All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All real persons belong to themselves, and no offense is intended. All original characters are the property of SN/TVfan.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I am altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place immediately after "Once and Future King: Revenge Planned ".
Once and Future King: Revenge Thwarted
By SN/TVfan
Author's note: Since the site includes a review feature, I've removed my email from new chapters… Having it there seemed redundant…
Illuminati POW Camp, York
Cuchulainn and Gwen could only stand in surprise and horror at what they were just told. That the Illuminati would attempt to kill the Royal Family, and likely not by hitting their residential area where they were with missiles but with something so precise that only they could be the target of the Illuminati's anger. Some of it made no sense, though a lot of their invasion of the British Isles made no sense. Arthur wasn't connected with the British government in anyway, yet the Illuminati had invaded Britain like he was. Now, the Illuminati turned their weapons on the Royal Family, who's only real 'crime' in the war against the Illuminati was siding with those trying to keep Britain free.
"What could have caused this… surely they can't be intending to murder innocents over Arthur?" Cuchulainn gasped in shock when he found his voice again.
"Arthur Pendragon is part of it," the man who had brought this message to them, who identified himself as Harvey to them. "They want the war to end and in their favor, which they can't get out of until they can corner and kill Pendragon… but so long as the British government fights and fights hard… they fear they cannot do that."
"So… this is just some desperate gamble in the hopes that Britain calls it quits?" Cuchulainn asked.
Harvey nodded, "It's why I defected to you… prevented my team from joining the hunt for you. If you can contact the Anti-Illuminati Forces… or get us to them… we might be able to get the warning in time and set things right."
Cuchulainn sighed and looked to Gwen. This had gone way beyond what his original mission was to be. The original mission had been to get in contact with Arthur Pendragon, who was somewhere in southern England, and get him the radio means to communicate with the anti-Illuminati forces in the north. From what he'd been able to make out, it was a covert operation that was hoped to help break the Illuminati's ability to operate in Britain. As he made his way into York, he'd run into Gwendolyn Winters, who soon talked him into helping free a bunch of British POWs from the camp outside York in order to help make it easier for him to move through Britain and lose his own pursuers.
All of that had raised a lot of complications in a mission that was already dangerous. Sure, freeing the POWs helped, and the fact that they managed to get some of the weapons from Illuminati troops that Cuchulainn knocked out might enable them to make it back to their own lines, or at least would slow the Illuminati down. Cuchulainn had no reason to doubt the success that he'd had, but he also knew that he'd strayed from the job he'd been assigned to do, which was to find Arthur Pendragon and get him the radio. Though, at the same time, Cuchulainn also recognized that if what this defector had said was true, then sticking solely to his original mission would surely doom the Royal Family. There was also the matter of getting the wounded soldier with Gwen to a civilian hospital well away from York.
It made him grumble quietly at the complexities that his mission was taking on. That frustration soon lead a small flash of light as Cuchulainn returned to the form of Rory, and thoroughly startling Harvey, who actually reached for his gun in some nervousness. From his spot, the wounded soldier, Gawain Green looked on in surprise and bewilderment, but for the moment he said nothing.
"Witchcraft…" Harvey said in a low voice.
"More like a mythical hero that was an ancestor of mine," Rory answered, "It's a LONG story, and one best told elsewhere."
Harvey relaxed and looked back over his shoulder and nodded. Rory, while he was in Cuchulainn's form had done a lot of damage to the Illuminati in the POW camp's staff, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be more coming. And with a wounded man to carry out, they didn't have time argue over Rory's abilities or their origins.
"Right… but you can contact the Anti-Illuminati forces, right?" Harvey asked slowly, "Let them know what the Illuminati plans to do?"
"Yes," Gwen nodded as she picked up Rory's bag, which held the radio equipment in it, "Do you have access to a van that we could use?"
"Yes… the camp has a vehicle on is lower level and I have the keys to it," Harvey answered, "If we can get to it, we can drive the wounded man away and to a point of safety… but contacting the Anti-Illuminati forces will still be paramount."
Rory moved around Harvey and managed to lift Gawain Green up into his arms. Gwen moved beside him to make sure that Gawain was freed and moving him from the room wouldn't cause any unnecessary pain. Once freed, they both turned to Harvey.
"Get us to the vehicle, we'll worry about contacting the Anti-Illuminati forces once we're out of here and we can get this guy to a doctor."
Illuminati Military Headquarters in York
"Are we getting ANY report of arrival in the camp of our commandos and reinforcements?" General Crawly demanded as he looked over to a communications officer who was monitoring a series of radio panels and frequencies.
"None from the camp…" the communications officer spoke nervously, "though… this man in Celtic gear might have taken out all men stationed in the camp. You did say he took out our forces in Northern Ireland."
"He didn't take them out…" General Crawly grumbled in frustration, "but he DID give them enough of a distraction that the Anti-Illuminati forces there were able to secure the region."
