by K. T. Tomb
“Well, apparently it started without us. We need to go and we need to go now!”
Geronimo nodded in agreement as he and Knight helped her to her feet. He put his hand on Knight’s shoulder and nodded sharply as their eyes met in a quick acknowledgment of their mutual commitment.
Milek’s voice broke into their moment of silence.
“I will have the tanks filled with enough fuel and supplies to get you through. You should have enough knowledge of the tanks’ operations to handle yourself. I wish you luck. You will need it,” he said. He nodded sharply and spun away on his heel. After several determined paces, he turned and called back toward Knight. “Oh, and Mr. Knight?”
“Yeah?” Evan turned to face him.
“Make sure Alexey Konstantin doesn’t live to see another sunrise.”
“That asshole’s caused all the problems he is going to,” Knight answered, with conviction. “I will personally make sure that he gets his ticket to hell punched.”
As Milek turned away, Knight called out to him one more time.
“Milek. One more question. Are those tanks waterproof?”
***
The Daughters of Eve hid within the dense overgrowth of the forest. Each of them had managed to find crude weapons. Makeshift spears and rocks tied together with vines to make slings. They had trained for centuries to defend Eden under any circumstances and with any weapons or no weapons at all. They had drilled every scenario over and over. They were ready and they waited for the approaching intruders.
They looked on as the intruders landed in the central field of Eden. Seeing that they were severely outnumbered, they had retreated further into the forest to gain a tactical advantage, but not before taking note of how their enemy was equipped. The intruding forces were armed with Springfield M14 semi-automatic rifles. They were in full body armor, alert and dangerous. They stepped over the lifeless body of Ellisia as they spread out and made their way into the forest.
Descending from the highest point of the Mountain of God were at least two visible helicopters. They had larger blades toward the front and smaller blades in the back and they hovered in place as the scene began to unfold below them.
The sight of these technological wonders over the trees caught Shala’s full attention. She stared up at them in awe. She had seen them in photos and videos during training, but she never dreamed that they would be so imposing in real life. The first doubts concerning what was about to take place came into her mind as she drew back into her covert and remained still.
***
Jess, Knight, and Geronimo had arrived at the base of the mountain known as Sahand. They had maneuvered the tanks in low ravines and took advantage of their camouflage as soon as they saw the convoy of trucks. They drove the tanks in behind some thick cover, then Jess and Knight hopped down from one tank to join Geronimo, who already stood next to his. Through the thick cover, they could see that they were about 100 yards away from the lead of the convoy of military trucks; 27 trucks, to be exact. There seemed to be little activity around them.
“Those would be our Iranian friends,” Geronimo announced in a low tone.
“Friends?” Jess asked with wide eyes.
“Just an expression,” Knight reassured her. “He really meant to say enemies.”
“Why didn’t he just say enemies, then?”
“Sarcasm,” Geronimo responded.
Knight noted the look of confusion on her face and started to explain, but decided better of it. Instead, he nodded in the direction of the convoy.
“Suppose they are worth taking a look at?”
“Might give us some idea of what we’re up against,” Geronimo responded.
“That was my thought too.”
“You think they left anybody behind?”
“Better play it like they did, huh?” Knight said, pulling his pistol from his holster and pulling back the slide to chamber a round.
Geronimo and Knight had two Mac 10s each and were more than ready to use them as they advanced under cover toward the lead truck. Jess stayed with the tanks just in case there was anyone scouting the area. Geronimo tried his best to keep his huge frame hidden and made it all the way to the lead truck behind whatever cover was large enough to hide him. He leaned against the truck as he moved forward.
The driver of the lead truck was relaxing in the cab, assuming there was no one around. As he happened to glance up in the rearview mirror on the right side, he could see Geronimo sneaking toward him. He chambered a round in his pistol, leaned back against the driver’s side door and pointed his gun at the passenger’s side while he waited for Knight’s best friend to come into his sights.
The driver worked at remaining calm as he heard the big man getting closer, trying his best to see where Geronimo was as he drew nearer to the passenger’s side. Just before he was sure that the big man was about to step into the line of his sight, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed firmly against the nape of his neck. Instinctively, he dropped his weapon and raised his hands.
Knight smiled as he pushed his Mac 10 harder into the back of the Iranian’s neck.
“Get out of the truck slowly if you want to live.” He really didn’t want to kill anyone, but he knew as soon as he entered Eden that would probably be less of an option.
The Iranian exited the truck with hands held as high as he could hold them.
From out of nowhere, Jess shouldered her way past Geronimo and hit the Iranian on the pressure points of his temples with her knuckles. He dropped to the ground. With hands on her hips, she fixed a stern look on the men from her team.
“We don’t have time for this!”
Geronimo raised his eyebrows and glanced back in the direction of the tanks.
“How did you…?”
“It is of no concern. My sisters are dying.”
“Don’t you think we should check out the rest of the convoy?” Knight asked.
