Chapter Thirteen: Survival
Zach sent Kito across the way and he dashed over listening to bullets zing by him as the soldiers tried to get a bead on his moving body. He only glanced down the hall as he lobbed a grenade, immediately knowing just how many they were up against this time. He rolled the last few feet to cover on the other side, and backed against the wall to avoid the percussive blast. He waited several moments until he could see the others and then signaled his findings to Zach.
"Thirty," Zach muttered thoughtfully, he looked at Logan, "He spotted a Manticore with this group."
"We must be close," Logan added.
Kito waited patiently for further orders from Zach, but hazarded a look every now and again to determine what the soldiers were doing. His grenade had done little, only catching a few of the more unwary of the contingent. Blade was with this group, which was probably the reason for the low mortality rate of his strike.
He took a deep breath that was definitely not a good thing. Blade was the most callous and ruthless of the Manticore's stationed here. He was X-11 and the youngest of them here, only fourteen. He was short, very stout, like a small battering ram on legs, and he had a short man's complex to go with it. It made for a very big chip on his shoulder, and it had made Blade vindictive. He may not have acted right away for a slight or an insult, but eventually he would find a way to get even, and it was never anything nice. And nearly everything was a slight or an insult to him. He was cold and calculating especially when it came to the Ops, he never rushed and as far as Kito knew Blade had never made a misstep. That in itself had always made Kito nervous and made him feel somehow inferior in his presence. Kito could never connect with him on a personal level because of it and so he avoided contact with him except in the line of duty.
Kito had been stationed here with Blade for two years and still had yet to determine what nationality he originated from. Oh, Kito knew that most Manticores were conglomerates when it came to bloodlines, but usually one stuck out as the dominant one. Not so with Blade, he had fair, almost blond hair but his skin was the natural brown color of someone with Asian or Mexican descent. His face was almost feline in the structure of it and his eyes were the most disturbing shade of gray. Both added to the cold aura of his whole personality.
Kito drew a deep breath trying to calm his fried nerves, and looked back at Zach. He was signaling for Tinga to join Kito and she did, lobbing two more grenades as she went. Again it only did collateral damage and added to the smoke already hanging thick in the hall. She held up the wall next to him readying her weapon.
"We can't stay here very long," Kito commented, "They'll pin us in for sure if we do."
She looked at him her eyes flinty, "You saying we turn back after all of this?" She said icily.
"No," Kito replied defensively, "I was saying we need to punch through this group quick before reinforcements show up."
"I agree, but we're in a bad position to gain leverage," Tinga added.
Kito sighed, "I know, and Blade is with them."
"And that means what to me?" Tinga asked curiously.
"He's Manticore, and probably the biggest bad ass of us," Kito answered with more than a little apprehension about facing him, "I've never been able to beat him hand to hand and he is cold and ruthless."
"HMPH, You haven't seen X-5's in action before have you?"
"Until today… no," Kito whispered honestly.
Zach assessed possible plans of attack, not liking too many of the choices that faced him. Rushing in meant certain death for them all, so did staying put for any length of time. He glanced back at Logan, wondering if the same thoughts were running through the older man's head as well. Slowly a plan formed in his head that may have just worked. Quietly he explained it to Tima and Logan and then signaled the gist of it to the other two who were covering the opposite direction. He saw Tinga and the X-10 Kito both nod at him, at least the signals remained standard throughout the classes. That was making this mission that much easier for all concerned. He tapped his watch and put up one finger, one minute and then they would execute.
Zach pulled one of the few smoke grenades from its storage on his vest impatiently waiting for the time to strike. Zach watched as Tinga and Kito both pulled two grenades each and then he glanced behind him to see Logan and Tima readying their guns.
As the time ticked down Zach pulled the pin to activate the smoke stepped around the corner and hurled it into the crowd of soldiers with all the strength he had. He heard the sharp percussion of several soldiers firing, and grunted as one found its way into his leg just above the knee. He brought up his own weapon vindictively fired a full clip into the two soldiers that had taken the shots. He smiled tightly as the two of them went down, then he stumbled back to the cover around the corner. Shortly the smoke grenade filled the hall with thick acrid smoke obscuring the view. More shots were heard as some of the soldiers fired wildly losing their cool. He signaled Tinga and Kito and they dashed ten yards up the hall before loosing their grenades and dashing back.
The blast was deafening and the flash and heat reached them where they were standing. The screams seemed to go on for a long time as the group came out of their hiding and scurried up the hall mercilessly shooting any whom showed signs of resistance. Those grenades had done some damage, nearly twenty had been killed or injured by the blasts.
Kito's eyes darted from face to face, hoping that Blade had been caught in the blast. He didn't see him and that was no comfort. As they came through the wall of smoke, half-deaf from the moans and the echo of the explosion and gunfire, they found the last of the resistance holding their ground trying desperately to halt the Renegade Manticores' advance.
All of the five brought their weapons up firing with accelerated reactions and taking down most of the group. One dashed away in a blur headed the opposite direction that they needed to go. They ignored it for the moment heading down the last stretch of hallway leading to their objective. Kito moved to the rear covering their movement from Blade whom he was sure still lurked in the darkness beyond the junction.
"Third door down," Kito directed over his shoulder. He shouldn't have taken his attention away even for that second… he knew better.
Blade rushed in before he could react, coming from the shadows somewhere off to Kito's left. That Blade could get the jump on Kito was saying something. Blade laid a shoulder into his waist knocking him heavily to the ground. Blade moved off quickly before Kito could get a hold of him. He hit him again before Kito could get to his feet, and Kito felt the warm trickle of blood at his lip. Blade began to head for Logan and the rest of the party and Kito leapt to his feet pulling him back with a choke-hold. He looked back at the group, which had paused seeing the take down, "Get Max!" Kito bellowed at them. Reluctantly they did what he said moving away but glancing back now and again to see what was happening.
"You son of a bitch," He heard Blade hiss in his arms, "You traitor!" and with that he stepped back and flipped Kito over his shoulder. Kito grunted heavily as he landed flat on his back.
Blade descended on him again murder in his eyes, Kito kicked up and back hitting the younger Manticore Square in the chest and knocking him back, and following through he leapt to his feet and spun to face Blade.
They continued to spar for long moments neither gaining much advantage over the other, both of them about equally matched in skill and in strength. Both of them were bleeding now having landed some serious blows to each other's bodies, and they both were tiring. They both stepped in at the same time grappling with each other as they fought for advantage.
Suddenly Kito felt a small puff of air move by his neck and without warning Blade's body went lax in his arms. Losing his balance he fell on top of Blade, looking down he found him looking balefully into Kito's eyes, the life draining out of him. Kito was confused until he saw the pinhole just below Blade's chin and the growing pool of blood under his body.
Kito looked quickly back to see Tinga kneeling down rifle still trained toward where the two had been fighting a stalemate. Slowly she lowered it and rose to her feet. Kito did the same and approached Tima, "I could have taken him," Kito said defensively, angry to have been interrupted.
"I believe you," Tinga replied tersely, "But we don't have time for you to have a pissing contest with your sib's, 'K?"
Kito nodded swallowing his pride and, joining Tinga, they caught up with the rest of the group who were now gathered around the door of the cell where Max had been held. Of Logan he saw nothing, and figured he must be in the room having a long overdue reunion with his wife. He couldn't have been more wrong…