by David Brush
Raphael shrugged. “It was squeaky and I was tired of it. I thought it’d be better to have one big noise than a million tiny ones.”
“I can’t seem to get you to understand that we’re trying to remain incognito,” said Michael, holding on to what little patience he had left. “I know that this is the longest period of time that we’ve ever just sat around, and I know that this shithole apartment is about one small step above destitution, but getting sloppy now will only guarantee that we wasted our time coming here.”
“Your little plan is taking too long. We bullshit around here all day, rotting, while Dante does the same damn thing a short drive away. We could have been in and out of Charon with him before they even knew we were there and we could have done it months ago.”
Michael shook his head. “You’ve seen the prison layout, same as me. You know good and well that there’s no way in hell anyone could sneak in there and sneak back out undetected. The place is a fortress.”
“Oh? They say the same shit about the Atria Plant, but we managed to capture Dr. Wan there all the same, now didn’t we?” replied Raphael, leaning back on the dank couch. “And if I’m remembering correctly, didn’t we blow General Frasier’s head off while he was sitting in his office, clueless that we had snuck into his supposedly ‘impenetrable’ headquarters? You’re sitting here giving me this load of shit about how we can murder the top officer in Special Branch but we can’t break into some shithole prison in the middle of nowhere.”
“Years ago, before the Valker Plant and the Reach fell, that kind of thing was possible. Now that Nightrick’s force is consolidated, things are different than they were back then. Let’s see how well any of that would go now. We’re good, but we’re not that good. You don’t seem to understand that sometimes wars need to be fought with armies.”
Raphael grunted. “And sometimes they don’t. When was it exactly you lost your sack? I thought I was talking to my older brother, not my little sister.”
“And I thought I was talking to a cognitive human being, not a big lumbering ape. Guess we were both wrong,” replied Michael, going red. As Raphael jumped up onto his feet to attack his brother, Gabriel finally spoke, causing both men to halt in surprise.
“Michael is correct. Even when we leveled the Reach, we needed the army to back us up. The once mighty, central hub of chemical distribution that linked the Valker, Rikon, and Atria Plants fell, sure, but we didn’t do it alone. Michael’s plan isn’t flawless, but when it comes to attacking an installation such as the Charon Detention Facility, it’s as good as it’s going to get.”
Raphael sat back down with a sour look on his face. “We owe it to Dante to get him the hell out of there. How much longer are we going to wait?”
“I’ve already summoned the primary strike force,” said Michael. “Dr. Reya informs me that everyone who’s coming has been deployed.”
Raphael frowned. “Oh really? And why now, suddenly, are you so anxious to attack?”
“We don’t have a choice anymore. Word from headquarters is that Dante is going to be hanged within the next week. Besides, I promised an old friend of mine that I would help her attack the facility. With the group she’s bringing, we’ll never have a better opportunity than now.”
Raphael’s face twisted. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare tell me it’s who I think it is.”
“It is.”
“Give me a damn break. How stupid are you? And how many of those CLF cunts is the bitch bringing with her?”
Michael frowned. “Watch it, Raphael. Don’t push your luck with me. She’s bringing three other people along with her.”
Raphael rolled his eyes. “Four people? Wow, nicely done, Mike. Way to build bridges. You’ve always been blind and stupid when it comes to her. All your damn thinking takes place in the head between your legs when she’s around.”
Michael moved to punch his brother, but once again held off as Gabriel spoke.
“Raphael is correct. She makes you do stupid things, and bringing them along is surely going to be one of them. It’s folly to pour gunpowder into a fire and not expect it to blow up in everyone’s faces.”
The barren sand continued to race by as Matt looked out his window again with the same mien of unease that had been etched across his face for most of the trip. He watched as an old, burned out factory rushed by, cloaked in the shadows of twilight. “So how do you know this guy again?”
“We met a long time ago during the assault on Northgate, the northernmost corridor into the capital,” said Megan, turning the steering wheel left towards the faint outline of the city looming in the distance. “This was a little bit before your time, Matt. Had we been able to break the line there, we might have been able to march on Parliament and end the war.”
