CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Ambush!
Faith was pacing like a caged tiger in Angel's place as she watched the sun go down. Everyone had been busy doing their part of the plan, but Faith was still penned up in the house, to keep the Mayor from discovering what the others were planning for graduation day. It was bad enough that she was being kept under wraps, but the main reason for her anxiousness and restlessness was that this was her last night with Michael. She was a torrent of mixed emotions. She'd had lots thrown at her in such a short time. She felt like her whole life had been spinning out of control and then along comes Michael. She knew what and who he was—he was this warrior who had fought aliens and demons… Had done and seen things she could only dream of… He made her have feelings and emotions she didn't think she could have… He was a man that loved and cared for her like no one else had ever done and soon he would be gone.
I love him and yet I still can't tell him how I feel… Maybe it's like that one last self-defence mechanism to protect myself from getting hurt again… He's going away and I can feel my heart breaking… He's been honest with me from the start… There are no secrets or hidden agendas… He's accepted me for who I am and sees something better in me… Why can't I tell him "I love you"? Faith thought with a mixture of sadness and anger.
She had decided to plan something special for her and Michael's last night together. She had gotten some candles to place in the bedroom and she had tried to plan out what she was going to say and do this evening.
Sheesh! There I go again… I'm acting like a silly school girl… Maybe I should giggle while he deflowers me… Damn it! How can he make me feel this way? Faith thought with a sudden flash of anger.
She wasn't really angry at Michael. It was she just felt so different when she was with him that it was strange and out of character for her. Her anger was really directed to their situation and that he was going to leave her. A part of her was jealous of her older self in that alternate time line and her mind had been concocting different scenarios that would force Michael to stay with her, but then she looked at that picture of her future self holding that tiny baby and she knew she couldn't take away that child's father for her own needs. She knew Michael was right and that he had to try and go home even though she felt her heart breaking at the thought of him leaving.
A smile came to her face as her mind shifted gears about what she wanted to do with and to Michael tonight, He wants a last night… I'll give him a last night that will rock him like no other… I wonder where we put those shackles!
oOoOo
Angel was up and pacing around downstairs in his house. He knew that this was Faith and Michael's last night together and he expected quite the emotional scene, so he had planned to go on patrol with Buffy one last time as they had their own good-bye scene to do.
Angel had seen quite the change in Faith over the last few days. Just a few weeks ago, Faith had been becoming darker and it was obvious that she was close to going over the edge. He had seen the change in her mood and how she was now acting not only to others, but to herself. It was quite the transformation and Angel felt that seeing something like this happen actually gave one hope. Angel snorted as he thought about how lucky Faith was to have gotten a glimpse of her future and to see the happiness one could have. He understood what it was like to have someone that loved you unconditionally and that was a precious gift.
Faith and Angel were both busy, each lost in their thoughts that they were unaware of a group of demons and vampires that approached the house and took up position around it.
oOoOo
Faith had finally had enough of pacing upstairs in her bedroom waiting for Michael. She was too wound up and decided to wander downstairs. As she made her way down the stairs, she saw that Angel was up and moving around.
Faith started to say "Hey Angel… Wha—" when she was suddenly cut off by the windows of the house being shattered by loud automatic gunfire.
Faith and Angel both dove for cover behind furniture as bullets flew through the air impacting the walls. Dust and debris filled the air as bullets continued to roar around them. Faith found herself crouched down holding her hands over her ears trying to protect herself from the loud terrifying noises. She looked up and saw Angel crawling across the floor towards her. He made it to her position and placed his head close to hers.
"Are you okay?" Angel asked loudly to be heard over the noise of the gunfire and the bullets impacting.
"Yeah… What the hell is going on?" Faith yelled back to Angel.
"No idea… I'll take a look… Keep your head down!" Angel responded as he started to crawl away from Faith towards a shattered window.
