by Robert Boren
“Yes! Nice shot,” Malcolm said.
“Still Icons moving, George. Hit them a few more times,” the General said.
George fired again, the sizzle and loud bang of the projectile filling the air.
“Damn, that’s one strange weapon,” Jeb said, chuckling. “I want me one of those.”
Malcolm looked up at him and grinned. There was another sizzle, and another loud bang.
“I see them running now,” Jeb said, “What’s left of them, anyway.” He got up and took aim, firing, hitting two of them.
“Where’s Saladin now?” Malcolm asked.
“He’s with the group that Jeb’s shooting at,” Heidi said. “I can see his icon.”
“I’m going down there,” Jeb said.
“Wait for me,” Malcolm said. They rushed down the side of the hill, in pursuit. They saw five men running away. Jeb got down on one knee and fired twice, hitting two before one of them turned and fired. Malcolm hit the dirt, as Jeb looked right at him and fired, sending him flying to the ground.
“Get down, man!” Malcolm yelled. Then there was a shot from behind them, hitting Jeb in the torso. He fell. Malcolm turned and fired, but couldn’t see where the shot came from. He crawled for cover.
“Jeb’s been hit,” he said, out of breath.
Chapter 9 – Bloody Chips
“Oh, no,” Rosie said, tears streaming down her face as she listened to the chatter from the web meeting. My Jeb is down. Is he alive?
Hilda rushed over to her. Jasmine followed.
“No, not Jeb,” Frank said, his eyes welling up with tears.
“He might be okay, honey,” Jane said. “We need to keep at this. The team needs us.”
“She’s right, Frank,” General Hogan said.
***
“Malcolm, stay down!” George said. “I can see where the shot came from. He’s behind some rocks. I’ll get him.”
“Okay, George,” Malcolm said, still struggling to catch his breath.
There was the sizzling sound, and then a bang. An Islamic fighter sprinted out.
“I’ve got him,” Malcolm said, firing at him, hitting him broadside, and sending him rolling down the mountain.
“Get ready, here come those choppers!” Kurt shouted. Then an air-to-air missile flew into the side of the first one, blowing it up, raining debris over the canyon below. The other two choppers turned and tried to flee, but both of them were hit, the explosions reverberating in the rock formations below.
Then there was silence.
“Guys, three men from that group are still on the move,” General Hogan said.
“I see them,” Heidi said. She fired several times with the M107, hitting all of them.
“What’s left?” Terry asked.
“There’s a bunch of icons huddled deeper in the park,” Frank said. “They’re hiding, barely moving. The rest are motionless.”
“How about the front?” George asked.
“Captured,” General Hogan said. “I just got word.”
“So what about Saladin?” Malcolm asked.
“His chip is motionless, laying with that last group that Heidi shot,” George said, looking at his phone. “I know what he looks like. I’ll go down there and check.”
“Wait for me,” Heidi said.
“No, cover me,” he said. “Just because it’s silent doesn’t mean that the danger is gone. Keep your eyes and ears open.”
He trotted down the hill, trying to weave in and out of boulders to stay under cover.
“I’m crawling over to Jeb,” Malcolm said. He made it to him in a few minutes. “You okay?”
“I don’t feel so hot,” Jeb said weakly. He tried to laugh, but coughed instead.
“We need to get him out of here fast,” Malcolm said. “He’s gut-shot.”
“I’m going back to get a Jeep,” Kurt said. “Somebody bring him over here, and I’ll hi-tail it back.”
“He won’t make the trip back to the park,” Malcolm said. “Take him to the nearest hospital. Take my Wrangler Unlimited. He can lay down back there. I’ll put the key in his shirt pocket.”
“Doesn’t the enemy still own this area?” Kurt asked.
“No,” General Hogan said. “The hospital by Hilda’s park is open again. I called them a second ago. There’ll be an ambulance waiting for you on the highway. You just have to get him through the dirt road.”
“Okay,” Kurt said.
