"Good job helping those people get out of the building,” Arrendondo said softly. “It was very stupid and very heroic. You get a few points for that, but the stupid part cancels them out."
"Thank you, Corporal,” I said. “This isn’t your fault, you know. We are fighting cowards and they have no honor. These people could care less about how righteous the terrorist think their cause is. They’re just hoping that someone will do something about these violent actions. They’re hoping for justice for their families and friends. I’m hoping for an address and a truckload of body bags."
"What good will that do?” she asked. “We have no weapons and aren’t authorized to do anything but report our findings. You gonna beat them to death with the broken gun.”
"Who said they have to know who did it?” I answered. “Anyways, beating them to death would work for me."
I stopped talking when two legs stopped in front of me. I looked up to see Ruby looking down, smiling at me. She handed me a piece of paper, bent over and touched my face, cupping it with one hand. I looked at the sad face her smile couldn’t hide. She straightened up and I stood, groaning a little. I grabbed her by the arm.
"Are you going to arrest me?" she asked.
I couldn’t help but laugh. "No, I'm not," I said. I've got my own problems.
"But why?” she asked. “What did you do.? You saved two people and tried to save more."
"Maybe,” I said. “But I also punched a guy out and took his truck."
"Oh, I see," she said.
I looked around to see if the captain was watching. He was, of course, and walking my way with the militia officer.
"You need to leave now. I have company coming," I said softly. She glanced in the direction I had looked and saw the two men approaching.
"Good luck." She touched my hand as she moved away towards the most crowded area and was gone.
"Who was that, Private?" the captain asked. He knew who she was so that had to be for the benefit of the officer with him.
"Just a citizen, sir,” I answered. “She was thanking us for helping out with the wounded."
"This is Major Stanolivich,” he said, not acknowledging my answer, “the commander of the garrison where you are staying."
The major was five foot seven going on nine foot tall, and started talking the moment the introduction was over, getting red in the face.
"Private, you are coming with us to face charges for assault of a citizen. I think it would be best if the rest of your team came with you," the major barked.
"Okay, you heard the man. Everybody up,” I said. I bent and reached out, letting each woman grab an arm, and pulled them up. We began walking away from the destruction and all the people. Something didn’t seem right.
"Captain,” I asked, “is the civvie still here? I thought I would apologize."
"No, private, we don’t know where he is," the captain answered.
"Did he file a complaint or charges?"
"No he was MIA almost immediately after you took the truck."
"What the hell is going on sir?” I said, stopping mid-stride. “If there is no complaint then why am I under arrest?"
"You're not,” he said quietly. “We’re going to move off site for a few days. They do want to ask you about the driver, though. Turns out the hover was stolen and the original owner was murdered."
"There were a number of out of place things in the back,” I told him. “Things you wouldn’t expect in the back of a plumbing repair truck, like handcuffs."
I looked at Arrendondo and she just shrugged. The captain looked thoughtful. Our ride showed up and we loaded our team members first, placing them gently into the big personnel carrier. There were a number of the local militia already loaded. I closed the gate.
"Corporal, did the captain tell you where we are going?"
"No,” he answered. “More than likely we will join the lieutenant and the rest of the platoon. They’re staying in an empty warehouse across town. If we get in over our heads, they are the cavalry."
53 spoke up. "Where are all the rebels they keep talking about?” he asked. “I would bet my last credit the protestors and the bombers are the only trouble we have."
"They just want us to do their job and then use us as scapegoats if things go sideways," Antolini said.
"Little girl, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about," a tall militia soldier said.
Antolini fired back. "Listen up, shit-for-brains, if you knew what the hell you were talking about we wouldn’t have to be here holding your hands."
He flipped her off and smiled.
Chapter 8
A few minutes pasted quietly, I knew Terri was just letting the ride lull the militia soldier into distraction. Even with her arm in a sling, I knew she would go for him and she did. I twisted and caught Antolini around the waist and pulled her back, half across me and the bench seat we sat on.
Arrendondo reached over and grabbed her by the ear. Terri turned her head, ready to fight.
"Private, I've had about enough of you. If you don’t sit down and shut your mouth, you’re through,” she said. “You will sit it out with the lieutenant’s group in the warehouse, waiting to get off this flea-bitten shithole."
Antolini’s new nemesis sitting across from us was smirking, he was going to keep it up until he got what he wanted, so I didn’t let her go. My friend was never going to make it to her next promotion if she didn’t get herself together.
I slid my arm in behind her and grabbed her by the belt with my other hand. She slid off me, but we were still shoulder-to-shoulder.
"You need to chill out, or we’re going to end up in trouble,” I said, giving her a little nudge with my shoulder.
"I don’t need you or your help!" she said, trying to get out of my grip.
"Of course not. Forget I said anything." I still wasn’t going to let loose of her belt. "When the time comes I'll be there, whether you want me with you or not.”
It had been a bad day. The asshats sitting across from us didn’t care about the two body bags on the floor; they weren't their people. I would be glad when we were far away from them. Terri was breathing normally and had calmed down.
