Battle Beyond Reality

by Nick S. Thomas

  “We get it,” replied Ava.

  “Look, I know it sucks, but we are going to make it work. We’ll do what we always do. We improvise, and we make do.”

  “You know this could just as easily be bogus. If Newton wanted rid of us, this would sure be a simple way to do it. He’s feeding us to the wolves,” said Ava.

  “He wouldn’t need to try so hard if that’s what he wanted. No, he wants the ear of that Senator, and we are gonna get it for him.”

  “And risk our lives for that?” asked Victor.

  “His motives may suck, but let’s not forget the three kids we are going for,” said Ava.

  “Yeah, and our jobs,” added Juan.

  “It’s Newton.” Axel had noticed an incoming message. He accepted it, and their operation leader was projected before them.

  “I don’t need to remind you all how delicate an operation this is. In a few moments you will begin your descent, and not long after that you will lose all comms. Everything is jammed once you enter that zone. You will not be able to reach us for extraction, and even if you could, we couldn’t send anything in anyway. We cannot risk war, but it is also vital that you recover the three targets, alive. Do you get me?”

  “Yeah, we get it,” snarled Axel.

  “Good luck, then.”

  The signal ended.

  “That’s some cold shit,” said Juan.

  “Come back with the Senator’s niece, or don’t bother to come back at all?”

  “That sounds about right, Ava,” replied Victor.

  “Then let’s make sure we do bring them back, and alive. Now look, this is a black op. Plenty of our work in the past has been in the grey, but this is something else. Yes, we need to rescue those prisoners, but more than anything, we need to make it out. Number one priority, the four of us here make it out alive, you got it?”

  They were all in agreement.

  “Now, once we get inside this communications black hole, it’s going to be visuals only. That’s the intel we have. But I want helmet cams running for the whole operation.”

  “Why?”

  “Because when we come out the other side of this, Juan, I want it to be in the right way. If this is in any way a trap, or anything less than was described, I want it documented. I want some collateral to back us up.”

  “You’re not very trusting, are you?”

  “Damn right, I’m not, Victor. You know who we work for, Newton would just as soon throw us to the wolves than have to go through any hardship to help us.”

  “Then we really are on our own?” Juan asked.

  “Yes, we are. But this black hole we are entering, it’s the same for everyone else in there. We don’t have tech on our side, but we do have our training, our skills, and the element of surprise. Let’s get in and out before they even know we were ever there. Are you ready?”

  They slid their visors down and pressed a small switch on the side of their helmets. Masks extended out and sealed around their faces against the visors. Axel hit the door release. The back of the craft opened. They were flying high above the clouds and through the night.

  “This is gonna be a party,” said Juan.

  “Stick close, and follow my lead. We’ve got another couple of minutes before we lose comms. He pulled back, and GPS info flashed up inside his visor, but he knew that was about to be lost. He checked their current location, setting it to compass only on his console.

  “Ready?”

  Nobody said a word, but he knew that they were.

  “All right, time to do something stupid,” he said with a smile.

  He took a few quick steps and leapt out of the craft. The other three followed close behind him. He pressed a button on his console, and small wings stretched out from the pack on his back, protruding half a metre wide each side of his body. Small electrically powered jets fired up on the wings. It was not enough propulsion that would allow a take off from the ground, but enough to cover a lot of ground on a controlled descent. It was tech that he’d not used in years. Drones had almost entirely taken over from the frontline work that he had become accustomed to.

  “Cameras running the whole time? Think that’s a good idea, considering the laws we are about to break?” Ava asked over the comms.

  “The way I see it, someone is going to fuck us over for this. Let’s at least have some evidence of what we did do, and not what others will accuse us of.”

  “You think Newton would throw us under the bus like that?”

  “He’ll do whatever is necessary to further his career. If killing all of us would achieve a single step up that ladder, he’d not hesitate. I am certain of that.”

  “What a world we live in, hey,” replied Juan.

