“Yes, sir.” Sheridan cleared his throat. “Sir, was there a particular reason you wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Mister Emil recommended that you be given battlefield promotion to second lieutenant. I’m sorry, but I don’t agree. No convict has ever been granted such an honor, and I’m not going to break with tradition. I will, however, make your rank of sergeant substantive and when this fight is over, I will personally recommend that you be sent back to Earth for training as an officer.”
Sheridan forced himself to keep a straight face. The last place he wanted to be was back at the academy. “Thank you, sir.”
“Sergeant, the Kurgs are currently in the low ground licking their wounds. They’ll be back. It’s just a matter of when. I want you to be prepared to counterattack and take any ground we may lose to the Kurgs.”
“Understood. Sir, what about direct and indirect fire support assets?”
“Division is working on allocating us more artillery, but the line all along the Sayan Highlands is stretched to the breaking point. It’s going to be on an as-needed basis only.”
Sheridan pursed his lips. “Can the fleet provide anything to help us win this fight?”
“I’ve asked, but the ships in orbit have taken a severe beating as well. I’m afraid we’re on our own this time.”
“What about the Guardians I saw earlier?”
“Two were destroyed in the fighting and the third is wrecked beyond local repair.”
“Colonel, if this position truly is our division’s vital ground, why are we not being reinforced?”
“You have a sharp mind, Sergeant. You should be on my staff. The answer to your question is an easy one to give. There are no more troops to send our way.”
Sheridan could feel himself losing a grip on his temper. “Sir, there is always someone out there who can pick up a rifle and fight. What about the artillerymen whose guns are out of order? Or the MPs. Hell, the combat engineers make half-decent foot soldiers, what about them?”
Denisov patted Sheridan on the shoulder. “I didn’t become a colonel by my looks alone. I thought of those soldiers as well. The only ones available to us are the MPs and my staff feel they will be a hindrance, not an asset during our next fight.”
“Colonel, they’re dead wrong. If your staff doesn’t want to deal with them, give them to me, and I’ll use them.”
Denisov tapped the nearest table with his good hand. “Major Ford, get onto division. I want all the MPs they can scrounge up sent our way ASAP.”
“Sir?” stammered Ford.
“You heard the order, Mister. When they get here, I want them placed under Sergeant Hill’s command.”
“Yes, sir,” said Ford, reaching for a handset.
“If division releases them from their rear echelon duties, don’t expect to see them until some time later tonight,” said Denisov to Sheridan.
“They’ll be a welcome relief, sir. What if they send along an officer?”
“Damn, I hadn’t thought of that.” Denisov rummaged around in a pocket and pulled out a set of lieutenant’s insignia. “So much for my earlier speech. Wear these until I tell you to take them off, acting Lieutenant Hill.”
Chapter 34
Tarina crawled on her stomach until she could see down into the ravine. Behind her mask, she smiled like never before in her life. The shuttle was sitting at the bottom of the gorge. She spent a couple of minutes looking for the best way down. Satisfied she had a workable plan, Tarina edged away and jogged hunched over to Wendy and their prisoner.
“Is it there?” asked Wendy.
“You bet your ass it is,” responded Tarina.
“I take it I’m free to go now?” said their prisoner.
“You’re going nowhere until we’ve taken possession of the shuttle,” said Tarina.
“But I’m tired, and my arms ache.”
“I bet you wouldn’t feel that way if you and your friends had gotten to have your way with us,” said Wendy, poking the man in the crotch with her knife.
The man took a step back and looked away.
“Well, Mister, I hope you’ve got a bit of strength left in you because from here on out you’re going to piggyback my friend,” said Tarina.
“Come on, whatever your name is, lift me up,” said Wendy.
The scavenger muttered to himself as he hefted Wendy onto his back. She waved at Tarina and slid her knife around until it rested next to his throat.
