They both jumped at a loud voice behind them. ‘Welcome back, folks, you sure took your time,’ Shredder said.
The surrounding buildings shook as a massive explosion went off in the tunnel, and dust and tiles fell from the roof of the mayor’s residence.
‘Toby! Toby!’ The two young boys screamed to the dog before shouting something in French. They scampered back towards the town square, their dog hopping behind them.
‘I take it no one will be following you two,’ Shredder said.
Chapter 34
Chooz Nuclear plant, Givet, France - 2028
Chilemba lay in the long grass on the riverbank, looking across the river to the Chooz plant grounds. Between two of the white-plastered walls, his lifelong friend moved, dreadlocks flying and AK47 jerking as he ran and fired. The brief glimpse lasted for a second and then his friend was gone.
Chilemba smiled a little and his spirits lifted at the sight of his friend still doing battle. It was difficult knowing how everyone was doing, but at least he knew Jackson was alive and fighting. Nearer to his position, the Phoenix Guard unit had moved away from the fence unchallenged and were now creeping in on the flank of Jackson’s team. He would soon be taking fire from two sides.
Chilemba had waited long enough for Givet to give him orders. None were forthcoming, so he decided to take matters into his hands.
‘Men, we cannot wait any longer, so we’ll attack the plant from here and help our brothers who are bleeding inside that fence. If we act quickly, we will have the element of surprise on our side, for they have not yet seen us. Let us go,’ he said.
The men checked their weapons, moved over the bank and slipped down to the water’s edge. They spread out and Chilemba, who waded in first, was soon up to his waist in water, his AK-47 held high above his head to keep it dry. He continued into the strong current, and soon the water reached his chest. He glanced to his left and right and saw the look of panic in his men’s eyes as they struggled in the deep river. This was something they would never have done in Africa, for fear of crocodiles.
‘Courage, brothers, there is nothing in the water that can harm us,’ he said. They passed safely through the middle of the river and reached the other side. Chilemba signalled to them to spread out, and they got into a V-formation, stalking up the stony bank, towards the gaping hole in the fence. As they approached the gap, the whizzing sound of bullets flying past them made them slow as the smoothened river stones flicked up around them.
Chilemba dove for cover behind a bush, and as he hit the ground, he felt a sting in his shoulder. He looked down to see blood seeping through his uniform and a small hole in the fabric. He knew straight away from the amount of pain and the fact that he could still move his arm, that it was a flesh wound only. Another scar on his war-ravaged body.
Bursts of fire from both sides of the fence ensued, and after a few volleys, it went silent. Chilemba quickly got up and ran to the corner of a brick building. He flicked a glance around the corner to see a body lying on the ground but no one else in sight. The other men had retreated.
• • •
Jackson grimaced and looked down at his bleeding forearm, stabbing pains surged up his arm when he moved it. It was a serious wound, and he could see that the bullet had passed right through his left forearm. His AK47 had jammed as the last round was expended and he didn’t have any spare magazines. Dropping it to the ground, he grabbed the 9mm Beretta from its holster and clenched his teeth in pain as he chambered a round. He urged his men to keep pushing towards the admin building main entrance. The soldiers guarding the admin building had piled up sandbags to block the doorway and were shooting through makeshift spy-holes.
He had shot and killed a few behind the sandbags, but more men seemed to move in to replace them. The three men that he had sent around to try and infiltrate from the back of the building had not returned, so he assumed they were either dead or locked in battle.
Recalling Chilemba’s radio warning about more GGC troops coming from the south-west, he knew that they were taking fire from the left flank as well.
The man to his immediate left suddenly stopped shooting and slumped to his knees against the wall. He stayed in this weird praying position, and Jackson knew then that they had only one option, retreat and try to regroup with Chilemba’s team.