Angel stayed low as bullets continued to roar through the house going through the outer walls and striking walls and furniture inside the house sending debris and dust flying everywhere. The noise was deafening and he was wondering if the shooting would ever stop. As he neared the shattered remains of the window, the firing stopped. He waited for a long moment as the silence hung in the air. After what felt like an eternity, he decided to risk a peak to get a sense of the situation and who they were facing. As he carefully looked out the window he saw six human shaped demons holding a mix of machine guns and assault rifles. He saw that the demons were a grey-green color. Their heads were roughly human shaped, but they had no ears and the nose protruded out further and flatter and the skin looked rough and scaly and they had tiny spikes covering the top of the head.
Zushin demons… Damn it! What the hell are they doing here? Angel thought as he identified their enemy.
He could see the demons standing outside his place and they appeared to be reloading their weapons. He thought about rushing them, but they were at least 50 meters from the house and he could never cover that distance in time.
This time discretion is the better part of valor, he thought as he turned around and crawled his way back to Faith to let her know what they were up against.
The firing hadn't resumed yet as Angel made it back to Faith, but he knew it could start up again at any second. Angel motioned for Faith to keep her head down as he got closer.
"What're we facing?" Faith asked.
"Looks like at least six Zushin demons…out front and carrying a lot of firepower." Angel replied.
"Zushin demons? Never heard of them."
"Nasty buggers… Normally they just buy, sell and trade weapons for cash, but they will do the occasional work for the right price and right person… Can be tough fighters." Angel replied.
"What are they doing now?" Faith asked questioningly.
It took Angel a moment as he had been puzzled by their behavior as well, "They were reloading when I looked, but they're just outside doing nothing but standing there…"
The shooting suddenly resumed and bullets flew through the house again. The noise was deafening and the air filled once again with dust and debris. Faith and Angel kept low to the ground.
"Why aren't they coming in? They should've figured we don't have any guns or can fight back like this…" Faith yelled to be heard above the noise.
Angel was still puzzled about the demon's behavior as he tried to make sense about this attack, "It doesn't make any sense… You're right they should know that we are pretty much defenseless… Maybe they don't want to fight us inside and are trying to get us to run… They were standing around outside like they were waiting for something…" he yelled back to Faith.
As she heard him, something clicked inside Faith's mind and her eyes widened as the realization hit her, "Waiting for something…or someone." she said as she realized that Angel and her weren't the real targets for this attack.
Angel nodded his agreement as he heard what Faith was saying and understood where her thought process was leading.
Jesus… Michael… Faith thought suddenly scared and worried.
oOoOo
It was dark as Michael left his hideout for the last time. He started making his way to Angel's place at a steady pace to go see Faith. He was moving at what could be described as a leisurely pace for a Spartan and it was a quiet walk until he got within just over a kilometer from Angel's place. His audio sensors on his battle armor picked up the distance sounds of automatic gunfire. Michael suddenly got a real bad feeling.
"Junior… Can you triangulate the direction and distance of where that gunfire is coming from?" he quickly asked the AI.
"Yes Michael… I can approximate that the gunfire is coming from a bearing of 278 degrees… the same bearing that you were headed towards Angel's house… Distance of gunfire is calculated to be 1.2 kilometers which is same distance from current location to Angel's house…" Junior replied.
"Damn it!" Michael said as he started to sprint towards Angel's and the gunfire. As he sprinted he pulled his MA5 from his back and made sure that he had a full magazine loaded in his weapon.
As Michael got closer to Angel's his motion sensors started displaying targets and the threat analysis computer started cataloging hostiles. There appeared to be a large group of red targets up ahead and surrounding the house. The gunfire was getting louder as he got closer. Michael thought it sounded like assault rifles which wasn't too bad, but he still didn't want to get caught in the open.
He was finally close enough to see Angel's house and the front looked like a mess. He could make out a group of what looked like demons unloading their assault rifles on the front of the house. They were spraying their weapons through the windows and walls—just firing indiscriminately. Michael had no targets in the house showing on his motion sensors—this meant that they were either motionless or dead.