“I’ll lead,” announced Tarina. “I spotted a narrow path which should get us down the side of the ravine without being spotted. From there, I’ll check out the shuttle, and if all goes to plan, we’ll part ways down there.”
“Let’s get this over with,” grumbled their captive.
With her rifle in her hands, Tarina walked toward an old metal sign bent during one of the nuke strikes. Whatever information had been printed on the sign had burnt off, leaving only a blackened square. Tarina followed a path which sloped gently as it led them down into the gorge.
With the scavenger asking for rest breaks every ten minutes or so, it took them almost an hour to get to the bottom. Tarina picked a spot behind a row of boulders for them to take cover.
“The shuttle is no more than a couple of hundred meters away,” explained Tarina. “I’m going to leave you two here while I take possession of the shuttle.”
The man gently placed Wendy on the ground. “Do either of you have any water on you? I’m dying of thirst.”
“Not for you,” replied Tarina bluntly. “Now lie face down on the ground with your arms and legs spread. If you even twitch a muscle, Wendy will end your miserable little life. Got it?”
The scavenger nodded and got down on the rocky ground.
Tarina looked at Wendy. “See you shortly.”
“Don’t stop for a coffee on the way back. I really need to use the bathroom on that ship.”
Tarina chuckled, turned about, and took a quick look in the direction of the shuttle. Long shadows crept across the floor of the ravine as the sun dipped below the horizon. Tarina picked her route and took a deep breath to calm her nerves before moving out from behind the rocks. She took advantage of a dried river bed to get within a dozen meters of the ship. Tarina popped her head up and saw lights on in the cockpit. She slung her rifle over her back, drew her pistol, and crawled out of the ground. With her stomach doing backflips, she dashed to the side of the shuttle and edged along until she came to the side door. She tried to open the door but found it was locked.
There was only one thing left to do. Tarina banged the bottom of the pistol grip against the door and yelled, “Help!”
She heard someone fumbling to unlock the door. Tarina stepped back and bought up her pistol just before the door flipped up. She was surprised to see the person wasn’t wearing a respirator until her eyes looked at the man’s face and saw it resembled Kurt.
“Identify yourself,” said the robot, reaching for a pistol on its belt.
Tarina pulled back on the trigger and emptied the entire magazine into the double’s chest. The robot staggered out of the shuttle and tried walking toward Tarina. She tossed aside her empty pistol, snatched up a rock in both hands, and slammed it down as hard as she could onto the robot’s head. The doppelganger dropped to its knees and fell to the ground. Tarina wasn’t sure if it was dead or not. To be certain, she brought the rock down on its broken skull, splitting it wide open. Instead of blood and brains, metal and lightweight fiber cables spilled onto the rocky ground.
Her heart raced as fast as a humming bird’s wings. Tarina got to her feet and walked to the open shuttle door and peered inside. It was then that she remembered she had a rifle on her back. Tarina brought it down and made sure the safety was off.
“Anyone else in here?” she called out.
Silence greeted her question. With her rifle tight in her shoulder, Tarina quickly searched the ship and found the only occupant had been the robot. She removed the universal key from the door lock and clo
sed it behind her. Tarina sprinted back to where she had left Wendy. Just before she got there, a shot rang out, followed by a couple more. Tarina slid down behind a rock. Years of combat experience had told her that the first shot had come from a pistol, the others from rifles.
“Damn it,” Tarina said to herself. There was someone else out there.
She dropped to her hands and knees and snuck forward until she could see what was happening. Wendy had taken cover behind a boulder. Their captive lay in a heap on the ground with a hole blasted through the side of his head.
A man’s voice called out. “Give yourself up, girl, and we won’t kill you.”
“Screw you,” snarled Wendy as she let off a shot in the direction of the man’s voice.