  “A beautiful world!” Victor yelled.

  Ava began to speak again, but her voice crackled, and finally the signal was lost. A warning light flashed in the heads-up display inside Axel’s mask. They had entered the blackout zone, just as Newton said they would. At least he was right about that. It was oddly quiet now, as his sealed helmet masked almost all of the wind noise, and with no radio talk, it felt awfully lonely. He kept looking at the compass displayed high on his HUD. They were heading in the right direction. Or at least, right according to the intelligence they had been given, if that could be trusted.

  They went on for several minutes until they finally broke through the cloud, but there was little light for them to see the way. Far to the North the lights of a city lit up the sky. A city untouched by war, even though it was on the edge of one. These were lands that harboured the enemy, and yet were neutral on the surface. It was a dangerous place to be, and they all knew it. They would find few friends here, and their own people were likely to consider them traitors if they made it out.

  Axel was starting to wonder if they should have even taken the mission, and yet he knew they had no choice. And if Newton was telling the truth about the American civilians that had been taken, he was determined to get them out. He had long been waiting for the opportunity to repent for his sins, and maybe this was finally it, or a step in the right direction at least.

  He thought back to the last days that he had served in the UAN Army. The memories were bittersweet. It was the best job he’d ever had, and yet had led him to the most horrific of places. Now he fought a seemingly endless war in its place. It didn't seem like the best trade off, but at least he could live with it. His team all knew about his service and the nightmares that haunted him, but they never spoke of it.

  A light flashed on his HUD. It was a timer. Calculating distance travelled based on their last location, it was time to turn East, and he led the way. The rest of them knew what they had to do. Their engines soon cut out as they ran out of power, but they were still travelling at great speed. Their night vision allowed them to clearly see what was below, and what they would have to get past to get back home. Sentries were standing guard on rooftops. Small armoured vehicles lay in wait, and trucks, too. Pickups with various weaponry equipped in a make shift fashion.

  It was a residential area, but inhabited at least in part by ILAN rebels, there was no doubt about it. They all knew the enemy had a presence inside this border, but they had not seen it with their own eyes. It was remarkable how dark it was. They could see faint gaps at covered windows where the smallest amount of light was escaping. They were living in blackout conditions. Axel deactivated his night vision to see what those on the ground would. It was near pitch black. He could barely see his friends that were a few metres away, flying in formation. He looked down and could not make out the buildings below, just the odd rough shape. He was content that they were still safe, or as safe as they could be.

  He activated his night vision once more. Their rate of speed moving forwards was slowing as they began to descend much more quickly. He could see their landing area, a garbage dump on the Western side of town. He kept a keen eye on the ground now, as they were very close. They soared past one of taller buildings at the height of the rooftop, an
d he knew it was time. He pulled his parachute cord. It slowed his descent rapidly, but he still hit the ground hard, rolling rather clumsily before coming to a halt.

  Axel was back on his feet in no time and reeling in his chute. The others were doing the same. His head darted back and forth as his hands went to work. His eyes watching everything like a hawk, looking for any sign of a target, or any living thing that could have spotted them. He had half expected to land on top of the enemy. It would have been a disaster, but that is how fragile this operation was. His body ached from the hard landing, but there was nothing else for it. They had to get in quickly and quietly. He released his mask and breathed the fresh air. It smelled awful, but he was glad to not have the mask stifling him.

  “Hot damn, we made it,” said Juan.

  Axel didn’t look so pleased. He was suspicious of it all. They’d landed on a small dirt road between a landfill and a vehicle garage. He rolled his parachute up and stuffed it down inside a pile of old rubber tyres leaning against the structure. He pulled his rifle from his back and checked it.

  “It’s pretty obvious that with enough resources a direct assault would have been possible. Newton has those resources, you know that right?”

  Ava was more suspicious than any of them, and they all knew the operation stank.

  “Sure, but he can’t win the ear of the Senator if he causes an international incident, can he? We’re here because we’re expendable. We succeed, and he gains from it. We fail, and well...” he shrugged.

