Revolution

by Shawn Davis

  “Understood. We’re getting ready to set down next to the Bureau of Statistics. Are you ready to assume command of the squad?” Pearlman asked.

  Rayne felt nowhere near ready to assume command of any squad. But if his experiences had taught him anything, it was how to fake it.

  “Sure, no problem,” he replied with forced casualness.

  “Okay. We’re setting down now. I’m going to drop you guys off and then continue fighting in the air. There’s more resistance than we thought.”

  “All right. Sounds good,” Peter lied.

  He felt his stomach lift suddenly into his chest. The next thing he knew, the troop compartment doors were opening. Rayne unbuckled his safety belt and was the first person to stand shakily to his feet. He walked down the aisle several feet to the open door and paused when he heard Pearlman’s voice speaking again in his headset.

  “Peter, I won’t be coming with you so your second-in-command is going to be Corporal Brennon. Don’t worry. She’s the best in the business. Now get moving and good luck! I’ll see you when it’s over.”

  I certainly hope so.

  “Received, Lieutenant. Good luck to you too,” Rayne said.

  There was no answer. Rayne turned toward the seated soldiers. All of them had taken off their seat belts, but none of them had made any move to follow him. Apparently, no one did anything without orders.

  “We’re going now,” he said to the group, feeling like an idiot.

  The squad stood at attention. Rayne gripped the edge of the doorway and jumped down to the ground. The rest of the group followed. The squad of nineteen men and women quickly assembled around him like football players in a huddle, awaiting their orders.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” Rayne said. “As you probably already know, we’re going down into the Underworld.”

  “The Underworld?” Brennon asked, surprised.

  The phrase was repeated by half the soldiers before Rayne spoke again.

  “Okay. So, maybe you didn’t know,” Rayne said, cursing Campion for keeping everything a secret until the last possible second. “There’s an elevator in the Bureau of Statistics. It leads down to the Underworld. We’re taking it down. We’re expecting to encounter significant resistance. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” the group said with one voice.

  I can’t believe this is happening.

  “It looks like you’re my second in command,” Rayne said to Brennon.

  “That’s right, Sarge,” the attractive blonde-haired woman replied, grinning at him.

  “The last time I traveled down to the Underworld there was a pair of guards in the building lobby. I’m assuming they’ll still be there. We’ll probably have to take them out,” Peter said.

  “You’ve been down there before, Sarge?” the corporal asked, surprised.

  “That’s the only reason I’m leading the mission.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. Let’s go.”

  Sergeant Rayne and Corporal Brennon took the lead, pointing their rifle barrels ahead as they moved closer to the wall, ducking and moving toward the front glass doors. The rest of the squad broke into groups of two, following them. When they approached the glass doors, Rayne lifted his right arm, signaling them to stop.

  “Why don’t you and I make a surprise entrance?” Rayne suggested to Brennon.

  “Sure, Sarge,” Brennon agreed, her green eyes glinting with anticipation as she clutched her rifle in a tight grip.

  “Let’s do it,” Peter said, turning the corner and kicking open the front glass doors.

  There was no one in the lobby. They stepped into the deserted area, sweeping it with their weapons.

  Suddenly, a blue-armored figure appeared from a side door on the right. Brennon’s rifle thundered and the Shock Trooper dropped before he could lift his weapon. Rayne read the sign above the door; MEN’S ROOM.

  “Nice shooting,” he said.

  “Thanks, Sarge,” Brennon replied. “I’ll cover the lobby. Why don’t you tell the rest of the group it’s clear?”

  “Okay,” Peter said, ducking back into the street and waving the group in.

  Now I know why they assigned her to me. I’m beginning to suspect that she’s actually number one and I’m really number two on this mission. Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll see what happens when we go down into the Underworld. Things might change.

  Rayne saw Brennon exit the men’s room.

  She checked to make sure the other guard wasn’t in there.

  Brennon walked confidently across the lobby and met with him.

  “All clear,” she said.

