Battle Earth VII Page 15

  “Just two kilometres out!”

  “What will you do once we get to France?” the President asked Taylor.

  “Push my contacts in the UK and see where I can get to. If I can’t get support back home, that’s my next safe bet. I have friends there.”

  “And do what then?”

  He shook his head.

  “I don’t know. The World’s going to shi… to hell. And this time it isn’t as simple as fighting those in front of me.”

  “Welcome to my world.”

  He opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a scream from Hughes.

  “Shit!”

  Taylor turned to see a line of gunmen blocking the road. They wore Reitech equipment but no insignia over plain black uniforms. He reached over and grabbed the wheel, tugging it to one side. The bus veered violently off to one side, ramming a car beside it as the line of gunmen opened fire.

  “Get down!” he ordered.

  He heard Hughes yelp as a shot went into his arm. Bullets ripped through the outer skin of the bus with little resistance at all. Taylor couldn’t see anything from where he was and had to hope for the best now. A moment later they heard glass shatter, and the bus rocked as they burst through a huge pane and then smashed into a wall.

  The impact sent them all tumbling from their positions. Taylor hit the main console at the front of the bus, smashing into the inside of the windscreen, and then back down to the seat. He got to his feet, doing his utmost to ignore the pain and get a handle on the situation.

  “Get up!”

  He looked out of the windows. They were inside a modern shopping mall. He drew out his pistol and offered it to Mertens.

  “Know how to use this?”

  Mertens was in her mid-fifties. She was more than a little overweight and hardly looked like the gun toting type, but he had to do something.

  “Can you use it or not?” he insisted.

  “I can learn quickly if I need to,” she responded, snatching it from his grasp.

  Fighting spirit, it’s a start.

  “Everyone off the bus!”

  The door was jammed shut, but it was fortunately weak. He kicked it and it flew from its hinges. Screams of panic rang out from around them, as people went from concern for the occupants to fleeing from men with guns. He quickly surveyed the scene and led them further into the facility. He looked back. Hughes was nursing his wounded arm and wasn’t even holding his rifle that was now slung on his back. Jafar was holding up the rear.

  They took a bend, and the only way was up via automated stairs. As they rode up to the next floor, Taylor looked at the faces of Hughes and Waters. They both looked ready to give up.

  “Hughes, get that weapon in hand. You haven’t got time to bleed! Mertens, you stick at my back, no matter what.”

  Jafar was the last one off the stairs, and as he did so, gunfire raced past his head. Taylor jumped to his aid. A metre high wall ran alongside the top of the stairs, providing a perfect firing position to shoot down on those chasing them. He popped up from cover, quickly took aim, and fired three shots. Two hit the man’s armour, and the third struck his hand, almost taking it off at the wrist.

  He ducked back down as he head the screams of the fallen soldier. Jafar fired the next shots, but he could not see the result of them.

  “Who are these people?” asked Waters.

  “Soldiers loyal to Armand. That’s all you need to know.”

  “What are we gonna do?”

  “Shoot back!”

  He got up and fired again. It was enough to drive their attackers back, but he knew they’d already be working on ways to flank their position. Mertens tried to get up to fire, but Taylor hauled her back down.

  “I gave you that gun as a last resort. You do not stick your head out while we’re still in this fight.”

  She was at first offended by the way he spoke to her, but then thankful. He took a few more shots before getting to his feet and dragging her with him.

  “Come on, let’s keep moving!”

  They were on the first floor of the mall now, and the floor divided and split with an open drop down to the ground floor below.

  Up or down? Up or down?

  It wasn’t easy to decide when so few options presented themself.

  “Where are we going?” screamed Waters.

  “You don’t know, do you?” asked Hughes. “This is fucked. It’s so fucked.”

  Taylor turned and slapped the man hard in the face.

  “Man the fuck up. We’ve got a job to do, and we’re gonna get it done.”

  Screams rang out from below, and he looked down to the ground level. Troops were pouring through the crowd looking for them.

  “Follow me.”

  He headed for the next escalator, but this time he sprinted up it. They took up position as they had done before.

  “How many floors in this place?” Taylor asked Mertens.

  She shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never been here before.”

  He looked around for some more information and found the board with a map of the site.

  Why didn’t I think to look?

  He hadn’t visited a mall in more years than he could remember. It showed another two floors above them.

  “What do you think, go for the roof?” he asked Jafar.

  “You’re the boss.”

  “That’s a big help.”

  “Here they come,” said Waters.

  Taylor lifted his rifle over the ledge and took aim.

  “Just a few shots to keep their heads down and then we move.”

  He fired first. One brushed off one of the soldiers’ helmets. One missed all together, and another clipped a man’s ear and got him screaming as it took the tip off.

  “Go!”

  They rushed up to the next level but did not stop until they hit the roof. As they burst out of the door, Mertens curled over gasping for air. She wasn’t able to handle the exertion being placed on her, and he could see the Navy boys suffering also.

  “What now?” Jafar asked.

  “You too? How about somebody else comes up with the answers for once?”

  He went over to the western edge of the roof and looked out towards the border.