All of this represented frustrations that General Crawly felt in trying to run the war against Britain in his own way and the complications that came from other issues that the Illuminati were struggling with at that time. The initial challenge made sense, to catch and remove Arthur Pendragon before he could put in place actions that would defeat the Illuminati entirely, or at least that was the reasoning behind the invasion and bringing the Illuminati's presence into the open. It'd make sense, as speed and surprise would weaken the British defense and the Illuminati's access to reinforcements from all over the world would be able to stabilize things if the British military was more firmly against the Illuminati than expected. This would secure the country and allow Arthur Pendragon to be caught and put down. No matter how legendary the man might be, he was but one man, and the Council member sent could counter Merlin if it came to some duel of wizardry.
But plans and results are two different things. Arthur was never captured, and while they did overrun much of the country, the Illuminati soon faced a bigger uprising in China against their own supermen and the reinforcements and support soon vanished, but the restrictions on what they could use in Britain remained and the mission was unchanged. This then meant that additional support wouldn't be coming if they ran into additional trouble, which they soon did, as Arthur and Macbeth did fight and had been getting support from their immediate allies and were starting to inspire larger acts of resistance. To top it off, the Council Member in charge often disregarded General Crawly's advice and that lead to Britain's defenses stiffening far sooner than expected, and now he was dead and thus there was no one who could address the council and strengthen the Illuminati's position.
But even with full control over the war, General Crawly had troubles. The British defenses were strong and after having so much chasing after Arthur, the Anti-Illuminati forces had managed to drive south a ways. At the same time, Arthur and his allies were still causing trouble behind the lines and had raised a great deal of desperation. General Crawly needed the Anti-Illuminati forces defeated and gone so that he could isolate and overwhelm Arthur Pendragon, who now had Merlin back at full strength and no Council member that might be able to counter Merlin's magic. That had inspired the present plan to assassinate the British Royal Family to get the Anti-Illuminati out of the war, but even that faced some difficulty as the Anti-Illuminati forces had deployed an agent they'd found and used in Ireland to cause trouble, only making things more difficult.
"Someone HAS to have made it to the camp," General Crawly then spoke, feeling his frustrations still rising to the surface. "That one man couldn't have taken out EVERYONE there…"
The next voice he heard made his blood run cold as it presented news he didn't want to hear.
"He may have."
General Crawly turned on a heel, his lips tight and eyes narrowed, ready to growl at whoever had said that, and found that it was General Bison who had spoken and that he was not alone. The commando captain who was tasked with the mission to kill the Royal Family stood beside him. General Bison looked respectful and fairly calm, but Crawly noted that the captain looked downright nervous.
"He might have what?" General Crawly demanded.
"He might have had the time deal with the camp guards… though not from lack of trying by some of our men, sir," General Bison said slowly.
That didn't ease General Crawly's mood any. It could mean that the commandos did try hard to support the guards in the POW camp, but were completely inept in doing so. General Crawly didn't put much to that possibility, as these commandos were supposed to be among the best in the world when it came to that sort of work. The other option was that one or more of the commandos had betrayed them and thus prevented the commandos from being able to rescue the POW camp guards.
"Who betrayed us?" General Crawly asked.
"Harvey… Harvey Buckle," the captain spoke, "he seems to have a hard time understanding orders and blocked the room we were in off from the rest of headquarters. We've only just NOW gotten through. I have the men on their way to catch him… but it is possible he's either joined with this Celtic warrior or has moved to aid the POWs reach British lines."
General Crawly's fists were soon clinched to the point where the pressure to his palms was enough push the color out of them.
"Either way, it will be possible that he will have passed on information regarding the mission after the Royal Family," General Bison warned, "and could mean that the Anti-Illuminati forces can and probably WILL be warned."
"In this, it may be better to cancel the move, as it would discredit anything that Harvey might give them, sir," the captain added to his suggestion, "In time we may return to it if the situation doesn't improve in the meantime."
"No… the plan will go forward," General Crawly answered, "we'll know if anyone tries to warn the Anti Illuminati forces if they try to radio anything. If the warning is passed on foot, by the time Buckle can get the warning to anyone of any importance… it'll be too late. For right now, let them investigate the camp… If Buckle is there, great… if not, they're to remain in the area so that they may move forward with the plan."
There was a silence for a few moments as both General Bison and the captain stood quietly, half waiting for either an explosion of anger at the failure or at least new orders. General Crawly noticed this and sighed, wiping his face with a free hand before responding.
"That is all," General Crawly spoke, "return to your tasks… securing the POW camp and alerting the other town garrisons in the area to be on the lookout for escaped POWs."
"Yes, sir," came the response, while General Crawly turned back to the communications officer.
"Do you wish me to relay those instructions to the local garrisons, sir?" the communications officer asked, "Or do you want me to keep trying to make contact with the POW camp officers?"
"Relay the message," General Crawly growled.
