VII
VII
Venice's nickname was "The Ocean City." But it wasn't surrounded by the ocean; it was surrounded by a shallow lagoon. A tide gate was made between the Adriatic Sea and the lagoon to control the water level and to protect the slowly sinking island. Thanks to the dam, the lagoon remained shallow, and the destructive ocean stayed at bay. However, if the seawall was compromised or broken, the ocean's water would rush in like a tsunami and flood the city. Luckily, the dam had the most advanced control system in place, but the system's weakness was that it was concentrated in one location.
Caterina bit her nails. She looked at the guards in front of the barricaded gates. They were the last line of defense for Venice. The "enemy" was the construction of the tide gate itself. It was a perfect striking point for a terrorist attack.
And as of now, it was under attack.
Without glancing at any of the side corridors, Caterina headed straight into the central control room. The gate's guards couldn't put up much of a fight, but Caterina's personal guards who'd accompanied her on this visit acted as reinforcements. It was a tenuous defense at best.
"Have you been able to contact the city?" Caterina asked.
They'd been under heavy fire. Without more men, the place would surely fall. Only half of the tide gate guards and Caterina's personal contingent could move around without limping—and most of the injuries were pretty serious. Blood trickled out of Caterina's wounded shoulder, but she seemed unfazed by it.
"The phone and radios are still disconnected," Marino Farrell, the guard leader, replied. "Your Eminence, we don't have much longer."
Marino stood before her, his square jaw trembling from fear and exhaustion. "We can secure a safe passage out with the personnel we have left. Please retreat, Your Eminence," he
implored.
"I will stay. But these ladies need to go. Along with the wounded," Cardinal Caterina replied.
"But, Your Eminence!" her companion nuns objected. "We are ready to lay down our lives! But the Vatican needs Your Eminence alive ...!" they howled.
"They are right. Please go for the sake of the Vatican," Marino begged.
"Marino, thank you, but no," Caterina said with finality. The Cardinal smiled softly and pushed away the sisters trying to treat her wound. "Even if I fall here, the Vatican will not be shaken. My successor will surely inherit my will and faith. But if I leave this seawall, what will happen to the pope in Venice?" she asked.
No one could answer her. She didn't expect them to.
Cardinal Caterina Sforza nodded calmly. Her razor-sharp eyes were filled with courage and the will to fight. "What would the world say if a cardinal ran away and left the pope and thousands of citizens behind to die? The Vatican would lose its reputation forever. I choose to remain here; I will hear no more talk of retreat," she said resolutely.
"Excellent!" A man laughed and clapped from somewhere behind them. "What commendable bravery. You really are the Woman of Steel, Cardinal Sforza. The pipsqueak pope must be delighted to find such devotion among the Vatican's top ranks," he mocked.
"One of them got in!" a guard screamed.
The nuns and guards frantically looked around for the source of the voice. The door protecting the sea gate began to vibrate. The metal bent, then twisted. It looked as though a hole had melted through its very center. A man walked through the opening and once he was through, the door resealed behind him.
"Good evening, Cardinal Sforza, Duchess of Milan. It's such a wonderful night," the stranger said.
"Who are you?" Caterina demanded.
A man in a black suit stood in front of the door. He had hip-length black hair. He looked refined, urbane even, but his mischievous smile worried her. That, and the fact that he'd just walked through a solid metal door.
"I'm a big fan of yours. I wanted to see the legendary woman of steel at least once. I'm so delighted. You are more beautiful than I'd imagined," he said.
"Stay back, you bastard!" Marino yelled.
The guards took positions around Caterina and drew their swords. The stranger smiled wickedly as they charged.
"No . . . stop!" Caterina commanded, but it was too late.
They swung wildly at him, but he easily dodged the blows. He waved his fingers in an intricate pattern and suddenly . . .
The guards froze. Their perfectly functioning eyes rolled around in terror as their bodies quit working.
"Rude little boys. Didn't you learn not to interrupt people?" he sang.
He continued to sing slowly and wistfully. It sounded like he was chanting. He placed his white-gloved hands over the guards. Pentagrams had been sewn onto the backs of the gloves.
"Zazazoo, Zazazoo, Nasatanada, Zazazoo," he sang. The pentagram glowed in response to the chant.