  “We could jump it?”

  “I don’t think we have the power left to do it.”

  “I don’t think we have a choice,” he replied, “We jump as far as we can, and carry on from there on foot. It’s our best hope.”

  He knew the others had heard him, and he looked to them for an opinion. None responded.

  “We keep pushing, or it’s over, and it was all for nothing. Did we fight all this time to give up now? Did the Deveron go down for nothing? Was the sacrifice of her crew, our friends, for nothing?”

  Footsteps thundered up the stairs behind them, and they knew they had less than a minute to make a decision.

  “We’re gonna make this, you know why? Because we deserve to; too much shit has happened today for us to fail now. So what the hell? Let’s do this!”

  He grabbed Mertens and threw her over his shoulder and ran along the rooftop. The others were quick to follow, not because they believed they could make it, but being left behind was a more frightening concept.

  The boosters launched them from the rooftop. They covered a few hundred metres when Taylor’s boosters began to give out, and the last of his power was automatically diverted to bring him to a quick and safe descent. He landed in the middle of the road to the border, causing cars to veer off it to avoid them.

  The others landed around him soon after, but they knew they were a long way short of France. It was within reach and yet so far away. A driver of a car that had slid to a halt before them ran from his car. Taylor moved up and quickly took it as cover.

  “What now?” Hughes asked.

  “I’m not gonna be shot in the back. We turn and fight these bastards.”

  “With what? We’re outnumbered, and you can’t have much more ammunition l
eft than me.”

  “And that is a reason to quit, a reason to give up? Thinking like that would have seen an end to humanity! Load up and prepare to fight!”

  He slammed in a new magazine and put his muzzle down on the roof of the car. Troops were amassing. He’d counted a few dozen figures already taking up position.

  How did it come to this? A hundred battles, and it could all end with so few at my side on some crappy stretch of road?

  It was hard to see a way out for any of them. He turned to Jafar for answers, but he had none.

  “A thousand things we could have done differently and not ended up here, Jafar.”

  “And a thousand things you could have done which would have killed you sooner.”

  Taylor smiled, patting his friend on the shoulder.

  “Sure beats rotting in a cell.”

  He grabbed Mertens and shoved her down behind the car.

  “You don’t have to die here,” he said.

  She seemed baffled.

  “This car here. Get in, and we’ll move to the next one. Once we’re in cover, you can pull away. They can’t know you’re still with us. You can make it to the border, you can…”

  “No,” she stated firmly.

  “I’ve seen you are important to humanity as any president, Colonel. Presidents come and go every few years, but you are constant.”

  “Maybe not for much longer,” he jested. “You know this story ain’t gonna have a happy ending, right?”

  She nodded.

  Stubborn! I like this President.

  There were no sirens in the distance. No police rushing to the scene or help coming for them. Taylor had never felt so abandoned since he had been in a prison cell. The black clothed gunmen approached their position, using the cover of the vehicles that were stacked up. Finally, as they finally took up positions, one of them called out to him with an amplifier of some kind.

  “Colonel Taylor! Our fight is not with you! President Mertens is under arrest for breach of the public trust and illegal use of her powers. Hand her over, and this can end peacefully. She is not your responsibility. She is not your problem. Give her up so that she can face sentencing in a European court, and you may walk free.”

  “You mean UEN court?” he asked.

  “That is Europe, and anybody who says different is a troublemaking rebel intent on dividing our people.”

  “Christ, who is this guy?” asked Mertens.

  “Someone who is really starting to piss me off,” replied Taylor.

  Taylor took aim at the man through his sights. He squeezed the trigger without hesitation. The bullet hit his throat and instantly silenced him. Blood spurt out from the wound. Gunfire returned almost simultaneously, forcing them to duck down as the car they were sheltering behind was peppered with fire.

  “Not much of a diplomat, are you, Colonel?” shouted Mertens.

  The shooters started encircling their position, and Taylor saw one appear at their flank. He opened up with his rifle, and the man ducked back down. Jafar was doing the same at the other end of the car while Waters and Hughes kept it up at the centre. Taylor knew it was his last magazine, but he’d accepted the end, just as he had done so many times before.

  His rifle was out. He reached over and grabbed his pistol from Mertens and kept firing. The gunmen were surrounding their position, and he knew he didn’t have long before they were completely exposed to the troops working their way around the flanks.

  All hope seemed lost, but just as the thought passed through Taylor’s mind, engines roared towards them, kicking up dust. He looked up to see copters fly into view and come to a hover over them. One was Rains’ distinctly painted monstrosity, with a distressed stars and stripes and a reaper carrying a scythe.

  It must be a dream.

  “Impossible!” he yelled.

  Troops leapt from the copters and landed all around. The first face he saw was Parker’s. She was wearing the full gear of an Inter-Allied NCO. He couldn’t believe his eyes, no matter how much he wanted it to be true. She rushed towards him and pushed him down into the cover of the car.

  “Are you okay? Are you okay?”

  He could barely find the words to respond. He got up and could see dozens of allied troops flooding through the streets, pursuing the gunmen who had plagued them since the crash of the Deveron.

