“Keep firing, Aleks. Maybe they’ll start…”
At that moment a launched grenade landed just feet in front of their position. They hunkered down as dirt and debris showered them.
Aleks began to cry in frustration. “If they kill her, I will castrate them all.”
General Reed kneecapped the first enemy that crossed the threshold of the entrance. He also thought he had heard some shots from upstairs, possibly Alina Federov taking care of somebody trying to enter by the rear fire exit stairs. This caused an explosion of conversation in the French language. Reed’s Russian wife had also spoken French so he had learned enough to understand basic conversations. He was completely baffled that he was being attacked by French speakers. He caught some loud snatches of conversation as he stayed hidden while the wounded man was dragged from the entranceway. There was something about waiting until the rest of the unit made it here, which told him that like almost all airborne operations, someone inevitably landed askew of the planned drop zone. They had not expected anyone to be ticked in and shooting back from the building at this late time, since the only defensive fire had come from outside.
Then he heard someone yelling about a crazy person running at them, soon drowned out by much automatic fire. He peaked out from his hidey hole in the office doorway in time to see a grenade slide toward him. He threw himself back into the office as there was a flash, boom and he went deaf. He lay on the carpet stunned for a moment as his ears began to ring. When he tried to move his legs he felt stabs of pain. Shrapnel had hit him, and unfortunately the grenade had not been just a flash bang. By instinct and training he tried to load his one spare magazine into his pistol when he noticed a figure was standing in the office doorway. He glanced to see a camouflaged young man cursing as he worked to clear a jam in his rifle. As General Reed went to beat him to the draw when an image of his wife and sons popped into his head. ‘See you soon’, he thought.
The standing figure was winning the ‘fast draw’ contest when his head departed his body. Blood began to gush and spurt from the neck where the head had sat a moment ago as the body toppled over. Reed’s eyes registered the image but his mind could not process what had just happened. Then Abigail stepped into view, katana and all.
“General. Talk to me,” Abigail commanded past the ringing in his ears.
“I’m…here,” he managed to croak.
Had he purview of the scene outside moments ago, he would have seen a female wraith running and shooting, coming so fast and hard at the enemy that they were overwhelmed by what she was doing. General Reed would have seen Abigail shoot two attackers in the head with her lever action so quick that it sounded almost like automatic faire. A long bow arrow had by what seemed to be magic appeared through the throat of another, as the female attacker had tried to shoot Abigail. The Avenging Angel had been hit in her tactical body armor, but as there had been no penetration, she had shrugged off the shock. Then the Avenging Angel was among them, rifle dropped and katana in hand.
As General Reed lay there looking up, he thought, ‘That’s my girl’, now feeling more dazed.
Abigail noticed something down the hallway toward a rear exit, switched her sword to her left hand and pulled her Glock 18 fully auto pistol with her right, all in one smooth motion. One handed he braced herself and fired two bursts, her weapon hardly moving from the recoil.
“You dare to hurt my father?!” she yelled so loudly John Reed swore later she shook the whole room. “I will reap what you have sown!” She fired again. “Return from whence you came, hell-spawn. God’s Avenging Angel is at hand.”
John Reed looked at his adopted daughter, and thought, ‘My God, she is a force of Nature.’ He was so glad she was there and on his side. Ichiro appeared next to her, still holding a longbow with notched arrow. He softly touched Abigail on her arm.
“Abby, I will cover the hallway. Please see to the General.” With his voice and touch, Abigail’s rage seemed to reduce. John Reed saw just how much they were made for each other. Abigail knelt next to her adopted father and began an EMT Injury Assessment. She saw that the General was beginning to slip into shock and she squeezed his hand.
“General, look at me, stay with me. You have some shrapnel in your legs that is very survivable. Trust me.”
John Reed smiled. “I’ll always trust you, daughter. I’m glad you’re here.”
