Chapter 32: Victory Avenue
It was hot and muggy when they emerged, and not just because of the inferno on the horizon. The sky was clear, but far off east there was a cluster of grey clouds hovering beneath the blood red sun, which had just begun to set beneath a pair of hills. A dragonfly buzzed near Herman's cheek. Sweat dripped from his silvery-grey hair, and he found himself longing for the alpine forests of Atlas.
This was it then, the famous Victory Avenue. The Vale Guard held regular parades down this wide, well-paved street, lined with palm branches imported from Vacuo. Further down, near the parliamentary buildings were four monuments made of shiny marble, inlaid with gold lettering to commemorate the fallen. Above them all, instead of a boring old archway entrance to the Parliamentary Square was a twenty-foot tall statue of the Warrior King, who gazed down upon all comers as they marched between his legs to the square. In one hand he held a shield bearing the green insignia of Vale, in the other he gripped a sword, thrust into the skies. On each side of the entry were 12-foot steel barriers, adorned with barbed-wire and spikes. However, shelling had opened massive breaches in the security barrier, as well as damaging one of the monuments.
Multiple White Fang were also present, some idly patrolling the street as others sat under the shade of the trees, fanning their faces. A half-track was parked near the King of Vale's statue, atop which sat a bright yellow figure. Rodriguez's face was contorted in anger, and Lauton had to grip his Vale counterpart by the shoulder.
"Damn animals." Rodriguez thought, hoping that they weren't too late. He turned away, and signaled for two of his men to remain near the sewer entrance before tapping Lauton on his helmet.
"I've scouted a route to the square." Lauton said calmly, still staring ahead.
"You'll have to leave the big guy back with my men. His massive profile will attract attention." Roudigrez pointed at Oliva, who was lying as low as possible behind a marble pillar. Lauton pursed his lips, before sending Oliva a message via his helmet communicator. The large soldier saluted before crawling back with two Atlesians, to the Metro entrance. Now it was Lauton, Rodriguez, three Atlesians, three Vale Guardsmen, Aurum, Herman, Heidi and Beckendorf.
"We'll have to move quickly. Rodriguez muttered, and Lauton nodded in agreement. Signaling at the remaining members to follow. Aurum looked like he wanted to say something, but the sudden pace of the squads forced him to follow. He settled for throwing the occasional angry glance at Herman and Co., confusing the lot.
Meanwhile, the White Fang Lieutenant leaned against the half-track. He had partly lifted his mask, due to the heat and was guzzling pickled onions, waiting for his search parties to return.
"You know, I don't quite understand how you eat that stuff." Biliare said, wrinkling her nose at the smell. The Lieutenant said nothing, and continued to greedily guzzle the greasy morsels.
"It keeps well in this heat." He said after a while, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Biliare clasped her head, and tugged at her EOD suit.
"And whose fault is that?" She said, trying to fan herself. "Who blew up the refinery, hmm?"
"Give the fire two or three days, and it'll burn out. The weather is changing, that's the problem. You ought not to have worn that hideous armor." He replied, lowering his mask. He sighed with impatience-how long could it possibly take to locate a handful of pesky parliamentarians?
"Oh really? Would you have preferred it if I wore something else?" She asked playfully, leaning forward with her hands propped up underneath her chin. The Lieutenant sighed and shook his head.
"I'd prefer if you wore something less clunky and less visible to snipers."
"I'd prefer if you'd have a better fashion sense." She shot back, causing the 2nd Lt. to grip his mask in frustration.
"By Oum, I wish those men would hurry up so we can liberate this blasted city." He groaned, leaning against the hot metal of the half-track. Biliare dropped down as well, seeking shade from the sun's rays.
"Still on about that liberation business? I have no idea if you're unbearably naive or plain stupid." At that, the 2nd Lt. raised his mask and glared at her, making her quiver beneath his gaze.
"So, uh, have your men secured the place?" She said nervously, eyeing his chainsword. She only had her shotgun with a bayonet, and wasn't eager to get into CQC with him. Fortunately, he lowered his mask and nodded.
"Aye. For any enemy to reach the parliamentary square they'd have to evade multiple patrols, sneak through manned gaps in the fences, not to mention avoid the gaze of my snipers manning the rooftops of the parliamentary buildings. Then they'll need to get past my squads and the MG emplacement in the north building."
Meanwhile, the crew managed to make their way down the avenue unseen, slit a sleeping guard's throat and made their way past a gap in the fence, and lay crouched in the shrubbery while Heidi, Aurum and a sharpshooter from Rodriguez's team dealt with the snipers who weren't taking shelter from the heat. It turned into something of a competition, with Heidi coming out on top and Aurum a close second.