  “How are you here?”

  Another man approached, another who was unmistakeable. Sergeant Silva, his arm replaced with a bionic. He looked as purposeful as ever.

  “It was his idea,” Eli said, pointing to the Sergeant Major.

  “Hit me,” he said.

  She looked at him funny.

  “Hit me, or I won’t believe it’s real.”

  He expected a slap, but Parker punched him in the face. His head rocked back before recovering with a smile as blood trickled from his nose.

  “Eli, meet President Mertens.”

  “Ma’am,” she said with a small bow.

  “How are you here? America wanted nothing to do with this?”

  “We aren’t here as Americans, Ma’am. We’re here for him, and that means we’re here for you.”

  Taylor turned around once again. The black clothed gunmen were in full retreat. Rains’ copter put down in an opening between the vehicles and rushed out in person to greet Taylor.

  “Son of a bitch, you’re still alive? Means we didn’t fly out here for nothing!”

  “Ma’am, if you’ll join us,” said Parker. “We’ve fooled this band of gunmen, but this isn’t the US getting involved. This really is all we have. We need to get back into friendly territory.”

  “Lead the way!”

  Taylor ran alongside the two of them.

  “I thought you were done with the Corps?” he asked.

  “Not by choice. I left for you, but while I can have both, I’ll take everything I can get! Now let's get the hell out of here, before you attract anymore trouble!"

  He could barely believe it were true. After all the hardship they had faced the past few days, they had been saved. He rushed to Rains’ copter as quickly as he could. Even as they were lifting off, they could see more gunmen and vehicles rolling up to the scene.

  "Close call," he whispered.

  "Should be your middle name!" Eli said, smiling.

  A minute later and they were in French air space. Three fighters raced up to their flanks.

  "What now?"

  "It's okay, Mitch. They're here to escort us to Paris."

  "How'd you wrangle that?"

  "We told the French they could either escort us in or shoot us down."

  "That's a relief," he replied sarcastically.

  Chapter 10

  "I thought we were going for Paris?

  Taylor looked at the military base where they were coming in to land.

  "Sorry to disappoint you, Colonel," replied Rains. "This is Meaux, a base set up last year, and very shiny it is, too!"

  Taylor was first out the door and down the ramp once they were on the ground, and General Dupont was awaiting them with a few dozen soldiers.

  "Good work, Colonel!"

  They were the last words he ever expected to hear from the Frenchman who had become so embittered towards him, but that was all he was going to get. The General stepped past and offered his hand to Mertens.

  "Welcome to France. Please come this way."

  He turned back for a moment.

  "Colonel, Commander Phillips is en route for liaison purposes. I'll meet with both of you in thirty minutes in my office."

  As eager as Taylor was to rest, he knew there was work to be done and was glad to finally have managed to get an audience with someone who had the power to do something. He looked around to see those who had come to his rescue. There were no officers among them, except for the pilots. He counted a little over thirty marines. Silva and Parker seemed to be in charge. He paced up to the RSM who looked mighty pleased with himself.

  "How on Earth did you manage
this?"

  "Heard you were in trouble, and it didn't take much to convince the Lieutenant," he stated, pointing over to Rains who was slumped against the landing gear of his copter. The pilot gave off a mock salute.

  "You're crazy, whole lot of you. No way White signed off on this."

  "Nope," replied Silva.

  "So you're AWOL, and entered a sovereign nation’s air space to raise hell." He paused for a minute, "And I can't thank you enough, you crazy fools. Couldn't have done it without you."

  "I wish we could have got more of the unit here, but this is just about all we could get away without raising flags. As far as the Corps is concerned, we're in Arizona on exercise."

  "And due back when?"

  "Tomorrow," replied Silva.

  "And you?" he asked Parker.

  "I quit the job, and I'm back. Not officially, but I'm here."

  He looked out to the rest of them who were waiting for some news or explanation.

  "I know you must all be eager to know what the hell's going on! All I can tell you at this stage is that a war is brewing on Earth, the likes of which even we have not seen, a war amongst humankind. I can't give you much more at this time. The only thing you should know, the Krys are in on it, and will use it to exploit a weakness."

  It didn't seem like news to them, so he continued.

  "As far as I know, the United States wants no part of this growing conflict, but I cannot and will not accept that! I didn't fight all these years, only to see the World go to shit while we sit back and enjoy some kind of peace that can never last. This new alliance, a European Alliance, may be our best hope of getting through this. I'm committing myself to their service, but I cannot ask you to do the same. I am in all your debt for what you did for me here, but now you must make a choice for yourselves. You can go home, or you can come with me."

  There was no answer.

  "You know we got the shit jobs in the war. The jobs no other sons of bitches believed could be done. I fully intend to take up that mantle once more, but I will think no lesser of any marine who would return home and see an end to this. If that is your desire, step forward now, or stay the distance."

  Nobody moved an inch.

  "We're with you, Colonel, just as we always have been," Silva boomed.

  "Then ready yourselves because the work is just about to begin. I meet with General Dupont and Commander Phillips shortly, and I fully intend to offer our services to whatever end may be necessary."