The Black Guard

by C. R. Daems

  "The army will be outnumbered five to one. But they are a Jax army, and they will defeat the rebels. We will be outnumbered ten to one, maybe more. But that’s fair. We’re the Black Guard—the elite of the Jax military. And we will defeat the rebels that challenge us." That may be a little easier to say than do, but it echoes the Jax tradition.

  "Sergeant Rosin, take Corporal Glick and accompany Chang to the servant’s quarters. Chang, you are to gather the servants and leave the estate with Lieutenant Ceder. There is no place else safe to go, since the rebels control the town. And if one of you leaves and is captured, you will give the rebels information that will give away our advantage and result in many deaths, including fellow servants. While you are with us, we will protect you, and you will be allowed to go as soon as it’s safe."

  "I understand, Captain," Chang said, eyes downcast, thinking. He left with Rosin and Glick. Corporal Judt, you and the other women Guards will find servants’ clothing for yourselves and me and return here." They were smiling on the way out. "Li Ming, what does the family have in the way of transportation?"

  "We have three ground vehicles and two small skimmers, which can hold four or five each," Li Ming said after a minute’s thought. I spent the next few minutes scanning a map of the area on my Mfi. Eventually I transferred the area I had identified to everyone’s Mfi.

  "Lieutenant Ceder, check your Mfi. I want you to take everyone into the area I’ve marked. It’s wild, which will preclude the rebels from being able to use ground vehicles or skimmers. That will improve your odds and slow them down. Assign one group to stay with the Lew family and servants and the other to act as a rear guard. The best you can do is to find a position that gives you an advantage and fight. I plan to stay here with the women and, like Captain Drezner, ensure they can’t reinforce those who will be sent after you. Use the skimmers for the family and anyone who would slow you down, but have a Guard in each skimmer. I don’t want anyone deciding to run off."

  "Yes, Captain."

  "Keep Captain Drezner updated. But do not try to communicate with me. The women and I will be busy. I will contact you when it’s safe. Duty first, Lieutenant Ceder."

  "I understand, Captain Sapir. Good hunting." He left with Sergeant Solow. Shortly afterward, the women began returning.

  "We’re going to a masquerade party. We are going to be dressed as servants and cooks. Our guests are going to be dressed as rebels. Sometime during the party, we’re going to turn into Black Guards and arrest the rebels."

  "I love parties," Private Nadel said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  "Me too," several of the others chimed in and smiles appeared.

  "Keep your body armor on under your disguises, carry one laser, and a knife." We couldn’t carry much in the way of weapons without giving away the ruse. The body armor all Guard wore was skin tight, made of material similar to my whip, and could stop a laser beam for a full second or two, shards from a gun, some bullets, and knives. "Li Ming, is there someplace where we could store our equipment that the rebels are unlikely to find without a thorough search of the house?"

  "Yes, several… But I think the laundry area would be the best. I’d hide them in plain sight, in one of the dirty clothes laundry baskets."

  "Good." I liked Li Ming. She was intelligent, pragmatic, and had a good sense of humor. "We will store our Mfis, Mfws, and miscellaneous equipment there for later. Let’s get everyone on their way. Then we can discuss our strategy. Captain Drezner thinks they will be sending a group to attack the estate soon, and I don’t believe it’s going to take the rebels long to break through the couple of hundred Yuan military guarding the estate."

  * * *

  Li Ho Lew didn’t like my idea. "That ridiculous, Captain. It’s your responsibility to defend the estate. You must honor your contract!" He scowled and folded his arms across his chest. Then a small smile touched his lips. "My family and I will take one of the skimmers and fly to Baotou."

  "No, Governor. The contract is to protect you and your family, not the estate. So you can see my dilemma." I smiled to myself. He didn’t care about me, or the Guard, or the servants. Only his dilemma—how to ditch me and flee someplace safe. "I cannot protect you if I’m here and you’re somewhere else, and I can’t protect you and your family at the estate against hundreds of rebels. The Guard is willing to die to protect you, but I doubt you want to die with us."

