappel down. As soon as the first one stepped on the edge, a bullet pierced his skull and landed on the ceiling. The assault team backed up, turned on their cybernetics, and let go from the ropes. When the team leader shouted “Go, Go, GO,” they run down the ramp and jump off from the vessel.

Gordon turned his attention to the monitors to watch them land in the blast holes one by one, while shot from opposite building rang down. The lieutenant marked the building, pushed the button and assault hopper blasted on the sky while it dropped battle-drones. One by one, the drones connected to the screens next to the assault team ones, which now showed two wounded and one dead. In few minutes, the assault team had reached the panic-room, while the drones lost the trace on the assassin. Dark Lilith had vanished.

[111101]