“It’s good to see you again, Commander,” Taylor whispered.
The exhaustion on Jack’s face was palpable. He was beaten, bruised, and covered in grime. Despite it all, though, the faintest of smiles soon found its way to the corners of the old man’s mouth. “It’s good to see you, too, Chief. I reckon this means we’re goin’ home?”
“As soon as you’re aboard, brother.” Taylor offered his friend a hand and pulled him into the cargo hold. A few seconds later, the Aysep shifted the truck into gear, and the group was on their way.
“How’d you manage to pull off this little jailbreak, anyway?” Jack asked.
Taylor recounted the story of his fight with the KzSha in the mine, resulting in his banishment to solitary confinement with Haju. “That’s where we met—”
The lights outside the tarp glared red as a klaxon sounded.
Shit.
* * * * *
Chapter 21: Break Out
“Heads down!” Aysep shouted to the people in the back.
“We gotta ditch—”
“Heads down!” Aysep interrupted Taylor. “Not stop us. Probably found dead KzSha.”
Taylor decided to trust that Aysep knew what he was doing. Not only was no one actually shooting at them—at the moment, anyway—he couldn’t see that well from the back of the truck, so his decision making would be flawed.
“Worst jail break ever,” Torrio said. “We didn’t even make it 50 meters before you got us caught!”
“We ain’t caught yet,” Taylor said. “Unless you want to get out and walk, how about you keep your head down and your mouth shut?”
Torrio opened his mouth, but then shut it again.
Atta boy. Taylor nodded.
The lights in the ceiling seemed to crawl past, although subjectively Taylor knew the Caroon was driving as fast as he could without raising the KzSha’s suspicions. He could see the flashing light displays as the various patrols talked with each other, but no one stopped the truck as it headed for the exit.
“What’s the play?” Jack asked. “How are we gonna get out of the tunnel if they sealed the exit?”
“Don’t know yet,” Taylor said. “We’ll think of something. We’re kinda makin’ this up as we go.”
“Great,” Torrio muttered. “No plan.”
“Remember that walk we discussed just now?” Taylor shot back. “It’s still on the table.”
Once again, the merc commander hushed.
If anything, the flashing lights of KzSha communication increased as they drove. Aysep made the last turn toward the exit, but then slowed.
“Trouble,” the Caroon said.
“Whatcha got?” Taylor raised his head for a look.
“Exit blocked,” Aysep said. “Way back blocked.”
Taylor opened his mouth, but then grabbed hold of the truck’s side as the Caroon slammed the throttle to the stops.
“Must get out!” Aysep said. “I open way through. Kill many KzSha for my mate. Then you pass.”
“Oh, hell no,” Taylor protested. “I told you before, we all go, or none of us do. That’s the deal.”
The translated voices of KzSha boomed, “Stop! Stop the truck, or we’ll fire!”
Aysep didn’t stop, and several rounds slamming into the truck. Without warning, the truck decelerated sharply as it crashed through the barrier, tossing Taylor from the bed of the truck.
With a sudden lunge, Jack grabbed his CO’s arm, keeping his other hand attached to a tie-down point, and pulled Taylor back inside.
The truck accelerated again as it roared up the ramp out of the mine, but in a jerky motion, as something in the engine caught and sputtered.
That’s not good. Taylor focused on the positive. “Nice work, Aysep. Even Frank here couldn’t have driven it any better.”
The Caroon glanced back at Taylor, then returned his attention to the dark road ahead. “Two problems. Engine dying.”
Whether Aysep had turned it off or it died on its own, Taylor didn’t know, but the engine shut down a couple of seconds after he made his pronouncement. The truck swerved slightly and coasted into one of the buildings to the right of the road, where it slammed to a stop.
“Okay, the engine’s dead,” Taylor said. “What’s the other problem?”
“Need new…driver.” The Caroon slumped over in the driver’s compartment.
“Aww, crap.” Taylor pulled himself forward. There wasn’t a lot of light, but there was enough to see the blood pooling on the seat. A laser had caught the alien in the chest.