  “Well, what?”

  “It makes no difference. It’s as he said, we’re expendable.”

  “Is that supposed to fill me with confidence?”

  “No, but that’s the shit deal we got. Let’s get his done, take our money, and move on.”

  "Move on where?"

  "Somewhere far from here, Juan."

  "And do what? Put our feet up?" Victor asked.

  "Why not?”

  "You'd get bored," replied Ava.

  "Yeah? I’m pretty bored and sick of this shit."

  Axel gestured for them to go on, and they all fell silent. They knew they shouldn't be talking about such trivial things right now, but it was hard not to. He led the way, keeping low. They reached the far end of the vehicle depot. He stopped and looked out for any sign of movement. There was none.

  "It's too quiet," said Juan suspiciously.

  "They just don't see any danger."

  "And why would they, Ava? They think they're untouchable here," replied Axel.

  "Then it’s time to prove them wrong."

  They rushed across the open ground, half expecting to be fired upon at any moment, but they were soon in the cover of a dark alleyway once more. It was an old town that looked like it hadn't changed much in hundreds of years. They could hear a TV playing in one of the buildings nearby, but like all others, the windows were covered over so that no light was emitted.

  "They think they're untouchable, and yet they live in blackout?"

  "It's not guys with guns they fear, Juan. It's the eye in the sky," replied Axel.

  "He's right. They hide a lot of what they do under the cover of night. If the UN could prove half of what was going on here, there'd be all hell to pay."

  "You say that like the UN gives a damn," replied Axel cynically.

  "Wouldn't they?"

  "How many hundreds of thousands have to die before they intervene? That is just another organisation to keep fools in big jobs with big pay cheques. Go to big meetings and be seen to care, and lord their moral superiority over the world," said Juan.

  They were all stunned, but Axel eventually laughed.

  "What?"

  "Nothing," he replied with a smile as he led them on.

  The narrow streets were dead. Aside from the faint sounds emitting from the shut up houses, there was nothing and nobody in sight. Axel kept checking the map on his console. It wasn't updating with their coordinates, but he was, as if reading an old paper map.

  "Not far now," he whispered.

  It was a bizarre scenario. They were tooled up for a battle, and yet it seemed like a quiet neighbourhood. They knew what the town harboured, but they had no idea in what strength or capacity. Axel led them on and took a bend. He stopped and looked at his map, then back up at the large compound ahead. It was a three-storey lavish house for the area. A two-metre perimeter wall ran around it, and a large steel door closed off access completely.

  "That's it," he said with absolute certainty.

  "You sure?" Ava asked.

  "Yes," he replied without hesitation.

  He was looking up and around to survey the situation.

  "Get some height. We're gonna need you to cover us," he said to Juan, who was carrying his sharpshooter rifle.

  He quickly found a ladder and began to climb.

  "When this gets started, there is gonna be no stopping it, you know that?"

  Axel nodded in agreement. "Damn right, Ava. Once they know we're here, the clock is against us. We don't stop. I don't care how many you have to kill or what you have to do to get through this alive. All that matters is that we get those kids out, and that we get ourselves out, too, you got that?"

  "Yeah," replied Victor.

  "Now, they aren't gonna much like us crashing their party, but they also aren't expecting it. We go in smooth and quiet. With any luck, we can reach the hostages without anyone knowing we're there."

  Juan was in position and giving the thumbs up as he looked over the ledge to them. It was strange to not be able to use their comms equipment. Something they'd not practiced for in years.

  "It’s a pretty old school op," said Ava.

  "Bet your ass," replied Victor.

  "All right, there’s no point in waiting around. But remember, there is no backup. There is no exit strategy. This is a shit mission, but we have to make it work."

  "And if there are no wheels around to take us out of here?"

  "There has to be, Victor. The border isn't far, and we can make it. Anything else?"

