She was lost for words. It was the last thing she had been expecting.
"It says here that you are a school teacher."
"Yes, that's right."
"Good, we're scheduling this fight for 9pm on Saturday. I know that it’s short notice, but that is the world we live in."
"No, I understand. That is fine. I will be ready, no matter who I have to face."
"You are a brave person, more than I am," he replied.
She smiled. She couldn't believe the circumstances that she was facing.
"I wish you every luck on Saturday. My team will be in touch with you later in the day, but be assured, you have this deal. On Saturday you will be fighting, and it will not be in front of a few hundred thousands, but millions."
The number was magical to her, and she had no words for it.
"I wish you luck in your fight Ms Lee."
"Thank you," she replied with starry eyes.
Chapter 5
The South-East Frontier, Charlie Sector
“This is crazy. In a long list of crazy and stupid ideas I have heard, this is the worst, you know that, right?” Ava whispered.
“I didn’t say I liked it either, but I won’t stand by and do nothing.”
“We could have. This isn’t on us.”
“And when one of those nukes kills millions of people. When it gets set off in what, Washington? London? Rome? How will you feel then?”
“You really are doing this because of your conscience?”
“I’ve not acted before when I knew that I should, when every fibre of my being told me I should, but others told me otherwise. I won’t let that happen again.”
Ava almost puked as a waft of foul air swept by them. A putrid smell filled the air. It was a mix of sulphur, electric burning, and the stench of death. Axel had almost forgotten what that was like, or at least he had managed to put it to the back of his mind for a while.
“This isn’t even our fight. We are paid to be here. We aren’t here to serve our country,” she insisted.
“We are here to try and help do the right thing. That is what I signed up to do. To fight where our country should, but couldn’t.”
“That is really what you still believe? That we are here to do the right thing?”
“Yes, and that is what I will fight for.”
“Like you have any choice.”
“What do you think we are doing here?” Juan asked.
“Yeah, you’d be an idiot to be out here unless you really cared,” replied Victor.
Axel stopped and knelt down, looking at each of their faces as though assessing them. Clear visors stretched down from their helmets. No light emitted from them, but from the inside, they provided clear night vision. The kind of equipment their enemy didn't have access to.
"Look, it's not too late to go back. I didn't ask for any of you to come with me. I wanted this."
"We get it. We're with you," insisted Victor.
"Geez, you’ve got to give us a little room to bitch about it," added Juan.
Axel peered over a pile of debris and spotted the partial remains of one of their Liberators. It was a handy waypoint, as he now knew precisely where they were. He lifted his NVG visor to get a better look with the naked eye, so he could understand how well the night was covering their movements. It was near pitch black, and he couldn't even make out the bunker ahead. He slipped the visor back down and could see the breach they had made the day before. There was no sign of life. No sentries, nothing.
“All right, it looks like we have a pretty clear run at things, but stay sharp, and stay quiet. Who knows what the hell is still in there.”
“If there is anything left worth seeing. They won’t have left it unguarded,” said Ava.
“That’s for sure. Remember, we aren’t here for a fight. In fact, we aren’t here for any other purpose than working out what the hell is going on. We don’t engage unless we absolutely have to, but let’s get some answers, you get me?”
They nodded in agreement, and he took a deep breath, readying himself to step out into open ground. He couldn’t see any threat ahead, but he hadn’t put his own life on the line in a war zone in a long time. His pulse was racing.
“Come on,” he whispered.
He climbed out of cover, hunkering down low as he rushed forward. He expected the night to be lit up with tracer fire. He had gotten used to it with the Liberator, but the night remained silent as he continued to tread lightly. He approached the breach from a sharp angle so that they would not be seen by anyone guarding it. As he drew nearer, he could see why that had been a good idea. A tiny light of ember lit up from inside the hole in the bunker wall as a sentry drew back on a cigarette. A wisp of smoke rose up, and he could smell it within seconds. The acrid and foul smell of the cheap tobacco laced with nicotine that was only smoked in the East now.
Axel froze, and his fist shot up to call the others to a standstill as he looked around for some other sign of the enemy. He thought of all the technological marvels and gadgets that he would normally use in such a situation, but now he had only what was in his hands. It was more terrifying than he remembered. He had become so disassociated with the danger of combat that it had almost become a game, no different to the duels he watched. His hands were sweaty, and the tension was getting the better of him. He had to mentally tell himself to put one foot in front of the other.
His lifted his rifle muzzle, knowing that once he got the chance, he could not hesitate, or risk the enemy raising the alarm. He knew he had to do this. He was the one that got them out here risking their lives, and so he had to lead the way and take the first risks. He had lost sight of the cigarette as he clung to the wall and moved slowly enough to not make a sound. Artillery and gunfire continued to rage kilometres off in the distance. It was at least loud enough to cover some of his movement over the rubble that their breaching charge had amassed.