Michael felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of Faith being dead—he needed to know if she was alive and unhurt. He quickly decided on what to do and he swept around the red targets and approached the house from the side. Michael would enter the house first—determine Faith's status and then deal with the enemy.
Michael made his move and sprinted towards the house. From the angle he was approaching the house, he could see a couple of the demons that were firing on the house. He knew he was out in the open and he anticipated them seeing him, but he would have cover once inside and then he could plan on how he would deal with the situation and the opposing force. He made his approach for a window that had somehow managed to not have been broken or destroyed in the relentless shooting. Without breaking stride or stopping, he dove through the window causing a loud crashing sound as he entered the house.
oOoOo
It wasn't the group of demons at the front of the house that spotted Michael. The demon who saw Michael's sprint and diving crash into the house was sitting about 150 meters further back. This demon was armed with a Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber sniper rifle equipped with a thermal night scope and laser target designator and loaded with a mix of High Explosive-Incendiary-Armor-Piercing rounds in its magazine.
The demon saw the "robot" come out of the darkness and he swung his rifle to try and get a quick shot off.
Damn… It's quick! the demon thought as he was unable to get a shot off before the robot was out of sight inside the house.
The demon spoke into his headset to the rest of his team, "Heads up… It's show time!"
Once the group of demons that were firing on the house heard that their real target had now arrived, they moved back a bit and got under cover. Their purpose was now to draw out the robot into their "kill zone" for the demon with the sniper rifle and for the other three demons that had been specially outfitted to take out the robot.
The demons checked their weapons and got ready to deal with their real target…
oOoOo
Faith and Angel were still lying flat as the bullets continued to fly above them. They were both startled by a loud crash and quickly turned their heads to see this new threat. They both saw the huge Spartan diving through the window with glass flying around him. They saw the Spartan dive in and shoulder roll and come up holding his weapon in a kneeling position facing towards where the firing was coming from.
Angel couldn't help but be impressed at how fast the Spartan moved and reacted. It was only seconds between entering the house and the Spartan was over by them and ready to deal with any threat.
Michael saw what a mess the inside of the house was, but he was relieved when he saw Faith and Angel—who were both flat on the ground behind cover and more importantly they both appeared unhurt. He moved quickly, staying low, over to where they were laying on the floor. Michael quickly noted that the firing had stopped and he was a little puzzled by the tactics that the enemy was taking. He had six targets, on his motion sensors, within 50 meters of the house and he could see that they were moving back slightly and spreading out in a slight "U" shape to cover the front of the house.
Michael looked at Faith and Angel, "Is anyone hurt?" he asked.
He was relieved again to hear Faith say that she was unhurt.
"Michael… Angel and I think this was a setup to lure you into a trap." Faith said with anger and worry in her voice.
"Any idea how many are out there?" Angel asked.
"I've got at least six targets on my motion sensors… Could be more if they aren't moving… I saw demons… I didn't recognize them, but demons using assault rifles is a new twist." Michael replied.
"The group I saw firing on the house are Zushin demons… They usually just act as weapons brokers, but they are known to be tough fighters for the right customer and right price." Angel said.
This has to be the Mayor's handiwork, Michael thought as he digested what Faith had said and also from what he could see developing it would seem to make the most sense. Somehow the Mayor had figured out that Faith was the key to lure him in. Michael chided himself for underestimating the Mayor, but any thoughts of retaliation would have to wait as the main priority now was to make sure Faith and Angel could escape safely and for him to take out the enemy force or at least hold them long enough.
Michael looked at Angel and Faith, "Okay… Here's the plan… I cover you and you both go out the side window I came in. You make your way to Giles's and we'll meet up there to regroup and plan our next steps… If there are any problems there then our alternate meeting point is where I'm staying… You know the place…Faith?"