‘Retreat!’ Jackson shouted to the two men on his right. He reloaded his pistol, his arm throbbing, and then turned and made his way along a bullet-ridden office wall. Fifty metres to their left, a grenade explosion went off. A man screamed a guttural, strangled sound.
He stopped at the corner and turned back to his men. ‘We have to run for the river to the west of the bridge. We will be safe from the snipers, and Chilemba’s team should be coming in from that direction. Keep low, and run for Africa, brothers.’
They rose together and ran around the corner of the building into a clear alley that had a neatly cut lawn running the length of it. Jumping over boulders that were stacked in a pile, they moved quickly and easily and then slipped between another two buildings.
Jackson felt relieved, realising how close they were to the river as they reached another small building and veered left around the corner. The line of GGC soldiers knelt with their machine guns pointed at him. No! He raised his Beretta just as they opened fire.
The first bullet slammed into him.
• • •
The sound of gunshots could still be heard from all over the site, and Chilemba knelt down to grab a Berretta from the man he’d just shot. He quickly collected the remaining magazines off the GGC guard’s belt and reloaded, stuffing the rest into his cargo pants pockets. He signalled to his remaining six men to spread out, and took two of them with him, as he made his way towards the admin building,
He moved around the corner of the building and froze. Halfway down the row of office buildings in the distance, he saw his best friend kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach. Lying all around him and strewn down the alley were the bodies of their men. Jackson had blood spilling down his right shoulder and from his left arm. His pistol was in his right hand but slumped on the ground. Chilemba’s chest tightened
‘Brother. No,’ he choked.
The captain of the Phoenix Guard walked up to Jackson, his back to Chilemba and said something to the kneeling man. The dreadlocked warrior looked up at the man, hate in his eyes. The captain swiftly lifted his pistol and executed the kneeling African.
Chilemba let out a mighty roar. He felt his fist clench around the pistol, ready to rip the killer’s heart out with his bare hands. Before he could raise his pistol and begin firing, they were fired upon from the left by more advancing GGC guards. Two loud groans came from the men standing to his left as they collapsed on the ground. Chilemba felt an unbearable ice-cold pain in his right leg. He looked down to see a hole through his right calf. His leg shook uncontrollably and couldn’t hold his weight. Falling to his right knee, he started to fire the pistol. The first shots took care of two of the GGC guards, and through the haze of pain and raging anger, he heard someone shouting something behind him. Shots rang out from somewhere to the right of them, but he was oblivious to their source.
He felt the hands of his men grab him as they dragged him away from the building’s alley. His four remaining men had now focused their attention on retreating, and two of them carried Chilemba while the others laid down cover fire. He nearly blacked out from the pain.
Taking a massive gulp of air, Chilemba regained full consciousness when he felt the ice-cold water splash against his face. Three of his men dragged him through the River Meuse by the green webbing he wore on his upper body. Water went up his nose, forcing him to cough violently. The cold water had numbed the pain in his leg, and he quickly got control of his thoughts. They were now being swept away from the plant by the strong current. One of his men was still firing behind them, but the GGC guards were not following.
A few minutes later they reached the old bridge with it
s boat jetty. They clambered out with two men acting as crutches for him. Little puffs of ground and earth started to flick up around them.
‘Snipers! Run for the woods,’ Chilemba managed to shout with a rasping voice.
The men ran as fast as they could, and all five of them reached the edge of the forest safely.
‘Brothers, stop for a minute. You three, cover us from the back. You, brother, give me the first aid kit from your bag then go and look out ahead,’ he said, out of breath.
With his men covering all directions, Chilemba took pain medication and started to dress the wound in his calf. He had seen worse. With the bullet passing clear through the muscle he had to disinfect it quickly and bandage it up tightly, so it would heal by itself. He poured the disinfectant liquid into the wound and clenched his teeth as the pain washed over his body in waves.
He didn’t realise that he was crying until he felt the tears run down his cheeks. They were not tears of pain anymore, but tears for a fallen brother.