  "I’m your superior, and you will do what I say or… Or I’ll see you shot for dereliction of duty, and refuse to pay the Jax because you failed in your duty." He slammed his fist down on his desk. No wonder the rebels want to replace him.

  "Governor, the Lanzhou council initiated the contract, not you, and you aren’t paying for us. Even if you had, the Jax do not have superiors. We have clients and contracts. Our client would rightfully consider the Jax had broken the contract if I let you run off by yourself. So, I’m afraid you will just have to stay with us until the situation is resolved." I had been right to choose Li Ming. She had done a pretty good job of keeping her son and daughter out of my way. She hadn’t tried to explain my strategy. Like me, she probably thought it a waste of time.

  * * *

  They had just departed when Captain Drezner buzzed my Mfi. "Captain Sapir, my recon shuttle indicates about three hundred rebels are leaving the city. They have acquired a number of ground vehicles and have five skimmers. I don’t think they are going to have much trouble breaking through the defending military at the estate."

  "What’s your next move?" I asked.

  "Wolfson has detached fifty commandos, Their ETA is one hour forty minutes. As soon as the rebels engage the military defending the estate, we’ll redeploy to a position three klicks from Ebao on the road to the estate. I know that doesn’t help you…"

  "I understand, Drezner. Take no prisoners." A Jax expression which meant just the opposite—die fighting.

  "Take no prisoners, Sapir." He cut the connection.

  "All right, ladies, let’s retire to the laundry room and get ready for the party." I led the way down to the first level and to the far end of the building, which was dedicated to cleaning uniforms, bedding, table linens, washing dishes, and storage of cleaning supplies and equipment. "Get changed. Leave your body armor on and put the servant’s clothing you chose over it." The Guard’s body armor was light, skin tight, and similar in style to old fashioned long-johns. "Keep a laser and a knife strapped to the inside of your thigh. Under those wide shirts no one will notice."

  "Unless someone sticks his hand up it," Private Lipkin whispered, which provoked a few snickers.

  "I leave it to you to make sure they’re discrete." There was silence for a few seconds, then smiles appeared and a few chuckles.

  "We’ll keep them dead quiet," Lipkin said, grinning.

  "Also, keep a few flash-stars on you, probably in your pockets. We are going to pretend to be servants who chose to stay when the cowardly Guard ran off with the governor and his family. We dislike the current government and are sympathetic to the rebels cause. When they relax, which they will since they will have just fought a victorious battle, we’ll strike."

  "And then?" Private Nadel said with a twitch of her lip.

  "And then, we will go lend a helping hand to our male comrades. I anticipate the leader will send some portion of his troops after them, although not all."

  "Why?"

  "Unless he’s a very unusual rebel, he will want to stay here and gloat. He will see this estate as his. The place he will rule from."

  "And die in," Private Ganz said, to general nods.

  * * *

  Since I had stored my Mfi in the laundry room, I was out of contact with Ceder and Drezner and could only wait. I collected everyone in the foyer, so our sudden presence didn’t surprise one of the rebels and cause them to begin shooting, and I had a white sheet placed on the flag pole out front in the hope that would keep them from shooting up the house on sight. I hoped I had made the right decision. Time would b
e my judge and jury.

  Six hours later, cautiously watching through the windows, I spotted the rebels advancing, meaning the military had deserted at some point. Two hundred military against even four hundred rebels should have been a good two to four day battle. The rebels stopped well back, while two small scouting parties approached the estate from different directions. An hour later, I could hear men entering from the rear terrace and see others cautiously climbing the stairs, weapons at the ready.

  "Everyone, kneel and raise your arms," I said. This would be the tricky part. They needed to see us as harmless and either civilians to be left alone or prizes of war. So long as they didn’t want to kill us and begin shooting, either was good. It took them several minutes leap-frogging from one structure to another to reach the entrance. The first two rushed through the door, head swiveling back and forward like watching a tennis match. They looked like military, although not in perfectly matching uniforms, with military type clothing and equipment and even bands on their arms that probably denoted rank. Then the older one laughed.