They had taken Phil on ahead to their medical facility but left two body bags and our dead for us. Not sure why, but it pissed me off the more I looked at them lying there. Lance Corporal Abel and PFC Jenks were alliance soldiers on alliance soil. We were in a civilized populated city.
Their blood stained the walk and the street. The glass had nearly cut Corporal Abel's head off and Jenks had caught a large piece in the chest, right through the heart. De La Cruz was almost gutted. They deserved better.
We made it to the militia compound and got our gear together then loaded back up into the same personnel carrier. Fifteen minutes later, we were at the warehouse unloading and getting moved in. A shuttle would be arriving shortly for the bodies.
Corporal Meadows and Staff Sergeant Phillips, our platoon sergeant, met us once we had deposited our gear and said the lieutenant wanted to see us. We followed them to her makeshift office and waited outside the door.
It seemed that the captain and lieutenant were having words — words which were getting louder by the minute. From what I could ascertain, the platoon was going to moon 6912 to investigate the possibility of a rebel training camp. She wanted to take us with the platoon, citing the need to have every marine available if they did locate the camp.
But the captain wouldn't budge. He wasn’t turning us loose just yet. The lieutenant got loud about the chain of command, saying he wasn’t in hers. The captain didn’t lose his cool or raise his voice. My guess was the lieutenant was upset over losing two men, and he was letting her vent.
"Corporal, get in here!" O'Malley yelled.
I walked in behind Arrendondo. We were single file; whoever had made the makeshift door made it half normal size. The office reflected the image the door gave; it was about six by seven feet. They must have built it aroun
d the desk and chairs. We crammed in quickly and quietly, and the corporal reported in.
It was a tight fit. The captain stood off to the side of the desk, leaning back against the wall. 53 just stood in the doorway.
"It seems the four of you will be staying here on 6410 while the rest of us are departing for 6912 in the next hour. The militia is sending an officer to take your statements about the bombing that occurred. Do you have any questions? Is there anything you need?"
There was silence. I looked back at Terri and 53. We made eye contact. There was nothing they wanted to say.
O'Malley said, "Jamison, you stay. The rest of you are dismissed."
53 backed up a few steps. Terri backed out and I shuffled over to let Arrendondo out. She grinned at me as she stepped past. I stood in front of O'Malley's desk. She was waiting for the others to move along. I knew they were probably no more than five feet from the door, standing quietly and trying to listen.
"Private Jamison, what were you thinking?” O’Malley snapped at me once everyone had left. “I don’t want any show boaters or glory hounds in my platoon. You saved PFC De La Cruz, but that is where your duty ended. Commandeering POVs and going in burning buildings…" she exhaled, not finishing her thought.
Captain Braun continued for her. "We are undercover, Jamison, and drawing attention is just asking for trouble. The press is looking for you, so our next outing will be in civvies instead of the militia uniforms. The terrorists may be targeting militia squads." Braun paused. "Do you understand why we may have to stand by and watch things go down, even if it’s a tragedy in the making?"
"Yes sir." My throat was sore and scratchy, my voice hoarse. It still hurt a little to take deep breaths and hold them, so my replies sounded rough. I hoped it helped hide the fact I was getting angry.
"The captain has submitted your name for a medal to the general," O'Malley said stiffly. "You had better be prepared to take some shit from the others once everyone finds out, and you will take it."
I believe I was supposed to reply, but my response didn’t just jump out of my mouth like they normally do. I was staring, burning holes in the wall just above and behind her head.
"Do you have something to say, Private Jamison?" the captain asked.
"I don’t want your medal," I said to the captain. Then I looked at the lieutenant. "And I'm not taking shit from anyone, ma'am. First it’s the smoke and heat and the fact you can’t breathe, then you’re on the floor trying to breathe and it burns, and keeps getting hotter. If you're lucky, you pass out and die before the flames start kissing your skin, because if you’re alive, you can’t scream. They weren't marines, lieutenant, but they didn’t deserve to die like that either. I wish I could have show boated a little faster or been a better glory hound, then I might have been able to save more of them."
My throat hurt after my little long-winded speech. I waited for the ass-chewing. O'Malley stared me in the eyes and stood up. I guess she thought she would be more menacing like that.
"You are dismissed, Private Jamison," she growled.
I came to attention, then turned on my heel and walked out. I was right; my friends were standing about five feet away from the open doorway. Staff Sergeant Phillips and Corporal Meadows were about ten feet away as well. I'm not sure how far our voices carried, but it was clear they had heard most of it.
I made eye contact with both of them as they hurried into the lieutenant’s office. It sounded like they should have waited a few more minutes, judging by the yelling. My teammates were staring at me.
"We should grab our gear and get ready to leave,” I said. “The captain should be ready to go.” They just looked at me.
“Stop staring at me,” I snapped. “It’s not over, and she won’t forget about it. It’ll eat away at her, and once we’re back on the ship she'll come after me."
Terri punched my lightly in the chest. "You're still my hero."
Arrendondo rolled her eyes. "Let’s get our gear."
"Didn’t I just say that?" I asked.
"Yes you did,” she said, “but it’s not a good idea for us to do what you say right now.” Her mouth twisted, hiding a smile. “Could be harmful to our careers."
