We entered the room on the ground floor just as the nearby battle intensified, and I had O’Leary re-join his fire team on the roof. If we came under attack then Konny’s fire team could give fire support whilst I took the fight back to the enemy.
‘Two-zero, this is Two-three,’ I reported, ‘We’re back in the building. We destroyed one enemy section on the way.’
‘Yeah, roger,’ Mr Moore acknowledged, ‘Two section is assaulting now. Once they have completed the assault they’ll return to link up with you for the final clearance.’
‘Understood.’
Jackson tapped me on the shoulder, ‘Andy, Geany’s awake.’
I looked down at the injured trooper and saw that his eyes were open. He was looking right at me. I knelt beside him and squeezed his hand.
‘Try to relax, mate, you’re fine.’
His mouth moved, and I leant forward to hear what he was trying to say.
‘Pain,’ he said weakly.
I knew what he was after; pain relief. Our combats detected injuries and were fitted with tourniquets and anti-clotting agents that activated automatically, but they didn’t administer pain relief, since apparently they used to activate accidentally! Pain relief could only be given by hand.
‘Pain.’ He mumbled again.
‘I know, mate. I can imagine. I’m afraid I can’t give you any pain relief because you probably have concussion. Sorry.’
‘Bastard.’
I smiled. Geany could barely speak, but he still had room in his lungs to squeeze out a swear word. Even in the state he was in, he was a gobshite.
‘Gonna die,’ he said, and his eyes glazed.
I laughed unsympathetically, ‘Shut up, mate. You’re not going to die!’
Suddenly Geany fixed me with an intense stare, ‘I know.’
‘Well, don’t say it, then,’ I said.
Geany made an effort to shake his head, and winced, ‘No. I know.’
I frowned, ‘Know what?’
‘Evans.’
I said nothing, knowing exactly what he was getting at.
Geany had recognised Ev. With a single word he could have had me in cuffs along with Westy. I looked to see if anybody was listening to our conversation, but the others were all busy observing out of the windows for enemy.
I looked back down at him, ‘Why didn’t you say anything, then?’
Geany gave a thin smile, ‘I’m not a snitch…you’re no rebel.’
I laughed, ‘Well, if I was a rebel then I’d be a pretty bad one, seeing as I just had Okonkwo kill ten of my mates with a grenade!’
‘Evans. Rebel?’
‘I don’t know.’
Geany paused briefly, ‘You’re alright.’
I hadn’t expected that, ‘Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself. I think I preferred you when you were unconscious, though, to be honest!’
‘Belter.’
I smiled at the insult, ‘Yeah, you’re probably right. Do me a favour and stay awake, yeah?’
‘Okay.’
I tasked Jackson to watch over Geany and keep him company. The main thing to do was to keep him awake and alert, I was worried that once he closed his eyes he might not open them again.
Two section completed their assault successfully, reporting only a single casualty. A trooper had taken a dart to the upper thigh. We could live with that, I thought.
The warehouse finally fell silent, and our two sections linked up, while One section continued to watch from the roof. We took the two casualties to where Two section’s ropes still dangled down from their fresh mouse-hole. We then connected their stretchers to the ropes, and one-by-one they were lifted out of the warehouse by Johnno’s work party.
‘There’s a dropship up here waiting,’ Johnno reassured the platoon over the net as Geany rose toward the roof, ‘We’ll have them back to Lash in no time.’
It was important that the men knew that the platoon casualties were being extracted successfully. If they knew they would be well looked after when they were hurt, then they were less afraid of being hurt in the first place.
With an almighty crash an LSV broke through a metal door that gave access to the warehouse, and conscripts flooded through the gaps either side of it. They had been tasked to assist by the OC, but it had taken them far longer to reach the warehouse in their wheel based vehicles.
Johnno brought down his work party and Jimmy’s section, and we joined in with the conscripts in their sweep of the warehouse. There were more than a hundred of us altogether, and it wasn’t long before a message was passed to the boss that something had been found. He ordered for us all to close in whilst the conscripts continued their clearance, and we forgot ourselves as we huddled together to look inside the tunnel entrance.