“I’m aware of Northgate, Megan, thank you very much. What, do you think I crawled out from under a rock to join the CLF? That battle was the whole reason I joined up in the first place. After I saw that you guys had given Neuro Corp a black eye, I started believing that just maybe, somehow, Nightrick could be brought low again.”
“They weren’t the only ones who got a black eye that day. Bismuth’s army was pushing our force back with relative ease thanks to their air superiority, so my fire team was deployed to knock out the air defenses in the western quadrant. If the CLF could have gotten its handful of fighters into the sky, we might have stood a real chance at breaking the blockade.”
Matt nodded. “That goddamn air force is one of the only reasons that Nightrick has held on this long.”
“Yeah, and it’ll probably remain one until the war has ended. Anyway, things went well for our squad at first. We made it into the control room with little resistance and disabled the anti-air cannons. For a minute, it looked like we might actually crush Bismuth. As each fire team reported in that they’d succeeded, Command launched our entire fleet against the position for what we hoped would be the defining battle of the war, and it may well have been, considering we lost our entire air force in the ensuing chaos. I knew we were screwed the second I realized that the turrets were still firing despite our having ‘knocked them out’. It was too late though, the trap was sprung. As our fighters flew in, they met a wall of anti-air that shredded almost the entire fleet of the CLF. But it wasn’t just our planes that were taking a beating. The Crusaders seized on the opportunity and deployed as well, not realizing that we hadn’t actually accomplished anything. They flew into the same slaughter that we did, but they were lucky enough to be following us in, so they were able to pull back a few of their fighters and begin shelling the positions from a distance.”
“I’m not aware of any Crusader air force,” said Matt, interrupting once again. “There’s no way that they still have any craft left.”
“No, they lost their entire fleet in the ensuing battle, but at least their pilots got to fight back. Our guys just got massacred. At that time, they didn’t have the manpower or knowledge base to maintain an air force anyway. It was more of a distraction for the ground teams than anything else. They were lucky if they could even keep their planes in the sky, to be honest. But like I was saying, Dante sent the Archangels in to do what we had tried to do, and destroy the cannons guarding the skies around the area. Naturally, they succeeded. By that time, my squad was trapped between Special Branch and the advancing Crusaders, and we were risking being buried alive by staying in the crumbling control center. We lost about half our group on the way to the roof, but we pushed on until we couldn’t advance any further. Our position was overrun by Special Branch and we were all about to die when the Archangels fell from the sky and saved us. As their main strike force engaged Bismuth, we were extracted with Michael and his brothers.”
“Wow, fell from the sky, huh? OK, first off, I’ll remind you that those ‘Archangels’ are the same people who have worked tirelessly to kill us and our friends in their crazy town parade,” said Matt with a hint of venom. “You know, friends of ours like Jon Rain, whom they beheaded in
cold blood after the Battle of Draynok. Where was all of this mercy and kindness then? And secondly, why would they save you? Unless they didn’t know you were CLF.”
“They knew, though Gabriel and Raphael weren’t pleased about any of it. Michael and I spent what time we could together after that, short though it was. He’s the reason that I could never bring myself to hate the Crusaders despite all of the horrible things they’ve done. I tried my best to turn him, but at the end of the day, he truly believed that they were on the right side of things. I haven’t seen him in years, but we still keep in touch every now and then. Before I came back to the CLF, I asked him why he had saved us. He said it was because he’d never seen anyone as beautiful as me.”
“Oh my God, I’m going to be sick,” replied Matt, rolling his eyes. “Well now at least we know that the Archangels are blind.”
Megan punched Matt in the arm as hard as she could manage while driving.
“Oww, goddammit,” he said, rubbing his bicep. “I’m just kidding, but seriously, this isn’t going to end well for us. These people are legitimately crazy. Why do you think we don’t work with them more often?”
