by David Brush
“How many people are joining us in the breaching party?” Megan asked, stretching as she righted herself in the backseat.
“It’s us, the Archangels, and one of their physicians,” said James.
“This is suicide,” Matt mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he too righted himself. “How the hell long do you think they’re going to be able to distract the guards with a frontal assault? They’ll all be dead within an hour, and then we’ll be joining them.”
“That’s only half the problem anyway,” said Megan. “With Nightrick there, the place is bound to be absolutely swarming with Special Branch. Have they even taken that into consideration?”
James nodded. “They believe that their force is capable of holding long enough for us to get our people out. We don’t really have any other options. There’s no ideal time to attack Charon. At least doing it now, the Crusaders will bear the brunt of the assault.”
Megan nodded in agreement, though her ill feelings lingered. The group looked towards the old factory as the buzzing crowd grew deathly still.
“We leave in ten!” yelled Michael to the assembled army as he stepped through the wide, badly rusted double doors of the command center. “CLF deserters, follow close behind me. We’re going in hot.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” murmured Matt, opening up his bag to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything. As he finished rifling through his equipment one last time, he noticed Raphael come walking through the same wide doors that his brother had just used. The brute of a man had avoided the rogue CLF agents since their arrival, choosing instead to spend the night out in the city. The Archangel noticed Matt staring at him and made a beeline directly towards their group.
“Megan,” he said, walking right up to the jeep. “How shitty to see you again.”
“Raphael, you haven’t changed one bit,” she replied. “Still the sweet talker through and through.”
“I’m so glad that my brother was able to secure such a crack team from the CLF,” said Raphael, looking over the group. “I’m not sure how we would have succeeded here without a dough boy, two scrawny kids, and the siren who managed to lure Michael into the rocks by his dick.”
“Listen, asshole,” started Matt. “You say one more goddamn word to her and I’m going to cave your golem-looking head in.”
Raphael laughed. “Oh yeah? Why don’t you waddle over here and say that to my face.”
“Boys, boys,” said a stranger, walking in between the two. “Let’s try to avoid killing each other before the raid even begins.”
Raphael looked at the young woman for a moment before looking back at Matt. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again real soon here, partner.”
“Count on it,” said Matt, staring right into the giant’s eyes.
As the Archangel walked away from the lot, the newcomer approached their jeep, studying the group with a queer look on her face. She scanned the vehicle’s occupants one by one with her dark eyes. A thin sheen of perspiration glistened on her olive colored skin as the cool air of dawn gave way to the warm, dry air that wafted in from the desert.
“Our friends from the CLF, I presume,” she said, extending her hand to James. “My name is Dr. Mira Reya. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Why, how polite for a Crusader. I’m shocked,” said Matt, earning him a nasty look from Megan.
A small smile traced the Crusader’s lips. “I think you’ll find that many of us aren’t as bad as you might imagine, Mr. Donner.”
“You know my name,” he responded with a hint of surprise.
“We all do. You don’t give the Archangels enough credit if you don’t think that they’d brief us on the extra companions we have tagging along for this little excursion. You’re supposedly an elite marksman.”
Matt instantly shot an I-told-you-so glance at Megan.
“And why exactly have you been selected to join the extraction team, Doctor?” asked Megan, ignoring the stupid, satisfied look that Matt was continuing to flash her.
“Aside from the fact that I’m a talented combat medic who adds a valuable skillset to the group? There’s no clear intel on what condition Dante is in. He’s been locked up for a long time and given where he’s being held, he’s likely experienced a good deal of physical trauma. If he needs medical attention, he’ll have access to it.”
“I’m sure his faith will sustain him,” said James.
“Everyone believes in something, Mr. Mercer, even you. I would suggest that you all stay close during the coming battle. Not everyone in our organization is as cordial to our enemies as I am.” And with that, she walked back to the jeep she was sharing with Michael and his brothers.
Noticing the force beginning to mobilize, Matt took his place behind the front wheel of the vehicle that they had been given and rolled down the window.
“James, get up there,” he said, nodding his head towards the chain gun positioned on the back of the jeep. “It’s party time.”
“Is that really a good idea?” Megan said to him in a hushed voice. “Haley is a better shot. Put her up there instead.”
“And have James in here with a marksman weapon? Megan, a blind paraplegic could find their mark with that turret. I’d rather give Haley the rifle.”
Megan smiled. “You know that from personal experience?”
Matt sighed. “What a wit. Just get in the damn vehicle before I come to my senses and leave you here.”
As the duo continued bickering, James climbed up into the turret platform that encompassed the back end of the jeep. He swiveled the rotary base, swinging the gun around toward the front. The young rebel looked over at Raphael, who had also taken the gunner’s spot on his respective vehicle, and couldn’t help but acknowledge how fierce the man appeared. His hulking frame almost dwarfed the large gun that he was positioned behind. He’d be a fearsome sight to any hostile unlucky enough to get in his way. As Megan climbed into the front passenger seat and Haley took up position to his left, James activated the weapon’s coils, bringing the current generator online. The turret clicked to life as their jeep went tearing out of New Haven and into the barren waste.
