by Randal Sloan
"None of you took advantage of the simulators we had at the school? I have fought through simulations much more difficult than this." Miranda simply could not believe it as each shook his or her head.
The spokesman for the team answered quietly, "Those of us who are to join the armed forces after graduation figured we would be trained then. The others would never need it, or so we thought." He looked at the other team members who all nodded.
That was when Miranda started her pacing. As she paced, she found herself wishing the Sarge was there with them now. He would know what to do. But wishing wasn't going to get it done. Looking at the VR of the coliseum above them, she felt the seeds of an idea growing and gradually turning into a plan that just might work. Her main worry was that she would have to make sure she didn't trigger her headaches, or she would be unable to do what she needed to do. She would just have to make sure she didn't do that.
Miranda stopped her pacing and turned back to the others, "If Hernando and I take out the soldiers guarding the students, can the rest of you block the doors at the entrance? It looks like all you have to do is drop the metal bars back into place and wrap the chains around them. Then we would need someone to free our students from their restraints."
Some of them nodded yes at this, although the whole group still looked pretty skeptical and they were all obviously very much afraid.
Hernando quickly jumped on the idea. If he had help, they just might be able to pull it off. "We would also need to disable the army vehicles surrounding the coliseum. Otherwise, when we escape through the tunnel, they would be able to follow us. If we could disable the vehicles, we would have time to get to the airport. It is only a few blocks from where the tunnel exits to the airport, but they probably could still catch us if they had their vehicles. Who is the sniper expert for your team? Can they pull that off?"
Miranda looked at Hernando. "That would be me. I'm pretty good too," she said. "I'm sure I can hit any of their vehicles around the coliseum if you can get me to the roof."
He nodded. "There's an exit at the top of the stairwell that we took when you came in here."
Miranda went on. "Do we have access to security weapons such as police dart guns? I believe with a silent dart gun, I can take out all of the guards before they know what hits them. That has the added benefit of being safer than trying to take them in a shoot-out. Some of the athletes might be hit."
Hernando was obviously skeptical, but knew he could never shoot all of them with his pistol before the sound of the shots reached enough of the others for them to overpower him. However, he figured even if she could take out a couple of them it might even the odds enough that maybe he could get the rest of them before they could stop him. "Ok," he said, "We will try this, but I will show you the way to the escape route. I expect you to fall back and try to slip your group out if they overcome me."
He led her down the hall toward the security armory room, entering the code to the door. He grabbed a couple of extra clips of ammo for his pistol and showed her where the dart guns were located. Picking up one, he said to her, "Each clip only holds five shots and takes several seconds to load." He demonstrated by loading one of the clips into the gun and handing her a spare.
"I believe there are five guards," Miranda laughed quietly. "You can bring the spare if you want, but I will only need one clip. How fast can the gun shoot? Does it take a long time to get the next dart to fire?"
Hernando just shook his head, but he answered the questions. "Faster than you can aim and shoot. Something like half a second, maybe?"
"I can shoot pretty fast!" she exclaimed. Miranda could tell that he was really skeptical, but she knew her abilities.
"We have one more stop before we go back to the others," Hernando told her. He led her to another room where he knocked on the door three times. When the door opened, he led Miranda into the room where a woman was waiting. She was somewhat older than Miranda, but very pretty and had bright red hair she was hiding under a scarf.
"Miranda Summerlin, this is Carla Davis," he told the two of them. "She is the reason I am here. Originally, the plan was to dress her as an instructor, slipping her into the group of students when you left. Obviously that plan won't work now, but she needs to go with us when we leave."
Carla nodded. "I have critical information that I need to get out and take to my superiors. The coup is a lot more than just a simple coup, and our country will need to take measures as a result." She turned to Hernando. "Are we ready to leave?" she asked.
Hernando nodded at Miranda. "This young lady thinks she can help me rescue the others upstairs. They only left five guards, and between the two of us we think we can take them all out. If that works, we should be able to get everyone out. I've already sent her a VR with the information on the escape tunnel, and told her to get you out that way if I am overcome."
"As long as you're not risking our overall mission," said Carla. "Not that it's not already pretty well shot."
Hernando couldn't argue with that. He led them back down the hallway, returning with them to the room with the other members of the team. Miranda grabbed her sniper rifle from her equipment, slinging it from her shoulder in its harness and then she stuck her shooting pistol into its holster. Picking up extra ammo, she quipped, "Luckily I have all my equipment here. Especially this baby," she said, pointing to her sniper rifle.
"Everyone ready?" Hernando asked the group. "The four of you still are important. We need the entrance blocked long enough for us to free the other students, get down to the tunnel area, and make our way out of here before they find where we have gone."
Carla spoke up then. "I will lead the group in case we run into anyone. I have had a little training before. Air Force," she said proudly, "Unlike this ground pounder here," pointing to Hernando.
That got a big smile from Hernando. "Proud of it, too. At least I don't have my head stuck up in the clouds." He led them toward the door. Miranda slipped in behind him, smiling at the byplay between the two of them.
