by Ricky Sides
There were several small outbuildings on the property, and Braden had all of them carefully searched. Those searches proved that the buildings were nothing more than simple storage facilities for lawn equipment. The results of the searches were dutifully reported to Pete aboard the Peacekeeper. One of the men even took a flashlight and looked inside the doghouse that sat at the edge of the thin ribbon of forest, which ran behind the property, but that proved unfruitful.
Pete suggested that the captain send in a ten-man team to comb the forest looking for signs of an entrance. He advised that the men probe the forest floor with sticks to see if they could locate one of the chicken wire camouflaged entrances that the cult seemed to favor.
It took those men only a few minutes to locate the entrance to the escape tunnel. Pete ordered two fighters and two drones to hover near that entrance while he took stock of the situation and the assets available. He had a strong hunch that the outcome of this battle would really be decided below ground level. He checked with Braden to see if his strike force team was still outside the house. When Captain Murphy confirmed that they were, Pete said, “Captain, I think you should send your strike team inside the entrance to the tunnel, but Clarissa has men under her command who are very adept at setting traps. Your lieutenant is well schooled in booby trap detection. Make sure he is aware of the threat and can plan accordingly.”
“Will do, Pete,” Braden said. Then he added, “I think I’ll go along with them.”
“Captain, I need you topside commanding the exterior element. If things go bad inside the house, I need a command level man in that position who will make the right decisions when time is critical, and there may not be time for someone to get on the ground and organize the team there,” Pete explained. He felt it ironic that he was using the same excuse that Jim had used on him. He now had a better perspective of Jim’s point of view.
“Yes, of course, sir,” the captain replied. “And thank you for the implied vote of confidence suggested by your reason,” Braden said. Prior to that moment, he’d never really known for certain what Pete thought of him as a command level peacekeeper.
“Captain, if I were not confident of your command level abilities, I would have never submitted your name for the captaincy of the Alabama,” Pete said.
“That was you? I never knew who sponsored me. Thank you, sir,” Braden said.
“You won’t forget to mention the trap threat, I know. Tell your man the ones I encountered most often used a small tripwire but they varied through several other types. All were covered in his advanced training. Just warn him to expect anything,” Pete said.
“Yes, sir, I’ll get the team inside as soon as possible. I’ll leave several guards here with instructions not to enter the tunnel,” Braden stated.
“Excellent, Captain, Peacekeeper out,” Pete replied.
Tim nudged Pete in the shoulder to get his attention. He was smiling broadly when he said, “You know Pete, you’re doing a really good job. I can’t help but wonder just why it is that you are so dead set against becoming a captain of your own ship.”
“Someone has to look after misfits like you. If I weren’t around to keep you on your toes you’d crash into a tree,” Pete quipped, and Patricia giggled.
“You’re just never going to let me live that one incident down, are you?” Tim asked plaintively. “One time I cut it a bit too close, and you’re still going on about an incident that happened years ago.”
Pete grinned and said, “You don’t give me much leverage. You really think I’m going to throw away what little I have?”
Pete was glad he had diverted the discussion. He had a serious reason he adamantly refused to leave the Peacekeeper. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that one day his presence aboard the ship would be of tremendous importance. He didn’t know why, nor did he know what he was supposed to do. He simply knew that he must be here when that day came. It wasn’t a matter Pete felt comfortable discussing, although he had discussed it with Maggie.
***
In the basement, below the mansion, the man known as Flavious looked up at the ceiling above his head and hissed in anger. He sensed a strong warrior above him. He sensed a warrior who fought for the light, and was aware of his presence. For a moment he considered sending Clarissa to safety by ordering her to leave via the escape tunnel. But that moment was fleeting. She believed that she controlled him, and for the time being, that suited his plans to perfection. She would not leave unless he exercised his power directly to force her to do so, and that would reveal to her the truth about their relationship. He was not yet ready to reveal that truth. He ordered his remaining minions to advance toward a confrontation with this warrior of the light. They were ordered to ignore all of the other men. They had one target and one target only. That target was the warrior of the light.
Chapter 21
Lieutenant Carter led his team through a systematic search of the second floor bedrooms. This was a time consuming procedure. The team had to look in every nook and cranny. They searched under the beds and in the closets. They examined the two upstairs bathrooms as well.
While the strike force team was examining the bedrooms, Captain Young led a team to investigate the attic. A quick search of that area proved that no one had set foot up there in years.
By the time that the upstairs teams of peacekeepers returned to the first floor Lieutenant Wilcox and his men had thoroughly searched that floor. They were getting ready to descend into the basement.
“Where is, Jim?” asked Bill. “I thought he was with you.”
“He was just a few minutes ago. He left orders for no one to go into the basement until I heard from him and then he sent me and the boys to check the rest of the house,” Lieutenant Wilcox stated.
“Sir, he went to the door leading down to the basement and said he was going to check something out,” a private said.
“He went down there alone?!” asked the lieutenant incredulously. The man visibly paled as the lieutenant shouted, “Strike teams! On me!”
“I’m going with you,” Bill stated.
