Rieger grimaced at the ringing in his ears. He rolled on his side, the stench of smoke filling his nostrils.
Flames gushed from one of the Humvees. Four Security Forces personnel lay on the ground unmoving, all burned, some missing limbs. Rieger clenched his teeth to fight back the bile rising into his throat.
Soldiers stormed into the hangar. For a split second, he thought they were reinforcements. They wore tan, gray and green pixel Army Combat Uniforms and carried M4 rifles, M249 light machine guns, even a few AT-4 rocket launchers.
Then they began firing at the Security Forces personnel.
"Go! Go! Go!" Major Summers shouted over the roar of gunfire. "Get to the robot!"
The security chief fired his M4 from one knee.
Rieger got into a crouch and turned to his crew. Martinez also got up. Heath rolled on the ground, covering his ears. Both Rieger and Martinez grabbed the sergeant and yanked him to his feet. They took off running, half-carrying Heath.
Two bullets cracked past them.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Heath shouted. He pulled himself free of Rieger and Martinez and ran on his own, apparently spurred into action by the near misses.
Another Humvee exploded. Rounds cracked and zipped around them. Rieger turned and fired his Beretta. So did Martinez. He doubted they'd hit any intruders from this range with pistols. At most it would make them duck.
Summers fired steady bursts from his M4 while half-running, half-shuffling backwards. Two fake US soldiers fell.
They were about fifty yards from Danguard Ace. No matter how hard Rieger pumped his legs, he never seemed to get any closer to the giant robot.
A flash of movement to his right caught his attention. Two Air Force techs and a civilian scientist twisted and collapsed, splotches of blood on their torsos. Anger flared inside him. He turned and fired until he emptied his clip.
The last of the Security Forces personnel around the Humvees crumpled to the ground and didn't move. Rieger counted more than two dozen intruders rushing across the hangar.
He looked back at Danguard Ace, at least thirty yards away. His insides turned cold.
They weren't going to make it.
XXXXX
General Grimaldi ducked behind the pile of overturned desks. He shivered as rounds cracked overhead. The four remaining Security Forces personnel around him fired back at the intruders.
Nausea threatened to set his stomach on fire. He'd never been more scared in his entire life. A hell of a thing for a general to admit. But all the fighting he'd ever done had been in the cockpits of B-52 and B-1 bombers. He'd never had so much as a single enemy bullet shot at his plane.
Here, with bullets zipping all around, he felt naked, inadequate, without tons of steel around him and an array of bombs and missiles at his fingertips.
Grimaldi closed his eyes and drew a breath. He had to push aside his fear. This was his base. It didn't matter if all he had was a pistol, he would defend it.
He peeked over the edge of the desk and spotted an intruder poking around the corner of the corridor. The fake US soldier fired a few bursts from his M4. Grimaldi squeezed the trigger of his pistol until the intruder ducked back around the corner.
"General!" someone hollered over the exchange of gunfire.
He turned to find Major Blake, MAW-1's intelligence officer, belly-crawling across the floor.
"What is it, Major?"
"The Iranians are in the hangar. They've already breached the living quarters and the armory."
"What about the control center?"
"It's still secure," Blake answered. "The Security Forces already pushed back one attack, but I don't know how much longer they'll be able to hold. They've already suffered heavy casualties, and with the Iranians in control of the armory we can't get any more weapons or ammunition."
Bullets thumped against the desks. One of the SF men pitched backwards, blood flowing from his throat. Blake gaped at the man.
"Focus, Major." Grimaldi waited until Blake turned to him, the woman's eyes still wide with shock.
"Anything else to report?"
She drew a breath before speaking. "Normally we'd call the Wyoming National Guard for reinforcements for a situation like this, but when we called them to vouch for that convoy, look what happened." She nodded down the corridor, where the Iranians continued to fire at them. "We can't risk calling them again. We don't know how deep they've been infiltrated."
Grimaldi tensed. With the National Guard compromised, the closest unit they could call for help was the 90th Security Forces Group at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne. Of course, since that base oversaw more than a hundred Minuteman III ICBMs, they'd be hesitant to part with any guards, especially in wartime. Even if they did spare a few, Cheyenne was about 360 miles east of here. No way would they reach The Lair in time.
A dark mass spread throughout Grimaldi's soul. The base, his base, would likely fall.
"Major. I want you to oversee the evacuation of all non-combat personnel from The Lair."
"Yes, Sir. What about you?"
He paused before answering. "I'm going to activate the Cerberus Protocol."
Blake stared at him with wide eyes. Grimaldi avoided her gaze.
Never did he imagine he'd actually have to use the damn thing.
XXXXX
Rieger dropped to his knees, ramming a fresh clip into his Beretta, wondering if it would do any good. The Iranians rushed across the hangar floor. Any second he expected bullets to tear into his body. Danguard Ace would be stuck here, at the mercy of the Iranians.
So would Hiroko.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
I love you.
"What the hell?" Martinez blurted.
Rieger looked up. A jet of water lashed through the air and struck the advancing Iranians. Several tumbled to the floor.
