The Journey of Kyle Gibbs Box Set

by Wayne Marinovich

  Andrei smiled a weak, bruised smile and placed a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it and drew a slow soul-reviving breath. The tall, quiet man patted Gibbs on the shoulder and walked towards the ladder.

  Gibbs and his team made their way up to ground level where Warren Smith met them and helped them out. He ushered them towards a large concrete apron at the back of the towering Phoenix building.

  The stutter of gunfire could be heard throughout the compound. ‘That should be the rest of the coalition troops attacking the compound. Warren, take care of Andrei while we head upstairs,’ Gibbs said.

  ‘We’re ready to go, boss,’ Shredder said. Gibbs nodded to his friend.

  They stood up and stayed close to the wall as they inched around the corner to the main front entrance. Shredder and Smithy were first through the flood doors, firing at the movement of the guards inside quickly taking out the four guards who were standing near the elevator.

  ‘Let’s hit the stairs, boys, it’s a bit of a trek up to the fourteenth floor,’ Gibbs said.

  • • •

  Gibbs peered around the corner of the corridor leading to the Phoenix Chamber hallway and saw ten guards outside the chamber door. All were kneeling in position with their SA90s raised, covering all approaches to the chamber.

  ‘Shredder, take two men and go down one floor then come back up on the other side of the hallway. We will have them trapped in the crossfire,’ Gibbs whispered.

  Five minutes later he heard the thud of a silenced shot, he reached around the corner and fired at the guard nearest him. The man fell quickly, and before the second guard even had a chance to utter anything, Shredder got him from the other side of the hall. A third one fell forward, and the remaining soldiers quickly realised that they were outflanked. The clatter of weapons hitting the marble floor resonated down the corridor as they surrendered. Slowly the remaining guards raised their hands.

  Gibbs walked up to them. ‘Gentlemen, kindly open the chamber doors and join your bosses inside, please.’

  The men opened the heavy doors, and before they could even enter, shots rang out, and three of the guards dropped to the floor. Gibbs stayed to the side of the doorway until he heard the click of the last recoil and an empty pistol. He raised his Glock, and he rushed in, firing just two quick shots.

  Standing in the middle of the floor was a surprised Jürgen Kohler, who looked down at the two neat holes in his chest before sinking to his knees.

  ‘Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot,’ Lady Winterton screamed, her hands in the air.

  Chapter 57

  Richmond-upon-Thames, London, England, UK - 2029

  Gibbs went over to the window and looked out over the swollen River Thames as it wound its way through Richmond. They were all guests of Tom Scott and his wife at the converted old Petersham Hotel, which was now the home of the London Warlord. He gazed at the open swathes of land being worked on by farm hands and wondered how the talks were progressing in Hamburg.

  Days had passed since the Phoenix Council had been overthrown and the GGC armies disbanded. London was back in the capable hands of its warlord.

  Christina was playing cards with Warren Smith near the large bay windows of the lounge when they heard the familiar laugh of their host. ‘Morning, all,’ he shouted down the hallway as he made his way into the room.

  ‘Hello, Tom. How was Hamburg?’ Christina said, sitting forward in her chair.

  ‘It went well, but I’ll let my guest explain everything,’ he said and turned towards the doorway. The figure of a battered and badly bruised Andrei Kirilenko followed him in. His face was still puffy and blue, and he hobbled with the use of a walking cane.

  ‘Andrei!’ Christina squealed, launching herself from the chair to give the man a big hug. ‘It’s so good to see you,’ she said. ‘I’m so glad we were able to get to you before that lunatic killed you.’

  Andrei winced. ‘It’s good to see you too, little one,’ he replied.

  Andrei gingerly sat down in a small sofa chair with a deep sigh.

  ‘So how is it going in Hamburg?’ she asked.

  ‘Positive steps are being made as we had hoped. About eighty percent of the warlords appeared at the talks, and they all agree to set up and sign a global agreement.’

  ‘That is great news.’

  Andrei nodded his head. ‘They were also taken on a tour of the university labs to see the new type of fusion energy at work. I think they all realise its potential and are excited to share it.’

  ‘As a warlord myself, I agree that everyone was positive and that many of the warlords from the Eurasia and Australasian areas liked the idea of having self-governing provinces trading with each other, sharing the development of the new energy source,’ Tom said.

  ‘Sounds like progress is being made and as long as everyone keeps talking, I’m hopeful an agreement will be reached,’ Christina said.’

  ‘We could use someone with your diplomatic skills to keep driving the talks, Christina,’ Tom said.

  ‘I agree. This would be a fantastic opportunity for you,’ Andrei said.

  Christina looked at Gibbs. ‘A few years ago, I would have bitten your hand off at this opportunity, but after everything that’s happened, I am not so sure. I want to be involved in the drive to help people that have nothing left out there. Gibbs and I have been talking about setting up a large communal farm or something like that.’