POW Camp
Harvey made his way through the passageways in the camp, and it was found that the guards had all been well dealt with while Rory had been in Cuchulainn's form. In a way that was good news for them, as meant they would have less trouble in trying to escape the camp and get away. That might give them a shot at making sure that they could not only get away but get the warning to the Anti-Illuminati forces, as Harvey was certain that things had been taken to a point where law and order wasn't what the Illuminati wanted. This was especially true when one considered that when the invasion began the stated goal regarding the Royal Family had been their protection, not their extermination. The fact that things had not gone well for the Illuminati against Pendragon was NOT a legitimate justification to kill people who had no direct contact with Arthur Pendragon and who's only real role in the government was as a 'symbol' that people were to look up to. That was why Harvey defected.
"You look to have done a pretty good job with the guards in the camp," Harvey said to Rory, "We might just be able to make it out of here without taking any fire."
"They seemed more focused on escape attempts coming solely within the camp," Rory answered as he followed with Gawain Green in his arms, "they didn't expect any real attack coming from the outside…"
"Makes sense," Gawain Green commented, "We're far enough behind the main lines that they know that the British army doesn't manpower or material to launch a long range attack against the Illuminati here. In this, they have good reason to feel secure from attack from the outside here… Of course… they probably couldn't have predicted being a person who's the avatar for some ancient hero…"
Rory sighed as they descended down a flight of stairs that Harvey had promised would lead them toward a garage where they would have a vehicle waiting with which to escape from the camp. A part of him didn't want to trust the Illuminati defector, but he also had to admit that he really didn't have that much that he could do otherwise. He couldn't run with Gawain Green all the way to another town and radio the Anti-Illuminati forces that the Illuminati had plans to try and assassinate the Royal Family. He also had to admit that if Harvey was really out to get them, there was then the question of why hadn't he done so by now.
And the fact that he had a sort of spiritual connection to Cuchulainn, who had been an ancestor of his was bound to be something that would raise questions. Before he'd run into Elisa Maza and her companions and the revelation that a person he thought was a friend was really a fey who his ancestor had battled, he probably wouldn't have really believed it either. But it had happened, and he supposed it came in handy as it had helped him in Northern Ireland against the Illuminati there and so far had helped him with the Illuminati guards in the POW camp as well. The issue was that he now found himself having to answer those questions on his connection to Cuchulainn, which he would have preferred to save until they reached a quieter place, but it appeared that some questions would just be demanded to be answered as quickly as possible.
"It was a surprise to me too when I first found out about it," Rory answered, "but I suppose in a world where you have gargoyles in New York and the legendary King Arthur in England it's one of those things one just has to accept and realize that there are things in this world that are not as we… or as science would have us seem."
"Yeah… like magic and all that," Gwen commented, "I got to meet Arthur and Merlin once… They're nice guys and can do things that to many people would seem… supernatural."
Of course Gwen's thoughts were on the fact that she had met Arthur and Merlin after the Illuminati had a werewolf cause trouble around York, likely to try and lure them into a trap of some kind. But wasn't the only thing that had been Gwen's concern at the time. As the Illuminati's werewolf had also bitten her sister, Rachel, and thus spread his lycanthropy to her. Rachel was now one of Arthur's knights helping him do what was right and add her strength as a werewolf where Arthur might need it. She didn't mention that, though as there was already a lot that Rory was having to explain regarding Cuchulainn. Adding lycanthropy to the mix would only make things more complicated.
"I've still never seen a gargoyle," Gawain Green commented, "I think the Yanks might be trying to mess with us."
"No… they're real," Rory answered, "I met a couple of them once when they visited Ulster. One was named Goliath and the other was a beast by the name of Bronx. They are very much real creatures."
"There's a clan that lives in London too, according to the Illuminati's files," Harvey commented as they came down to the ground floor. He then peered out through a doorway to find the hallway deserted, "but this turning into someone else thing… THAT is something I've never heard of…"
"It may not be something the Illuminati fully knows or expects," Rory commented, "or at least not every member knows… And as I said, before I met the gargoyles in Ulster, I wasn't even aware of it myself."
"You said this guy was an ancestor?" Gawain Green wondered.
"Yes, by the name of Cuchulainn," Rory answered, "Long ago, he battled a fey that in English you'd call the Banshee and defeated her. Though… under the exact circumstances, I can't fully say how it worked. In that Cuchulainn's spirit seemed to look after my family… sensing that his victory wasn't complete and after exposure to the Banshee's magic when she attacked friends I'd made…I was able to manifest a sort of avatar-like state that manifested Cuchulainn to defeat the Banshee."
"This has to be more than a onetime thing," Harvey commented.
"In a way it was…" Rory spoke, "but I never felt the need for it until the Illuminati decided all the UK needed to pay for the actions and/or beliefs of one man."
Harvey looked down for a moment and they continued to move on through a fairly quiet hallway. There were no sounds other than their own footsteps, giving the implication that the other POWs had likely already made their escape.
"With the Illuminati's invasion… I did soon find that I could call on Cuchulainn's spirit and avatar as needed," Rory spoke, "though in many ways… I'm not the warrior he was and it takes a lot of effort to hold his form. For the moment… I'm exhausted and would be able to do much."