The sisters screamed in horror.
The man's shadow rose up, leaving a tar-like trails. Then, a multitude of shadows ascended from the floor. They were bloated and smelled noxious, like twisted rubber dolls. Their faceless heads had only a red slit for a mouth, where fangs protruded.
"An ill-illusion?" Caterina stammered.
One of the blobs stepped forward; its slick black skin absorbed and reflected light.
"Shadow Devils," the man proclaimed." I made some of these pets the other day for fun. As you can see, they're always so hungry. You can never feed them enough."
The shrieks they made turned everyone's blood cold.
Their heads looked like protoplasm. Even without the aid of eyes or noses, they somehow detected fresh meat. When they turned toward the frozen guards, the corners of their mouths lifted in happiness.
"No!" Caterina screamed.
The guards remained silent as they were eaten alive. The sisters' cries dissolved into unintelligible wailing.
Marino quickly pulled out his gun and took aim at the man in black.
BOOM!
The bullet bolted out of the barrel and headed straight for the mysterious man's forehead. But the man's head was not torn asunder; instead, the bullet magically found another target.
Marino's head exploded. Blood and grey matter spurted all over the room as the headless body crumpled to the ground.
"No!" Caterina yelled again.
The body collapsed on two of the nuns. Terrified, they clawed their way out from under the large corpse.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" the stranger asked. He didn't have a scratch on him.
"You . . ." Caterina glowered. The sight of Marino's headless body infuriated her. "I know who you are," she said. Her eyes gleamed with rage. "Rosenkreuz Orden—Contra Mundi, and the ominous men who follow him ... correct?" she spat out.
"Oh, so you know him," he said, smirking. "If you know my master, then you know there is no hope. And you really are a woman of steel to oppose us. I find that incredible. I regret that you must die. How about a deal instead? If you leave quietly and let me have this place, I will spare your life. Does that sound fair?" he asked.
"And let the pope die? That's what you're really after, isn't it?" she asked.
This time, it was Caterina's turn to smile. She pushed her blonde ringlets from her face, jingling her earrings in the process. "Even if you spared my life now, I'd die another day, fighting you. If I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather die here," she said sternly.
"Hm, you are quite intelligent. I suppose I'll deeply regret this . . ."The man snapped his fingers.
The Shadow Devils surrounding the dead guards raised their faces. They looked at the cardinal, poised for action, and the sisters who cowered behind her. The dark shadows grinned, blood dripping from their mouths.
"Will you grant me one last request?" Caterina asked.
"Of course," he responded.
"Identify yourself. I refuse to be killed by someone who hasn't even told me their name," she said.
"Oh, how rude of me," he purred. He placed a hand on his chest and bowed grandly. "My name is Kampfer. Isaak Fernand von Kampfer. Rosenkreuz Orden, Panzer Magier. I am my master's faithful servant," he said.
"Thank you, sir." She nodded and flicked her earring, grinning at her tormenter.
He nodded.
"Well then, Mister Kampfer, let me tell you something in return," she offered.
"Yes? Pretty please tell me," he said sarcastically.
"Remember this: a woman dislikes an overly talkative man. All units, open fire!" she commanded.
In that moment, the ceiling burst open.
It was a thunderous spectacle to behold. The brick and mortar of the building blew around like confetti, and streaks of metal rained down into the room. The twenty-millimeter rounds destroyed the Shadow Devils. It was an extremely well-coordinated attack, so none of the bullets hit Caterina and her group. Such marksmanship was too accurate for a normal human.
"Powerful and impressive," Kampfer purred. "But what is even more impressive is the man pulling the trigger."
Kampfer remained untouched; his suit wasn't even sullied by the falling dust. But all of his devils had been blown to smithereens. Pieces of inhuman flesh twitched and melted as stringy black ooze expanded across the floor.
"You're the one. The Gunmetal Hound owned by the Woman of Steel. The last of the ten Killing Dolls that took over the Castle of Saint Angelo five years ago." Kampfer's voice sounded delighted.
The smoke cleared, revealing an imposing figure standing protectively in front of Caterina.
"AX Agent HC-IIIX—Codename: Gunslinger," Kampfer said.
"Affirmative," Tres responded over the sound of the large Vulcan cannon hammer clanging against a firing pin.
BOOM!