Tarina got down on the ground and brought her rifle up. She looked through the weapon’s sights, trying to spot where the man was hiding. In the dark, she saw two shapes making their way toward Wendy. Tarina had no doubt the men were the scavengers’ friends who must have found their trail and followed them down into the ravine. She waited and tracked the men through her sights. When they were less than ten meters from Wendy, they split up. One went to the right, the other the left. Tarina swore under breath and picked the man on the right as her first target. The man crept along until he was so close he could reach out and touch Wendy. Tarina took up the slack on her trigger and held her breath. The man stood up and pointed his pistol at Wendy. He never heard the shot that killed him. The bullet passed straight through his heart. The second attacker, surprised by the unexpected ambush, turned to run. Tarina swung her rifle over and fired two quick shots into the man’s back. He fell to the ground.
“Jesus, Tarina, you could have warned me that you were going to do that!” hollered Wendy.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time,” she replied, standing up. Tarina walked past the man she had killed to check on the other scavenger. The man was crawling along the rocky ground, leaving a trail of blood behind him. A bullet to the back of the head was too merciful and quick for the man. Tarina bent down and looked into the eyes of the man who had come to kill her and her friend. His eyes seemed to be pleading with her for mercy. Tarina was numb inside. She reached over and yanked the man’s mask off his face. In less than a second, he began to wheeze and choke in the toxic soup of gasses swirling around the bottom of the gorge.
Tarina walked back to her friend’s side. “What happened to the guy who was carrying you?”
Wendy pointed her pistol at their dead captive. “I think he heard his chums moving around behind me and tried to take my pistol away from me. As you can plainly see, he failed.”
Tarina patted Wendy on the leg. “I found the shuttle.”
“Thank God for that; I need to use the facilities in the worst way. Was it guarded?”
Tarina nodded. “One of Cromwell’s robots was there.”
“And?”
“He went for his gun, so I killed him.”
Wendy tried standing on her own but nearly fell over.
“Here, let me help you,” said Tarina, placing her arm around her comrade’s waist.
“I hope you were good at the three-legged race when you were a kid because I want out of this suit, like yesterday.”
Tarina chuckled.
“No. I mean it, let’s go.”
With as much grace as a couple of mismatched kids could muster on sports day, Tarina and Wendy left the dead scavengers behind and jogged toward the safety of the shuttle. In the distance, the guns roared back to life.
Chapter 35
The sound of Cole’s neck cracking and popping as he rolled his head around sounded like firecrackers going off. He stood up and stretched his hands in the air. It wasn’t even midnight yet, but his sore body was telling him it needed some rest. Cole picked up his cold cup of coffee and drank it down in one gulp. On the floor, Suparat was snoring up a storm. He checked his watch and saw the three icons for his surveillance drones. All in all, it was turning out to be a quiet and uneventful evening, and that’s how Cole hoped it would stay. His full bladder warned him it was time for a bathroom break. Cole walked out of the office and down the hall to the nearest washroom. He did his business and washed his hands. He was about to leave when his watch beeped. Cole saw both dragonfly UAVs were no longer emitting a signal. He swore, drew his sidearm, and moved to the door. Cole opened it slowly and peered down the darkened corridor. He couldn’t see more than a couple of meters.
From the office came a crash followed by the sound of breaking glass.
Cole sprinted back to help Suparat. He found the front door to the office wide open. He brought up his pistol and took a step inside. Cole cursed when he saw Suparat was gone. He swung around and checked the office behind theirs. It was empty. Suparat was nowhere to be seen.
From out of nowhere, a flashlight switched on, blinding Cole. He raised his hand to block the light.
“Cole, is that you?” whispered Suparat.
“Yes, please turn off that light,”
Suparat lowered her flashlight. “What happened? I heard the door being kicked open and when I looked up, you were gone so I ran for it.”
“Solada, tray to stay calm, but we’re not alone in here. I think the woman who we saw earlier on your laptop is somewhere inside the building.”
“God, no,” she said, bringing her hand to her mouth.
Cole took her by the hand. “Come on, we’ve got to find another way out of here.”