A large, squat yellow vehicle rolled toward them, water spewing from its cab-mounted cannon. A P-23 fire truck. Two Security Forces personnel lay prone on the roof, blazing away with their M4s.
"Major!" another SF man waved out the passenger side window. "Sorry it's not a tank, but we had to improvise."
"I'm not complaining, Airman," said Summers.
Rieger grinned. "God bless American ingenuity."
Summers had the fire truck pull in front of them. He then turned to Rieger and his crew. "You men get to Danguard Ace now. We'll hold 'em off."
"Just a handful of you and a fire truck?" said Rieger. "How long -"
"Move your asses!" Summers yelled before firing his M4 around the cab.
Rieger stared at the security chief, not wanting to abandon a man he'd worked with every day for the past year.
And what will you accomplish staying here and dying with him?
Throat constricting, he turned and ran toward Danguard Ace, waving for Martinez and Heath to follow. He pulled a small remote from his pocket and hit the red button. A platform with a three-sided metal shield descended from the rear of the robot.
Rieger looked back. Water continued to shoot from the P-23's cannon. Summers and his Security Forces personnel laid down cover fire.
He turned back to the elevator. My God, it was taking forever to reach the ground.
C'mon, dammit.
Rieger felt like he waited an eternity for the elevator to reach them. He hit the button of his remote again right after they all jumped onto the platform. It ascended, oh so slowly.
"Holy crap," Heath muttered as he gazed out at the hangar.
Several Iranians lay on the floor, completely soaked. Parts of the shallow, artificial lake created by the P-23's water cannon showed streaks of blood. Smoke hung in the air from the burning Humvees. Here and there little knots of SF personnel and Iranians shot it out.
Rieger swallowed. How the hell were Hiroko and Earth's Cosmos supposed to get through that?
XXXXX
Hiroko thought back two years ago, when she'd been in a bunker under Ministry of Defense Headquarters in Tokyo while Godzilla and King Ghidorah battled throughout the city. She had shivered with every artificial quake created by the monsters' footfalls. Any moment she expected the ceiling to cave in, burying her alive. She couldn't remember ever being so afraid.
Until now.
She hugged herself as she crouched beside the wall. Up ahead, Senior Master Sergeant Hopkins and another SF man fired around the corner. The Iranians shot back. Bullets cracked and pinged and zipped through the corridor. One hit the wall barely four inches from her head. Fear turned her body ice cold.
Hiroko shivered, praying for the shooting to stop, and praying for someone else.
Jim.
Was he all right? Had he been shot? Tears stung her eyes at the thought he could be dead. Finally she had met someone who wasn't intimidated by her intellect, who wasn't obsessed with her looks. He respected her, he wasn't afraid to say he loved her.
Jim couldn't be dead. He just couldn't.
"Move! Move!" Hopkins shouted.
Hiroko looked up, and realized the shooting had stopped.
"Come, Doctor." The Delivery Man took her arm and pulled her to her feet, all the while clutching the basket containing Earth's Cosmos against his hip. They, Hopkins, and five other SF men ran through the corridors. More gunfire sounded in the distance. It grew louder by the second. Hiroko's stomach twisted when she realized they were running toward it!
"Sergeant Hopkins." She called out. "Should we be going this way? The shooting . . ."
"This is the way to the hangar, Doc. We don't have much choice if we wanna reach Danguard Ace."
Hiroko's jaw tightened. She hoped Jim had made it to Danguard Ace, and in one piece. What if –
A door to her left opened. Two men in combat fatigues emerged. She skidded to a halt before smashing into them. At first she assumed they were Security Forces. Then she noticed the tanned skin, the hardened expressions, the look of contempt when they turned toward her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" blurted an SF man named Leary near her, probably assuming, like she had, they were comrades of his.
His eyes widened when the two brought up their M4s.
It happened in blur. The Delivery Man pulled a knife from his waistband and swept his arm in a wide arc. Blood sprayed from the first Iranian's throat. Some of it spattered on Hiroko's shoulder. She gasped and jumped back.
The Delivery Man brought his arm back and drove the blade into the second Iranian's chest. The man stood there, mouth agape, as blood poured down his torso. The Delivery Man yanked the knife out of the Iranian's chest as he sagged to his knees. He then threw it into the room.
Hiroko hesitantly peered around the frame. A third Iranian lay on his back, the knife jutting from his right eye.
"Holy shit, did you see that?" Leary gawked at the Delivery Man. "We need to have this guy with us full time."
Hiroko blinked. She stared at the dead Iranians, then the blood on her clothes. Her knees buckled. Hot and cold flashes went through her body.
She doubled over and vomited.
"You okay, Doc?" Hopkins helped her straightened up.
She straightened up and nodded. "Y-Yes. Thank you." Embarrassment welled up inside, wondering if the men around her thought her weak for throwing up in the middle of all this.
"Keep it together, Doc," Hopkins told her. "We're gonna get you outta here. That's a promise."
Hiroko stared at the big NCO. Even with hell unleashed all around them, the look in his eyes, the expression on his face, made it impossible for her to doubt him.
And he's right. Giving in to fear would likely get her killed, along with everyone else around her.