‘Is that it?’ Johnno asked, sounding disappointed.
I had to agree with his sentiment. The tunnel was barely any larger than a mouse-hole, and judging by the jagged edges it had probably been blown out by some form of explosive and finished off with traditional digging tools. It ran diagonally downward beneath a particularly large container that was beside the building that my section had cleared. I assumed that the container was normally placed on top of it to keep it hidden.
‘That explains why they tried to counter attack the building,’ I observed, ‘We were blocking their way out.’
I peered inside, but couldn’t see anything. It looked as though the tunnel changed direction ten or so metres down.
‘Not quite what I was expecting,’ Mr Moore admitted, ‘You can’t fit anything large down there, nothing big enough for us to worry about, anyway.’
‘Maybe whatever it is they’re trying to smuggle out isn’t really that big,’ I replied, ‘Maybe they aren’t trying to smuggle anything out at all…’
‘Stop talking in damn riddles,’ the boss scolded, ‘Clearly this is another trick. Corporal Weston has given us false information to lure us in to this place.’
I shook my head, ‘I don’t think so. The rebels didn’t even fire at us until we were halfway along the gantry. They were caught by surprise. I don’t think they were expecting us at all.’
We stopped when a voice called out from behind us, ‘Have we found our tunnel, then?’
The platoon turned around as one. It was the OC, with his small entourage of signallers and specialist advisors. Behind him stood Westy, his hands bound in front of him. I thought that he looked strange wearing his armour, but without his weapon and equipment. A trooper stood beside him, just in case he chose to run or fight.
Realising that the entire platoon was now crowded around the entrance along with the company commander, Mr Moore glared at us all angrily, ‘Spread out, for God’s sake!’
Snapping back into trooper mode, the platoon quickly scattered amongst the containers to take up fire positions.
I remained behind, exchanging a glance with my old friend. He looked tired.
The OC approached us and took a look into the dark tunnel.
‘Is that it?’ He asked, repeating Johnno’s disappointed question. He turned back to Westy, ‘Corporal Weston?’
‘I think so, Sir,’ Westy agreed, ‘Ev only said that there was a tunnel here. He didn’t say anything about the size of it.’
‘It’s clearly meant for people only and small items of equipment,’ the OC mused, ‘Let’s see what the gurus think.’
One of the OCs specialists crouched beside the tunnel opening, studying a readout on his datapad. I recognised him as one of the OCs electronic warfare team, the same operator that had found the Chinese code.
‘I’m not picking up any wires,’ the operator announced, ‘No fibre optics and no wireless telemetry. This is literally just an empty tunnel.’
‘Any idea how deep it goes?’ The OC asked.
‘No idea,’ the man answered, ‘You’d need engineers to answer that.’
We were out of luck there, then, I thought. We had no engineers with us. You couldn’t move for them during the invasion
, since it was they that constructed the endless miles of warren tunnels that we fought through, but in peacetime they were kept busy elsewhere constructing bases and infrastructure.
‘So where does it go, then?’
‘Somewhere near Archer’s Post,’ I blurted.
‘What?’
‘It goes to the mountains. That’s how Ev managed to meet up with Westy.’
The OC frowned, ‘Are you suggesting that the rebels have built a base right next to regimental headquarters?’
I sighed and shook my head, ‘No, Sir. That’s where Ev has been hiding. What he’s doing there, I don’t know, but it’s no rebel base. At least, it wasn’t.’
Westy nodded his agreement, ‘Ev isn’t a rebel. He’d never attack his own people. He just didn’t want to fight any more.’
Mr Moore rounded on me, ‘What makes you so sure?’
‘Westy and I were in the same platoon,’ I admitted, ‘Ev was our platoon sergeant. I know him, and I know how he thinks.’