The square itself was unremarkable, with a fountain and one large building. It had multiple small white spires, projecting above green tiled roofs which sloped sharply downwards. Stained glass was extensively used, and there were multiple buttresses, with statuary carved atop them. Bombardment had left craters in the square, and the building itself had a large hole in the roof. Herman could hear Rodriguez grind his teeth, but the Captain kept his composure and led them through strategically planted tree-groves and twisting mazes of alabaster statues until they reached a back entrance. The guard on duty there lay on the steps, bottle in hand and snoring loudly.
Other patrols were either sleepily walking about, dazed by the heat or had taken shelter. One Faunas, with the scales of an alligator lay upon the sunbaked flagstones, trying to warm his cold blood. None of them noticed the group.
"Night." Rodriguez muttered, plunging his sword into a Faunas before opening the door for the rest to follow.
At one point the interior had been beautiful, magnificent even, but now it was in wrecks. Shelves, tables and benches lay fragmented and broken, overturned by roving packs of WF soldiers. Evidently they had been searching for something, but had gotten distracted by the well-stocked cellar downstairs if the empty vintage bottles littered about were anything to go by. Behind a bench, a WF soldier twirled and swayed, shouting obscenities at his drunken comrades.
"Starkle, starkle, little twink..." Came another melodious voice from the rafters, and a few brown feathers floated down.
"Down the stairs, quickly." Rodriguez commanded as they passed below a raised platform and into the darker, cooler section of the basement. Here there were multiple ransacked offices, file cabinets pulled out and the entrance to the wine cellar was wide open. The stench of expensive booze hung thick in the air, and Herman found it a pleasant change from the stench of the metro. Well, aside from the drunk WF everyone, lying amidst the corpses of fallen Vale Guards. Blood intermingled with wine on the cold stone floor. It must've been some strong stuff.
Roudigrez lead them slowly through the basement, until they reached a little alcove in the wall. He crouched, and ran his fingers along the grey stones, before his hands clenched around a small rock. It noislessly slid out, revealing a scroll mounted within. Fishing inside his vest, he pulled out a flattened battle-axe, the color of jade. The rest watched with bated breath, especially Heidi, Beckendorf and Herman.
The alcove split into two segments, and receded into the walls. Inside, the lights lit up, revealing a silvery-grey hallway which sloped downwards to a set of doors, with the symbol of Vale emblazoned on them in gold. In the sudden flash of light, Herman could see Rodriguez smile.
"This some proper spy stuff, innit?" Beckendorf muttered, gripping his shotgun. "After my little bizarre adventure is over," he thought ", I'll probably just settle down and write a fuckin' book about this. I've been shot at, chased by Grimm and spat upon by humans enough to have any more adventures of this sort. Maybe Herman will settle with-"
"'Dorf. Spaced out there?" Heidi tapped the reindeer on the shoulder, and indicated the now-open doorway. But there was only one problem for the deer.
He walked forward, and felt a great force pressing against his antlers, preventing his from moving through. He looked up and resisted the temptation to curse loudly-his bloody antlers would not fit! Beckendorf rotated his head, trying to find an acceptable angle of entry but failed miserably. Sighing, he flopped against the entrance.
"Just go on without me." He muttered, and Heidi tutted sadly before moving along with Herman.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez and Lauton stepped into the darkened room. It had a dark-green carpet, concrete walls and nothing much else, save for a small red door at the end.
Save for six Vale Guards who stood at the ready in front of said door, rifles raised, but upon seeing Rodriguez they immediately snapped into a salute.
"At ease, men. How is the Prince, and the rest of the Barons?"
"Right behind this door, sir." The leader said, opening it. Rodriguez hurried in, holstering his rifle.
Inside was a room similar to the one they had just entered, except that this one had eight people inside. Three were clearly Atlesian diplomats from the looks of it; starched white trousers and jackets, with gold filigreed trim and to top it all off, snobby looks and upturned noses. When one of them saw Herman and Heidi, his long face twisted into an expression of disgust and shock. Herman growled softly, prompting Heidi to put her hand on his shoulder.
"Try not to kill people, Herman. At least try, and set a good example for the rest of us." She said in a re-assuring tone.
Lauton and Aurum immediately rushed over to the Atlesian diplomats and took them to one corner, engaging in hushed tones of conversation. Meanwhile, the four adults in the room, all in business suits stared at Captain Roudigrez, their faces in shock. One, a tall woman with almost translucent skin protectively gripped a black briefcase. Herman couldn't tell what was going on, but judging by the looks on the 'Baron's' faces they weren't expecting them.
"Barons? What's up with that?" He asked Heidi. He really didn't know much about the politics of Vale, having lived on a farm all his life. What did the day-to-day dealings of the government have to do with him anyway? The most exposure Herman had was when the taxman came a-knocking, or when health inspectors showed up.
