by Sam Schall
“Martino, Dumont, move in!” Talbot added.
Assault rifle ready, stock against her right shoulder, finger resting lightly against the trigger guard, Ashlyn dropped to her right knee. She focused on the doorway, barely daring to breathe. This was it. Would the newcomer come out peacefully or would this become a battle to retake the compound?
“Don’t shoot!” a man yelled as he stepped outside, his hands raised above his head.
Ashlyn’s eyes went wide and her finger against the trigger guard twitched dangerously as she recognized the guard captain. Rage suddenly coursed through her. Memories of all the times she’d been his victim filled her. It would be so easy to exorcise those memories now. All she had to do was squeeze the trigger. A split-second and one of the banes of her existence for the last two years would no longer exist.
“Secure him!”
She recognized her own voice. Until then, she wasn’t aware of the fact she’d stood and had secured her assault rifle in its scabbard across her back. Fortunately, her subconscious had more sense than her conscious did. Besides, there would be time later to deal with Haritos if she found out he’d done anything to her people.
“Cap, you all right?” Talbot asked on a private channel as they waited for Haritos to be brought to them.
“Yeah.”
She shook herself, knowing he was worried. Hell, she was too. It would be so easy to fall back into the fear she’d lived with for so long. It would be even easier to grab her gun and start killing those who had hurt her and the others. Perhaps that was why she had yet to remove her helmet. It obscured her identity, giving her the anonymity she’d craved so often while imprisoned here.
Watching Haritos stop just outside the door, his eyes wide with fear as two armored Marines moved toward him, Ashlyn frowned. Something bothered her. After what happened at the front gate, this was too easy. Haritos wouldn’t just walk out and present himself to a potentially hostile force, not unless it was the only way to save himself.
“Hold!” she ordered her team.
Instantly, they did as she said, the two nearest Haritos, dropping to one knee and leveling their weapons at the guard captain.
“Cap?” Talbot asked.
“It’s too easy, Gunny.” She keyed her visor for infrared and scanned walls surrounding the prison. It didn’t take long to pick out several heat signatures and recognize them for what they were. “Snipers and possible assault weapons along the walls. Tank, Hound, Dumont, McKay, on my order, take them out. They’ll get one chance to surrender.”
“We go to call signs until we have the area secure. I say again, call signs only,” Talbot added. “I’ll have the skin of the first person to break protocol.”
Ashlyn frowned but knew he was right. So far, they had the advantage because Coreal and his people didn’t know she was back. But, after what happened at the front gate and after realizing there were snipers waiting on the walls, she knew she’d be the first target if anyone realized she was the team’s CO.
“Loco’s right,” she confirmed. “Tank, broadcast the call for the guards on the wall to toss down their weapons and move into the open. They get ten seconds to comply. Tell them if they fail to do as ordered, we will open fire.”
“Roger that, Angel,” Tank replied and moved to the center of open area.
As he issued the warning, Ash commed Major Pawlak. “You heard?” she asked without preamble.
“I did and I concur. If you have to blow a few more holes in the prison wall, do it. Keep our people and yourself safe.”
“Doing my best, sir.”
“Three complying, Angel. We have two more still hunkered down,” Tank reported.
“Take out the one at three o’clock, Tank. The bigger the boom, the better. It might convince the other one to come out.”
Without a word, the heavy weapons specialist shouldered his RPG and took aim. A moment later, part of the prison wall disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dust. As it cleared, the damage left behind was apparent. The top six feet of the wall was gone and, with it, the hiding place of the sniper. One down, one more to go.
“Go, Tank,” Ash said.
He turned to where the remaining sniper still hid. As he shouldered the RPG, a figure jumped up, hands held high in the air. Ash smiled slightly. The example had done exactly as she planned. She listened as Talbot ordered several of the team to secure the snipers who had surrendered. It didn’t take long. The Devil Dogs moved with precision and soon the guards were lying face down on the ground, wrists secured behind them, ankles bound. Then, just to be sure they wouldn’t be distractions, they were gagged. In short, they were now the prisoners.
Good.
Now to deal with the guard captain.
Ash keyed her comm for Talbot. “Let’s see what he can tell us.” She pointed to where Haritos stood, hands clasped behind his head, sweat rolling down his face. “Then we’ll go to Coreal’s office. When we get there, I want all electronics locked down. Coreal is to be held in the outer office. Make sure he can’t communicate with anyone else without my permission or yours. Once that’s done, we’ll make sure the rest of the compound is secure. Then we will go find our people.”
“Understood, Angel,” Talbot replied.
She keyed in an open channel to the rest of the squad. “Let’s do this by the numbers, everyone. We don’t start trouble but we sure as hell finish it. All comms are to be via secured channel until either Loco or I say differently. Now let’s keep it tight and keep it chilled.”
And I’d best follow my own orders.
“Name?” Talbot snapped as Martino brought Haritos to stand a few feet away from where the gunny and Ash waited.
“Gavin Haritos. I’m the guard captain here.” He tried to pull away as Martino wrenched his arms behind him and, using a pair of flex-cuffs, secured him. Then, before Haritos could protest, he was forced to his knees. Martino’s gloved hand grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back so the gunny and Ashlyn could see his face.