"With what you've done so far, you've done plenty," Gawain Green spoke calmly, "don't get too down on that."
A low silence resumed as they continued to move along, with Harvey in the lead.
"It could be a valid concern," Harvey commented, "but under the present circumstances, we are rather safe. We just need to get some distance to send word to the Anti-Illuminati forces of what the Illuminati intend to do."
They moved along with no one there to stop them. The hallways were devoid of anything. There was no decoration and other than signs for rooms or directions, there was nothing about them that stood out beyond being a solid grayish-silver wall. The only people that they saw were the various guards that Cuchulainn had knocked out when he and Gwen had started their raid on the Illuminati POW camp. Many of them were without weapons, which Rory figured was actually the result of the healthy POWs actually taking weapons from the Illuminati men when all the cell doors were opened. It created a sort of empty and even spooky feeling as the only thing that Rory could hear was his own footsteps and the steps of the others.
Eventually they camp up to a doorway with a lone sign above it that glowed with a green light spelling out the word 'exit' in bright lettering. Harvey jogged to it eased the door open in order to pear inside and then waved Gwen and Rory forward. They then walked into a large open room that carried some smell of gasoline and oil and had a lone Humvee in it. Along its south wall there was a large mechanical door that ran up toward the ceiling. As with many of the other rooms and hallways, there was no one else in the room, which gave them some assurance that Harvey was in fact on their side.
"This should allow us to make it out of here," Harvey spoke as he gestured to the Humvee, "at least as far as its fuel will take us… Beyond that, we may need to abandon it and go on foot."
Harvey added that point simply for the fact that driving around in a stolen vehicle would likely be easily tracked. In general, the Illuminati had had the means to track purchases electronically for years, but that process was often time consuming due to certain regulations involved to justify such actions. With the invasion of Britain, however, the Illuminati had taken many more liberal interpretations of those regulations in order openly keep track of potential enemies. It hadn't worked super well with tracking Arthur Pendragon, but then Harvey was also sure that Arthur was either getting certain supplies for free or that Merlin was using his magic to help him. Their small group would get that.
Rory and Gwen looked to each other and nodded. The two of them moved over to the Humvee while Harvey walked and pressed a square black button that was to the right of the main door to the outside. The door soon lurched upward with loud clanking as it rose, revealing the darkness of evening hanging over them and the sounds of crickets could be heard drifting in from the night air outside the camp. Gwen opened the rear door and found a long and basic seat that looked like it was made from canvas strapped over a metal frame with a few simple straps and hocks for seatbelts.
"There's no way he can sit up back here," Gwen looked back to Rory.
"I suppose I could lay him lengthwise and crouch in front of the seat to make sure he doesn't roll off," Rory said slowly, "That may work…"
"It'll be the best we can do," Gwen agreed, "Just be safe."
Rory nodded and proceeded to climb into the back seat of the Humvee, which proved a bit difficult as he had to stay completely in the middle area between the front and back seats as he held out Gawain Green over the backseat. He eventually managed to get Gawain Green laying down across the backseat, though not without some pained grunting on both sides.
"You okay?" Rory asked hesitantly, fearful that in the process of moving the man they'd done him more harm than good.
"As okay as I'll ever be," Gawain Green answered as Gwen shut the door and then moved to sit up front, "one of the seatbelt snaps is digging into my back, but I don't think there's anything you can do about that right now. Don't worry."
By this time, Harvey had returned to the driver's side and climbed in. Rory managed to twist around at the waist to look the defector as he produced a key and put it in the Humvee's ignition. The engine started up with a roar and Harvey soon had it going forward as he pulled out into a sort of dirt driveway that was on the south end of the prefabricated camp. Harvey knew the type, in that it was designed to largely be temporary and to hold all prisoners in an internal structure with a garrison to protect the camp from theoretically internal revolt and external attack. He then turned toward the main street and was prepared to drive south and away from York when he saw lights coming up the road, which blinded him for a moment.
However, that flash of light didn't last forever and it soon revealed another military vehicle and one with a machine gun mounted on its roof. Harvey immediately gulped and hit the accelerator.
"Hang on guys! We're going to have to run for it!" Harvey said quickly as he hit the accelerator and began to drive away.
0-0-0
In the other vehicle, commando team was coming up on the POW camp when they saw a vehicle emerge from one of the POW camp's garages. Their vehicle's headlights gave them enough of a flash that they could see three shapes in the Humvee that emerged from the camp. Two were in the front seat while one looked like he was crouched between the front and back seat. They'd been tasked to reinforce the camp garrison and were about to head out when one of their own essentially betrayed them. They hadn't seen him when they got to their vehicle and headed toward the camp, and the feelings of betrayal ran high as they saw the camp's Humvee pull out onto the road.
"That's Harvey! I'm sure of it!" the man in the front passenger seat exclaimed with some excitement.
"You sure," the driver looked over to the man in the front passenger seat for a brief moment.