“We have to defeat them no matter what they have and we are wasting time.”
“Do you know the way in from here, Bro?” Geronimo cut in as he worked at securing the Iranian’s hands and feet. “I could check out the rest of these trucks while you two get started.”
No one spoke as Geronimo hoisted the driver onto his shoulder and without ceremony dumped him in the back of the truck.
No one spoke as the three of them strode purposefully back over the distance toward the two tanks. Geronimo had gotten no answer during that time and he hadn’t pressed for one, knowing that the expression on Knight’s face meant that he was forming some sort of plan. When they stopped beside the tanks, he finally prompted Knight to speak.
“What do you say?”
Knight showed no expression as he responded, glancing up at Jess for confirmation.
“The river originally known as Adji Chay flows down from the Mountain of God. If my resources are accurate, then that same river will lead us to the original entrance to Eden.”
Jess nodded her affirmation and Knight turned to Geronimo.
“I know this wasn’t your fight to begin with. You have no idea how much it means to me that you’re here, no matter what the consequences might be. In spite of all of that, I need to ask you another favor.”
Geronimo laughed.
“Brother, you are a never-ending favor! I came this far. This is your show and Jess’ show. What do you need me to do?”
Knight smiled at Jess.
“I need you to stay here with one of the tanks. If anyone or anything other than Jess and I come back, you need to blast the piece of shit to hell. Are you up for it?”
Geronimo slapped him hard on the back.
“I know what you’re doing. I also see how me staying out here makes sense. Go kick some ass. If anyone makes it out before you, there won’t be much left when I’m done with them.”
He walked over to Jess and gave her a bear hug. When he released her, she tried to catch her breath.
“Jess, you have a great man watching your ba
ck. Don’t take him for granted. I know you two are gonna make it. You’re a team. Remember that.”
Geronimo started his walk back to his tank as Jess and Knight scrambled back into theirs and drove off toward the other side of the mountain.
***
A few hundred yards away from the caravan of military trucks and the two Zulfiqar tanks sat two civilian camouflaged jeeps. The driver of the first jeep looked through his Steiner’s military binoculars at Knight, Jess, and Geronimo watching as they expertly secured the Iranian driver and his man.
The men in the jeeps were Spetsnaz. They wore camouflage uniforms. The driver with the binoculars smiled.
“Get me Milek.”
The man in the passenger seat picked up his two-way radio microphone.
“Малыша для Papa Bear. Эван Рыцарь в обеспеченных зоне вне Sahand.”
On the other end of the radio, Boris Milek smiled and looked at his men.
“Good news. It appears that Evan Knight and his team are serious about their plans to stop Alexey Konstantin. However, we cannot expect a happy ending to our mission. We have been paid a lot of money to see this through and one way or another, it will happen. If we can get someone else to do our work for us, the better.”
“Boris,” called out one man. “What if Knight is not successful? There will be too many witnesses.”
Milek smiled reassuringly.
“We are in a win-win scenario. No matter who wins on the other side of Sahand, we will wipe out the survivors. We need to call in all of our brothers, just in case we have a war on our hands.”
The man on the other end looked through his binoculars again and told Boris Milek that one of the tanks was rolling away from the convoy at full speed toward the mountains.
Chapter Eight
One of the helicopters landed on Eden’s soil, surrounded by several armed Iranians.
The sliding door opened to reveal Sulina and Alexey Konstantin. Both of them hungered for the moment when they would step foot on that hallowed ground. It was the first time for Alexey, but Sulina was reminded of a lifetime before when these plains and forests were her world. She was the first to set foot off the chopper and feel the ground beneath her feet.
She savored every second of that feeling. Her smile was practically orgasmic as she closed her eyes to complete the experience of finally returning home.
“Oh, Alexey. You have no idea what this does for me. I have been in exile from this place for so long. There were times I never knew if I would make it back. I must thank you for making this possible.”
Alexey’s hair was blown about by the helicopter blades, while the men spread out away from the helicopter and prepared to expand their perimeter into the dense forest. Amidst everything going on around him that would be distraction enough, he saw this beautiful former Daughter of Eden with her shoes off standing on the ground that he knew would soon be his. The wind blew Sulina’s hair away from her face as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed deeply.
She was never more attractive to Alexey. He stood motionless, admiring how she tilted her head slightly and smiled as if she had found her own personal heaven. Maybe she has.
Alexey noticed that he was not the only one who was entranced by this vision in front of him. Some of the soldiers couldn’t help but be lost in the sultry swaying of the woman who had been nothing but a stinky bitch up to that point. The fact that she had that putrid smell didn’t help her cause when she ordered people around.
But then.
The soft sensuality of her femininity had taken over as she bonded with the land she had known for most of her life. She crouched down on all fours and proceeded to kiss the ground, as a sailor would do who had been lost at sea for quite some time.
Alexey could think of nothing but this goddess as she stood up and stretched out. He stepped onto the ground and expected to receive the same sensation she had. He didn’t.