"Well, only landed families of note can vote, and send people into the parliament. What constitutes and eligible family usually depends which faction is in power. Usually it's those with a certain amount of land, factories and men who can be supplied at a moment's notice. One big militia." She explained, giving Herman some food for thought.
"Huh. Seems like an ideal system for inter-family rivalries and political backstabbing to override reasons of state. I'm kinda surprised you know all this, Heidi."
"Assassination targets are made on the basis of how much political impact they have." She said nonchalantly, though in a lowered tone.
A little kid dressed in a dark green ceremonial military dress, embroidered with gold sash broke the awkward silence between the Barons and Rodriguez. He peeped out from behind the woman's leg, his little green eyes clouded with confusion. He was thin as a stick, and snot dribbled from his tiny nose. Still, when he saw Rodriguez his face split into a smile and he ran forward at the man, who knelt to receive him. In that one moment, Herman saw this cold man's facade break. He who had killed surrendering children was now embracing a kid, tears streaming down his pockmarked face.
Herman couldn't tell if he was facing a hypocrite bigger than him or a really motivated person.
"Uncle!" The kid squealed, and the tension in the room deflated like a balloon when the air is let out of it. Two even smiled and walked forward, although the woman kept behind, tightly holding onto the briefcase.
"A pleasant surprise this is, Baron Rodriguez." One of the men said, warmly shaking the Vale Captain's hand.
"Oh, did I mention the officer corps has seats reserved for the landed gentry?" Heidi rolled her eyes and tipped the visor of her helmet downwards. Herman, feeling sheepish and unwanted stepped back with her, but just as Baron Rodriguez released the boy, he came running up to Herman.
"Are you a Faunas?" He asked, staring wide-eyed. Meanwhile, Rodriguez immediately jerked around, hand on sword hilt. Aurum had also drawn his pistol, and Herman felt all eyes on him.
"Yes." He replied evenly, fingers twitching and spine tingling. "Close your mouth, you'll get flies in it." He added.
"Wow! I've never seen a Faunas!" He exclaimed, ignoring Herman.
"Figures." Heidi muttered, and the kid was transfixed by the swish of her tail.
"Woah! Are you a dog? Can you do tricks?" Heidi audibly growled at that one, causing fear to become apparent on several Baron's faces.
"Prince Celadon, step away from the Faunas!" Rodriguez called out to the Prince, but in the time-honored fashion of children, he did not listen to his elders.
"Why are you two so filthy?" Now Herman really couldn't take it.
"That's how you treat us, kicking our lot to the bottom and keeping us down when we try to rise." He said loudly, paraphrasing one of Commissar Zheeliyony's speeches. There was silence, and one of the Atlesian diplomats muttered something about 'impertinent animals'.
"I heard that, you Atlesian fuck! You wanna hear why you've got the Faunas up in arms?" He faced the trio, his gauntlet clenched. Lauton hesitantly raised his rifle, while Aurum stood with his arm extended and pistol ready.
"Careful, Grauer." Lauton warned. Though he knew of the way Faunas were segregated in the Atlesian army, and given the worst accommodation and treatment, and how they mainly inhabited 'reservations' in Atlas, he couldn't allow his feelings to control him. He had orders to carry out.
"As much as I'd like to debate Faunas rights, we cannot ignore the fact that we're still behind enemy lines, and we've got a long way to travel. So, stow it, and move it." Baron Roudigrez ordered, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. With that, he swiftly strode out of the door, and the rest sheepishly followed while the Atlesian diplomats held their noses high and kept away from Herman and Heidi. One almost shrieked when Beckendorf got up, but fortunately kept his composure.
The annoying little prince kept staring at Herman, wide eyed and open mouthed. Herman flushed slightly-he wasn't a damn animal in a zoo, and the temptation to smack the kid was growing by the second.
The larger group retraced their steps, but such a large number was naturally unable to conceal the noise they made. A normal human would've strained their hearing, but these were Faunas. Roused by the thundering footfalls rattling across the wooden floor, a Faunas perked up his matted brown ear and saw the very people he was looking for exit through the back door.
Groggy, he stepped up only to trip across a wine bottle and go stumbling down the stairs into the open air. Gosh, it was hot outside. He drunkenly traipsed across the courtyard, stumbling hither and thither before he miraculously ended up in front of Biliare and the 2nd Lt., who had been watching his antics for quite some while. The soldier saluted, before puking all over his uniform.
"Quit disgracing yourself soldier, and tell me why the hell haven't you returned with the HVTs?" The 2nd Lt. barked.
