A/N- Final part of the bridge crossing arc. Next chapter will be Chapter 10 proper.
Chapter 9e- Storming the Bridge
"Do you think that the enemy has been dealt with Vasily?" One of the remaining guards at the bridge.
"I don't know Gustav. I know that we're being reinforced every day but they strike before we know they're there." The guard known as Vasily replied almost despondently.
"Do you think our comrades will be back soon?" Gustav asked Vasily.
"I think we would've heard back from them by now if they were finished." Vasily pointed out to Gustav.
"True, but that doesn't mean that they are in trouble. They might just be running late."
"Gene's benefactor was supposed to be sending reinforcements soon, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, I think so. Anytime in the next couple of days I think."
"Good. I hate feeling this vulnerable." Vasily looked around, his hair felt like it was trying to stand up. "We're down to less than a platoon here Gustav. Command is overstretching us."
"Your preaching to the choir friend. I just wonder if we'll ever get the chance to fight Harry Potter."
"You think that we stand a chance against Harry Potter?! I hear that fighting one of him is like fighting a thousand men and a company of tanks."
"You exaggerate Vasily. He may be good and a legend but no-one is that good."
"What about Samgon then?"
"He was something else on the battlefield. But not even he could stop himself from being killed. I mean, who runs Outer Heaven now?"
"Some being called the Phantom I think. No one knows what he is."
"When Empires are being run by ghosts, then I think its own people should be worried."
Vasily and Gustav stood on guard for several minutes before Gustav spoke again to Vasily. "What are you going to do when this is all over?"
"I dunno. I guess I'll go fight elsewhere and meet people wherever I go. There's always a new struggle somewhere."
"Yeah, that's true."
"What are you going to do once this is over, Gustav?"
"I think that I'll settle down for a while with my sweethearts. Then maybe become a freelance defence instructor."
"Did you just say 'sweethearts'?"
"Yeah, I did. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"I've got no problems with that dude. I just didn't take you to be a Mormon, that's all."
"Who said that I was a Mormon?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry." Vasily stammered out an apology, only to see Gustav hysterically laughing at him. "What?!"
"Dude, I totally am a Mormon. I was just messing with you!"
"Oh God dammit, Gustav. Let's just keep watch okay? We need to be sharp and keep our eyes and ears peeled." Vasily replied, clearly annoyed.
"When command gives us something to do, only then will I stop winding people up." Gustav said with laughter in his voice.
They stood for another couple of minutes and then they turned and walked up to the other side of the bridge. There they saw some of their comrades had been knocked out. They also saw Harry Potter and several soldiers aim their weapons at them. "Oh man!" Vasily said in shock and surprise.
"We don't have much of a chance, do we?" Gustav asked Vasily uncertainly.
"Not really." Vasily replied. Vasily and Gustav, seeing their obviously hopeless situation, threw their guns down to the ground and and removed their grenades from their belt and carefully placed them down next to the guns. "See what I mean, Gustav? The man is like a small one man army and he brought an army with him as well."
"We didn't exactly fight him Vasily." Gustav pointed out.
"Don't make me look bad in front of the living legend." Vasily hissed to Gustav as they were handcuffed.
"Your attitude is making me really want to wind you up for the rest of our time here." Gustav bit back.
"Be grateful that I actually quite like you otherwise I'd be giving you a punch to the face." Vasily replied as they were taken away.
Harry and some of his men looked at the pair in bemusement. "Okay, that was weird. Let's try not to witness one of those situations again, shall we?" Harry asked his men.
"Yes Boss!" "Right Boss!" "Sure thing Boss!" The Soldiers said near simultaneously.
"Now let's clear this place out!" Harry ordered. His men didn't need telling twice and began scouring the Bridge and the hidden base beneath it.
Harry ran across the bridge, closely followed by his soldiers. Harry, with his wand in one hand and a tranquilizer gun in the other, swiftly taking down all immediate threats within sight of the bridge. The Soldiers following him ran past him and began either dragging the knocked out guards back to their trucks or searching for unknown guards hidden in the hidden tunnels and unregistered pathways.
In less than an hour, Harry's soldiers on both sides of the bridge had eliminated all potential threats and began searching the entire area for useful supplies and equipment. Entire crates of guns, explosives, artillery and vehicle parts were seized and valuable documents containing important information were spirited away and returned to the harbour base. With the area for the time being secured, a column of trucks and other armoured vehicles raced across the bridge. The column was swiftly followed by Kurt and Ivan driving across in a heavily armoured Range Rover, armed with a heavy machine gun.
"Where are they going, Harry?" Johnathan asked Harry as he crossed the bridge to join Harry, having finished his task of subduing the guards on the other side of the bridge.
"Kurt and Ivan are taking a small force to the ruins of fortress on the east side of the peninsula. Kurt wants to establish a base for us over there." Harry informed the young man.
"Why though? What's so special about some old ruins?" Johnathan asked sceptically.
"Apparently, Gene is setting up a number of facilities around the peninsula. Kurt believes that capturing one of those sites and the equipment being set up in them will allow us to understand more about what's going on around here." Harry explained. "I'm inclined to believe that the capture of the old fortress will help our cause. Having said that, I don't think that it'll help in the way that Kurt expects."
"What do you mean?" Johnathan asked in confusion.
"I believe that by the time that Kurt is able to finish setting up the intelligence equipment there, Gene's army will have changed their procedures and altered their spying equipment accordingly. I just want it captured so that we have another logistics hub." Harry replied.
"Is it because our base has become somewhat overcrowded?" Johnathan asked. Harry confirmed what Johnathan suspected with a few nods of his head. "Why couldn't we just use those extension spells?"
"Because if I did that all the time, it would possibly take us days to find things and it might also take us days to leave one building. That's why I am not going to keep adding extension spell on top of extension spell." Harry explained to him. Johnathan looked like he was about to ask Harry another question but Harry spoke first and allowed him no time to ask his next question. "Johnathan, as soon as we've scoured the area for everything useful, go back across the bridge and tell our people to return to base. After that, rejoin me here and we'll go to the harbour that Elisa was talking about."
"Sure thing Harry!" Johnathan replied before carrying out Harry's instructions. Most of Harry's soldiers returned to the harbour base whilst Harry, Johnathan and a squad of other soldiers took a truck to the destination that Elisa had told them about.
Later that day, as the sun began to set, more of Gene's men arrived at the bridge, only to find it completely abandoned and stripped of all important documents and useful items.
A/N- Please review and I hope you have enjoyed this story so far. It will be either the harbour investigation or the storming of the fortress in the next chapter followed by whichever one that is not released first.