The stairwell opened to a hallway. A battle was raging to clear out the HAGS guards. Collin heard glass and shouts at the far end and suspected that was his support team harassing the command center. The distraction startled the guards fighting them.
One of Dillon’s men blasted a guard in the knee and chest. He fell, and their team ran into the hallway. The first door was twenty feet away. They sprinted to the door and kicked it open. A blast went off and shots were fired.
Collin rushed forward to back them up. Chaos reigned supreme. Guards shot at Collin. He could hear the rounds snap past him like whip cracks. Shots went the other way. Men shouted. The injured screamed.
Somewhere a fire broke out and black smoke began to filter out from a room at the far end of the hall. Collin ran into the doorway just as his men came back out. They nearly collided and thankfully no one shot.
“You good?” Collin asked.
“One injured. Three of theirs dead,” the soldier responded.
Collin saw the bodies crumpled and splayed on the floor. He turned around to leave and saw Charlie rush by the door shooting down the hall. A soldier rushed behind him. He slammed against the wall as he was shot and collapsed.
Collin and the soldier in the room grabbed him and pulled him back.
“Shit,” the man groaned. “I’m hit.”
“I know,” Collin said. “We’ve got you.”
“I’ll take him, sir.” A soldier knelt beside the man and began administering first aid. “You’re going to make it, Saint. Don’t worry, man.” The medic looked at Collin. “I’ve got it.”
Collin patted his shoulder and stood up. Back into the blaze.
They fought for every inch with no apparent lull in the firefight. What surprised him the most was no one had surrendered. Maybe on the lower floors, but not that Collin saw. He couldn’t believe how loyal they were. Or scared.
“Rocket incoming,” a soldier shouted.
Her voice was quickly drowned out as the roar of the projectile filled the hall. Collin dove for the ground as the wall by the stairwell exploded. Shards of concrete pelted the back of his body painfully. He hoped no one was left on the stairs because if so, they were fucked.
Two soldiers with grenades pilfered from the defenders hurled the explosives in response to the rocket. Collin wished they had firepower like that. He could have launched it from outside the building and done a shit ton of damage.
A HAGS defender ducked back into a doorway. Collin used his earlier tactic and blasted the wall. The guard fell halfway into the hallway, blood leaking from his mouth.
Suddenly machine guns opened up. Collin pressed himself into the tile floor, wishing he was in one of Charlie’s tunnels. The amount of lead flying at them was insane. How long could they keep it up?
He kept his head flat, looking sideways, and low-crawled forward with his legs to propel him across the dirty floor. Around the corner, he saw to people kneeling in the hallway firing. He shot one in the leg. As he fell his shots arced wildly up the wall and blasted the ceiling tiles. The soldier beside him fell over in shock.
Collin popped up to a high crawl and shot them until his magazine was empty.
Soldiers from his team rushed past him, trying to gain ground. They sprinted thirty feet and dove into a room.
Dillon helped Collin up with a wild grin on his face.
Collin reached his feet when he felt a wet splat and Dillon fell beside him, blood gushing out of face. Collin gasped and ran for the door where the soldiers ran. He ran into the room and began wiping his face, spitting to clear his mouth just in case. Acid burned his throat so he couldn’t tell if he swallowed blood but the idea of it sickened him.
“Fucking shit,” Collin growled.
“Are you okay, sir?” someone asked.
Collin looked at the soldier. Her and the other soldier stared at him and motioned for him to get down.
“Fuck,” he spat again. “I’m fine. Let’s get those machine guns and make those fuckers pay.”
“Yes, sir.”
As they closed in on the command center, the defenders were slowly overwhelmed. Their guns were silenced, their lives ended, and their gear recycled to be used against the surviving HAGS guards.
Charlie found Collin and asked about Dillon.
“Didn’t make it.”
“Damn,” Charlie said. He let out a breath.
“Final push,” Collin said. “Let’s get it over with.”
