Gunz

by William Stacey

  He fired his main gun, a short burst of explosive rounds that shattered the night, hitting the closest of the fire-breathing dogs and turning them into mist. He adjusted his aim and took out the next batch of animals, sweeping his fire from left to right with short bursts. Each time he fired, the thermal sights flared out under the resulting explosions but came back again in moments. Other Bushmasters were firing now as, all along the line, gunners engaged their own targets. Up top, Lieutenant Blackwell began firing her C6 in short bursts.

  In moments, the advancing dogs were gone, shredded. Those that still lived fled back toward the approaching ranks of alien warriors. Killing animals was one thing, but now that he had to engage soldiers, even alien soldiers that had massacred civilians … he hesitated, his finger hovering over the trigger. "Ma'am?" he called up. "What do I—"

  "Do your damned job, Lee!" she yelled back over the roar of her machine gun. "They're attacking us!"

  Lee took aim through his thermal sights, now seeing massive hulking creatures marching alongside the four-armed alien warriors, what he imagined trolls would look like. He opened fire on the trolls first, walking his fragmentation rounds right into them, unable to miss such large targets. The trolls vanished under the impact of the explosive rounds, and he began to sweep his fire across the massed ranks of warriors. The other Coyote gunners and the dismounted infantry opened fire as well.

  This is a slaughter, Lee thought, his heart pounding.

  Tracers lit up the night, and explosions flared among the enemy. Against this hellish devastation, the enemy faltered then fell apart. Their lines shattered, the aliens were fleeing back to the woods.

  "Hold fire! Hold fire, Lee," Lieutenant Blackwell ordered.

  He heard her describing the situation to Major Ryker. The stench of cordite was staggering, so strong that it felt as if it could punch you in the face. The field before them was strewn with bodies and pieces of bodies, and fires burned in the brush. Lee gasped for air, exhilaration coursing through him. We did it—payback for Fort St. John.

  So why did he feel so sick?

  38

  Alex sat on a vehicle bench in the back of Recce Squadron's command post, a LAV-III armored vehicle kitted out with extra radios and computers. The Recce Squadron's tactical headquarters, consisting of four LAV-III armored vehicles, two lightly armored G Wagon SUVs, and a single unarmored cargo truck, was presently hidden in a copse of trees about a kilometer behind the forward line of the fighting vehicles, more than close enough for Alex and the others to hear the pitched battle that had taken place earlier. The cannon flashes lighting up the night sky had looked like strobe lights. Gus had been with the CP earlier, but after the battle, he had taken his command Coyote and moved forward to assess the situation for himself.

  The CP's back ramp was down, lowered in order to let some cool air into the crowded CP. Now, a single dim red light lit the interior. A mosquito net hung over the opened ramp-way, keeping out the ever-present bloodsuckers. Alex shared the CP with the battle captain, a hulking French-Canadian officer named Serge, who monitored the squadron's operations; a young corporal who operated the radios and updated the tactical map; the FOO, Heidi "Huck" Armstrong; and—surprisingly—Elizabeth. Without invitation, she had simply slipped inside the crowded vehicle and sat down next to Alex. Serge, Huck, and the radio operator had paused, watching her, as if uncertain what to say, but when Alex offered her a cup of instant coffee, they let her presence go. They knew she was involved in Task Force Devil in some capacity but not how; clearly, she was more than just a civilian. Elizabeth had accepted her paper cup of coffee and poured four packets of sugar into it then sat quietly beside Alex, listening to the radio chatter over the command net.

  The attack against the forward line of cars and dismounted infantry had ended about an hour ago, the situation deathly quiet since. The early battle-damage assessment was that the dark elves had lost hundreds of warriors without ever getting closer than a hundred meters to the vehicles. It had been a stunning defeat for the enemy, and if they were smart, they'd pull back and lick their wounds. With luck, by morning, the squadron could pull back across the Kiskatinaw River.

  Serge edged past Alex and Elizabeth, who both moved their legs out of his way, and stood beside the opened ramp to light a cigarette and blew the smoke through the mosquito netting. Outside, Alex heard the soft drone of insects.

  "Where's Cassie and the others?" he asked Elizabeth.