"The attack was by some armored Celtic warrior," the man in the front passenger seat answered, "do you think some ancient Celt would know how to drive a Humvee?"
"I don't know… maybe it's one of the staff fleeing," the driver began when the Humvee suddenly accelerated and moved off into the night. With that the driver sighed and nodded, "Okay… that probably is Harvey."
With that, the driver than hit his accelerator and the commando's vehicle took off after the Humvee at great speed. The driver couldn't quite see into the Humvee, as it was just dark enough and it had been at just enough of an angle that the lights from their vehicle had only left glare. However, the man in the front passenger seat had a good point that only Harvey would be driving off with such speed. If the driver was on the Illuminati's side, they'd approach them as they'd be escaping the attackers that had attacked the POW camp.
"Get on our radio, let General Crawly know we have the traitor and it looks like he has the attackers with him," the driver instructed as the Humvee turned up an intersecting road, "We'll bring them down!"
The driver then turned the wheel and they swerved to follow the Humvee. Their target remained on the road and moving forward. The driver kept his focus on the road as the two in the back seat stood up and flipped a metal flap in the roof up and over to get them access to the roof mounted machine gun. The driver could hear the heavy metallic click of the weapon being cocked and knew that he'd need to keep his route as steady as he could. Any hard turn could make the rear passengers lose their balance or worse lose their aim and waste their ammunition.
Illuminati Military Headquarters in York
The radio soon came to life in the communications center as General Crawly continued to listen for any updates on the situation at the POW camp, and now a report was finally coming in.
"This is Linus reporting in! Repeat, this is Linus reporting in!" came a man's voice with the sound of gun fire being overheard in the background, betraying that it was the commandos who had been dispatched to secure the POW camp.
"This is General Crawly," General Crawly spoke with a gesture to the communications officers to keep the conversation live, as if they were talking on a cellphone, "What do you have? Have you secured the camp? Have you got the POWs either killed or back in their cells at least?"
"We were a bit late to put them back in their cells," Linus answered, "but we have Harvey in our sights! He's fleeing in the camp's Humvee!"
"Harvey…" General Crawly said slowly, more to himself than anything else.
"The guy they believe betrayed them when the attack began," one of the communications officers said as he looked up the Illuminati's acting leader in Britain.
"Did you see a large Celtic man?" General Crawly asked.
"No Celtic man… but Harvey is the REAL brains behind this," came Linus's answer, "I'd bet he orchestrated the whole thing when he heard about our mission. He wasn't keen on it and betrayed us."
"And you're letting the POWs escape!" General Crawly roared, "Get control of the camp. Then worry about ONE Humvee."
Crawly raised one hand was soon rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. The betrayal of one man was bad enough, but the attack on the POW camp and the potential release of men in it would have men young enough and capable enough to give the Illuminati REAL trouble behind the lines or make an attempt to get back to the Anti-Illuminati lines. That represented bigger troubles than one man, and at the moment, Crawly knew that had to be their point of emphasis, even if it meant postponing the plan to go after the British Royal Family. There had been too much of chasing after one man with large formations while there was still a bigger war fight.
"Sir, we saw no sign of any of the escaped POWs," Linus answered, "which means that they've either made it out of the camp completely, or some element of the camp's security is still intact and is controlling the situation."
"If we had control of the camp, we'd be getting a full report FROM the camp," General Crawly growled, irritation evident in his voice. "Now get back to the POW camp and make sure it's secure."
"And if the POWs have already left?" Linus wondered, "We're already in hot pursuit."
That only made General Crawly give a heavy sigh. In a way, pursuing Harvey was the wrong thing to do based on the overall situation, but at the same time, if they were already in hot pursuit of the target, breaking off that pursuit to return to the POW camp would ALSO be the wrong thing to do. It was one of those situations where one was left with two bad choices and the real issue was to make the decision that was the lesser of two errors.
"Catch them," General Crawly sighed, "though… I want them alive. They'd have to have been part some bigger plan, which could well mean they'll know where they sent the escaped POWs. We'll need to know where the escaped POWs have gone if we're to have a chance of catching them all."
"Yes, sir," Linus answered.
With that, the communication cut out and a quiet returned to the room. General Crawly gave a frustrated sigh and then looked to his communications officers and collected himself before providing his instructions for them.
"Get General Bison on the intercom," General Crawly instructed, "We'll need him to commit the local garrison to secure the POW camp and see if we were able to hold all the prisoners or not…"
The Humvee…
Rory found himself crouching as low as he could as the first shots were fired, and he was thankful that Harvey had taken to zig-zagging along the road and thus preventing the pursuing commandos from getting a clear shot that they could land on anyone in the Humvee. The first shot went through the back window and then through a side wall of the Humvee as they drove along. He glanced back to see that Gwen had vacated the front passenger seat to crouch down in the floor in front of it.
"Now would be the time for that Celtic Hero of yours," Harvey said from the driver's seat and where he kept his head ducked down as far as he could, but that was difficult as he still had to keep an eye on the road in order to see where he was going.