“We’re almost to him,” Terry said.
“Who’s with you?” the General asked.
“Privates Jennings and Peterson,” Terry said. “We’ve got him.”
The three men carried him back to Malcolm’s Jeep as quickly as they could, and laid him in the back. He wasn’t conscious.
“Good luck, Kurt,” Terry said.
“Thanks,” he said from behind the wheel. He did a K-turn and drove off fast.
“I go,” Rosie said. “Somebody take me?”
“I will,” Hilda said. “I’m not worth much here, anyway.”
“Hilda, no,” Charlie said.
“Nonsense,” she said. “You’ve got a job to do, and I do too.”
“But that’s a lot of miles to go alone,” Charlie said.
“I’m take them,” Gabe said. “We’ll take my suburban, assuming it’s not shot up.”
“Then it’s settled,” Hilda said.
“Alright, let’s get Rosie up the steps,” Charlie said with a sigh, walking over. Gabe, Dobie, and Jake rushed over to help. They got her up the steps, then Charlie kissed Hilda. “Come back alive.”
“I will,” she said. “You know this is right.”
“I know,” he said, giving her a last hug.
Gabe pulled the Suburban up in front of the barn and got out to help Rosie into the back seat. Hilda got into the front, and they took off.
Charlie turned and went back down the stairs, closing the trap door as he went.
“Is this over?” Trish asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” General Hogan said. “Still a lot of icons out there.”
“I’m almost to the bodies,” George said.
“I’m on my way to you, George,” Malcolm said.
“Son of a bitch!” George said sharply.
“What, George?” General Hogan said.
“This isn’t Saladin. It’s some kid. Hell. There’s a bloody chip in his pocket, and his triceps are all cut up.”
“Decoy,” General Hogan said. “Saladin’s probably hiding around there someplace. There’s no place for him to go.”
“It’ll be light in about half an hour,” Terry said. “Can you guys guide us to the spot where the moving icons are?”
“You want to go now or when it’s light?” Frank asked.
“Now,” George said. “Saladin doesn’t have a chip in him. Better scan the whole area via the satellite. We only have visual left to find him.”
“Okay, I’ll guide you in with the detail app,” Frank said. “When you get close enough, your short range apps will kick in, and you can follow them in.”
“Be careful when you approach,” General Hogan said. “They probably have snipers protecting the place.”
“They do,” Frank said. “I can see icons in the four corners of that rock structure they’re hiding in.”
“Stay sharp, guys,” General Hogan said.
Kurt got to the highway, and the ambulance was there waiting. He drove next to them and parked. “He’s in the back of the Jeep,” Kurt said.
The paramedics pushed a gurney over and got Jeb on it.
“Can you hear me?” the first paramedic shouted right above his face. His eyes opened slightly, and he smiled. “Yeah, no need to shout.”
“How do you feel?” he asked as he looked over the wound.
“I’ve been better,” he said. They loaded him into the back of the ambulance as Kurt followed.
“How does he look?” Kurt asked.
“He’s bad,” the paramedic said, a grim look on his face.
“He’ll be lucky to make the hospital.”
“I’ve learned never to underestimate that guy,” Kurt said. “Take good care of him.”
“You aren’t going with us?”
“No, the battle isn’t over yet,” Kurt said. He got back into the jeep and drove onto the dirt road. The ambulance took off down the highway.
***
Howard was driving his Class C, with Kerry in the passenger seat. Scott was lying back on the couch.
“Hey, Scotty, hitch-hiker ahead,” Howard said.
“Are we gonna pick her up, Howard?” Kerry asked.
“Maybe we should,” Howard said. “What do you think, Scotty?”
He got up off the couch and rushed up front. “Nice. Let’s grab her.”
“Is she a dumb bitch?” Kerry asked. “She isn’t going to stab you, is she?”
Howard and Scott looked at each other, wicked grins on their faces.