  "Trying to sleep, although I don't know if they'll be able to—other than Swamp Thing. He sleeps anywhere."

  Swamp Thing, he now knew, was the large black US Delta Force operator with the Creole accent. Because Alex didn't know him, he must have been transferred to the task force within the last year. "You not tired?"

  She shook her head, holding her steaming coffee cup with both hands before her face. "I see … things when I close my eyes," she whispered.

  Huck cast a quick glance at her, and Alex reached an arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze. "You're with friends here. Remember that."

  "You've been in battle. Do the things you've seen, the things you've done, do they … go away?"

  He shook his head. "No, but you learn to live with them. You're a strong person, Elizabeth. And you have your faith. Lean on that."

  "God and I aren't … things aren't so great lately."

  Huck leaned forward from where she sat across from Elizabeth and tapped her on the knee. "Hey, I don't want to be rude, but who exactly are you? I mean, you're not military, but you're not civilian either, not dressed like that, carrying an assault rifle, and fighting alongside Special Forces. Why are you here?"

  "Elizabeth is kind of a … special advisor," said Alex. "Very special. We're lucky to have her and Cassie, the blond woman, as well, apparently, as Leela, the native woman. I must admit, I was somewhat stunned to hear that Paco and his people have been hiding a mag-sens. McKnight would have lost his shit."

  "A what?" asked Huck.

  "Magic-sensitives," said Elizabeth, as if she were discussing the weather. "We can channel mana—magic."

  "Magic?" asked Huck, smiling, clearly thinking Elizabeth was yanking her chain. "I mean, come on. Major Ryker briefed us on this … Task Force Devil, interstellar gateways, and a secret Special Forces base in northern British Columbia, but magic?"

  The CP was silent, and Alex noted both Serge and the radio operator were watching them closely, listening to every word. Alex glanced at Elizabeth. "You feel up to a demonstration, Liz?"

  "Small one," she said wearily, handing her coffee cup to Alex. She pushed herself off the bench and slipped through the mosquito netting to stand before the ramp, facing those inside. "Bear with me," she said to Huck. "I've been awake and fighting monsters since last night, and channeling mana takes its toll on you." She held her hands about a foot apart, the palms facing each other. A moment later, a fork of electricity appeared from thin air, arcing back and forth between her hands, crackling with energy and casting bright-white light around Elizabeth.

  "Holy shit!" said Huck, rising up from the bench, her face pale.

  "Tabernac," swore Serge in French, his cigarette falling from his lips.

  The electricity winked out of existence, leaving bright spots dancing in Alex's eyes. Elizabeth climbed back inside the armored vehicle, pausing only to pick up Serge's cigarette and hand it back to him. Then she took her seat next to Alex again, and he handed her the coffee cup. Huck, Serge, and the radio operator stared at her, their mouths open. "You'll get used to it," Alex said. "They can do more—a lot more. Like I said, we're lucky to have them."

  "Does Major Ryker know about this?" Huck asked.

  "He knows, but he's never seen it. And seeing really is believing, I'm afraid."

  "We all have our strengths," said Elizabeth. "I'm much better at the offensive magic, mostly lightning… I don't do fire anymore. And Cassie is amazing at healing and sensing other mages. Leela creates shields. But the fae seelie… they're much more powe
rful than any of us, maybe all three of us."

  "Fae seelie?" asked Alex.

  "That's what the dark elves call themselves."

  "They can't be all that dangerous," said Serge. "I mean, we just shot the shit of 'em—twice now."

  Elizabeth met his gaze and shook her head. "No, you didn't. You've only gone up against their warriors, not their mages. It's not even apples and oranges. It's more like apples and hover-tanks."

  "Is that … is that what happened to 408 Squadron?" Huck asked.

  Elizabeth shuddered as she remembered the helicopters burning and falling from the sky. She nodded.

  "But how?" asked Huck. "I mean, it's just fire, right, not an explosion? How did they destroy all those helicopters so quickly? Wouldn't the flames just wash over the exterior of the aircraft?"

