“Of course it’s working.”
Payne had a huge smile on his face. It was no surprise, as he enjoyed destroying things. He had a knack for it, as if he would have been a pyromaniac if he’d not been a soldier. The truth was he was more than a little crazy, but he was also loyal. They heard engines roar and both looked around to identify the target. They couldn’t see anything, until a craft burst through the black smoke cloud rising from the wreckage below. Payne opened fire as shots struck the ground beside them, and Ross spun around. The final ships were strafing their position.
“Run!”
He rushed to Payne and hauled him from his weapon, pushing him on as shots landed all around. Payne glanced back in time to see the Browning vanish into a ball of light. It was hit with a direct shot, but he was pushed on by Ross as more shots landed hot on their heels. They soon reached a hole in the roof where water damage had caused the roof to fall in, but Ross didn’t slow up one bit. He leapt into the hole. Payne had no choice but to follow as he was pushed in. They crashed down onto the floor below, but rolled and hit the ground running as more shots smashed through the weak roof above them.
“This all part of the plan?”
“I never said it would be easy,” replied Ross.
Shots were cutting through the roof, but they soon took a bend and leapt into cover. They watched the gunfire follow on the path they had been going.
“They’ve lost us,” sighed Ross in relief.
But he wasn’t going to waste their chance any longer. He ran onwards with Payne close behind. They hit the next stairs running and burst out onto the roof, in time to see Travers pull a cover from another Browning. He took aim at the second craft and opened fire. It turned and fired on his position, but he didn’t flinch. Ross and Payne ducked down for cover. They watched in disbelief as the militiaman roared at the top of his voice and held down the trigger, staying focused on his target. Even as a shot clipped his arm, shrapnel sliced into his right ear and the side of his head, he still kept firing. The ship circled and fired on him as if playing a game of chicken. A shell landed at the foot of the weapon and obliterated his position. He was thrown several metres across the roof, his body smouldering from the blast, and his target fell from the sky. They had finished one another.
Yet Travers was still breathing, though he looked badly hurt.
“Get him out of here!” Ross yelled to Payne.
There was no doubt in Ross’ mind anymore. Travers was not a smart one, but he was in it for the right reasons, and he never showed fear in the face of the enemy. For all his faults, that was enough to endear him to Ross, in spite of his flaws. Payne threw him over his shoulder as he groaned in pain. He looked completely out of it, but he had done more than enough.
Both their heavy weapons were gone. Ross looked down to the street below at the utter carnage. They had done well. The street was still a raging fire, as were many of the buildings nearby. He pulled his rifle from his back, knowing that his time was coming soon. It may have been nighttime, but the raging fires lighting up the ground around him gave a clear view of it all. That made him smile, knowing how much the light would hurt Seena if he dared show his face.
He heard the roar of engines. The final enemy aircraft was pointing right at him. His rifle would do nothing against its thick armour, unlike the heavy hitting Browning M2. He let go of it, leaving it slung across his body.
“Come on, you coward! Come out and fight me!”
He beat his chest, doing his utmost to bait his enemy to come out into the open. The enemy ship hovered in position in a tense moment. They could obliterate his position easily, especially as he was static, and they were hovering in a perfectly stable firing position. He gambled on Seena being too caught up in a personal conquest to allow the ship to fire on him. That gamble was pushing his stress levels to the max, but he had to trust his instincts, having no idea what else they could do. They’d put up a hell of a fight, but they had nothing left to take on aircraft. It banked a little and then tilted forward, coming to a hover once more. The ramp lowered as it had before.
“Seena,” said Ross with disgust.
The creature paced down the ramp and leapt off, landing on the roof. It shuddered beneath his feet under the weight of the creature, and he was reminded of what it was like to face a Mastiff. It was terrifying. Yet this time, he was as calm as could be, maybe because he could place a face and a name to his opponent, and because he had expected this.
“All of this spectacle, and for what, one small victory against machines. We have more, many, many more.” Seena peered over the edge of the roof to see the burning wreckage of his troops below.
“If you don’t get it, then you don’t get humans at all.”
“I understand the want to fight, but you are facing complete destruction, and still you do it?”