“How did she get past your drones?”
“I don’t know. She must have detected them and somehow managed to disable them electronically.”
“Alan, who are you talking to?” said a woman’s voice in the dark.
Cole’s blood turned to ice water. He grabbed the flashlight out of Suparat’s hand and shone it down the corridor. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw another Suparat standing there. He raised his pistol and aimed it at her.
“No, Alan, don’t!” screamed the other Suparat as she brought up her arms to cover her face.
Cole let go of the first Suparat’s hand and took a step away from her. He shone the light on the two women and shook his head. They were identical in every detail. Even their coveralls matched.
“What are you doing, Alan?” asked the first Suparat. “I’m the real Solada. She’s an imposter.”
“I wish I could believe you, but right now I don’t know what to think.” He moved back giving himself more space between the two women.
“Please don’t listen to her,” implored the other Suparat. “She’s not me.”
“Well, this is a real dilemma, isn’t it?” said Cole. “Okay, I want both of you to walk very slowly back into the office and take a seat on opposite sides to the room. We’ll start with the Suparat I was first with and then the one from the hallway.”
Cole covered them with his pistol as they walked into the room one at a time and took their seats. He entered the room last and stood between them. “Ladies, the only way I can think of to prove you’re human is to let me cut you until you bleed.”
“I hate the sight of blood,” said the first Suparat.
“Give me another solution, and we’ll try that first.”
“Just shoot her, and that’ll solve your problem,” offered the second.
“No, I think we’ll go with my plan.” Cole looked over at the first woman. “I think I’ll start with you. As for you,” he said to the other, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to tie you to your chair.”
When he was happy the second Suparat was bound tightly and going nowhere, he smiled at the other woman. “Please hold out your hand, and I’ll cut you just enough to make you bleed. You’ll hardly notice it.”
Suparat nodded, rolled up her sleeve, and held out her hand.
Cole could see her shaking. Her eyes grew wider as he walked closer to her with a knife in his hands. “Trust me; this won’t hurt a bit.” He pocketed his pistol and took hold of her arm with his left hand while he prepared to cut her thumb.
In the blink of an eye, the woman shot out her right arm and hit Cole on the side of the head with the palm of her hand. He staggered back, dropping the knife. With lightning-fast speed, the woman jumped from her chair and smashed her right knee into Cole’s head, knocking him to the floor. The world spun before his eyes.
“You tied up the wrong Suparat,” said the woman, dropping her disguise. Her hair and face changed, revealing the features of the woman Cole had already killed twice before. “Neat trick, isn’t it?”
“What the hell are you?” said Suparat, staring in disbelief.
“The person who is going to kill you and change the course of history.”
Cole struggled not to black out. He took a deep breath through his nostrils and reached for his pistol.
“I don’t think so,” said the robot, lashing out with her foot. She hit Cole on the side of his chest, cracking a couple of his ribs.
He clenched his teeth and moaned.
The doppelganger bent over and grabbed Cole by the collar, dragged him over to a chair next to Suparat, and effortlessly hauled him onto the seat. “Your gun, Mister Cole, give it to me.”
Cole took a breath and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He couldn’t believe how much more powerful this robot was compared to the two others he had easily dispatched. He slid his hand in his pocket, slowly removed his pistol, and dropped it at the robot’s feet.
She smiled and kicked the gun across the room.
“I bet you’re both dying to know how I found you,” said the robot.
“I can’t lie, I am curious,” Cole replied, playing for time.
“The first two copies were designed to find the target and ferret out any opposition which could be lurking in the shadows. Personally, I think they did their jobs quite admirably. They were nothing more than disposable assets that I used to their fullest. Yesterday, the first model you encountered managed to attach a microscopic tracking device to your hand, Ms. Suparat, when she spoke to you in your office. I’ve been following you ever since.”
Renegade (The Kurgan War Book 7) Page 20