Finally, he reached the opening, and took one deep breath before turning the bend. The cigarette lit up as he did so and illuminated the man perfectly. His night vision faded to account for the light, and he could see almost normally because of it. The man’s eyes widened as he spotted Axel, but there was no time to react. Axel’s muscle memory kicked in as if this were just another training exercise that he had done a hundred times before. Two shots rang out. The suppressors ensured they were almost silent, to the extent that he could hear the bolt sliding back and forth. It was over. His opponent was vanquished.
But then he heard a crackle of noise. Someone rose up from a mound of rubble they had been sitting on and were running for the door. The same way they had gone the day before. Axel fired, but the shots hit the frame, and the man was already free and clear. He rushed on after him, but as he got to the doorway, he saw the man trip and slide to a halt. A trail of blood stretched out from the doorway. He had been clipped all right, and badly. Axel rushed forward to find the man was barely in his twenties and looked terrified. A pool of blood was amassing around his thigh. He quickly passed out, and there was nothing that could be done for him even if they wanted to. It sent a chill down Axel’s spine. He fought and killed for a living, but he’d forgotten how harrowing a thing that was when it had to be done in person.
“Clear,” whispered Ava as she took the bend to join him.
“Two sentries, and pretty casual at that. They can’t have been expecting any trouble,” said Victor.
“Still think whatever we saw is still here?” Ava asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” he replied.
They continued up the hallway. For the two of them it was bizarre, in that they both felt that they had done this before, and yet it was alien, too. For being there in person was a different story entirely. Their senses were heightened, and they moved cautiously like they had something to lose. Not like the value of the Liberators, that meant nothing to them. They were merely tools to get a job done, but now they risked their own lives, and they weren’t even entirely sure what
for.
“Come on, let’s get to the bottom of this,” said Ava.
They continued on to where their Liberators had been hit by the EMP, but there was no sign of them, or anyone else.
“They couldn’t have recovered them yet, could they?”
“Not a chance. Newton wasn’t willing to risk any resources on this, not until he could be sure there was no risk, and none of the other teams have been in.”
“So, where are they?”
“Recovered by ILAN,” said Juan.
“Why?” she asked.
“Probably to salvage them for parts, or maybe even try and work out how to get them going again?”
“That’s crazy. Even if they could power them up, how the hell would they gain control of them?”
“Don’t underestimate the enemy. They are more resourceful than you think,” said Victor.
“Ain’t that the truth, or we wouldn’t be here doing this,” said Juan.
They stepped into the room where the crate for the nuclear weapon had been, but there was no longer any sign of it.
“Damn,” said Juan.
“There was never much hope of them hanging around,” said Ava.
“No, but let’s see what we can find,” replied Axel.
The room had been cleared of everything. It was nothing more than a large concrete box with a few doors leading in. It was twenty metres wide and twice that length. They were at the far end of the room from where they had entered, and the last place they had seen the crate for a nuclear weapon.
"Maybe it was an empty crate? Maybe we're thinking too much about this?"
"If it was just an empty crate, why take it away?" Victor asked.
Juan had no answers.
"None of this makes any sense," said Ava.
Axel knelt down as he continued to look around and put the pieces together in his head. The whole scenario was bizarre, and yet he knew he wanted to get to the bottom of it. There was utter silence as all four of them stopped and thought about where they could go from here. The bunker complex was substantial, and they couldn't risk staying for much longer. It would only be so long until they were discovered, and they could not stand against any serious number of ILAN fighters. Finally, they heard some voices and footsteps coming from beyond the doorway ahead of them.
They fanned out to the edges of the room for cover and waited. They could hear two voices and two sets of boots. They had to hope that was all they were going to face. He wanted to have words with one of them, but he couldn't see a way of doing it without risking the alarm being raised. Finally, he let the thought get the better of him. His curiosity needed to be fed. He drew out his sidearm and kept his left hand free. He was centimetres from the open doorway, and the others couldn't believe what he was doing, but they couldn't risk saying anything.
Two men stepped through the doorway. Both carried submachine guns that were a design older than any of them had been alive. Victor opened fire on one, and he went down immediately. Axel grabbed the right hand of the other and locked it on the grip before he could reach the trigger. With his other hand he put his pistol to the man’s chest.
"Don't move. Don't even say a word, do you understand me?" he asked quietly.
The man was surprisingly calm. He had a short beard and looked Slavic in origin. Likely one of the many who had flocked to the ILAN cause, or so Axel imagined.
"Let go of your weapon slowly," he ordered.
He did as asked, and Axel handed the weapon over to Ava and looked back to the man.
"Now listen very carefully," he insisted, "I am going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer them, do you understand me?"
"I don't have to tell you anything, pig," he snapped.
Axel grabbed his head and forced him to look down at his fallen comrade.
"I don't like killing. I don't enjoy it, but it's my job. Don't think for a moment that I have any qualms about sending you with him, you get me?"
He hauled the man back up. He didn't know his name, and he didn't care. He did look like he was at least a little more inclined to respond to questions, even if he had a furious anger in his eyes. He wanted to rip them all apart and wouldn't hesitate to, given the chance. Axel took a deep breath. He was relieved to finally be getting somewhere, but it still felt like an uphill battle.