  "The previous owners left us their servants."

  "Yes, sir. The cowards ran off with the governor. We refused to go. Good riddance, I say," I said, trying to look happy and afraid at the same time. It wasn’t too hard. I was happy to see them and get this charade over with, and at the same time afraid they would do something stupid that would result in us having to protect ourselves prematurely.

  "Shyu, take your men and make sure no one is hiding. I can handle the women."

  "Yes, Sergeant," Shyu gave a half salute and ran off, waving individuals in various directions—two went left and two right down the first floor hallways, and four, along with Shyu, went up to the second floor.

  "No one else is here, sir."

  "For your sake, I hope so." He switched on a hand-held communication device he retrieved from his belt. "Colonel, it looks like the place is deserted except for eight female servants, who were either deserted or refused to leave. They claim the latter." He stood listening for several seconds. "Yes, sir. My troops are searching the building right now."

  The next several minutes passed in silence. He was probably listening for shots or shouts. Then the men began returning with Shyu.

  "All clear, Sergeant. The women were right. The place is deserted." Several minutes later, a tall middle-aged man appeared in the entrance, flanked by two men who appeared to be bodyguards judging by the way they surveyed the area, walked, and held their machine-gun-like rifles. He was middle-aged with a smooth narrow face, brown-hair graying at the temples, and had the command presence of a leader. His penetrating eyes—the kind that see what is, not what others would like him to see, stopped to appraise each of us. I unconsciously held my breath—the moment of truth.

  "When did they leave?"

  "Eight hours ago, sir," I answered, and his eyes locked onto me like a hungry hawk on a mouse.

  "How many and which direction?"

  I pretended to count on my fingers, lips pursed in thought. "The guards had twenty-one, maybe twenty-two. Five servants. And the governor, his wife, their two children, and the governor’s mother. They took two skimmers and the three cars. I overheard them say they were going towards the Ming Tree forest. But I don’t know where in the forest."

  "Why did you stay," he asked, his eyes searching mine.

  "Sir, working for the governor was a job. A poor job, but I need money to live. The governor treated us like slaves, barely fit to serve him. I hope you catch him," I spat, while the others around me murmured agreement. I looked down at the floor—he was my better and looking at him too long wouldn’t be right for a servant.

  "I wonder if they heard Baotou and Hefei have surrendered to us?" a thin, young man standing to the colonel’s right said. The colonel looked over his shoulder at the man and nodded.

  "That would appear to be the case, Lieutenant. A hundred men should be enough if they only have twenty-two guards with them. The other guards ran like scared rabbits. Take ten squads and go after them. I’d like the governor alive, but in no case let him escape. I’ll stay here. I plan to make this our headquarters for now."

  "Will a hundred and fifty be enough if the foreign army attacks you? We lost fifty-five and have forty wounded."

  "Lieutenant Kam informs me that the Jax army has redeployed between us and Ebao, and they were reinforced with only fifty troops. Their commander must be an idiot. He’s trapped between two forces that both outnumber him. He can’t attack the city because of us, and he can’t attack us for fear of the Ebao forces attacking his rear." He laughed. "I’ve ordered Lieutenant Kam to leave the city and crush the invaders."

  "What about the women, Colonel?" Shyu asked smiling. "The men have fought hard, sir, and could use some rest and entertainment."

  "Sir, we aren’t whores!" I exclaimed, keeping my head down and eyes looking toward the floor.

  "Consider it the price of switching to the winning side. I doubt you would have left the governor if we were losing." He grinned. "Two men for each woman. For today: Lieutenant Hang, the sergeants, and six men you feel earned it over the last few days."

  "What about you, sir?"

  "No. They are for you and the troops." He turned and walked up the stairs. Hang immediately got on the phone, giving the "lucky" men the news. I had to admit the women were having fun, quietly sobbing, looking like they wanted to run, and trying not to make eye contact. The colonel was about to lose a good part of his command structure.