  He rushed across the open street and stopped at the wall. There was still no sign of movement, but he was breathing more heavily now. The stress was increasing, but it wasn't going to stop him from doing what he had to do. He slung his rifle onto his back, leapt up to the wall, and hauled himself up. He reached the apex and took a breath. That was when he heard the faintest of sounds ahead. He saw a man throw down his cigarette in surprise as he reached for a gun slung on his shoulder. His mouth opened. He was about to cry out and sound the alarm.

  Axel felt dread overcome him. He was powerless to act, as he was precariously perched, and could do nothing to stop him from calling out and opening fire. At that precise moment he felt something zip past his head. The man went still and then collapsed quietly. Axel looked back to see the shadow of Juan on a rooftop on the far side of the road. He gave a small salute, and Axel breathed a sigh of relief. He signalled for the other two to follow him as he descended into the compound.

  They were all on the ground and moving forward in no time. He left his rifle slung on his back and drew out his pistol, which was also fitted with a suppressor. He needed something agile in a tight space now. He didn't want a battle, not if he could avoid it. He reached a door and turned the handle. To his amazement it was unlocked. He shook his head at the enemy’s stupidity. He pushed it open, but it creaked on its hinges, and he found himself facing a man who reached for a pistol on his belt. Axel didn't have to think about his response. He'd fired two shots out of instinct, and the target was down. They continued on.

  It was a large structure with many rooms, and the corridor soon opened out in to a large atrium. Two men sat at the base of a stairway with rifles propped up against the wall nearby. They gasped as they spotted Axel and reached for them, but it was too late. Both Axel and Ava opened fire, and they were killed instantly.

  They heard screams and ducked for cover, hoping they had not been spotted, but it was coming from upstairs. Axel didn't know
what to do for a moment, until he heard an American woman scream out, "Get off me!"

  Before he could move, a door opened on the far side of the room. Two men came out, dragging two of the hostages with them. Hidden in the shadows as they were, they hadn't spotted Axel and his team. They turned and headed away from them. One of the men was bloodied and barely conscious. He was in a bad way and couldn't be left to the enemy for a moment longer. He pointed to Ava and Victor to go after them. Ava didn't look happy about it, but she didn't question it. He rushed up the stairs in time to see the American woman's feet be dragged inside a room along the hall.

  He lifted his pistol to the ready. He knew the other two hostages were accounted for. He had no idea what he was going to face when he went through the doorway after her, only that one person in that room needed to live. He rushed to the doorway. She was being forced to sit down in front of a video camera. Four ILAN fighters were around her, and a line of curved bladed swords, bloody knives, and machetes on a table nearby. She had zip ties fixing her hands to the chair arms.

  "Help me!"

  It was the Senator's niece. They spotted him the moment he stepped through the doorway, but he wasn't about to ask questions. He took aim at one and fired. The bullet struck him in the head, and he went down. He went to aim at the next, but someone to his right rushed forward. He turned to face this threat, but they were already on him, and smashed him up against the doorframe. He was fighting for his weapon, but he couldn't get it free, and heard the others scrambling for weapons. He didn't have long.

  He released his grip on his pistol to let his enemy have it, pushing him back and snap kicking him in the stomach so that he fell back further. Axel quickly reached for his rifle and fired two shots. The man was down, but an angry cry rang out. He saw a sword coming for his head with a blow powerful enough to cleave him in two. He lifted his rifle up to stop the blade, taking the force out of the blow, but the blade slid down the receiver and slashed his left hand. The rifle slipped from his grasp, and the man came at him again with another slash. Another blow that could end him, as it came in vertically for his neck.

  He leapt forward to grapple with the man. Taking his sword hand with one, he grabbed the man's throat and squeezed, yanking him forward and headbutting him full force with his helmet. There was an audible cracking sound as his opponent's skull fractured. Axel took his sword from his attacker and used it to slit the man's throat. He tossed the body aside. The other two had hesitated to come forward, leaving him to their comrade, who they must have assumed could get the job done.