Faith looked at Michael with a worried look and nodded, "I know… But are you sure you want to take on all these demons by yourself?"
Michael smiled inside his helmet at her question, "Don't worry… I'm a professional." he said.
Faith smirked and shook her head at his attempted joke.
Good… She's keeping her head and not panicking… Angel will keep an eye on her, Michael thought.
"I'm going to move up and get in position. When I give you two the signal you both make a run for it. Don't stop and don't worry… I'll cover both of you." Michael said to them.
The Spartan saw them both nod their understanding of his instructions and Michael then moved up towards the front of the house and the shattered window. He stayed to the side and took up position by the window.
"Junior… Can you tag the closest targets on my helmet display?" Michael asked the AI.
"Yes Michael… Enemy targets being tagged right now." Junior responded.
Almost immediately six red indicators appeared on his helmet display showing where the nearest enemy targets were. Michael turned towards where Faith and Angel were still lying on the floor. He could see Faith look at him and he saw the love and worry in her eyes. He nodded towards her getting a small smile in reply. He turned back to face his enemy. Michael paused for a second to clear his mind and relax his breathing. He could feel his heartbeat and pulse start to slow down and everything became clearer and more focused. He made his move…
"GO!" Michael yelled as he stood up and moved quickly into the open window and starting firing short bursts towards the red target indicators. He saw the two green targets on his motion sensors start to move. Michael fired a long burst and watched with satisfaction as a couple of the red indicators disappeared telling him that the enemy was dead.
Faith had heard Michael tell them to leave. She didn't want to leave him, but he was right. They needed to get out of here and regroup. That still didn't stop her from worrying about him and feeling guilty about running out rather than staying and fighting.
Angel and her moved quickly staying low to the floor to get closer to the window and wait for Michael's signal to exit the house. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she anxiously waited. She didn't have to wait long as she jumped slightly as Michael yelled and started firing with his weapon.
oOoOo
The demon with the sniper rifle saw the robot stand up in the open window and start shooting. The demon watched angrily as he saw two of his team members get cut down by a burst of gunfire. The demon laid his eye against the rifle scope and took aim on the robot. He used the rifle's laser sight to put a red aiming dot on the robot's head. The demon relaxed his breathing and got ready to squeeze the trigger.
I've got you now, the demon thought as a smirk came to his face.
oOoOo
Michael was firing another long burst from his MA5 taking out another demon, when Junior suddenly spoke, "Warning... Detecting laser energy emissions on armor! Energy signature weak… Not weapons strength…"
Michael's mind processed the warning, Demons with lasers? Not at this point in time… The only weapons system at this point in time that uses a laser is a laser design— OH SHIT!
Michael's reflexes kicked in as he realized he was being illuminated by a laser sight/designator. He spun to move his body and ducked back into cover. Everything was moving in slow motion and as he moved—he heard and then felt a bullet zoom by his head barely missing him. He saw the bullet impact the wall behind him and he quickly determined that it was a high caliber weapon firing at him—probably armored piercing rounds.
Damn it! I got a sniper out there… This just gets better and better, he thought. This changed the dimensions of the fight as he realized that these demons had come prepared to deal with him.
oOoOo
The demon with the sniper rifle couldn't believe it. He'd had that robot dead to rights with a head shot. He had never seen anything move that fast before in his life. They had drawn the robot out, but he had missed with his shot and now the robot was back behind cover—all that for the cost of three of his team members dead.
Son of a bitch! I can't believe I missed. Well if that robot thinks it can stay hidden… We can fix that, the demon thought getting an angry smile on his face.
The demon called up on his headset two of his team that hadn't engaged in the battle yet, "Remove that fucking robot's cover!" he ordered angrily.
oOoOo
Faith had moved quickly and had just made it out of the window when she heard a loud shot. She slowed down as she turned and saw that Michael had ducked and was back behind the wall. Angel had quickly caught up to her and he didn't hesitate as he grabbed on to her, "Don't stop! We got to keep moving!" he yelled.