“Sir! Sir, we have a rocket.” A soldier ran into the room with a giant grin. He saw the somber looks on Collin’s and Charlie’s faces and toned down his excitement.
“Who knows how to fire this?” Charlie asked, accepting the weapon from the soldier.
“I do.” Collin raised his hand. He looked around and no one else had their hand up.
“You get the honor of blowing the command center doors of their hinges,” Charlie said, handing off the rocket launcher.
“Do we have a clear shot at the doors from here?” Collin asked. “It needs like ten meters to arm.”
The soldier spoke up first. “Not the doors, sir. You could blast a hole in the wall, though.”
“Fair enough.” Collin liked that. He’d been tearing through walls all day. Why stop now?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Collin knelt at the far end of the hall and aimed at the command center wall. He pressed the trigger mechanism on the M72 anti-tank rocket launcher and cut loose the projectile. It burst from the tube with a rush of energy and exploded, tearing a man-sized hole in the wall.
Screams and smoke emanated from command center. Pieces of drywall and other material fell, and dust billowed in the hallway. Some guard shot a few times through the hole. Spraying and praying was not going to get the job done against President War and his men. Charlie gave the signal and the machine guns captured from the HAGS guards blazed wickedly, slinging hundreds of rounds at the enemy.
Collin thought they might have already killed the main force, and he was ready to carry out the final assault. His plans crumbled under a horrid audio assault as the Edison geared up. He dropped his M4 and clutched at his ears.
The soldiers around Collin also collapsed. All the shooting stopped. His entire world was consumed by the torturous assault. Collin growled in pain and frustration. Not now!
They were too close to fail. Collin gritted his teeth against the pain, like he had back in Goshen and clutched his rifle. He was almost to Charlie when he saw guards emerge from the hole he’d blasted through the wall. More came from behind him, wearing gas masks.
Shit. This was part of their plan. This was the kill zone, and he’d walked right into it.
The guards began to disarm everyone. General Hopper appeared in the hallway. He was speaking into a radio.
Collin wondered how the guards were unaffected by the sonic weapon. A guard kneeled to take his gun, and he saw ear protectors. They looked fancy, almost like ear buds, not common ear plugs.
Hopper strode over to where Collin and Charlie lay on the ground. The sonic weapon cut off and as suddenly as the pain began, it ended.
“Did you really think you could win this war?” General Hopper asked.
Collin didn’t say anything.
“What happened to Doctor Susan Hill?” Hopper asked, pulling a pistol from his belt.
Collin sat up and glared at the man.
“Fuck that bitch!” Charlie yelled, over compensating due to the ringing in his ears.
Hopper aimed at Charlie and without hesitation pulled the trigger. A round punched through the skull of one of America’s most valuable men.
“What the fuck?!” Collin shouted.
“Are you deaf, asshole? I asked you a question.” Hopper’s face contorted as he shouted. “I’m not fucking around. Who killed Susan?”
“I don’t know.” Collin looked at Charlie’s body. He was lying in his own blood, his eyes and mouth open. “Not him.”
“Bullshit.” Hopper aimed at a soldier
next to him. “I’ll keep going until you answer me.”
Collin remained silent.
General Hopper stared at him for a long minute. Collin’s heart beat in his chest.
Please don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot.
“ROC airship one to command center base, over.”
Hopper put the pistol away and brought a radio up to his mouth. “Command center base to ROC airship one, go ahead. Over.”
“ROC airship one to command center base, ETA five minutes. Prepare for transport. Over.”
“Command center base to ROC airship one, copy that. Out.” General Hopper looked down at Collin, and a smug grin spread on his face. “You hear that?”
Collin looked away from him.
Hopper roared with laughter. “God bless the US, er, God bless the Republic of California.”
Collin thought about how he only had mere minutes to turn the tide. They still outnumbered the HAGS guards by a good margin. If they used the Edison again though, his people couldn’t defend themselves. It’d be a massacre just like the dam in Goshen.