“Report.” Again, it was Talbot who spoke.
“Compound is secure. Prisoners are in their cells. Commandant Coreal is waiting for you.” Haritos, pale as a ghost, spoke as fast as possible.
“Angel?”
Ashlyn looked around. She knew she should have them bring Haritos with them. But that would divide their attention, even with him cuffed. No, she couldn’t risk that. Nor could she kill the man, no matter how badly she wanted to. So she’d do something almost as good. She’d give him a taste of his own medicine. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it would have to do.
“Bring him,” she said simply and strode off.
Martino and Talbot dragged the now sobbing guard captain after her as she moved to the center of the clearing in front of the administration building. Almost directly in front of the entrance was an innocuous looking set of metal bars. Two were set securely into the ground and stood almost three meters tall. They were approximately two meters apart. They were spanned by two more bars, one set at a meter above the ground and a second at two meters. The installation had been the scene of her one of her first introductions to prison discipline. That day, she’d been forced to watch as one of her squadmates had been chained to the bars and whipped into unconsciousness. Now it was time for Haritos to know what fear truly was.
Without a word, she grabbed him by the arm and walked him forward until he stood before the bars. He began to struggle as she forced him to bend at the waist. With Martino’s assistance, she positioned him so his hips were braced against the lower crossbar and his torso was between the upper and lower bars. Without prompting, Martino grabbed the chains attached to the lower crossbar and fitted them around the guard’s legs, securing him in place. Once that was done, Martino produced a line from his gear and secure it to the flexcuffs and then to the upper bar, pulling it tight enough to force the guard captain’s arms upward, forcing him to remain bent at the waist. He wouldn’t be getting free of that without help.
Ignoring her suit’s wa
rnings that her pulse and respiration were increasing, Ashlyn moved to stand before Haritos and grabbed his hair, forcing his head up. The fear reflected in his eyes was something she’d dreamed of for so long. But it wasn’t enough. Not when she thought about all he’d done to her and who knew how many others. Not when she thought about the horror the administration building held for her. Each time she’d been brought through those doors just a few meters away, pain had followed. But she couldn’t think about that now. Not yet, at any rate. There’d be time later, after she made sure the others were safe, when she’d be able to get retribution.
Hell, the Devil Dogs would probably help her. Even if they didn’t, she was pretty sure they’d do nothing to stand in her way, especially if any of the others had been harmed.
“Angel?” Talbot was at her side, his voice concerned.
“Haritos here is responsible for many of the scars you’ve seen, Loco, and much more. More than you’ll ever know,” she growled. She relished the fear in Haritos’ eyes and the way he tried to pull out of her grasp. It was futile and they both knew it. Even if he managed to jerk free of her hold on his hair, he couldn’t break free of his bonds.
“Captain, we need him. At least for a little while longer.” Talbot spoke softly over a secured private channel.
She wanted to argue. She finally had the chance to repay this bastard for all he’d done to her. But Talbot was right. They did need him, at least for the moment. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t drive her point home.
“Look at me,” she growled. “Look at me and know your worst nightmare has just come to life. You try anything that might slow us down or prevent us from carrying out our mission and you’ll beg these men and women to turn you over to me.” She jerked his head right and then left, forcing him to look at Talbot and the others. “These Marines are members of the Devil Dogs. Do you really want to piss them off?”
Haritos swallowed audibly, his eyes fixed on the Marines standing behind Ashlyn.
“Now look at me again and remember who I am and all you and Coreal did to me over the last two years. Look at me and remember the scars you gave me and think about the scars you can’t see. I’d like nothing more than to tear you apart, slowly and painfully. So please, give me a reason.” Now she touched the side of her helmet with her free hand and the faceplate turned transparent, giving him his first real look at her.
“N-no.” His voice wavered and it wouldn’t have surprised Ashlyn one bit to look down and find he’d pissed himself. Like most bullies, he was nothing more than a coward. Faced with someone who could stand up to him, he’d quickly turn on Coreal and anyone else as long as it meant staying alive one moment longer.
“I suggest you tell the captain whatever she wants to know,” Talbot took up as he stepped forward. “Unless, Captain, you’d give us the pleasure of questioning him.”
“No!” Tears filled the man’s eyes and Ashlyn looked at him in contempt.
“What happened here? Why are the defenses offline and whose blood was it just inside the gates?” she snapped.
“The defenses and comms went down early this morning. We don’t know why. I swear.”
“The prisoners?” She knew there was more to it. There was something he wasn’t telling them.
“In their cells.”
Ashlyn released him and stepped back, looking around. There was more to what happened than he’d said. The problem was, she didn’t know what. Worse, she had a feeling he didn’t know. But, experience had taught her that faced with a loss of the security systems, Coreal would have taken steps, possibly drastic steps, to insure the prisoners didn’t get the wrong idea and try to break out. If he’d done anything to her people . . . .
“Gag him and leave him here.” She forced herself not to reach for her gun. But that would be too quick, too easy. She wanted him to suffer, to be afraid. She wanted to be there when the executioner acted and Haritos breathed his last. By God, she’d be there as a free woman. He wasn’t worth losing her freedom over.