And for that, she had no response.
Dr. Nightrick walked over to the large window in his private chamber and looked down on the small courtyard below, tucked safely away within the inner sanctum of the Charon Detention Facility. One stone bench, a small pink-leafed tree, and an old weathered statue of some hero or another from the Uprising were all that adorned the enclosed space.
“He’s dead?” he repeated in shock.
“Slipped away last night,” came Bismuth’s voice through the receiver. “Considering how injured he was, it’s amazing we were able to keep him alive for this long, to be honest.”
“I don’t know if I should mourn him or throw a parade. I mean on one hand I’ve lost a gifted chemist, but on the other, the rabid animal who bastardized my creation got exactly what he deserved. Whoever did it, they probably did me a favor in the long run. Now I can finally wash my hands of that disgusting sweat sack.”
“I thought you might be pleased. No one else here at the Atria Plant knows yet, but I’m sure once they find out that Dr. Truman is dead, it’s going to be a madhouse for a little while.”
Nightrick rubbed his forehead. “Well, I suppose you should inform Dr. Mason that he’s been promoted. I’d do it myself, but I’m a bit busy here. Central Intelligence has informed me that they’ve detected a large host forming around the outskirts of New Haven. The group is doing very little to hide itself and I’m certain that the timing is no coincidence. I think the Crusaders are finally preparing to pay me a visit. I just hope that Mercer is with them. From what Director Fox has told me, the CLF has placed a rather large bounty on the boy’s head for treason. Maybe he’s finally seen the beast for what it is.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to reinforce that position? If the Crusaders hit hard enough, not only will we lose Dante, but we might lose the entire facility.”
“No. If we lose Charon, then so be it. I can’t risk giving them a bloody nose here, or they might hold back when I need them to go all out. There’s a large enough force here for me to hold the inner sanctum. I want them to have Dante back. Only he would be bold enough to try and assault the Atria and stupid enough to use his entire army doing it. The only way this ever ends is if I let that lunatic go home. Hope is the armor that shields the flame of revolution when its fire is burning low. Once I break the Crusaders and take their hope away, they’ll melt into oblivion where they belong. It’s Mercer I’m concerned with now. I think Dr. Karich will see things my way once the boy arrives. If he can convince his son to join us, then we’ll be one large step closer to finishing off the wounded CLF and restoring order.”
Michael stood on the stoop attached to the five-story apartment complex, bathed in the dim yellow light cast out by the nearby lamppost. He watched as the bullet-riddled black jeep pulled up against the curb directly in front of the building.
“Welcome to paradise,” he said, approaching the vehicle as Megan hopped out of the driver seat.
“Nice place,” she said, looking down the deserted street. “Did you ask your realtor for the bubonic plague special?”
Michael smiled. “Only the finest for the Archangels.”
“No doubt. I’d like you to meet my friends Matt Donner, James Mercer, and Haley Hall, formerly of the CLF.”
The Crusader nodded at the trio as they climbed down from the vehicle. “Pleasure.”
“Likewise,” mumbled Matt. “Maybe we can finish the pleasantries inside? I’m concerned I’m going to catch cholera if I stand out here any longer.”
“Of course, follow me,” said Michael, gesturing towards the door. “We’re on the third floor. Don’t be alarmed by the smell, that’s just the charming scent of New Haven.”
After a brief climb, the group walked into the small apartment that Michael shared with his brothers. An old foldout table had been set up near the saggy yellow couch, along with four folding chairs for the newcomers. Old wallpaper was peeling up all over the place, revealing white drywall wherever it had been ripped off. A small kitchenette sat off to the side of the living room, and a short hall branched off into three equally small rooms, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
“Wow,” said Matt, staring down the hall. “How long have you guys been trapped here?”
“We got to New Haven about six months ago,” said Michael. “And by the way, this is my brother, Gabriel.”
The youngest Archangel looked up from the book he was reading on the yellow couch to nod at the newcomers.