  ‘That would be a wonderful thing to do, Christina, but think of all the people you could help by getting the right agreement in place at a political level. Am I going to have to beg?’ Tom said.

  ‘I cannot imagine you farming, Gibbs,’ Andrei said, looking over at Gibbs.

  ‘After everything I’ve been through in the last ten years, I would welcome the chance to feed cows and pigs,’ Gibbs said.

  ‘Is this a final decision?’ Tom asked.

  Christina and Gibbs glanced at each other. ‘That it is, gentlemen. A life of quiet and tranquillity is what we both want.’ Gibbs said.

  ‘If we can’t convince you, we can at least contribute towards your new life,’ Tom said.

  ‘Tom did mention to me that he wants to reward you both for everything you have done. He suggested that you take over Lord Butler’s estate,’ Andrei said.

  ‘What? Are you serious?’ Christina said.

  ‘It would be a shame for the vast estate to go to ruin. There is a lot of farmland there and a lot of people that will lose their livelihood if you don’t keep them going,’ Tom said.

  ‘I know that I said I wanted to get a farm and work the land, but I don’t know the first thing about cultivating the soil,’ Gibbs said.

  ‘I have good knowledge of farming, so if you guys have a small room available I’d be willing to work for you in return for accommodation,’ Warren said.

  ‘Warren, that would be fantastic. You’ve risked your life for the cause on numerous occasions, so it’s only right that you also benefit from this decision,’ Christina said. ‘Only on the condition that we agree that you won’t work for us, but rather be our partner in the commune,’

  Warren Smith nodded, a large smile on his face.

  ‘It sounds like you folks will have a lot to organise. Andrei and I need to go and rest up. We are here for another day and then will be going back to Hamburg,’ Tom Scott said.

  ‘I will stay down here for a little longer, Tom. I want a private word with these three,’ Andrei said and watched the warlord leave the room.

  ‘What is it, Andrei?’ Gibbs asked.

  ‘My men were clearing out the Council buildings in Canary Wharf, to make sure we recovered as much of the weapons and ammunition as we could. I’m afraid that our mutual enemy has been freed from the basement before we could move him.

  ‘What? Who could have done that?’ Christina asked.

  ‘We searched the grounds, but a few local Floodlanders saw men leaving from the tunnel exits and get into a large motorboat a few days after you locked him up,’ Andrei
said. ‘It seems Butler is still out there somewhere.’

  The End

  Why not get a FREE copy of Gibbs: The Early Years? Look back at the events which moulded and shaped Gibbs’s character, and made him into the man he is.

  CLICK HERE to claim your short story.

  Other Books by Wayne Marinovich

  The Kyle Gibbs Series

  GIBBS: The early years

  (a short story)

  CELT - book 1

  PHOENIX - book 2

  KHARON – book 3

  ANHUR – book 4

  JANUS – book 5

  The Hudson Drake Series

  IGAZI

  ORANG

  TIGER

  Published Short Stories

  FLOODLANDERS

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  If you liked the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review. Your help in spreading the word about my work would be gratefully received.

  Acknowledgements

  To my parents, Mark and Jenny, for allowing me to spend time reading, instead of doing my chores.

  To all the teachers at boarding school, who believed my bullshit excuses at evening study, and allowed me to do my homework in the school library. There, I escaped from the boring world.

  To Bill King and Walker Cairns, two noble Scottish lads, who listened to my book ideas over many drinks in bars across Aberdeen. Thanks for being my beta-readers and whisky companions.

  A big thank you to The Grill, Aberdeen, Scotland where I sipped whisky and watched the character of Kyle Gibbs come to life.

  General Note

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  Author Bio

  Many of you know about my passion for our planet. I write about it, and I try to capture its wonders through the wildlife and landscape photographs that I take.

  For as long as I can remember I have loved reading books and studying nature. Growing up on a farm in South Africa meant that I was always out and about, up to mischief somewhere. My imagination flourished and ran wild as I spent my childhood sitting in trees, climbing on rooftops, fishing in our local dam and bird watching from one of the hides that I built.

  My love of the outdoors developed in those early years and my passion for all things wild and natural meant that my reading, writing and photography inevitably followed that path.

  Now, many years later, I’m moving ahead with writing and photography on a more serious basis. I hope my passion for conservation and environmental issues will make some small contribution to opening people’s eyes to the beauty and fragility of the planet we live on. I intend to use my blog as one of a few platforms to share my creative content and the content of others who share the same passions.

  The first major environmental piece of work that I am working on is the Kyle Gibbs series. A series set in a climate-changed world, which is a topic very close to my heart. My current focus is to write novels and short stories that span the action/adventure/ thriller genres, with a particular focus on the environment and our planet.

  I invite you to take this journey with me and look forward to chatting with you as we go.