A/N Thank you for your patience with my slow updates. First vacation, then carpal-tunnel surgery last week. But everything went well and I have two good hands to type with again, so updates will start coming much quicker now! I appreciate you taking the time to read my story...and thank you to everyone who fans/favorites and follows it! A big hug to each of you who takes the time to write a quick comment to let me know how you feel and what you think of the update :D I'm sorry that I haven't responded to those of you who commented on Chapter Thirty-six. I will get back to each of you by tomorrow! Your comments let me know that I'm on the right track and doing justice to our girls ;)
As always, a special thanks to my beta ElodeaLeaf. I couldn't do it without you, Sam.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
My team joined me as I raced down the gravel path towards HQ. "Column formation." I instructed. Immediately Graham took point, and led us to the gathering of soldiers.
Captain Arlo stood on a high wooden deck outside the HQ cave as Anton and Kaze came to his side. "Specialist Kaze, take the HQ desk. Ignore the outside phone lines. Only answer calls from Fort Brookes and Camp Azor." I heard him command from my position near the platform.
"Yes, Sir." The Airman acknowledged the orders and ran back to HQ.
"Anton, you stay with me." He directed as the Corporal handed him a clipboard.
"Team Leaders step forward for your orders." The Captain bellowed through the bullhorn. Immediately a dozen soldiers, including myself, stepped up just as another round of mortar fire exploded near the outpost perimeter. "The attack on us includes friendly fire. Try to capture them, but if you can't, go for the kill. Master Sergeant Swan, your team is to return and guard Regina Mills; she is the primary target of this attack. Staff Sergeant Anthony, your team provide reinforcements for Swan."
I felt a chill course through my body as my team immediately turned to run. "Master Sergeant, wait!" I heard Anton's voice through the bullhorn. "Everyone's gone to visit Aunt Rose."
I pumped my fist in acknowledgement as a wave of relief washed over me, knowing Kelly and Henry were safe.. "Let's go." I ordered and my team took off at full speed with Staff Sergeant Anthony's team right behind us. "Both teams wedge formation, back to back." I barked as we surrounded the barrack door. "Anthony, your team cover the main trail; Nolan, our team guards the rear."
"Ma'am." Anthony called out. "We'll close the steel door once you're inside. Stay there with the target and lock down from the inside. We've got you covered." He said as looked at Nolan.
David nodded. "Emma, go. We've got this." He promised as three more fire teams ran past their position. I spun around and pounded on the heavy door; three knocks, followed by two, then three again before the door was opened.
"Corporal Hood take up position in Nolan's fireteam." I looked around one last time before ducking into the barracks. "Where's Lieutenant Belle?"
"The infirmary." Ruby responded as she strapped her pistol to her leg and adjusted the grip on her rifle.
"Okay, Regina, stay with me." I instructed the startled brunette as I brushed past her.
"What's going on?" Regina's voice wavered in fear. "Why are you here?"
I waited until the steel door closed over our barrack door. "The attack's a diversion. General King ordered his soldiers to kidnap you."
"Me? Why?" Her eyebrows furrowed and a crease in her forehead became prominent.
"Leverage is my guess. You're the one thing he can use against your mother." I pulled a twenty-five foot rope out of my backpack and untied the holding knot. I ran the rope through the handle of the heavy metal door. "Take this." I handed Regina one end of the rope. "Tie it to that ring in the wall." I took my end and tied it to another ring that had been bolted to the cavern wall. "That should help keep them out." I commented as I inspected Regina's half-hitch knot.
I could hear the mortar and gunfire outside of our cavern as the sounds ricocheted in the canyon of the outpost. I flipped over our beds and pulled them together to use as a brace for the upended metal table. Thank God the beds were solid, too; at least it gave us better protection than just bedsprings would have.
"Over here." I barked from behind the barricade. As soon as Regina joined me, kneeling down behind the structure, I took back my pistol and handed her a spare rifle and her pair of night vision goggles. "Keep your head down and the muzzle pointed at the doorway. If anyone comes in, shoot to kill." I directed as I broke the lone lit light bulb with the butt of my rifle and turned on my goggles. In the darkness I could hear Regina's shallow breathing. "Just take slow deep breaths, I need you to be ready to have my back."