"Cuchulainn doesn't really carry a ranged weapon," Rory answered, "his spear could be thrown… and I've even found that in the avatar for of him, the spear can even fire a pulse of light that resembles the spear… but one risks losing the weapon and thus being forced out of that form while the other drains my energy and thus the ability to hold that form."
"Great," Harvey grumbled, "we can't keep this up forever."
Another burst of gunfire was fired again. This time a shot went through the now open back window and passed within inches of both Rory and Harvey as it went on and then through the front window. The second round went past Harvey's head on the other side and buried itself in the doorframe at the front. It was a close call and one that all of them knew they couldn't risk again.
"Can you lose them?" Gwen asked from where she was crouched.
"I can try," Harvey answered, "but the Humvee was never designed for speed and this one isn't armed."
Harvey then noted another turn up ahead as part of a four way intersection. With the fact that he was zig-zagging from right to left and then left to right to throw off the aim off his pursuers, he might be able to get lucky and a sharp enough turn that the men chasing him would be forced to miss the turn, particularly if they tried to guess which way he would turn, if at all. All of it would depend on how the commandos chasing them responded. He then made a hard left just as he reached the intersection, hoping that that the pursuing commandos would miss the turn.
And at first as Harvey looked in the rearview mirror, he thought he might get that, but the hopes of escape were soon dashed as the commandoes fired another series of bursts from their machine gun. This time, however, the shots were aimed at the tires rather than the cab of the Humvee, and by turning, Harvey gave the commando firing the gun a broadside view of the vehicle. It allowed the commando to essentially shoot at both the front and back tires.
"Hang on to something!" Harvey shouted as the first burst went to the front driver's side tire with the second burst going into the back driver's side tire.
The tires were all under pressure and had been well maintained. The result was that when the bullets hit them, they practically exploded with a loud "pop" as all that pressurized air was rapidly released. This combined with the sharp turn that Harvey had made to try and lose the commandos chasing them forced the Humvee to lose its center of gravity and begin to tip up and over. The resulting crash was practically catastrophic. All of the windows shattered as the Humvee tipped over on its side and then slid forward for about ten yards.
Gwen toppled from her spot on the floor and then to the side of the front seat floor space with her arms raised to shield off broken glass from falling on her. Harvey found himself hanging by the seatbelt that had kept him in place. His gun fell to the ground and landed near Gwen, who was thankful that the weapon didn't misfire as a result of the fall. However, for the moment it was out of Harvey's reach and Gwen was crouched on the ground with loose shards of glass on top of her.
It was Rory and Gawain Green that had gotten it the worst. Gawain was already injured and really couldn't afford to be thrown about like a ragdoll, which is pretty much what happened when the Humvee tipped over. Rory tried to hold the wounded soldier still, but both ultimately fell from the seat landed in a heap on the ground as the vehicle slid and eventually came to a stop. Rory ended up on his back and it felt a bit sore and scraped up, likely from being drug across the pavement and broken glass for about ten yards. Gawain at first landed if he were standing up, but the Humvee's continued momentum threw him forward and he hit his head on what was the vehicle's roof before collapsing onto his knees on top of Rory.
The whole crash left all of them groaning.
"Is everyone alright?" Harvey asked as he managed to pivot himself so that when he undid his seatbelt that he landed on his feet.
The response he got was a series of groans.
"Nothing is broken… I think," Gwen answered.
Rory gave a similar groan. And Gawain didn't sound much better.
"I'll live," Rory spoke, "but unless we can get a vehicle… we may have to abandon this POW."
"We can't," Harvey grumbled, "they'd kill him otherwise… thankfully, they haven't driven around the other side of us… so… if you can access your Cuchulainn friend, together we might be able to deal with them when they come in close."
Harvey managed to retrieve his weapon and carefully checked it. It looked like it was still functional, which made sense to him. So far he hadn't noticed as to whether or not their pursuers had moved around the other side of their overturned Humvee. He then made his way out toward the front, crouching through the shattered windshield. He could hear their pursuer's vehicle idling, but as he emerged, he could see that it hadn't moved to a position where it could pin them down. That gave him some chance, though he knew that what he'd have to do would essentially mean killing people he'd fought beside for years, but at the same time, Harvey knew that the Illuminati had finally taken things too far.
Meanwhile, Rory sighed and did his best lay Gawain Green on the side of the Humvee and in a sense, he practically felt the man's pain as he positioned him. The wounded soldier grunted heavily and Rory figured that the violent crashing of the car had hurt him more than he already was. He looked down to Gawain who eventually managed a small nod.
"I'll be fine," Gawain spoke, "but he's right. If they haven't gone around us, you'll need be in a place to ambush them as they come around on foot. Go…"
Rory gave a small but hesitant nod.
"You can still do it, right?" Gawain asked, "You're not that badly hurt?"