“Do you have any idea how many times humans have stood in the face of complete destruction, and still resisted? Some of those times they won. You think it’s all over, but you’re a fool. If it were all over, you wouldn’t be here.”
“You cannot defeat me,” he spat back.
“Not alone, no.”
He looked to their side. Ramos, Donny, and five more of their team had weapons trained on him. Seena began to laugh, but Ross didn’t find it funny and lifted up his hand. There seemed to be no weapon in it, but as he opened his fist, he revealed a small remote detonator.
“You’re not as smart as you think you are.”
The alien looked worried for the first time since they had met. As Ross squeezed the trigger, an explosive device ignited at the creature’s feet. It activated its shield at the last moment and was thrown across the rooftop, but he soon ignited another. The creature leapt aside but was thrown across the roof from the impact of the blast. Donny opened fire, and the rest joined in, unloading a salvo of fire.
“This isn’t over!” Seena snarled as shots struck its armour. Many bounced right off, but some seemed to find their mark. Ross lifted his rifle and opened fire, watching in satisfaction as his rounds struck Seena. Even if many glanced off, it was still immensely satisfying as the creature turned and ran, staggering from its wounds and fire that kept on coming. The aircraft it had come from was waiting to collect the creature. Ross lowered his weapon and gestured for Mick to hand him something as the beast fled. It was the harpoon gun he’d used to such great effect on their escape in the RV. He almost felt some nostalgia for the tool.
He primed the dart, the only one they had managed to recover. It was taped up with an explosive charge. The accuracy would be appalling, but it didn’t matter. He rushed after Seena to the building edge, as the creature leapt onto the ramp of the aircraft. He turned around as if to gloat. Ross was gratified to see his enemy flee, especially the superiority complex the beast exhibited every time they had met. But Ross wasn’t done yet. He lifted the harpoon gun. The look on Seena’s face turned to dread. He turned back, screaming at the crew of the craft as Ross let the dart loose. It soared in through the hatch as it closed.
“Do it!” Donny yelled excitedly.
Ross smiled as he held up the detonator, and many of his team watched with glee. He clicked the trigger, and an explosion ripped through the side of the enemy craft. It punched a hole out through the fuselage. The ship veered off violently to the port side but recovered, much to the disappointment of all those looking on. But it soon began to lose altitude far into the distance.
“Yeah, go on!” Donny quickly propped up his brother to watch their triumphant scene.
The ship descended into a line of trees. It smashed into them and vanished over the crest of a hill. They waited for the impact and were finally rewarded. They heard a loud thud, and a black cloud rose up over the crest. Cheers rang out as those on the roof erupted into celebration. Miles and those who had fought with him reached the top of a stairway to find the scenes of jubilation.
“We did it!”
Emma was jumping up and down with excitement, but
the sound of their yells and whistles were drowned out by the roar of engines. Suddenly, an F-35 breached the cloud overhead. It was flying low, and soon after two more followed, with two bombers close by, and another two fighters at their rear. They tore past at immense speed.
They couldn’t believe it.
“They’re ours!” Ramos shouted.
The rest of them broke into applause once more as another wing of aircraft passed them, the same as the first.
“They’re ours. USAF is still in the air!”
Kim excitedly hugged Ross and then threw her arm up excitedly.
“We’re still in this fight! We’re still in this fight!”
“USA! USA!” Lee began to yell, and everyone cheered with him.
“We did it, didn’t we?” Donny asked him.
“Did what?”
“Won, we won a real victory.”
“Damn right, we did,” Travers added.
He was badly burnt and looked like hell, but he was right there with them, looking as relieved as the rest of them.
The sound of the engines began to die down, and they all looked to Ross for a few words, but he could find none. He was exhausted.
“We did it. We stayed the course. We did it, and we aren’t alone!” Donny shouted in support of him. They clapped, but they still wanted to hear from the man they considered their leader.
He took a deep breath, finally able to speak.
“Thank you. Thank you all for your service. Each and every one of you has gone beyond the call of duty. We’re going to win this war because of people like you, and we aren’t alone. This country isn’t finished. It isn’t dead. We’re going to fight on, and we’re going to win!”
THE END
Lethal Strike Page 23