The sweltering, dry heat of the Brukan Desert was brutal as the early morning wore on. James fiddled with the strap on the big, dark, circle-lensed goggles he was wearing. He couldn’t quite get the eyewear to sit correctly on the bridge of his nose. For as annoying as they were, he had to admit that they did a good job of maintaining visibility.
“What are we waiting for?” Matt asked while also playing with his goggles, trying to find that sweet spot. “How long does it take your people to start an at…” He winced as a massive explosion went off about a mile away at the front gate. “What the he…” He flinched again as a second blast rang out across the open desert. Off in the distance, large black plumes of smoke snaked up from the besieged entrance to the sprawling facility. Emanating from the former gate, the circular double walls surrounding the prison seemed impossibly thick. Housed within them sat a handful of buildings that looked more like a guarded village than a prison complex. Matt stood gaping as he watched the tiny black dots on the outside of the now defunct gate run headlong towards the towering pillars of smoke.
“Car bombs,” said Megan. “How archaic.”
“Perhaps, and yet they still work quite well. It sounds like the primary sally port is open,” responded Gabriel, as Raphael chuckled at the shocked look on their CLF counterparts’ faces.
“I can’t say I’m surprised that the CLF doesn’t have the balls to do what has to be done,” said Raphael. “There’s a reason you people always shit the bed when it comes to winning battles.”
“Sorry if we don’t fight like you savages,” Matt responded as the sound of gunfire began to ring out in the distance. “You people are barbarians that rely on cheap tricks and shock value to win a fight as opposed to actual skill.”
Gabriel raised his eyebrow. “Barbarians? Call us whatever you want, we get the job done. Th
ere’s no such thing as a fair fight, Mr. Donner. Killing is killing. I can’t seem to understand why it should matter which method is used. Now enough chit-chat. Let’s get on with this.”
Matt snorted. “Well frankly, I’m a little scared of getting back into the cars with you guys now. Who knows when you’ll decide to ram one into a guard post and blow it up?”
“Get in the vehicle now, or I’ll spare you the concern and shoot you here,” replied Raphael.
“Well, when you put it like that…,” said Matt as he climbed back into the jeep.
The group drove up to the towering wall that housed their destination. Michael stepped out of his vehicle and began rummaging through his rucksack, pulling a thick tube out of the clutter.
“We’re going to breach in a more subtle way,” he said, holding the container out towards Raphael.
Matt smirked. “Of course. You three are renowned for your subtlety.”
Raphael took the tube, carefully unscrewed the top, and began squeezing the contents of the container out onto the wall. The clear, jelly-looking paste began to erode away the concrete.
“I’ve never seen that stuff before,” said Haley, stepping forward to get a better look. “What is it?”
“It’s weaponized nano-paste,” replied Gabriel. “Useful for all sorts of things.”
Matt crossed his arms. “Well, where the hell did you guys get it?”
“We stole the design from one of Dr. Nightrick’s research centers in Tarin,” said Gabriel. “Believe it or not, Mr. Donner, we do have scientists and engineers among our ranks capable of production.”
As the holes in the surface grew larger and larger, a purple gel began to leak out from the uncovered inner layer of the wall. Wherever the two substances collided, the purple gel enveloped the paste, hardening.
Michael tapped his fist against one of the solid purple rocks that were now filling the damaged portions of the wall. “What the hell?”
“A neutralizing agent,” said Gabriel.
“No shit,” said Matt, shaking his head. “Guess you can’t be surprised that they know how to counter their own weapons.”
Michael sighed. “They didn’t mention that gunk in the schematics anywhere so it must be new. I guess they do learn after all.”
“Why don’t you just drive another jeep full of your own people into it?” said Matt. “That seems to work well enough for you guys.”
Michael gave him an annoyed look out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t think so. It looks like we’re going in the front door.”
Matt paled a touch. “The front door? You must be out of your goddamn mind. That’ll take us directly through the battleground.”
Raphael smiled. “That’s right, little man. Try to keep up.”
Matt frowned, climbing back into the driver seat of his jeep while the others took their places around him. “Well who wants to live forever anyway? Let’s get this funeral started then,” he said, ripping the jeep around toward the rising smoke.
The Crusaders came screeching up behind them, with Raphael firing a few rounds into the air in celebration of the coming bloodshed. James tightened his sweaty grip on the trigger of his chain gun, ready to open up on the first target that came into view. His heart was pounding hard in anticipation when he finally saw his first collection of enemy combatants come running around a bend in the wall to recapture a fallen emplacement. The black-armored regime soldiers were nearly on top of the small concrete guard post by the time the young rebel brought his index finger in on the trigger. The chain gun rattled off a steady stream of metal, dropping two of them instantly and causing the remaining two to pathetically crawl on until they met their end at the barrels of the very Crusaders they had been trying to flank.