“Sir, we already have one captain in a very dangerous situation,” Lieutenant Wilcox protested as the two strike teams present shouldered their way through the other peacekeepers to form up behind the lieutenant.
“Point noted, Lieutenant. I’m afraid I insist,” Bill stated doggedly.
Lieutenant Carter said, “Captain, please stay behind us. Lieutenant Wilcox is right. If we lose two captains…”
“Understood, Lieutenant, and I’ll take rear guard but I’m going. Now let’s get moving,” Bill said.
The teams were walking rapidly toward the basement entrance when they heard an explosion and the house trembled violently for a brief instant. Lieutenant Wilcox tried to open the door that led down into the basement. The knob turned easily, but the door refused to budge.
“Look at the seams around the door, Lieutenant,” Bill said. “The explosion warped the door casing. You’re going to need crowbars to open the door. We can’t risk explosives to blow it. For all we know Jim is trapped just the other side of the door.”
“Strike team, I am getting reports from all over the estate that the men heard an explosion. What’s going on down there?” Pete asked Lieutenant Wilcox on the radio.
“Sir, Captain Wilison went down into the basement alone. There was an explosion and now the door is stuck and we can’t get it open,” replied the lieutenant.
“He went down into the basement alone?!” Pete asked angrily.
“Sir, I wasn’t present at the time or I’d have insisted on a team accompanying him,” the lieutenant explained.
“One of the exterior search parties reported that there’s a shed behind the house with lawn mowers and some tools. Take a few men and get the tools. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Pete stated.
The lieutenant gestured to three men who ran after him as he ran for a back door.
Inside the Peacekeeper, Pete radioed Brad
en and said, “Captain, your orders have changed. Captain Wilison was in the basement alone when the explosion detonated. Get to the tunnel and let your strike force leader know that this mission just became a rescue mission. They are not to take reckless chances, but if they run across a collapsed section, we need to dig it out. Jim may still be alive under that house,”
“Understood, sir,” Braden said and he added, “I’ll have the ship to land and bring in some tools.”
“There are shovels and picks in the storage shed behind the house, Captain. To save time, get them there. I am landing and entering the house. You work the problem from your end and we will do the same from the house. Peacekeeper out,” Pete said.
The captain ordered several nearby men to get to the storage shed and get some digging tools, and then report to the tunnel entrance. He watched as the Peacekeeper came in for an incredibly fast landing and he realized that Tim must have been piloting. No one could handle the big ships the way that Tim did. Shouting at a nearby group of peacekeepers, he attracted a lieutenant not attached to his ship and ordered the man to take charge of the men outside the house. He explained that he was going inside the escape tunnel to try to organize one of the efforts to rescue Captain Wilison.
Pete exited the side door next to the control room and ran down the ramp to the ground. Sprinting toward the house, he asked himself if this was the incident that he’d known would come along demanding his presence aboard the Peacekeeper one day. He shrugged that off deciding that this probably wasn’t it at all. He wasn’t planning on anything out of the ordinary. Any fool would know to dig out rubble to attempt a rescue. He felt certain that the day that event took place, there would be no question in his mind as to whether or not that was the event. It would be obvious.
***
Jim informed the private that he was going down into the basement to check something out, and sent him back toward the larger group of peacekeepers. He didn’t want the man to come with him. This was something that he had to do alone. The presence of others could distract his mind and make it impossible to sense the evil presence that he’d felt earlier.
As he headed down the steps into the basement, he sensed a growing heaviness to the air. It felt as if his body was suddenly heavier than normal. He recognized that as one of the warning signs. The lights were out, but he had expected that. He pulled a safety flare from a cargo pocket and struck it to life on its cap. Holding the flare in his left hand, he descended the stairs until he reached the basement floor. He realized that he was inside a full basement with support columns here and there. He also saw a wall broken by an open doorway, which would permit the owners to utilize the space. He guessed that the function of the wall was to provide structural support for the house above the basement.
The light of his flare did not fully illuminate the basement. There was plenty of ventilation, so he tossed the flare toward one side of the large room. He wasn’t concerned about hurting the concrete floor of the basement. Jim pulled another flare from his cargo pocket and struck it to life.
Suddenly he sensed intense danger to his right. Flinging the flare in that direction he drew his fighting knife. Following his instincts, he threw the knife as hard as possible toward the tunnel opening that was revealed by the light of the flare he’d just thrown. A figure staggered into the light of that flare and fell. Just before the man fell, Jim saw the mahogany handle of his fighting knife protruding from the man’s chest. He thought he’d hit the man’s heart.
Striking another flare to life Jim advanced toward the man with his pistol in his right hand. As he drew near the body he tossed the flare in his left hand as deep into the tunnel opening as he could. He saw it land and bounce. The flare rolled a foot and stopped. For just a moment Jim thought he saw the red glow of eyes reflected but then they disappeared.
Kneeling beside the body to retrieve his knife, he sensed something behind him and rolled onto his side away from the body as a man landed beside him. Thrusting his pistol against the man’s chest, he pulled the trigger twice and the man lay still. The man’s body had muffled the sound of the shots. “Move!” Jim mentally shouted to himself. To linger here was to die. He felt a gathering of evil near him that was growing stronger and stronger.