“I thought there were three of you,” said James, moving to sit down at the foldout table with Haley and Megan.
“Raphael took off about an hour ago. I wouldn’t count on him being back tonight. He’s not thrilled with the extra company.”
Matt nodded, taking a seat next to James. “I hear that. Must be hard sharing your home with a bunch of infidels.”
Michael shrugged. “We’ve done worse.”
Matt smirked. “Oh, I’m sure of it. Tell me, Mike, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you three end up in the Crusaders? You don’t look much older than me, but I’ve heard stories about how you were some of the very first people to take up arms against Dr. Nightrick. How is that? Did the Crusaders let children fight in their army from the very beginning or is that a recent development?”
Megan’s face went beet red, but Michael smiled at the snide question.
“Well, Matt, you’re about half right. My brothers and I were there at the rallies all those years ago, back before the protests against Induction had spilled into full on violence. I’m twenty-five now, but at the time I was sixteen, Raphael was fifteen, and Gabriel was fourteen. You should have seen it, thousands of people in the streets, chanting, screaming, marching, all those voices swirling together into one to demand that Dr. Nightrick step down and that the government cease the implementation of Induction. There was an electricity in the air, a sort of endless hope. But it gave way as soon as the first shots rang out. Then panic and fear were all that remained. Some people ran, some people hid, hell, some people even started throwing rocks back at the aggressors, but all I know for sure is that after Special Branch opened fire on the crowds, our fate was sealed. My brothers and I watched the riot police drag our bloodied father off to some nameless, faceless detention center, never to be seen again. So what choice were we given? We joined up with the Crusaders for one simple reason, Matt. Blood for blood. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go get some rest. I would suggest that all of you do the same thing. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”
CHAPTER TEN
Dawn broke early that morning in New Haven, scattering the light of its star through the clouds like shattered glass. Haley sat staring out the window of the black jeep that she’d been assigned to, looking out across the wasteland masquerading as a city. The melancholy buildings had seen the rise and fall of t
he once mighty metropolis. She couldn’t help but wonder if they might one day recall their rise and fall as well, if the attack went anything like Matt continued to insist it would.
Behind her, in the backseat of the jeep, Megan and Matt were fast asleep. Thanks largely to the field medics that the Crusaders had brought with them, Matt’s head, resting on Megan’s shoulder as he dozed, was beginning to look less like a battered orange and more like a human being. They’d even managed to give him a temporary dental mold to replace his badly damaged teeth. He almost looked normal again, with a faint smirk beginning to return to its natural state of existence across his face.
Turning back around, she looked out across the staging area that the Crusaders had chosen on the outskirts of the city’s historic manufacturing district. Hundreds of men and women had flocked to the area over the course of the night. The pilgrims came from far and wide, eager to pay homage to their god through blood and steel. They loaded up their bandoliers with grenades, strung belts of ammunition through the chain guns hanging off the back ends of their assault vehicles, prayed, and waited devoutly for their opportunity to overrun the infidels and rescue their prophet from certain death. As she scanned the sea of warriors, clad in a million shades of yellow and black, she noticed James approaching from the makeshift command center the gathering force had established in a derelict old factory that stood starkly against the backdrop of the looming desert.
“Well, it looks like we’re almost ready to get underway,” James said, waking the slumbering duo in the backseat.
“What exactly is the plan here?” asked Haley. “We’re going to just charge head first at the facility? They’ll know we’re coming the second we set foot outside of the city.”
“They probably already know we’re here. There’s been literally zero effort to mask the incoming traffic. For better or for worse, Michael seems to think it won’t matter whether they realize we’re coming. This far south the regime can’t deploy its air force without risking anti air fire from across the border, so all we have to worry about is what’s right in front of us. I’m not a huge fan of the plan, but you’re not actually too far off. The majority of their force is going to assault the facility head on, and a small group of us are going to use the diversion to break into the complex from a side access point. Michael assures me that he’s familiar enough with the prison’s layout to get us in without too much hassle.”