Virtue of War

by L O Addison

  Beck noticed a fresh blaster wound on his front paw. It didn't look as deep as the one on his shoulder, but blood seeped from it at an alarming rate. Kaylin quickly grabbed a short length of rope from her toolkit and wound it around Red's leg, using it as a makeshift tourniquet. Red whimpered softly, nosing at the tight cord, but Kaylin gently pushed his snout away.

  "Leave it," she said. Then she looked up at Beck and said, "Let's move."

  As the voices and footsteps faded in the distance, Beck crept closer to the door, gesturing for the others to follow. Adrien and Matteo fell into step right behind him, and Kaylin dropped back to walk beside Lio, making sure he followed closely. The ambassador still had a dazed look on his face, as if he were walking through a nightmare.

  Beck used his rifle to nudge open the door. He flipped open the small digital screen on its stock and used the corner-camera mounted on the barrel to peer into the hallway. Empty. There was nothing around, except for the smoke clouding the air to the right.

  "All clear,” he whispered. “Let’s move.”

  They rushed into the hallway, and Adrien tried to take the lead again, but Beck grabbed the boy’s shoulder and pulled him back.

  “Stay behind me,” Beck ordered. “Just tell me where we’re going.” He wasn’t going to let the boy take the most dangerous position, not when there was such a high risk of stumbling into a group of guards.

  “Keep going for another twenty meters or so, and then take the second tunnel on the right,” Adrien said.

  Beck nodded, leading them along the right side of the tunnel. Behind them, shouting echoed off the concrete walls, and smoke billowed in a thick, dark grey cloud. Beck bit back a curse. This tunnel was going to soon be flooded with reinforcements to help put out the fire and track down whoever had set off the bomb.

  He put on an extra burst of speed, forcing his aching legs to keep moving. The others followed, their footsteps and panting breaths joining the cacophony coming from behind them.

  "This is it," Adrien said, pointing to a small door that branched off from the hallway.

  It was open, which only increased Beck’s dread. The Wardens weren’t fools. They wouldn’t leave a tunnel wide open unless it was well guarded and frequently trafficked.

  Beck slowed, but Adrien darted past him, rushing into the tunnel. Just as he slipped inside, a woman's voice called out, "Stop right there!"

  Beck glanced behind and found two guards rushing toward them, rifles raised. He swiveled to face them and fired twice, the crack of his rifle amplified by the tunnel. The guards stumbled to the side, ducking to avoid the shots.

  "Go!" Beck yelled to the others.

  Matteo darted through the door with Lio following close behind, but Kaylin stepped up to Beck’s side and raised her rifle. The guards opened fire, and Beck leaped to the side to avoid a blaster round, only to have another one graze right past his face.

  Kaylin returned the guards' shots, and one of them struck the male guard in the shoulder. The guard grabbed at his shoulder, confusion twisting his face as he saw the tranq dart sticking out. Clearly, he was wondering the same thing Beck was—what sort of crazy idiot uses tranquilizer rounds in a deadly firefight?

  The best kind of crazy idiot. That was the obvious answer.

  The guard's confusion only lasted a second before he slumped to the ground unconscious. The female guard glanced down at him, halting her fire for just a second. Beck's rifle found its mark, striking the woman twice in the chest. She fell limp to the floor, collapsing on top of the other guard.

  Kaylin nodded toward him in approval. "Nice shot."

  "Right back at ya," Beck said. "But do you think you could use some actual bullets?"

  Kaylin shook her head fiercely. "I don't kill people. Not anymore."

  She didn't give him time to argue before dashing over to the fallen guards and snatching up the laser pistols from their belts. They were the high-tech versions he'd seen the Wardens carrying before, and far better than the standard-issue ones the Resistance had given them.

  Kaylin shoved one in her belt and tossed the other to Beck. He quickly switched it out for the one he'd been using, relieved to have it as backup. His other pistol had been nearly out of charge.

  He nodded toward Kaylin's pistol. "You realize these kill people, don't you?"

  She shook her head and tapped the pistol. "I've seen models like this before. They have a stun setting."

  Beck nodded and gestured toward the side tunnel the others had darted into. "Let's go."

