Kimber rolled her eyes and shook her head, completely baffled by the mischaracterization of her order. Mack smiled innocently as he ran his fingers through his short hair one more time before scrubbing at his teeth with a finger.
“My kids are more mature than you lot.”
“Fuck, ma’am. Your kids are older than us,” one of the warriors said in a low voice that tapered off as he heard the words out loud. Her glare told him that what sounded good in his head wasn’t when it hit the real world. “I’m going to go over here and make believe like I’m looking at something important.”
The young man did exactly that.
“I’m not old!” Kimber replied defensively. “And my son’s only a couple years old.”
“Like he said…” Mack let it go. “We won’t embarrass you, Lieutenant. You’ll do great and then we’ll establish a garrison here. There will be much cheering and joy.”
“Cheering and joy, huh? Let’s go before you make me beat the shit out of all of you!”
They stepped off toward the town, walking warily, weapons on their combat slings and ready to be brought to bear.
“Spread out,” Kim ordered when she noticed that the birds had gone silent. “Vee formation.”
The warriors wrapped their hands around their pistol grips, fingers outside the trigger housing and thumbs on the selector switch. Kimber waved her rifle in a wide figure eight in front of her. She heard a branch crack as someone stepped on it. She spun and locked on a group coming from the woods, carrying their farm implements.
There were at least ten that she could see.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. It’s a good way to get yourself killed,” Kim warned.
“The council don’t speak for all of us. Take your people and go!”
“Then why is there a council?” Kim asked. She wanted the garrison as a personal victory. She finished second in the competition because she was impatient. Kim wouldn’t make that mistake a second time.
“We don’t want you here,” the gruff and dirty man stated.
“That’s not going to work for me.” Kimber stood her ground. “Put your weapons down and then we’ll discuss your concerns, hopefully put your minds at ease.”
“We don’t want you here!” the man yelled, shaking his scythe at her and inching forward.
“Weapons tight,” she ordered before firing into the ground in front of the man. She pulled her M4 into her shoulder, aimed, and shot the handle of the man’s scythe. Another person had an axe. She shot the head, spraying the gathering with shrapnel. “Oh! Sorry about that.”
Kim stood. The man looked crushed as he cradled his scythe like it was a baby. Kim stormed up to him and yanked him upright. “Don’t bring your farm tools to a fucking gunfight, dumbass!”
The man looked up angrily, but Kim was determined. She stared him down. “We’re not here to get in anyone’s business. We’re here for exactly the opposite reason. Our mission is to make sure you are free to live your lives as you want, free from outside interference. Free from raiders who would kill your men and steal your women. You want to know why I care about that? When I was ten, I was taken by raiders, me and a bunch of other women. It was Colonel Terry Henry Walton who saved me and all of us. He has made it his purpose in life to see that never happens again. If it does? Vengeance and retribution. That’s why we’re here, not to fight with you. You aren’t our enemy. But they’re out there and when they raise their ugly heads, we’ll fill them full of holes. Go home. Go about your business and feel safe that you can do as you need to without anyone stealing your liberty.”
Kim let go and straightened the man’s collar, patting it down gently. “That can be fixed. A dead person can’t be.”
“I understand,” he said sadly, still looking at his scythe. He waved his hand at the others, who turned and meandered away.
“Thank you,” Kim told the man before he followed the others back into the forest.
“Shall we?” Kim said, pointing her toes down the road to town. The council was waiting for them when they arrived.
“We heard the explosions. What happened? Are you all right?”
“Gunfire, not explosions. We’re fine. It seems some of the local farmers don’t think you speak for them, but they were good with our proposal,” Kim answered.
“How many did you kill?” a different council member asked.
“None.” Kim looked at the woman out the corner of her eye. “We didn’t offer them anything we aren’t offering you.”
Kim explained as she’d done with the farmers. The council members nodded in agreement. “We only want to help. My father says that if you have the ability to act, you have the responsibility. That’s us. He’s military from the before time and he knows how this stuff all works.”
“He must be an old man, then. Really old.”
“He’s old,” Kim said ambiguously.
They shook hands and the council walked the small group around town, ending where they said the Force could establish their barracks, armory, and garrison.
“Deal,” Kimber replied. They shook hands once more to seal the deal. “We’ll move in and then if you need help with manpower in any way, we’ll be happy to do what we can.”
“Since you mention it, so many of our women are without husbands…”
Los Angeles
Bing and Bradley moved stiffly in the morning. After forcing water all night, they finally felt hydrated, but the platoon consolidated their flasks. The two warriors carried ten flasks each.
“They’re going to wonder where we got these,” Bradley suggested.
“Fuck them. I have no intention of dying out there. They’ll get over it because we make them look good before their boss,” Bing replied.
“And no one is going to look good if you two stagger in late and aren’t able to get to work, so muscle up and get to it!” Kae ordered.
The two left the bivouac without escort. They circled around to the north and then walked straight into the walled section.
“Right here. We will build this whole section of wall today. We promised the foreman, so let’s go. Hey! Where’d you get all the water jugs?”