“Yeah, Kerry, she is a dumb bitch,” Scott said. “And we’ll need to teach her a lesson. You can help us if you can follow instructions. Can you follow instructions?”
“Yes,” Kerry said, his trusting eyes looking at him.
Howard pulled the rig over to the side of the road, and the girl rushed over, carrying a backpack with her. She had long flowing light brown hair, wearing a white muslin top and white shorts. She had round sunglasses on.
“We’ll have to hurt her, and she’s going to scream,” Howard said. “You can’t believe what she says. Okay?”
“Okay, Howard,” Kerry said.
“Open the door for the young lady, Kerry,” Scott said.
Kerry smiled, proud to be helping. He unlatched the door and pushed it open. The steps came down, and the girl climbed in.
“Thanks so much for stopping,” she said, looking the three of them over. She realized that Kerry was slow as soon as she saw him, and smiled warmly. “I’m Bailey. What’s your name?”
“I’m Kerry,” he said, smiling.
“Welcome, Bailey. I’m Scott, and that’s Howard up front. Where are you going?”
“Richmond, Indiana,” she said, setting down her backpack and sitting at the dinette. Howard took off.
“Great, we’re going through there on our way to Ohio,” Howard said.
Kerry climbed back into the front passenger seat.
“Kerry’s challenged?” she whispered to Scott, who sat across from her in the dinette.
“Yes,” Scott said. “I’m the only family he has left.” He watched her as she moved, looking around the coach, the curves under her muslin top enticing him. “You going to visit somebody?”
“No, I’m going home,” she said. “I dropped out of school. My folks are gonna be pissed.”
“Well, I’ve been there,” Scott said.
“This is a nice motor home,” she said. “Is it yours?”
“No, it belongs to Howard,” Scott said.
“I always wanted to travel in one of these,” she said.
“Well, you’ve got your chance now,” Scott said. “At least for a few hours.”
“You guys smoke pot?” she asked.
“Sure,” Scott said. “You have some?”
“Yeah,” she said, pulling her small purse off of her shoulder. She pulled out a joint, lit it up, and took a long hit. She passed it over to Scott.
“Hey, what’s that I smell?” Howard said, chuckling.
“Want a toke?” Scott asked after taking a long hit himself.
“Nah, I’m driving,” he said. “You two go ahead.”
“I know that smell,” Kerry said, eyes wide. “Mommy and her friends smelled like that.”
“Does it bother you, Kerry?” he asked.
“No,” he said. “I know mommy isn’t here anymore, or her boyfriends. They can’t hurt me now.”
Bailey was getting loaded. She leaned back more in her seat and undid the first couple of buttons on her blouse. “It’s so hot out there,” she said. She looked at Scott and noticed that he was looking at her cleavage. “I’m sorry, does this bother you?”
“Are you kidding?” Scott asked, chuckling. He took another hit. “A beautiful young lady making herself comfortable in our rig? Undo a few more if you want.” He passed the joint back to her.
“Most of the boys think I’m too fat,” she said, unbuttoning another button.
“Well they’re nuts,” Scott said, taking the joint back from her.
She smiled, looking embarrassed, but looking really high, too. Her eyes were narrowing, her smile becoming wider.
“Where are you guys coming from?” she asked.
“We were in a little town just east of St Louis,” Scott said. He took another hit, handing the joint back to her again. It was almost gone.
“Oh, did you see the news about that massacre there?” she asked, grinning. “They found about twenty dead bikers and about ten dead cops.” Her eyes got wide with excitement for a moment, and then narrowed again as she carefully held the remains of the joint to her lips.
“Oh, so now it’s twenty bikers and ten cops, huh?” Howard said, laughing hard. Kerry looked over at him with dull eyes, trying to figure out what was so funny.
“Wait, you guys know something about that?” she asked.
“Oh, we know a lot about that,” Scott said.
“Really?” she asked, her eyes widening for a moment again.
“Really,” he said, grinning proudly.
“We did it,” Kerry blurted out. Howard looked over at him, brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, Howard.”