"Okay." She took in a deep breath and released it slowly.
The outpost siren started up, adding to the cacophony of battle noises. I was sure that the steel door muffled many of the sounds, but in the quiet dark cavern I could still hear Staff Sergeant Nolan shouting orders.
"Incoming, left flank." He called and I imagined the battle heating up as the General's team approached the inner part of the base. My blood ran cold when the next order was "Soldier down, we need a medic!"
I could hear and feel the bombs as they detonated across the outpost. Whether they were ours or theirs I couldn't tell, but the closer explosions shook pebbles and rocks loose from the ceiling. I pulled Regina into a tight huddle, hands over our necks for protection, as the debris rained down on us.
"You alright?" I asked between each blast; coughing as we breathed in the dusty air.
"Yes, are you?"
"I'm good. Hold your position." I ordered and we focused again on the entrance to our barrack. The sudden outburst of a machine gun startled me as I watched the shrapnel punch hundreds of indents in the steel door. "Full alert." I yelled over the gunfire. The hair on my neck stood up and I was prepared to kill any and everything that came through that doorway.
Another large blast rocked us, this time causing us to lose our footing as larger chunks of stone bombarded us. I pulled Regina in under my body and covered her tiny frame as best I could.
More gunshots were fired; I recognized they were from a variety of weapons, but I couldn't identify them in the mayhem. And then there was silence, followed by a series of knocks at the metal door. "It's the team. Stand down." I shouted when I recognized the pattern.
"Master Sergeant, it's clear." I heard Nolan call out.
"Hang on!" I scrambled from behind our barricade. "I have to untie the ropes." I made short work of getting the knots out, releasing the hold on the door. "Okay, clear."
Light poured in as the door was slowly opened and six soldiers entered the small cavern, guns still drawn, in an echelon formation. "Clear!" They each called out as they did a visual sweep of the barracks. I heard the voices, but recognized only three.
"Nolan, report." I barked.
"The threat has been neutralized, the outpost is secure."
"Where's Graham?" I realized I hadn't heard his voice.
"He didn't make it." Nolan replied softly. "His combat armor failed."
"That's impossible." Regina gasped. "That was the top of the line armor."
"Then we'll leave that for you to figure out how a bullet from an M-16 rifle went through your precious armor, Ma'am." This time Nolan's voice had a hard edge to it.
"Enough." I cut in. "Damage assessment Staff Sergeant."
Nolan flashed a menacing look at the businesswoman before he managed a neutral expression. "Master Sergeant Anthony's team is intact; he's gone to HQ to give report."
"Then I suggest we do the same. Both fire teams unite in a squad column formation. Blanchard, take point; let's move out." The eight of us, Regina walking next to me, marched towards HQ.
Our route was riddled with obstacles; it seemed the mountain walls lost bigger debris than the inside caverns. Large boulders, fallen trees and landslides covered areas of the trail, making parts impassable. We cherry picked our way through the forest, going around the obstacles, to reach our destination. It was impossible not to miss that amongst the damage there were more than twenty dead soldiers strewn along the lines. Dark green blankets covered each of the bodies, hiding the horror from our eyes. But I knew what those bodies looked like; and once again, I had lost another of my teammates. War doesn't discriminate. It takes soldiers, civilians, children; both good and evil alike. I forced myself to look away, to focus on the task at hand. There was nothing I could do for those who lost their lives, except to honor them with my own valiant service to the Republic.
Airman Kaze stood next to Captain Arlo on the raised platform, taking notes as each fire team reported in. I looked around for Corporal Anton, but I couldn't find him among the other soldiers. The Captain took the bullhorn and clicked it on, causing a loud squelch that pierced my ears. "We're still assessing the damage and loss we've sustained today. All soldiers are accounted for, so clean up measures are now our top priority. All NCO's report front and center to receive your team's orders." I stood in the short line, finally reaching the front.
"Master Sergeant Swan, my condolences on losing one of your team today."
"Thank you, Sir."
"The remainder of your team is ordered to return back to Camp Azor; a helicopter will be arriving shortly to transport you."
"Sir, we could stay and help with the clean-up."
"That's appreciated, but the order stands. Sergeant Graham's body will be transported by truck to the airport and flown back to the Republic. Gather your team and prepare for transport."