‘So why didn’t you tell me that, then?’ The platoon commander demanded angrily, but the OC held out a hand to silence him.
The company commander glared at me, ‘What makes you so sure that this Evans character isn’t a rebel? I sense that there is something that you’re not telling me, young man, and I don’t like it when my NCOs hide secrets from me!’
I decided enough was enough. I confessed, ‘I saw him. He was the man who told me to shoot out the glass during our ambush. He knew that our dropships were nearby. He saved us.’
The OC looked up to the roof in exasperation, ‘Two of my commanders, protecting a fugitive!’
‘He may be a fugitive, Sir,’ I replied angrily, ‘But he isn’t a rebel! Listen to what me and Westy are saying: He doesn’t want to fight any more, that’s why he ran away in the first place!’
Mr Moore threw up his arms, ‘Well why the hell is he working with the rebels then?’
‘He isn’t!’ I shouted, ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! The rebels called him a traitor. They didn’t mean he was a traitor to the Union, they meant that he was a traitor to the rebellion. To NELA! His hands were bound, for God’s sake!’
The OC was silent for a few seconds, stunned by my outburst. I could see him thinking over what I had said, ‘Alright, then, Corporal Moralee. If your friend is not working with the rebels, why is it that he was with them in the Citadel, and why was he even present during your ambush?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘But I think he has access to something that they want.’
‘And what is that?’
‘I don’t know that either, Sir. But whatever it is, it’s down there.’
The OCs eyes followed my outstretched arm into the tunnel.
‘You can’t be serious,’ he said, ‘Are you suggesting that I send my men down there, on your recommendation? The pair of you have demonstrated an almost complete lack of integrity!’
Westy’s eyes lowered at the OCs scathing remark. Integrity was the benchmark of a good NCO. It was the worth of our word, and without it we were nothing.
‘Perhaps,’ I conceded, ‘But only because we are loyal to our own.’
The OCs eyes burned, ‘Loyalty? To a man who deserted the Union army? How is he one of your own?’
‘Because we fought together,’ Westy said, ‘We fought and we died together. We were brothers.’
‘With whatever little respect is due,’ the OC replied haughtily, ‘We all have some idea of what you and your platoon went through when you fought against the Chinese, and it doesn’t exonerate Evans.’
‘With all due respect, Sir,’ I said the last word through gritted teeth, ‘None of you have any idea what we went through.’
The OC said nothing. He studied me carefully for almost a minute, and I waited for him to order for me to be disarmed.
‘What do you think, Mr Moore?’
The platoon commander looked the OC directly in the eye when he spoke, ‘Corporal Moralee is a good NCO. I would trust him with my life. I believe him.’
I turned to stare at him in surprise.
‘You believe him?’ The OC repeated.
‘Of course, Sir,’ he affirmed, ‘He’s a trooper.’
The OC nodded slowly, ‘Okay. If you trust him, then I shall trust him. I need a minute to think.’
He paced away from us, resting his hand upon his helmet as though he were deep in thought.
‘Thanks, Boss,’ I said. I was sincere.
Mr Moore fixed me with an angry glare, ‘Shut up, Moralee! I just said that I trusted you. It’s not a chat up line!’
‘You said that I was a good NCO too,’ I reminded him, ‘Thanks.’
The boss grumbled, ‘You’re welcome.’
#
The OC took several minutes to think, and had a conversation with the battalion commanding officer via his signaller before he returned with his plan. It was dangerous, and as he laid it out to us I realised why it had taken so long for him to decide.
‘I can’t commit my entire company to the tunnels,’ he said, ‘We’re stretched thin as it is and there is a danger that it could be another trap. The colonel has given me the go ahead, however, to release you to conduct a fighting patrol. Your mission is to conduct said fighting patrol, and to locate and fix the enemy so that the remainder of the company may assault.’
Mr Moore nodded, ‘Understood. I’m happy with that.’