Chapter 35
Fort of Charlemont, Givet, France - 2028
Gibbs, Christina and Shredder walked onto the fort parade ground and over to the barracks.
‘I half expected to encounter a few more of the mayor’s men as we walked back. Especially after those two little tykes saw us,’ Shredder said.
‘He’s too focused on the plant, I think,’ Gibbs said.
‘I’m going to wash up and put on more practical clothes. Gibbs, can you contact the GGC?’ Christina said.
‘I think I’ll leave that task to you, Deputy Minister. I have to contact my men and get a sitrep,’ Gibbs said. Christina gave him a confused look.
‘Sitrep. You know, a situation report.’
‘I know what a sitrep is, Gibbs. Why can’t you just speak in plain English?’ she said, disappearing into the bathroom. Gibbs turned and raised his eyebrows at Shredder, who smiled and walked away.
Gibbs walked into the radio room. ‘What’s happening, Sparky?’
‘Hello, Captain. Lots of chatter between Captain Schmidt and his men, sir. It seems they have things under control and have taken control of the plant, and the admin buildings.’
Gibbs grabbed the radio. ‘Delta Echo, Delta Echo, Alpha one. Switch to the alternate channel, over.’
‘Copy Alpha one,’ Delta Echo team replied.
‘Alpha one, Alpha one, delta echo, over,’ they called back on the prearranged channel.
‘Sitrep, Delta Echo,’ Gibbs asked.
‘Most insurgents seem to have been subdued or killed. The Phoenix Guard has control of the main admin building and the two control rooms. Five insurgents escaped and made it to the bridge, now heading east. Do we pursue? Over,’ they said.
Gibbs thought for a minute. ‘Echo team are to follow the men on foot, but only to observe. Delta team, make your way to the main Chooz plant roadblock and wait to be picked up, over.’
‘Copy, Alpha one.’
‘From now on, maintain communication via satphone only, copy.’
‘Copy, Alpha one.’
‘Why only the satphone?’ a voice asked from behind him. He turned to see Christina in green army fatigues and black boots. He smiled and nodded in appreciation.
‘I don’t trust your GGC anymore. They have kept me in the dark on many of the key decisions, so I have decided that my team and I will do the same. Besides, Markus is on the air now, and we don’t want him to know what we are doing, do we?’
‘Gibbs, we cannot just hide from the GGC. We do sort of work for them.’
‘In case you’d forgotten, a few of us were shafted by someone in the Billionaires Club, someone who is now in the Phoenix Council. It was a similar job in Angola, for which we were scapegoated and when we started to investigate those who had wanted us to die out there, they started killing us.
‘Then we were set up for murder, this time by two lower level men in the Billionaires Club, who are now dead. I believe they were the puppets whose strings were being pulled by someone still in the Phoenix Council today. I swore an oath to find that person and kill them.’
‘I had no idea that you were set up twice,’ she said.
‘And after the conversation I had today, I’m pretty convinced I know who it is.’
‘What conversation?’
‘I spoke to Lord Butler, and he issued the order to attack the plant. When I questioned him about speaking to the other Grand Founders first, as is the protocol, he went nuts and told me they would all listen to him anyway. Given what you told me back in London, how all of this has been his vision, he must be the man who set us up. Only he could have that amount of power and influence over the military and judicial process,’ Gibbs said.
Christina sat lost in thought for a while. ‘It might not be him, you know. It could be one of the other Grand Founders.’
‘Do you think that they could have done all that without his knowledge? I don’t believe that. Why do you think that it could be someone else?’
‘Well, Lord Butler asked me a few days ago whether you had been inquiring about anything from your past.’
‘Ha…He’s trying to find out what I know,’ Gibbs said.
‘Actually, he asked me to tell him specifically if you’d enquired about Jürgen Kohler at all.’
‘I’d never heard of him until I came off the ship and got to London. Do you think that he might have had something to do with it?’