“Nonsense,” Scott said. “Always be proud, Kerry.”
“Wait, you guys did that?” Bailey asked.
“Well, yes,” Scott said. “The bikers were trying to attack us, so we had to teach them a lesson.”
“What about the cops?” she asked.
“They tried to stop us, so we had to teach them a lesson, too.”
“They killed my brother,” Kerry said.
“Holy crap, you aren’t kidding, are you?” she said, looking scared. The fear melted into a sly smile. “That’s so hot .”
“Hot?” Scott asked, chuckling.
“Yeah,” she said, eyes flashing wickedness. “There a bed back there?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he said, watching as she got up.
“C’mon, you got me turned on,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. They went in the back and shut the door.
“What are they doing?” Kerry asked.
“It’s play time,” Howard said, grinning, as the first moans seeped through the door. “We’ll have to teach you about that.”
***
General Hogan was pacing next to the bar in the lounge, looking over at Frank, Jane, and Jasmine as they watched their computer screens. Charlie, Hilda, and Trish were looking over their shoulders. Dobie was watching the video camera feed from up above with Jake.
“You okay, General?” Dobie asked.
“I’m nervous as hell,” he said, continuing to pace. “This is the most dangerous part of the operation. At least we know where most of the enemy fighters are.”
“Wonder how many have taken out their chips?” Jake asked. “They know the jig is up.”
Mary walked over from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. “You don’t just do that and then run around like nothing happened,” she said. “Saladin is probably hurting right now, or loaded up on painkillers.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” the General said. “I don’t think he’ll be able to make a run for it through miles of desert without getting caught or getting dead.”
“We’ve got the M107 set up in range of the target area,” George said over the headset. “I can see two of the sentries. The two far ones are out of my sight line.”
“I see them,” Terry said. “We’ll be able to get them, but I can’t see inside the area where most of the men are hiding.”
“I want to light up the area for another missile strike, but I don’t see an entrance
we could get a missile through,” Private Brown said.
“I got one of the far sentries,” Malcolm said. He was pointing his crossbow at him and let the arrow go. It found its mark, the sentry holding his chest where the arrow went in, and falling. “That’s one. Moving over to the second.”
“I’ll see if I can get close enough to the sentries on this side,” Kurt said.
“You’re back? I thought you were going with Jeb,” Jerry said.
“The battle isn’t over,” he said. “The ambulance took him. Nothing more I could do.”
“How did he look to the paramedics?” Malcolm asked.
“Not good,” Kurt said. “I can see the first of the sentries on this side. Getting a bead now.” He had the arrow pulled back, and calmly let it go, striking the man in the chest. He fell to the ground, sending rock chips down the face of the small cliff he was standing on. His body dangled on the edge.
“Nice shot,” George said. “Two more.”
“Got the second one on the far side,” Malcom whispered. “Harder shot, but I’ll get him.” He aimed his crossbow and let it go, hitting the man, sending him down the face of the cliff.
“That made some noise,” Private Brown said. “I can see a man sticking his head out of the passage way, looking around. They must be in a cavern.”
“Can you paint it with the laser, son?” General Hogan asked.
“Yes, but if there’s much of a tunnel, we’ll never get enough fire into the main part of the structure.”
“Do it anyway, more than once,” George said.
“I’ve got the last sentry,” Kurt said, holding the arrow back. He let it go, the man grasping his chest as the arrow hung out. He let out a scream.
“Whoa,” Private Brown said. “That guy stuck his head out of the passage way again and got hit in the face with laser beam.”
“It going to blind him?” Kurt asked.
“No, the laser is eye safe, and he can see where I am.”
“Keep the beam there,” George said. “I’ve got him.”
There was a loud blast from the M107, the bullet slamming into his forehead, splattering blood and brains all over the opening. Then there was the sound of the missile. It raced into the hole and went off, sending fire shooting back out. There were muffled screams coming from inside as the whole area rumbled.