Bing looked at them. “Because fuck you. We ran out of water yesterday and you cockwads could not have cared less, so we’ll take care of ourselves. Now you better get to work if you want to impress the boss.” Bing crossed his arms and looked at the two men.
Panic flashed across their faces. “No! You get to work. You help us!”
“Quid pro quo, bitches,” Bing said, hoping that he correctly remembered one of the colonel’s sayings.
They looked at him and shook their heads.
“We give you something, you give us something,” he explained.
“You can’t have our rations!” one man cried.
“We have food. We don’t need yours. I want information. What the hell are you building this wall for?” Bing leaned toward the men.
“To keep people in. The leather men have demanded it.”
“Leather men,” Bing said slowly. “They wear leather to keep their skin covered from the sun? You only see them shaded. Kind of pasty white? People disappear every now and then?”
“Yes to all,” the man said softly, looking around to make sure they were alone.
“How many are there?”
“Two, but they are bad-asses. They’ve killed a bunch of us. Any time someone gets a wild hair and thinks they’ve had enough. They’re immortal.” The man spoke as if it were gospel.
“Bradley. Help them get to work. I’ll be right back.” Bing ran through the gap in the wall and found a secluded spot where he used his comm device to call Kaeden.
“Two Forsaken here, running this place. The wall is to keep people in,” Bing reported.
“How about I bring the boys and we fuck some shit up?” Kae said and clicked off.
***
“Saddle up, ladies! We got us two Forsaken that need to be killed. Mass firepower and
head shots. Keep your knives handy, just in case. Two guard the gear and the rest of us are going hunting.” Kae snarled as his adrenaline pumped. He’d trained harder since the trip to Vancouver, gotten faster, more aggressive in attacking an opponent in man-to-man combat. His martial arts were honed. No four warriors from his platoon could stand up to him.
When Kae engaged, it was like his opponents were standing still. He could strike them all before they could raise their hands. Forsaken were faster, but he had his platoon behind him.
“On the road in three!” he shouted and immediately went outside to call his dad.
“Kae. What’s the latest?” the colonel asked.
“Two Forsaken in LA. We’re going in to take them out. They are building a wall to keep the people in. We can’t have that, can we?” Kae made his statement firmly and with conviction.
“Sorry I’m not with you. Don’t let them get any of your people alone. Go kick their asses, and then put their heads on pikes outside the city, just like they used to do in the medieval times to warn off the next group of invaders.”
“Consider it done. I’ll call when it’s over.” Kae stuffed the device into his pocket. The unit formed on him and without delay, they turned and started jogging toward the inner city.
They arrived shortly to where Bing and Bradley were working.
Kae called a halt while the two stone masons looked on wide-eyed. “What the fuck are you doing?” Kae asked.
“Working. Waiting for you, Lieutenant,” Bing replied as he started to put his combat gear on. He hefted his rifle and slung it over his shoulder, letting it ride under his arm. “I missed you.”
“No one is going to need this wall when we get done.”
“Right, sir.” Bing shrugged and fell in at the back of the formation.
“You. Show us where they are.” Kae motioned for the men to come down from their scaffolding.
They shook their heads. “Go get them,” Kae ordered.
Bing and Bradley waved the others off. “It’ll be best if you show us. My personal word that we’ll protect you. Look at us! Those two don’t stand a chance.”
The men climbed down reluctantly and with Bing and Bradley at their side, they joined Kaeden at the front of the formation, leading them toward the center of this section of the city.
They encountered the foreman as he was going from one place to another. He put his hands on his hips, spread his feet wide, and blocked their way.
“Diamond formation,” Kae called over his shoulder. The shuffling behind him indicated they were doing as ordered.
“No,” the foreman said simply.
“We’re here for your masters,” Kae said coldly.
“No,” the foreman repeated.
“You’re good with them eating the people. What do you care, as long as you get to be in charge and they don’t gnaw on you? That’s right, people!” Kae raised his voice to a shout as people started appearing in windows and leaning around corners.
“You people are nothing more than cattle. That ends, today.”
Kae started forward. The man stood there. Kae had to give him credit, but it was too little, too late. The lieutenant jumped close to the man, blocked a clumsy punch, and twisted his arm behind him, forcing him to walk ahead.
“Which way?” Kae growled.
“Straight ahead,” Bing answered from behind.
Kae shoved the foreman aside so hard that the man stumbled and went face first into the ground. He stayed down as the platoon passed.
“First squad, around back. Second squad, cover the sides. Third squad, we’re kicking in the front door.”
First squad broke out of the diamond formation and jogged around the building. “In position!” the squad leader called from the back. Second squad broke in half and went left and right to cover the sides of the squarish building.
“Watch the roof, too,” Kae warned.
He looked over his shoulder at third squad. “Silver locked and loaded?”
“Yes, sir,” came the response. He could have learned without asking as the silver rounds were in silver looking magazines. The others were a gray-green. But he wanted them to acknowledge that they were ready for combat.