  “Great. But where’s the other guard?” Rayne asked.

  “Maybe he abandoned his post when the shooting started,” Brennon suggested.

  Rayne figured he was probably hiding, if he was smart.

  A second later, Rayne had his answer when another Shock Trooper appeared suddenly from the corridor on the left, firing at them. Two rebel soldiers dropped in a pool of blood as the rest of the squad pointed their weapons at the blue-armored intruder, ripping him to shreds with automatic gunfire. The Shock Trooper crumpled to the ground with bloody cracks in his armor like a squashed beetle.

  The corporal checked the two soldiers who had been hit.

  “They’re both gone,” she said, after checking their neck pulses. Then she added, “Explosive bullets,” by way of explanation.

  This isn’t good. We’re down to eighteen already. Still, eighteen is better than one. I was here by myself last time and I still made it. Of course, the circumstances were slightly different then.

  Chapter 37

  Firefight

  Campion felt relieved as she sailed toward the eastern sector of the city.

  The outer defenses are down and the police headquarters is destroyed. Now we’ll see how lucky we are with the rest of the city.

  She switched to B-Squad’s channel to see how Rayne was doing.

  “L-1 to L-2. Come in Bravo Squad,” Jane spoke into her headset.

  “This is L-2. Go,” a harried-sounding voice replied.

  “L-2, what’s going on? Have you reached the Underworld yet?” Campion asked.

  “Commander, it’s much worse than we thought!” Lieutenant Pearlman shouted into the radio receiver. “They must have called for reinforcements from the mainland when the defense computer went down. They were able to launch more than fifty government choppers before we could hit the airfield!”

  “Fifty choppers!” Jane exclaimed, shocked.

  “We’re still fighting them!” Pearlman said.

  “What about the drop at the Bureau of Statistics? Have you made it yet?”

  “It’s all set. I set them down a few minutes ago. But it’s still pretty hairy here.”

  “Received. We’re on our way,” Campion said, pushing forward all the way on the thrust. She heard a roar from the engines as she increased speed and switched channels on her headset.

  “L-1 to Battle Group. Come in, Alpha Squad,” Jane said.

  “This is S-1. Go ahead, L-1,” Sergeant Jacques answered.

  “All units resume attack formation. I repeat, resume attack formation. Aborting secondary target. I repeat, we’re aborting secondary target.”

  “Aborting secondary target,” the sergeant repeated.

  “We’re heading to the northern sector. Battle Group, follow my lead. Bravo Squad is engaged in multiple dogfights with enemy choppers.”

  “Received, L-1.”

  Campion’s chopper squad came together and formed the familiar V-shaped wedge similar to the one they used during their attack on the police headquarters. They increased speed toward the northern sector. Jane checked her radar. The rebel choppers had transmitters on board that gave a specific signal. All rebel choppers were represented as green blips. All enemy aircraft were represented as red blips. Jane looked down at her radar and saw a massive swarm of red blips with a smaller amount of green blips, which she thought didn
’t bode well.

  “Battle Group, we are approaching the enemy. Prepare to engage,” Campion said, poising her thumb above the missile button.

  She switched on her targeting computer and a holographic image appeared in front of the cockpit’s windscreen. The hologram consisted of a luminous green square that represented the sights of the chopper’s front-mounted missiles and Gatling guns. All she had to do was line up the enemy and fire. Easier said than done. The holographic sights worked well with the guided missiles, but it was more difficult to line the sights up and get an accurate shot with the guns.

  “Battle Group, maintain formation until we’re right on top of them,” Campion instructed, spotting a number of black specks in the distant sky.

  The small black specks above the city horizon became steadily larger as they approached until the details of the choppers were visible. Campion steered her chopper toward the closest red blip, preparing to press the missile button. She raced in and dropped down like a bird of prey behind a speeding government air-ship, trying to line it up in her sights. Jane saw that her target was pursuing a rebel chopper. She observed white sparks shooting out from both pursuer and pursued as they exchanged gunfire.