"I think I can," Rory answered, "but I don't know how long I can sustain it…"
With that, Rory managed to get past the back seat. This actually a bit easier than it would have been otherwise, as the task was now just sliding past the seats rather than having to climb over them. Getting through the back window was a bit tricky, though more because Rory wanted to avoid having to grip broken glass with his hands as not all of it had fallen to the ground. Like Harvey, Rory was greatly pleased to find that the commandos chasing them hadn't pulled around and would thus be coming around on foot. It gave him time to crouch down so that he was hidden by the back bed of the Humvee and focus on his connection to his ancestor, the legendary Cuchulainn.
0-0-0
The driver of the commando's vehicle had been surprised when they saw the Humvee make its sharp turn to head down the turnoff, but since it had exposed more of the side of the Humvee to the gunner, the move had proven to be a mistake and had left the Humvee on its side. The driver saw the Humvee go over and felt some degree of victory, but had to slam on his brakes in order to bring his own vehicle to a stop. Thankfully they were far enough away that they didn't plow into the tipped over Humvee and they came to a stop just at the entrance to the intersection.
"Nice shooting," the driver said to the gunner who was standing in the back.
"Yeah!" the man in the front passenger's seat cheered, "they got to be wasted after a crash like that!"
"Could be," said the second man in the back seat, "though… they're likely still alive."
"Alive, maybe," the man in the front passenger seat said with a confident grin, "but a crash like that is bound to leave them rattled. All we need to do is go in and put Harvey and whatever prisoners he has with him down."
The others soon nodded to that as there was a supreme amount of confidence among all of them after watching the Humvee they'd been following tip over and skid on its side after literally seeing the tires explode after being shot. They slowly climbed out and moved to the back of their vehicle. The only one who didn't was the man who had been the gunner in the back seat. As the other three gathered around they could hear a set of heavy metal locks being operated and opened. The door then slid open and fell down at a slow and steady pace until it landed on the ground and formed a sort of ramp that lead to their vehicle's rear storage compartment. Standing in that area was the man who had been their gunner while they were driving.
"And now to arm ourselves for the end of the chase," the gunner said with a confident smile, "and the end of a traitor."
"I still can't believe that Harvey turned on us," the driver gave a sigh as he accepted his assault rifle from the gunner, "I mean we've been through a lot… including in this fight already."
"He still turned on us," the man who had been the loader in the chase answered, "the good thing is that things have been quiet over there… so he won't suffer when we finish him off."
The driver nodded and generally accepted that. Regardless of what Harvey felt personally, the driver understood that orders were orders and had to be followed. And to all four of these Illuminati commandos that made it even more important with the expectation that what the Illuminati would provide would ultimately help the country in the long run. With things quiet, the driver did feel confident that at least things would be quick with regard to taking care of Harvey, which was enough on that issue. All four of them thought on that as they checked their weapons and didn't focus onto something new until they heard the tell-tale click of their weapons being cocked.
"So how will we handle this?" the man who had been in the front passenger seat asked.
"Mack and I will go to the front of the Humvee," the driver made a motion to the gunner and then looked to the other two commandos, "You two are to move around the back of the Humvee. They may not be dead in there and we can expect Harvey to be armed… but it's liable that all of them are on the ground and are injured. It would be preferable that we put them down clean… or at least put Harvey down clean. He deserves that much."
"And if they're hiding where they can't be seen?" the man who'd been the loader asked.
"Then we move in," the driver sighed, "they're all likely hurt and can't fight. So we go in from two sides and finish it. It'll mean being methodical… but that's the situation."
The others all soon nodded. With that they then made their way toward the tipped over Humvee and divided into the two teams. All were supremely confident of victory as they couldn't see any way that any of their targets could have gotten through the tilting over of the Humvee without an injury. Thoughts and wonders over why Harvey turned on them remained on the driver's mind as he made his way toward the turned over vehicle. Mack stayed close behind him as they moved.
As the driver and Mack came up in front of the Humvee's bumper, they paused and the driver looked back to Mack before giving the direct instructions. He raised his hand and extended three fingers and then shook it up and down and folding the fingers as he did so. As he brought down his hand with one finger and then moved it to his rifle, the driver then took the step forward, expecting to find Harvey and what allies had laying injured and unable to resist with confidence remaining high.
That confidence was rapidly ended as soon as the step was taken as a shot rang out and caught the driver in the chest. The driver felt pain go through his body and he was thrown to the ground, though as he hit the ground he felt nothing. Behind the driver, Mack jumped in surprise at seeing the driver go down, and tried to back out it, but he wasn't quick enough as Harvey fired again and caught Mack in the hip.
From his crouched position, Harvey noted Mack falling back after taking a shot to the hip, mostly the result of shifting his aim quickly, but in having the advantage of surprise, he was still able to get the first shots off. Harvey knew that the first man was dead, but Mack wasn't. Mack was only wounded and knew that he couldn't let Mack recover. Harvey then charged from his ambush spot and rapidly closed the distance with Mack who eventually managed a slow turn, though Harvey noted the cringed look on Mack's face.
"Traitor!" Mack growled through gritted teeth just before Harvey reached him and knocked him out with a thrust of the butt of his rifle into Mack's face.