Taylor patted him on the shoulder. Godspeed, my friend. Wherever you are, I hope your mate is waitin’ for you.
“Time’s up, Chief,” Jack said from the back. “Those wasps are gonna be on us in droves any minute now. We need to get the hell out of here.”
Taylor said a final goodbye to his fallen companion, then gave the compartment a quick look. The former truck owners had left two laser rifles in a rack. He pulled out the first and handed it to Jack. “This oughta help.”
The cowboy snatched up the weapon and racked in a charge. “Damn straight it will.”
Taylor pulled out the second rifle for himself, along with a pair of extra batteries that had been left in their holders.
“Where to?” Frank asked once everyone had dismounted the truck.
“Can you see anything?” Taylor tossed a battery to Jack.
“I hate to break it to ya, boss, but Buma ain’t like owls,” Frank said. “Our night vision is just like yours. Maybe even worse.”
Taylor grinned. “It was worth askin’.” He took a quick survey of their surroundings. They were across the street from the building they’d originally been caught in. “Okay, we need to get out of this dome, and we’re gonna need transportation to do it. We ain’t goin’ back underground to get it, so our best bet is the refinery.” He nodded down the street, where the lights of the plant glowed brightly.
“The longer we wait here, the more likely we are to be caught,” Torrio said. He indicated the men and aliens clustered around. “Looks like I have the preponderance of forces here; there’s seven of us, and only five of you, even if you count the owl and the elephant.”
“Hey!” Frank and Haju exclaimed in unison.
Torrio ignored them both. “I say we head for the dome exit and grab something along the way. The faster we’re out from under the dome, the sooner we can call for evac.”
“That may be true, but we don’t know how far their jammer reaches,” Taylor said. “Plus, as far as who’s in command, can we not do this now? I broke you out. How about following my lead ‘til we’re out in the clear? Besides, I’m the only one with a ship here, remember? And it’s a long hike home.”
Torrio raised his palms. “Easy, Chief. I’m not tryin’ to be an asshole here, I swear. I’m just statin’ the obvious. Sneaking around this facility with a giant-ass Sumatozou in tow ain’t gonna be easy. We need to get out of here, and we need to do it fast.”
“Paulie’s right,” Jack said. “We’re also gonna need transport. We can’t just run out into the snow. There’s no tellin’ what’s changed since we’ve been stuck down in that mine.”
Flashing lights in the periphery of Taylor’s vision caught his attention. “C’mon folks. We need to get off the main drag before the KzSha get here.” He looked at Torrio. “You with us or want to go strikin’ out on your own?”
Torrio shook his head. “Like you said, it’s a long way home, and I didn’t pack any shoes. We’re with you. All of us.”
Taylor nodded and raced to the edge of the building to wait for the others, still processing the colonel’s response. Historically, the words “Paulie” and “compliance” went together like oil and water, yet that’s exactly how Torrio had answered—compliantly.
“That’s on you, pal. Not me,” Genovese had said, referring to the scores of lives lost on Emza. “It’s all on you.”
Taylor winced. Hell, I’d be a little gun shy, too, if my XO had sai
d that to me.
Haju had just rounded the corner when two truckloads full of KzSha approached the intersection from the mine, their lights flashing wildly as they communicated between themselves. The trucks slowed and made the turn toward the dome’s exit.
“That’s going to make leaving here a lot harder,” Torrio noted, looking over Taylor’s shoulder.
“Yep,” Taylor said. “Just what I thought they’d do, and another good reason for us to get some transport before we try to bust out of here.” He motioned toward the refinery. “C’mon, let’s go.”
* * *
“Well, finding an ore truck ain’t gonna be difficult,” Taylor said, looking out at the refinery across the street. “Grabbing one without gettin’ caught is what’s gonna suck.”
There were a number of trucks in the refinery yard, and several more had pulled up in the few minutes they’d been watching. The trucks waited their turn to dump their loads on a conveyer belt that went into the refinery, then they drove off back toward the mine. The refinery yard was well lit and had a number of KzSha guards, both stationed on the perimeter, and conducting roving patrols.