"Uhh...ughhh...many, many bad guys, take the HVTs...gah..." The 2nd Lt. shook his head and smacked the Faunas, who drunkenly fell over to his side. At the same time, Biliare was watching wide-eyed as she caught the glimpse of something very interesting. Fifteen or so very interesting things, about to pass by a shelled-out section of the fence. Gold filigree glinted beneath the blazing sun, drawing the 2nd Lt.'s attention.
"Come on!" He shouted, revving up his chainsword, "We can't let them get away!"
Roudigrez had just stepped over a fence when he heard the revving of a chainswod. First, he turned back, scowling at Herman-but the Faunas had not unsheathed his weapon. More to his annoyance, he saw Price Celadon skulking about with that pathetic lot, staring slack-jawed at their faces. He was just about to say something when two of his men at the front cried out in pain, and he saw everyone else's faces turn to surprise and panic. He looked forward.
Two of his men lay screaming in the dirt, clutching at their reddened skin as it rapidly disintegrated and came off in red shreds. Right above them stood an imposing figure in full EOD gear, the only exposed part being round its stomach, where a long thin black appendage poked out. Yellow fluid dripped from the 'Nozzle'. In addition to that, it also gripped a 12-gauge pump action shotgun with a vented heatshield and bayonet. In the other hand, it held a grenade, one that was rapidly glowing yellowish-white. By its side stood and equally imposing figure, clad in the standard white and black of the White Fang. He wielded a massive, two handed chainsword, and Herman felt the 2nd Lt.'s gaze upon him.
"I thank you for bringing the oppressors to me. Know that before you die-" The 2nd Lt. revved up his chainsword "-you have served the Faunas' cause well."
Roudigrez drew his sword, and Lauton's men raised their rifles and stepped in front of the diplomats. The Barons of Vale proved not to be wilting lilies, though; within a moment each without fail had pulled out semi-automatic pistols, boasting a modular design and chambered with .45 ACP rounds. The woman with the briefcase took a step back, and the Prince instinctively ducked behind one of the Barons closest to Herman. Heidi had her dual swords at the ready, while Beckendorf spat and loaded a shell into his shotgun.
"Seems like you've chosen to draw out your deaths." The 2nd Lt. drawled, assessing the situation. Though the three turncoats made his blood boil, he kept his composure. They could not be allowed to take part in this battle, oh no. Looking at the King's statue that loomed above them, he tapped Biliare's shoulder and turned her towards the towering statue. Beneath her mask, she grinned. The grenade was ready.
Roudigrez was done with waiting. He charged forward, just as Biliare chucked the grenade at the statue. Everyone watched in horror as the resulting shockwave turned the very sky orange, and caused massive cracks to appear in the King's neck and chest. The very stone groaned, and slowly but surely it began to topple right down on the combined party. Aurum grabbed two diplomats and darted forward, and Lauton grabbed the remaining diplomat, throwing himself forward with his men. Most of the Barons also threw themselves forward, but forgot one important thing.
Prince Celadon was standing right in the middle, watching open mouthed as stone chunks of his great-great-great grandad came tumbling down upon him. Herman shoved his friends back, and for reasons unknown to him, he leapt forward. He grabbed the prince, swiftly unsheathed Nihil with one hand, slicing through a 5-foot section of the statue before leaping back and out of harm's way. The entire action had taken no more than a few seconds, but Herman could not celebrate. The explosions had woken up the slumbering troops, who came rushing out from the building, bumping, tripping and making a general mess of things.
Still, Herman did not entertain the idea of fighting with this kid to worry about, so he snatched up the prince and went sprinting off to the right, his friends right behind him. Herman sheathed Nihil and carried the kid in both arms, leaping right over a section of the fence, and the three of them landed smack in a WF patrol. Taking advantage of the confusion, he kicked aside a confused soldier and went darting off towards a marketplace.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez was trying his best not to lose his mind. Fiery-hot hatred blazed through his mind as he gazed upon the fallen statue, and his missing-or dead nephew. He heard a woman's laughter, which only served to intensify his rage.
He got up, shaking the dust off him as he brandished his sword once more. The woman in the EOD suit laughed, and the 2nd Lt. advanced, chainsword whirring. Meanwhile, Aurum had also gotten up and he walked up next to Roudigrez.
"I'll take the filthy animal with the chainsword-you deal with the woman in the EOD suit." He hissed, flipping the dagger from one hand to the other. Behind the two opponents, he could see more soldiers running down the streets, weapons at the ready. A half-track's engine started up, and the vehicle began to rumble down the street.
"Ready?" Rodriguez asked, drawing a path in the air with his sword.
"As I'll ever be." Aurum said, gripping his dagger as he assesed his opponent.
"Let's make these animals pay."