‘I don’t know, Gibbs. I’m more concerned with the fact that I might have misread Lord Butler’s intentions for the GGC. It was probably all about power, after all.’
‘Power is all that these types of men ever crave if you ask me, but you know my thoughts on politicians and authoritative figures.’
She nodded.
‘I need your help to find out who set us up. Can you do that?
‘Of course, I’ll help you. You just saved my life. But despite your suspicions, I still need to contact the GGC to find out what happens next,’ she said.
‘I’ll give you some privacy. Come on, Sparky, the Deputy Minister needs to make an urgent call.
Christina punched in the speed dial to Lord Butler.
‘Christina, is that you?’ he answered.
‘It is, Francis. Captain Gibbs got me out just in time.’
‘That is fantastic news, girl,’ he said.’ I’m in contact with Markus and know that the plant is secure. What news of our friend the mayor?’
‘No idea what became of him.’
‘With Captain Schmidt securing the plant, everything is turning out as we planned. I need you and Captain Gibbs to head down to the plant and make sure that you regroup to ensure that Magne relinquishes full control to the new warlord.’
‘Yes, Francis. What happens after that?’
‘We have something very urgent and exciting brewing, but tie up the loose ends there first and make sure the new chap is settled in,’ he said. ‘Well done, Christina. A job well done indeed.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Once I tell the Grand Founders how well you did, they will all be clamouring to get you to go and take control of other sites in Europe and even around the world,’ an excited Lord Butler said.
Christina was quiet, her stomach balled into a knot. ‘I had better join Captain Gibbs and get down to the plant, sir,’
‘Of course.’
• • •
Captain Markus Schmidt was standing next to one of his men interrogating three prisoners who had been captured. Even from a distance, Christina could see that he was upset about something. He turned and glared at the truck as it approached. His demeanour suddenly changed when he recognised Christina, and he rushed up to the passenger door and opened it.
‘Deputy Minister, welcome to the Chooz Plant, the latest acquisition of the GGC. It’s a pleasure to see you safe and well,’ he said and straightened out the GGC webbing he wore into battle. He’d taken off his helmet, so ran his hand through his blond hair while watching her jumped down from the cab.
‘Good day, Captain Schmidt. Yes, I’m very fortunate to have been rescued by Captain Gibbs from the mayor’s chateau,’ she said.
‘Schmitty, old pal. I see you trigger-happy bastards haven’t left too many men alive,’ Gibbs said, appearing from the back of the truck.
‘Hello, Gibbs. Still avoiding all the big battles, I see.’
‘Deputy Minister, Shredder and I are going to have a walk around to see Captain Schmidt’s handiwork,’ he said to Christina before turning to Schmidt. ‘Before I forget, how’s the eye holding up, Captain?’
Markus touched his now fading black eye. ‘You got lucky, and it is not over.’
‘Let’s not start this again, Captain Schmidt,’ Christina said. ‘ Captain Gibbs, please go and make a tour of the plant and make sure the captured men are well treated.’
The buildings Gibbs and Shredder walked between were bullet-ridden and had large craters carved out of them from grenade blasts. Bodies lay across their paths, and Gibbs stepped over a young African, who had been hit by shrapnel, then further along one of the corpses caught his eye.
‘He was one of the men I saw outside the mayor’s office,’ Gibbs said.
Shredder squatted next to Jackson’s body and reached down to close the man’s eyes. ‘Notice the position that he’s collapsed into. A bullet hole to the forehead.’
‘He was kneeling when he was shot,’ Gibbs said and turned away. Anger rose within him, and he wanted a word with the big German.
A few minutes later, Gibbs saw Markus standing in front of one of the trucks, smiling and talking to one of his men. ‘Captain Gibbs, where are the rest of your team? I didn’t see them in any of the skirmishes out here in the plant? You can tell them it’s safe to come out now.’
The Journey of Kyle Gibbs Box Set Page 44