“I don’t see myself sneaking in there,” Haju said.
Taylor chuckled. “No, I think that’s probably right out.”
“How about the manufactory over there?” Frank pointed to the building down the street. There was less activity there, with only a roving pair of KzSha in evidence. “Think we could replicate a truck or maybe an APC?”
“If I knew it had CASPers in its database, I’d be all set for crankin’ out a few,” Taylor said. “That’d make gettin’ out of here a whole lot easier.”
“Might not be a bad idea to take a look,” Jack said. “There’s a warehouse just behind it. Might be some sort of transport there.” He motioned with his rifle. “We could probably at least get everyone armed up.”
Taylor nodded. “Makes sense. C’mon, everyone, let’s move.”
* * *
“Wait,” Taylor whispered as the pair of KzSha rounded the corner of the warehouse. “Wait…” He waited until there was no chance of them being seen by the soldiers at the manufactory. “Now!”
House and Jack fired in unison, and the two KzSha dropped quietly to the ground. That was the one good thing about lasers; they were relatively silent. There was no way anyone would have heard them over the clatter at the refinery.
At some point, though, they’ll be missed. Taylor hoped that occurred later rather than sooner. “Let’s go!”
The group raced forward to the building, and Taylor nodded appreciatively at Haju. The Sumatozou can move pretty fast when he has to. He wasn’t stealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but at least he could keep up.
Frank, on the other hand, was a lot slower, but Taylor had expected that.
“Locked,” House said as he checked the door. From what they’d seen, there were smaller personnel-sized doors on the sides of the building, and larger vehicle-sized ones on the ends.
“Break it down,” Taylor said. “We don’t have time for this.”
“What if it’s alarmed?” House asked.
“Then we’ll have to hurry even more than we already are.”
The Georgia trooper took a step back, then kicked the door. All he succeeded in doing was pushing himself away from it.
“Ah, come on,” House muttered. He stepped back for another attempt.
“Allow me.” Haju stepped forward, turned his back to the door, braced, and kicked backward. The door exploded off its mounting to clatter to the floor. “Like my father always said, ‘Don’t force it, use a bigger hammer.’”
“A quieter one would’ve been nice,” one of the Hawks grumbled.
“Hey, don’t knock it. We’re in.” Taylor paused to examine the doorway. “Don’t take this personal, big guy, but I don’t think you’re fittin’ through there.”
Haju shook his massive head. “No, I’m not. Go in and see what there is. I’ll keep watch out here.”
House led the group into the warehouse. There was enough light from the refinery coming through the high windows that they could see the contents well enough.
“Vehicles over here,” one of the Hawks said.
Taylor went right to the sound of the voice and saw one corner of the building was a parking lot for a fleet of vehicles. A cross between what looked like an aircraft tow tractor and a dune buggy, each had a large, stout-looking engine section, but the passenger compartment looked more like an Earth-based dune buggy. The open-air cockpit had seating for three plus the driver. They appeared to have seen a lot of work in the mines; scratches and dings covered their exteriors.
“Probably started with these until they could build the bigger trucks,” Jack said. “These are probably waitin’ here to feed the manufactory when needed.”
“But they run?” Taylor asked.
“No way to tell without firin’ a few up,” Jack said. “Looks like they’re not in too bad a shape, though.”
“Before we do that, let’s see what else we can use in here,” Taylor said.
The conversation paused when Frank burst from the stacks of equipment.
“Come quick, boss,” the Buma said. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”
Taylor followed his nav officer to the opposite corner of the building. Two squads of—what the hell?—stood motionless along the wall. “Are those…CASPers?” Taylor asked. The machines before him approximated the Humans’ giant mechs, although they were shorter and oddly shaped. The weapons mounted on them made their natures obvious; they were weapons of war.
“Sorta, yeah,” Torrio said. “Those are the KzSha’s idea of mechs, kinda like our CASPers. We faced them on Emza.”