She looked at the pilot of the helicopter and gave the thumbs up gesture. He took the helicopter to the air once more as Alexey approached her.
Sulina could see the sparkle in his eyes.
“Are you ready for this, Alexey?”
He smiled.
“I am always ready. That was smart getting rid of the helicopter so that there would be no chance of our enemies being able to hijack it and use it to get away.”
“Sure,” she said. “Okay. That’s a good reason too. We’re on hallowed ground, Alexey. From here on in, we do things my way.”
It didn’t take long for her to get back to being the bitch, did it?
***
Eden was larger than anyone could have anticipated. The clear area that had only a few trees and bushes scattered about, was actually about a mile wide. The biggest area, of course, was the forest. It was filled with all kinds of plant life, including vines, trees, and various types of brush. The ecosystem in Eden was different than any other place on earth; the types of plant life that grew there were not known to occupy any other area in the outside world.
It seemed that the conditions in Eden had never been affected by the world around it.
The forest that appeared to be only a few hundred yards long, was actually several miles in length. Once someone entered it, they had better know their way around or they might easily be lost. The Daughters of Eve knew the forest well.
Alexey tried to prepare for any eventuality. He had listened to Sulina’s description of paradise more than once and had gotten a better feel for what weapons he would need to bring to win his war. When in a forest, flamethrowers would be the weapon of choice.
Alexey had the only flamethrower, to make sure that the fire didn’t get out of hand. He was handed the backpack and the gun as soon as the helicopter was out of sight. One of the men helped him to put it on and activate it.
Alexey felt extremely powerful with the flamethrower at his command.
“Well, Sulina? You know the forest, yes? Guide me and I will clear a path for us.”
Sulina looked curiously at the forest.
“It is not in the same configuration as I remember it.”
“What?” Alexey exclaimed in disgust. “What the hell good is it to bring this damn thing if we can’t use it? We are sitting ducks if we go into the forest without something big to aid us!”
“You have me, Alexey,” Sulina rebutted. “I definitely count for something. We need stealth.”
Alexey roared with laughter.
“Stealth? The Iranians parachuted down by the dozens! The helicopter landed in the most visible spot imaginable! What the hell do you mean… stealth?”
Sulina looked around the area while she ignored her partner’s outbursts. She saw something on the ground about 60 feet in front of her. She walked away from Alexey, who continued to rant without her as an audience.
As Sulina closed in on the object, she could make out a familiar shape. It was a Daughter of Eve.
“Alexey!” she screamed out. “Why didn’t you tell me that we had injured a Daughter of Eve already? This is important! Call in every single one of them that had already landed.”
Alexey ran up to where she was, which was no easy task, considering how much weight was on his back.
“What?” he asked.
He finally saw the body on the ground.
“Why wasn’t I notified of this? Damn it! I will not tolerate any more communication problems from anyone in the future!”
As he continued to berate the men around the body, Sulina crouched to inspect the fallen sister. She searched her neck and any place where she might have hidden something like a vial of healing oil. Nothing.
She turned the body over and looked relieved.
“This is Ellisia IL Eve. Her oil has been removed. I better not find out that it was stolen by one of the Iranians, Alexey.”
“I will make sure of it myself,” he replied, angered at the concept that one of his men might have taken the oil.
“Do you wa
nt to see a miracle, Alexey?” she asked.
She opened Ellisia’s mouth and bent over her as if she was going to try CPR. She placed her mouth around the dead Daughter’s lips and proceeded to blow.
“She’s dead,” Alexey proclaimed. He wasn’t sure what that meant to a Daughter of Eve, considering what he had seen in the hospital.
Sulina kept breathing into Ellisia’s mouth. After a few moments, Ellisia’s hands started to twitch. Then her arms. Her entire body started to convulse as if she were having a seizure. Sulina pulled away and wiped her mouth as Ellisia’s convulsions started to subside.
Alexey and the men around him were shocked as Ellisia’s eyes snapped open. They were even more surprised when she sat up. She coughed up several large chunks of coagulated blood and then struggled to her feet.
“Sulina? You saved me?”
“I wouldn’t say that I saved you as much as restored you,” Sulina explained, with a Cheshire grin. “Congratulations, Ellisia. You’re with us now. It’s a shame that you didn’t even get a chance to fight. Can you remember anything?”
“No,” Ellisia replied, still disoriented.
Sulina let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh well. That is to be expected; you will remember only what you need to. Welcome to the battle. You are now one of the Fallen.”
Chapter Nine
Sulina smiled at the thought of Alexey being in charge of anything, let alone a small army.
“You surprise me, Alexey. Or perhaps it is your army that surprises me.”
Alexey had his flamethrower positioned to burn down as much of the forest as he needed to.
“I am a man of many surprises. Are you ready to see Eden burn?”
Sulina restrained her laugh.
“By all means. First, I must take Ellisia with me for a small but essential task to aid you in your quest.”