The other team members rose and followed, but it was obvious none of them were really convinced the plan would work. Miranda noticed that they did all grab their pistols and ammo.
With the VR crew continuing to transmit up above, the signal was displayed on monitors stationed throughout the complex. Because of that, they knew exactly where the guards were. They had essentially not moved from where they were originally stationed. Hernando nodded when they passed the monitor in front of the stairwell. This just might still work out.
Hernando led them quietly up the stairs to a back entrance. He stopped them just outside the door. "Everyone needs to be very quiet from here on out. When we go through the door, we will be on the first level of seating just above the area where the guards and students are. After Miranda and I take out the guards, the rest of you need to go down the steps to the immediate left and the doors will be right in front of you. Come back to the area below us and untie everyone while Miranda and I go up the stairway behind us to get to the roof. We will then all go back down to the second level of the basement to enter the tunnel." Turning to Miranda he said, "You go to the left and I will go to the right. Wait until I get into position and then take out as many as you can with the darts. I will only open fire when they start to react."
He carefully slipped the door open, he and Miranda quietly moving to take their positions. The others crouched down beside the steps and in seconds everyone was ready.
Miranda had determined exactly where each of the guards was standing as she slipped into place. Standing, she fired five rapid shots, and each of the guards collapsed. Only one had time to react at all, but he didn't even get his weapon up before he was hit.
Staring with disbelief at Miranda, Hernando lowered his pistol, turning to the others who were all more or less frozen in place. "Quickly now. Do your part and be ready to leave as soon as we get back."
Hernando led Miranda back to the stairway, and they rushed to the top of the building.
Setting up her sniper position, Miranda quickly had the range and the first of her targets lined up. She rapidly put a couple of shots in each of the radiators of the army vehicles, reloading in reflex as she was lining up the next shot. She was shooting as fast as she could, knowing that if the trucks started moving, it would be much more difficult to hit them. Luckily, only a couple of them were able to react at all, but due to their size, they really didn't start moving enough to affect her. She did not miss a shot.
Hernando no longer stared at Miranda in disbelief, but he really couldn't believe that someone her age was so accomplished. He simply led her to the other side of the building, where she did the same to the remaining vehicles. By this time, the army personnel were all rushing around in fright as they could not figure out where the shots were coming from.
Finally, the last vehicle was disabled. Miranda breathed a sigh of relief, breaking her rifle down and slinging it from her shoulder. By the time the two of them returned to her teammates, the doors were blocked and the other students were all free from their restraints. As soon as he knew everyone was alright, Hernando led them down to the sub-basement, without hesitation going to a locked door. Everyone waited anxiously while he tried several keys, none of them opening the door. Were they all going to be trapped?
#
Hernando was beginning to get worried. He had been told he had a key to the tunnel, but he was running out of keys. It was a steel door, so he knew it would be almost impossible to break through. Just as he was really getting worried, only a couple of keys left to try, a key fit into the lock. Breathing a sigh of relief, he opened it, flipping the switch on the wall to reveal a dimly lit tunnel with block walls and a concrete floor. It seemed to stretch out into nowhere, the light too dim to reveal the end. It didn't look like much, but to Miranda and the other students that gathered around to stare though the door, it looked great. Much better than staying where they were.
"Quickly now," he told them. They all rushed into the tunnel, the whole group hurrying as quickly as they could while having to move single file, everyone following Hernando. It seemed to take forever when they were all as frightened as they were. Finally, they reached the other end, coming to a stairwell, which they all climbed quickly until once more stopped by a door. They all held their breath as Hernando worked with the keys. Luckily it was the same key, so he got it unlocked easily.
Glancing out to ensure the coast was clear, Hernando once more gave instructions to the group. "We are only a few blocks away. Carla, you lead the rest since you should know the way. Miranda and I will stay in the back in case any of our friends show up."
No one argued. Carla hurried to the front and led them out the door. Some were looking pretty grim, but no one hesitated as they moved out of the exit.
Since the students were all athletes, they were all able to move at a rapid pace. They were almost to the airport when the ones in the lead all came to a halt. When Miranda and Hernando caught up, one of the others whispered, "They have several guards up ahead. We don't see how we can get past."
Once more, they appeared to be trapped!
#
As soon as he could get a look at them, Hernando turned to Miranda. He whispered, "I wish you had brought the dart gun and that other clip of darts. These guys are the elite of the local special forces. They consider themselves ninjas and I have no idea how we can get past them. However, they are honorable in their practices, just like the ninjas they have attempted to emulate. If we can convince them to let us go through, none of them will try to stop us."
Motioning to the group, Hernando had them all pull back a short distance. He desperately tried to think, but he just didn't see a way to pull it off. They surely wouldn't just let them go past, and there wasn't any other way to get to the airport.
Miranda looked at their group. She knew they were all really frightened. She was too, but she hated seeing the look of despair on their faces. She knew what she had to do; it was the only way, if she could pull it off.