“How capable are they in a fight?” Jack asked.
“Capable enough,” Torrio said. “They’re a step or two down from a Mk 7, but not too far. There’s just one problem. They’re the wrong fit for us.” He pointed to the suit’s mid-section between what would’ve been the thorax and abdomen of an Earth wasp. “Not even the pinup girls on the calendar in my office have waists that small.”
“They still kinda frighten me, though,” Taylor said. “If the KzSha have these things here, what’s to say we won’t face them at the gate when we try to bust out of here? I mean, hell.” He pointed to the far-left mech. “That one there looks like it’s got a MAC on the right arm.”
Torrio shrugged. “These look brand new. Maybe the wasps haven’t deployed them here yet. I certainly haven’t seen any in operation. Not around here, anyway.”
“Me, either,” Jack said. “I still don’t wanna roll the dice on havin’ to face a bunch of these with two laser rifles, though.”
“Just like our CASPers,” Torrio added, “lasers will penetrate ‘em if you hit them right…but I agree. We need more weapons.”
A River Hawk corporal raced up. “Excuse me, sirs. The elephant at the door says there are two KzSha headed this way.”
Taylor nodded. “Jack, House. Handle it.”
“You got it,” the latter said before both troopers darted out of sight.
“Even if they’re successful, someone’s gonna notice if two more KzSha aren’t reporting.” Taylor glanced at Torrio. “I need four of your guys to get those dune buggies started. They’re not really what I wanted, but they’re what we’ve got. Everybody else, keep scourin’ the area for weapons. Lasers, MACs. Hell, I’ll take slingshots at this point if you can find some. Whatever the case, we need tools to defend ourselves. Quickly!”
Jack hurried back into the room with House. “Bad news. There was a third KzSha we didn’t see. He’s dead, but he probably got the word out. I’m pretty sure we can expect a response soon.”
Taylor muttered a curse. Had to happen sometime. He pointed to the main door by the vehicles. “Get that door open and keep ‘em off us while we load up.”
“What about the elephant?” Torrio asked.
Taylor abhorred the idea of leaving Haju behind after everything they’
d been through. However, to say they were slim on options by that point was a massive understatement. “If he can’t find a way to squeeze his ass into one of those buggies, he’ll just have to stay back and hide until we can rally some more forces and come back for him.”
“I ain’t arguin’, but are you sure?” Torrio asked.
“It is what it is.” Taylor nodded.
One of the other Hawks raced into the room. “We’ve got weapons.”
“Tell him. He’s in charge.” Torrio cocked his head at Taylor.
A little surprised, the trooper turned to the Eagles’ CO. “We found a crate of laser rifles and a crate of MACs. They’re both meant to go on those CASPer suits, so the MACs have drum ammo containers.”
“That ain’t gonna work,” Taylor said. “As much as I’d like to have ‘em, we can’t operate them.”
“I can,” Haju said as he came through the end door.
“Fine,” Taylor said. “Bring one of the MACs and an ammo drum, plus as many of the lasers and batteries as you can fit. If you need to start up a fifth buggy, do it.”
“Buggy?” Haju asked.
Taylor directed the Sumatozou’s attention toward the fleet of vehicles. “We’re leavin’ in those. Hopefully we’ll be able to fit you into one, or you ain’t makin’ the trip with us.”
“Oh, my.” Haju studied the vehicle. “That is going to be tight.”
“I get that,” Taylor said. “What I need to know is can you fit in one?”
“With three other people?” Haju asked.
“No, just yourself,” Taylor replied.
Haju stepped to the nearest dune buggy, reached over the roll bar, and yanked out the driver’s seat. “If I have to get in one of them to get out of here, I’ll make myself fit…somehow.”
Taylor barely caught that last part, but he was damn sure glad to hear the rest. “Good deal. I’ll take the first buggy and lead us to the gate.”
“Works for me,” Torrio agreed.
The Street Survivors (The Guild Wars Book 12) Page 17