A wave of guilt washed over mel as I realized what we had wrought upon the outpost. The Captain seemed to read my mind as he added. "Master Sergeant, this wasn't your doing; this belongs squarely on General King and his cronies. Your team performed admirably today, it's been an honor serving with you." He held out his arm and clasped my forearm.
"It's been an honor serving with you too, Sir." I grasped his forearm and nodded.
...
"Sergeant Gold, man the radio." Major Morrow tossed the soldier a red handheld walkie-talkie. "Report any news immediately to me."
"Yes, Sir." Gold caught the radio and turned up the volume. Sporadic chatter filled the airwaves as security teams called out their locations on base. Gold made a rough sketch of the base on a blank sheet of paper and penciled in the locations as they were called out. A new stream of chatter came through, causing Gold to call out. "Major, they caught Senior Master Sergeant August Booth." He announced as he made his way to the Major's office.
"Excellent." The Major replied, erasing Booth's name from the "at large" column of the dry-erase board, and in neat block letters, rewriting it under "captured."
"Still quite a few out there." Gold noted the seventeen names, including General King's, still listed under "at large".
"We'll find them." The Major said confidently as another round of chatter came through the radio.
"What about Cora Mills and her company?"
"The FBI is on top of that." The Major held up a cell phone. "I'm waiting to hear from them."
The radio chatter picked up again as a very excited voice came through. "Lock down the East Gate! General King is enroute at high speeds. ETA of thirty seconds."
"East Gate is locked down." A deep voice responded.
Thirty seconds later the chatter resumed as the radio picked up the conversation. "General King, come out with your hands up. We have you surrounded." Tense silence filled the air before a single shot was heard.
"The General is down. Self-inflicted. Repeat the General is down."
Major Morrow immediately dialed a phone number. "Colonel Anderson, can you confirm the report?...Thank you, Sir...I'll await your call." The officer stepped past Gold. "Come with me, Sergeant." He ordered as two soldiers entered the building with a stretcher.
Gold followed him back to the open work area where Tamara's body laid, covered with a sheet. "Take her to the morgue and have an MP stand guard over her. I don't want anybody getting ideas of making her a martyr or desecrating her further."
"Yes, Sir." The two soldiers rolled her now rigored body onto a backboard and lifted her to the stretcher. They rolled her body out of the building and loaded the stretcher into the back of a black van before driving away.
Gold looked back at the spot where her body had fallen. A dried pool of blood had seeped into the concrete, and dark red splatters could be seen on two walls of the Specialist's workstation. "Thank you, Sir. For having my back."
"You're welcome, Sergeant." The Major flatly replied as he put his hand on Gold's shoulder. "War is a hell of a thing."
The cell phone rang loudly, startling Rum.
"Major Morrow speaking...Yes, Special Agent Price...I see...Thank you for letting me know." The Major hung up the phone. "Son of a bitch, Cora Mills got away."
The radio jumped back to life as three more reports came in of captured soldiers. Gold and Morrow returned to the Major's office and updated the board. Most of the key players were now in the "captured" column; Tamara Mendell's name had a cross by it, to designate that she was dead. The Major hesitated before erasing the General's name and moving it over to the "captured" column with a cross and a question mark.
Another phone rang, this time the one on the Major's desk. "Morrow...One moment, Sir." He took out a pen and began scribbling names on a pad. "Okay, go on...any survivors?...Thank you, General Marco, please keep me informed of any updates."
The Major didn't say a word to Sergeant Gold, but turned to his whiteboard and wrote twenty-six names down under a new column entitled "Outpost Carile Casualties". Gold read each name as the Major jotted them down in his strong block script.
"Damn it." Rum swore softly when he saw the name "Sgt. Graham" added to the list.
"A friend?" The Major paused his writing.
"A brother; he was part of my team." Gold bit his lip to stop the tears from falling. "A damn fine soldier." The Sergeant studied the rest of the names. "Any of the rebels survive?"
"No, they're all deceased, including the factions from Captain Killian Jones' brigade."
"We'll at least there's that, small consolation that it is."
"Let's just hope we got all the operatives." The Major sighed as he finished the list.
...