James swung the turret around hard and fired another salvo into a retreating group as the damaged gate came into view around the curve of the wall. Tall pillars of black smoke danced wildly in the desert wind as the group approached the now opened inner courtyard. The young man could hear Raphael firing almost nonstop, howling like a wild animal all the while. As he turned the turret back towards the front of the jeep, he watched two Special Branch light armored vehicles come tearing out across the sundered terrain right at them.
Matt swerved to avoid crashing head first into the oncoming traffic, nearly trading paint with the hostile vehicles as he did. The enemy gunmen opened fire on their jeep as they passed by, tearing a series of holes into the thin armor that coated the transport. Matt cursed loudly as he weaved the group through the debris field that was left in the wake of the explosions. He brought one of the tires over a particularly large piece of stone and nearly sent the jeep airborne.
“Not a single word,” he said through gritted teeth, jerking the steering wheel hard right to avoid another fallen chunk of the gate.
The armored cars had circled back around on Matt as he swung the vehicle from left to right in an attempt to make it a more difficult target. Michael pulled up beside one of the enemy cars, causing the gunner to try and swivel over on the new target, but to no avail. Raphael was too fast for the man, and he quickly shredded the exposed combatant, nearly slicing him in half with the steady stream of fire. The massive man then brought the barrel down on the vehicle’s cockpit, slaughtering the driver and causing the car to go careening into the same debris field that Matt had just avoided.
The bloodthirsty Archangel howled with satisfaction as the car slammed full speed into the wreckage, flipping over as it did. Michael once again pulled in hard behind the second car, but had to fall back away as he was greeted with a salvo that sent shells hurtling right through the windshield at him. He let up so that he could swing back down on the armored car from a different angle. James pulled his own turret around to fire on the vehicle, but as he did, the attentive Special Branch gunner let go another barrage. The jettisoned metal tore through the mounted chain gun, causing the front barrel to detach completely and fall into the charred sand, leaving him weaponless as he hung out the top of the jeep. He ducked low behind the armored shield that served as his only protection.
“I need a new weapon,” he called into the cabin.
“What the hell happened to the chain gun?” Matt yelled back at him.
“There isn’t a chain gun anymore,” said James. “Now someone throw me a goddamn rifle before we all get killed, please.”
Haley tossed a coil rifle up to him, which he promptly used to fire back at the pursuing car. His first couple shots fizzled off into the distance, but his last attempt called out with the satisfying ring of rending metal. The young rebel waited a moment and then popped up again, firing another burst. As he did, he watched Raphael shred the second gunner, then bisect the vehicle, causing it to spiral onto its side as its wounded driver lost control.
Hurtling past the wreckage of the gate, Matt brought the jeep screeching into the inner courtyard, followed closely by the Archangels. While the Crusaders were pressing their advantage outside the wall, within the reinforced courtyard the regime soldiers were having a better time of it thanks to their well dug in positions. Snipers fired out of the guard towers that rose up off of the wall, and machine gunners unloaded from atop the ramparts that ran along the entire length of the complex. Guards fired over parapets into the swarming masses as the once barren courtyard filled with bodies, blood, and burned out vehicles. Matt positioned the jeep as best he could to provide cover to the group as they exited the damaged transports. Michael did the same, except Raphael stayed in his turret nest, firing into the fray around him. The beast of a man continued shooting the large weapon, slaying guard after guard, until he heard the distinct click of a chain gun run dry.
He hopped out of the back end of the jeep and sprinted over towards the archway that the group had ducked into, attached to one of the numerous prison blocks housed within the facility. As he rounded the bend, Matt fired a barrage straight towards him, missing by a hair.
“You little bastard,” said Raphael, reaching over hi
s shoulder to unsling his coil rifle.
“You’re welcome, you big bitch,” replied Matt, nodding towards the fallen guard that had gone down right behind the hulking Crusader.
Raphael turned his head towards the corpse, grunted, then pushed past the rest of the group towards his brothers, who were busy strapping breach charges to the doorframe. Matt, meanwhile, took down another two soldiers who were attempting to flank the besieged entry.
“Well holy shit!” Megan yelled over the nonstop blast of gunfire. “You’re actually hitting something today.”
“Hardy har har!” Matt yelled back, letting off another salvo. “I happen to be an excellent marksman. It just helps when the intel I’m getting isn’t complete horseshit. If you put as much effort into intelligence gathering as you did insulting me, we’d have won the war years ago. Oh, and by the way…,” he started as an explosion went off in the nearby doorway. “Goddammit, I think you just shattered my eardrums,” he yelled at the Archangels as he continued to fire out into the courtyard. Since they seemed not to hear him, he gave them the finger as he climbed through the newly blasted portal. “You guys are real assholes, you know that?” he continued, as they ran down the newly accessed hall. “And where the hell are we anyway?”
“If I brought us in where I think I did, we should be in District 3, Subsection D,” Michael responded. “Dante is being held in D5 SA.”
“OK, great. How are we going to find my dad?” said James.