"What was that?" Faith asked as she wasn't familiar with guns and her worry and concern for Michael was at the forefront.
Angel was about to respond when there was a huge explosion from the front of the house…
oOoOo
Michael had avoided the sniper and he was now reanalyzing the situation now knowing that there was a sniper in play. This would make the situation more difficult for him to deal with. He was figuring out his options and what he was going to do when the front wall on the other side window blew out in a huge explosion.
Michael instinctively ducked as his armor was showered in dust and debris. Shit! What now? he thought.
His training and instincts kicked in again and he moved quickly back from the wall he was up against. He had just moved back when the wall where he'd been seeking cover erupted in another huge explosion. This time he felt the force of the explosion and he was tossed off his feet. Michael quickly recovered and was back to a kneeling position—his armor had absorbed the blast and debris. He got up and sprinted across the room exposing himself in the now large hole in the side of the house. It was a risk, but he needed to see what he was up against and he hoped that his speed was quicker than the sniper could aim and fire.
As Michael sprinted across the opening, he felt and heard another high caliber shot just barely miss him. He grimaced as he realized that whoever the sniper was—he knew what he was doing. It was only his Spartan reflexes and speed that were keeping him alive. Fortunately he managed to get a quick enough look and get a better read on his situation and what he faced. He had spotted two more demons and they were armed with Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers. Those weapons could cause him serious damage if they hit him—that was the bad news. The good news was that the RPG's had to be manually aimed and the reload time was slow. He had spotted the two operators as they were reloading.
Michael was facing a perplexing scenario. The problem was if he went to take out the RPGs, he would have to expose himself to the sniper and he would probably get "tagged". If he went after the sniper, he would have to dodge the RPGs. Plus whatever he decided to do he still had other demons out there with automatic weapons. Either way he knew that he would have to do something fast.
oOoOo
Faith heard the first explosion and she turned towards the house in time to see the second RPG fire and hit the house. She looked on in horror as she thought of Michael. She finally reached the tree line surrounding the house as Angel had partially dragged her. They ducked for cover behind a huge tree. She saw Michael sprint across the blasted opening and she heard the sniper shoot again. This time she had been able to track back the shot and she now knew where the sniper was holed up.
Angel pulled at her to get moving, "What are you stopping for? Michael told us to keep moving!"
"I can't leave him… He needs our help… I can take out the sniper and you can take out one of those demons with the rocket launchers." Faith said looking at Angel with a pleading look.
As Angel looked at Faith, they both heard and saw two more RPGs launched towards the house. Huge explosions ripped inside the house. They couldn't see if Michael was dead or alive through the smoke and debris.
Angel turned his head from his burning house back to Faith, "Okay let's do this… Just watch yourself."
Faith nodded and headed off through the woods to circle around behind the sniper's position.
oOoOo
Michael saw the two RPGs being fired and he anticipated where they were being aimed at. He used his speed and reflexes to move to cover. As warheads exploded, he was once again showered in dust and debris with no real damage except to his pride at finding himself pinned down by demons.
He had been keeping an eye on the two green targets—Faith and Angel—on his motion sensors. He saw that the targets had stopped and then they started moving again, but splitting up going in different directions—towards the demons.
What the hell? Damn it! I told them to keep moving! Michael thought, but he should have known that Faith would never have abandoned him.
It didn't take Michael long to realize that they were moving on the demons to try and support him. If they were going for the sniper and the RPGs, this would give him a chance, but he would have to move fast. He didn't hesitate as he crouched down and took a deep breath—he had all the identified demons tagged. It was going to have to be quick and he would need to have some luck on his side—he pushed off into a sprint.
He sprinted towards the blasted opening in the wall. Just as he hit the opening, he dove through the air. He could hear the automatic fire from the assault weapons open up—he felt a few rounds bounce off his armor. One RPG was fired at him—going wide of him. Michael heard the loud report of a large caliber weapon fire and he realized that the sniper had shot at him as well, but he couldn't worry about the sniper at this moment.
