The hunters' round table

Benjamin Lee's apartment had never been as crowded as it was today.

In that cramped space piled with discarded server cases and tangled cables, the air was so thick it almost felt as though water could be wrung from it. Cheap cigarette smoke, the scorched smell of overheating graphics cards, and the ineradicable mustiness of the ruins clinging to all three men mingled into a distinctive odor.

"This isn't just business. We're risking our lives."

Old Dog Jose held a can of beer, his cloudy old eyes fixed on the map projected onto the wall. It was the holographic terrain map Shadow had sent through that burner phone, which Benjamin had also spent the entire night piecing together by hacking into D.O.D.C. server nodes and combining the data with geological scans publicly released by Stark Industries.

"Queens Industrial Park 19 used to house a biological laboratory branch of Stark Industries." Benjamin's fingers flew across the keyboard, excitement and tension in his voice. "During the Battle of New York, a damaged Leviathan biological mothership crashed there. Although the Avengers cleared away most of the wreckage afterward, that enormous biological husk smashed through the protective walls three levels underground and got lodged there."

On the holographic map, an enormous red shadow resembling a whale's skeleton lay embedded at an angle in the complex underground structures.

"D.O.D.C. sealed the place off three months ago and designated it a 'red zone.'" Benjamin pushed up his glasses and pointed to a ring of red lines around the map's perimeter. "The official reasons were 'high-concentration biological radiation' and 'risk of structural collapse.' But my program found something interesting in the backend logs."

"What?" Zhao Fan sat in the shadows in a corner, wiping the throwing knife in his hand.

"'Abnormal biological signal fluctuations.'" Benjamin swallowed. "Just last night, the sensor readings there spiked. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but if you magnify the waveform..."

He brought up a waveform chart on the screen. Rather than the rigid lines of mechanical vibration, it showed a rhythmic pulse.

"That's a heartbeat," Zhao Fan said coldly.

"Exactly. It's very faint, like a hibernating snake, but it's definitely alive," Benjamin confirmed. "That's why everyone's gone crazy. Active Leviathan tissue, even a single piece of flesh, could fetch an astronomical price on the black market. If it's an armor sample..."

"Then it's a ticket to heaven, or an express ticket to hell." Old Dog snorted. "Zhao, are you sure we want to get involved? That woman Shadow is up to no good. If she gave us the information, she definitely gave it to other people too."

"I know." Zhao Fan stopped what he was doing and looked up. "But we don't have a choice. Old Dog, how much longer can your leg hold out? Ben, do you want to spend your whole life hiding in this kennel eating canned food?"

Both men fell silent.

"Our target is a core sample from the 'Leviathan biological armor.' But tonight, we won't be the only hunters. Kestrel will be there, Rick will be there, and maybe other desperadoes too. Even..." Zhao Fan paused, recalling that figure in a white lab coat. "Dr. Evelyn might get involved."

"Very likely. The technical division's been going crazy lately," Benjamin added. "That female doctor has mobilized all the mobile task forces. They aren't headed toward the industrial park yet, but the moment a shot goes off there, those regular troops can seal off the scene within ten minutes."

"Any movement from Rick?"

"Yes." Benjamin brought up several surveillance screenshots taken outside the D.O.D.C. camp a few hours earlier. "Rick bribed a supervisor in the supplies department and got temporary access to two suits of heavy exoskeleton armor. They're only civilian models meant for hauling, but their hydraulic pincers can easily snap rebar. He's bringing six men, fully armed, and even demolition tools."

"That idiot." Old Dog scoffed. "Bringing demolition tools into a place that unstable? Is he not dying fast enough for his liking?"

"He's not stupid. He's greedy," Zhao Fan said coldly. "He doesn't know what's actually in there. All he knows is that it's a fat piece of meat. People like that are perfect for scouting the way."

Zhao Fan stood and walked over to the map, tracing a finger across the complex underground maze. "So this isn't just scavenging. It's a war. We'll be facing not only D.O.D.C.'s security systems, but mad dogs like Rattlesnake Rick, and..."

That figure surfaced in his mind.

"...Kestrel."

"The guy who wiped the floor with you?" Old Dog brought up his humiliation without mercy.

"That's him." Rather than getting angry, Zhao Fan gave a faint smile. "Losing isn't scary, as long as you win in the end."

"This time, we have tactics." Zhao Fan turned to Benjamin. "Ben, can you handle the defense systems there?"

"Absolutely impossible. They use Stark Industries' independent security protocols, and they're subroutines of Stark's headquarters system. If I try to force my way in, their technical department might trace the connection straight to me the very next second." Benjamin wiped the sweat from his forehead. "But I can do a little... tampering."

"Such as?"

"Such as using those unstable energy readings to create some 'false alarms.'" Benjamin chuckled. "I can make the sensors in that area 'sound the alarm' at specific times, making the control center think there's been a secondary collapse or a radiation leak. That way, D.O.D.C.'s regular troops won't dare rush in. It won't hold them off for long-they'll definitely figure it out-but it can buy us a little time and create some confusion."

"Fishing in troubled waters." Old Dog nodded. "I like that. Then how do we get in? The main entrance is bound to be completely blocked."

"Here." Zhao Fan pointed to an inconspicuous underground drainage channel at the edge of the map. "Didn't you say you knew that industrial park's sewer system well? This is the old underground waterway I asked you to check last night. Is it still there?"

"It's still there, all right. I worked on the sewers there before the battle, but by now it's probably full of mutated rats and Chitauri viral moss." Old Dog frowned. "And the outlet is still two kilometers from the core area in a straight line, with three electronically controlled gates and a buffer zone in between."

Benjamin Lee hammered frantically at the keyboard while nervously pushing up the glasses on his nose. His fingers trembled slightly with tension and excitement.

"And besides the known radiation and collapse risks, there are at least three batteries of D.O.D.C. automated sentry guns there, in 'dormant standby' mode."

"Dormant standby?" Zhao Fan raised his head, his gaze sharp. "Meaning that as soon as someone triggers the alarm, they'll turn every living thing into a sieve?"

"Yes, and a large-caliber sieve at that." Benjamin swallowed.

"Leave those three firewalls to me." Benjamin confidently patted his chest. "As for the sentry guns... Brother Zhao, can you handle them?"

Zhao Fan didn't answer. He simply flicked his wrist.

Thunk!

With a soft sound, the throwing knife became a streak of light, precisely severing the pull tab on the beer can on the table before lodging in the wooden board behind it.

Not even a drop of beer spilled.

Old Dog stared at the beer can, stunned for half a second, then grinned. "All right, kid. You're getting better and better at that."

"We move at midnight tonight." Zhao Fan's smile vanished, his tone turning serious. "Remember, we have only one objective: get the sample, then get out alive."

Shadow had provided him with some basic equipment.

He took the black mask from his backpack. He had fashioned it by grinding down fragments of a scavenged Chitauri infantry faceplate. It covered only the lower half of his face, leaving exposed those eyes that burned with ambition in the darkness.