‘You will take Corporal Weston with you,’ the OC continued, casting a glance toward the freed Welshman, ‘In the hope that his memory might be jogged a bit more. You will also take my electronic warfare operator. He will hopefully help you to detect any form of trap or early warning systems. Anything that has any kind of computer in it, he can pick it up.’
At the mention of his name I saw the OCs EW operator glance about nervously. Though he was a fully trained trooper, I doubted that he was happy to be sent underground with us; not that he had a choice.
‘You are to enter the tunnel and attempt to use it to follow up our enemy. If you pick up any sign that you have been detected then you are to make note of your position and extract. If you become contacted within the tunnels then you are to do the same, unless you feel that you can overcome your opponent without sustaining severe losses. If, however, you should break to the surface, then you are to send your location instantly, whether or not you are in contact, so that we may respond. Understood?’
‘Yes, Sir.’
The OC looked me square in the eye, ‘I hope for your sake that you are right, Corporal Moralee.’
‘Me too, Sir.’
15
The Transit Tunnel
I dragged my body downward through the dark tunnel. I had to push my daysack ahead of me, since the tunnel was far too narrow for me to move with it still on my back. I moved slowly, wary of the noise I made every time I pulled my body forward.
From experience I knew that I needed to be quiet. Modern armies were equipped with listening equipment that could sense even the most tiny vibrations in the rock and in the air, pinpointing exactly where they were coming from. Tunnels were often constructed parallel with each other, so that when an enemy was heard a charge could be placed out and detonated, with devastating effect. I didn’t know if the rebels could do the same, but I didn’t want to find out.
Okonkwo followed on just behind me, and I winced every time he made a sound, half expecting to be blown to pieces.
I found tunnels terrifying. Hot, claustrophobic and disorientating, they had been the setting for some of the most bloody fighting that I had seen during our fight against the Chinese, claiming countless lives. Combat was often restricted to close quarters by the purposefully built underground mazes that we knew as warrens, designed to enable a defender to inflict maximum casualties upon his opponent. Hand-to-hand fighting was commonplace. I remembered the tremendous roar of gunfire echoing through the tunnels and the showers of sparks as darts ricocheted against the walls around me. I shudder
ed at the memory.
I stopped and listened for a couple of seconds, straining to hear the sound of an unseen enemy placing out an explosive charge. There was nothing but the sound of our breathing, and the whirr of our tiny respirator filters.
I crawled on through the dark for what felt like hours, following the tunnel as it twisted and turned ever downwards. As I did so I became increasingly aware that I couldn’t even turn around in the confines of the tunnel with my kit on, and I felt myself beginning to panic.
Come on, I told myself, you’ve got this far alright. I took a second to pull myself together and pulled myself carefully toward the next corner in the tunnel.
Finally I reached the corner and I pushed my head past my daysack, slowly poking it out to see what lay beyond. I couldn’t bring my weapon to bear properly, there was no room. If somebody was waiting around the corner and they shot me in the face, at least I would die instantly.
Five metres beyond the corner the tunnel came to an end. It opened up into some kind of cavern, though how large or what shape the cavern took, I couldn’t tell. I daren’t turn on my infra-red torch, because the rebels would see it with their own night vision systems.
I looked back at Okonkwo. Normally I would have told him what I could see, but there was no way that I could do so without giving us away to any rebels waiting in ambush. Sensors could pick up near enough anything underground, from sound to net transmissions. It was even possible to pick up the magnetic fields generated by our rifles, and so even they needed to be powered down.
I crawled around the corner and slid myself forward to the opening, trying to keep my rifle in a position ready to fire. I wouldn’t be accurate, but at least I could do something.
Nothing happened. Nobody shot me, and nothing blasted me into atoms. I emerged into the cavern.
‘Wow,’ I whispered quietly to myself as I looked out into the cavern.
It wasn’t a cavern at all. It was another tunnel, a good fifty metres across and half as high. Two maglev rails followed the length of the tunnel side-by-side, running away in either direction as far as my visor allowed for me to see.
LANCEJACK (The Union Series) Page 22