Abigail gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, began to see to his wounds and staunch any bleeding. Her movements were quick and sure as she pulled supplies from a fanny pack she always carried. As she did, more shots rang out, and a familiar voice shouted, “Little sister, where are you?”
“In here, Aleks, with the General.”
Aleks Smirnov poked her head into the room, gave John Reed a wry smile.
“General, I guess you have not learned the important idea that Generals these days lead from the rear, and do not become involved in gun battles.”
“That was years ago, before the Squids,” he managed to answer. “Now, we all do what we must.” Just then she saw Torbin’ profile.
“Colonel, upstairs. The Presidents.”
Torbin looked at him. “Yes Sir. Ichi, Aleks, cover the front the hall down here. We may have some more parachutists coming. I’ll take the General upstairs.”
Before the General could protest, two strong arms picked him up, making him feel old and weak.
“Son…”
“Save your strength, General. I seem to remember your NCOIC kept a complete field medical pack upstairs. We can stabilize you until help arrives or we move you.” Then he was carrying the General up the stairs as if it was something he did every day, with Abigail in trail.
They were met on the third floor by Alina holding a Glock. She frowned at John Reed.
“I thought you understood you were not to be shot and injured, General.”
As she said that, Madam President appeared.“Damnit, John. You went and got yourself shot, against my orders. What am I supposed to do now?” Her fake anger did not cover the tears in her eyes as she spoke.
“I guess you’ll have to fire me, Ma’am.”
“He will be okay, Madam President.” Abigail broke in. “I guarantee it. He has very treatable shrapnel wounds. Now, Torbin, if you can find that field medical pack, we can see about setting up some kind of I.V. drip.”
“Roger that.”
Sandra Paul leaned forward and combed the General’s hair back with her fingers. Then the tears came.
“Oh damn. Waterworks again. I am turning into a complete soft wuss.”
“Never, Sal, never. You are steel,” the General said as he was made comfortable on a sofa in his office. Madam President smiled, wiped off her tears in one quick motion. Then there were loud curses in Russian heard up the stair well, followed by rifle shots.
“Abby, you have it here? Good. I’m needed downstairs. Madam President Federov, can you keep covering here?”
“Of course, Colonel. Your President and General will be safe here for the time being.”
“Good. Duty Calls.” Torbin hustled down the stairs to his wife and blood brother.
As he reached the ground floor, more automatic fire erupted. He heard Ichiro curse in Japanese, something he was beginning to recognize. Then he was by his side, Aleks covered down in a doorway across the hall. Each had a former attacker assault rifle in their hands.
“I count at least three enemy, Torbin. Late arrivals. They seem determined to get to the Presidents.”
“Like hell they will, Ichiro.”
The Free Japan warrior flashed a large grin at his comrade in arms and best friend.
“Spoken like the Samurai you were in a previous life. Our blades will taste their blood this day, Torbin-san.”
“You and your samurai sensibilities. Now, I still have a clip or two for my Garand. Keep them occupied, I’ll head out the back fire exit and see if I can loop around, and flank them before they try to enter through the rear.”
“Hai,
Torbin.”
“You get yourself hurt, husband, and the trolls and I will be very upset,” Aleks called from across the hallway.
“Perish the thought. I have enough scars. Now, time to go.”
Torbin sprinted down the building hallway, and out the fire escape exit past some enemy bodies, courtesy of Abigail and Alina Federov.