Michael hit the ground doing another shoulder roll and bounced back up to his feet with his assault rifle turning towards the nearest threat…
oOoOo
The demon sniper watched in awe as the robot came barreling out of the blasted house at a sprint. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as the demon fired off a quick shot, but it missed completely due to the robot's speed. He watched the robot roll and come up firing at the surviving demons, armed with assault rifles, cutting them down with a long burst. The demon was quickly readjusting his aim as the robot was now standing still firing towards one of the demons with the RPG launcher.
Why isn't the other launcher firing? the demon thought absently.
It doesn't matter… This sucker's toast now! the demon thought as he placed his sights on the robot's head and was just starting to squeeze the trigger…
The sniper's shot was quickly and suddenly interrupted by two hands grabbing a hold of his head and twisting violently breaking his neck and killing him.
oOoOo
Faith let go of the dead demon's head letting the body slump back down to the ground—she had timed it perfectly. She looked towards the house and where Michael was still firing trying to take out the last demon with a rocket launcher. She looked to her right and up ahead of her and saw Angel standing over the body of the other demon with the rocket launcher.
Faith saw Michael cut down the demon with a final burst. She felt a wave of relief at seeing the fight was over and they had survived. She stood up and was about to wave to Michael down by the house to let him know it was all clear—another demon who had been hidden in the bushes ahead and to the left of her stood up catching her by surprise. She noted that the demon had what looked like a long tube on his shoulder. She watched in horror as a blast of flame came out of the back of the tube and a large missile flew towards Michael.
"MICHAEL!" she screamed looking on helplessly as the missile roared towards the Spartan.
Faith saw Michael try to avoid the missile, but she could only watch in horror as the missile streaked past Michael—just barely missing him—but immediately exploding right behind him as it impacted with the house. A tremendous explosion and fireball went off engulfing and destroying the front of the house causing all the debris to come crashing down where Michael had been standing.
Faith felt her heart freeze as she saw the huge fireball where Michael had been standing. She started to run down to check on Michael, but she was distracted as she heard a noise behind her. She tried to turn around, but before she could, she was hit across the back of the head by something hard and heavy and she fell to the ground unconscious.
oOoOo
Michael had just fired a last burst cutting down the demon with the RPG. He hadn't heard or felt any more shots from the sniper and the other RPG launcher hadn't fired—he figured that Faith and Angel had been successful in taking them out. He turned and caught a glimpse of Faith standing back about 150 meters from him. Michael was suddenly caught off-guard as a demon popped out of the bushes—he hadn't been moving, so his motion sensors hadn't picked him up. Michael's eyes widened as he recognized the weapon that the demon was holding on his shoulder—it was a man-portable anti-tank weapon. Everything moved in slow motion as he saw the demon fire the weapon with the missile leaving its launch tube.
Michael heard Faith scream his name, but the range was too short and there was barely enough time for him to react. The only thing he had time to do was to twist and spin his body to avoid a direct hit by the missile. Michael felt the missile streak by him just missing by inches, but then the warhead impacted against the house behind him. The warhead on the missile was larger and more powerful than an RPG as it had been designed to defeat the heavy armor of Main Battle Tanks.
Michael felt the heat of the explosion through his battle armor as his shields flared to protect him from the explosion—then came the blast wave hitting him. He felt fragments of the missile and debris of the house hitting his armor and suddenly Michael grunted as he felt a sharp burning pain digging into his right side. His vision went out of focus as he tried to overcome the pain, but he was also distracted by the red warning lights suddenly flashing on his helmet display. Michael didn't have any time to react or comprehend what was happening as the explosion brought down the front of the house on him—throwing him to the ground. He tried to move as he felt the debris bury him, but a large chunk of debris crashed into his helmet and everything suddenly went black.