“Why’d you blow the dam in Goshen?” Collin asked. “Why murder all those innocent people?”
A few of the guards looked at Hopper suspiciously, obviously surprised by that revelation. Hopper tensed, his hands balling into fists.
“Why’d you steal all the women from Missoula? Did you think they were defenseless?” Collin stood up. “Those are the choices of a weak man.”
General Hopper glared at one of his men and snapped his fingers. The guards stepped forward and began punching and kicking Collin.
Although the blows hurt, Collin knew the men were holding back a little. The beating was short-lived and well worth the chance to chip away at Hopper’s support. At least one of his ribs cracked, making every breath agony.
When they stopped, Collin forced himself to laugh. It was wild, maniacal laughter. He stopped laughing abruptly.
“You’re weak, but none of your men turned on you,” Collin said, glancing up at the men who had just beaten him. “I figured at least a few would see you and HAGS for the traitorous scum you are. I was wrong.”
“Pick him up,” General Hopper said. “We’re going to the roof.”
The guard was slow to respond but eventually said, “Yes, sir.”
“And cuff him, too.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Denard, let’s go.” Hopper strode toward the command center.
Collin saw the doctor, once so arrogant and annoying, slink after the general.
Hopper stopped suddenly. “When we’re airborne, clean up the mess,” he said, waving his hand at Collin’s soldiers.
“No!” Collin shouted.
General Hopper whipped around with a cruel snarl and slugged him in the face. The short man packed quite a wallop. Light flashed in Collin’s vision. He wanted to slump to the floor, but the guards held him up. They cuffed and then dragged him in their bosses wake.
Once they were in the command center, Hopper led them to the far side of the room. The place looked tore the fuck up. Collin was pleased they’d wrecked it. The exterior windows were blasted out. A wall of what might have been TV monitors looked like horrid modern art.
General Hopper pressed a small section of wall behind a shelf. A panel slid open. Denard gasped, and one of the guards muttered, “What?”
“Hurry up; get in here.” Hopper motioned for them to approach.
Turned out he had a secret elevator.
“Where does this go?” Collin asked. “Your private love shack? Is this where you used to take Susan?”
“Shut up!” Hopper growled, pulling out his pistol. He shoved it hard against Collin’s forehead.
The elevator lurched. Hopper turned away from him and rubbed his head. Collin looked at the panel and saw that it only had one option. The button read SB.
Sub-basement?
A sinking feeling filled Collin’s stomach, and it wasn’t from the speed of the elevator. If Hopper had a secret basement, then it was unlikely that anyone would know where to look for him. He’d just disappear without a trace.
What was the helicopter thing all about then?
Collin glanced at Denard, but the man was staring at his feet. Seeing the shift in the man’s demeanor was unsettling. He looked like a whipped dog. If he wasn’t such an insufferable asshole, Collin might feel bad for him.
The guards flanking Collin looked just as off put as he felt. Still, they were loyal dogs like Denard. A bunch of cowardly sheep. They made him sick.
The elevator begin to slow. It came to a gentle halt, and the doors slid open revealing a basement. The structure was bare concrete, and it was dark as a cave.
General Hopper pulled something from his pocket and pressed a button. There was a beep and a flash of lights just off to the right. The engine turned over and began to idle.
Awfully convenient. But then if you have a secret escape route it would have to be, Collin through wryly.
The car lights cast a dull glow throughout the modestly sized room. If Collin’s hands weren’t bound, he could easily take the guards. Hopper was quicker than he appeared which gave Collin pause.
Once they were driving away, he’d see where they were in relation to the building and could possibly signal his friends. That might give him a better chance at survival. Four against one weren’t terrible odds, but he wasn’t feeling tip top. A cracked rib hurt worse than he would have guessed.
“Denard, you’re driving,” Hopper said, shoving the man. He glanced at the guards. “Put him in the back seat and then both of you open the door.” Hopper walked around the vehicle and climbed in.
The guards started to follow orders.
“You guys seem decent enough. Why are you following this maniac?” Collin hissed at them.