He almost ran into an enemy soldier rounding the corner to enter the rear. The young troop tried to bring his assault rifle to bear as Torbin swept it aside and butt stroked him with the heavy wood stocked Garand. The young soldier was out for the count. Torbin recovered the enemy assault rifle as well as a grenade and pistol from the unconscious foe. He then continued around the building, keeping low and close to prevent being noticed. But he needn’t worry, as Aleks and Ichiro were now aggressively using their assault weapons to beat back the arriving enemy. Torbin passed by the body of Ranger Jackson and cursed. A red rage began to rise, which he tried to control. A berserker rage would help no one. He heard a loud whistle from the motor pool/garage and saw Sergeant Pasqual waving at him. With a quick series of combat battle signs and signals, Pasqual communicated the location of the enemy forces. Torbin did a quick adjustment and slung his Garand, bringing the enemy assault rifle up to ready. A quick deep breath, he went into CQB mode, Groucho-walking up to the corner of the building. He cut the pie around the building edge and saw three parachutists using trees and planters as cover. They had not noticed him until he came around the building edge, firing. He hit two of the enemy before they knew what was happening, the third then trying to hit him with a burst fire. As Torbin went prone, a burst of fire from the building turned the soldiers head into a bloody mess. For the first time since it began, there was no sounds of weapons fire near the Headquarters Building. Torbin jogged out to the three enemy, made sure they were dead. Then he ran to Aleks and Ichiro at the building entrance.
“So who do I need to thank for that headshot?”
“It was me, my husband.”
He grabbed her and kissed her hard. “Perfect wife. Kills your enemy.”
For one of the few times in her life with Torbin, Aleks stammered, then blushed. Ichiro’s face broke into another large grin.
“You are acting like newlyweds. I now know that feeling.”
Torbin grinned back. ”Come on. We are not out of the woods yet. I still haven’t seen any of our troops nearby. So, we keep this building secure while we try to contact allied forces.”
“Hai.” Ichiro snapped to attention and bowed.
His wife replied, “Yes Sir.”
It dawned on him that he was suddenly “in charge”. He was responsible for two Presidents and his commanding general. No more merely a grunt Marine, he was the head mofo-what’s-in-charge. A calm descended on him as he knew what he had to accomplish.
“Let’s see if we can contact Security Control. Ichiro, get Sergeant Pasqual over at the motor pool, bring him here. He is about out of ammunition I think.” Then he frowned. ”And Ranger Jackson…his dead body is over there. Let’s cover it up until we can have it picked up. He died defending the President.”
“I will treat him with the honor he deserves, my Commander. I go.” With that Ichiro went at a run toward Sergeant Pasqual. Torbin looked at Aleks.
“My love…”
“Do not say anything. Just tell me what you need. Colonel.”
Again Torbin had a realization. The three of them, Aleks, Ichiro and Torbin, had all met at the same time, here at Malmstrom. Now their lives, and their survival, were completely intertwined. They were now all three Lt. Colonels, yet in one short time period, he was the one expected to take charge.
“I just don’t want to seem like I’m a bossy prick toward friends and family.”
“Torbin, you think too much. You do not want to admit it, but while you just like the idea of being a grunt, you are a Commander. You are a natural leader. I see it.”
Aleks reached out and grabbed her loves hand. “You lead, I follow. I have your back, always. Like Ichiro and Abigail, we are a team that was created out of necessity. And our love.”
Torbin managed a smile. ‘Well, then, Colonel, there is a cold-cocked young troop by the back exit who was still alive. I think we need to interrogate him.”
Aleks flashed a feral grin. “Ah, my specialty. Yell if you need me back.” With that she started to jog down the building hallway to the fire exit and the unconscious enemy.
Torbin scanned the area around the HQ Building. He could hear shots from a distance, thought he heard yells and screams, but could see nothing. What was happening out on the rest of the Base?
“Colonel Bender.” He turned toward the voice and saw Alina Federov had a cellphone in one hand and a pistol in the other.
“Security Control and Battle Staff on this phone. You need to talk to them.”
Torbin took the phone, wondering why he, just a Light Colonel in charge of training, needed to speak with them. He soon found out.
“Bender here. Yes Chief…The General is alive but wounded…Say again?... Even the Deputy Base Commander?… Okay. Rouse the troops the best you can. I’ll make my way toward the Hospital. Every young Officer and NCO needs to step up and take charge until we can get centralized control again. By the way, tell them all Semper Fi from me, the ones who I trained will understand.” He handed the phone back to the Russian President.
“Your grim face tells me things are not good,” she said.