  They’re out of missiles. Too bad I’m not.

  Campion lined up the government chopper in her sights and fired, watching the twin trails of fire from her missiles as they closed in on the enemy ship. She veered sharply to the right as a fireball exploded in the space the enemy occupied seconds before. She steered her ship toward the next closest red blip.

  Jane had to duck down and veer sharply to the left to avoid a collision with an oncoming government airship. When she passed the ship, she came to a full-stop and rotated 180 degrees, hitting the thrusters. She shot like a missile toward the chopper that had almost struck her. Her right thumb hovered above the missile button as she closed in on the enemy. The fleeing airship attempted to avoid her by diving down toward the city. Campion followed like a hawk, closing quickly. She smiled at the thought of Timothy Leland’s contribution to the aerial dogfight.

  By selling the government sub-standard choppers, he assured their eventual destruction in an all-out air battle.

  Campion lined up her enemy and fired, diving sharply to the right as her opponent blew apart. She steered toward the next red blip on her radar screen, determined to eliminate them all one by one.

  ********

  Rayne decided it was time to take charge.

  “I need you guys to cover the corridor. You two, cover the front doors,” he said, pointing to four soldiers and two locations. “The rest of you, come with me.” He advanced toward the elevator.

  Rayne went to the elevator’s side panel and entered his stolen code. The elevator doors rushed open. He stepped inside and pressed the “door hold” button. Brennon followed him in, signaling to the others to wait outside.

  “We can’t just ride the elevator down and walk out,” Rayne said – as if thinking out loud. “If they’re smart, they’ll have a squad down there with their weapons trained on the elevator door. We have to find another way,” he added, looking up at the ceiling.

  “I agree. Let’s check out the elevator roof,” Brennon said, pressing against a roof tile with the nozzle of her rifle. The roof tile didn’t move. It was welded into the ceiling.

  “Step outside for a second, Sarge,” the corporal advised.

  Rayne thought he knew what she had in mind and stepped out of the elevator. Brennon stood outside the elevator, picked a spot in the corner of the roof, and opened fire with her rifle. They watched bright sparks shoot from the elevator roof. She paused for a moment, inspected her handiwork, and opened fire again. She stopped firing and turned to Rayne.

  “All set, Sarge. Wanna give me a hand up?” she asked.

  “Sure, no problem,” Peter said, stepping into the elevator and looking up.

  A hole had been blown in the elevator ceiling, which looked just large enough to accommodate a human being. Rayne placed his rifle on the elevator floor and gave Corporal Brennon a “ten fingers” lift by placing both hands under her right boot and lifting. Brennon grabbed the ceiling edge and lifted herself up while Rayne pushed. He watched her disappear into the hole in the ceiling. She looked down at him a second later.

  “Sarge, there’s enough room for three more people up here,” Brennon said.

  “Okay, very good. You two-” Rayne said, pointing to the two closest soldiers. “Come with me. As for the rest of you, wait here in the lobby. If we survive, one of us will come back up and get you. If not, you’re on your own. Your orders are to continue the mission. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” the squad answered.

  “Okay, then. Give me a lift up,” Rayne said to Thompson.

  “No problem,” Lorick said, giving him the “ten fingers” lift into the ceiling.

  The remaining soldiers helped the next two soldiers up until all four were standing on the elevator ceiling.

  “Okay, we’re here,” Rayne said, stating the obvious. “Now, what’s the plan when we get down there?”

  “We’re assuming they have a squad down below with their weapons trained on the elevator door,” Karyn said.

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “We can’t very well hang upside down and fire at them, or risk waiting for them to come into the elevator and shoot through the ceiling,” Brennon said. “We’ll have to throw a grenade at them. The timing will have to coincide exactly with the opening of the elevator doors.”

  “Okay, then that’s the plan,” Rayne stated. “Now which one of you is the best shot with a grenade?”

  “That would be me, Sarge,” Brennon replied without hesitation.

