Showdown, Chapter 12 by patricia51
(Bugler, Sound the Charge)
"Now," Albert Wesker snarled as he stood in the control room of Umbrella Headquarters surrounded by monitors transmitting videos from the strike force over the Atlantic as well as the one approaching a small town in Alaska. "Now my revenge will be complete."
He keyed the transmitter as new ideas struck him. "Red leader," he directed the commander of the massive strike closing in on the abandoned freighter, "I want Alice Abernathy alive. The rest you may kill. Blue leader," the Chairman switched his attention to the leader of the smaller force heading for the small Alaska town that was its objective, "I want the Abernathy-Olivera brats and whatever name that Angela Ashford is going by now-a-days."
Both airborne commanders stifled curses. Even before take-off Wesker had been interfering with them, changing their objectives back and forth and getting in the way. Nor was this the first brainstorm the Chairman had come up with during their flight. But to complain would only result in a change of command order that would be fatal to whichever one of them voiced any opposition. Gritting their teeth each of them began to give the orders altering their attack plans. Again. Neither of them had been particularly happy with their assignment to begin with. They were both professional soldiers and raiding civilians was not what they liked. They longed to contact each other, having secretly discussed a fall back plan should this mission turn to the crap it rapidly appeared it was going to do. But they didn't dare. Yet.
Because of that change neither attack group was able to stand off and bombard the area with rockets as the original plans envisioned. Instead both groups were forced to come in to point blank range in order to unload troops to carry out the search for the designated targets. No one was familiar with how Alice looked and none of the Alaskan attackers had the slightest clue how to recognize the children they were supposed to be seizing. But the Chairman had spoken.
The confusion immediately showed itself in the force attacking the derelict. Two of the Umbrella VTOLs jockeying for position collided and fell to the ocean in a tangle of machinery and helpless people. This time the commander gave voice to his curses, directing four specific craft to assault from the starboard beam and unload their troops all at one time.
Up to that moment Alice and her family and friends had been waiting undercover with weapons loaded and locked. As the four aircraft rushed in to hover just above the deck Alice gave the order and the group came up firing.
Two of the confiscated Umbrella light machine guns had been lost with the disabling and resultant explosion of Claire's VTOL. The two remaining were set up fore and aft and raked the Umbrella troops leaping from their aircraft. Black clad attackers fell in heaps. The few not cut down immediately were taken under controlled, aimed fire by the rest of the defenders.
While the VTOL's were armored enough to withstand the small arms fire they were taking that armor didn't help when Carlos popped up. Using the grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of his Galil he fired a forty millimeter grenade through an open hatch. The resultant explosion was deeply satisfying to the defenders. The craft shuddered, hit the one next to it and toppled over into the sea, followed by the one it had crippled.
That did it, the Red Team Leader swore again. He directed two craft to take station at the stern and two more at the bow. From those positions they directed a storm of fire, driving Jennie and Emily to cover with their machine gun and Mike and William with the other. Freed temporarily at least from that fire troops began to rappel down from other of the attackers' aircraft. Before long the defenders were split in half.
Carlos squirmed over to Alice. Holding his Galil up over his head he blindly sprayed the entire magazine towards the Umbrella troops.
"This is not good," he commented as he ejected the empty magazine and slapped a full one in its place. "We can't let them drive us below decks. If they do then we're toast."
"I hope things are going better than this at home."
They weren't.
"Hold on K-Mart," Angie directed her friend through clenched teeth.
"I am, I am," returned the other girl, her hand holding Angie's so tightly that the knuckles were turning white. She held her Walther in her free hand, much like Angie clutched her Smith and Wesson. But the weapon the girls were using was their joined minds.
The leader of the Umbrella attack on their town had suffered at first from the same restrictions that Wesker had put on the other group. In addition the residents of the village more closely matched the number of raiders and had room to maneuver that those on the ship didn't have.
At first the results were the same as well. The first attempt to land ground troops came under heavy fire and one VTOL was knocked out when a heavy machine gun permanently mounted in the town hall ignited the craft's fuel system with tracers. But the Blue Leader discarded her last instructions quickly. The team manning the fifty caliber barely cleared the town hall before a rocket barrage blasted it. Machine gun and more rocket fire tore into the wood line near the girls, making them fall flat on top of the bunker and unable to do anything else besides pray. Umbrella goons landed under that cover fire. Fortunately they attacked through the town away from the bunker where the five teen girls, reinforced by other friends both male and female, protected the younger children. Falling trees had helped to obscure their position and the Umbrella commander was intent on reaching the Abernathy-Olivera home.
When that house was found to be empty the troops began as methodical a search as they could under the harassing fire of the residents. Bill Henderson strove to draw the invaders away from their target by giving ground that also kept casualties among the defenders to a minimum. He hoped whatever response the Guard was presenting to the Governor came soon and was effective.
The attackers had overrun and searched the house that was their main objective as well as those of Chris and Jill and Claire and Sam. Finding nothing they had reported to the mission commander who commanded her electronic warfare officer to use the ground penetrating radar the craft was equipped for to search through the forest. Almost immediately they located the bunker and the leader redirected her troops.
The teens had been keeping their heads down but when Umbrella shifted its attack they realized it immediately.