  Elizabeth shook her head. "It's not just fire. I can create a fireball and manipulate it, even throw it and cause it to explode, but I can also create fire anywhere I want—as long as I can see the target. In some ways, humans and the fae seelie seem to manipulate magic differently, but in other ways, it's the same. Assume the fae seelie can at least create fire anywhere they can see with no more than a gesture or a thought. When the helicopters arrived, their side doors were open so the door gunners could shoot. The enemy mages created the fires inside the helicopters. Those people never had a chance."

  "Jesus," whispered Huck, her eyes wide.

  "Not Jesus," said Elizabeth.

  "It gets worse," said Alex. "The one that attacked our base a year ago and kidnapped my commanding officer could turn herself invisible."

  "Like … really invisible?" Huck asked.

  Elizabeth nodded. "Cassie can do the same. The fae seelie can also cloak their wyverns, those flying lizards."

  They all jumped when the radio chirped. A moment later, they heard Major Ryker's voice. "All call signs, this is 1-9. Send SITREP, over."

  One by one, the squadron's vehicles reported in, each stating nothing to report. Following the last report, Gus provided his own situation report, stating that he had spoken to command on the sat phone and that most of the civilian refugees were already evacuated south of the Kiskatinaw River. In a few more hours, the province would pick up the last of the stragglers as well. Once that happened, Recce Squadron would pull back across the river, leaving this entire area as a massive restricted zone to be patrolled by fighter aircraft, with all roads blocked by military and police forces. When Gus was done, the radio net went silent again.

  Alex nudged Elizabeth. "This dark elf, or fae seelie… Tlathia, the one that was helping you?"

  Elizabeth stiffened but nodded.

  "You said she was looking for Sasquatches?"

  "She called them 'ancient ones.' Said they were the old enemies of her people, creatures of pure magic. Sounds a lot like Paco's great elder brothers, doesn't it?"

  He grunted. He had seen a dead Sasquatch himself, half its body crushed by the basilisk. Cassie had then put a bullet through its head, ending its pain. "And you trusted her, this Tlathia?"

  She ran her hands back through her long brown hair and sighed. "I do. I have no reason to doubt her. She and Kargin saved my life. If not for her, Cassie and the others would be tortured or dead by now. She also gave me this for safekeeping." She pulled a baseball-sized black-glass orb from her pants' cargo pocket. The interior of the globe flashed with electricity. Huck gasped. "She said this thing was key to her people's plans and that only the ancient ones could hide it from the fae seelie queen and her army."

  Alex stared in confusion at the orb. "I've seen one of those before, when we assaulted the dark-elf mage's fortress on Rubicon. I even—"

  The radio chirped again, and an excited voice came over the command net. "1, this is 1-1 Bravo, contact report, wait out."

  "That's 1 Troop," said Alex to Elizabeth. "They're on the left flank of the highway."

  "Shit," said Serge. "They can't be coming back for more, can they?"

  Moments later, the radio activated again. "1, this is 1-1 Bravo, contact report, grid Uniform Alpha 79052633. Multiple radar contacts moving south through the woods. Looks like battalion-strength infantry again, all along the wood line and in depth, over."

  Gus's voice broke over the air. "All call signs, this is 1-9. Weapons free. I say again, weapons free. They want more, give 'em more."

  Huck rose and slipped past the radio operator's chair to stare at the map. "Why would they try again after the last failed attack? Are they stupid or suicidal?"

  Elizabeth clutched at Alex's arm. "They're not stupid, Alex."

  He patted her hand. "It's all right, Elizabeth. Fighting is what these people do." The moment he said it, he realized he didn't believe it. He was just as concerned as she was. We've yet to face their big guns, the mages.

  They heard gunfire then, loud bursts of heavy machine-gun fire followed by the slower bursts of the 25mm Bushmaster chain guns.

  The radio chirped. "1, this is 3-1 Alpha."

  "The dismounted infantry platoon on the highway," Alex whispered to Elizabeth.

  "1, send, over," said the radio operator sitting in the CP with them.

  "3-1 Alpha, something's happening on the highway ahead of us, about three hundred meters north of our position. We've got what looks like … giants … or trolls … or ... I don't know what the hell they are, but there are dozens of them, and they're pushing a wooden barricade in front of them. Looks like trees stacked one atop the other. The barricade is providing cover for their infantry following closely behind it. The barrier is effective against small-arms fire—hell, it's even stopping the fragmentation rounds from our main guns. We're going to be overrun if we remain, over."