Along with many others outside this base. She had to get out of here on Danguard Ace so she could finish repairing the robot. Jim and his crew needed it working at a hundred percent for their next battle if they had any hope of defeating the Iranian Mechakongs and saving millions of lives.
"Move it, people!" Hopkins ordered.
They sprinted down the corridor. Hiroko tensed as the gunfire grew louder. She forced herself to keep moving.
The entrance to the hangar appeared. Fear bore into her soul. A haze of gray smoke hovered in the air. Groups of men fired from behind crates, carts and other pieces of equipment.
Had Jim made it through all that?
"Geddown!" Hopkins waved them to the floor.
Everyone dropped to their stomachs and crawled into the hangar. Stacks of crates blocked them from the view of the Iranians.
Something moved to Hiroko's right. She turned and saw a pudgy, middle-aged man with thinning black hair crawling on all fours toward an electric cart.
"Doctor Gilbreath."
He snapped his head toward her, eyes wide.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
Gilbreath said nothing. His eyes flickered between her and the Delivery Man. He took quick, deep breaths, turned toward the gun battle, then back to her.
Hiroko furrowed her brow. What was wrong with Dr. Gilbreath? She didn't know the mechanical engineer assigned to Danguard Ace's support group very well. The man mostly kept to himself.
She swallowed and stiffened her face. "Don't worry. Sergeant Hopkins and his men will get us out of here."
Gilbreath continued to stare at her without saying a word.
"There they are."
Hiroko turned to Hopkins, who pointed at Danguard Ace. She saw the elevator rising between the robot's legs, three figures on its platform.
A smile broke out on her face. One of them had to be Jim.
Thank God.
"Let's go." Hopkins ordered. "Stay behind cover. We'll try to sneak our way over to Danguard Ace."
They crawled behind the equipment. Hiroko hacked on the smoke and cordite that saturated the hangar when a roar caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder and between the gaps in the equipment. A HEMTT carrying a large, square device rolled into the hangar. Behind it came a Humvee. A lean soldier stepped out the passenger side door, scanning the area with an appraising eye.
Dr. Gilbreath continued to crouch behind the cart, gazing at the newly arrived vehicles.
"Doctor Gilbreath," Hiroko called to him. "Hurry."
He looked to her, then back to the Iranians. His entire body quivered.
What is the matter with him?
Gilbreath clenched his fists, then sprang to his feet.
"Get down!" Hiroko shouted.
"Over here!" Gilbreath yelled and waved his arms. "Over here! Doctor Kawasumi's here! And Earth's Cosmos! Earth's Cosmos!"
Shock slammed into Hiroko. She just gaped at Gilbreath. Had he gone mad?
"Traitor!" The Delivery Man set down his basket. He whipped out a knife and sprang at Gilbreath.
"No! No!" He held up his hands toward the Iranians. "I helped you!"
The Delivery Man swung his knife hand at Gilbreath's throat.
"I helped -"
Gunfire erupted. Hiroko yelped as bullets tore into Gilbreath's fleshy frame. He went into spasms before falling to the floor.
The Delivery Man twitched, blood exploding across the right side of his body.
"Sergeant Hopkins!" Hiroko screamed, scrambling toward the fallen men.
She clenched her teeth, fighting back the urge to vomit as she neared Gilbreath. His entire torso had turned scarlet. A coppery odor slithered into her nostrils. She swallowed against the rising bile.
Hopkins crawled past her. He checked on Gilbreath, then turned to her and shook his head. Next he went over to the Delivery Man. A raspy breath escaped his lips. Shivers went up and down Hiroko's spine. She doubted the big Polynesian would live much longer.
"Earth's Cosmos," he wheezed. "Earth's Cosmos."
"They're fine," replied Hopkins. "Just take it easy. We're gonna get you fixed up."
Hiroko's jaw quivered. She could tell from the sergeant's tone that he didn't believe his own words.
The Delivery Man struggled to lift his head. "Earth's Cosmos. I . . . I entrust them to you. G-Guard . . . Guard them with your life."
Hopkins clasped a hand on the Delivery Man's shoulder. "I will. You have my word."
The Delivery Man gave a shaky nod. He lowered his head to the floor and closed his eyes for the last time.
XXXXX
A grin stretched across Major Afshar's face as he stared at the cart where their mole Gilbreath and the big bronze man had fallen behind. He had intended to kill the scientist from the start and rid the world of his perversions. He never dreamed he'd be able to do it in the middle of this operation. But even in his last moments of life, the disgusting Gilbreath had helped him.
Doctor Hiroko Kawasumi, Danguard Ace, and much to his surprise, Earth's Cosmos, all in this hangar. Capturing all three in one fell swoop would be one of the greatest triumphs in the history of the Pasdaran, the history of the Persian people. And the benefits they would bring to the reborn Persian Empire . . .
Their power would be absolute. His reward would be great. They might just skip over colonel and promote him to general. Electricity shot through him as he thought of the wealth and power that would come with his new rank.
Afshar looked behind him as six Quds troopers broke from cover and charged toward Danguard Ace.
"No!" He shouted at them, then pointed to where Dr. Kawasumi, Earth's Cosmos and their escorts hid. "Take them!"
TO BE CONTINUED