“I am ranking military officer who is still functional. The Base Commander was killed in his front yard by a Kraken. The Division and Deputy Division Commanders were both mauled by Eaters in the General Officers Housing Area. The Deputy Base Commander is missing, as are all other senior commanders. Seems that not only was Main Gate breached, the closed Back Gate was also, with a tide of Eaters and Beasts let in after a semi-truck rammed its way through.”
The Russian President looked into Torbin’s eyes. “I am now a President, not a General. And this is your home. I think you know what to do, Colonel Bender.”
“I did not want this. I was always a grunt at heart.”
“It is not what we want. It is what is required of you. I see in you and your friends, comrades, and the future. You will see this through. You will succeed.” She stood straight.
“Sir, what is the Acting Commander of the Allied Forces in North America wish his Allies to do?”
In that moment, Torbin Bender understood when Andrew had said months ago about him having a special role in the scheme of things. He knew now he had to step up, there was no other way.
“Can you make sure you and my President are secure here with General Reed? There is a major battle going on around the hospital. Apparently it was the secondary target after you two Presidents. I need to get there, lead my forces until outside help arrives.”
“Let me get my AK and pistol from my vehicle trunk. Then I will be more than able to respond to any straggler enemy.”
Just then, Aleks came up the hallway, dragging a slip tied enemy soldier.
“You did not tell me, husband, you had cold cocked a young female.”
As Torbin got a closed look, he saw that, under the bruised face, was a definite young woman about Abigail’s age.
“Who the hell are these people?”
Aleks twisted the woman’s arm a bit, made her wince.
“Canadians from Quebec. I will discover why they try and help Squids…” Aleks looked over Torbin’s shoulder and her eyes went wide.
“Colonel, we have a problem.”
President Federov looked and began to curse, then dashed toward her staff vehicle for her weapons.
Torbin’s blood went cold as he saw the long line of Eaters and Beasts several hundred yards away, approaching in near perfect unison. Now he knew that evil had found a way to use these monsters every which way they wished.
“Aleks, stash her in one of the upstairs offices. George Williams can watch her. Grab Abigail. We need everyone.”
Ic
hiro re-appeared at that moment with Sergeant Pasqual and a large U.S. Flag. He began to swear and curse in Japanese, and Pasqual matched him in Cajun French. This caused the female prisoner to respond in French.
“What do you think, ma cherie?” Pasqual spat back. “That these Beasts will spare you once their blood is up? Fat chance.”
“Sgt. Pasqual. Take this prisoner upstairs and sit on her. Send Major Yamamoto down to us.”
“Yes Sir. Here’s a flag for Ranger Jackson’s body.”
“Hang it on the railing. We’ll get to him when we can. Ichiro. Take a count of people and weapons. Those things will be here in a minute or two. Though they don’t seem to be in a rush.”
Alina Federov walked up with her weapons. “I am now ready, Colonel.”
“Madam President, if you could help secure my President and the General I would appreciate it. If those things get past us…”
“They will eat Russian lead.”
Torbin laughed. “Are all you Russian women nasty and mean?”
“Just the ones who have survived the last six years, my friend. Now, good luck. I will await your next order.” She turned and headed up the stairs.
Torbin looked at Aleks. “I wish you were with our sons.”
“My place is here, for I am a Russian soldier. And your wife.”
“Both for which I am grateful. But I still can wish you out of harm’s way.”
Just then, a familiar voice yelled from the motor pool area.
“Is someone planning a party without me?” It was Brynhildr, with David Jackson.
“Hurry up!” Aleks yelled. “Kraken Beasts approach.”
Torbin thought, ‘Oh crap. The man’s freshly killed father was just yards away.’
“Is my father here, with the President?” David Jackson asked. No one spoke. Then Ichiro walked up, and bowed deeply.
“I must report with great sorrow that your father was killed defending the President. He died the death of a warrior. He is to be remembered with honor.”
Typhoon of Steel Page 33