The roar of the plane's engines made it difficult for Cora Mills to hear the voice on the other end of the phone line.
"Killian, are you still there?" She demanded.
"Yes, love, I'm still here." Jones replied as he played with a pen from his desk, twirling it with his good hand. "I take it you escaped safely?"
"Thanks to your heads up, I cleared Republic air space just in time." Cora gave a tight smile at the flight attendant as she accepted her gin and tonic. "I should have known George would double cross me at some point."
"Well, the business world is full of treachery, m'lady. So where are you planning to go to escape the Republic's clutches? After all, I'm sure your name is all over the intelligence community now."
"I plan to come to Volpure, of course. I have a nice nest egg that will suffice until I come up with a way to make an income. I was thinking I'd buy a small chalet near the coast. Nothing ostentatious of course, just comfortable enough for my needs. Perhaps you can recommend a good realtor?"
Killian Jones dropped the pen. "Ah, Cora." He paused to gather his thoughts. "While Volpure is a lovely country, are you sure this is the place for you?"
"I'm positive, Captain. Your country has no extradition agreement in place with the Republic, as well as very lax tax laws. I think it will suit me perfectly." The plane dropped and pitched slightly to the right. "KIllian, I'll call you when I arrive. There's quite a bit of turbulence, I nearly dropped my drink." She laughed.
"Right, looking forward to seeing you." Killian assured her before he hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, letting his head loll backwards. "What have you gotten yourself into, Jones?"
...
My team was packed and ready to go when we heard the helicopter blade's distinct sound getting louder. Huddled behind the safety zone, we shielded our eyes from debris as the chopper landed and turned off the propellers. I turned when I felt a hand on my arm.
"I thought you might like this." Specialist Kaze handed me a small black metal box.
"What's this?" I asked loudly as I took the heavy carton.
"The recording device. Sorry if it's damaged, I had to improvise to get it out of the Humzee."
"Thanks, Kaze." I nodded at the woman. "I appreciate it."
"Be safe Master Sergeant."
"You, too." I yelled back as the flight crew waved us forward.
There wasn't much room in the helicopter. We sat in the back cargo area with our gear as the copter lifted off the ground and banked hard to the left. "Hang on." The pilot called over the PA system. "It's gonna be a hard, fast ride."
Lieutenant Belle lost her balance and fell over into Blanchard's lap. She abruptly sat back up and apologized, though Blanchard just gave her a tired smile and promised her it was no problem. I wondered how Belle's day had gone; if there were any injured soldiers to treat, or if everyone died on the battlefield. I decided there must have been some injured that were treated in the Infirmary. The smudges of blood on her BDU's attested to her work as a field nurse. Corporal Hood pulled the Lieutenant closer to her. "You can rest on my shoulder, Belle. I'll make sure you don't fall again."
I looked closely at each of my team members and realized that we all needed a good shower, a good meal and some time to decompress. I watched Nolan's eyes, grief flickering through them before he shook his head. Blanchard was exhausted, but still sensed Nolan's mood, as she rubbed a comforting hand over his arm. Regina sat as far away from the team as she could manage in the small space. Her eyes were closed, her face dirty from the dust and debris. The vein on her forehead was the only sign of distress that she showed on her otherwise blank expression.
We bounced and jerked throughout the hour long ride back to Camp Azor. I never thought I'd be happy to see that place again, but right then, I was ready to kiss the hard-packed dirt that it was built on.
"Welcome back to Azor." The pilot announced as the helicopter made a final loop around the base and quickly descended. Once the landing skids were firmly on the ground, the pilot cut the engine and the blades off. We waited until we were given the all clear sign before we disembarked. Looking around, I saw Lieutenant Mulan and General Marco waiting near the helipad.
"Master Sergeant Swan, your team will report immediately for debriefing in conference room A." The Lieutenant greeted me.
"Yes, Ma'am." I nodded sharply.
"Ms. Mills, you are to come with me." General Marco stepped forward.
I gave Regina a long look, but she just turned away and walked towards the General.
"Master Sergeant." He called to me. "Once the Lieutenant is finished with your team, they may return to their barracks, but you are ordered to stay in the conference room until I return with Ms. Mills."
"Sir, yes Sir!" I responded, happy to know that I would see Regina again soon.