  They slipped into the tunnel, and Beck closed the door behind them, shooting the lock with the laser pistol. The red laser bolt instantly melted the metal lock, jamming the door closed.

  "Good thinking," Kaylin said.

  "It won't slow them down for long," Beck said, already picking up a jog as he headed toward Adrien.

  They raced down the concrete tunnel, Red struggling after them. His injured leg slowed him, but the dragon somehow managed to keep pace as they caught up with the others.

  "Take a right at the next fork," Adrien called out.

  Beck nodded and put on a fresh burst of speed, overtaking Adrien and the others. Kaylin immediately understood what he was doing and hurried to join him. If they ran into any guards, he and Kaylin had the best chance of being able to fend them off.

  Ahead of them, the tunnel ended in a sharp fork. Beck slowed as he neared it. If there was any place in this tunnel that was perfect for an ambush, this was it. Kaylin seemed to realize the same thing, because she skidded to a halt beside him and held up a hand, gesturing for the others to also stop.

  Beck snatched a flash-bang grenade from his belt. In the close confines of the tunnel, an explosive grenade would be suicide, but a flash-bang would still be enough to foil any ambush that might be waiting for them.

  "Turn around, close your eyes, and cover your ears," he whispered to the others. “And get ready to run.”

  He pulled the pin on the grenade and rolled it at the wall. It struck at an angle, like a well-aimed pool shot, and went skittering down the left side of the hallway.

  Immediately, a deep voice hollered from down the hall. "Grenade! Take cover!"

  Beck turned and covered his ears. An ear-splitting boom echoed through the tunnel. A white flash followed a moment later, filling his vision with blinding light even though his eyes were shut.

  He ignored the ringing in his ears and lurched forward toward the left fork, his rifle at the ready. Beck signaled for Kaylin to take the right fork, and she nodded and got into position, falling easily into the maneuver. She stepped forward in time with Beck, and they swiveled to face opposite sides, both of them sweeping the hallway in search of targets.

  Beck locked his sight on a guard just ten feet in front of him. He was a hulking man, well over six feet tall and bulging with muscle. But he was still no match for the flash-bang. The guard was hunched over, his hands pressed to his ears as he blinked frantically, trying to clear his vision.

  Beck aimed and fired, striking him straight in the chest. The guard’s armored vest caught the round, but it drove the breath out of him, and he collapsed to one knee, grasping at his chest. Beck fired once more, aiming higher this time. It struck him squarely in his unprotected head, and the guard fell to the ground dead.

  Gunfire broke out in the right fork of the tunnel, and Beck turned and ran to give Kaylin some backup. There were three guards on the right side. One had already fallen to Kaylin’s pistol, but the others were pressed close against the wall, taking aim at them. Beck swung his rifle to his shoulder and opened fire.

  One of his shots struck a guard straight in the crotch, and beside him, he heard Kaylin let out a wild laugh. The guard collapsed to the ground, but as Beck swiveled to face the next guard, searing pain exploded in his left shoulder.

  He didn’t realize he’d dropped his rifle until it clattered to the ground in front of him. He tried to grab at it, but more pain flooded his veins, and a cry escaped him. He slapped
his right hand over the pain in his shoulder, and he felt searing heat and slick blood.

  Blaster wound. He’d been shot.

  A hand grabbed him from behind and shoved him flat against the ground. His heartbeat roared in his ears, but as he reached out to fend off the attacker, he realized it was Matteo standing over him. The young soldier was returning fire at the guards as he stood protectively over Beck.

  It only took seconds for the firefight to end. The guards had been thrown off-kilter by the flash-bang, and Kaylin and Matteo quickly dispatched the remaining two.

  Beck gasped against the pain and struggled to clear his mind. He peered down the hallway searching for any more guards, but the right fork of the tunnel seemed to be cleared. And he couldn’t hear anything else coming from the left tunnel, so that one must’ve been clear, too.

  Kaylin dropped to her knee next to him, her eyes filled with panic. “Are you okay?”

  “Just dandy,” he gasped.

  She shoved his hand away from his wounded shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the pain as she quickly examined the injury.