Getting to his feet, Jim grabbed his dagger with his left hand and spun to face the tunnel. Two more men charged him. Behind them he already saw others gathering to charge as well. Jim flung the knife at the nearest man with his left hand while he fired the pistol with his right. He shot that man twice, aiming for the heart and turned to the one at whom he’d thrown his knife. That man had ran past him toward the wall. Before Jim could even think to wonder what that man was doing, he hit a switch on the wall and there was an explosion.
Jim was thrown off his feet by the force of the explosion. The man who had triggered the explosion had been blasted into the wall. Bits and pieces of that man smeared the area near the explosion. There wasn’t much left. Jim had just seconds to absorb these details and the fact that the staircase had collapsed before he felt that sense of growing danger again. He’d lost his pistol when he’d been blown off his feet. His knife was also gone but he still had his rifle though it was slung.
Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Jim unslung the weapon and flicked off the safety just as two more of the men charged him. He managed to kill the first with a burst from his weapon, but the second man tackled him. Jim felt himself lose his grip on the weapon as he fell.
The captain managed to get one of his feet between his body and that of his opponent. When his back hit the floor of the basement he thrust out hard with his foot, pushing the enemy away from him and executing a side roll to the right. As he rolled, his right hand reached inside his sleeve and he drew out a six inch long throwing spike. Surging to his feet, he faced his attacker as the man rushed him. Jim’s right arm snapped forward and his fingers released the throwing spike. That spike struck the man’s chest and penetrated three inches into the man’s heart. The enemy pitched forward and landed flat on his face driving the spike in deeper. The body quivered for a moment and then lay still.
Jim tried to find his rifle, but his eyes fell on his dagger first. The fighting dagger was closer, so he rushed to the weapon and snatched it off the ground. From the tunnel beyond the light being emitted by the flare, he heard an angry hissing sound. Then in the distance down that tunnel, he heard muffled shouting and the sounds of gunshots.
Jim heard a scrapping sound. He turned toward the source of that sound and saw the men he thought he’d killed beginning to clamber to their feet. The man he’d downed with his dagger was the first to make it to his feet. Jim charged that man and flicked out the fighting blade, which speared the man in the stomach. The man countered by lunging toward Jim intending to grab him. The captain sidestepped the man’s attack while swinging a hard blow with the dagger. The foot long blade sliced through the man’s neck damaging his spinal column, but it did not sever the head from the body. The man froze in place as if he were in a state of shock; as well he should be, considering the wound he’d just received. Jim followed up with a hard strike to the other side of the neck.
He frowned as the man’s head fell away from his shoulders and the body collapsed. This was butchery, and he found that morally reprehensible, but he had no recourse. The normal lethal wounds that would be more humane simply didn’t work on these people.
By now, both of the other men had regained their footing. They both pulled fighting knives of their own and sought to trap Jim between them. One of the men charged Jim who timed his response superbly. He executed a three hundred sixty degree spin lashing out with his dragon dagger at the precise moment needed. The force of the impact of the blade was greatly intensified by the centrifugal force of the spin. Jim’s dagger sliced through this man’s neck cleanly. The man’s body grotesquely took another step after his head fell from the stump of his neck, but then the body fell to the ground.
Jim felt a slight tug at his left shoulder and
realized that the remaining man had scored at least a partial hit. Jim spun facing the man and his blade intercepted a sweep of the enemy’s weapon that would have slashed his face. Six times the enemy struck at Jim and six times Jim countered those strikes as he tested the ability of his opponent. On the seventh such strike, Jim retaliated with an attack. The man blocked his attack, but just barely.
Jim smiled. He’d found an exploitable weakness in the man’s defenses.
Thirteen seconds later the fight ended when Jim’s blade slipped through the man’s defenses and stabbed him in the heart. This time when the man’s body hit the floor Jim followed up with a sweep of his blade that decapitated the man.
Looking about for his rifle once more he heard motion in the tunnel and gave up on finding the firearm in time. Reaching to his left side, he unzipped a carrying case that was strapped to his side, and reached inside. His hand fell on the comfortable handles of his sais, which are three pronged Okinawan swords. Inside the darkened portion of the tunnel, the hissing grew more intense as Jim drew the sais from their case with his left hand. He wiped the dagger on the leg of his pants and returned it to its sheath. Flicking his left wrist, he sent one of the sais spinning through the air. His right hand plucked the spinning weapon from the air and then he twirled them thus reversing his grips on the weapons from the overhand to the underhand grip. The twenty-inch long steel weapons tucked neatly against the undersides of his forearms. The narrow sharpened tips of the tapered blades protruded two inches past his elbows. The quillions of the sais were curved and ended in sharpened tips. Thus, each sai had three sharpened attack points. The butt of the handle ended in a blunted knob that could also be used to deliver a more non-lethal form of attack, yet even that blunted handle was deadly and could easily be used to kill when it struck the correct targets such as the larynx.