Taking a big breath, Miranda turned to speak to the whole group. "I have an idea," she told them. "Do you trust me?" Everyone was in shock, but no one argued, not even Caitlyn, so Miranda said, "Hernando, I need you to come translate for me."
Stepping forward, the two approached the guards. "If I can defeat the four of you in hand-to-hand combat, no weapons, will you and your friends," she pointed to the barracks behind them, "let our group go through?"
Staring at Miranda in disbelief, Hernando translated what she said. The leader bowed and said, "On my honor." He went on to say something in his language which Hernando translated, "But you, little girl, should not do this. You cannot succeed."
Stepping forward, Miranda bowed to him in return and said, "On my honor." She handed all her weapons to Hernando, who couldn't believe what she was doing. He had thought of attempting the same thing, but he knew that there was no way he could do it, even with his special forces training. He held her close enough to see his face and looked intently at her. "You can't be serious. There is no way you can fight them."
"I know it looks impossible, but I believe I can. The one on the left is very nervous and will attack first, so I can take him out quickly. That will leave three, and I have fought that many before and won. The leader is the only one that will be difficult. Anyway, we have no choice." Stepping forward, Miranda bowed again and dropped deeply into her zone.
The leader nodded to the other three and they all stepped forward. Taking two quick breaths, Miranda slipped down even deeper. When the one to the left began to move, Miranda feinted to the right and then struck in a lightning fast move that temporarily disabled him. That brought the rest in.
Miranda could tell the leader was hanging back trying to get a feel for her moves. The others didn't think it was necessary, which showed their inexperience. So she concentrated on them first. She knew this one was for real and held nothing back. Using a kick to drive the second fighter back, she threw a three punch combination to the third and he was down. By this time the first one was back and she finished him off before the second one could get back in. Then the second one was moving back in, so she danced in to give him a combo move.
Within a few seconds, only the leader remained standing. Bowing to her in a much deeper bow this time, he attacked furiously, his hands and feet moving so fast they appeared as only a blur. Miranda managed to block most of the strikes, but some of them got through at least a little. I'll feel those later passed through her head, but Miranda didn't have time to think about it.
Just like in her previous experiences, it all seemed to click, and within seconds she was blocking everything. Then she began to land her own punches and kicks. Seeing a weakness in his defense, she exploited it to land a multiple combination of punches and kicks, ending with a leg sweep to take him down. He tried to recover with a roll, but she had anticipated that and moved into the roll to land more combinations, finally knocking him to the ground.
Miranda stepped back, waiting to see if he would rise and continue. Instead, he rose to his knees, saying one word in his language, almost in a whisper. Then he gestured with his arm, "On my honor," he said.
Miranda stood there as they all moved past. What Miranda didn't dare tell anyone was that she was on the very verge of one of her headaches. She breathed very deeply for a few moments, once more running her mental exercise of playing Julie's violin music in her head. Finally, when they were all past, she felt she could go on. Then bowing one last time, she followed the others. "What did he say?" she asked Hernando as she caught up to him.
"Master!" he said in a quiet voice. "And you are at that. I have never seen anyone move like you do, and I have trained with some of the best." Then he gave her a bow of his own.
Once past the guards, they easily gained entrance to the airport. Everyone rushed to the plane. Within moments, they were all safely on board the plane. Everyone, including Miranda, breathed a sigh of relief.
#
Quickly, howeve
r, their group found out they had another problem. A couple of collaborators with the coup had attempted to take over the plane. The air marshall had still been on board the plane, surprising the attackers. He had shot both of them, but not before both pilots had been injured. One of the pilots was only semi-conscious while the other one had his arm in a sling. Standing in the doorway of the cockpit, the pilot still mobile asked, "Does anyone have flight training? There's no way I can fly by myself with this arm."
When no one else said they could help, Miranda looked at Carla. "I thought you were Air Force."
"Paratrooper," she said. "I jump out of planes. Someone else had to do the driving."
Miranda sighed, turning back to the pilot. "I have had advanced simulator training at school. I think maybe I can do it if you will tell me what to do. But I have never actually flown a plane, so you will have to help me." She wished Zeke's friend Joe was here. She knew he had done some real flying.
The pilot looked at her a moment, obviously very nervous. Finally he said, "Come show me what you can do. If you can pull it off, I guess that will have to do. It is much preferable to staying here. Please come to the cockpit."
Hernando assisted the pilot by slipping underneath his good arm and helping him back into the cockpit. He explained, "I can help with the radio since I can speak the local language."
Hernando grabbed the radio and immediately began speaking in the local dialect. Neither Miranda nor the pilot could understand, but they could tell he got more and more angry as he talked. Meanwhile Miranda was following the pilot's instructions, rushing through the plane's checklist. At a certain point, he explained to her how to start the plane's engines, and she was able to successfully start them. They began moving slowly forward onto the taxiway.
Hernando finally stopped talking on the radio and said angrily, "They will not give us clearance to take off. However, they freely admit that there is not any incoming traffic. No one would be crazy enough to land here right now!"