  “Just a flesh wound,” she said, relief filling her tone. She reached a hand down to him, offering him help up. “You’ll be fine.”

  Beck nodded tightly and grabbed her hand, struggling to his feet. The tunnel spun for a moment, but he shook his head, forcing himself to clear it. Kaylin was right. He’d be fine. He had to be. They were too damn close to the base to give up now.

  He grabbed his rifle from the ground, but as soon as he tried to raise it, he realized shooting it was going to be damn near impossible. He cursed and slung its carrying strap over his uninjured shoulder, drawing the laser pistol from its holster instead. It would have to do.

  “Come on,” he called out, glancing behind him, where Lio and Adrien stood. “It’s clear.”

  Kaylin patted him reassuringly on the back and then turned to Adrien. “Where do we go now?”

  Adrien nodded toward the end of the tunnel. “Take a right up here, and then we’re at the gate.”

  Kaylin nodded and took the lead, guiding them down the last stretch of the tunnel. Beck stuck to her side, refusing to slow down. The one good thing about blaster injuries was that the heat of the blaster cauterized the wound, making them hardly bleed. So he didn't have to worry much about blood loss. Only the pain.

  Footsteps and yells echoed through the tunnels, although as far as Beck could tell, they weren’t near. The only guards who knew their exact location were either dead or unconscious.

  But he wasn't sure how long that'd last. They'd surely figured out by now that their camera system was being messed with, and it was only a matter of time before they fixed them.

  They passed several doors, all of them closed. Probably just more storage rooms. But Beck still tensed every time they passed one of the doorways, waiting for more guards to leap into their path. They reached the end of the tunnel without running into anyone, although the voices grew louder as they got closer to the gate. Kaylin slowed and held up a hand for the others to stop.

  “What’s our plan to breach the gate?” she asked.

  “Another grenade,” Adrien said. “But an explosive one this time. Should take care of most of the guards, and then you can crack the lock on the gate.”

  “No,” Matteo said sharply. “Some of the gate guards are young recruits. You can’t just kill them.”

  Adrien shot him a fierce look. “Either we kill them, or they kill us.”

  “No explosions,” Beck said sharply, ending the conversation. “Kaylin, use your tranq shots to knock out any young guards. The rest of us will shoot to kill the others.”

  Kaylin nodded, seeming to realize it was the best plan they were going to get. There was simply no time to formulate anything more complicated. If they didn't move forward now, the guards behind them were going to catch up, and they'd be attacked at both ends.

  Kaylin led the way around the corner. Beck followed at her side, his pistol raised and ready. Right as they rounded the corner, a figure carrying a rifle stepped into their path.

  Beck instinctively began to squeeze his pistol’s trigger, but then he froze. The guard was young, no older than fourteen, and his face was pinched with fear as he aimed his rifle straight at Beck’s face.

  “Don’t move," the young guard said.

  The boy’s small, wavering voice stole all the adrenaline from Beck’s veins. He couldn’t fight this kid. Shooting him would be murder.

  Kaylin aimed at the boy, but before she could fire off a tranq round, two more guards stepped out from an alcove in the wall.

  “Shoot him, and I’ll kill both of you,” the tallest guard said. He had sharp eyes, like a hungry hawk, although he didn't look much older than the other boy. He held a rifle at his shoulder, and so did the woman at his side.

  “Drop your weapons and raise your hands,” the woman said, her voice stern. She was older than the others, probably about thirty, and there was a harsh edge to her voice that told Beck she was no stranger to fighting.

  Beck let his pistol drop and raised his hands, biting back a groan as he moved his injured shoulder. Kaylin slowly lowered her weapon and then let it clatter to the ground.

  "We surrender," she said.

  The woman’s eyes narrowed on her. "Keep your hands up. Above your head."

  Kaylin nodded, but as she raised her hands, she jerked a grenade off her belt and tossed it behind her. The woman shot at her, but she dodged to the side, slamming into the wall as the grenade exploded behind her.

  Thick, red smoke billowed from the grenade, blocking Matteo, Lio, Adrien, and Red from sight. Then a blue ray of light sparked from the grenade and reached out to touch the ceiling and walls, forming an electric shield that bisected the tunnel.