"Maybe," Harvey answered, "but at least I have a conscience to know when things have gone too far."
0-0-0
On the other side of the tipped over Humvee, Cuchulainn waited for the approaching commandos to reach the spot where he was crouched behind the tipped over Humvee. He could hear their footsteps on the pavement and knew they were getting closer, but retained some degree of worry. He could feel that Rory was tired and slightly injured as a result of the Humvee toppling over, meaning that his own energy reserves were low. He couldn't afford a long drawn out fight with whichever group of commandos came to his side. He had to hope that they either came at him one at a time or decided to focus on physical combat rather than making use of their rifles. He needed to win the fight quickly, and he knew it.
He said nothing and stayed crouched behind the bed of the Humvee, waiting for the commandos to arrive. From the sound of their boots hitting the pavement, it sounded like there were two approaching him, but other than that, they were silent, likely hoping to prevent Cuchulainn from overhearing their plans. Though given the earlier pursuit, Cuchulainn had a fairly good idea on what the commandos intended to do. He didn't have too long to wait as he soon saw the barrels of the commandos' rifles emerge from behind the back bumper of the Humvee.
"Now is the time…" Cuchulainn said to himself silently and watched the two commandos began to appear, but hadn't yet turned yet, and he then sprang into action.
He paid no attention to the gun shots behind him, and hoped Harvey was the one doing the shooting. As he could see the barrels, he needed to move and he did move. Cuchulainn lunged forward reached even further forward and grabbed the barrels of both guns. Both commandos gave a startled gasp as Cuchulainn attacked. He managed to pull the first commando's gun away, but the second managed to pull back, and the result was thein a rapid and chaotic fight.
Cuchulainn grabbed the first commando by the front of his jacket and then flung him away with a backhanded swing of his arm. This sent the command flying forward and falling into the ditch beside the road. Cuchulainn didn't follow the first commando as he rapidly turned to the second who was preparing to fire on him at close range. Swinging the assault rifle that he'd stolen like a club, Cuchulainn landed a strong blow across the second commando's face and knocking him backward. The commando fired two shots into the air as he fell back and landed, mostly due to muscle reflexes as he fell, but the biggest thing was that the man's helmet had been knocked off. With that Cuchulainn then moved over the man and once again hefted the weapon he'd taken as a club and brought it down on the head of the commando. The blow was hard, and with a sickening crack the assault rifle was broken at the stock but left the second Illuminati commando out cold.
It was at that point that Cuchulainn heard another gunshot, but coming more from behind him. He then turned to see Harvey standing near the roof of the titled over Humvee with his rifle aimed. As he turned, he noted the commando that he had thrown now laying on his back with a handgun in his hand. He figured that that first commando had had time to draw an extra weapon, and gave a sigh of relief to Harvey essentially coming to his rescue, and with that, Cuchulainn receded back into Rory's form and panted heavily.
"Thanks," Rory said weakly.
"You did fairly well… a shame you couldn't save the gun… but you did well," Harvey answered as he approached, "all things considered."
"Cuchulainn isn't one for firearms…" Rory said weakly and his voice falling off toward the end, "they weren't an option in his time… and as his avatar… that sort of thing seems to carry onward."
Harvey frowned heavily, "that may breed a great warrior, but in modern war… that sort of thing doesn't work."
"It may help during the times when I'm not in Cuchulainn's form," Rory nodded, "though right now…I'd just like to rest… let all the scrapes on my back heal up… It's a miracle no one was hurt in that."
"For the moment we'll have some time," Harvey spoke, "Though we'll still need to get the former POW to a civilian hospital away from here and find an area where we can radio your friends with the Anti-Illuminati forces and warn them about what the Illuminati wants to do."
"Do you really think they'd try that now, with you turning to us and the rest of their hit squad likely dead after chasing us?" Rory asked sounding a bit nervous.
"Perhaps not in the short term," Harvey answered, "but given the situation… I wouldn't put it past them to try it… but for right now, we still need to move."
Rory nodded and he and Harvey went to work, and Gwen helped as well. Getting Gawain Green out of the tipped over Humvee took a bit of effort and his groaned pains only added to their worries, but he seemed to assure them that he'd be fine for the moment. With now prior medical training, Rory and Gwen were willing to take him at his word. They also recovered the radio set that Rory had been carrying in backpack. There were a few dents in the outer casing, but Harvey was fairly sure that the device hadn't been damaged to the point where it wouldn't function, though they'd need to move away before the Illuminati sent more men to the location.
The last things they collected before getting into the vehicle that the commandos had chased them in were the weapons that the commandos had had on them, along with their ammunition. There was some unease on Gwen's part, but given the chase they'd just been through, Rory got the sense that Harvey was right that they would need them, even if it was part of some other hit and run type action. As their job was getting bigger and they couldn't just rely on Cuchulainn to pummel every Illuminati soldier while looking for Arthur. Rory only hoped that they'd be able to at least set a few things right, at least with regard to the Royal Family.
To Be Continued…