  * * *

  As the invited "guests" began to arrive, Hang had us herded to the second floor, while one of the sergeants went along the hallway opening each door, looking for a good sized room to accommodate everyone.

  "Sorry, Colonel," he said, after poking his head through one doorway, and quickly closed it. Then three doors later, he found the governor’s master bedroom. "Here. This will be great." He held the door open and waved. The door had barely closed behind the last person when the men began shedding their clothes and weapons on the floor.

  "Get your clothes off, women, unless you want them ripped off," Shyu said as he stepped out of his pants. "How do you want to proceed, sir?"

  "By rank. She’s mine," Hang said, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. "You’re going to be the best fuck I’ve ever had or this is going to be the worst day of your life." Laughing, his hand reached down and grabbed me between my legs. Silence. Shock. His eyes flew open as his mind finally came to grips with what he felt. My body armor was soft, but not the yielding flesh he had expected. My left hand snaked behind his head, pulling him into my fingers and crushing his trachea. I held him tightly and hooked my right leg around his waist—as though I was giving him better access to me. In reality, it exposed my thigh and let me reach my laser. With the lieutenant pressed tight against me, I shouted, "Now," and began shooting. With the men’s attention drawn to me, the women went into action. A mad scramble began as men dove for their weapons, lying on the floor with their pants. It wasn’t much of a fight—much like slaughtering cattle in pens. The two who got off a shot tore up Lieutenant Hang’s torso, not that he cared.

  "They weren’t much fun. No stamina," Private Kott said, smiling "Maybe the others will have more pep."

  I prodded one of the bodies with my foot to be sure he was dead. "Corporal Catz, take Haber, Jaffe, and Kott. Clear the rooms starting after the central staircase to the end of the building. Corporal Glick, take Lipkin and secure the staircase and watch the hallway while we work the rooms. Nadel you’re with me; we’ll clear the rooms from here to the stairs. We’ll meet at the stairs at the end of the hallway." Skull caps magically appeared from pockets and inside uniforms. Made of the same material as the body armor, they protected everything except the exposed part of the face. "Go!"

  We poured out of the room. Glick shot two men talking in the hallway, jumped over them, and raced down the corridor with Lipkin and the others behind her. I opened the door across the hall and found two men rummaging through the
room looking for loot. Their rifles were lying on the bed. I shot one before the second realized I was there. He turned just in time to get shot in the head. I was thankful we had lasers because they were silent. The falling bodies were the only noise. Nadel exited an adjacent room and raised two fingers as she headed for the next door on her side. The next door I opened was the study. The colonel sat behind the governor’s desk sorting through papers. He looked up as I entered.

  "I should have known better. Po Tong did warn me that the Black Guard—" His last words before my laser’s tight-beam entered his right eye and burned its way through his brain. The Guard always set their laser to the tightest beam possible as that ensured it would burn through most material including walls, and a wider beam wasn’t necessary as we seldom missed. Inside a building, we couldn’t afford to.

  Nadel came out of the opposite room shaking her head. Before I reached the next room, Glick signaled four as she and Lipkin stood guard at the center staircase. I opened the last door and Nadel flung herself against the inside wall, weapon raised. No one was there.

  Finished with our assigned rooms, we raced down the hallway, collecting Glick and Lipkin on our way to Catz and the others at the far stairs.

  "Five," Catz said.

  "We’ve been fortunate. Everyone has relaxed, celebrating with Ho Lew’s liquor, searching for loot, or looking for entertainment." The others snorted. "We’ve managed to surprise them without raising an alarm. Even the two shots in our room were ignored, probably because of who was there and other random shots in celebration. The main floor and the servants’ area will require speed because we can’t count on luck. Those areas are too open. They have forty wounded plus others in the servants’ area. Some will have guns near. And if the sergeant’s count of one hundred ten was accurate, there are another forty somewhere—probably on the main floor."