  Gus's voice came over the radio again. "3-1 alpha, this is 1-9. Roger that, out to you. 1-1. Erin, I want you to move your rightmost car forward until it has a firing angle on the flank of the troll-things carrying the barricade. Light 'em up. Do it now!"

  A calm female voice answered. "1-1, roger, out."

  "I don't like this at all," Elizabeth said softly.

  "Neither do I," answered Alex.

  Moments later, the female voice in call sign 1-1 came back on the air, this time a trace of alarm in her voice. "1, this is 1-1. My call sign 1-1 Charlie is burning. I say again, 1-1 Charlie is on fire. Shit, they're dead. They have to be."

  "What hit them?" Gus asked.

  "I don't know. They were moving to flank the force on the highway, and they just … went up. The enemy must have fired something at it, but I didn't see anything."

  Huck's face went pale. "An armored vehicle?"

  Elizabeth grabbed Alex's arm. "It's their mages. They're probably invisible. If they're in the air, then they're able to look down into the vehicles. It's like I said—if they can see it, they can put fire into it."

  Alex, hearing the fear in her voice, fought down his own panic. "Go get Cassie. Get ready."

  Elizabeth bolted from the back of the LAV, disappearing into the night.

  Then a series of other panicked calls came over the radio, also reporting burning vehicles, followed by reports of the enemy moving overland out of the trees and down the highway in massed ranks once again. Alex heard Gus on the radio, trying to maintain order in the chaos of battle against a foe that could strike without warning and set his vehicles on fire. The sound of 25mm cannons and machine-gun bursts was constant now. Alex moved out of the way of the frantic battle captain and his radio operator, grabbing Huck's arm and pulling her out of the vehicle with him. "Go get your vehicle ready to roll."

  "What's going on?"

  "I think Elizabeth is right. They've committed their mages!"

  A moment later, a massive fireball went up in the middle of the headquarters vehicles, knocking down Alex and Huck and sending bright-orange flames soaring through the trees.

  ELIZABETH FELT the channeling from above a moment before the fireball fell, and she dived for cover. The force of the blast washed over her, the heat blistering. A wyvern-mounted mage
, she realized. She channeled, sending a bolt of lightning arcing up into the sky, but since she didn't know where the mage was, her bolt only alerted the dark-elf mage to her presence.

  The wyvern cried out, its shrill scream echoing over the night sky. She felt the mage channeling once again—certain this time she was the target. Idiot! Someone grabbed her shoulders, yanked her to her feet, and dragged her along to safety behind one of the LAV-III armored vehicles—Paco! And Cassie and Leela were with him.

  "Shield!" Cassie yelled.

  Leela raised her hands and created a shield over all of them as well as the LAV-III moments before a fireball struck. The heat was intense, and Elizabeth fell to her knees, fear paralyzing her. But Leela's shield kept the flames away. The surrounding bushes and trees caught on fire, but the flames died out. They heard the rush of air above them as the invisible wyvern soared past. The wyvern shrieked again.

  Leela dropped her shield, sweat coating her face.

  "I can sense exactly where she is!" Cassie yelled. She pointed into the sky, turning in a slow circle. "She's comin' around again."

  Paco began to fire his carbine in the direction Cassie was pointing. Elizabeth rose, her limbs trembling, fighting off her terror.

  "Get ready!" Cassie yelled. "She's channeling."

  "Shielding again!" Leela cried out.

  This time, instead of a fireball, a bright arc of lightning struck Leela's shield, exploding into a shower of sparks and rebounding to strike a nearby tree, shattering a thick tree limb. The wyvern swept past again in another rush of wind.

  "Elf bitch is determined," snapped Cassie. "Elizabeth, take her out already."

  "Tell me where she is!" yelled Elizabeth. "Use clock hours."

  "Here," Cassie said, thrusting the Brace into Elizabeth's hands. "Get ready. When I give you the word, burn her from the sky."

  Elizabeth hurriedly pulled the too-large glove up her left arm, immediately feeling the exhilarating rush of magical energy. She set her stance wide and forced herself to be calm, to focus on breathing, on ignoring the fires around her.