Kaeden took one step and stopped as the front door opened slowly and one Forsaken leaned out. The sound of rifles snapping to the firing position came from behind Kae. He smiled as he looked at his enemy.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Tell lucky number two to join you out here. I know what you are. I suspect you know what I am, too. So there we are, mortal enemies.”
Kae had fought Forsaken before. He did not fear them. Wary, yes, but afraid, no.
“Cat got your tongue?” Kae asked.
The Forsaken scanned the squad and locked his eyes on the lieutenant. Kae could feel some influence, but it only made him angry.
“Nice try, dickless.” Kae glared back at the Forsaken. “FIRE!” Seven rifles barked as one, then three more single shots. Kae bolted forward to catch the Forsaken before he could dodge back inside, but he only fell over backward, his head blown apart by the accurate point-blank fire.
Kae ripped the door open and ducked as a throwing star flew at his face. He’d seen them in Japan at Akio’s, even trained with them, but had never been on the receiving end of one.
He heard the gurgle as it hit one of his warriors. The man clutched his ruined throat and fell. Kae looked back through the door, but the Forsaken had moved on. “Follow me!” he called and charged into the house.
Rifle fire told him that the Forsaken had been spotted. Kae headed toward the sound, running up the stairs with his squad pounding behind him. At the top of the stairs, a roundhouse kick caught him in the chest. Kae grabbed the rail as he was flung backward. He twisted sideways as he fell. The first warrior behind him fired at the landing, but the target was already gone.
Camilla helped Kae to his feet and pushed him forward. The squad was bunched up on the stairs.
“To the right!” she yelled as he surged over the top and turned. She followed him around.
“Clear those rooms!” Kae shouted over his shoulder, waving at the closed doors as he headed down a short hallway.
He heard a crash as one of his people kicked the first door in, then a gurgle, and gunfire.
Kaeden turned quickly to see one of his people down and someone trying to close the broken door. Kae rammed through the door to the side, surprising the Forsaken sliding a dresser in front of the door at the far end of a series of rooms that opened one onto the other.
The Forsaken snarled, as did Kaeden. They charged each other, but Kaeden wasn’t aiming to get locked in a wrestling match with the creature. The lieutenant flipped his weapon to three-round burst and raised it, pulling the trigger as he went.
The snap fire sent rounds up the Forsaken’s chest. The third hit just below its chin. The fire stopped its charge. The second burst tore through the Forsaken’s face. It fell over backward.
Kae pulled out his knife and with vicious cuts, working to separate the creature’s head from its body. “Check on Bradley,” the lieutenant ordered Camilla.
She hurried out the door and down the hallway.
Kaeden finished his grisly task and then searched the body, not finding anything besides two more throwing stars. He took them and returned to the hallway. Bradley was sitting up, his face a mess from the power of a Forsaken punch.
But he was alive.
“We’ll get you to my sister and she’ll fix you up, good as new, but you should ask her for better since you weren’t much to look at before,” Kae joked, before turning deadly serious. He addressed the other warriors. “Clear the building, two by two. No one goes anywhere alone.”
He stood up and leaned out the window. “We’re clearing the building now. Watch the front.”
The warriors outside shouted to coordinate and broke up into smaller groups, arraying themselves where they could observe all four sides of the building.
CHA
PTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Los Angeles
Kae keyed his comm device. “Two Forsaken are down and I lost one man. One is injured, but will recover. My intent is to stay in this area and get these people back on their feet. I have a question.” Kae waited for the colonel to acknowledge him.
“I’m sorry, Kae. Is there anything you could have done to prevent the loss?” Terry asked.
“Blow the building in place. We knew where they were holed up. If we could have blasted the building, that would have taken care of it, but we don’t have any explosives. We had to attack a defended position. I didn’t know if there were any underground escape routes, so we pushed,” Kaeden explained.
“I’m sorry, Kae. In war, sometimes people die. We’ll celebrate his life and write his name on the wall of the fallen, memorialize his sacrifice forever.”
Kae pulled the device away from his ear and clicked off as he slowly descended the steps. He looked at the Forsaken’s body in the front doorway and beyond; the warrior was in the street with another warrior kneeling next to him and watching the building.
The lieutenant fought to reconcile the loss with his father’s words of honor. The dead were gone.
But not forgotten. A legacy of honor. He thought back to Jack, the man who drowned and couldn’t be revived. Kae had personally lost two people since he joined the FDG.
Two good people. Kae hung his head and sighed. It was the risk they all took when they joined, but he bore the greatest responsibility for his people. He understood why loss took such a toll on his father and the courage it took for him to continue. One sacrifice had saved lives that the Forsaken would have ruined.
We risk all for the sake of others. It’s not for those of weak moral fiber, Kae remembered his dad saying.
Kae asked himself, Would I have sacrificed my entire platoon, including myself, to kill these two?
“Yes, and it would have been worth it, even if there was no one left to tell our story. Sometimes you don’t get to sing your own praises,” Kae said out loud.
“Excuse me, Lieutenant?” a warrior asked from behind.
Nomad Omnibus 03: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 56