"Were you here yesterday?"
He smiled.
"So you're the assholes who tried to get in, and failed," he said and began to laugh. Axel covered his mouth to stop him.
"I don't have time for your smart ass words. Talk, or die, it’s up to you. Got it?"
He begrudgingly agreed.
"All right, let's try this again. Yesterday, there was a crate right here, in this room. That crate contained a nuclear weapon. Were you aware of that?"
"I didn't see nothing," he replied with a smile.
"He's wasting our bloody time," complained Ava.
"She's right. He's useless," added Victor.
"Will you shut up?" Axel turned to look at them scornfully.
That was a huge mistake. His captive took the moment to knock his pistol aside and clock him with a strong hook to the cheek. He lost his grip of the man as he stumbled back until finally regaining his balance, only to find that the young man had already gone, having bolted out the door that he had come from.
"Christ, get him!"
They ran through the door after him, but he had sprinted at a hell of a pace to reach the next opening. Victor was through the door first to catch him, but he couldn't get a shot off before the man vanished through another doorway up ahead.
"Christ, catch the bastard."
Axel tried to regain his composure. The blow had hit him pretty hard, and he hadn't been expecting it, but it was far from the worst he had ever taken. The four of them were storming down the corridor when a muzzle was pushed out from the doorway ahead of them.
"Gun!" Victor yelled.
Shots rang out. Not the suppressed, near silent shots that they had entered the facility with. They were near deafening in the confined space and echoed throughout the facility. All four of them scattered to the edges of the corridor and ducked down. There was no cover, so it was the best they could do. One shot struck Axel's armour, and another glanced Juan's helmet. Victor returned fire, and the shots soon forced the gunman to withdraw. Victor was rushing at the door once again, and the others were in hot pursuit. They stopped at the doorway, ready to breach.
"Ready?" Victor asked.
"Go, go, go," Axel ordered.
They burst through into the room. The submachine gun was lying on the floor, and a light trail of blood led out to a door on the other side of the room.
"The whole damn place is gonna have heard that. We need to get the hell out of Dodge," said Juan.
But Axel was too busy looking at the setup on one side of the room.
"What the hell?" Victor asked.
They were looking at the flag of Incognito, with cameras and lighting set up ready to make a recording.
"Can't be, no way," said Ava.
Axel didn't believe it either. It seemed implausible, and yet it was undeniable.
"What the hell is Incognito's kit doing here? Why would he be working with ILAN?" asked Juan.
"Impossible. He doesn't work for them," replied Ava.
"How'd you know that? We have no idea what his agenda is."
"Maybe not, Axel, but he wouldn't align himself with these assholes. He may want to put a stop to big government, but he doesn't want violence."
"You sure about that?" Victor lifted up a blood soaked machete from a nearby table.
They became all too aware of shouts and cries from the direction where their prisoner had come, and they could hear the rush of boots.
"We've got incoming. There’s no time to talk. Let's move," said Juan.
"What about this?"
"No time to piss around, Ava. We're out of here, now. Victor, buy us a little time," said Axel.
; Victor drew out a high explosive grenade and headed for the door the man had exited. He fired a burst through it before tossing the grenade. A hail of gunfire fired in return as the chaos ensued, but the explosive charge soon rang out, followed by cries of panic and pain. Victor was coolheaded, drew out a smoke grenade, and threw it down the corridor. It wasn't to mask movement, but to slow their advance, as it was almost impossible to breathe through the smoke in such a confined space. They could already hear the coughs and splutters, mixed with the cries of pain from one of the wounded.
"That's our call to get the fucking hell out of here," said Juan.
None of them argued the point. Axel ran on, leading them back the way they came. He kept an eye out for trouble, but he was also moving as fast as possible.
"A few more minutes and we'll have an army coming down on us like a ton of bricks," said Victor.
"I get that," said Axel.
"You let that little punk side swipe you. Pretty sloppy," joked Juan.
"Yeah, and who's fault was that? I was working an interrogation, and I had to contend with my own damn friends."
Victor shrugged. He knew they were partly to blame, but he wasn't about to apologise for it.
"So we came in with questions, and we're leaving with no answers, only more questions," said Ava.
"Isn't life wonderful?" Juan sneered.
The breach in the outer bunker wall was up ahead, but as they drew near, a hail of bullets struck the wall in front of them, forcing them back into cover.
"Well, shit," said Victor.
"We can't stay here. We're about to get hit by god knows how many of those assholes," said Ava.
"They've probably got plenty of assholes covering the ground out front, too," added Victor.
"What rays of sunshine you are," Axel said sarcastically.
"So what's the plan?"
"Victor, you say it like we've got any option," replied Juan.
He drew out an HE grenade and launched it down the corridor. It was enough to make them duck down, so he ran on for the breach. He drew out the two flash grenades he had, primed them, launching them into what was effectively no man's land. A broad open space with no cover at all.
Revolution Page 6