One of the guards jerked his arm. “Shut up.”
“The three of us can over power them,” Collin suggested.
“I said shut up.” The other guard punched him in the side.
Collin’s breath left in an explosion of pain that centered on his broken rib and felt like a thousand knives stabbing him at once. He gagged as he tried to suck in some air. It felt like he was dying. He also felt something else, an unexpected gesture. The first guard, who had told him to shut up, pressed something into his palm. Collin gripped the tiny item tight in his cuffed hands.
The guards shoved Collin into the back seat next to General Hopper. He pulled his feet in, and the door slammed shut right behind him.
“When the door is up, you go. Haul ass. Follow the road until I tell you to stop,” Hopper said. “Got it?”
“Yes, I hear you,” Denard said, a hint of his attitude returning. He obviously resented being treated like a bitch, even if he was one.
The guards opened the door, which rolled up. Beyond the door was a long tunnel with light at the end. Denard sped past the guards, engine roaring, and Collin glimpsed the shock on their faces as they were left behind. Collin turned his head in time to catch the guard on the left mouth, “Semper fi.” They should have listened to him; there was nothing he could do for them now.
A spot of light loomed before them. Then all of a sudden, they burst out of the tunnel at least a quarter mile from the building. Bright sun shone on the horizon, casting long shadows over the road. Road was a generous description for what they drove on. It was more like a poorly maintained dirt path. Denard had to slow down it was so rough.
Each bump racked Collin’s ribs together like a street performer’s accordion. He gritted his teeth through the pain, fighting the urge to let his pain show. He wouldn’t give Hopper the satisfaction.
“I have a special gift for you, Collin.” Hopper leaned to the side and watched him. “Something real nice. Worthy of your stature as President of the United States. Oh wait, there is no United States anymore.” He chuckled.
“Is it a gun to blow your brains out, you worthless traitor?” Collin asked in all seriousness. “That would be a precious
gift.”
“You should watch your mouth.”
“Or what? I’m your leverage.” Collin scoffed. “Amateur.”
Hopper didn’t have a response, just a sneer and a steady hand on the pistol he aimed at Collin.
Collin was tempted to snatch it anyway even if he got shot. The thought of ending the general’s life was tempting. There was still a chance he could find a more advantageous time to strike. He wanted to spend time with his family.
A few minutes later, Denard spoke up. “We’re here.”
The SUV burst out of the forest onto a small airfield. The ride smoothed out.
Weeds and twigs slapped and popped against the body of the vehicle, perfect cover for the flurry of deft movements his hand made behind his back. In moments, Collin had used the handcuff key from the guard to free himself. He slipped his hand out of the cuff and held the metal so it wouldn’t make noise.
Hopper still had him at gun point and as much as he wanted to kill the two men now, he had to wait for the right time to strike.
“Park by the shack,” Hopper said.
Collin took a deep breath. He winced at the stab he felt with every breath, but he had to prepare himself.
Denard stopped the SUV suddenly. They jerked to a halt that made Hopper curse.
The general climbed out and raced around the back of the vehicle to Collin’s door. He opened it with the pistol still trained on him.
“Where are we going?” Collin asked.
General Hopper leaned close. “Remember the gift I told you about?” He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.
A man stepped out of the shack with a boy in front of him. Collin gasped and felt sucker punched. Hunter was supposed to be safely hiding with the other children.
“You think I didn’t know you would try to rescue the boy?” Hopper asked, waving his gun in the air.
Collin glared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You behave and he lives.” The general laughed like it was hilarious.
It wasn’t. Collin tensed up to do something when the whoomp-whoomp of helicopter rotors approached suddenly. Collin flinched at the sudden noise and saw a Blackhawk zip overhead and bank hard before leveling out and settling down across from them. Emblazoned on its side was a large flag of the Republic of California. It stuck out, too bright against the dark body of the chopper.
Fighting for War: The Collin War Chronicles Book Three Page 20