"Oh God here they come," muttered K-Mart. She looked around. Besides the five girls who carried shotguns and handguns there were a half-dozen boys and girls armed with rifles. None of it was going to hold back the Umbrella soldiers for long. Even as Bill Henderson launched a desperate counterattack to try to drive them away from the bunker the Umbrella troops opened a heavy fire and rushed towards the teens.
And stopped as the bullets rebounded in all directions except towards the bunker. K-Mart immediately grasped what was happening and turned to her friend. Angie's eyes were closed, letting her see with her mind. Her body shook with the effort of putting a mental shield in front of them. Sweat poured from her face. K-Mart grabbed her hand and joined with her best friend. Without the bonding with the T-Virus Angie had undergone she couldn't do the things her friend could but she could lend her strength to what Angie was doing. She didn't understand how but she knew she could.
Both teens were straining now. The Umbrella troops had stopped shooting, towards them anyway, and were trying to force their way through the girls' barrier. Angie felt it slipping even with K-Mart's assistance. Then someone else took her hand and strength poured back into her. Sally, Marian and Eliza had joined them. But even so Angie knew it was just a matter of time. But she didn't give up. She hadn't when Umbrella had her before and she wouldn't now.
For a fleeting moment Angie spared a yearning thought for her mom and dad. She hoped they were alright.
Jill and Chris had joined Carlos and Alice.
"Any suggestions?" the one time Umbrella security chief asked dryly.
Carlos shrugged. "When outnumbered and surrounded there really is only one option."
"Attack," answered Chris.
Pegging only an occasional shot from their sidearms the group loaded full magazines into their primary weapons. Alice advised Claire what the plan, if their desperate actions could be called such, was and to be ready.
"On three?" asked Alice of the group.
"One," breathed Jill.
"Two," added Carlos.
"Th... wait...what's THAT?" Alice interrupted herself as something high in the air caught her eye.
"What's what?" Faces turned up and followed Alice's gaze. She pointed.
Half a dozen this contrails traced across the sky. Then one by one they plunged down towards the ship.
"Duck!" called Trent.
"No wait, they're not headed towards us, they're headed..." the rest of Alice's statement was cut off as suddenly five of the Umbrella VTOL's exploded in giant balls of flame. A sixth blast rained a fountain of seawater over the bow of the ship.
"What the hell was THAT?" demanded Jill of everyone and no one in particular.
"Air to air missiles it looked like," answered Trent. "But where they came from I have no clue."
"There I guess," said Chris, shading his eyes and pointing at three specks closing from the south.
The gunfire had died away as everyone, defenders and attackers alike, gaped at the rapidly approaching aircraft. The remaining Umbrella VTOL's broke frantically in all directions as more smoke trails erupted from under the arrivals wings. It didn't help. More Umbrella aircraft exploded as the attackers roared past, close enough now to be identified as F/A-18 Hornets.
"Where did those come from?" Jennie asked to the groups around her.
"The only ones I know of that are still around belong to that nuclear carrier group that rode out the infection by staying out to sea. I know they aren't a fan of Umbrella, having already clashed with and defeated the Australian facility. But I thought they were far to the south of us."
"Guess not," his wife Claire replied wryly.
Weapons were clattering to the deck and hands were being raised as far in the air as they could go as the Umbrella troopers on board surrendered. The last two surviving VTOL's, which included the mission leader's, had lowered their landing gear in the old signal of ariel surrender. Under the watchful eye of the Hornets they settled on the deck and their crews came out with their hands up. As he shut down his craft with a sigh of relief he sent the agreed upon code message to the Blue Mission Commander
Sam and Claire scrambled across the deck ignoring the surrendering Umbrella troopers to join Alice and Carlos, Chris and Jill at their commandeered VTOL. The remaining six finished the disarmament of the now captive attackers. Sam manned one radio, searching the military frequencies while Claire frantically tried to contact Mikey.
The ex-Umbrella pilot was successful first. After a brief conversation he turned to the others as the three Hornets reversed course and headed home, rocking their wings as they went.
"They ARE from the carrier," he announced. "They have been racing north for the last few days to get in range to deliver this airstrike. It seems," he went on with a grin, "that there has been a lot going on lately that we didn't know about. An alliance has been formed to handle Umbrella, or at least its offensive capacity, once and for all."
About that time Claire got through to Mikey and the group sagged in relief.
"It's all over here," the tech wizard advised them. "Your daughters are using their mental powers to keep burning pieces of Umbrella aircraft from hitting anything important."
"Powers?" asked Chris. At the same time his wife asked "Daughters?"
"They'll explain when you all get home. In the meantime the Guard struck in force here. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons and two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters knocked half of the bad guys out of the sky and just a few minutes ago the rest surrendered with the troops on the ground being directed to by the commander here. We're questioning her now."
The group looked at each other. Carlos spoke first. "I guess that does it. For now at least we've defeated Wesker."
"But he'll be back," predicted Alice.
(To be concluded)
(Note: Chapter title was taken from a favorite line in what I consider the greatest Western movie ever, John Wayne in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon")
(I was hoping for this to be the story finale but the part after this kept growing and I knew I wouldn't have it done in time for the Saturday morning posting for the person I promised I would so she could see that Alice and Carlos and everyone DID get out of it okay. I won't (Paula) mention her name (Paula) because of course (Paula) I don't want to embarrass (Paula) her.)