  Beck choked back a surprised laugh of triumph. A forcefield grenade. A completely, totally illegal piece of alien tech, and exactly the sort of thing he should have suspected Kaylin would carry.

  The forcefield would barely last for a minute, and it would do nothing to stop bullets or blaster fire. But it would stop anyone from passing through, and it might be enough to give the others a chance to escape.

  "Run!" Beck commanded.

  It was over for him and Kaylin. They were caught. Doomed. But maybe, just maybe, the others could get away. Maybe they could slip out of reach of the guards, and sneak into the base, and get the Virtue.

  He knew the odds were stacked against them. But there was still a tiny glimmer of hope, and he desperately clutched at it as the tall boy stalked toward him, his expression hard and his rifle aimed at Beck’s chest.

  32

  Lio

  The moment Beck screamed at them to run, Red leaped up and grabbed Lio's sleeve in his teeth, dragging him backwards. Lio stumbled, struggling to keep his balance as his mind whirled with wild adrenaline.

  “That won’t last long,” Adrien said, nodding to the forcefield that had sealed off the section of the tunnel ahead of them. “We need to move.”

  Lio shook his arm out of Red’s grasp. “But the others—”

  “Are screwed,” Adrien snapped. “Now get moving before we are, too.”

  The boy didn’t wait for agreement before taking off, sprinting down the hallway. Lio froze, staring at the forcefield. He’d already had Marin ripped away from him. He couldn’t just allow the Wardens to kill Kaylin and Beck too.

  A hand grabbed his shoulder, and Lio jerked back in surprise. Matteo stood next to him, his mouth pulled into a grim line.

  “Listen to Beck,” Matteo said. “Run. We’re not betraying him, we’re obeying him.”

  Obedience. In the midst of the wild chaos of this mission, that was one thing Lio could fully understand. Obedience was respect, and Beck had proven to be a man who deserved respect.

  Lio nodded tightly. “Let’s go.”

  Matteo turned and ran after Adrien, who was already halfway down the tunnel. Lio followed after them, although he hadn’t the slightest clue where they
were heading. Adrien skidded to a halt in front of the nearest doorway and tried the handle. Locked. The boy cursed and ran to the next door a few yards away. This one was already open just a crack, as if someone hadn’t gotten the chance to close it properly before they left the room. Adrien yanked the door open all the way and gestured for the others to get inside.

  Matteo ran straight in, but Lio hesitated. A yellow sign hung next to the doorframe that read, “Caution: Explosive Materials.”

  "Don't just stand there," Adrien hissed.

  Lio nodded to the sign. “There are explosives in there.”

  “No shit,” Adrien snapped. “Now shut up and get inside.”

  Something nudged at his leg, and he glanced down to find Red there. The dragon was still limping heavily, and blood leaked from the wound on his leg, but it didn't stop him from barging past Lio and inside the room. Lio took a deep breath and followed after him. Adrien slammed the door closed as soon as they were all inside, and the lock engaged with a loud beep.

  Blackness enveloped the room, but before Lio could reach for his night-vision goggles, Adrien flipped a switch. Artificial light filled the room, and Lio winced, holding a hand up to his eyes to ward off the searing brightness. He blinked frantically as his eyes struggled to adjust. They were in a medium-sized room with a tall ceiling, and the walls were lined with rows of metal storage containers with heavy locks.

  "It’s an explosives closet," Matteo said, answering the question Lio had been about to ask. "They keep them outside the main base, in case there's an accident and the explosives go off."

  Lio eyed the boxes uncertainly, but Matteo immediately shoved at the storage container nearest the door, grunting as he struggled to move it.

  "Help me with this thing," he said to Adrien.

  Adrien nodded and ran to Matteo's side, and Lio joined them. Adrien recoiled as Lio neared, but Matteo didn't even flinch. Apparently, the threat of guards seemed greater to him than the threat of getting too close to an alien.

  The metal container screeched against the concrete floor as they shoved it toward the door. Adrien was too small to be of much help, but Matteo's slim limbs had a surprising amount of strength hidden in them, and he and Lio managed to get the box jammed against the thick steel door. Right as they shoved it into place, he heard muffled footsteps approach from outside.