  “Do you think you can throw a grenade under-handed through the hole without looking where you’re throwing it?” Rayne asked, skeptically.

  “I know I can.”

  “All right. Good enough for me. I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you that if the grenade isn’t thrown at least twenty feet away, we’ll be caught in the blast radius.”

  “I’ll throw it at least forty feet.”

  “Okay, I believe you. Let’s do it.”

  Brennon leaned down through the hole and instructed one of the soldiers to hit the button for the lowest floor; B-1. Rayne and the other two soldiers gave her some room so she could lie down flat on her stomach. As they descended, she took a grenade off her belt and practiced throwing it through the opening.

  “Piece of cake,” she said, grinning up at their anxious faces.

  Rayne rolled his eyes and hoped he had made the right decision. The fact was that he couldn’t think of a better plan. He and the other two soldiers stood tensely as the elevator descended, clutching their rifles in tight grips. Brennon seemed completely at ease, lying flat on her stomach with her right arm dangling through the hole in the elevator roof.

  “As soon as I hear the doors opening, I’m throwing it,” she advised.

  Peter noticed a light sweat building on her forehead as he felt the elevator slowing down. He felt a slight shudder as the elevator stopped. He heard the doors rush open and saw Karyn’s body tense up on the floor as she pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it. She tossed the grenade and immediately pushed herself up to her feet. Peter handed her the rifle from the floor. They stood waiting, staring at each other. Long seconds went by and they didn’t hear an explosion.

  “How long is the delay on those things?” Rayne asked.

  “Five seconds,” Brennon said.

  “It’s been a lot more than five seconds,” Peter said. “Why haven’t we heard an explosion?”

  “Sarge, I thought you knew. There is no explosion,” Karyn said. “At least, no conventional explosion. These are laser grenades. When they go off, all you see is a flash of blinding red light. Then, everything in the vicinity of the light disintegrates. I’ve been told you can’t look directly at the explosion because you’ll go blind.”

  “Sorry, I’ve never used these grenades bef
ore,” Rayne apologized and then added, “I’m old school. Where I come from, grenades make a loud bang.”

  “No problem, Sarge,” Brennon said, grinning. “There’s no sense waiting. One of us needs to go down there.”

  “I’ll do it,” Rayne said, handing his rifle to Brennon.

  He took a deep breath and lowered himself through the hole in the elevator ceiling. His entire body was tense as if he was expecting his legs to be blown off. When his legs dangled for a few seconds in the open air and remained intact, he lowered the rest of his body down. Brennon handed his rifle down to him. He landed on his feet, focused his rifle ahead, looked down the corridor, and saw a wide black mark on the floor ahead. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was seeing, but he knew it wasn’t an attack squad waiting to blow him away.

  “Okay. It’s all clear,” Rayne said, stepping into the corridor.

  His eyes squinted as he tried to figure out what the rough black shapes on the floor, walls, and ceiling were. Scattered, unidentifiable debris surrounded the large black mark on the floor. Peter heard someone else dropping down into the elevator as he moved toward the black shape. As he approached, he realized it was a massive crater.

  Peter was horrified when he recognized one of the pieces of debris. It was a bloody human forearm with a black armored hand clutching a rifle. The barrel appeared to be intact, but half of the stock was missing as if it had been sawed cleanly off. He stepped closer and recognized some of the other pieces of debris scattered around the hole in the ground: a set of five armored fingers, the toe sections of a pair of shiny black boots and in another area of the corridor, an intact Shock Trooper faceplate lying in a puddle of blood on the floor like a Halloween mask. Next to the faceplate was an armored leg severed at the knee.

  The incredible power of the laser grenade hit him psychologically. Stepping closer to the detonation area, Rayne inspected the forty-foot crater imbedded into the ground, walls, and ceiling. The crater sunk down about five feet – a rock floor at its base. Huge chunks had been taken out of the walls and ceiling, exposing rock beneath.

  “Wow. Not much left of them, is there?” Brennon observed.