But it was so tempting.
“Do you think Coreal has something planned for us, Cap?” Talbot asked over the secure channel a few moments later as they moved back toward the administration building. Behind them, on display much as he’d displayed prisoners over the years, was the gagged and sobbing Haritos.
“I don’t know but it wouldn’t surprise me.” She swallowed hard against her fury. “Gunny, unless I miss my guess, Coreal ordered Haritos and the guards lock down the prisoners. It wouldn’t surprise me to know he’d ordered competing gangs locked down together. Coreal wouldn’t care if any or all the prisoners died as long as he wasn’t harmed.”
“From the way that bastard reacted, I think you’re right.” His voice was as grim as she felt. “And we will make them pay.”
“That we will, Gunny. But let’s make sure the area is secure first. Once the major’s here, we can deal with Coreal and find our people.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They stopped outside the main entrance to the admin building. “Hound, you take point. Tank, you bring up the rear.”
“The major wants this done by the books. So clear the first floor. By the time that’s done, the major should be here with reinforcements. Then we’ll move up, clearing each floor as we go. In the meantime, Wolf, work your magic and lock down the building. All exits but this one. Loco, two men on the entrance. No one in or out who isn’t a Devil Dog.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Without waiting to see who he put on guard duty, Ashlyn pushed through the doors, her rifle at the ready. The sooner they cleared the floor, the sooner she’d finally be able to confront Coreal and find out where her people were being held.
Chapter Twelve
“What the hell are they doing?”
Coreal sat at his desk, his fingers punching code after code into his computer, trying to bring up any of the numerous security cams in the building. But it was all in vain. Each command code had the same result. A dark screen followed by an error message telling him that the camera was off-line. That left him blind and deaf to whatever the soldiers were doing.
Well, if he couldn’t see what they were doing, they couldn’t see what he was doing. He entered in a new set of commands, watching, waiting. If he was lucky, he’d be able to scrub the data banks before the soldiers figured out what he’d done. Then there would be nothing to prove he’d ever done anything against regulations. More than that, it would hide other secrets he most definitely did not want them to discover.
Command line error.
What?
He stared at the display, disbelief filling him. Then he typed in the command sequence again slower this time to prevent making a mistake. He waited, not daring to breathe. The screen blinked once and then went dark. A moment later it flickered back to life, mocking him.
Command line error.
Damn it!
Somehow, the soldiers had managed to lock him out of his own computer system. But maybe it wasn’t them. Maybe that bastard Haritos had done it before going down to meet them. That would be just like that bastard. Well, two could play that game. Haritos might have locked out the system but he had backups of not only his files but the guard captain’s as well. If Haritos even thought about betraying him, he’d see his neck in the hangman’s noose.
But now he needed to be ready for the soldiers. More than that, he knew he needed luck to be on his side. It was obvious they weren’t taking any chances. If he could just get them to believe that his people, especially that little bastard in the outer yard, hadn’t realized who they were because of the comm system failure, he might just be able to talk his way out of this. He could do this. He knew he could. All he had to do was remind them about the attack on the capital and how he simply couldn’t take any chances, not when he had several hundred prisoners who would do anything to see freedom again.
Even as he began to believe he had a chance to pull it off, the sounds of a scuffle in the outer office reached him. A moment later, the
door to his office blew open with a deafening blast. Fear unlike anything he had ever before experienced filled Coreal and he fell to his knees. As he did, he saw the clerk in the office beyond spin in the direction of one of the soldiers, gun in hand. Before he had completed his turn, four shots rang out, cutting him down. Then the Marine in the lead strode through the ruins of the door, his pulse rifle aimed directly at Coreal’s head.
Oh God, why hadn’t he followed his first impulse and disappeared somewhere off-planet, preferably out of the system, the moment that bitch Shaw had been removed from his custody?
* * *
“Gunny, secure these pieces of scum,” Major Pawlak ordered as he removed his battle helmet. He tossed it onto the nearby desk before reaching for his comm-link. “Captain Carlisle, Admin’s now under our control. As soon as we’ve secured the commandant’s office and records, we’ll move to the inner compound.”
“Excellent, Major,” Carlisle’s voice replied over battle-net. “Keep me in the loop.”
“Understood, Sir,”
As Pawlak listened to the various reports coming in from the Devil Dogs as they secured the floor, Ashlyn never took her eyes off of Coreal. How different he looked as he cowered behind his desk, sweat on his brow and fear in his eyes, than he had all those times she’d been brought to him for discipline. She felt a bitter smile touch her lips as she wondered how he’d react once he realized who actually stood before him. This time she was the one with the power.
God, how she wanted to make him suffer the way he’d made her suffer over the years.
But she couldn’t. Not yet at any rate. Pawlak had been clear once he’d joined them. She was to remain at his side until he said differently. She was to leave the talking to him and she was not to remove her helmet. She’d balked at the orders even as she’d understood them. Pawlak wanted her to be able to communicate with him without Coreal knowing. She was his ace in the hole just then, the one able to tell him if Coreal was telling the truth or not.
Her money was on him lying through his teeth.