"You're probably right," I said.
"Oh, I know I'm right," she answered.
The sergeant, corporal and captain all exited the lieutenant’s office. I got a frown, a smirk and a smile from the captain. Meadows was shaking his head.
"We need to get out of here now," the captain said. "We’ll meet the militia officer at the hotel I have booked for us. I ordered clothes for everyone to be delivered to our rooms. Jamison, are you okay to walk?”
I had no clue what he was talking about. "Walk, sir? Yes, I'm fine."
"I just figured those big balls you drag around would get in the way,” the captain said amused, eyebrows raised and smiling. “Let’s get going."
That got a smile from everyone, including me.
****
"Well, hello there." Mr. Black stepped out in front of Ruby. "You look like you’ve had a rough evening."
Ruby heard feet shuffle behind her. Hands grabbed her just above the elbows from behind. She tried to remain still and calm.
"You shouldn’t be out walking home alone tonight," Black said. "Where is your friend, the one from the militia? Why isn’t he walking with you?"
Georgie chuckled behind Ruby; he was the one holding her arms. She tried to turn and look at him, but he jerked her around to keep her facing Black.
"We are gonna take you someplace safe and we'll round up Will and bring him there too."
Ruby looked around fearfully, hoping to find someone walking by she could yell at for help. Georgie pulled her into the doorway of the building Black had been standing in.
Black got right in front of her and put something over her mouth. Everything went dark.
****
The militia officer seemed like a decent guy. The questions were simple, and he paid close attention to the part of the story which the captain and lieutenant had been so angry about.
He also paid attention to Terri and Arrendondo, but for different reasons. The captain had done a nice job picking out the clothes, and I couldn’t blame the officer for checking out the girls. ‘Snug’ was a good word to describe their look.
The militia officer left and the captain let us go for dinner. We headed to the area in town we were familiar with. There were a number of good cafés and restaurants. I knew where I could get a great cup of coffee, but would save that suggestion until after dinner.
We ordered and ate — simple food, but still things we weren’t going to get back on the battle cruiser. Our plates were cleared and the others were debating desert when Arrendondo got the call.
She hadn’t said anything yet when the first explosion sounded and we felt a slight vibration. We looked at each other, then at her.
"Captain wants us back at the hotel,” she said, already standing up and ready to go. “There are rebels assaulting the militia base.”
****
Ruby woke up hanging from a pair of cuffs. She stood to relieve her arms from supporting the weight of her body. A girl hung about five feet away from her in the same manner, as well as a boy. Both were naked and bruised. Blood had dried in trails on their faces and bodies.
Ruby raised her arms so the cuffs would slide down, giving her wrists some relief. Blood ran down the arms of both the other captives from the cuffs, which were breaking the skin. She heard the explosion and thought she heard the sound of weapon-fire, but it was faint.
It became clear to Ruby that she had been a fool to trust in her brothers’ so-called friends. She wondered how much her brother knew about the bombing and whatever else was going on. She knew that she and Will did not see eye-to-eye on how to bring about change in their society, but she would have never guessed he would go along with killing innocent people.
Ruby heard a pounding on a door upstairs.
****
Wi
ll waited. He heard the noise coming from the militia base and wasn’t sure if anyone would even be there. He wondered where his sister was at; he hadn’t heard from her in hours. He was about to leave when Georgie opened the door.
"Hey man, sounds like they started without us,” Will said. “I just thought I would stop here before I went over there."
"Mr. Black is there. I'm sure he has everything handled,” Georgie answered. "You should probably go one over there."
"You haven’t seen my sister, have you?” Will asked. “I haven’t heard from her in hours."
"Nah, she doesn’t like me much, so unless Mr. Black has something to talk to her about I don’t ever see her,” Georgie asked.
Will heard his name called, but it was muffled and seemed far away. He looked down the street but didn’t see anyone. When he turned back, it was the look on Georgie's face that gave it away.
"She's in your house!" Will yelled, trying to push his way inside. Georgie grabbed his shirt and pulled him in, kicking the door closed.
"Look, man, Mr. Black don’t want her over there getting in his way,” he said. “She'll screw everything up."
"Where is she? I want to talk to her now!" Will shouted.
"You two aren’t giving the orders anymore," Georgie said, pushing him back.
Will charged him, but was no match for a thug who easily had forty pounds on him. They grappled, jerking each other around by their clothes. Georgie swung him around and threw him to the floor. He jumped on Will, pounding away with his fists. Will swung wildly and scored a lucky solid blow to Georgie's chin, staggering him, and was able to stand up.
Georgie charged Will again, driving him into the wall so hard Will's head left a hole in it. Will was dazed for a second, when he felt Georgie's hand cover his mouth and a pain in his chest like he had never felt before. He pulled on Georgie's arm but felt himself getting weaker. Then the pain took him and he was gone.
Will’s body fell to the floor, a knife stuck in his chest. Georgie laughed, a sick and out-of-control chuckle. He said I could kill him. Georgie thought. Well, I did.
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison Mission 1: The Scarab Moons Page 5